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1500 questions
51
votes
2 answers
Did the Wuhan Institute of Virology engage in coronavirus gain-of-function research?
Hannity said on Foxnews:
The Wuhan facility was experimenting with gain of function with
coronaviruses
NewsMedical defines the term "gain of function research" as:
Gain-of-function research refers to the serial passaging of
microorganisms to…
Christian
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Are cadavers normally embalmed with "butt plugs" before burial?
According to this graphic, from the DarkestHumor page
That one time I went to a mortuary and some cute mortician girls gave me a butt plug. Seriously. This is to prevent post mortem [anal] leakage.
Is it a widely held practice for morticians to…
Evan Carroll
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51
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Did Margaret Sanger say "The most merciful thing that a large family does to one of its infant members is to kill it"?
This quote appeared on my Facebook feed. It was attributed to Margaret Sanger who founded the organization that later became Planned Parenthood.
"The most merciful thing that a large family does to one of its infant members is to kill it"
Did…
Amob
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51
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3 answers
Is it unsafe to swim during a lightning storm?
I was cautioned by mom that I mustn't go swimming when there is lightning; the theory is that it is more likely for lightning to hit you when you are in the water.
Is this fear justified?
Graviton
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51
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Is Trump personally blocking people on Twitter?
To quote John Gruber's commentary, related to the recent appeals court ruling whereby Trump cannot block people on Twitter:
With the absurd number of replies he gets with each tweet — thousands, if not tens of thousands — I can’t see why he even…
Denis de Bernardy
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51
votes
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Is this map of terrorist attacks in Europe accurate?
Recently this map of terrorist attacks in Europe went viral and was reposted many times in social media. Does it present actual data about terrorist attacks?
Background: The map gained popularity because of ongoing discussion about immigrants.…
GSPdibbler
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51
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Does Saudi Arabia have 100,000 tents equipped with air-conditioning systems sitting empty in the desert?
This video by Rebel Media claims at 4.10:
Saudi Arabia has 100,000 air-conditioned tents sitting empty in the desert. They can hold half a million people ...
Is it true?
Sakib Arifin
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51
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Did Obama apologize for the USA using nuclear weapons on Japan?
In the context of Barack Obama's 2016 visit to Japan, this image was made.
Obama apologizes to Japan for this
[Nuclear mushroom cloud]
which was retaliation for this...
[Pearl harbor pictures]
when he should be sorry for the 2,403 dead and 1,178…
billpg
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51
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Has every U.S. presidential election been won by the campaign with the most money?
According to Russell Brand:
Every election in American history has been won by the party with the most money to campaign.
Let's assume that he means every presidential election. Has every presidential election in U.S. history been won by the…
gerrit
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51
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Do people need to drink 8 glasses of water a day?
Since I was a kid, I can't remember how many times I've heard that a healthy person needs to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.
There are definitely plenty of reasons to remain well-hydrated. However is there any scientific evidence of…
Monkey Tuesday
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51
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There isn't "a single case - not one - in which it is clear that a person was executed for a crime he did not commit.”
While reading about recent evidence that casts strong doubt on whether Cameron Todd Willingham, who was executed in Texas in 2004, was actually guilty I ran across the following statement in the Washington Post, quoting Supreme Court Justice Antonin…
Mad Scientist
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51
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3 answers
Demonstrable and repeatable examples of evolution
Are there examples of evolution that can be demonstrated as proof that evolution occurs and is a useful mechanism for making predictions?
Some examples that come to mind include:
Animal husbandry (e.g. cattle, dogs, etc.);
Bacteria that survive…
Brian M. Hunt
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51
votes
3 answers
Do professional software developers write an average of 10 lines of code per day?
In the 1975 software project management book, The Mythical Man Month: Essays on Software Engineering, Fred Brooks states that, no matter the programming language chosen, a professional developer will write an average 10 lines of code (LoC) per…
travisbartley
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51
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2 answers
Has a programmer ever embezzled money by shaving fractions of a cent from many bank transactions?
There's a popular story that describes a programmer having altered a program at a bank so it diverted fractions of a cent from every transaction to another account (or some variation like multiple accounts) so he could collect it later.
The story…
Bart Silverstrim
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50
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Are Katanas made of steel folded 1000 times?
A Katana needs to be made of steel folded 1000 times, according to eHow:
Pound the tamahagane into two separate blades. These need to be heated, pounded by hand, and folded 1,000 times each to remove the impurities. Pound one of them another 1,000…
Sklivvz
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