Skeptics Weekly Newsletter - Thursday, December 31, 2015

Top new questions this week: Do almost half of Londoners think that cutting immigration would help London's housing crisis? As a Christmas present on the 25th I just got a leaflet from UKIP in my post stating that 44% of Londoners say that cutting EU immigration would help solve the London housing crisis. There are ... politics united-kingdom immigration   asked by SztupY 10 votes Did war veteran, Bob Wieland, crawl across America on his hands? According to Wikipedia: Bob Wieland is a Vietnam War veteran who lost his legs to a mortar mine in 1969. [...] He "ran" across America on his hands, taking three years, eight months, and six days ... united-states   asked by William 6 votes answered by Michael Hampton 3 votes Can hypnosis be a contributing factor to suicide? A Florida school district has agreed to pay $600,000 to settle a case involving a principal who hypnotized students, three of whom died shortly after (some from suicide). Many of the reports in the ... psychology hypnotism suicide   asked by ff524 5 votes answered by pericles316 1 vote Are these homeless people drug addiction figures accurate? I'm sure you've heard the claim before that Giving money to homeless men and women is just supporting their drug addiction. But how true is that claim? In any instance where I've tried ... sociology recreational-drugs   asked by Ryan Foley 5 votes Protein Per Every Pound You Weigh for optimal muscle building? I am sure everyone who goes to the gym has been told at one point by some trainer that: You must consume up to 1.0g of protein per pound of bodyweight. I have heard many arguments on why this is ... nutrition nutritional-supplements   asked by James Smith 4 votes Does lifting weights inhibit growth in kids? I have a teenager at home, who is itching to pull weights in a gym. He is training to be a sprinter, so I see the benefits of power and strength training, but am worried, as these are his growing ... medical-science physiology exercise   asked by CMR 4 votes answered by pericles316 2 votes Does taking flu vaccinations annually reduce their effectiveness? A friend of mine tried to say that people shouldn't take vaccines because people who receive flu vaccines year after year can sometimes show reduced protection. This effect has been dubbed the ... vaccines flu   asked by McKay 4 votes answered by DJClayworth 0 votes Greatest hits from previous weeks: Does UNICEF use less than 14% of the donated money for the advertised causes? I have heard claims from several people in relation to the occasional donation my wife or I make: that some charities have so much waste in their organization, or use so much money to market their ... finance money charities   asked by romkyns 40 votes answered by Rory 53 votes Could people perceive the color blue in ancient times? This article claims that no ancient language anywhere in the world had the word for "blue", that for instance Homer described the sea as "wine-dark", and that the color blue has only appeared more ... physiology neurology perception colors linguistics   asked by o0'. 85 votes answered by Nikko 84 votes Can you answer these? Did Marie Curie say "Nothing in life is to be feared, it's only to be understood."? The Art and Science museum in Singapore quoted Marie Curie as saying: Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood I was trying to lookup the source of that quote, it's sourced ... quotes   asked by Kit Sunde 3 votes Can bee stings be treated with onions? Someone told me that when you have a bee sting you should cut an onion in half and apply it to the sting for 30min - or even better make onion puree and apply it. This sounds a bit like from an old ... alternative-medicine toxicology bees   asked by ChrisWue 2 votes Are roses popular on Valentine's Day because they are durable to transport? In Episode #603 of Planet Money, it is claimed that giving roses is a recent phenomenon. They claim roses are popular due to their toughness (and the fact they bloom close to Valentine's Day) ... history   asked by Metaception 1 vote

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