Skeptics Weekly Newsletter - Thursday, January 28, 2016

Top new questions this week: Was ISIS created by the USA? I hear many folks talking about the founders of ISIS and they say that USA created it to make chaos in the Arabic countries. Mark Danner (here) : "In a fact the united states created ISIS, ... united-states politics isis   asked by MedK 73 votes answered by Avery 117 votes Do men feel threatened by intelligent women? I found this posted in multiple news sites The findings, to be published in the November edition of 'Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin', concluded that men find the propect [sic] of ... psychology sexuality gender   asked by Sklivvz 48 votes answered by Sklivvz 88 votes Was this Jet Blue airplane snowed in? This image has been making the rounds of Twitter, which shows a Jet Blue as airplane completely snowed in, with just its tail sticking out. The image is said to have been taken at New York's JFK ... united-states natural-disasters   asked by Devdatta Tengshe 34 votes answered by Paul Johnson 58 votes Have only 5% of U.S. inmates received a trial? According to this article, 95% of inmates in the U.S. have never received a trial, choosing a plea bargain to avoid potentially punitive sentencing if found guilty. The reality is that almost no ... united-states criminology   asked by Calamitous 16 votes answered by indigochild 13 votes Have more U.S. senators been arrested for sexual misconduct in bathrooms than trans women? I just saw this in my Facebook feed, and now I'm curious if it's actually true. Do they actually keep records of this? It seems improbable, just because there are so many more trans women than ... united-states crime   asked by Brendan Long 14 votes Does locking one's knees lead to fainting? I have been told that locking one's knees can lead to fainting or passing out, and if you need to stand for an extended period of time you should always avoid standing and not lock your knees. I just ... medical-science biology physiology   asked by Josh 12 votes answered by pericles316 7 votes Does innovation or productivity per resident increase by 15 percent, every time the size of a city doubles? Zappos and other advocates of Holocracy frequently state the following: Research shows that every time the size of a city doubles, innovation or productivity per resident increases by 15 percent. ... productivity population   asked by mb21 12 votes answered by mb21 14 votes Greatest hits from previous weeks: Is the Ballmer Peak real? There is a myth saying that having a BAC in the 0.129% - 0.138% range can improve your cognitive abilities. This effect is called the Ballmer Peak (a reference to Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft) and ... alcohol cognitive-fitness   asked by Alexandru 81 votes answered by ESultanik 81 votes Did Fidel Castro ever make this prediction? The Bimini Times just put out this pretty interesting and prophetic Castro quote, The US will come to talk to us when they have a black president and the world has a Latin American Pope. - Fidel ... politics quotes   asked by Evan Carroll 17 votes answered by Paulo Buchsbaum 9 votes Can you answer these? Is breastfeeding while drunk dangerous? Is it dangerous for a child to breastfeed from a drunk mother? It doesn't seem to be culturally acceptable, but if breast milk contains roughly the same percentage of alcohol as that person's blood, ... children alcohol   asked by Filip Haglund 3 votes Can the Ocumetic bionic lens give flawless vision? Ocumetics claim to have developed a bionic lens that can be surgically implanted into the eye to restore clear focus to patients. For a half century, ophthalmic surgeons have envisioned an ... medical-science ophthalmology   asked by nukeforum 2 votes Do L-lysine supplements help cold sore outbreaks? Some people claim that dietary supplements of L-lysine (a type of lysine) help treat (but not cure) cold sores (Herpes labialis). The idea that lysine might work against herpes has some ... medical-science dermatology virus   asked by Sardathrion 2 votes

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