Recently Resolved Ask MetaFilter Questions

Why did my iPhone get so much worse at face ID?

BlahLaLa — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 14:36:10 -0800

I have an iPhone 13 Pro Max. A couple of updates back, a few months ago, the phone got significantly worse at recognizing my face. Whether that's when I'm trying to unlock the phone, or trying to access an app that requires it, it either simply takes longer or says "not recognized" and asks me to try again or use my unlock code. I don't know anything about technology, but why is this? What did they change? I have restarted the phone multiple times, over the course of the last few weeks/months, for various reasons. It hasn't helped. I am currently up to date on the iOS version. I have changed nothing about my physical appearance. I don't use any kind of screen cover.

All of a sudden I can't walk very far.

rabia.elizabeth — Sun, 22 Mar 2026 09:12:31 -0800

Sudden-onset glute and low back pain on one side. Also happening: numbness and tingling into the lower leg and foot. It's interfering massively with my ability to walk any distance without a good amount of pain AND instability. Help. I'm 60-something and what seems to have brought this on in an acute way is my effort to sit on the floor crosslegged for more than what was comfortable.

To be clear I think this has been brewing for a while. I do resistance training but I never stretch, and there's been numbness / tingling on that side, low-key, for quite some time. My hips have been tighter than most people's for decades.

I have no idea what to do or what the root cause is. And I'm not in the US so I don't have a network of practitioners who might help.Friends have suggested hip and hamstring stretches, and in general that makes sense, but I have no pain in the FRONT of my hip which might indicate a PSOAS problem.

Does any of this ring a bell to you? If so, what did you do?

What song is Mamdani quoting here?

brainwane — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 06:10:19 -0800

At 20:07-20:09 in this video, after taking a bite of Taco Bell "pizza," Zohran Mamdani sings the words "and after all" and it's clearly some kind of jokey reference. It feels familiar but I can't nail down what the song is. What is it?

May That Porch Pirate Get Keelhauled

orange swan — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 21:03:34 -0800

Last week a $42 package I had ordered from Amazon.ca was stolen from my front porch. The page for my order shows a photo of my front door with the package lying on my doormat. There are internet articles that provide instructions for getting a stolen Amazon.com package replaced, but there doesn't seem to be a process for that on Amazon.ca. $42 is a lot of money for me. Do I have any options for getting a refund or replacement from Amazon.ca or perhaps from my credit card company?

Life changing face, neck or eye creams / curly hair products

paduasoy — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 15:15:16 -0800

My sister has requested "life changing face, neck or eye creams" or curly hair products for her birthday. She will be 49, and is white. Any suggestions? Needs to be available in the UK, or with reasonable postage costs and time from elsewhere. Thank you.

Help me understand tax on a brokerage account

caviar2d2 — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 11:36:49 -0800

So my wife and I have an IFP (planner) and we have IRAs rolled over from old jobs, plus a joint brokerage account where we put extra savings so it makes more money than savings. We are pretty frugal as we have to pay for our kids' college. Normally I just enter any 1099 forms in TurboTax and it doesn't seem to impact my taxes much. However, I'm doing 2025 taxes now and there's a 1099-DIV that's making a HUGE impact. More inside. The DIV for is for about $36,000 of ordinary dividends and so my taxes have gone from about neutral to me owing over $10,000 (I usually get a refund). The dividends didn't come to me directly - I guess they got reinvested? Assume I use a planner because I hate dealing with money and have no interest in learning a ton about the markets. I trust the planner and we paid about $8k in fees last year total.

Why is this year so much different? I looked at the DIV for last year and box 1a was about the same ($30k) but I got a tax refund.

Assume I'm finance dumb - the money that went into the brokerage was already taxed, and I didn't get a big dividend check, so why the tax? Am I doing something dumb by having this money in a brokerage? Help!

Bonus - we are paying out of pocket for 2 kids' college tuition. Should we get credit for that? This is the first year I've thought I might need help with taxes. I lost my job last year but had severance; this year I'm making only about 60% of what I used to make (ageism) so I'm hoping our taxes won't be so bad.

Help me plan a long June weekend

BlahLaLa — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 17:01:29 -0800

I need getaway ideas that are an easy trip when originating in Boston. Parameters inside. We can plan a long weekend holiday in June, but it needs to be an easy trip from Boston. I'm assuming this means flying, but would consider driving if it's not too far.

Participants will be joining from CA, MO and Boston -- the person in Boston has the most job pressure/least vacation time, so the rest of us are willing to go anywhere that is an easy locale for him to get to.

Some guidelines:
-- Not Cape Cod, Charleston, Hilton Head, Niagara Falls, Provincetown RI, or anything in Florida.
-- Not somewhere that's going to be utterly jammed with visitors.
-- Not anywhere else in Massachusetts.
-- Yes to outdoor stuff that's relaxed.
-- No to outdoor stuff that's full camping or requires a lot of endurance.

Other than that, basically anywhere that's a nice place to visit for a weekend. Like, restaurants or attractions or live events or museums, etc.

Recommend some podcasts

cozenedindigo — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 17:35:50 -0800

Given the podcasts I listen to, what other ones would I enjoy? I'm in need of some new podcasts to listen to on my commute to work. Given the 3 below, what others would I like listening to? No requirements on length or content, really; my one caveat is that it has SOME sort of structure, I get bored of listening to people just ramble at each other.

Lateral with Tom Scott - Trivia game show with lateral thinking

What It's Like To Be...with Dan Heath - Interviews with people in different professions

The Economics of Everyday Things - sadly on indefinite hiatus, but pretty much what it sounds like

Let's get cooking...

sardonyx — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 18:12:52 -0800

...and find a replacement bake element for a 1965 Frigidaire by General Motors range. A relative wants to replace the element in their stove. Of course it blew out after 5:00 p.m. on a Friday.

I've done the best I can phoning around and searching online but so far, I've struck out. So, I'm putting it to the hive mind to see if anybody can point me in the direction of a suitable replacement element. Note: the element in question has three prongs/terminals. The element in the photo is not the original but a universal replacement that was installed years ago, so the serial number/parts number on that won't correspond directly to the stove.

Photos of the element

NOTE: The element must be available in Canada.

Financial advisor for around $100k?

BlahLaLa — Sat, 14 Mar 2026 18:40:43 -0800

A friend of mine who has very little money is about to receive $100k in a legal settlement. They have zero knowledge of what to do with it and I'm not particularly qualified to assist. Where can they find a fiduciary to advise them, taking into account their personal situation + the fact that there are two other pending legal claims that'll probably each settle for around half that much (per their lawyer)? These settlements reflect a one-time thing, and they'll likely go through the rest of their life without being a big or even medium earner.

Robot user name offensive in France?

Rash — Sat, 14 Mar 2026 20:18:39 -0800

Why would an admin find the user ID RuggedRobot "inapproprié, injurieux ou diffamant"? (Meaning inappropriate, abusive, or defamatory.) Said user's been blocked from the French Wikipedia for this reason.

Why would potholes appear disproportionately between the wheel tracks?

alex1965 — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 08:55:47 -0800

I live in Upstate New York. About three or four weeks ago, we experienced a dramatic increase in the number of potholes. They seemingly appeared overnight. But what's really odd is that most of the potholes appeared in the middle of the travel lane, not in the wheel tracks. How can we explain this placement? I took this photo while I was driving. It's not great quality, but I think it illustrates what I mean. My intuition is that the potholes would appear mainly where the tires contact the pavement, but that's not what happened. Granted, there are definitely places where the potholes are off-center, but that's not typical -- at least not on those roads that I usually travel when commuting.

What is the evolutionary advantage of a stompy cat

runsrealgood — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 09:19:55 -0800

Based on a quick search of previous posts, the stompy cat is familiar to a lot of MeFites. Is stompiness of any benefit outside of domesticated situations? Current cat and previous cat have been notable stompers. They exhibit all the stereotypical stealth qualities of cats, but cat owners will tell you that cats can be very loud, they do stomp, and this seems to be intentional behaviour. I'm wondering how this behaviour would be useful outside of a domesticated situation.. Like, when is a wild or feral cat going to stomp? I associate stomping with a sort of declarative alpha behaviour, it calls attention to the cat's presence. And no doubt anthropomorphizing, but "Here comes asshole" is what is going through my mind, he seems to know when to be loud for maximum effect if that makes sense.

Etiquette with airport wheelchair attendant?

John Borrowman — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 15:13:08 -0800

Ordinarily you arrive at the airport early enough for a sit-down meal. On your next trip, you will need a wheelchair through security and to the flight. Is there a way (maybe with kind words and some cash) to still do the sit-down meal? Or would this be beyond the attendant's flexibility and you might as well scrap the meal idea?

So Mama, don't take my Car Care app away

Seeking Direction — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 15:28:04 -0800

I was using the CARFAX Car Care app to keep track of different maintenance and repair repairs on my car. It used to auto-populate with the location of each service and the mileage, which was extremely helpful. Unfortunately, I can no longer seem to see the locations or mileage that work was done at. It just lists a date and general description of the repair. This is frustrating because I've owned this car in a couple of states, taking it to various dealerships and repair shops, and might need to replace a part that's under warranty. But if I don't know if it's Firestone or a dealer that did the work, I'll be wasting time figuring it out. Why was the Car Care app nerfed on my end, and is there a way to get it back? In case you ask, in the past, I used to keep a binder of my cars' service records. I grew to rely on the Car Care app...and now it's not what it was. Of course it had to happen as I was moving between states thousands of miles apart. That's why I'm so frustrated.

Pain from sleeping on fractured humerus post-ORIF after new...mattress?

Seeking Direction — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 15:09:20 -0800

A few months ago, I fractured my right humerus and had to get ORIF. I was in a cast, then a sling, and for the past few months, nothing. After sleeping on a late '90s hand-me-down mattress for many years, I decided to get a new Casper foam/spring hybrid ("Dream") mattress about a month ago. While the rest of my body hurts less now, I tend to sleep on my right side, and somehow, this mattress irritates my arm more. (Further details below.) While I was in a cast, initially, I used a foam "cheese block" cradle. It served me well, but without a cast, my arm flops around in it, and it's not very comfortable.

I didn't change my pillows or comforters when I switched to the new mattress.

When I wake up, I am always on my right side, and it feels like my arm has been crushed. For whatever reason, despite my old mattress, being very worn out, I never seemed to end up in a position where I felt like I was crushing my arm.

I have had regular follow ups with x-rays with my orthopedic surgeon, and thankfully, the healing process seems to be going as well as it can.

I'm not sure exactly what's causing me to end up in this position, and why it's worse with this mattress, but any advice?

What to do with my chocolate syrup

bryon — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 15:39:52 -0800

I became allergic to dairy products last year. This has left me wondering what to do with my supply of chocolate syrup. I spent my life drinking chocolate milk for breakfast every day and occasionally putting the syrup on ice cream or in an ice cream soda. With those days behind me, what yummy thing can I use my chocolate syrup for? (I'm also allergic to bananas, if that affects your answer.)

Muybridge-esque stop-motion photos of a swan in flight?

mpark — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 15:56:19 -0800

Hoping against hope to find an old series of photos of a swan in flight, probably not by Muybridge but in that stop-motion frame-by-frame style. Details below. This video shows an old graphic demo I wrote 40 years ago. Around 7 seconds in, a bird flaps across the screen. Now the way I remember it[1], I "hand-digitized"[2] that bird animation from a series of photos showing a swan in flight. Something like this, but with a swan. Or possibly multiple swans. I vaguely remember a natural outdoors background, not the Muybridge grid. Maybe?

Anyway, I would have sworn that I found the images in our household Encyclopedia Britannica (long gone now, of course). Not sure of the exact edition but I was just at the library and the 1965 edition looked very familiar. I looked up BIRD, FLIGHT, and SWAN but did not find the photo sequence I was hoping for.

So now I turn to you. Any ideas? To recap: ISO a photo sequence, at least 40 years old, of a swan in flight which resembles the animation in the video. Possibly (probably?) in EB somewhere.

Fingers crossed.

[1] I.e., not super reliably. Hopefully I haven't confabulated this whole thing.
[2] Meaning no scanner, I just eyeballed it.

Best stopover between Halifax and Montreal?

joannemerriam — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 13:52:19 -0800

I am driving from Halifax to Montreal with a person who has seen very little of Canada. What is the best stopover between Halifax and Montreal that would split the driving days roughly in half? I don't want to go very far out of our way, but am willing to go an hour or two out of our way if there's really great scenery or if the stopover town has something really cool or kitschy that would count as an attraction in its own right. I am leaning toward Bathurst over Edmunston because from maps it looks like there's better scenery en route, but wonder if there's something I am overlooking.

Any way I can get new auto insurance immediately?

bookworm4125 — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 17:58:15 -0800

Please be kind and I'm happy to answer any clarifying questions about why I need new auto insurance ASAP. More below. For reasons I need new auto insurance as close to immediately as possible. Unbeknownst to me since I inadvertently threw away the notice, it got canceled back in early January. Because I have 3 violations on my record (2 from spring 2023 that were literally me scraping my car one 1. A narrow garage door and 2. A pole to the left of my parking spot and I foolishly used insurance to pay for the repair) and then one Feb 2025 where I scratched my neighbor's car in the parking spot next to me--I can't get mainstream insurance to cover me, and the February violation is also what caused aaa to drop me. I put a call in to Wang's insurance (or something?) and he can't get back to me til tomorrow. I tried lemonade and they won't take me bc of the violations. The spring 2023 ones will be expunged or whatever in May/june 2026 but then apparently standard insurances ALSO probably won't cover me til August bc of the lapse in policy.

I know whatever I get for the time being will be expensive but I truly need something tonight if possible, tomorrow at the latest. Any advice? I'm in San Francisco. My car has less than 30,000 miles on it, which is why I tried Lemonade but it's a nogo. I'm panicking a bit bc I feel ashamed and frankly dumb bc of ALL of the aforementioned.