What bulbs do I need to replace the backlight in a 1998 Subaru Forester gauge cluster? Preferably something close to the original green, and I guess I should just replace them all with LED bulbs while I'm at it.

Well, as a partial consolation, I can assure you it was fascinating reading nonetheless. From my point of view, USA are a really fascinating place and I sometimes wonder how it would be to live there, I mean in different parts of the country, or in particular cities. But I'm not moving to Texas anytime soon...
On a related/lighter note: there was this guy, Dan Peterson, I don't know if you've ever heard of him. He was a sports commentator on Italian television in the 80's/90's; he became quite famous especially for his commentaries of WWF matches, during the "golden age" of Hulkster, Macho Man, Ultimate Warrior etc. as well as for some TV ads(*)... Well, I remember him saying multiple times during those commentaries, that the most beautiful women in USA are from Texas. What do you think?
(I'm serious this time... :) )

(*) this one, for example, is still fondly remembered by anyone who was young back then. Those mannerisms were the subject of countless parodies. But why Chattanooga, TN, of all places? I think because, for Italian audiences, that name had a sort of evocative, almost "exotic" flavour, vaguely reminiscent of "Deep South".

Never heard of him till now; but to be fair, I've never been that big of a wrestling fan anyway.

Why are Texas girls called out as the ideal? They embody the spirit of the Deep South (leggy, slender yet curvy, white-skinned but well-tanned, often blonde) better than some other southern US states, which have more of a reputation for poverty and/or obesity.

But it's really a matter of where you grew up, and where your tastes lie. The Beach Boys (and later, David Lee Roth of Van Halen) showed a similar preference for California girls (who often have the time, the money and the incentive to keep in shape, eat vegan, and/or pay for body modification surgery). Myself, I've been corrupted by anime and years of martial arts training, so my own preferences skew heavily Asian. Your own mileage may vary similarly.

Let's say you're out in the bush, with no access to running water. Does antibac make your hands clean enough to take out contact lenses?

Don't need hands, just bang your head side to side on a tree until they fall out unless of course superglue was used then you may have trouble and antibac will not help..

I don't know.. that sounds kinda harmful. One of the lenses fell out, as they have done many times before (don't cheap out on lenses, folks). I could wait for the same to happen on the other eye, but I was thinking I could just pull out the other one and put the glasses on, idk.

No pain, no gain:)

One thing that puzzles me since forever: What is the correct pronunciation of the word "species"? I heard three different versions from native speakers. One is "speeshees". The others are "speecees" and "spashees" (like in "space").
Strangely the most common I heard is "speecees", although the LEO dictionary says it´s "speeshees".
Is this a regional thing?

Okay. I'll explain the Aussie difference.
Let's start with ''speecshees''...........This is not to be mixed up with ''Sheila'' be right mate'' which means ''Oddeus, it will be okay''.........It is actually the specks of rain on glasses or being caught in a down pour with glasses on and if it has happened to you then you would be screaming ''bloody speecshees'' I can't see.

''speecees'' is another not to mixed up with the three legged Bombat that occasionally walks/hops up the interior wall of the house carrying a spider in it's mouth and sometimes a Funnel Web but mostly the huge Timber Spider that we have down here,that can be bigger that a hand.It is actually another name for Wombat, which down here means ''idiot'' so if visiting our Country and you hear something along the lines, Oddeus is a bloody Wombat or ''speecees'' you will know what it means.

''spashees''......this one is much harder to explain so I'll try but if anything is not understood then a quick Google search may be needed.Imagine the middle of Winter 4am and thru the mud and slush you reach the long drop.After putting down the seat as it must always be kept up ''law of the land''.Why? you may ask is because the snakes and spiders and even a Bombat was spotted under one that had been left down by a Wombat or ''speecees'' and trudging thru the rain and getting ''bloody speecshees''it would be for some a nasty scare.
After placing one's ''clacker''in the correct position as I'm sure you realise,it is a long drop and called that for a very specific reason.(Check Google) at this stage as I don't want to confuse people with falling over a cliff which I might add at this point has happened.Okay,in position and out comes a small brick that actually sometimes if the weight isn't distributed properly make the brick in it's flight start to spin and twist and apon entering the long drop area which can be a 30 foot drop, instead of entering the qoogmire in a perfect splash as in competition diving (no splash).This beast will explode like a massive rock hitting the surface and the ''spashees'' as it's known down here can actually knock you off the seat.Now imagine on top of that with ''bloody speeshees'' and around the camp fire your buddies start cackling and laughing because they heard the ''spashees'' and then yelled out ''Sheil be right,mate and more laughter.....''Do you need a Lifeguard? Well, more laughter "Your'e on your own,Pat Malone as there's none in the bush''

''species'' is the correct term as all the others have a different meaning.But,in saying that a massive brick could be loosely termed a ''rare species''as it would take a rare breed to produce one.

I hope that has clarified your questions and anytime you need more clarification,don't hesitate to ask:)

I like Wombats. They are my favorite speeshees. How did you Aussies make them? :)

I'll hazard a wild guess. A shrimp and a couple of cans of xxxx... ?. *Shrug*

On topic...

Why is it that more and more people in recent times begin a sentence with the word 'So' and what purpose does it actually serve ?, other than to irritate.

Edit: Typo

We didn't make them, we..lll umm, they are actually breeds of 4 toed Worms and Gatt Bats that evolved over 80 zillion years and yes we have the proof as pictures carved on Dinosaur teeth told us a basic story of a native named Willy Olgativitious of the Olga Tribe who first discovered these creatures under a long drop seat, hence the original name of Willy Whooper.But, getting the Willy part dropped was a different story and actually took a referendum to change the name.Many different names were invented eg: Merkle, Mudrat,Jacktoe,KissingFool, AngelFace, but luckily they took my advise and called it a Wombatiousitionsous (Scientific title) and renamed it Wombat and I claim no fame for the shortened title as I personally thought Wombatiousitionsous was easy to pronounce and spell but in their wisdom they thought Wombat was more appropriate for my title.I hope these little tid bits of Aussie life is helpful in your next trip down here:)

It sounds more professional than starting with "Er" or "Um". Or even worse, "Like well, y'know, anyways".

So, mustard on Oreos: would you be willing to give it a try, or do it on a dare, or run screaming from the room?

Batman?