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1500 questions
152
votes
3 answers
How does Picard choose a warp speed?
How does Picard, or anyone for that matter, decide at what warp speed to travel? Obviously there are times when they need to get somewhere in a hurry and he says, warp 9 or maximum warp, but the rest of the time he just seems to pick a number at…
Sam
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152
votes
8 answers
Given a magical world, why is the Quibbler ridiculous?
Harry Potter is a high-magic setting and magic is everywhere. There are very few limits on what spellcasting can accomplish, given you know the right spell. (Some of those limits are Gamp's Elemental Laws of Transfiguration or the fact that you…
The Walrus469
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151
votes
11 answers
What is the significance of Saruman's Ring?
At the council of Elrond, Gandalf tells of his encounter with Saruman.
But I rode to the foot of Orthanc, and came to the stair of Saruman; and there he met me and led me up to his high chamber. He wore a ring on his finger.
Gandalf seems draw…
TGnat
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150
votes
8 answers
In "Civil War", why did Tony Stark and Steve Rogers choose sides that didn't reflect their attitudes?
Prior to Civil War, Steve Rogers has cooperated better with the system, while Tony Stark was more independent and even subversive. Examples:
Rogers served in the army.
Initially, Rogers was selected to be a member of the Avengers, while Stark…
Korliyon
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147
votes
10 answers
What did Padmé die of?
According to Star Wars: Episode III
MEDICAL DROID: Medically, she is completely healthy. For reasons we can't explain, we are losing her.
OBI-WAN: She's dying?
MEDICAL DROID: We don't know why. She has lost the will to live. We need to operate…
Valorum
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144
votes
5 answers
Why would Snape set his office password to 'Dumbledore'?
It seems to me that Snape's choice of password for his study when he was Headmaster was kinda weird.
Harry ran without stopping, clutching the crystal flask of Snape's last thoughts, and he did not slow down until he reached the stone gargoyle…
The Dark Lord
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144
votes
4 answers
How many times was Obi-Wan less than honest with Luke?
Despite his attempts to persuade Luke otherwise1, Obi-Wan is often less than entirely honest with Luke. Sometimes he stretches the truth, sometimes he omits important details in such a way that Luke is misled, and it could be argued that on…
Wad Cheber
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143
votes
3 answers
When and why did the Enterprise get balls?
When the USS Enterprise first appeared, its warp nacelles looked like this from the rear:
At some point in The Original Series, the ship seems to have enjoyed a mild refit, resulting in ball-like attachments at the rear ends of the nacelles that…
Praxis
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141
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3 answers
How much older was Hermione after her third year at Hogwarts?
In her third year at Hogwarts, Hermione is given a time-turner so she can take more classes. Several of her classes are concurrent to each other, so she attends one class (for 1-2 hours) goes back in time, and attends a different class during the…
Jack B Nimble
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141
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14 answers
Why is Shelob considered evil?
Shelob is an "evil thing in spider form," according to Tolkien. Now, we know that she is the "last child of Ungoliant to trouble the unhappy world," we know that she is fairly deficient in charm, and that she is quite capable of catching and eating…
Misha R
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140
votes
10 answers
If diary Tom Riddle had succeeded, would there have been two Voldemorts?
As teenager Tom Riddle is speaking to Harry Potter in the Chamber of Secrets, both he and Harry are refering to the real Voldemort in the third person. If Tom Riddle had succeeded in sucking all the life energy out of Ginny and had come back alive,…
Jack B Nimble
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140
votes
4 answers
Who created the Secret Stairs as a way into Mordor and for what purpose?
Given how there were Orcs guarding the Tower of Círith Ungol at the top of the stairs, we can infer that the existence of these stairways was definitely not a secret. Perhaps the path was meant to be used or being used at the time of the events of…
Valandil
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138
votes
1 answer
Was the Cantina music deliberately off-tune or just an artifact of cheap production?
I was discussing Star Wars: A New Hope with several of my musician friends and it seems they all agree that the Cantina music was a bit out of tune. I'm not a professional musician but I have a pretty good ear, so I'm fairly certain that's the case…
user17807
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138
votes
4 answers
Why doesn't the Discworld run out of water?
It's mentioned many times in the Discworld novels that the oceans continually flow over the edge of the disc in great waterfalls, turning into mist. But where does the water go after that, and, more importantly, how does it return to the disc? (Or,…
N. Virgo
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138
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4 answers
What do people in Westeros eat during Winter?
Speculation about how long exactly a 'Winter' lasts in Westeros, partially substantiated from comments found in the books, tend to imply that the actual coming of Winter is pretty much random — i.e., Winters may be long or short, but it's safe to…
Gwyneth Llewelyn
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