r/NoStupidQuestions 22d ago

U.S. Politics megathread

36 Upvotes

American politics has always grabbed our attention - and the current president more than ever. We get tons of questions about the president, the supreme court, and other topics related to American politics - but often the same ones over and over again. Our users often get tired of seeing them, so we've created a megathread for questions! Here, users interested in politics can post questions and read answers, while people who want a respite from politics can browse the rest of the sub. Feel free to post your questions about politics in this thread!

All top-level comments should be questions asked in good faith - other comments and loaded questions will get removed. All the usual rules of the sub remain in force here, so be nice to each other - you can disagree with someone's opinion, but don't make it personal.


r/NoStupidQuestions 16h ago

Why do so many men lose their house in a divorce?

6.2k Upvotes

I feel like I hear this all the time... Is this an exaggeration? The whole "she took my house and kids and now I live in a caravan" type thing.

Surely in this day and age when women have their own money, they'd have a house/houses of their own. Do women lose their house in a divorce too? Not sure why I keep hearing about this happening to men and not women.


r/NoStupidQuestions 4h ago

How can you live and enjoy living in a small rural town in the US?

544 Upvotes

I know the wording seems very judgmental, but it’s truly being asked in a genuine way.

I’m literally asking “how” you can enjoy it… anytime I’ve lived in areas like them, there’s just not enough to do. Most of the towns have very little dining, shopping, and entertainment. And unless you’re on some natural entertainment source (lake, mountain, etc.) is even more limited.

I understand that a lot of people might be outdoorsmen, hunters, etc. but what are you doing the other 50-75% of the time?

Also, if you live in a self sufficient A-frame in a beautiful forest I get it. But like if you live in like the middle of Wyoming (not the mountainy areas, but the flat dry and dusty areas). How do you enjoy your life there?

EDIT: a few clarifications on this post. When I say rural I don’t mean you live on a lake or by a mountain, I mean like less vacation rural and more blue collar rural. Also, I’m speaking about rural where you are at least 4 hours from a major city. And to be more specific, I guess I’m thinking about the millennial that lives in the town and doesn’t have 100 acres of land and a garden and really maybe not even their own home. It’s that type of person that I’m asking “how” to.

EDIT: if you live less than 3 hours from a city you’re not the type of rural I’m asking about


r/NoStupidQuestions 16h ago

Why do so many Boomers have Dad Toenails?

4.6k Upvotes

My dad had them, uncles had them, friends' dads had them — those thick, yellow, discolored, nasty fucking toenails.

And yet, at 50, I don't have them, my friends don't have them, and I can't think of any age peer or younger that I've seen with them, even though my dad and his peers had them as early as their 40s.

What gives? What was it? Why was it so common with the previous generation yet seemingly so rare with those that came after? It's not like my friends or I go for pedicures or take care of our nails beyond standard trimming and the like. So what's going on there?


r/NoStupidQuestions 2h ago

Why do i never win bids on ebay even when i bid literally right at the last second?

288 Upvotes

ive been trying to get this vintage camera 2-3 times listed by different ppl and every single time i bid in the final 10 seconds someone else swoops in and wins it. im talking like i refresh the page, see theres 8 seconds left, enter my max bid, hit confirm and someone already won itis there some kind of tool or bot that people use to auto bid faster than humanly possible? because i dont understand how im losing when im literally watching the timer tick down and bidding the moment i can, i even tried bidding with like 3 seconds left thinking maybe im still too slow and still lost. the winning bid came in at literally the last second before mine even processed. Also its annoying because you cant see all the active bids side by side to compare or view the full bid history in one go without clicking through multiple pages. makes it hard to strategize when you cant tell if youre up against serious buyers or just casual bidders are people actually using automated bidding software for this stuff or am i just unlucky and slow at typing? genuinely dont understand how this keeps happening


r/NoStupidQuestions 20h ago

Did OJ Simpson Kill His Wife?

5.5k Upvotes

Ok I know this is dumb because this is such a famous case and stuff but I genuinely don’t know because I was not alive when it happened and have only herd about it from pop culture and movie references and comedy and so on.

Is my understanding correct that it is the case that he killed his wife and it was like supper duper obvious he did but he got away w it?


r/NoStupidQuestions 10h ago

How should I as a guy to handle this situation respectfully?

783 Upvotes

So I went out to dinner with a girl, I definitely kinda like her but we are just good friends now. And afterward we went back to her place just to sit and talk for a bit. We both ended up falling asleep on the couch unintentionally.

I woke up later around 1:30am and she’s back to her room sleeping already. I felt that staying overnight might be inconvenient or uncomfortable for her, so I planned to quietly leave. However, I realized that if I exit, the door can’t be locked from the outside without a key.

I don’t think searching her home for keys is a good idea, and I also don’t want to wake her unless absolutely necessary.

From your perspective, what would feel like the most respectful and considerate choice here: staying on the couch until morning, or waking her briefly to explain and leave, or just quietly leave with the door closed but unlocked?

PS: I also know she’s not very comfortable having male friends stay over — she’s mentioned before that she prefers not to have guys sleep at her place.

I do like her, which is exactly why I want to handle this in the most appropriate and respectful way possible.


r/NoStupidQuestions 2h ago

Why is there a sex offender registry specifically, but for example no manslaughter or physical assault registry? And are the reasons more practical, historical, public demand.. etc?

177 Upvotes

I'm not from the US, so we don't have either of those here and most criminal proceedings or criminal history of people can't be easily accessed.

If I understand the sex offender registry correctly, its function is basically a sort of public service announcement ('Be careful, this person is a sex offender, so be mindful of that when moving here or interacting with them'), also sex offenders need to announce themselves in certain situations, right? Like when moving near schools or when applying for a job (?).

But wouldn't the same make sense for someone who killed someone for example? That would also be nice to know. Or someone who has a lengthy history of getting into physical altercations and physically assaulting people, I'd think that the same logic would apply regarding safety concerns and potential interactions with them.

Looking at potential downsides (which are probably a general critique of the US justice system compared to Europe for example), it seems that giving someone such a registered status, them being able to be looked up, having to announce themselves etc., could be considered problematic as it serves as a form of 'othering', makes reintegration more difficult (eg finding housing, community, a stable job) and could thus exacerbate their problems and make reoffense more likely (that's at least what I would expect based on what I know about those social and societal factors regarding criminal behavior).

But those downsides would also be true for sex offenders currently, so there probably is some greater good justification, weighing the pros and cons for that specifically.

What are those reasons/justifications? Or is it more of a historical reason? Or is it about common law and precedent? Or is it public interest, basically people as a whole being more interested in having a sex offender registry specifically as opposed to similar registries for similarly heavy or even worse crimes, such as manslaughter?

Thanks in advance!


r/NoStupidQuestions 3h ago

Why is wine information either way too basic or way too intense?

148 Upvotes

Wine information always feels stuck at two extremes either it’s way too basic to be helpful, like vague descriptions that don’t actually teach you anything or it’s so intense that it feels like a full on class. You’re either guessing with nicer words or drowning in details about regions, soil and techniques you didn’t ask for.

What’s missing is a middle ground something practical that helps you understand what you like and make better choices without turning it into homework. Most people just want to enjoy wine and feel confident picking a bottle not become experts.

Does anyone else feel like learning about wine is either oversimplified or overwhelming with nothing in between?


r/NoStupidQuestions 16h ago

Let’s be real: no one is taking lithium batteries out pre-disposal, right ?

1.1k Upvotes

I recently had a cordless vacuum cleaner that broke, so I needed to throw it away. Well the vacuum uses an internal non-removable lithium ion battery.

I drove down to the dump and being the good citizen that I am, I disclosed to the guy at the gate, I need to throw this away but it has a lithium battery in it.

He told me he can’t accept it and that I needed to remove the battery and then I can throw the vacuum away separate from battery itself.

I then went home and no joke spend 40 minutes taking this old vacuum apart that clearly is never meant to be taken apart, just to get at the battery buried deep internally.

Afterwards I thought to myself there is no way in hell people actually do this, especially at a “entire town” scale in which you can just throw whatever you want in the trash can and forget about it - they must get hundreds of lithium batteries in the landfill a week and no one says anything


r/NoStupidQuestions 6h ago

Do people really sing in the shower?

179 Upvotes

I've seen this in cartoons, movies, you name it. Never actually saw this happen in my entire life.

So I'm curious, do people really sing in the shower? I'd be too embarrassed to even try


r/NoStupidQuestions 8h ago

If a sex offender were to attend a college and dorm there, would they have to announce it?

226 Upvotes

If somehow, a registered sex offender was accepted into a college and given permission to dorm there, would they have to tell the people in their dorming space? Obviously the school would know, if they SOMEHOW let them live on campus, would they just require them to tell people?


r/NoStupidQuestions 5h ago

Why do I feel more productive at night than during the day?

86 Upvotes

Everyone talks about morning routines and waking up early at 4 amam or 6 am. I've tried it. Doesn't work for me. But after 10 PM? I'm a machine. Writing, coding, cleaning, whatever needs doing. Brain just works better and the night silence is addictive.

Tried to explain this at work and they looked at me like I'm crazy. "Just wake up earlier!" they say. I do. I'm just useless until evening hopefully I work remotely so that my collegues don't judge me and think I'm lazy to wake up or not productive.

Is this a real thing or am I just making excuses? Does anyone else function better at night? I read somewhere that it's in the genes but not sure of this info.


r/NoStupidQuestions 2h ago

Why does it feel like fruit and vegetables tasted much better 20 years ago, or am I just remembering it wrong?

38 Upvotes

I remember as a kid, a tomato actually smelled like a tomato and had a deep, sweet flavor. Nowadays, when I buy them from the supermarket, they look perfect and shiny, but they taste like crunchy water. Same with strawberries and peaches.

Is there a scientific reason for this? Are they being bred to look good and last longer at the expense of taste, or is it just that my taste buds have aged and I’m being nostalgic for a past that didn't exist?


r/NoStupidQuestions 5h ago

Is anyone else lazier in the wintertime?

60 Upvotes

It seems like my whole body aches when it’s cold. I stay in bed longer than usual. It’s too cold to go out for a walk and if I layer up, my back sweats a lot.


r/NoStupidQuestions 1h ago

Why do people point out your body/features when its unnecessary?

Upvotes

.


r/NoStupidQuestions 2h ago

Is there really a population decline in America?

29 Upvotes

I mean every time I go to Costco, even during week day work hours, it’s insanely crowded. There are also traffic jams every single work day too. It’s also so hard to find affordable housing because of the demand. If this is considered a population decline, I can’t imagine how it would look like if the population actually grew.


r/NoStupidQuestions 1d ago

What do school bus drivers do in the middle of the day?

1.5k Upvotes

r/NoStupidQuestions 1d ago

Why is Bowen Yang leaving SNL such a big deal?

6.0k Upvotes

Look- I haven’t watched a full ep of SNL since the late 90s. I’m seeing a bunch of clips on Twitter with Bowen Yang teary eyed for his last show & it seems to be a big deal. I truly don’t know much about this man. Have other cast members gotten a big send off? Does he have a good publicist? Seriously, what’s the deal?


r/NoStupidQuestions 16h ago

If worker productivity has tripled since the 1970s because of technology, why is the "40-hour work week" still the standard instead of us all just working 15-20 hours?

263 Upvotes

I was looking at some economic data and it shows that we produce way more value per hour now than our grandparents did. Logically, if we are 3 times more efficient, shouldn't we be able to produce the same standard of living in 1/3 of the time?

Instead, it feels like we just filled that extra time with more meetings, more emails, and more "busy work." Is there a mathematical or economic reason why the 40-hour bar hasn't moved in almost 100 years, or is it just a social habit that we’re all collectively refusing to break?

I’m genuinely curious if there’s a "hard science" reason for this or if it’s just how the system is designed to keep the engine running.