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Use of Chopsticks in the world

I'm curious about how widespread is the use of chopsticks in the world in terms of the percentage of people that use them as their main utensil when eating. Is there any estimate for this percentage?

Roughly 25%, counting China, the Koreas, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Overseas Chinese East Asian population (about 1.7 billion people in total).DOR (HK) (talk) 02:49, 9 January 2015 (UTC)

January 9

Trophy awarded to NHL winners 1918—1920

Hi all. Is the following statement right: No trophy had been awarded to the NHL winners in seasons 1917-18, 1918-19 and 1919-20 because the championship was still considered a temporary measure against Eddie Livingstone, which is why Montreal Canadiens were allowed to keep hold of the O'Brien Trophy (awarded to them in the last year of NHA play) during the period?

I'm only looking for the name of the trophy given to the NHL winners in these three seasons, if there ever was one. The upper statement merely serves as an organized collection of links to kixtart the research. Splićanin (talk) 06:39, 9 January 2015 (UTC)

Marijuana

Why are people not allowed to smoke marijuana and which countries or places it is allowed or illegal to smoke it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.246.52.15 (talk) 07:54, 9 January 2015 (UTC)

For the first question, see Wikipedia:Reference desk/Humanities#Why is marijuana illegal?. The discussion there is still ongoing so please don't duplicate it here.

For the second question, see Legality of cannabis. --65.94.50.4 (talk) 08:29, 9 January 2015 (UTC)

International Directory of Company Histories

Dear Wikipedia,

what's the price of the International Directory of Company Histories volumes from Gale? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.162.67.2 (talk) 11:33, 9 January 2015 (UTC)

There are details of the December 2014 issue on this page, but you have to register an account to see price information. But the page also says "If you do not wish to register, please call your Sales Representative at 1-800-877-4253 or e-mail gale.galeord@cengage.com.". Gandalf61 (talk) 12:25, 9 January 2015 (UTC)

"Au"?

I have noticed very many place names in Central Europe, particularly in Austria and nearbly Slovakia and Bavaria of Germany, have "Au" somewhere in their names. What is this "Au"? Does it have some meaning or is it just some sort of tradition in naming? JIP | Talk 18:36, 9 January 2015 (UTC)

See the second item listed in our article on German toponymy:

"-au, -aue (related to rivers or water), see German words Au or Aue. This meaning of -au (earlier spelling ow, owe, ouwe) describes settlements by streams and rivers. Example: Passau, the town Aue, rivers named Aue."

German Wiktionary's entry on the suffix -au has a bit more. ---Sluzzelin talk 19:55, 9 January 2015 (UTC)

Aha, we even have a whole article on Aach (toponymy)! (As an aside: the Shire in Tolkien's Middle Earth got translated "Auenland" in German (not "Gau", see here). ---Sluzzelin talk 20:18, 9 January 2015 (UTC)

Tolkien, per his letters, was not at all happy with translations made without his input, and was particularly unhappy with Baggins > Beutlin as if he were a shopping bag. μηδείς (talk) 20:32, 9 January 2015 (UTC)

Are the compact discs (CDs) of "Age of Empires II: The Conquerors Expansion" delivered worldwide by Microsoft or individual computer importers?

I want to know about "are the compact discs (CDs) of Age of Empires II: The Conquerors delivered worldwide by Microsoft or individual computer importers/enthusiasts". — Preceding unsigned comment added by Kiel457 (talk • contribs) 19:56, 9 January 2015 (UTC)

The game is no longer available from Microsoft, so any current distribution is by individual enthusiasts. I've not been able to find out whether it was originally sold directly by Microsoft or by Ensemble Studios. Tevildo (talk) 22:33, 11 January 2015 (UTC)

Gays celebrate Valentine's Day, too?

Do gay men and lesbian women celebrate Valentine's Day the same way as straight people? I have never seen the upside down pink triangle and the rainbow be used in my hometown of Clearlake, California or even my previous hometown of Clearlake Oaks. Deaths in 2013 (talk) 21:11, 9 January 2014 (UTC)

Generally, gay people are just like straight people, except for what types of people they want to have sex with. So some of them celebrate Valentine's day, some don't. See e.g. this newspaper blurb [1], or this list of gay events in Philedelphia [2]. I will also point out that you likely have many gay people living in your town, and they don't always feel the need to fly rainbow flags or pink triangles. Some of them probably go out to a nice dinner at a normal restaurant, just like some straight people do. Straight or gay, if they follow the advice of Dan Savage, they "F*ck first" [3]. SemanticMantis (talk) 21:19, 9 January 2015 (UTC)

Huh? Back in elementary school I used to get valentines cards from boys and girls. Where is the OP from? That might help us understand the source of the question. μηδείς (talk) 21:23, 9 January 2015 (UTC)

As I recall, in the early grades of my elementary school days, there was some type of Valentine card which everyone got a collection of (something simple, like a heart) and everyone was pretty much expected to autograph one for each classmate. Kind of pointless when it's compulsory, but it was intended to teach a moral lesson. I don't know if they still do that. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 22:44, 9 January 2015 (UTC)

I had that for a few years, too. The funny thing was it turned quietly overlooking the less lovely kids into someone(s) loudly protesting having to make a card for that guy/girl, and explaining why, for the whole class to hear. Not sure if that's why they changed it back, but it sure must've ruined some lives. InedibleHulk (talk) 02:24, January 10, 2015 (UTC)

Well-intentioned, with unintended consequences. Kind of a 1950s version of political correctness. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 04:04, 10 January 2015 (UTC)

The craft shop I work for has a special display lined up for the LGBTQ community, so they'd better celebrate it! --TammyMoet (talk) 21:59, 9 January 2015 (UTC)

You'll generally only see community emblems like the rainbow flag used for Valentine's Day in areas which are major centres for the queer community, such as Chicago's Northalsted or London's Soho. In smaller or more homogenous places, I don't think much distinguishes V-day for us queers from the rest of the community. Pride - generally in midsummer - is when you'll see the flags and suchlike. AlexTiefling (talk) 22:08, 9 January 2015 (UTC)

I'll note the OP's listed towns are not terribly far from San Francisco, whose Castro district is another world center for queer culture and events, and they indeed fly all sorts of gay flags there year round. Perhaps OP could take a field trip, though the Folsom_Street_Fair has been known to make some people uncomfortable. SemanticMantis (talk) 22:17, 9 January 2015 (UTC)

Yeah, Folsom is a pretty specific subculture. But the Castro is a pretty nice place, and worth a look. I miss strolling around SF. AlexTiefling (talk) 22:30, 9 January 2015 (UTC)

Personally I'm surprised that straight men tolerate Valentine's Day. Lace-covered cards and pink flowers ? I think straight men consider Valentine's Day to be the 2nd worst VD around. They only participate for one reason (or maybe 3, if you include the breasts). StuRat (talk) 22:48, 9 January 2015 (UTC)

There's seldom any harm in doing something your wife likes. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 22:51, 9 January 2015 (UTC)

• Ha! My gay friends celebrate Valentine's Day more enthusiastically than my straight friends. Our local chapter of Dykes on Bikes has a special fund-raising ride. St★lwart¹¹¹ 23:25, 9 January 2015 (UTC)

• Given Valentine's Day is five weeks off, I hope we don't see this "question" five more or even one more time by an IP. μηδείς (talk) 23:55, 9 January 2015 (UTC)
  • One could make note of the archive number it goes to, and direct there as needed. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 02:18, 11 January 2015 (UTC)

January 10

Numbers on city bus windshields

Lately, I have noticed a number displayed on the lower left of city bus windshields, as viewed from outside. It is not the route number, as that is above the windshield; and it is not the number of the vehicle, as that is painted on the bus body. The photos show the numbers in question in six different cities. Any idea what they are for?

1680 on this Baltimore bus	LF92 on this Washington bus	7338 on this Philadelphia bus
23 on this Los Angeles bus	F129 on this Chicago bus	20 on this New York bus

   → Michael J Ⓣ Ⓒ Ⓜ 01:39, 10 January 2015 (UTC)

Nope. Good spot. If not the bus number nor the route number, perhaps a driver number? But I can find nothing to support that. --Tagishsimon (talk) 02:04, 10 January 2015 (UTC)

I'll guess misdirection. Is there anything about these buses you haven't noticed lately? Tough question to answer, but it's always where we find the clues. InedibleHulk (talk) 02:09, January 10, 2015 (UTC)

Apparently it's the run number, at least in Chicago: [4]. -- BenRG (talk) 02:14, 10 January 2015 (UTC)

• In NYC, the number identifies the vehicle that runs the route posted at the top of the windshield. Bx3 indicates the route, nothing else. I have seen drivers exchange buses without the number on the lower left changing. I suggest you contact the MTA at MTA Info if you want a better source than my OR. μηδείς (talk) 02:16, 10 January 2015 (UTC)

"Run number" is the term I've heard in Toronto too. Same sort of idea as an airline flight number, except that (at least on some systems) the vehicle will keep one run number all day as it goes back and forth — unless there is a schedule disturbance requiring it to be turned back or swapped onto another route or something. See here a Line 2 train showing run #72, and here run #141 #130 on Line 1. --65.94.50.4 (talk) 02:59, 10 January 2015 (UTC), corrected 07:48, 10 January 2015 (UTC).

What kind of ducks are these?

Hello. I live in the Southeastern United States. The ducks I see are brown in color. They are about 30% larger than Mallard ducks. They have longer bills. Their main distinguishing characteristic is they dive underwater occasionally then re-surface. I have also not observed them foraging in the grass, ever. Another thing is that they want nothing to do with humans. If they are sitting on the bank of the pond and see a human walk within twenty feet of them they will jump in the water immediately. What kind of ducks are these? I looked through the duck articles here on Wikipedia and the ducks I am describing look very much like these: Canvasback but without the reddish head. These are more uniform in color. Also, I live further south than the described areas of the canvasbacks. Thanks. Zombiesturm (talk) 23:10, 10 January 2015 (UTC)

Canvasback hens are apparently brown-headed. The migration section notes these ducks rarely showing up in England. If they can manage that, showing up a bit further south doesn't seem out of the question. With almost all animals, ranges are rough estimates. Food supply and weather changes prompt large aberrations, and even in the best of times, the grass (or fish) can look greener on another side.

Can't say they are or aren't canvasbacks, but they might be. InedibleHulk (talk) 00:34, January 11, 2015 (UTC)

The main distinguishing characteristic of canvasbacks are whitish or light top feathers, thus the name "canvas back." These ducks aren't like that. They look just like the canvasbacks in the photos but with a darker brown uniform color. I am pretty sure there are both males and females in the pond since today I saw four ducklings. Zombiesturm (talk) 00:43, 11 January 2015 (UTC)

OK, we can probably cross them off. Maybe this Ducks of the World guide will help. InedibleHulk (talk) 00:50, January 11, 2015 (UTC)

Mottled duck? ‑‑Mandruss ☎ 11:20, 11 January 2015 (UTC)

Bangle

I encountered the word "bangle" for the first time in my life when coming back from my Christmas vacation in Nice, France, on an on-board shopping catalogue in the aeroplane. I understand it's some sort of women's, and less commonly, men's, decoration. But I don't understand what sort. All the Wikipedia article bangle tells me it's a circular decoration with jewels. I'm completely at a loss about where exactly it is worn. The Wikipedia article seems to make it a point not to tell people how bangles are worn. JIP | Talk 23:30, 10 January 2015 (UTC)

It's a bracelet. Worn 'round the 'rist. Zombiesturm (talk) 23:32, 10 January 2015 (UTC)

But they can be worn in other places too, such as around the ankles, or further up the arm or leg. What makes them bangles, generally, is that they are rigid circles, whereas bracelets can also be made from more flexible materials. Our article talks about it being considered 'inauspicious to be bare-armed' when getting married in India, and it says that right in the introduction. It also has photographs of people wearing bangles. 109.158.12.148 (talk) 00:18, 11 January 2015 (UTC)

Is a neck ring still a bangle? InedibleHulk (talk) 00:36, January 11, 2015 (UTC)

It seems to be a torc when it's on the neck. InedibleHulk (talk) 00:39, January 11, 2015 (UTC)

All the torcs I've seen have been incomplete (but almost complete) circles, though a tiny number are closed by some sort of fastening. Most torcs are not entirely rigid, presumably because this would be uncomfortable under clothing, and I suppose not everyone wants to come out every time they walk down the street! (Also I suppose the risk of theft is increased, and some of those things are insanely expensive.) RomanSpa (talk) 13:31, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

Also note that "bangles" has the meaning of "cheap jewelry". StuRat (talk) 01:54, 11 January 2015 (UTC)

Where does it have this meaning? I haven't seen "bangle" defined so, and would be interested in finding out. Thanks --Kateshortforbob _talk 17:04, 13 January 2015 (UTC)

In the USA. Note the reference to the song Baubles, Bangles, & Beads below, which equates various forms of cheap jewelry. StuRat (talk) 19:20, 13 January 2015 (UTC)

Simply put, a bangle is a hard bracelet with no moving parts. Think a clunky bracelet made of solid wood on a woman's arm anywhere from the wrist up to the elbow instead of a bracelet with a lot of charms dangling from a chain that can move around. Africans and ancient Egyptian would wear a bracelet called an "armlet" around the bicep. I wonder if it's called an "anklet" when it's around the ankle? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2602:306:8051:4D60:9483:E7C0:E0F1:8FB (talk) 14:38, 11 January 2015 (UTC)

Yes. --Antiquary (talk) 15:39, 11 January 2015 (UTC)

They are helpful for identifying long-lost, otherwise completely changed children, at least in video games. Inflexible, but still fits. InedibleHulk (talk) 23:14, January 11, 2015 (UTC)

See also Kara (Sikhism) which is sometimes described (even by Sikhs) as a bangle. Alansplodge (talk) 16:56, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

Also Baubles, Bangles, & Beads should you wish to sing along. Alansplodge (talk) 16:58, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

Or dig Peggy Lee's rendition.[5] Note the black-gloved hand pulling back the beaded curtain. It's wearing bangles. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 18:58, 13 January 2015 (UTC)

January 11

What software can I use to read text in a custom voice?

Is there software that will let me make a custom realistic voice to voice-act? I have original, copyright-free audio samples of how I want the voice to sound. Are there programs that come with sliders so you can adjust the voice sample? What is this kind of voice synthesis called? I researched on my own before coming here but I got results about that thing for people like Stephen Hawking, and when I kept digging I got results about Vocaloid. Neither of those is what I'm looking for so the correct term for what I'm asking about would be helpful too. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2602:306:8051:4D60:9483:E7C0:E0F1:8FB (talk) 14:25, 11 January 2015 (UTC)

There is software that can do that - from a sufficiently large amount of samples. But that software is owned by companies who specialize in charging large amounts of money for doing it. So for now at least, you're stuck with relatively primitive voice synthesisers that are indeed only marginally better than the "Stephen Hawking" kind of sound. SteveBaker (talk) 16:07, 11 January 2015 (UTC)

Interesting. Can you name some well-known programs in that space? What would be some useful search terms if someone is interested in learning more about the technology in general? --96.227.60.16 (talk) 20:43, 11 January 2015 (UTC)

Differences between Pavel's two book

Hello there, I have come to know about Pavel Tsatsouline's different books. But two books have confused me: Power to the People Professional and Deadlift Dynamite: How to Master the King of All Strength Exercises (Deadlift Dynamite). Both of them focuses on same lifts - PPP focuses on Squat, Bench Press and Deadlift, whereas DD focuses on Deadlift, Squat and Bench Press. What are the main differences of this two books? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks--180.234.251.173 (talk) 18:17, 11 January 2015 (UTC)

January 12

Anonymous

The recent declaration of war from Anonymous against terrorists has me wondering, what actual harm has Anonymous done to anyone that they have taken a dislike to? Yes, they've shut down web sites and such but those are back up and running in hours/days. Have they been responsible for anyone who was doing anything illegal getting discovered, arrested, or killed? Dismas|^(talk) 02:15, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

Timeline of events associated with Anonymous recounts numerous occasions where the harm done was significant - either financial (loss of business and excess bandwidth charges, for example) or personal (families receiving hate mail, obscene phone calls, and bogus pizza and pornography deliveries for example). In the case of the attack on the Epilepsy foundation, these attacks actually attempted to cause epileptic siezures by replacing normal support forum content with violently flashing screens, etc.

So, yeah - the harm is very often real. Whether it's justified is very often a matter of opinion. So read the list and form your own. SteveBaker (talk) 04:17, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

Also keep in mind, Anonymous (with a capital) is still just anonymous (without). The same generic type have been fighting the War on Terror since before it started. Find any drone attack story, and look for the name of the killer. It'll be something as vague. If we don't know which Anonymous are doing what, we can't keep score. InedibleHulk (talk) 04:35, January 12, 2015 (UTC)

Apparently, the pro-ISIS nobodies are equally suited to wage slightly annoying war on America. InedibleHulk (talk) 03:32, January 13, 2015 (UTC)

Major League Baseball

Why do major league ball players always high five and congradulate their own players instead of the opponets after a game? Other proffesional sports do. How can we teach our younger generation sportsmanship this way? [Email removed] — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.80.208.154 (talk) 03:15, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

It's human nature to look out for ourselves, and those who help us. Same sort of reason we generally don't buy groceries for the neighbour kids instead of our own. There's only so much to go around. In baseball, instead of food and self preservation, it's confidence and self esteem. If you give that to the team trying to knock you out of the playoffs, you'd be helping yourself fail. If you encourage your team, you might get your face in the cereal aisle one day.

If we want to shape humans against their nature, parenting, school and mass media are the surest bets. InedibleHulk (talk) 04:14, January 12, 2015 (UTC)

It used to not be done at all, except at the end of a given Stanley Cup series. It was actively discouraged. It was called "fraternization". You see a lot more of it now, in basketball and football, and it turns up in baseball once in a while too, much more so at the amateur level such as Little League. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 04:42, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

They sure didn't want any of that in pro wrestling, back while it still had a semblance of sport. All American boy Jim Duggan was set for stardom in 1987, until he was arrested driving with pot and coke. That wasn't much of a problem (still isn't), but he was driving with his rival, The Iron Sheik. Never near the top again.

In 1995, a group of main event opponents took a curtain call in Madison Square Garden. Two were leaving, one was too big to fail, but the would-be King of the Ring (1996) went to Dugganville. Unlike Duggan, he later became Triple H, who was recently announced for the International Sports Hall of Fame.

If fraternization hurts the credibility of a sport in Vince McMahon's eyes, you know it has to be pretty unbelievable. InedibleHulk (talk) 05:41, January 12, 2015 (UTC)

The no-fraternization rule in baseball probably goes back, at least in part, to times when gambling was rampant in the sport. If players of opposite teams were a little too cozy, fans could rightfully feel suspicious that collusion might be going on. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 06:06, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

Yes, rightfully. InedibleHulk (talk) 08:55, January 12, 2015 (UTC)

And that list doesn't even get into the "suspicious but not proven" concerns contemporaries had about the World Series of 1918, 1917, 1914, and possibly others. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 17:31, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

Such as my concern that they started the World War as a smokescreen. Is it also any coincidence that Strangler Lewis was suddenly reinvigorated the week after Pearl Harbor? It's what Wikipedia doesn't want us to know. Many lies in that article. Probably why they call that era the "dark age" of wrestling. InedibleHulk (talk) 00:24, January 13, 2015 (UTC)

Funny. It's worth noting that there was debate as to whether to even have a season in 1918, and the "Work or Fight" order truncated the season and caused the Series to be held in early September. It was sparsely attended, to the point where the players nearly went on strike due to expected low revenues for the players' shares. If the fix was in (which was never proven), then it would have been in order to augment their shares. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 03:36, 13 January 2015 (UTC)

If you want to be shady and unproven, best to do it in sparse attendance. That's why the inaugural Intercontinental Championship was won in a major tournament (also allegedly early September) on the one continent that, to this day, hasn't had any Intercontinental title match. This was sixty years after WWI, but still in the "dark age" before the Internet spoiled every joke. InedibleHulk (talk) 04:14, January 13, 2015 (UTC)

In football (or soccer), some of the major players on opposing sides will exchange shirts with each other after a major game. This was banned for a short while a few years ago, but the players are still doing it. It's a show of gratitude to fellow players who are doing the same job, very similar to the Christmas Truce in 1914, when soldiers on both sides met, played football, and gave each other gifts, including parts of their uniforms. The high-five, by the way, is rarely used in the UK but you might see it in football games, usually during a substitution - this is actually a rule of the game. In real life, an adult may do it with a child, but children don't do it with each other, and very rarely do adults do it with each other. There is no particlar reason for this, it's just that it hasn't caught on. KägeTorä - (^影_虎) (Chin Wag) 06:31, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

The "high five" is often seen in cricket, even by English chaps. It is however, not without risk - see High five mishap for Hadds. Australians, what are they like? Alansplodge (talk) 16:44, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

Touching gloves before (or during) a round is increasingly (sometimes sickeningly) common in mixed martial arts. Also a bit risky. Here, a sportsmanlike fighter approaches an effective fighter with the wrong idea about what hands are for, and gets kicked in the ribs for it. There are many other examples and opinions on whether not being nice to someone before you hurt them is like cheating. InedibleHulk (talk) 04:36, January 13, 2015 (UTC)

One thing that is specific to Major League Baseball: teams play one another very often during a season (it used to go up to 18 games or more per year), and these games usually come in blocks of two to four over consecutive days. You don't go all friendly with an opposing team you are going to be playing them again tomorrow or in a couple of weeks, in part because of the issues evoked by Bugs. Sportsmanship can be expressed in different ways, for example when a superstar player is about to retire, and all opposing teams play him tribute with gifts etc., as we saw last season with Derek Jeter. --Xuxl (talk) 09:12, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

Tennis is another sport where the competitors congratulate each other at the end of a match, that being a "gentlemen's sport". Not so much with professional ball. In the old days of the "original 16" across the two major leagues, each team would play each other team 22 times, for a total of 154 games. Celebratory stuff was not so common in those days. The winning team would have a big "group hug" when clinching the league title or winning the World Series, and that was about it. Usually the losing team would slink away into their clubhouse. At least in part it was the fan factor. The Yankees and Dodgers during the late 40s to late 50s were a fierce rivalry. Yogi Berra has said they were friends off the field, but the game was strictly serious business. And that's from a man who was more expressive than many of his era. Maybe you've seen the clip of the end of Don Larsen's perfect game in 1956. When Dale Mitchell took strike 3, Larsen walked off the mound toward the sidelines as if it were just any other end-of-inning. But Yogi ran out and leaped into his arms. Purists would have said that was excessive, because it was just one game, they hadn't won the Series yet. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 14:11, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

• The high-five is celebratory, and the team which has lost may not be in the mood. Handshakes are allowed in professional baseball, and post-game hand shakes were the norm for children's sports matches, but that has gone the wayside due to taunting and violence, see this decision, for example. μηδείς (talk) 17:59, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

• Not quite what you asked, but two examples from martial arts fit the scope: I'm very fond of bowing in Judo ... but if you seek to be more physical in showing your respect: In Schwingen (not a professional sport, but still taken very seriously), "by tradition the winner brushes the sawdust off the loser's back after the match". ---Sluzzelin talk 21:10, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

black bars on pre-paid envelope

What are the black bars next to the "2" on a pre-paid envelope called? For example. Do they have a specific name, or an article? Are they made out of special ink that the sorting office can scan to know what they mean? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Envelopequestion (talk • contribs) 17:24, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

Postage marks in general are called indicia, and Royal Mail uses that name for the Freepost/Business Reply mark with the two vertical lines, e.g. here. I can't find any information about what the lines are supposed to mean, but they're obviously not a barcode and they can't require special ink because businesses print these envelopes themselves, so I can only assume they mean something like "this space intentionally left blank". -- BenRG (talk) 19:31, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

They've looked like that for over 30 years - so I suspect that they are there to allow automatic machinery from circa 1980's to detect whether a letter is 1st or 2nd class post. These days, the recognition systems are good enough to spot a tiny mark or pattern as the letter zips past at high speed - but the further you go back in time, the harder that would have been to detect. So my guess is that they used these large, heavy black bars to minimize the error rate - and the post office never got around to changing the system. If that sounds kinda primitive - here in the US, if we take a bunch of post to the desk at the post office - all carefully marked with that pattern of short and long bars that encodes the destination - they still manually type the Zip code, city and state for every envelope and parcel instead of just scanning the code. Crazy. SteveBaker (talk) 19:50, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

It's RM4SCC, which is a machine readable version of the postcode. If you look carefully at a delivered envelope with a hand-written address, you should see in faint red ink (it's more visible under UV light) a similar pattern. It is painted onto the envelopes by a reader at the first sorting office the letter goes through, and is used by all subsequent sorting machines. LongHairedFop (talk) 12:41, 13 January 2015 (UTC)

He's talking about the two thick bars in the top right hand corner of the envelope, not the short bars printed above the address. --Viennese Waltz 13:37, 13 January 2015 (UTC)

THIS basically. SteveBaker (talk) 20:14, 13 January 2015 (UTC)

Yeah the OP already posted an example in his question. --Viennese Waltz 20:20, 13 January 2015 (UTC)

All they do is distinguish between first and second class post. The bars are closer together on a first class envelope.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 11:18, 14 January 2015 (UTC)

January 13

Chartered Account Office

My question is whether a Chartered Account or a group of Chartered Accounts Firm can open his or their office in a residential (Flat) Apartment ? If yes, then on what basis of the Indian Law ? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Somnath Guha (talk • contribs) 06:04, 13 January 2015 (UTC)

It would depend on zoning laws and also apartment rules. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 09:08, 13 January 2015 (UTC)

Wikipedia does not give legal advice. Please consult a qualified practitioner. --ColinFine (talk) 14:06, 13 January 2015 (UTC)

January 14

Is this phishing/scam?

I just got an e-mail that purported to be from a colleague of a friend of mine. I recognised his name immediately, though I've never seen him use this e-mail address (it was a Hotmail.com address). The text of the e-mail said:

Sorry to bother you with this, I just arrived in London and I need your help, I'm in a fix. Can I get a loan of €2500? You'll have it as soon as I get back. I lost my bank card, I can't access the atm as planned. I'll appreciate what you can give if not all. It's really urgent, Get back to me asap, I'll advise on how to send it. Keep this between us. Thanks

Followed by the colleague's full name, profession and home address, which I trust to be real. For privacy reasons I won't give them here.

Now my first thought was that this is phishing and/or a scam. Besides, the person it purported to be from is Finnish and speaks Finnish fluently, and he should know I also do. So why would he be writing to me in English?

Of course I didn't reply to the e-mail. Does anyone know whether this is a well-known attempt at phishing and/or a scam? JIP | Talk 19:26, 14 January 2015 (UTC)

I have received similar emails from relatives which were frauds. Don't fall for it. Robinh (talk) 19:42, 14 January 2015 (UTC)

Me too. The one I got had all the right details and seemed very genuine, but something still didn't ring true, so I made a phone call to a third party to check it out. It didn't check out. Lesson: Listen to that voice that says "Don't trust this". -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 19:59, 14 January 2015 (UTC)

I got one of those a few years ago. The message was ostensibly from an American, and aside from the obvious "phishy" appearance, the words "car park" appeared in it, and Americans don't use that term. Oops. It would be a courtesy, as per comments above, to contact your friend and let him know someone hijacked his e-mail address. He might want to make some changes. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:09, 14 January 2015 (UTC)

They didn't hijack the friend's email address, but rather his personal info, including his relationship to the OP, and the OP's email address, and used that to send this email from his one of his own accounts. StuRat (talk) 20:39, 14 January 2015 (UTC)

As a general way to check on such scams, you need to contact the person, but not using any contact info in the email, which is likely to direct you to the scammer. Instead, contact your friend and ask him for his colleague's contact info, then use that. StuRat (talk) 20:43, 14 January 2015 (UTC)

BTW, if a colleague of a friend of mine actually asked to borrow that kind of money from me, I'd break out laughing. To borrow that much of money from me, you'd need to be a close friend or relative, and/or provide collateral. StuRat (talk) 20:45, 14 January 2015 (UTC)

It's basically a variant of the common "Ore-Ore" scam seen in Japan, except the scammer apparently had real info. Your friend might want to change his or her passwords. —/Mendaliv/^2¢/_Δ's/ 20:47, 14 January 2015 (UTC)

sharing articles on facebook

Excuse me how do i share articles on facebook? there is no handy button like so many other websites! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sidmac1981 (talk • contribs) 22:13, 14 January 2015 (UTC)

Physiology of the brain

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