Wikipedia:Reference desk/Miscellaneous

Welcome to the miscellaneous section
of the Wikipedia reference desk.

skip to bottom

Select a section:

• Computing
• Entertainment
• Humanities
• Language
• Mathematics
• Science
• Miscellaneous
• Archives

Want a faster answer?

Main page: Help searching Wikipedia

   

How can I get my question answered?

• Select the section of the desk that best fits the general topic of your question (see the navigation column to the right).
• Post your question to only one section, providing a short header that gives the topic of your question.
• Type '~~~~' (that is, four tilde characters) at the end – this signs and dates your contribution so we know who wrote what and when.
• Don't post personal contact information – it will be removed. Any answers will be provided here.
• Please be as specific as possible, and include all relevant context – the usefulness of answers may depend on the context.
• Note:
  • We don't answer (and may remove) questions that require medical diagnosis or legal advice.
  • We don't answer requests for opinions, predictions or debate.
  • We don't do your homework for you, though we'll help you past the stuck point.
  • We don't conduct original research or provide a free source of ideas, but we'll help you find information you need.

Ready? Ask a new question!

How do I answer a question?

Main page: Wikipedia:Reference desk/Guidelines

• The best answers address the question directly, and back up facts with wikilinks and links to sources. Do not edit others' comments and do not give any medical or legal advice.

See also:

• Teahouse
• Help desk
• Village pump
• Help manual

April 18

car picture for Great Storm of 1987

What are cars shown in the picture featuring the red car being damaged by the tree in the article "Great Storm of 1987"? Thanks. Donmust90 (talk) 15:10, 18 April 2016

I linkified the article name and pointed it to the section with the pic. StuRat (talk) 15:27, 18 April 2016 (UTC)

The crushed car looks like a Datsun Bluebird. In the background there's a VW Polo, a Lada Classic, and I think a Mk II Ford Granada. -- zzuuzz ^(talk) 15:32, 18 April 2016 (UTC)

A Strange Power Strip

• https://goo.gl/photos/ALnQKwMfEak8SBcU7

The site goo.gl is on Wikipedia's black list. You may need to copy and paste the URL to see the picture.

I saw this power strip in a library. This ungrounded power strip has two rails. It can accept a number of polarized or non-polarized NEMA-1 plugs.

Does this kind of power strip have a name? -- Toytoy (talk) 16:09, 18 April 2016 (UTC)

Here's a direct URL for the image at photos.google.com instead of goo.gl. --69.159.61.172 (talk) 19:46, 18 April 2016 (UTC)

Although I don't know the name, I've heard of this type. They tend to be more expensive, since they require more copper in the copper rails, and there's no provision for earth/ground and you can plug them in with either polarity. So, higher prices and less safety makes them not a very popular option. However, they might have some specialized uses where the ability to easily change the polarity is useful (you'd think reversing the polarity on a fan would reverse the direction, but I was surprised to find out this isn't the case, at least for my electric fan). StuRat (talk) 16:16, 18 April 2016 (UTC)

Er, are you imagining that your fan is running on DC power? (And even with DC, not all types of motor reverse direction when the power polarity is reversed.) --69.159.61.172 (talk) 19:46, 18 April 2016 (UTC)

Yes, this was a little fan that ran off the car cigarette lighter, but reversing the polarity did not reverse the fan direction. StuRat (talk) 20:54, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

So instead of a highly unusual DC 120V household fan you have an equally unusual AC 12V automotive plug-in fan. You seem to surround yourself with extreme rare collectibles. Could you post a picture of it?--TMCk (talk) 21:29, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

Who said I had a D/C house fan or that the car fan was A/C ? It was D/C, and, while I no longer have it, here's a similar one: [1]. StuRat (talk) 23:32, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

Thinking about it, I would expect these strips to be unavailable in the US and Canada since the introduction of polarized 2-prong plugs. I tried some Google Images searches on things like "continuous power strip" and "twist to add outlets" and found nothing relevant, and I expect this is because nobody is selling them any more. I did find this interesting design from Japan where a 2-prong non-polarized plug fits directly into the slots in any position. --69.159.61.172 (talk) 21:29, 18 April 2016 (UTC)

• The best term I can find for them is "sliding power strip". See [2]. --Jayron32 21:31, 18 April 2016 (UTC)

That device looks horrifying. It's hard to imagine, from here in the UK, why such a thing would be available. AlexTiefling (talk) 21:52, 18 April 2016 (UTC)

• http://www.cepro.com/article/joe_whitaker_builds_a_better_power_strip_submits_to_quirky/

Joe Whitaker Invents a Better Power Strip, Submits to Quirky

CE Pro contributor and A/V integrator Joe Whitaker invents ElyctricSlyde, a power strip that guarantees you won't cover up precious outlets. Vote for it on Quirky to help it to the next step.

Julie Jacobson · May 8, 2015

I found this interest invention which is probably marginally safer because of its sliding cover. -- Toytoy (talk) 00:07, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

Emergency planning

What do emergency planners do on a day to day basis? Is it quite a repetitive job? 2A02:C7D:B907:6D00:B0EE:31D9:DB3D:39DA (talk) 16:47, 18 April 2016 (UTC)

Writing, implementing, providing, completing, analyzing, planning, acting, preparing, responding, communicating, conducting, helping, working, supporting, delivering, raising, liasing, giving and developing. The usual office gig. But also on-call to attend to the worst places on Earth. InedibleHulk (talk) 17:15, April 18, 2016 (UTC)

"Gentlemen, here at the Disaster Planning Group, we plan to cause a massive fire this year, a flood next year, and, if Doctor Evil succeeds in developing his weather-control machine, a hurricane and many tornadoes the year after that." StuRat (talk) 22:58, 18 April 2016 (UTC)

Emergency planning is not necessarily a full-time job. In the private sector, disaster planning might be done by a committee of people who have various regular job responsibilities. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 14:57, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

On the other hand, often it is. My Mother was a member of the Emergency Planning Team for Hampshire (England) for several years (so public rather than private sector). Much like any other admin office, most of the Head Office team (about 6–8 people) were full time, as I believe were those in charge of facilities (i.e. Nuclear bunkers) and all the usual lecture and training stuff elsewhere in the county. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 185.74.232.130 (talk) 15:54, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

For government employees, there is a lot more ground to cover, literally. Private sector disaster planning typically has to do with developing an escape route for fire or tornadoes, and how to recover if the computer blows up. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 17:18, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

April 19

US Primary Convention Delegates

When delegates are sent to a party's presidential nominating convention, who pays their travel and expenses at the convention? Dragons flight (talk) 00:23, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

It appears that the delegates pay their own way.[3] ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 00:50, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

Mostly true, but I know from OR that some delegates receive financial help from those who (s)elect them. American Democrats Abroad, for example, may subsidize travel expenses. (There is no Republican counterpart.) DOR (HK) (talk) 16:46, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

siracusa 4xx

Tell me 2-3 sentence about this car and the producer please.--Ip80.123 (talk) 02:39, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

We have an article about the producer: Mansory; however, the article needs to be updated to include the 2016 Ferrari 488 GTB 4XX Siracusa. A google search might be more useful than Wikipedia on this subject. --2600:1004:B01B:42DB:C4DA:1612:EF07:B7C0 (talk) 04:06, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

Staff and budget for a Walmart store

I'm trying to find a couple of simple, average statistics. I'd like to know the number of staff, and the annual budget of a regular Walmart store. I'm sure there are all sorts of variables to consider. I'm just trying to illustrate a point - to compare the staff and annual (expense) budget of a peacebuilding NGO (say Search for Common Ground, for example), with the staff and annual budget of a big grocery or retail store. So the specifics are less critical, but a credible number, with a source that I can footnote/reference ... to say something like, 'This peacebuilding NGO has 100 staff and and $20M annual budget, but a 'Walmart' store (or Safeway store)...has 150 staff and a $45M annual budget. Just one store...'. Like that. I've googled around trying to find a useful statistic, but mostly I get 'how to reduce your monthly grocery bill'. Maybe my google skills need work (too). Thanks if you can point me to a useful reference. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.210.130.103 (talk) 09:51, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

Just comparing number of staff might not be useful, since Walmart and the like often have more staff, but working part-time, to avoid paying government or union-mandated benefits (in the case where they have unions). I suggest comparing number of hours worked, instead. StuRat (talk) 17:22, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

Okay, interesting point, thanks for that. However I still need help to find a source for whichever stats. I understand your point about Walmart. Most peacebbuilding NGOs have part-time interns and/or volunteers. I'm making a mostly rhetorical speaking point, so I don't need a statistically valid methodology as much as I need a simple, credible, quotable statistic. How may people work at a large grocery store, like a Safeway store, or a store like a Walmart, and what size annual budget do they have? Thanks again for anybody who can point to a couple usable stats. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.210.130.103 (talk) 18:42, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

One place you might look is at newspaper articles about a new store opening up. They often say it's "projected to bring X jobs and Y revenue to the area". Of course, if those projections come from the store, they are likely to be overly optimistic, but you said they don't need to be exact. This article mentions "as many as" (meaning optimistic estimate) 300 full or part-time workers: [4]. The budget is likely to be harder to find. StuRat (talk) 20:46, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

aromatherapy diffuser downsides?

Hello,

I am considering using some form of aromatherapy diffuser. I want to try the effect of incense in my home, but i have read that burning the sticks is harmful for the health.

Is there any downside to using aromatherapy diffusers? By downside i don't mean things like "Evaporation based diffusers may not diffuse the oil evenly".... I'm talking about issues outside of the effectiveness of the therapy itself. Is there any health issue associated with breathing in the oils? Will these oils eventually leave some sort of residue on my furniture/electronics? Is there anything else i should know about?

Thanks for the time in response!

216.173.144.188 (talk) 13:19, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

If you knock the oil over on a plastic, painted or varnished surface, you may wreck it. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 13:36, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

@Graeme Bartlett - Perhaps i should either be very careful, or consider putting the diffuser on something that will catch spills if they happen. :o

216.173.144.188 (talk) 15:16, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

Aromatherapy does not seem to be total bunk, however it also is not well understood, and its benefits so far seem limited and short-lived, as far as modern science can tell. Here are a selection of freely accessible scientific studies: First, a review article from 2000 [5]. Please read that. Next are a few specific studies [6] [7]. I have not seen in there any mention there or elsewhere of damage associated with inhaling vapors. The biggest risk seems to be the risk of wasting money, but if you enjoy it, then nobody can tell you it's a waste. SemanticMantis (talk) 14:56, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

• Too strong of an odor might block your ability to detect other smells as quickly, and some of those can be safety concerns, like smoke or leaking gas.

• Heating a liquid on the stove can cause smoke or even fire, if it burns down all the way, or add scale to pots, in any case.

• There's the risk that a visitor may not like, or may even be allergic to, the scent.

You might consider "highly localizing" the aromatherapy, say by drinking herbal tea with a pleasant scent. This will give you more bang for the buck, as you don't need to buy enough scent to fill the entire house. A potpourri by your seat during the day, or bed at night, are other options. StuRat (talk) 17:26, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

Let's spit this up. The OP is interested in aromatherapy. Nothing wrong in that, I love the smell of lavender and the faire la fine bouchea of a good brandy (which is just Rich-Banker Yuppie speak for -it smells enticing and exquisite). Both lift my spirits. But then the OP goes on about incense sticks. A no-no. Incense smoke and cancer risk Then there are scented candles that can make ones home smell like a Saigon brothel (ask any Nam' Vet). The ones on sale at my last google/doodling were all Chines in origin. The wicks use Lead. Bad! – 100 mg per hour diffused into you air. So, now we come back to aromatherapy proper. Buy the oil concentrate (lavender, frankincense, bergamot -you name it) and put a few drops on to ones handkerchief. If the OP is of that certain age that he does not posses a handkerchief – then drip it onto one's tissue that one keep in-one's pocketed and sniff pro re natter (which is posh academic talk for as-and-when-the-need-arises).--Aspro (talk) 19:05, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

Also note that not all aromas come in the form of oils. There are also water- and alcohol-soluble scents. The alcohol-soluble ones present a slight fire risk, but the water-soluble ones should be perfectly safe, unless there are pets or kids who might drink it (in this case all forms might present a danger). StuRat (talk) 20:42, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

A lot will depend on the type of diffuser you use. If you use something that doesn't need water, but just heats the oils so their molecules permeate the atmosphere, you won't get the effects that you will get if you have to use water in the diffuser. The one I've got on the go at the moment uses the same technology as the nebulisers that are used in hospitals, and apparently this forces the oil molecules down deeper into the lungs than a normal oil diffuser, so is not good if you have severe asthma or COPD. To get the effect of incense without burning incense itself, you need to use Frankincense essential oil in your diffuser. The oils shouldn't leave a residue on anything but your diffuser, which will need to be cleaned regularly. --TammyMoet (talk) 17:34, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

Why would a babysitting job require references?

On Craigslist, there is a babysitting job. It requires references. If a teenager were to apply to that job, would a good reference be one's own parents who observe how the babysitter takes care of his/her siblings? Or should relatives be avoided at all cost? 140.254.77.233 (talk) 17:29, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

References are supposed to be like reliable sources: independent of the subject! _Fortuna ^{Imperatrix Mundi} 17:31, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

If they actually provided unsupervised babysitting for their younger siblings, then I suppose that's better than no reference at all, but yes, references from relatives aren't the best option, as they are always suspect. Also note that references from other jobs are helpful. For example, if they delivered newspapers, then that's some proof of their level of responsibility, attendance, punctuality, etc. StuRat (talk) 17:32, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

Parents are statistically likelier to confuse their babies with meals (or like, whatever) than strange stoned teenagers are. Toddler gangs coming from inside the house are also a more realistic fear. InedibleHulk (talk) 08:16, April 20, 2016 (UTC)

A better reference would be previous clients who also know the parents, such as neighbors who've had their young ones babysat by her. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 18:07, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

Oh lets cut to the quick on this. If one recruits a baby sitter from Craigslist, then one wouldn't know her from Eve. 'Cause you need references. Your entrusting your own little brats into her safe keeping so that they don't set fire to your home whilst you're away. And if your proto-renegades (bigoted of your own seed) - should meet-with an accident, one needs to be sure the baby-sitter doesn't panic but knows what to do.--Aspro (talk) 19:23, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

Dig a hole out behind the garage ? StuRat (talk) 20:40, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

Even if a prospective babysitter has no bad intentions, experience is a must. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 00:24, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

I had some trouble reading Aspro's contribution. I think I've understood most of it, but what does "bigoted of your own seed" mean? Prejudiced by breeding? --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 14:21, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

Probably a typo for begotten. Iapetus (talk) 16:06, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

• If you are applying for a job, a "reference" always means someone you have already worked for or with. Ideally, a reference should be someone who can comment on how well you would do the job you are applying for, a prior supervisor (if you worked for a firm) or a client (if you worked as an "independent contractor"). As a baby-sitter, you would be working as an independent contractor, so the Craig's List ad is asking for you to provide them with names and contact information for prior clients: people whose kids you previously watched. This article here and this article here and this article here all give some good general advice on how to choose good job references. --Jayron32 14:52, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

If it's not obvious, you should always ask the person if they are willing to be a reference for you, don't just put someone down even if you "know" they will say nice things about you. Secondly, if you agree to be a reference for someone, it is bad etiquette and in some cases even illegal (in Australian labour law for example) to say bad things about someone who you agreed to be a reference for. If you don't have only nice things to say about someone, you should not accept to be a reference for them, instead of accepting and then saying negative things. Vespine (talk) 03:53, 22 April 2016 (UTC)

What is the largest series-produced item that is used only once?

Hello, I've been thinking and wondering in my spare time, what would be the physically largest series-produced item that is only used once and then discarded? Series-produced means that it more or less should not be custom made, and that the design does not change from unit to unit, and thus I think I would include things like rocket fuel containers, since they are discarded once empty and as far as I know (though I have not checked) they are not recovered, at least not usually. However, things like torpedoes cannot be included since they are only meant to be used once. Containers (as in shipping containers) are also reused. Any other ideas? Honk if you're bored. --Ouro (blah blah) 20:45, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

How about 300-foot-long tunnel boring machines? [8] --jpgordon^{::==( o )} 21:48, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

However, things like torpedoes cannot be included since they are only meant to be used once. That confused me. Doesn't this exactly meet your criterion? Except that it's not "discarded" after use, as it's been destroyed on impact with its target. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 21:55, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

See "SpaceX reusable launch system development program".—Wavelength (talk) 22:22, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

I'm assuming this is irony? They have not been used again so far, but are still in development, so this is not valid answer. Fgf10 (talk) 06:57, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

Cofferdams are sometimes constructed to hold water back while the main dam (or other project) is constructed. Not sure if they qualify as "series produced", though. StuRat (talk) 23:25, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

How about Saturn V? --2600:1004:B023:DB3A:65D2:6190:89D:80CC (talk) 03:06, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

Good shout, any expendable launch vehicle is a good answer, and Saturn 5 was indeed the largest. Question is, does the OP consider a production run that short as series-produced? Otherwise Proton rocket is a good shout, since it has been around for decades. Fgf10 (talk) 06:57, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

Miss some criteria, but just for fun fact's sake, the Seawise Giant was according to experts the largest thing ever intentionally scrapped and The Harmon was the largest thing to be tossed before it was used once. Schwerer Gustav had a less famous sister in his series, who actually was used once, if "used" is taken loosely enough. Fairly large. InedibleHulk (talk) 07:49, April 20, 2016 (UTC)

Death Star almost fits your criteria, especially as you didn't exclude fictional items. --Dweller (talk) Become old fashioned! 08:43, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

What about the big fixed oil platforms, which are set in place and cannot be moved to a new location but will eventually just have to be demolished. The largest is in excess of 600,000 tons! Some may be one off designs, but others were built in some number. 81.132.106.10 (talk) 09:56, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

I don't understand the difference between rocket fuel contains and torpedoes, since they are almost literally the same. But does OP have in mind something like the RMS Titanic, clearly not designed to sail just the once, but destroyed on its first journey? I think searching "used only once" in the Wikipedia search box will turn up other buildings, ships, railway lines etc that were used only once. --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 10:23, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

• (Edit for some reason, misread this as being about "most expensive". In that case, ignore this part.) Continuing the theme of spaceflight, the Apollo Lunar Modules were all single-use (15 were built, 10 were flown, 6 landed on the moon), as were the Lunar Roving Vehicles. The Venera spacecraft 7 through 14 of the Soviet Union are also probably an example: Venus is so hostile that spacecraft that land there are immediately destroyed, so each one only operated for a very limited time. These weren't exactly mass produced, but they were all built on a common bus. While not in the same league, medicines can be very expensive for their size - one dose of Glybera cost $1.6 million at launch. Smurrayinchester 11:22, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

If you want largest, the answer might be a Bailey bridge, a type of bridge built of mass-produced modular components. Many of these were temporary solutions to replacing broken bridges, and the largest was a 788 m bridge used after the Tasman Bridge disaster. It looks like this was scrapped when the new Tasman Bridge was built, so it was never reused. Of course, in this case, the components are mass-produced but the bridge itself needs some assembly... Smurrayinchester 11:34, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

For the largest series (and possibly largest in aggregate), try toilet paper ;-). --Stephan Schulz (talk) 12:27, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

Multiplying this by this by that first one again gets me 3.016 quadrillion square inches per year. I could be wrong, but that seems to be about 750,000 square miles, or one Mexico. InedibleHulk (talk) 13:34, April 21, 2016 (UTC)

Hello, everyone. Wows, great ideas. I have a little while so I'll go through Your answers one by one tersely: What I meant with discarding and torpedoes is that torpedoes cannot be recovered after the first use, as it is quite destructive (if all goes according to plan), I was aiming at things that can principally be recovered, but aren't. Saturn V appeals to me very much. I have just read my original post, and I feel that I was being quite vague on what I was going for. Are oil platforms really basically series-produced items? And as for the modular bridges, I'll definitely have to read up on those, it sounds fascinating. But all in all I was going for singular, complete units that are mass-produced. I know it's vague. And the Death star is quite an intriguing answer ;) cheers, Ouro (blah blah) 20:05, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

April 20

Lane markings

See this link for reference.

Often there will be a road that is two lanes (one going each direction) and it will widen to three when there is a left turn lane. Before that turn lane, there will be a series of yellow stripes as the third lane doesn't exist yet and the road is widening. Why are these yellow stripes painted on the road? Why not just start the turn lane further back? People often drive over the yellow lines (basically ignoring them) to go to the turn lane directly, so why bother with them? Dismas|^(talk) 12:46, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

Main reason is probably to keep drivers who intend to go straight at the intersection from getting stuck in the turn lane and needing to merge over at the last second. If that intersection had a dedicated right turn lane, with the left lane for going straight or turning left, then there would be no buffer zone (though the expanding right lane might get a double yellow line until the road had widened enough to safely accommodate the new lane of traffic). Also, you want to keep the lane reconfiguration from being too far from the intersection, or a driver might mistakenly get in the left lane not knowing it's a turn only lane, and then need to merge over at the last minute. Finally, those buffer zones are great for driveway access if the road has even a little traffic. —/Mendaliv/^2¢/_Δ's/ 13:13, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

(edit conflict) Because in this junction, traffic that wants to go straight ahead takes the right-hand lane. The rules of good junction design say that the default option - the one that would be taken by a driver who stays in the same lane - should be to continue on the same road, so the yellow hatching forces everyone into the right-hand "straight ahead" lane, then gives them the option to turn left if necessary. This should make it less likely that a surprised driver finds themselves in the wrong lane and has to swerve at the last minute. (An example of a junction that violates this rule is a TOTSO, or "turn off to stay on") Smurrayinchester 13:19, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

Yea, here in the US they often seem to put the break in the line where you are "supposed" to get into the left-turn lane way too close to the turn, and it's way too short, so that you would need to be able to move your car sideways to get into that lane, and only one or two cars would fit in the left-turn lane. In my experience everyone ignores that absurdity and just drives over the yellow diagonal stripes. If you try to obey the law, you won't be able to make a left turn, because by the time you get to the legal break in the line there will be a car in your spot in the left-turn lane who did the reasonable thing instead of following the law. Here's a pic that shows what I mean: [9]. Note the absurdly small break in the line that only looks big enough for a bicycle, and that there is room for only one car to wait in the left turn lane, while the diagonal lines (extending off the bottom of the pic) mean that space that could be used for left-turning cars is instead wasted, resulting in the left-turning cars blocking the straight lane and causing gridlock (if the left-turners are dumb enough to follow the lines). When cars continue to drive over the diagonal stripes, rather than the authorities removing them, they often install rumble strips, which are also ignored. StuRat (talk) 16:45, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

I agree with Stu, all too often you have to decide between breaking the law, crossing the yellow striping, and risk being hit by an idiot in the left-become middle lane (who only noticed he was going to miss his turn after he stopped texting); or obey the law, and be blocked from making the left, because now there are 10 cars in who've crossed those lines illegally, and only 6 will make it through before the light prevents the rest until the next cycle.

I got pulled over a few years back, and the policeman asked if I knew what I had done, and I was flabbergasted, and said no. He apologized, and said that I had crossed the yellow stripes (that's a band, right?) too early, and that the township had placed a quota on ticketing there as it was very lucrative; otherwise he considered I had done nothing wrong. The charge was "illegal passing" and in this case cost me quite a bit in fines and a raised insurance rate. μηδείς (talk) 20:41, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

I do believe we've gotten to the reason they paint the lines in such a seemingly crazy way. By making it illegal to drive in a safe way, they provide "revenue enhancement" for themselves, from anyone who does dive safely (and hence illegally). And the quota system deals with any police officers who refuse to give people tickets for driving safely. StuRat (talk) 22:16, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

Those strips are installed so you know that you're off the main lane. It helps prevent accidents.--TMCk (talk) 18:03, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

• The triangular area indicated by these markings is called a Gore (road) and the gore is intended to direct two lanes into gradually diverging or converging directions. In this case, the meaning is clear; as the road widens, you'd want to keep straight-moving traffic from going into the eventual turn lane; the turn lane doesn't start being marked until the road is actually wide enough. Gores are also used at exit and entrance ramps (Brit: Slip roads) and merge zones as well. --Jayron32 18:58, 21 April 2016 (UTC)

I don't believe it is a gore, that is specifically for a road split into two. I believe, in australia and the UK at least, this is called a Traffic_island. And if Sturat is even remotely serious about his conspiracy theory answer, I am not sure about the US but in Australia, the law specifically allows driving on painted traffic islands when the island is used to form a turning lane: A driver may drive on or over a single continuous line along the side of or surrounding a painted island for up to 50 metres— (a) to enter or leave the road; or (b) to enter a turning lane that begins immediately after the painted island Vespine (talk) 23:49, 21 April 2016 (UTC)

Glad to hear it, but in the US, at least where μηδείς got her ticket, that doesn't seem to be the case. StuRat (talk) 03:34, 22 April 2016 (UTC)

In most U.S. states, traffic regulations do not allow a driver to cross a solid line (white or yellow) for any normal reason. Dashed lines are to mark lanes where crossing is allowed. For example, see here for the rules for Massachusetts, though most states are similar. These rules make it pretty clear that the only acceptable reason to cross a solid line is to avoid a hazard which would otherwise be unavoidable. --Jayron32 12:45, 22 April 2016 (UTC)

April 21

Incidence rate of car crash for new drivers on the highway

Given that the highway requires vehicles to travel at or above 55 miles per hour, what is the incidence rate for new drivers to get a car accident? 140.254.229.116 (talk) 13:40, 21 April 2016 (UTC)

Do you mean for Ohio, the whole of the USA, or world-wide? According to [10], 16-20 year-olds in the USA are four times as likely to cause an accident by their driving, compared to other groups, per mile driven. LongHairedFop (talk) 14:57, 21 April 2016 (UTC)

I think you are misinformed. Here [11] is a summary of all 50 state's speed laws. Most of them have language like "the state may establish a minimum speed limit on a public way" and "No person shall drive in such a manner as to obstruct unnecessarily the normal movement of traffic upon a highway." There may be a few places in the USA with a 55 minimum, but that is not a the general law anywhere in the USA. Most places I've seen a posted minimum speed limit (WP:OR) it is listed as 40 mph. SemanticMantis (talk) 21:01, 21 April 2016 (UTC)

It is more dangerous to drive at 40 mph on a freeway than with traffic. Unless there's no traffic at all. Then 40 is safer. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 21:26, 21 April 2016 (UTC)

Do you have a reference for that claim, or do you just "feel" it's more dangerous to drive at 40mph on a freeway? Does driving at 40mph on the freeway actually causes more accidents? Or is it just annoying and inconvenient? I'm not claiming it IS safe, I'm just saying I wouldn't take it for granted without seeing some reference to back it up. Vespine (talk) 23:31, 21 April 2016 (UTC)

[12]. [13]. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 00:25, 22 April 2016 (UTC)

In my city, I can hardly get up to 40 mph on the freeway, and traffic often moves in the 25-35 mph range (bad planning, growing city, etc.). Context is important, and this is why most state laws talk only about impeding traffic and don't post absolute minimum speeds. SemanticMantis (talk) 13:56, 22 April 2016 (UTC)

April 22

Analysis of the theme music of Dallas — a request

The other day I got a tune stuck in my head. It was the theme music from the TV series Dallas. I'm not an artist, but I find that music feel-good and catchy. I don't know whether that's because it's familiar and it reminds me of a certain period of time, or whether it has good artistic qualities.

To me, the structure of the composition seems quite simple. A basic unit consists of only a few phrases, and it's repetitive.

If it's not too much work, can someone versed in music give an analysis of that theme music, for my enlightenment? I want to know, as seen through the eyes of someone educated in music: what are the structures and musical features that are identifiable, and how they relate to moods and emotions; where the composition stands in terms of artistic qualities among other contemporary ones in the same genre; and anything else remarkable.

Thanks in advance! --98.115.39.92 (talk) 12:20, 22 April 2016 (UTC)

Interesting question! For reference and convenience, here [14] is the song. I too like the song, and sometimes it pops in to my head after years of absence. Dallas_(TV_series)_in_popular_culture#Opening_title_sequence shows that it has been referenced/parodied in many places, though it's not clear how many of them also used the music. On a quick re-listen, it's got way more funk/disco influence than I remembered. Also a prominent key change. Hopefully someone else can give us more detailed analysis :) SemanticMantis (talk) 13:42, 22 April 2016 (UTC)

Oh, this guy [15] is a professor of music theory and he wrote here [16] about how much he liked the Dallas theme song when he was young, how it influenced him, etc. So I bet if you emailed him and asked nicely for his thoughts he would share them. If you try that and it works, please report back :) SemanticMantis (talk) 13:46, 22 April 2016 (UTC)

Hollowed out tree

While on my walk this morning, I came across this tree that had been hollowed out by something. The hollow is about 3' tall, about 8" deep, and maybe 4-6" wide. The tree is about 10' off a dirt road. The tree is across the road from one of the few houses on the road. What is the reason why this was done? Who would have done it? It's not my property, so I'm not looking to blame anyone or anything but it just seems very odd. Dismas|^(talk) 12:47, 22 April 2016 (UTC)

Could be the start of a tree sculpture - though it is probably more normal to do that to dead trees. 81.132.106.10 (talk) 14:13, 22 April 2016 (UTC)

Finding the tile with most amount of adjacent already generated tiles.

Don't know if this would be a math question or computer one, so I am posting on miscellaneous.
Anyway, I am creating a Markov chain map generator, and while deciding what is the tile of the map that I will generate at some moment, I decided to look for the one with most amount of already generated squares [diagonally adjacent count too and borders count as already generated adjacent tile], and then generate this tile based on all his adjacent squares.
My current method of finding the one with most amount of adjacent tiles work like this:

0-An tile can be of an type, 1, 2, 3, 4..... this means the tile type (grass, water....), or can be of type A and B, if an tile instead of being of type 1, 2, 3.... is of type A or B, this means the tile is not generated it. 0.0-All tiles are initially start by being type A, since they arent generated yet. 1-Search all tiles for the one with most amount of already generated adjacent tiles. If tied, pick an random one between the ones with most amount of already generated adjacent tiles.
1.1-Lets call the tile you found, X
2-Create an empty list called C
3-Look at all tiles that are adjacent to X and find the ones that are of the type A. Add those tiles to list C and change their type to B.
4-Search the tiles on list C for the one with most amount of already generated adjacent tiles. If tied, pick an random one between the ones with most amount of adjacent tiles. Again, lets call this tile X.
5-Remove tile X from list C
6-Go to 3

Anyway, is there some way to speed up this process? Is there some mathematical thing or whateaver, that will allow me to discover in a faster way, the tile with most amount of adjacent tiles?201.79.79.177 (talk) 13:35, 22 April 2016 (UTC)