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February 25

Raising Awareness of a Franchise Brand

Hello, I was wondering if there was anything I could do in my power to make people in my area more aware of the existence of a particular franchise? I have seen this franchise in a US tv show, and I am obsessed with it. It would be a dream come true for this franchise to open a store or stores near me, as I have always wanted to visit it, but the distance is too great.

My main idea at this point is to find some way of making influential people aware of this business. I want to communicate it to them so that they will consider it when thinking about becoming a franchise owner or increasing their existing portfolio. I was wondering if there was a place on the web where this kind of person can be found. That way, I could begin to try to get them interested in the franchise. Obviously, they would make the final decision about what they want to invest in, but I would at least like them to know that this business is a possible option.

So, if any of you have any leads for this kind of thing, then I would greatly appreciate that, and my mission to bring this franchise to Glasgow could then be completed.

NOTE: I am not asking for the ability to control and manipulate people, I am only asking for ways to present my ideas to them. They will always have the freedom to choose if they are interested in them or not.Pablothepenguin (talk) 14:55, 25 February 2024 (UTC)

You should contact this franchise and inquire whether they have any plans to become present in your city. You could encourage people to contact the franchise and enter into business with them, by lobbying or whatever. Who do You mean by 'influential people'? --Ouro (blah blah) 15:56, 25 February 2024 (UTC)

Wealthy people with enough money to open franchises as well as people who already have experience with this. I am not rich enough to open a franchise myself. The main difficulty is finding these people. Pablothepenguin (talk) 16:25, 25 February 2024 (UTC)

Look who's got larger companies, better houses, better cars in the neighbourhood? Who runs for local offices? Who LOOKS like they're wealthy? Ask around? Maybe someone's refurbishing old factory buildings and turning them into upscale lofts in your area? That kind of thing. I guess. --Ouro (blah blah) 20:30, 25 February 2024 (UTC)

I was hoping there was a way to find people like this on the internet. I’m not very good at face to face conversations. Pablothepenguin (talk) 20:34, 25 February 2024 (UTC)

As I asked before, where on the internet do I find the right sort of people for my purposes? There has got be some places online where owners of existing franchises in my country can be found.

This whole darn thing makes little sense to me in any case. It should not be this hard to find franchise owners and potential franchise owners. I’m getting very annoyed now that I can’t figure this out. Pablothepenguin (talk) 20:51, 26 February 2024 (UTC)

No reason to get annoyed. I cannot think of an approach that can plausibly help you to reach your goal. BTW, have you researched the franchisor? Do they have any locations in your country? Do you have a basis for the supposition that operating a franchise near where you are located is a commercially interesting proposition?  --Lambiam 21:13, 26 February 2024 (UTC)

Don’t be that way. There must be a way somewhere. Of course opening a franchise would work. We don’t have anything like this franchise in my area. There is a huge gap in the market for it. Lots of people would love it, and it would get the high levels of popularity it gets in the US here. I did my research just fine.

Please could someone enlighten me who knows what they are talking about? Pablothepenguin (talk) 21:50, 26 February 2024 (UTC)

One need not be influential to become a franchisee. Most business or franchise owners are not wealthy or influential people, or if they are, they did not start out that way. One just needs the wherewithal to operate a business, the ability to draw up a well-researched business plan showing a good likelihood of success and the skill to negotiate with the franchisor and a bank. Given a good business plan and a cooperating franchisor, there will be banks providing a loan under reasonable conditions. So you need to find people with an entrepreneurial spirit looking for an opportunity. Wealthy people have already found their opportunities. Some articles on becoming a franchise owner: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5].  --Lambiam 11:10, 27 February 2024 (UTC)

Some important caveats to your input:

1. I live in Scotland. I doubt this really matters but it should borne in mind.

2. Links 2 & 3 don't work.

3. My main obstacle is finding hang out spots on the web for such people. I seek the sort of place where stuff I post can be read by millions. Pablothepenguin (talk) 12:18, 27 February 2024 (UTC)

I realized you live in Scotland and checked for specific legal issues before responding, but according to our article there are no franchise-specific laws in the United Kingdom. All these links work for me; in any case, you already get a reasonably thorough overview from the other three. If by "such people" you mean wealthy influential people, I suspect that that is not the best angle. Does the chain have a subreddit, such as, for example, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen? You might see if there are fellow townspeople who share your obsession and are willing to work on a plan to raise awareness.  --Lambiam 19:55, 27 February 2024 (UTC)

First of all, I can confirm that links 3 and 4 are returning 403 Forbidden errors. Are they geographically restricted perhaps? I don’t have a VPN to check, so I don’t know.

Anyway, I was wondering if there were any obvious online places where small business owners and similar folks can be found? That would help a lot. Pablothepenguin (talk) 20:27, 27 February 2024 (UTC)

What is with the long pauses in activity on this desk? There hasn’t been a single word in over 15 hours. People need to wake up if progress is to be made. Pablothepenguin (talk) 23:06, 28 February 2024 (UTC)

Maybe because (a) people need to sleep and (b) we have run out of things to tell you. Unfortunately, the World works the way as it does, not how we would like it to. Maybe some responders would have more interest if you told us what franchise you were talking about – why should anyone care about progress being made if they don't know what is to be progressed? {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 2.126.225.254 (talk) 01:36, 29 February 2024 (UTC)

I am currently in the process of looking for places to find relevant people. In particular, I’ve been poking around Reddit for a couple of days now. I will keep looking. Also, I’ll think about how to clarify what kind of franchise I’m after. I might post something about that later today, if I’m not too busy. Pablothepenguin (talk) 08:58, 29 February 2024 (UTC)

The irony of someone complaining about people not responding to their vague questions fast enough by saying "I might post something about that later today, if I’m not too busy."--User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 13:43, 29 February 2024 (UTC)

Fair point, actually. I would like to say that I am talking about something that we don’t really have in my area. I refer, of course, to frozen yogurt. I think that this could be a popular thing here. Although we do have a few dessert places in our area, we don’t have frozen yogurt in particular. It would be a nice thing to have, especially in the summer months.

Now, it won’t be an easy thing to introduce. After all, Italian style ice cream is very popular in Greater Glasgow and Ayrshire, and Galloway dairies also exist, but sometimes it’s good to be different for once. It would be nice to break up the monotony of our existing dessert options. By necessity, such a thing would work best in Glasgow itself, and maybe Edinburgh, so independent dessert parlours in rural areas need not be too concerned. Quite easily I believe my intentions are pure, and the joy that will be brought to people by these ideas will surely justify the expense. I will be patient, and I will never give up, even if it takes years. Pablothepenguin (talk) 19:09, 29 February 2024 (UTC)

It strikes me that it would be far easier to persuade local producers to make, and existing dessert/ice-cream parlours to offer, frozen yoghurt as an addition to their menu than to introduce a separate new franchise specialising in a comestible hitherto unfamiliar to the Hibernian populace. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 2.126.225.254 (talk) 15:33, 1 March 2024 (UTC)

The machinery and ingredients used by franchises may be required to be purchased from specific suppliers that are not available in your country. It is unlikely that the company would grant a single franchise location so far outside of their usual area as the increased costs and difficulties would hinder profitability. The suggestion of a local company adding frozen yogurt to their offerings seems more likely to succeed.--User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 16:11, 1 March 2024 (UTC)

For many years there was a frozen yoghurt stall in Hempstead Shopping Centre, Kent. I've no idea if it was a franchise or an independent business. It had to move to make way for extended seating at a Greggs. Your idea is not therefore novel in the UK as a whole, but I know nothing about the business other than a happy customer. Martin of Sheffield (talk) 16:32, 1 March 2024 (UTC)

In reply to the above comments, I note that the IP user has gotten my country wrong, so I will consider their comment to not be trustworthy. Besides, Martin of Sheffield says that the idea is not novel in the UK anyway. I would also like to respond to the comments of Khajidha by saying that the franchise I’m interested in does actually have a few locations further afield. In particular, it has a few in the Middle East which is further away from the US than I am. Therefore, they probably have a way to handle this. I don’t think their frozen yogurt machines are that specialist anyway, and they could probably ship them to Scotland and convert them to 230v 50Hz without much difficulty. Finally, I don’t think adapting an existing business would work, as a big part of the franchise is its customer experience which isn’t something we have here. I’m talking about things such as mascots, kids parties, and their variety of flavours. Although we have these things individually, we don’t have anyone who does all of them at once. Pablothepenguin (talk) 17:24, 1 March 2024 (UTC)

I would also like to add that the franchise has some other unique aspects that we don’t have. It takes a very cutesy approach to guest experience, and it places a great emphasis on putting smiles on customers’ faces. It is known to have a bright open plan layout in its stores, with a generous amount of space. But perhaps above all, the thing that it does that is the most important is use a self-service approach. Customers in this case can dispense their own frozen yogurt and bring it to the check out. There it will be weighed, as it is priced by weight. There is also an area with sauce and rows of toppings. This is quite different to any dessert place near me. Therefore, I cannot and will not rely on existing businesses near me, and I certainly won’t be making suggestions to them. Pablothepenguin (talk) 18:18, 1 March 2024 (UTC)

Is your shining example by any chance Menchie's Frozen Yogurt? I see that there are an amazing number of US-based frozen yogurt chains that use the self-serve model: next to Menchie's also 16 Handles, Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt, Sweet Frog, TCBY, Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt, Yogurt Mountain, Yogurtland, and Yumilicious. Whose approaches will appeal most to Edinbronian and Glaswegian customers? Time for a study tour.  --Lambiam 21:13, 1 March 2024 (UTC)

Most soft ice machines, which are readily available on the market in a range of capacities (and prices), can also dispense frozen yoghurt.^[6][7][8] I don't immediately see why an enthusiastic entrepreneur would prefer to become a franchisee to a locally unknown overseas franchisor and not simply begin as an independent business (with the potential, in case of overwhelming success, of expanding into a national chain).  --Lambiam 20:53, 1 March 2024 (UTC)

I can confirm that I had Menchie’s in mind. I would also like to state that there will be people in my country who know about them due to Undercover Boss. Also, spreading knowledge about this chain was the precise reason why I started this thread in the first place. That is what I need help doing. And, I will remind you of the fact that I specifically said I wanted nothing to do with local business. The fact they are not major chains yet proves they are not good enough. Also they STILL don’t have the mascots, open plan layouts or self-serve methodology that are as yet missing from my wonderful nation. Also, last time I checked, becoming a franchisee is surely cheaper and easier than starting an ENTIRE new business from scratch. Also, I specifically sought ways to get in contact with entrepreneurs about this, and you have still failed to give even the slightest hint at where they congregate online. I am simply trying to end a personal injustice that I cannot wrap my head around. I want answers. Pablothepenguin (talk) 21:42, 1 March 2024 (UTC)

There's a programme that offers "support from like-minded entrepreneurs" [9]. 2A00:23C7:9C8C:4E01:8C:BE26:D6:E6AF (talk) 16:34, 2 March 2024 (UTC)

Interesting, but I don’t know how that could help with my situation. Pablothepenguin (talk) 17:20, 2 March 2024 (UTC)

I am still waiting to hear of online places where potential franchisees hang out. My patience is being severely tested and I am getting very annoyed now. Could someone please resolve this situation? Thank you. Pablothepenguin (talk) 20:34, 2 March 2024 (UTC)

Still waiting… Pablothepenguin (talk) 22:53, 2 March 2024 (UTC)

I don't know whether there are places where entrepreneurs congregate online. If there are, I don't know about them. I also don't know how to search for them.  --Lambiam 23:16, 2 March 2024 (UTC)

Ok then, in that case, I will try asking on a Subreddit. I will also think of other possible actions for me to take. I will try to come up with something by the end of tomorrow. Pablothepenguin (talk) 00:09, 3 March 2024 (UTC)

I am still trying Reddit. I am also diversifying my search. So, would anyone know a way to quickly get the word out about Menchie’s to as many people in my area as possible? Thank you. Pablothepenguin (talk) 20:39, 3 March 2024 (UTC)

Still waiting for a response. This reference desk is an absolute joke. It should not take this long to get an answer. Pablothepenguin (talk) 10:45, 4 March 2024 (UTC)

If you go to [10] and type "entrepreneurs" into the search box you receive this invitation: If you Log in you could create an "Entrepreneurs" node. If you don't have an account you can register here. This discussion Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2008 September 23#Mr Whippy refers to Glasgow ice cream wars. You (I assume it was you) received an awful lot of advice at Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2020 December 14#How do I get this company to trade in my country? You can get started on your franchise journey at [11]. Back in 1971 McDonalds had just opened their first restaurant in Western Australia (possibly the whole of Australia) on the corner of Canning Highway and Stock Road, Perth. I would imagine there are many more of them now, so it’s doable. Good luck. 31.48.139.108 (talk)

I am STILL waiting for a serious reply. I need to know where I put up a message that lots of people will read. Pablothepenguin (talk) 19:19, 4 March 2024 (UTC)

I would like to apologise for sounding annoying over the last few days. I am going through a very rough period at this moment in time due to personal matters. I know I shouldn’t have been this way. I hope that you can understand, and I will try to be a bit more civil from now on. I’m also sorry for being impatient, I will try and work on that as well. Pablothepenguin (talk) 21:42, 4 March 2024 (UTC)

I thank you all very much for your valued input. I still hope that there will be a store near me soon. I also hope that better days will be ahead. I am no longer annoyed with the reference desk, and I will look forward to the day my dream comes true. One more thing, I was wondering if there was anything that I could do to make amends for being annoying on this desk? Pablothepenguin (talk) 19:26, 5 March 2024 (UTC)

Please draw a picture of a penguin, upload it on imgur.com and post a link here. The ideal potential franchise owner is not too bright and has a lot of money. You can probably find em at the golf club and in any crypto scam. Polygnotus (talk) 11:11, 10 March 2024 (UTC)

What on earth are you talking about? Pablothepenguin (talk) 12:13, 10 March 2024 (UTC)

February 26

Presidential legitimacy and diplomatic relations

In 2020, US and EU announced they don't consider Lukashenko as the legitimate Belarusian president (while Josep Borrell added that the 2020 elections are fraudulent). Logically, this would entail severing/suspension of diplomatic relations with Belarus, because, if I understand correctly, you can't maintain relations with country whose leader is considered illegitimate (and by continuing relations the legitimacy is logically reaffirmed rather than denied). Why relations aren't generally severed/suspended with such countries on that basis? Brandmeister^talk 19:11, 26 February 2024 (UTC)

Realpolitik?  --Lambiam 21:03, 26 February 2024 (UTC)

This opinion piece from Chatham House has some discussion of such issues [12]. It suggests the policy has been fractured and gives reason for this but I'd note it also suggests some countries have in some way limited diplomatic contact because of the issue, whether it's ambassadors leaving because they did not wish to present their credentials to Lukashenko (France), ambassadors for some countries and the EU being asked to leave, and ambassadors being rejected (US). I'm not really sure what the US ambassador planned to do i.e. whether they were going to present their credentials or refuse to. Our Foreign relations of Belarus and Belarus–European Union relations articles seem somewhat limited on recent events but Belarus–United States relations is a little better although still lacks info on the supposed ambassador being rejected. Nil Einne (talk) 05:37, 27 February 2024 (UTC)

Boxing stance

My question is about the change in stance by boxers from the "knuckles forward, torso back" approach to the "knuckles out, torso forward" more popular today. Our article at Boxing#Marquess_of_Queensberry_rules_(1867) provides a suggested explanation, albeit without a supporting reference. They suggest it was due to the addition of large boxing gloves (as opposed to bare knuckles): "Because less defensive emphasis was placed on the use of the forearms and more on the gloves, the classical forearms outwards, torso leaning back stance of the bare knuckle boxer was modified to a more modern stance in which the torso is tilted forward and the hands are held closer to the face." Okay, I guess, but I'm not sure I buy it. I don't know of any other martial art where the combatants take that odd knuckles forward stance. Even in cases where the hands are kept further from the head, the knuckles are typically facing out (i.e. to the sides so that the pinkie finger side of your hands are facing the opponent). Even if the addition of gloves is what caused the change what was the purpose of the knuckles forward affair? Matt Deres (talk) 19:29, 26 February 2024 (UTC)

It’s a great question, and something I’ve been wondering about for many years. Hopefully, someone will have an answer. Viriditas (talk) 00:43, 2 March 2024 (UTC)

Is there any existing film footage of this stance, or is it only in still-picture posing? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 00:58, 2 March 2024 (UTC)

I'm not aware of any martial art that uses exactly that stance, but I know of some that use somewhat similar postures (torso back, hands at mid-level). These are to make it easier to block low attacks. Were below-the-belt strikes allowed in boxing in the past? The introduction of gloves may also be relevant, but not for the reason stated in the article. Gloves make it easier and safer (for the attacker) to hit the head hard (without gloves, that can risk injuring the hand). The modern stance seems to be optimised for protecting the head, whereas the old stance looks like a more general one. Iapetus (talk) 13:18, 4 March 2024 (UTC)

February 27

Reliable sources on Wikipedia: Writings by professional geographers?

Would writings by professional geographers, including from the early 20th century, be considered reliable sources for Wikipedia purposes? 172.56.187.204 (talk) 03:42, 27 February 2024 (UTC)

It's not so much about the credentials of the writers themselves, it's about where their writings are published. An article by a professional geographer on a self-published blog would not be a reliable source. The same article by the same writer published in a journal or book would be a reliable source. --Viennese Waltz 06:07, 27 February 2024 (UTC)

What about if one of their books is cited, with this book itself having an extensive bibliography at the end of it? 172.56.187.204 (talk) 07:24, 28 February 2024 (UTC)

A self-published article by a subject matter expert can be used as a source, with caution. Graham87 (talk) 10:27, 27 February 2024 (UTC)

Something like that would be fine, if an independent second source could be found that says exactly the same thing. This is called backing up the first source. Pablothepenguin (talk) 12:40, 27 February 2024 (UTC)

Geography is a huge topic, covering many subfields, some of which have advanced tremendously since the early 20th century. Without stating what the geographer is being cited for, it isn't possible to make any sensible comment on reliability. AndyTheGrump (talk) 13:20, 27 February 2024 (UTC)

We have a page dedicated to such questions: Wikipedia:Reliable sources/Noticeboard. As is stated there:

Context is important: supply the source, the article it is used in, and the claim it supports.

If the expert is notable, you can turn the point into an unassailable factual statement by presenting it not as a fact but as an opinion, using a formulation such as,

However, Cathy Whitlock has argued that the reported radiocarbon ages from terrestrial pollen concentrates in Yellowstone Lake are much too old.^[123]

 --Lambiam 08:02, 28 February 2024 (UTC)

February 29

BBC radio archives

Hello, I'm looking for information about archival WWII-era, BBC radio recordings consisting of four separate radio programs read by E. Graham Howe. The lectures or shows were titled "Cross Purposes", "Create and Share", "How Long", and "The Great Unseen". There is evidently information about these BBC radio shows in the book Where this War Hits You: Four Broadcast Talks (1941) OCLC 2174883, which represents an edited transcript in book form. I'm hoping the book also includes more information about the broadcast. Obviously, I do not have access to this work. What's odd, is that the four shows were supposed to be somewhat controversial, but I can find nothing about the controversy. I'm wondering if the chaos of this war-time era is responsible for the dearth of information on this subject. So I guess what I'm asking is, can anyone find anything else about these BBC radio broadcasts by Howe? Internet Archive has a few words here and there, but not much I can add to the article on Howe. On Google Books, I noticed at least one major work about BBC radio during WWII, but nothing about Howe. Even stranger, I can find nothing regarding his death in 1975, neither an obituary nor a death notice nor a courtesy notice in a professional journal, which is also very odd. Viriditas (talk) 08:25, 29 February 2024 (UTC)

A bit of synthesis/OR: Graham Howe was inspired by Buddhism and knew the (German-born) Buddhist monk Nyanaponika Thera personally.^[13] Part of his approach to dealing with difficult and distressing situations in which one may feel helpless was rooted in Buddhist spirituality, and has been described as trying to "synthesize Christianity and Buddhism".^[14] If his lectures were interpreted by some doctrinal Christians as engaging in such synthesis, they may have been alarmed. Another possible point of contention may have been his advocacy of "peaceful acceptance", an "acceptance of both sides", as recorded in his earlier book War Dance,^[15][16] which, like Where this War Hits You, was based on a series of lectures.  --Lambiam 11:30, 29 February 2024 (UTC)

Alternatively, they may not have been considered particularly notable at the time. I imagine that there are a very large number of wartime BBC radio broadcasts that escaped contemporary critical comment. Alansplodge (talk) 13:11, 29 February 2024 (UTC)

Right, but that’s why I was even looking in the first place. Several sources asserted they were notable broadcasts that generated controversy, yet I can find nothing. I suspect the book says something, but what I really wanted to do was to listen to the archival lectures, which I was hoping the BBC had put online. Viriditas (talk) 22:09, 29 February 2024 (UTC)

Apologies, my comments sound rather flippant in retrospect, but my point was that in wartime, the BBC broadcast a huge number of lectures (what we might now call podcasts) by some of the most eminent minds in the country, from archbishops to trade unionists, so one being unremarked upon might not be too surprising.

However, a bit of digging reveals that there is a brief book review in The Theosophist; Vol. 63, No. 10, July 1942 p. 320 (81/89 of the pdf file).

A Google search result shows that the book is also mentioned in War Aims and Peace Aims V by Helen Lidell. My JSTOR account doesn't allow me to see more than the front page, but someone at WikiProject Resource Exchange might be able to help. That's all I could find, except that the British Library must have a copy of the book, but how you would access that, I don't know. Alansplodge (talk) 23:08, 29 February 2024 (UTC)

Update: I was able to access the JSTOR article through the Wikipedia Library, but it only says:

"Individual and shared creativeness" is the phrase used by Professor Huxley for the motive force of the new democratic society in the picture he draws in the last of his broadcast talks. [footnote 2: Democracy Marches. By Julian Huxley. 1941. (London, Chatto & Windus, 126 pp. 3s. 6d.)] The biologist and publicist is here supported in almost identical terms by a psychologist, Dr. Graham Howe, in another series of broadcasts.

Alansplodge (talk) 23:27, 29 February 2024 (UTC)

I take it that you've seen The Druid of Harley Street: The Spiritual Psychology of E. Graham Howe which has a lengthy preview on Google Books? The forward and the first chapter have some biographical details. It sounds as though he was at odds with the mainstream psychiatric community, which might explain why they didn't mark his passing. Alansplodge (talk) 23:51, 29 February 2024 (UTC)

Yes, I have access to all of the sources mentioned in this discussion, many of which appear in his biography article that I linked to up above. What I’m looking for is access to archival British newspaper indexes which might have noted his passing or the BBC radio lectures. I don’t think any of these are online or easily accessible. Viriditas (talk) 00:18, 1 March 2024 (UTC)

Someone at WikiProject Resource Exchange might be able to help with newspaper archives. The BBC Sound Archive doesn't seem to be easily accessible to the public. Alansplodge (talk) 12:07, 2 March 2024 (UTC)

Yes, that was one of my primary concerns. It's not just a problem with the BBC Sound Archive, it's a problem with sound archives everywhere. One of the most fascinating sound archives that documents the counterculture of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s in the US is held by KPFA. It's a treasure trove for researchers, but I don't think even 1% of it is online. A few years ago, I found a comprehensive index to these recordings online. I was hoping the BBC sound archives would at least have the same kind of index for the public. Viriditas (talk) 20:22, 8 March 2024 (UTC)

March 2

Eastern Townships

Do Quebec's Eastern Townships have English-speaking majority? I once thought that in Sherbrooke, street signs have English text over French text. But do streets there even have official English names? --40bus (talk) 21:44, 2 March 2024 (UTC)

The region is now majority French-speaking, by a wide margin (89%), although there are still some small pockets of English speakers. The demographic shift occurred in the late 1950s and 1960s. Street signs are in French all over Quebec (with Inuktitut and First Nation languages used as well in Native communities). Highway signs and tourist signs sometimes include English translation, but not street signs. In Sherbrooke, the majority of streets in the city center have retained their original name; many of these are English, like King Street, which is the city's main commercial street (now called "la rue King", not "la rue du roi"). Xuxl (talk) 22:01, 2 March 2024 (UTC)

March 3

Newspaper in Emergency

Whenever their has been a big news like 911/ death of Queen etc., newspaper often publish full front page with that news, or at least cover major chunk of front page with that news. What happens to advertisements which were paid to be shown on front page for that day? How do they handle other things? ExclusiveEditor _{Notify Me!} 14:47, 3 March 2024 (UTC)

Guessing. I suppose it varies from paper to paper and whether time allows it. I would suggest everything is pushed to subsequent pages, or if it is possible stories are just ditched in favour of the breaking news. As for the ads, I gather either money is returned outright if it's too late to sort of call and clarify the situation, or the advertisers are just reimbursed in some way. Mind you, if a paper is to appear in the newsstands in the morning it still has to be typeset and printed, and that takes time. I guess it all depends how last-minute the news is. If there is enough time the editors are bound to reshuffle everything and keep it tidy, contact advertisers or internally discuss whether to do a full front page big news story or just do half-page reserving the other half for other things like other stories or ads or whatever. --Ouro (blah blah) 16:22, 3 March 2024 (UTC)

I haven't looked at a newspaper in years,but back when I did it was pretty much unheard of to have ads on the front page. --User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 00:27, 4 March 2024 (UTC)

Same here. I don't know how it works in Britain, but in America I've never seen ads on the front page. At least not recently. In the 19th century, it was another thing: want-ads and such on the front page were fairly common, intermingled among the news items. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 02:09, 4 March 2024 (UTC)

Just for fun, I'll point out that one British paper, the (London) Times, used to devote its entire front page to little advertisements. In 1966 they decided that maybe all the other papers had a better idea and started putting news there. --142.112.220.50 (talk) 03:00, 4 March 2024 (UTC)

Okay, so I clarify: I currently live in a very small town (50k) and we have one or two little local papers that run ads all over the place, including the front page. Large national papers will have some kind of ads on the front page too, but not always. Back in the 1990s when the paper was a regular thing at my parents' home I remember that it was rather usual for smaller or larger ads to be on the front page, especially on broadsheets. --Ouro (blah blah) 06:12, 4 March 2024 (UTC)

If this is typical [17] newspapers don't guarantee to put advertisements in any specific location. 2A00:23D0:D89:2D01:80C2:2E34:5AE:16BF (talk) 09:45, 4 March 2024 (UTC)

I have seen various newspapers (local and national) contain full front page advertisement (though occasionally), it is usually done in large marketing campaigns. Once a newspaper reverted all photos on front page to advertise toothpaste's freshness. ExclusiveEditor _{Notify Me!} 09:48, 4 March 2024 (UTC)

"Stop press" and "Latest" were very different. The box you referred to would be a "Latest" or "Late news" box which could be printed into by a separate stereotype, basically an overprint. "Stop press" and "Hold the front page" much beloved of Holywood referred to recasting the whole front page and would only be done in extremis. Do bear in mind though that the larger national (UK) papers went through several editions as the night wore on. Martin of Sheffield (talk) 10:29, 4 March 2024 (UTC)

The expression beloved of Hollywood (double L there) is "stop the presses". (And I remember one relatively modern movie, possibly I Love Trouble, where someone runs into the pressroom and gives that order and nothing happens, because hey, they don't do that any more.) But I've seen newspapers or reproductions of same, that had what Martin calls a "late news" box and it was titled "stop press news". I'm sure the paper or papers I'm thinking of were British but I have no recollection of which. --142.112.220.50 (talk) 14:27, 4 March 2024 (UTC)

This discussion is drifting away from the topic, and it seems it has become a unrelated forum. ExclusiveEditor _{Notify Me!} 14:34, 4 March 2024 (UTC)

Thepaperboy.com allows you to see UK paper front pages for specific dates. The page for Friday, 9 September 2022 shows no adverts. Most of the papers have a (near) full page photo, except the Independent and Evening Standard, which apparently missed the big news. By comparison some of the papers from two days earlier have adverts. As for what happens to the missing adverts, hopefully 2A00:23D0:D89:2D01:80C2:2E34:5AE:16BF's answer suffices. AlmostReadytoFly (talk) 13:18, 5 March 2024 (UTC)

Also by the way, the Toronto Sun is a tabloid and likes to use a magazine-style front cover with just a photo, a headline, and maybe some small text pointing to other items inside. I would only read it if I come across a discarded copy. One day I did that and saw that the front cover showed Leonid Brezhnev under the headline "BREZHNEV DIES", so I looked through the paper to see what other information they had. And the interesting part is, there wasn't any. So they hadn't had to remake anything but the front cover to run that "story". --142.112.220.50 (talk) 14:35, 4 March 2024 (UTC)

March 5

Dust buildup

If humans and animals produce dust in their dead skin, hair, body matter, etc., and dust isn't being removed from the world, but simply moved around and accumulated, will there come a time when there is too much dust, or a dust buildup on Earth? Will dust kill us, and if so, was Malthus right? What if we took all of the dust, packed it in a space capsule more densely concentrated than a Bangladeshi slum, and flung said capsule into the Sun? Would this be feasible and cost-effective? Any and all clarification is appreciated. Ευtγchεα 03:15, 5 March 2024 (UTC)

Would you want all the poor little dust mites to starve to death? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 04:00, 5 March 2024 (UTC)

The organic dust isn't created out of nothing: it ultimately comes from the food humans and animals eat, which is formed from the existing soil and atmosphere, and it ultimately returns to the soil and becomes part of it (although it might hang around in the house for a while). There is thus no net increase of material from this source.

In any case, the amounts are trivial compared to the scale of the Earth. Consider that every year around 40,000 metric tons of meteoritic material, including 5,000 tons of cosmic dust, fall on to the Earth every year – this is new material, but even though it's been going on for a few billion years, it doesn't seem to have caused any problems: quite the reverse, as some scientists think it might have been the source of molecules that gave rise to life. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 176.24.44.161 (talk) 04:23, 5 March 2024 (UTC)

Life has been the source of quite some problems.  --Lambiam 06:32, 5 March 2024 (UTC)

We come from dust and we return to dust. PiusImpavidus (talk) 10:31, 5 March 2024 (UTC)

Dust simply goes to create earth, along with all the other rotting vegetable and animal matter. Incidentally, the idea that dust is made up largely of dead skin cells is a myth. Shantavira|^{feed me} 09:31, 5 March 2024 (UTC)

Dead skin cells, hair, pollen, worn carpets and clothes, ash from fires, soot from internal combustion engines, dust mite corpses, sea salt, ... Most of it is simply recycled into the environment. Worn synthetic fibres can be a problem though, as they may not be biodegradable. And launching something into the sun is very hard; first get to circular heliocentric orbit and then it still requires ${\frac {1}{{\sqrt {2}}-1}}$ times the $\Delta v$ compared to throwing it completely out of the solar system. The rocket launch would create more dust than you can put in the capsule. Better combust it into simple molecules. PiusImpavidus (talk) 10:58, 5 March 2024 (UTC)

Our Dust article says: "Dust in homes is composed of about 20–50% dead skin cells". Alansplodge (talk) 14:25, 5 March 2024 (UTC)

Have you tried the Black & Decker DustBuster? Available at all good hardware stores. There are probably some instructions on what to do when the planet gets full. Martinevans123 (talk) 15:49, 5 March 2024 (UTC)

That would be good info for April 1 (along with the original question here). ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 15:54, 5 March 2024 (UTC)

I suspect James Dyson's business model relies on the earth never running out of dust. The more the merrier, in fact. Martinevans123 (talk) 16:06, 5 March 2024 (UTC)

There is a humorous short story in which household dust is teleported to a neighboring universe, until the people there get fed up and start sending trash back. —Tamfang (talk) 00:33, 6 March 2024 (UTC)

Somebody get this hero a dust barnstar pronto Ευtγchεα 20:52, 5 March 2024 (UTC)

Rosh Hashanah and centuries in the Gregorian calendar

In the Gregorian calendar, which repeats every 400 years, centuries (starting with years ending with "01") only start on Monday, Saturday, Thursday, or Tuesday. So, no century in the Gregorian calendar starts on Sunday, Wednesday, or Friday. Well, coincidentally, those are also the three days of the week that Rosh Hashanah cannot fall on.

But is there any significance of this coincidence? GTrang (talk) 16:07, 5 March 2024 (UTC)

Rosh Hashanah postponement rules? Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 01:47, 8 March 2024 (UTC)

March 6

Wp / wm images not loading

I asked at the Wikipedia teahouse and Wikimedia commons teahouse to no avail. I'm getting timeouts from upload.wikimedia that mean I don't see images on Wikipedia any more. It's been like a week or more. No images. What could be going on? I can see images browsing on my phone, until I turn the wifi connection on. So it's IP linked. If i go directly to upload.wikimedia.org, it times out. If I google wikimedia commons and click on it and upload from there, it seems like it's working. But stuff that I'd uploaded this way recently, during the problem? It worked, but now I can't see those images better than any others. Who should I be sending a message to about this? Temerarius (talk) 03:30, 6 March 2024 (UTC)

If you also have this problem viewing images on commons.wikimedia.org, it is definitely not a Wikipedia issue. You gave us much more detail here about the phenomenon plaguing you than you did a week ago at the Commons' Village pump/Technical page, in particular that it may be IP-linked. Is your IP static? Perhaps, describing the issue there again, but as detailed as is possible and reasonable, will elicit possible explanations. In the meantime, did you try other devices with your wifi connection, or your phone with other wifi connections?  --Lambiam 09:57, 6 March 2024 (UTC)

Sometimes power cycling a device (such as your Wi-Fi router) makes a stubborn problem disappear.  --Lambiam 20:44, 6 March 2024 (UTC)

March 7

CAAC Souvenir

I have been asked to identify the source of a souvenir. It is a small baby in a blanket. When you press down the baby's head, it makes a squeak sound. It is in a hand-made cardboard box with a CAAC sticker on top. I recognize the sticker with the CAAC logo and the name in both Chinese and the English letters CAAC at the bottom. But, I have no idea what a squeaking baby has to do with an airline. The assumption is that it comes from the late 60s or early 70s. If it helps, the bag also has a pair of Wuxi clay figurines in a similar hand-made cardboard box. I have a photo of the baby and the label, but I don't know how to add them here. 75.136.148.8 (talk) 15:52, 7 March 2024 (UTC)

Presumably you're talking about CAAC (airline). For uploading pictures, one option is something called Imgur. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 17:35, 7 March 2024 (UTC)

Given how annoyed some passengers get with a wailing baby on board, one would expect that an airline will try to avoid an association with squeaking babies, just like the inflight entertainment system does not serve up airplane disaster movies, or even the comedy flick Airplane!. Do you have an indication that the box and the souvenir are connected, beyond that the box may have happened to be around when the person in possession of the souvenir needed a box to store it? Could the box perhaps originally also have contained figurines? Or might it perhaps also be an accidental container for stuff not connected to the airline.  --Lambiam 19:38, 7 March 2024 (UTC)

I do not have a lot of information. These belonged to a couple who died in Framingham over 20 years ago. They traveled internationally in the 50s and 60s a great deal, but appear to have traveled less so in the 70s. I have no indication that they ever visited China. There are two boxes, both made of the same blue-printed card stock. They are hand-made because they are not squared off and the material is not cut straight. One has a very common Wuxi clay figurine set. I identified it quickly. It is factory made, not handmade. The baby is the hard one. It is a baby in a swaddling blanket. Basically, a baby head on a push rod inside a bucket painted to look like a baby blanket. Press down on the head and it goes into the bucket and makes a squeak noise. The Wuxi figurines have, in English, "Wuxi Clay" on the box. The baby has a CAAC sticker with the CAAC logo. Because the couple who owned it died in Framingham, I am beginning to suspect that they purchased it in China town in Boston or someplace similar. It is easy to find examples of Wuxi figurines. I have had no luck identifying the baby. 75.136.148.8 (talk) 21:14, 7 March 2024 (UTC)

OR— CAAC was handing out other kinds of souvenirs well into the 1980s. DOR (ex-HK) (talk) 10:22, 8 March 2024 (UTC)

https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/ has 2.7 million members Polygnotus (talk) 11:05, 10 March 2024 (UTC)

March 8

Rock dust as soil amendment

So, I've been getting my hands very dirty, trying to grow Hawaiian gardenias in containers. At the end of the day, I hope to put some of this experience to work writing articles about Hawaiian gardenias, but that's still some time in the future. One of the reasons I'm doing it is because gardenias can be very difficult due to their requirements, so it's a bit of a fun challenge for me. One thing that has me curious is the use of rock dust (mineral powder) as a soil amendment. The literature is bit odd on this subject due to the history of its use. Some people say it is just a trend and is not needed, while other gardeners swear by it. It's the only thing I haven't used yet, so I'm curious what the state of the literature says about it for container gardening. Is it helpful and will it make much of a difference for the plant, or can I get the same results using something else? Viriditas (talk) 21:09, 8 March 2024 (UTC)

A search for "controlled+experiment"+"rock+dust" yields mixed results – mainly involving the growing of tomatoes. Some report a positive effect, others no effect. (As far as I checked the search results in more detail, none reported a negative effect.) Most were not up to scientific standards, whether in the setup itself, or in the reporting of the setup (which should be detailed enough to allow replicating the experiment), or in the reporting of the results (which should be detailed enough to make statistical hypothesis testing possible). One study, which reported a significant (but small) positive effect of Azomite^® on tomato crop,^[18] may pass muster. One issue is that there are many potentially confounding factors. What works for Solanales may not work for Gentianales. What works in soils with low pH may not have an effect in soils with high pH. The mineral composition of the rock dust and its granularity can be expected to make a difference. And so on.  --Lambiam 12:04, 9 March 2024 (UTC)

Thank you. It looks like some studies show an increase in nutrient uptake leading to faster growth and yield in corn treated with basalt rock dust. Viriditas (talk) 22:18, 9 March 2024 (UTC)

At a very general level, basalt is what comes out of volcanoes, and historically people have tended to live by/on volcanoes because the soil is (reportedly) very fertile, so that would make some sense. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 176.24.44.161 (talk) 03:35, 10 March 2024 (UTC)

Declaration from the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) on the use of rock dust:

Therefore, Embrapa's official position on this topic is that, currently, there is not enough scientific information to recommend silicate agrominerals as a source of nutrients, especially potassium, or soil conditioners for agriculture.^[19]

They announce a project to assess its agronomic potential in various production systems, including biologically based ones, and, if there is scientific proof of their usefulness in agriculture, recommendations for these materials (dose, source, time and form of application) in different production systems, based on their characteristics and soil indicators. The project is now running and slated to end in April 2026.^[20]  --Lambiam 06:04, 10 March 2024 (UTC)