Skeptics Stack Exchange
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4 answers

Did a Soviet nail factory produce useless nails to improve metrics?

We've all heard the story, which sounds for all the world like a typical urban legend. It goes something like this: Once upon a time, there was a factory in the Soviet Union that made nails. Unfortunately, Moscow set quotas on their nail…
Mason Wheeler
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Does eating just before sleeping cause nightmares?

In many cartoons and on Sesame Street there are many storylines where a character eats just before going to bed (usually pizza) and they end up having nightmares or very crazy vivid dreams. Normally this ends with another character pointing out that…
going
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Are there enough unused houses in America for each homeless person to have six?

I can't find a source for this, and that number seems much too high to me (although I don't know much about the subject). Is this true? If not, what is the actual ratio of homeless people to vacant houses?
Orcris
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Can you cause mosquitos to explode from drinking too much blood by flexing your muscles?

I have heard several times as I've grown up that you can flex your muscles to make mosquitos get stuck and explode. Looking around the web, I find several sources claiming the same. Q: If you flex your muscle while a mosquito is biting you, will…
Wertilq
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Does one acre of hemp yield as much paper as 4 acres of trees?

I saw the following photo on my Facebook news feed: I asked my friend who posted it for a source, and he gave me a link to a hemp manufacturer. I'm pretty sure it's not a reputable source. I'm interested to see if there is any independent study,…
Dang Khoa
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2 answers

Is there a gold stockpile at "Fort Knox"?

I heard an interesting conspiracy theory recently with the basic idea that there isn't a gold stockpile at "Fort Knox" (anymore or ever). With the level of security so great there and reportedly few people having seen the gold, it's an interesting…
DuckMaestro
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Are most of the nutrients of vegetables and fruits contained in the peel?

Whenever peeling a fruit or vegetable, someone will usually comment (sarcastically), "that's where all the good stuff is", meaning vitamins, minerals, or whatever. Do the skins or peels of common plants in Western foods (apples, potatoes, carrots,…
Nick T
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Is this image about child teeth development accurate?

There's a picture on Pinterest depicting a child's skull with all deciduous teeth (baby teeth) still attached, and adult teeth showing in a quite developed stage underneath: The picture is described as "A child’s skull before losing baby teeth".…
Ilari Kajaste
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Who wrote Shakespeare's plays?

One of the premises of a new film, "Anonymous", due to come out in a couple of weeks, is that Shakespeare's plays were authored by Edward de Vere, instead of by Shakespeare. The producers have also created educational materials arguing that…
Jivlain
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Does flossing produce better oral health?

Every time I go to the dentist, I'm told I need to be flossing more. We always go over the techniques, etc, and I always get a Stern Talking To about not flossing once or twice a day. If I go to the dentist regularly (every 4-6 months), then…
mmr
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Can humans influence the outcome of random event generators with their mind?

Roger D. Nelson, PhD (Experimental Psychology), claims to have proven using scientific methods that humans can influence the outcome of random number/event generators (RNG or REG) with their mind. The influence is claimed to be rather small but…
Martin Scharrer
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Are there more people with genius IQs living in China than there are people total in the U.S.?

This claim was made popular by being said in the movie The Social Network. It exactly says: Did you know there are more people with genius IQs living in China than there are people of any kind living in the United States?
isJustMe
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Has President Obama accepted more debt than all previous US presidents combined?

I've been seeing this claim on Facebook a lot recently, somewhat virally: Debt added by the previous 43 U.S. presidents combined $6.3 trillion dollars (sic) Debt added by the president Obama $6.5 trillion dollars (sic) Is this claim valid? I tend…
anon
35
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2 answers

Do "sword-swallowers" swallow swords?

Sword-swallowers, such as Dan Meyer claim to be putting a real metal sword down their throats. Are they really pushing a piece of metal down their throats, or are they some sort of magic trick with fake swords?
Oddthinking
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Does the 'two-second rule' provide a valid minimum gap for safe driving?

Most of us will have been taught the two-second rule when learning to drive. The two-second rule is a rule of thumb by which a driver may maintain a safe following distance at any speed. The rule is that a driver should ideally stay at least two…
Mark Booth
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