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Wife bought this small doll at an estate sale - appears quite old (1930s?), and is about three inches tall. She is convinced that it is supposed to be a likeness of someone famous. Any experts, or good guesses?
posted by davidmsc at 5:52 PM - 6 answers

I recently started getting Amazon packages addressed to “Jenny Smith” (but not actually that name) at my address. Is this likely to be a brushing scam even though the packages aren’t addressed to me? [more inside]
posted by insectosaurus at 12:37 PM - 6 answers

The battery holder for one of my bike lights died yesterday and I'm having a tough time finding a replacement. Any suggestions/links to products would be appreciated as well as suggestions on what exactly to search for. [more inside]
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 11:50 AM - 5 answers

Five heavy grocery bags from Whole Foods / Amazon fresh were erroneously delivered to my address. There’s got to be $300 worth of food in there. There is no indication on any of the bags where it was supposed to go, but each bag has a QR code. I can’t figure out how to report to Amazon that these bags were delivered to the wrong address. Help?
posted by pintapicasso at 7:11 PM - 13 answers

I got an email from a company asking me to complete a survey in exchange for an amazon voucher. This is broadly not uncommon. So I filled in their survey and thought no more about it. However they have just emailed me saying that my email address "was included in error" so instead they're offering an extra long free trial of their service. This has irked me. [more inside]
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 3:19 PM - 4 answers

Recently found. A whole box of family photos in slide/transparency format. I can deal with the Kodachrome slides, but what are these slides? They are 2 3/4" squares measured at the outside of the cardboard frame. [more inside]
posted by shoesfullofdust at 4:32 PM - 9 answers

There was a line of plastic toys in the mid to late '80s that could be found in cheaper US department stores. They were transforming robot toys that became simple 3D geometric shapes when transformed: an extruded rectangle, an extruded triangle, an irregular eight-sided thing shaped vaguely like a sarcophagus, a cube, a few others. All in solid red, gray, black, etc. They were around 6-12 cm in length and the robot instances were not terribly human looking. They had many little hinged hatches made of flat plastic hiding body parts and weapons. [more inside]
posted by eotvos at 10:07 AM - 7 answers

What with the state of the world I've been thinking about fire and flood recently. If I had to get up and go right now, what should go in my go-bag? How do I avoid putting all my eggs in one basket? Computer/digitisable stuff I guess I can have a back-up offsite or on a hard drive ready to go, but what about irreplacable/sentimental/unique stuff? How to keep important things safe but also separate?
posted by I'm always feeling, Blue at 9:53 PM - 20 answers

I know, tough question. I'm usually pretty good about bookmarking articles or videos I find helpful or useful, but if I did I can't find it. The article's premise was that Goals are not of any particular value, since people often chase after the same goals all or most of their lives. Instead the article recommended focusing on a list of things and the first thing in the list (not surprisingly) did not entail a goal at all. Somewhat more detail after the break. [more inside]
posted by forthright at 1:56 PM - 8 answers

My best friend drug me to a neighborhood book club 15+ years ago and from that point on we were inseparable. She passed away suddenly last month in her mid-50s. Needless to say, we’re all devastated and still trying to make sense of it all. Ironically, she was supposed to host book club next month and now I’ve been tasked to pick a book to read to honor her memory. [more inside]
posted by exoticlikeomaha at 7:46 PM - 12 answers

My kids’ tutor is leaving and I need a gift. I’d love to use the kids’ handprints to make something nicer and more permanent than a plain old cardstock card. I’ve found a PDF template on Etsy that would look good as a background, and my thought is to get that PDF printed on canvas and then have the kids put their handprints on top with acrylic paint. Is that a good idea? Challenge level: would like to get it done this weekend. [more inside]
posted by liet at 2:48 PM - 8 answers

Details inside to avoid spoilers. [more inside]
posted by Tehhund at 6:04 AM - 5 answers

Our company sells other peoples widgets. We also have a number of widget widget accessories of our own design. We want to create an overreaching brand name to group these products under that unifies them without boxing us in too specifically for future products. [more inside]
posted by Iteki at 4:25 PM - 12 answers

How do I recall more completely a life-changing, happy event and set of circumstances? [more inside]
posted by ragtimepiano at 3:36 AM - 11 answers

If less rain falls in one place, does more rain eventually have to fall in another to compensate? Or could there be one year that was dryer than another everywhere on earth? What would a year like that look like? Where would that extra moisture go?
posted by nebulawindphone at 8:06 PM - 14 answers

When I was about 9 or 10 (about 2000-2001), I remember seeing a movie on TV about a wealthy businessman who is taken hostage and saved with the help of his dog. I'm pretty sure it was on Animal Planet. One scene I (vaguely) remember was the owner sending a message to his family by "videophone" (long before FaceTime and even Skype were widespread) while being held hostage, possibly from his limousine. What movie could this have been? I looked up Animal Planet originals and nothing rang a bell. (The Retrievers is from this era, but from the trailer, seems way more upbeat than I remember.)
posted by Seeking Direction at 6:50 PM - 2 answers

I've just got my first Pfizer shot, and I'm feeling a strong need to mark this occasion. Both in a public way, to help spread the message that being vaccinated is normal and good, and privately, just for myself, as it feels like such an important event. Did you feel this way too, and what did you do about it? [more inside]
posted by Zumbador at 9:26 AM - 40 answers

Mickey Mantle sounds just like one side of my family sounded like. It was an older generation born about 10-15 years before him, but they said words like "Detroit," much like he did along with the same cadence. Is there a name for this accent? [more inside]
posted by geoff. at 6:33 PM - 7 answers

I'm looking for inspiration for designing some family-focused science events or experiences that will happen online and I'd love to hear about examples of live or on demand online experiences that you and your family have enjoyed in the last year. [more inside]
posted by cholly at 3:27 PM - 1 answers

We're moving into a new house, and my 12-yr-old daughter will finally have her own bedroom. She wants to turn one of the walls into a big painting canvas. I love to encourage her artistic side but...I have reservations. [more inside]
posted by gottabefunky at 3:12 PM - 64 answers