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August 4

On smiling in antiquity

Per a ref desk answer in the archives, there's no word for smiling in biblical Hebrew. Per similar, there's no word in classical Latin either. smile contains a "Historical Background" section for which that heading is a misnomer.

I don't doubt that smiling is older than history, but I wonder when we found words for it.

Ancient texts give many, many accounts of historical figures and fictional characters laughing. Sometimes it seems like it might be too much laughing: were the words for 'laugh' and 'smile' the same at this point? Seems to me if 'laughter' and 'smiling' were synonymous at one point, and 'smiling' and 'happiness' are near-synonymous now, ancient writings on happiness may take on a different meaning! Temerarius (talk) 03:14, 4 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Cassell's Latin Dictionary (1968 edition) translates the verb whose principal parts are rideo, ridere, risi, risum literally as "laugh" or "laugh at", but with transferred senses including "look cheerful" and "smile". But there is also subrideo, subridere, subrisi, subrisum (also spelled with surr-), which it translates directly as "smile". Authors cited include Cicero and Vergil, so that was certainly classical Latin. Note incidentally how these two verbs relate to the modern French rire and sourire. --76.69.47.228 (talk) 05:33, 4 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

In addition to rideo and subrideo/surrideo, The online version of Lewis & Short, where you can search for English words within the text, has annuo, arrideo, and renideo as verbs meaning "smile". (Although annuo really means "nod at".) Adam Bishop (talk) 23:00, 4 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Ancient Greek isn't my thing, but Liddell and Scott have an entry for μειδ-άω, which should apparently be translated as the verb smile. They have citations going back as far as Homer and Hesiod. --Antiquary (talk) 09:10, 5 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

In modern Greek, the term has become "μειδίαμα", which depending on the context translates to "smile", "grin", or "smirk" ("smug or scornful smile"). See: http://www.wordreference.com/gren/%CE%BC%CE%B5%CE%B9%CE%B4%CE%AF%CE%B1%CE%BC%CE%B1 and https://mymemory.translated.net/en/Greek/English/%CE%BC%CE%B5%CE%B9%CE%B4%CE%AF%CE%B1%CE%BC%CE%B1 Dimadick (talk) 10:19, 5 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

See also the Archaic smile in Ancient Greek sculpture - the Egyptian version is called the Saite smile. Also, on something of a tangent, Why the Pharaohs didn’t smile. Alansplodge (talk) 12:15, 5 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

On the second temple

Are there any accounts of the destruction of the second temple in early Christian writings? I'm sure there must. I know there's some stuff in the bible that's couched in metaphor and seemingly intentional obscurity. But I'm wondering about more literal accounts of it, and how they might shine light on the split between the Jewish and the Christian. Temerarius (talk) 15:59, 4 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

See Josephus#The Jewish war. 92.31.141.124 (talk) 16:15, 4 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

(edit conflict) Have you looked at the writings of Josephus? He was contemporaneous to the events, and participated in the Jewish–Roman wars himself, so his works are considered first-person narratives of the events in question. He was Jewish, and not Christian, but he would be one of the best sources you've got considering he was there. --Jayron 32 16:17, 4 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

I am familiar with Josephus. I know he's the best source we've got; I'm curious about early Christian writings, besides which whatever else we've got extant other than our friend Joe. Temerarius (talk) 16:27, 4 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Pieces of what you are looking for might be in This, although Josephus happens to be also mentioned in it. At the core of an otherwise widely very interesting subject. --Askedonty (talk) 08:46, 5 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

There may be some things written in the New Testament apocrypha or in other non-canonical works by early Christians, like the Epistle of Barnabas, which clearly references the destruction of the temple. --Jayron 32 20:42, 5 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

I'm curious as to how Christian accounts of the destruction of the Temple would "shine light on the split between the Jewish and the Christian". --Dweller (talk) Become old fashioned! 11:50, 6 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The sample size you're looking for (presumably eye witnesses, so people who were adolescent or adult Christians in the year 70 who survived the cataclysmic destruction and wholesale slaughter that accompanied it, wrote about it, and their account survives) is, I think, small. --Dweller (talk) Become old fashioned! 11:50, 6 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Early centers of Christianity#Jerusalem has some information; it is important to note that much of the New Testament was written during the time of the Jewish–Roman wars, and most of the authors would have been aware of the events intimately as they were alive and writing during the time. As noted at Gospel#Authors, dates and sources under most common chronologies, only the Gospel of Mark would have probably been written before the destruction of the temple. Similarly, the Pauline epistles would have been written at the same time, though most scholars date them to before the destruction of the temple, many of the General epistles can be dated to shortly after the destruction of the temple. If you check my reference above, the dates of many of the Apocrypha would have been around the right time as well; certainly many of the 1st century authors would have, even if not in Jerusalem on the day, would have been intimately aware of the war and its aftermath. James, brother of Jesus would have been the leader of the Jerusalem church in the events leading up to the destruction, and probably saw the early phases of the war; Simeon of Jerusalem was his successor, and Eusebius, two centuries later, mentions the destruction of the temple and of Simeon taking over the leadership of the Jerusalem congregation at the time. I don't know if any writings by Simeon are extant, but there were certainly identifiable Christians in Jerusalem at the time (at least, as well as we can do given 2000 years and all...) --Jayron 32 17:30, 6 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Oh I don't doubt there were Christians in Jerusalem in 70. Like all the inhabitants, they must have had a rather bad year. We can glide over the usual spurious numbers, but as our article Siege_of_Jerusalem_(70_CE)#Destruction_of_Jerusalem tells us, "Josephus claims that 1.1 million people were killed during the siege ...] Armed rebels, as well as the frail citizens, were put to death. All of Jerusalem's remaining citizens became Roman prisoners. After the Romans killed the armed and elder people, 97,000 were still enslaved ... thousands were forced to become gladiators and eventually expired in the arena. Many others were forced to assist in the building of the Forum of Peace and the Colosseum." And our article omits all mention of the horrific famine that preceded this in a city that was artificially bloated with pilgrims when the Romans arrived. --Dweller (talk) Become old fashioned! 20:55, 6 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Josephus's numbers are likely bullshit; according to List of largest cities throughout history, Rome itself had a population of 0.8-1.0 million people. I find it beyond ridiculous that there were 1.1 million people (even accounting for transient population) in Jerusalem. There probably were only about 1.1 million Jews in the world, never mind in Jerusalem; there are 18 million Jewish people alive today; and the world population is 20x bigger than in the first century. Doing a quick Fermi calculation indicates that 18/20 < 1, so even accounting for some variation, it stretches credibility to think that that many died in one siege in one city all at once. About 1 million people on both sides died in the Battle of Stalingrad. The Wikipedia article titled Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE) notes in the caption in the infobox the unbelievability of Josephus's estimates, and comes up with a more reasonable number of deaths at 350,000 for all deaths across the entirety of Romano-Jewish conflicts during the first two centuries. --Jayron 32 11:47, 7 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

I did write "We can glide over the usual spurious numbers" but we can cut Josephus a bit of slack here. The number trapped in the siege doesn't need to relate to the population of any city, not even Jerusalem. Here's one of the sources we cite in the article - they seem to be talking to you: "Number of prisoners taken in the entire war: 97,000. Died during siege: 1,100,000. This large number during the siege was due to the Passover celebration, as Jews from many countries had been in the city for the festival when the siege began. Josephus tells skeptical readers this number is consistent with Cestius' population estimate under Nero." See Three Pilgrimage Festivals --Dweller (talk) Become old fashioned! 12:21, 8 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

I was more interested in the sourced statement "Josephus' death toll assumptions are rejected as impossible by modern scholarship, since around the time about a million people lived in Palestine, about half of them were Jews, and sizable Jewish populations remained in the area after the war was over, even in the hard-hit region of Judea.[21] " --Jayron 32 12:50, 8 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

On difficile lectu

I'd encourage anyone to take a listen to Difficile_lectu, it's actually quite a nice little piece. Plus you'll get a good laugh out of it; it's funnier than its description.

Translations seem to just say it sounds like "lick my ass," but what's the first word (difficile) supposed to sound like? Its first syllable could be any definite article, or «denn» or «dann» or «du.» Then the second syllable sounds like «fick.» Then does the "ile" mean anything, or is it just some kind of pre-echo of «leck?»

On my first listen what I hear is «dich fick ich, le-, leck du mich im arsch, balls balls balls...»

And is the Latin absolute nonsense, or is there another layer of meaning there? Temerarius (talk) 16:25, 4 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

"Difficile lectu" by itself could mean "difficult to read" (or more literally "difficult in the reading"). I don't know if that's supposed to be part of the joke, but our article is right about the rest, it's just nonsense meant to sound like German. It's kind of like "o sibili si ergo" in English (we don't have an article on that? Amazing) Adam Bishop (talk) 23:10, 4 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

According to a claim in the article cited to a paper, "The line thus translates as 'It is difficult to lick my arse and balls.'" So it sounds like the "difficile" part was just supposed to be taken at face value, and the humor came from the rest. -Elmer Clark (talk) 08:15, 5 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

It would remind a scholar of "lectio difficilior"... AnonMoos (talk) 16:52, 5 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

It's a double-entendre where the phrase in faux-Latin sounds similar to the obscene phrase in German. The article even notes it isn't really in Latin. I'm reminded of another famous double-entendre, Marcel Duchamp's L.H.O.O.Q., which when the abbreviation is read letter-by-letter sounds like colloquial French for "She's horny" (lit. "She is hot of ass") --Jayron 32 18:23, 6 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Do we have any evidence that Mozart's intent authoring the piece was an other rather than didactic ? It could be about the discipline necessary to avoid the possible traps (of the singing of a canon) when performing at a serious occasions. I tend to feel less ready for indulgence with Duchamp's riddle, to me displaying a similar potential for diverting attention as flocks of raging flies inside my home focusing on my place at the typer's desk: it'll take several distinct quarters-of-an-hour each time to recall that the first time I heard about it was when that elaborate possible pun based on "look" remained the obvious piece of ingeniosity by the artist. I wouldn't say it's negligible. It's yet another - given refDesk's Humanities discussions about Antiquity I strongly doubt a first, may-be in as a fashion-of - building a meaning like: "born outside, bound to accusation" (The Girl Can't Help It). In case, it remains unclear to me whether it's asserting fact and in which measure, a motto. --Askedonty (talk) 09:17, 7 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

I don't know what you're on about with that Duchamp thing, but as for the occasions for Mozart's comic canons, that's easy to find in the literature, e.g. here: [1]. Fut.Perf. ☼ 10:13, 7 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

On Mozart's BFF Voltaire

Where can I find the correspondence between Wolfy and Volty? DE:Mozarts_Briefe says there was such, but google only gives me a salty quote about the latter by the former. Temerarius (talk) 16:41, 4 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

As a sidenote, DE:Mozarts_Briefe is entirely lacking in the content covered in Mozart_and_scatology, likewise DE:Mozart on a quick gloss. Curious! If somebody could link me to his dirty letters to his cousin et al in the original language, I'd appreciate that too. The English translations in EN WP are... felicitous, but somehow I doubt them; it feels like Jabberwocky#Translations. Temerarius (talk) 16:57, 4 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The standard work on the subject seems to be Letters of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart edited by Hans Mersmann. Alansplodge (talk) 12:40, 6 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The correspondence of the Mozart family, in the original languages, is online as part of the Digital Mozart Edition. There's some discussion here about what's included--a quick search didn't come up with anything relating to Voltaire. Herbivore (talk) 14:58, 8 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Today I had a chance to look at Voltaire's Correspondence, edited by Theodore Besterman, published between 1953 and 1965 in 107, yes 107, volumes. It includes all Voltaire's incoming and outgoing letters, whether the complete manuscript survives, whether only printed extracts are known, or whether nothing is known of them bar the date. I have to tell you there's not so much as a mention of any letters to or from Mozart. Sorry. The German Wikipedia article gives no reference for its supposed Mozart-Voltaire correspondence and I'm beginning to think there's a reason for that. --Antiquary (talk) 18:14, 8 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

now that is a reference desk answer! Thank you. Temerarius (talk) 02:20, 10 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Unless more than a serious blank by Georg Knepler, none of such correspondence. --Askedonty (talk) 20:38, 8 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

A simple question about Christmas

Is Christmas jesus’ birthday or jesus’ feast day? Temerarius (talk) 18:21, 4 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Have you considered that it could be both? Blueboar (talk) 21:16, 4 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Christmas is the day of (the celebration of) the winter solstice. For more, did you read the article Christmas? ✦ _hugarheimur 18:57, 4 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Specifically Christmas#Choice of December 25 date. If you're going to have a big party, you might as well have it when everyone has the day off work anyway. Alansplodge (talk) 12:09, 5 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

December 25 was assigned as Jesus' birthday. No one knows His actual birthdate. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 21:54, 4 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Liturgically, Jesus isn't a saint. So he doesn't have a feast day like a saint would. Which is just as well, since it ought to be on the day he died. Good Fridayish. In the liturgical calendar, Christmas is considered a solemnity, ranking above a feast (and feasts outrank lesser memorials of saints). - Nunh-huh 22:10, 4 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Agreed, although Christmas is sometimes referred to as a "high feast" in some traditions, like this for example. Alansplodge (talk) 12:01, 5 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The best way to think of it is that Christmas is the celebration of Jesus's birth, it is not specifically on the day he was born, however. --Jayron 32 20:36, 5 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Considering all the changes to calendars (and of calendars) over the last two millennia, the chances that a particular day back then could be correlated in a meaningful way to a particular day now is doubtful anyway. Even a more fully dated incident, like the assassination of Julius Caesar, is problematic. Okay, so he died on the Ides of March, which corresponds with our modern March 15th, but what does the anniversary even mean when you're that far removed? Matt Deres (talk) 15:26, 7 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Insofar as we do know the correct date on a given year, we can find what date that is on the modern calendar by converting from the other calendar to the modern one. For most dates in Western Europe for the past several thousand years, that means translating from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian Calendar, for which there is a formula. We can also convert from other calendars, such as the Jewish Calendar and the Ab urbe condita Roman calendar. You just need to know the conversion formula. It's really trivial. The question of whether we know the date is a different one, but if we're assuming that the fact that Caesar died on March 15 on his calendar in the year 44 BC, we just figure out how far off the Julian calendar was from the eventually adopted Gregorian Calendar. It took almost 1600 years to get 10 days off, which gives us a drift of 1 day/160 years. Since the Julian calendar was only 2 years old when Caesar died, the date of his death is still March 15. However, when we get to later dates, such as Washington's Birthday, for example, on the Julian Calendar, he was born on February 11. By 1731/2, when he was born, that was 11 days off. --Jayron 32 16:22, 7 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Worse yet, the calendar was already off by the time December 25 was chosen for Christmas. That day was chosen because it was (at one point) the winter solstice, exactly nine months after the spring equinox, which was Anunciation Day. So even the Gregorians messed it up. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 17:00, 7 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe. How the December 25th date was chosen is the subject of several competing hypothesis. --Jayron 32 17:06, 7 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Think of it as Jesus's official birthday. DuncanHill (talk) 15:39, 7 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

As with the "birthday" of every Thoroughbred. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 17:27, 8 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

And the Queen's Official Birthday (or King's), observed in many countries, usually in the first week of June. Akld guy (talk) 23:23, 8 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

You can't blame Pope Gregory this time. He didn't show up till the sixteenth century. At the time there was a plan to put the calendar back the way it was originally but that was vetoed for religious reasons. Another camp thought no days should be removed at all. It was divided up quite well - the nativity of Christ is three days after the solstice, the Annunciation is four days after the equinox, the nativity of St John the Baptist is three days after the solstice and Michaelmas is six days after the equinox. 109.180.237.248 (talk) 18:45, 9 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The ending -mas appears to be used exclusively for festivals which are also quarter or half-quarter days - Michaelmas, Christmas, and the old Scottish quarter days, Candlemas (2 February), Lammas (6 August) and Martinmas (11 November). Is this because they were replacements for older festivals such as Beltane and Samhain? The early missionaries found the new faith was better received if a pagan festival was replaced with a Christian equivalent - even the communists, when they seized power in China and outlawed the indigenous calendar, arranged their new "spring festival" so that it coincided with the old new year. 95.149.37.51 (talk) 10:57, 10 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

August 5

Institutions working together

It's understood the Smithsonian Institution and the National Geographic Society are based in Washington, DC. But do both institutions tend to work together on various projects? Anyone know?2604:2000:7113:9D00:304F:6889:E96F:908B (talk) 22:22, 5 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

If you Google "national geographic smithsonian institution" you'll find several references to joint expeditions they've conducted over time. They also tend to promote each other.[2][3] ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 23:21, 5 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you so much.142.255.69.73 (talk) 04:41, 6 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

August 6

"We have to tell the police"

I have seen in TV series that when someone goes to a hospital with an injury that may involve a crime (such as a gunshot) the medics usually mention that they have to inform the police about it. Is that a real-life procedure? Does it have a name? Cambalachero (talk) 16:13, 6 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

They are called mandatory reporting laws (as a general class) and this document gives a state-by-state synopsis for the U.S. If you are looking for another jurisdiction outside of the U.S., laws will vary, but if you let us know which country, we can help you find it, hopefully. --Jayron 32 16:23, 6 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

See also Disclosure of Information to the Police Procedure for the National Health Service in England: "If the public interest and safety out-weighs the duty of confidentiality; this is likely to involve crimes of a very serious nature or where a serious offence is being investigated, such as rape, murder, kidnapping, causing death by dangerous driving or fire-arm related crimes... if information relating to terrorism has been acquired... if the provisions of Section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 apply... any person must give information that may lead to the identification of the driver of a vehicle, where the driver is alleged to have committed an offence under the Act". Alansplodge (talk) 20:11, 6 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

American Revolution historiography

US popular accounts of the American Revolution, understandably, tend to pay no significant attention to warfare outside North America, with the occasional exception of John Paul Jones' naval exploits. (It's like the Seven Years' War, which in US popular publications is typically restricted to the French and Indian War; your typical American reading about Plassey or Rossbach likely wouldn't have a clue that they were part of the same war.) What about British popular accounts of the war? If you read a UK-published popular account of the war, is it likely to be US-focused (with or without reference to Canada), or are you likely to find coverage of the Second Anglo-Mysore War, or the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War, or the Anglo-French War of 1778-1783, or the conflict with Spain? Nyttend (talk) 17:01, 6 August 2018 (UTC) [reply]

Irrelevant responses

It seems you have found information for theatres of the war outside of North America. It's important to note that in those theatres, American troops did not participate in any part of it. Are you looking for additional places where the fighting occurred? Because I'm pretty sure you've hit all of the highlights across the globe. --Jayron 32 17:16, 6 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Once again: "What about British popular accounts of the war? If you read a UK-published popular account of the war, is it likely to be US-focused..." Nyttend (talk) 17:33, 6 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

This and this and this would be some good launching points for your research into British scholarship and accounts on the Revolution. You can find more probably here, which is where I went. --Jayron 32 17:44, 6 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

None of those addresses the question one bit. I'm looking for a discussion of how British sources handle the question, not looking for a few British sources on the question. Nyttend backup (talk) 20:02, 6 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Since you are looking for discussions of how British sources handle the American revolution, here and here are just two such discussions I found here which may help direct your research in hopefully the correct direction. --Jayron 32 11:38, 7 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Not sure if the question is about American Independence or 7 Years War now, but at my British secondary school we briefly studied American War of Independence and the Canadian aspect was definitely touched on, including the role of native Americans. AFAIK, the 7 Years War never came up at all in any context whatsoever, connected to or disconnected from American independence. I've not done any subsequent reading on the subject. --Dweller (talk) Become old fashioned! 11:33, 7 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Disclaimer. I have a history degree. That probably implies I have more interest than most in history. I'd doubt many of my classmates would even remember studying the War of Independence, let alone Canadian involvement. Perhaps ironically, I'd doubt that many of my friends/colleagues would have a clue who Paul Revere was. --Dweller (talk) Become old fashioned! 12:51, 7 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Nyttend, the National Curriculum for England calls it the "The American War of Independence"[4] - that may be a more fruitful search term than American Revolution.

Anyway, I'm not completely clear on the distinction you are making between how British sources handle the topic and individual British sources that handle the topic. For example, do you want to see how the BBC handled it on a recent popular TV programme? If yes, you might want to look at Rebels and Redcoats, and the accompanying article by the historinm who narrated it: [5]. The Wikipedia article includes a link to an American review of the programme, discussing how "British eyes look at 1776," which you may be able to read if you have a New York Times subscription. 70.67.222.124 (talk) 17:05, 7 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

What do Brits call the War of 1812? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 17:37, 7 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Either War of the Sixth Coalition or the Napoleonic Wars.
Sleigh (talk) 17:48, 7 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Although "War of 1812" is the usual British name for that part of it, similarly the Peninsular War is also part of the same conflict. Alansplodge (talk) 18:41, 9 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Part of the reason for that is that Britain Proper didn't really fight much in the war; per se, its focus at the time was on fighting Napoleon. The was of 1812 was primarily fought between Canada and the U.S. Sensu stricto, Canada was Britain, but most of the fighting happened between Canadian residents and the U.S., and on Canadian soil. There was a small British contingent from the Regular Army, but most of Britain Proper's actual fighting force was tied down in Europe, so most of the fighting in the war of 1812 was done by the Canadian militias. Also, the Americans tend not to think of the war as part of the Napoleonic wars, because they had no dealings with them, and there was no formal alliance, nor were any Napoleonic French forces involved in fighting in the War of 1812. They really were two different wars, and Britain Proper was really only tangentially involved with the day-to-day fighting in the War of 1812. Indeed, that Britain left the war to the Canadians themselves led to a sense that Canada was really on their own, and started to think of themselves as possessing a unique Canadian identity separate from that of the British. See [6], [7], [8]. --Jayron 32 18:13, 7 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

You seem to be talking mostly about the land war, and in the north. I've always thought of the War of 1812 as largely a sea war, with even the land battles involving seaborne troops. Is that not so?

As regards land battles, our articles on the burning of Washington and the Battle of New Orleans don't seem to mention Canadian troops (at least using that word), and the "Canadian units" article you pointed to doesn't seem to mention those engagements. --Trovatore (talk) 19:02, 7 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

From War of 1812#British "The British Royal Navy was a well-led, professional force, considered the world's most powerful navy. However, as long as the war with France continued, North America was a secondary concern...The British Army in North America was a very professional and well trained force, but suffered from being outnumbered...The militias of Upper Canada and Lower Canada had a much lower level of military effectiveness.[67] Nevertheless, Canadian militia (and locally recruited regular units known as "Fencibles") were often more reliable than American militia, particularly when defending their own territory. As such they played pivotal roles in various engagements, including at the Battle of the Chateauguay where Canadian and Indian forces alone stopped a much larger American force despite not having assistance from regular British units." --Jayron 32 19:22, 7 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

See Fencibles, which was a term for troops in many theatres around the world, not just in Canada. Akld guy (talk) 02:59, 8 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure that fully addresses what I was asking. It mentions that the Royal Navy was tied down as long as the war continued with France, but some of the key events of the war were later than that, including both of the engagements I named directly. --Trovatore (talk) 19:52, 7 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, you did name two engagements that directly involved British regulars shipped over directly from Mainland Britain specifically to fight in the war of 1812. Naming those engagements does not make words like "most" or "more" or "much" synonyms of "all". Of course there were some engagements that did involve the Regulars. I never said there weren't, and the source material does not say that either. What the source material I have already linked in all of the sources I linked above says is that in the Canadian theater of the War, it was mostly local Canadians that did the fighting. That is also all I have said. If you have a problem with what those sources say, you had probably write to the people that wrote them. I had nothing to do with it. --Jayron 32 12:39, 8 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

You may be interested in The British View the War of 1812 Quite Differently Than Americans Do from the Smithsonian Magazine. Alansplodge (talk) 10:23, 9 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Winston Churchill had a lot to say about the Battle of Plattsburg. Blueboar (talk) 18:55, 9 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

August 7

What rhyme is this?

What type of rhyme is it when it starts with the same consonant or sound followed by the same vowel sound and differs only in the pronunciation of last letter(s)? For example, force, fourth. Maybe I could call this left rhyme, in contrast with right rhyme, the most popular form of rhyme. Planet Star 21:12, 7 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Probably you're looking for "assonance". Possibly consonance. I'd also call it "near rhyme" or "lazy rhyme" or "imperfect rhyme", or even non-rhyme, since it's so jarring where one expects a perfect rhyme, but I'm strict that way. - Nunh-huh 22:46, 7 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

August 8

Tadashi Yasuda

Hello. Can anyone help find any biographical information on this painter Tadashi Yasuda? Maybe searching in Japanese will help. I am getting nothing except sales of his paintings.KAVEBEAR (talk) 05:07, 8 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

There are several Tadashi Yasudas listed here. Maybe that will give you some leads. --Jayron 32 16:20, 8 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Light-field camera

Light-field camera reads:

   "A light field camera, also known as plenoptic camera, captures information about the light field emanating from a scene; that is, the intensity of light in a scene, and also the direction that the light rays are traveling in space. This contrasts with a conventional camera, which records only light intensity. "

1. Does the human capture both the intensity of light and direction of light? Or does the human eye only record light intensity like a conventional camera?

2. This product[9] claims that "the light can only be interpreted by a human — not a camera — so part of his problem in launching his product is that he can't film the experience". Presumbly the "camera" here is referring to a conventional camera. Would a Light-field camera be able to capture this special vision? Mũeller (talk) 13:57, 8 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

For #1: Human eye or human visual processing system? The brain has ways of using information in both eyes to create a sense of directionality and depth perception which is above and beyond what the retina records directly. Vision is a complex thing. --Jayron 32 15:03, 8 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Employment contract buyouts in Spain

Can a football player take the money intended for buying out a contract in Spain [10] and convert it into a crypto like Bitcoin then run away with the money? Obviously their real-world possessions would be confiscated, so that'd be a big deterrent. 161.185.161.31 (talk) 16:28, 8 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

By what law would his possessions be "confiscated"? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 17:24, 8 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

I'm also confused about how the OP thinks that would work. Reading their source, the player either pays the buyout money to the league, or does not. If he doesn't, his old contract is still valid, and his new contract would be void. I fail to see how the hypothetical situation described would change that. If the player were to embezzle money which was not otherwise his, there would likely be legal ramifications, but if he doesn't want to change teams, he doesn't have to pay the buyout. If he does want to change teams, he does have to pay they buyout. I don't see the scenario the OP is describing as happening. The article they linked gave no indication that it did. --Jayron 32 17:43, 8 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The guy paid 71 million euros to get out of his contract. Do you think he had that much money to spare? Obviously he had been given that sum by the buying club. 161.185.160.26 (talk) 19:05, 8 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

If he was able to pay 71 million, he must have already had 71 million. And, I ask again, by what mechanism could his possessions be confiscated? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 19:14, 8 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Look up Neymar buying his way out of Barca. No, even footballers don't have this kind of money. 161.185.160.26 (talk) 19:50, 8 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Then how did he do it? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 19:57, 8 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

To be clear, it is his new team that really pays the release fee to the old team. Knowing that they will have to cover this fee is part of their considerations in deciding what kind of contract to offer the player. Dragons flight (talk) 20:23, 8 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Modern name of "Abuscheher"

Heinrich Berghaus compiled an early atlas of global climate. Writing (I think) in the 1830s, one of the locations he mentioned was "Abuscheher". I would like to know the modern name for this location? He gave the geographic coordinates 28.25 N, 50.90 E, which is in the Persian Gulf. However, Berghaus was not a very reliable reporter of geography and his locations can by off by several degrees (especially the longitude). It is likely that "Abuscheher" refers to a port city, town, or island in the Persian Gulf. Probably somewhere that European sailors of that era would have cause to visit frequently. Does anyone have any idea what the modern name for "Abuscheher" might be? Dragons flight (talk) 18:07, 8 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Must be Bushehr, which was Persia's main trading port in the past and was at times occupied by the Dutch and British. According to our page the coordinates are pretty close, 28°58′N 50°50′E. Adam Bishop (talk) 18:37, 8 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

I agree. This 18th century French-language source calls it "Abuschähhr, or as the English write it, Buscheer". --Antiquary (talk) 18:49, 8 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, I think Bushehr must be it. Thank you. I think in my head I was stuck looking for something starting with "A". Dragons flight (talk) 19:37, 8 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Given its location in the Persian Gulf region, the "a" is probably derived from the Arabic article "al". --Khajidha (talk) 21:38, 9 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Normally I would say anything starting with Bu- or Bou- comes from the Arabic "abu", and Berghaus' name for it would also seem to be evidence of that. But, at least according to our article, it long predates any possible Arabic influence. It was called Ram Ardeshir, then Rey Shahr, then that somehow became Bushehr. Adam Bishop (talk) 11:03, 10 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Civilian inventions in the military

What civilian inventions and innovations went into subsequent military usage (akin to the opposite - military inventions in civilian service)? Excluding some shared common things, like metalworking processes, etc. Thanks. 212.180.235.46 (talk) 20:43, 8 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The rifle was used for hunting while armies preferred smoothbores because they were faster to load.
Sleigh (talk) 21:00, 8 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Continuous tracks (as used on tanks) come to mind. Cheers ✦ _hugarheimur 21:25, 8 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The airplane, surely. Adam Bishop (talk) 22:46, 8 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Barbed wire, originally invented to fence in cattle. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.200.136.119 (talk) 22:55, 8 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

TNT, originally used as a dye, then used in weaponry › Mortee _talk 23:01, 8 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Also, the motor car in all its incarnations. Cheers ✦ _hugarheimur 01:38, 9 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Radio, telephone, and so on. Telescopes. The Enigma machine. Arguably electronic computers, depending on what you count—their history is complicated and different projects had both military and civilian origins. --76.69.47.228 (talk) 04:17, 9 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The knife, spear and bow and arrow are all older armies, and possibly older than warfare (depending on how you define "war"). Iapetus (talk) 07:51, 9 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

References for the Society for Social Studies of Science

Hello. I've been editing Society for Social Studies of Science, the main international academic organization for the field of science and technology studies (which is my own field). The organization is currently tagged for notability, so I've been trying to find independent sources that explain what the organization is. I've hit four main roadblocks.

The organization is so significant within the field that they publish most major works about the field, for example, the Handbook of Science and Technology Studies, Social Studies of Science, and Science, Technology, & Human Values. The only time other major STS societies say anything about them is during a joint meeting, such as when they organized with EASST or when they organized with ESOCITE. It also gets mentioned in a handful of websites of universities/academic units, but almost always ones that are fairly closely affiliated, like Harvard or IstanbuLab.
The only major news about the organization regards its conferences (usually in a somewhat negative light). These articles reference the org as a notable organization, but only in passing. See, e.g., this NYT piece or this Campus Reform piece
The only things that I find written by others are clearly lifted from the organization's own marketing materials (e.g. their profile by the International Science Council or the Philosophy of Science Association's related org page.
Paywalls to organizational databases.

I suspect that a potential way out of this is to find references to the organization in STS books, but nothing immediately comes to mind. Any help with reference finding? - - mathmitch7 ^{(talk/contribs)} 21:43, 8 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Would a university magazine article explaining the society to their students be usable? See [11], or do you count that as too closely affiliated? 70.67.222.124 (talk) 15:20, 9 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

I can add it to the article for now, but as it's about an event hosted by the society, I don't this source alone would be enough to remove the notability tag. - - mathmitch7 ^{(talk/contribs)} 15:30, 9 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

I think this may be a typical “big fish in a small pond” problem... when no one outside of a small pond takes note of the big fish dominating the pond (and indeed may not even take note of the pond itself), how do we establish that the big fish is notable? Blueboar (talk) 18:13, 9 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

August 9

Pipe smoking ... a candle?

In this image (a fragment of a screenshot of M (1931 film)) we see a German gentleman, using a smoking pipe. The other men at the same social gathering are smoking too, but they are using fairly ordinary tobacco pipes or cigars. But this man, rather than having conventional tobacco packed into the bowl of his pipe, appears to have a candle-like pellet (at least 2 inches long) protruding from the bowl of his (apparently conventional) pipe. It might not be evident from the still picture, but moving we see that the "candle" itself is smouldering (it doesn't appear to be a hollow pipe extension). The man draws from it as one would do an ordinary tobacco pipe. Perhaps a little comically, he looks like a Räuchermann toy (who really do "smoke" scented pellets). I'm guessing that the "candle" is some form of compressed tobacco (perhaps with spices or aromatics for flavour). What is the name of this kind of candle thing, and what (other, presumably, than tobacco) might it typically contain? 87.113.196.43 (talk) 10:00, 9 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

It might simply be a cigar stuck in the pipe. Google Image "cigar in pipe" and you'll see several examples. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 10:48, 9 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Ceci n'est pas une pipe.--47.146.63.87 (talk) 19:48, 9 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Historical person with name in mixed alphabets

Has there ever been a person bearing a name (be it a stage name) with letters from at least two different alphabets (Latin, Greek, Cyrillic etc.; not counting the same alphabet incorporating letters from different roots as e.g. Icelandic Árni Þór Sigurðsson)? --KnightMove (talk) 12:11, 9 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

This mentions something similar may happen with some Japanese names, for any given definition of "name" and "alphabet". --Jayron 32 12:40, 9 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

It's fairly common for Malaysian Chinese to have a Chinese name including their surname and an English name and these may be given by their parents and on official documents etc. While the Chinese name is generally romanised including on official documents, the name in Chinese characters is arguably the original form of the name. However the original form of the English name is also likely to be considered the latin alphabet form and in fact I think is frequently not transliterated even when used in Chinese publications in Malaysia e.g. [12]. Of course Chinese characters aren't what is generally considered an alphabet. You get similar things with Singaporean names. Nil Einne (talk) 14:52, 9 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

For the initial question, I think KnightMove outlined the paradox himself. There are many examples of alphabets borrowing letters from other alphabets, but a name including letters from different alphabets is not considered as consisting of 2 or more scripts. You also have other examples, such as the use of "J" in Yugoslav Cyrillic alphabets. Modern stage names is of course a whole other issue, I suppose there would be some examples. --Soman (talk) 09:13, 11 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Would you count Jennifer 8. Lee which combines Latin alphabetic letters with an Arabic numeral? 98.210.48.122 (talk) 16:54, 11 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

There was also a musician known at one time as "". 98.210.48.122 (talk) 17:10, 11 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

August 10

Does GDPR affect US companies that happen to have EU customers or even just visitors to their website?

This article is a bit confusing: http://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/news-headlines/law-firm-hfw-asks-why-should-international-cruise-lines-comply-with-the-gdpr.html

"or if it monitors the behaviour of individuals within the EEA (for example via cookies)"

When the company is 100% American, why should a cruiseline obey to European law when someone from the EEA happens to visit their site? What if Vietnam decides to tax $1 per cookie placed when a resident from Vietnam visits the site? Joepnl (talk) 00:52, 10 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

In answer to your headline question, yes. It's the reason I can't access the LA Times any more. The theory is that websites offering services to EU citizens have to abide by EU privacy standards, since, in a sense, by serving content to people in the EU they're on EU turf. They can of course choose not to operate there. You might compare it to Google's reported work to produce a service China will accept. Or you might wonder what would happen if the US started restricting 1st Amendment rights to individuals, and EU sites serving US customers were no longer allowed to censor their content. Probably a bigger topic than the reference desk can help with, but there it is

› Mortee _talk 01:23, 10 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

To try answer the specific question: "What if Vietnam decides to tax $1 per cookie placed when a resident from Vietnam visits the site?" Most likely, all sites for which this arrangement would make them loose money, would make sure they stop being available to any IP address from Vietnam, or, they would make a Vietnam version that doesn't use cookies. This is speculation, but I suspect it would significantly reduce the Vietnamese people's access to the internet.

Some sites might ignore the law altogether, if they have 0 assets in Vietnam that can be seized, but its senior management could get arrested for tax evasion next time they visit Vietnam. Also Vietnam could issue an international arrest warrant (in cases there are other countries that have an bi-lateral agreements with Vietnam to arrest people who break Vietnamese law) for the senior managers of the company owning the sites that refuse to pay the tax. --Lgriot (talk) 13:52, 10 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

To be sure, I used "Vietnam" as a country of which I know nothing, it could be any country that has laws different from what I'm used to. For instance, I could make a website that makes fun of a dictator of country X. Of course, when I'd visit X they can do something about it, but I'm still not sure why for instance the LA Times thinks it should follow rules made by the EU. Which judge would tell the LA Times to stop giving access? US judges can't be expected to understand each and every law in the world, and IMHO, they are not even supposed to. Joepnl (talk) 15:36, 11 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Identity of photographer

Can anyone with a good eye with cursive handwriting tell me who the photographer of this photo? The photographer would have been working in New York in the 1870s.KAVEBEAR (talk) 20:06, 10 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Indications are that the photographer was either Jeremiah Gurney or maybe his son Benjamin Gurney. The Findagrave record for Benjamin has his picture, with that same signature.[13] ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:23, 10 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. KAVEBEAR (talk) 20:58, 11 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

There is this version with an address. Would that help in pinpointing if it is the father or son? KAVEBEAR (talk) 21:00, 11 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

That would require some effort to figure out, and even then it could be somewhat of a guess. For what it's worth, the 1880 New York City directory shows Jeremiah as an "artist" and Benjamin as a "photographer". ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 21:21, 11 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Looking in newspapers.com in 1874, for Christmas day it mentions Kalakaua and his entourage planning to be "photographed by Gurney", though it doesn't say which one. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 21:32, 11 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The 1874 NYC city directory I think has the answer. There's an ad for Benj. Gurney, Artist Photographer, est. 1840, 827 Broadway corner 18th Street, Successor to J. Gurney & Son (late of Fifth Ave.) ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 21:42, 11 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

And the Herald for Mar 22, 1874, has an announcement that J. Gurney & Son has been dissolved and that the firm is being revived under the sole ownership of Benjamin Gurney. Based on what I've found, I conclude that Benjamin Gurney (or potentially someone else in his shop, unnnamed) is the author of the photo. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 21:55, 11 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

"High King of Scotland"

Hello, I hope I wasn't too bold with this good faith edit. However, to tell the truth, I actually found the title "High King of Scotland" neither in Macbeth, King of Scotland (except for the title of the book High King of Scotland 1040–57 given under "Further reading") nor in the relevant article on styles of the monarchs of Scotland, but only in some pertinent Google Books references. But has the designation "High King of Scotland" officially been used by Scottish monarchs? If so, wouldn't it make sense to add a corresponding paragraph in Style of the monarchs of Scotland? Unfortunately, I don't have approprate references at hand to properly check that issue myself. Hoping for your support--Neufund (talk) 22:31, 10 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The only mention I can find of a 'High King of Scotland' is a single use of the phrase in the Dindsenchas, which was penned by one or more Irishmen. It was in reference to a King Ubthaire of Iona, who is actually not listed by Scottish sources as even a myth. The English translation of Chronicle of the Kings of Alba does not use the phrase "High King" anywhere. Like you, I also found lots of links and citations to books that use this phrase, but I can find nothing to suggest that it was ever a contemporary style. Someguy1221 (talk) 05:24, 11 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

You link to Style of the monarchs of Scotland, but that article itself lists three Scottish kings, including Macbeth, who were given the title aird-ri Alban (and variant spellings), i.e. "High King of Scotland", by Irish sources, which it specifies in each case. It also says Malcolm III called himself Malcolmus Dei gratia Scottorum basileus in a charter, and translates basileus as "high king", which is perhaps a little more tendentious. --Antiquary (talk) 08:41, 11 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Stokes translated "aird-ri Alban" as "overking of Scotland". I know his translation is considered outdated, though I also can't find an online version of any more recent translation. And of course I am definitely not an expert in any form of Gaelic, and have no idea if "over" and "high" even have a meaningful difference in this context. Someguy1221 (talk) 09:52, 11 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Nor am I an expert in Gaelic, but ard ri seems to be commonly translated as "high king". "Over king" is a less common translation. --Antiquary (talk) 10:21, 11 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

I translate basileus as king.
Sleigh (talk) 10:17, 11 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

"Basileus (Greek: βασιλεύς) is a Greek term and title that has signified various types of monarchs in history. In the English-speaking world it is perhaps most widely understood to mean "king" or "emperor". The title was used by the Byzantine emperors". Alansplodge (talk) 17:42, 11 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you everybody so far for commenting! So, I guess I can assume my edit was reasonable, in fact? If not, please feel free to make improvements. Otherwise, what about Style of the monarchs of Scotland? Shouldn't this title be mentioned there? @Antiquary: It says "High King of the Scots", not "High King of Scotland" for Malcolm III there...--Neufund (talk) 19:13, 11 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Ideally we should use the title that is found in a published expert translation, with a citation to that translation. Someguy1221 (talk) 19:37, 11 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

rephrasing my institution question

I'd like to rephrase my question regarding the Smithsonian Institution and the National Geographic Society. Did they work together on projects about the RMS Titanic and the LZ 129 Hindenburg? Anyone know?2604:2000:7113:9D00:E489:B375:36EB:1AC5 (talk) 22:45, 10 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

August 11

On incest and the gentry

Somebody told me that a reason freud’s oedipus deal found traction among influential people was that a lot of people from the higher class and nobility were raised away from their family for the most part, and because of that didn’t develop a distaste for thinking of relatives that way. Has this idea been addressed by academics? Are there examples of incestuous acts or impulses in the letters of people from this demographic in this time period? The one that’s in my database just isn’t coming to mind. Temerarius (talk) 02:36, 11 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

See Genetic sexual attraction and Westermarck effect. Though neither mentions 19th century European gentry, perhaps those articles could be a starting point. Someguy1221 (talk) 02:42, 11 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Dunno about traction among influential people but the idea that Freud himself may have lacked the imprinting is mentioned in our Oedipus complex#Sociocultural criticism article, sourced to Steven Pinker who'd generally be consider an academic albeit to How the mind works rather than an academic paper. It's suggested this may have been one of the reasons why Freud once had an erotic reaction to watching his mother dressing. Nil Einne (talk) 05:00, 11 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Being raised separately was quite common. You might also be interested in fosterage, which I believe survived in Ireland in less formal terms much longer than implied there, and also the way a page was brought up. They all kept good track of who their relatives were though. Dmcq (talk) 08:05, 11 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Incest in high life is a common theme in the fiction of the 19th century, a fact often now explained by the influence of the supposed affair between Lord Byron and his half-sister Augusta Leigh – a huge scandal. They were not raised together, and met in adulthood almost as strangers. For an example of fictional treatment see the subplot of Lord Glenallan's marriage to his half-sister in Walter Scott's The Antiquary, the novel I usernamed myself after. --Antiquary (talk) 08:59, 11 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

We don't know what the relation between fiction and reality is though. It might be lie detective novels where five people are killed. I wonder if DNA tests can tell if there was incest at some point? Dmcq (talk) 18:19, 11 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Not a scientific answer, but an additional fictional example (suggesting the idea might have been widely familiar) is the 17th-century play 'Tis Pity She's a Whore. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 94.0.130.143 (talk) 18:25, 11 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Nelly Sbton or Nelly Sebton

l would like to know how l can get information on my maternal grandmother who was born in Alexandria, Egypt and was the first female lawyer in Egypt. She was born round about 1772 or 1777. She was Jewish. Her father was Moīse Sbton (Sebton) and her mother was Fortuna Viterbo. She married Anthony (Antonín) Chromovský, who was a musician and came from Czechoslovakia. They had two children, a son named, Serge Jan Chromovský and a daughter named, Sonia Anna Margarita Chromovský. Annemarieditondo379762 (talk) 13:54, 11 August 2018 (UTC) Annemarieditondo379762 (talk) 13:41, 11 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

@Annemarrieditondo379762: the only mention I was able to find online was this site, which you may have already seen. It gives her birthdate as 1895 (1772 does seem too early). There was another Antonín Chromovský who lived in Rožďalovice. His wife was born in 1870 or 1871, but her name was Anna so presumably she's unrelated. According to Wikipedia, the first female lawyer in Egypt was Naima Ilyas al-Ayyubi. I'm sorry I've not been able to help more. If you know where they lived, perhaps you'll be able to find marriage records, or perhaps local papers will have printed obituaries for them. Best of luck, › Mortee _talk 16:12, 11 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Dance name

There are some videos featuring characteristic leg-twisting dance that looks like a mix between twist and swing. What's the name of that dance? Thanks. Brandmeister^talk 14:08, 11 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

@Brandmeister: it seems to be called the shuffle or sometimes "cutting steps". There seems to be lot on YouTube about it, this instructional video, for example. › Mortee _talk 16:22, 11 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

@@ Line 273: / Line 273: @@
 ::::Looking in newspapers.com in 1874, for Christmas day it mentions Kalakaua and his entourage planning to be "photographed by Gurney", though it doesn't say which one. ←[[User:Baseball Bugs|Baseball Bugs]] <sup>''[[User talk:Baseball Bugs|What's up, Doc?]]''</sup> [[Special:Contributions/Baseball_Bugs|carrots]]→ 21:32, 11 August 2018 (UTC)
 :::::The 1874 NYC city directory I think has the answer. There's an ad for Benj. Gurney, Artist Photographer, est. 1840, 827 Broadway corner 18th Street, '''''Successor to J. Gurney & Son (late of Fifth Ave.)''''' ←[[User:Baseball Bugs|Baseball Bugs]] <sup>''[[User talk:Baseball Bugs|What's up, Doc?]]''</sup> [[Special:Contributions/Baseball_Bugs|carrots]]→ 21:42, 11 August 2018 (UTC)
+::::::And the ''Herald'' for Mar 22, 1874, has an announcement that J. Gurney & Son has been dissolved and that the firm is being revived under the sole ownership of Benjamin Gurney. Based on what I've found, I conclude that Benjamin Gurney (or potentially someone else in his shop, unnnamed) is the author of the photo. ←[[User:Baseball Bugs|Baseball Bugs]] <sup>''[[User talk:Baseball Bugs|What's up, Doc?]]''</sup> [[Special:Contributions/Baseball_Bugs|carrots]]→ 21:55, 11 August 2018 (UTC)
 == "High King of Scotland" ==