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April 17

twix nougats have little divots on top of them

why the heck do they have those — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.214.0.62 (talk) 03:58, 17 April 2012 (UTC)

According to our article (and my taste buds), Twix bars don't have nougat. Are you referring to the divots in the crunchy portion of the snack? I would suspect that it helps the caramel hold on to the bars. Basically giving the bar more surface area for the caramel to adhere to. Dismas|^(talk) 04:30, 17 April 2012 (UTC)

wow so it isn't even nougat. and yes that makes sense. as a close friend of mine who works in organic chemistry says, everything comes down to surface area. thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.214.0.62 (talk) 04:32, 17 April 2012 (UTC)

It may be that the holes are 'docking' holes (see Cracker (food) and Roller docker) from the production of the biscuit to prevent over rising. A lot of biscuits (uk sense of word) have these. ny156uk (talk) 18:47, 17 April 2012 (UTC)

Election of Officers

At Board Meeting an elction is due to take place to appoint a Chairman, there are 12 Board Members eligable to vote. There are 2 nominations for the post of Chairman, namely the current Chairman and a new nomination, the ballot ends in a stalemate 6 votes for each candidate. What happens next ? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.169.135.229 (talk) 10:36, 17 April 2012 (UTC)

That depends on the by-laws of the organization. If the number of voters is an even number, one of the officers (often the chairman) gets two votes to break ties. This is not always the case though. Dismas|^(talk) 10:52, 17 April 2012 (UTC)

How common is it for the chair to get two votes? In cases where the chair has a casting vote, I'm used to them not voting unless there is a tie. Quite common is for a tied vote to just count as a negative result, though. --Tango (talk) 11:20, 17 April 2012 (UTC)

Most boards that I'm familiar with don't have an election for the chairman. Instead, someone proposes a chairman and there is a yes/no vote on that proposal. If it gets a majority, they are appointed. Usually, you have a discussion before hand and know before the proposal is officially made that it will have majority support. If no proposal for chairman can get majority support, then you have a problem! You need to find a compromise candidate that a majority will accept. --Tango (talk) 11:20, 17 April 2012 (UTC)

Indeed, IIRC, most boards run meetings via some variation of Robert's Rules of Order or other similar guidelines, and I don't think Robert's Rules allows for head-to-head elections. Someone makes a motion to nominate a person for a position, and there is a yes/no vote on the motion. In a board of 12 people, any vote needs a clear majority to pass, so a nominee with only 6 votes would fail the motion to elect. Someone would then propose a new candidate, and there would be another yes/no vote, and so on till a motion on some candidate got 7 votes. --Jayron32 13:44, 17 April 2012 (UTC)

German WWII uniforms

Help, Why do some high ranking German officers wear one chevron on the right sleeve of their uniform whilst others do not? Bobbitty — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bobbitty (talk • contribs) 14:26, 17 April 2012 (UTC)

Does World War II German Army ranks and insignia or World War II German uniform or List of military decorations of the Third Reich or Uniforms and insignia of the Schutzstaffel help? I've not looked through them in much depth, but they seem to be fairly comprehensive articles. --Jayron32 14:36, 17 April 2012 (UTC)

Ehrenwinkel für Alte Kämpfer—Honour Chevron for the Old Guard. (More colloquially, the Old Fighters' chevron.) TenOfAllTrades(talk) 19:43, 17 April 2012 (UTC)

World Naked Bike Ride

Does anyone know anything about World Naked Bike Ride in 2012? The official website http://www.worldnakedbikeride.org is now just a flimsy front end for the wiki site http://wiki.worldnakedbikeride.org, which doesn't work. Accessing it at all gives an error about an invalid function. I can't even notify the staff about this, because their contact information is also on the non-working wiki site. Did the wiki site ever work? Is there going to be a World Naked Bike Ride 2012 anywhere? I would find it pretty difficult to organise, join, or visit such an event when it's impossible to see where and when it is going to be. JIP | Talk 18:58, 17 April 2012 (UTC)

What I really don't understand is that why some editors don't search google before posting here!!! --SupernovaExplosion ^Talk 02:59, 18 April 2012 (UTC)

I understand they have a special version of the race for masochists, in which they use metal seats. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 11:47, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

I did search Google before posting. Unfortunately I did not find information about the WNBR in all countries, neither did I find any overall information such as an introduction or FAQ about what it is all about. However, the wiki site http://wiki.worldnakedbikeride.org has just started working again, so this question is now moot. JIP | Talk 19:12, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

I would expect that participation in, say, Greenland is fairly limited. Especially for the cyclists using metal seats. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 07:15, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

April 18

Pitchers in the Outfield

I can't remember the guy's name but I just saw an amazing video of a US MLB pitcher who now plays outfield throw a ball to home plate directly to stop a man from scoring, amounting to nearly 300ft with such precision accuracy that the announcer said he was the best arm in baseball ever for an outfielder. My question is: if outfielders need to throw infield for almost anything they catch or field, why not train them like pitchers all the time? Perhaps this is a stupid question because I can't imagine that the managers and trainers don't think about baseball 24/7 when I think about it for just 3 minutes one day in my life after seeing this video. DRosenbach ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 02:56, 18 April 2012 (UTC)

Alright -- his name is Rick Ankiel. DRosenbach ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 02:57, 18 April 2012 (UTC)

Ankiel is a special case; he's pretty much the first player since Babe Ruth to be able to make the transition from pitcher to position player, so you really cannot base what should happen based on how he did it. Most outfielders aren't supposed to make a throw like that, instead they are trained to throw to the "cut-off" man (an infielder who positions himself in shallow outfield to catch the ball from the outfielder and relay it to the correct place.). Outfielders who try to throw out a man "on the fly" from the outfield directly frequently go horribly awry, though such bonehead attempts occasionally lead to spectacular recoveries like the Jeter "Flip Play" as seen at 4:10 here. Outfielders are trained from little league to "hit the cutoff man" since most don't have the kind of accuracy Ankiel displayed on your play. If they did have that kind of accuracy they'd be pitchers instead. --Jayron32 03:19, 18 April 2012 (UTC)

I don't believe it's just accuracy. If you throw to the cutoff man you can throw lower, which means the ball wastes less time going up and down. It takes time for the cutoff man to catch the ball, spin, and throw to the plate (or other base), but I believe even with that, it's still faster. --Trovatore (talk) 03:24, 18 April 2012 (UTC)

Another reason for the cutoff man is to allow the play to be adjusted based on what's happened while the ball's on the way in. If there's a rundown or a runner from third didn't break to the plate the cut-off man (if he's on his game) can adjust, and can at the same time make up for inaccurate outfield throws when a player tied to a base or the plate can't. Acroterion (talk) 03:31, 18 April 2012 (UTC)

Though occasionally a cut-off man can be the reason things go bad, c.f. 1946 World Series and Enos "Country" Slaughter's Mad Dash, aided by Johnny Pesky holding the ball a bit too long before relaying it home. --Jayron32 03:51, 18 April 2012 (UTC)

And then there was the time that Dave Winfield plugged a seagull, if you recall that. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:14, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

A few outfielders are able to make the throw from the outfield to home plate directly, but they're the exception. Roberto Clemente was one, as was Dave Parker, who famously threw out Brian Downing at home in the 1979 All-Star Game on a throw from the right field corner. But these are the top 1% of outfield arms; I'm not sure that most pitchers would be able to make such throws; they practice throwing at a target 60 feet and 6 inches away, not 300 feet, and even at the shorter distance, they often miss. --Xuxl (talk) 12:10, 18 April 2012 (UTC)

Here's the Parker play.[1] The right field corner was 316 feet from the plate, and he was some distance in front of that, but it was still a bullet. It's one of those situations where if you throw to the plate, he might score, but if you throw to the cutoff man, he will score, so you take your best shot. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:19, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

Willie Mays made a pretty good throw after this catch:[2] ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 11:46, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

Outfielders are not trained like pitchers because it is much more important for an outfielder to be able to hit well than for a pitcher to be able to hit well. Speed and agility are also much more important for outfielders than for pitchers. Looie496 (talk) 21:04, 18 April 2012 (UTC)

As a cricket fan, this doesn't seem so remarkable. Cricketers need to be able to throw from the edge of the cricket field to its centre.

Australian grounds are notoriously large - The Gabba and the The MCG, according to our articles, have longest boundaries of approx 170 metres. Dividing that in half (you only have to return the ball to the centre, not the far side), that's a throw of c.80+ metres, or about 270 feet.

Although some cannot, many professional cricketers are able to make throws from the boundary, and the better ones are able to do so very accurately and with good pace ("flat" throws). Some of them eventually damage their shoulders and lose their ability.

The standards of fielding in cricket have risen enormously in recent years, following developments in the game, notably one day cricket and more recently, Twenty 20 cricket. Interestingly, a number of top teams have, in the past, used coaches from baseball, to help them develop their fielding skills.

Even on these unusually large Australian grounds, seeing a cricketer throw fast and accurately from the boundary would gain a ripple of applause from the fans present (virtually anything in cricket will gain a ripple of applause though) and maybe an acknowledgement from the commentator, but no great excitement. --Dweller (talk) 10:59, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

famous people from Rochdale

I checked the list of famous people from Rochdale and found I was missing (Anna Jacobs). I don't wish to sound conceited but I think that with 57 novels published, I should be included. I'm very proud of coming from Rochdale, actually.

I don't seem to be able to edit the page on Anna Jacobs, either, even though it's lacking information I could easily supply. I gather one can't touch one's own page. I did make changes a few years ago, but they vanished.

I'm therefore a bit at a loss as to how to add myself to the Famous People from Rochdale page. I was born and brought up in Rochdale. I'm a novelist with 57 novels published, many of them set in Lancashire. I'm currently the 8th Most Borrowed Author of Adult Fiction in the UK library system. For verification, see: http://www.plr.uk.com/mediaCentre/mostBorrowedAuthors/top20Authors/2010-2011Top20Authors.pdf

You can find out more about me on my website at http://www.annajacobs.com — Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.206.88.91 (talk) 05:28, 18 April 2012 (UTC)

What happens when you try to edit Anna Jacobs ? You are allowed to edit your own article, but try not to make it look like a press release. Just remember this is an encyclopedia, and you should do fine.

What happens when you try to edit List of people from Rochdale ? One possible problem is that they expect sources, so unsourced changes may be deleted. After all, we have no way of knowing if you really are Anna, and you wouldn't want random people to be able to make permanent changes with "facts" that they just invented.

One possibility is that those articles don't allow edits by unregistered users. If that's the problem, you just need to register and sign in. StuRat (talk) 06:08, 18 April 2012 (UTC)

You are obviously a genuinely well-known author, so I've added a mention of Rochdale in the article about you, and a brief mention of you in the Rochdale article. The edits you made to your own article are still there. The only part removed is the promotion of your own website. You are welcome to add more, but make sure that the information is factual rather than promotional, and cite sources (such as the Rochdale Observer). Dbfirs 08:01, 18 April 2012 (UTC)

According to the page history, nobody has added or removed Anna Jacobs to/from List of people from Rochdale lately (nobody is reverting her changes). You should be able to edit it by clicking on the "Edit" link at the top-right of the page, and format your entry like the other entries on the page. Remember to click "Save page" afterwards. Have a look at Help:Editing and Help:Contents/Editing Wikipedia for more information. --Colapeninsula (talk) 08:42, 18 April 2012 (UTC)

@Anna: I suggest you read Wikipedia:Autobiography. Writing about yourself is not precluded, but it is discouraged. Ghmyrtle (talk) 08:53, 18 April 2012 (UTC)

The List of people from Rochdale is really difficult to edit, for you would have to start a new ===J=== section and include a reference, which is too difficult for a Wikipedia beginner. Several editors claiming to be Anna Jacobs edited the Anna Jacobs article in the past with remarkable contributions ([3],[4]), but as long as the official Anna Jacobs website remains silent on her birthdate, birthplace and real name, there is little hope to get it fixed. --Pp.paul.4 (talk) 12:21, 18 April 2012 (UTC)

Would ROCHDALE-born author Anna Jacobs do? Alansplodge (talk) 00:02, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

I have now added Anna Jacobs to the list. Alansplodge (talk) 21:31, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

What was the title of the SBS during the Korean War?

Wikipedia Posts on the names of the SBS include Special Boat Section during WWII, Special Boat Squadron "after the Second World War," and Special Boat Service in 1987. However, there is another statement saying the Special Boat Squadron designation occurred in 1977, certainly after WWII, but leaving uncertainty of the name between WWII and 1977. Is it correct to assume that SBS was known as the Special Boat Section during the Korean War? Is there a direct reference? Thank you. Rnfriedman44 (talk) 10:45, 18 April 2012 (UTC)

The Historical Dictionary of Naval Intelligence By Nigel West has an entry entitled Special Boat Section which says: "However, in 1951, two Royal Marine Special Boat Sections were created to conduct operations during the Korean War.". The immedeate post-WWII history seems to be rather more complicated according to The Royal Marines 1939-93 By Nick Bijl, Paul Hannon which I'll let you read for yourself. An even more detailed account can be found on this website which says: "In 1950 this (ie the Small Raids Wing) became the Special Boat Wing , made up of Special Boat Sections, thus reviving the initials SBS, and both an operational and training unit. Swimmer-canoeists, as the members of this unit were known from the start, were among those who volunteered for No.41 Independent Commando, the RM unit which served in Korea 1950-51." Another, similar account is here. Good luck sorting that lot out. Alansplodge (talk) 16:24, 18 April 2012 (UTC)

Anne Fogarty/Poppy Cannon parentage confusion

OK, I'm sorry because this is a bit tricky/complex, but I've had no response to this and it's bugging me that I can't work out a definite answer.

Several sources - quite a few actually - state that Poppy Cannon was Anne Fogarty's sister. But there is some confusion as to the parents. I posted most of the following info on Talk:Poppy Cannon but haven't had a response, so I thought I'd ask here.

1) Anne Fogarty's parents, as per this book, are stated to be Robert (a shopkeeper) and Marion Whitney. The same source also indicates that Poppy was her sister. Many sources do link them as being siblings.

2) However, Yale, here, states that Poppy was born Lillian Gruskin in Cape Town, South Africa, the eldest of four children. Her parents are stated to be Robert (an artist) and Henrietta Gruskin.

The similarities are:

Both have fathers called Robert. Both are one of four children (Poppy the eldest, Anne the youngest). Both are said to have lived in Pennsylvania. (Poppy in Kittening, Anne in Pittsburgh, although the family could have moved around Pennsylvania, I guess.)

The big difference is the surnames and the mother's names: Henrietta Gruskin vs. Marion Whitney. Different parts of Pennsylvania.

I tried Googling Gruskin and Whitney in Google News to see if anything came up linking the names but just got five lists of attendees/graduates - no marriage announcements or anything.

As sources go, I'd tend to assume that Yale know what they're talking about, but the lack of extra corroboration for the Gruskin link is confusing. My guess - which can ONLY be speculation - is that the Whitneys were originally called Gruskin (as per the Yale bio) and changed their name to Whitney for whatever reason, with Henrietta also changing her first name - or - sudden thought - was Marion Robert's second wife, and Henrietta's maiden name Gruskin? (although doesn't explain why Yale say "Robert Gruskin") All a bit confusing and I'm not sure you guys would be able to help but I thought I'd ask anyway as I'm a bit flummoxed. Thanks so much in advance!! Mabalu (talk) 17:04, 18 April 2012 (UTC)

if i have been in a viper parade can i still volunteer to go on the system ?

if i have been in a viper parade can i still volunteer to go on the system ? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Konne69 (talk • contribs) 20:33, 18 April 2012 (UTC)

I guess you're talking about VIPER, right? -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 20:37, 18 April 2012 (UTC)

If so, you should probably email them and ask -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 20:39, 18 April 2012 (UTC)

cheers mate :) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Konne69 (talk • contribs) 21:19, 18 April 2012 (UTC)

No, thank you. One of the purposes of the Wikipedia reference desk is to expose places where Wikipedia's coverage is weak or missing altogether. Thanks to your question I did some research and created Video Identification Parade Electronic Recording. I'm afraid it doesn't answer your question, but it does explain a bit what VIPER is. Worse (hint hint other refdesk layabouts) it exposes how poor the existing police lineup article is. -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 22:33, 18 April 2012 (UTC)

Grr, I love and hate the English language. "no, thank you" can mean "no, the thanks belong to you" and its opposite "no, I'm not interested in the thing you said". Naturally I mean the former. -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 23:17, 18 April 2012 (UTC)

Or the meaning I took: that you can't be in VIPER after having been in a line-up (presumably as the alleged perp). I noticed we had nothing on Local Criminal Justice Boards today, but I'm less diligent than FMcW. --Tagishsimon (talk) 23:22, 18 April 2012 (UTC)

Try "No: thank you." --Tango (talk) 09:04, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

I see a problem with the VIPER system. If, eventually, they can find the 4 other people on the planet who most resemble the suspect, then nobody will be able to make a positive identification. So, whether they can make an identification now becomes entirely dependent on how close the other selected people are. This allows the police to decide if they want there to be a match or not, and pick the line-up accordingly. Fellow police officers, for example, can now never be identified in a lineup, while a cop killer suspect will be in a lineup against only elderly Asian women (assuming that doesn't describe the suspect). The last part was always possible, but the first part is new. StuRat (talk) 03:27, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

Just make sure whoever chooses the lineup doesn't know anything about the suspect, other than what they look like. --Tango (talk) 09:06, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

That still allows for racism to weigh the odds heavily. StuRat (talk) 15:48, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

Baffled by pumpkin seeds

This is a strange question but how the hell are you supposed to eat pumpkin seeds? I got a bag, never had them before. I guess they're edible without shelling but they are impossibly salty, and the shell is not very food-like. On the other hand, they are impossible to shell and such meager pickings after you try. What's the deal? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.54.27.24 (talk) 23:45, 18 April 2012 (UTC)

When I buy pumpkin seeds from the supermarket, they're soft and green and look like the 2nd picture on this webpage. It sounds to me like you're getting ones that look like the first picture on that site (aren't they just for parrots, who have a tougher beak than you?). I don't know how to shell those. But if you do get 'em de-shelled (or buy them de-shelled, or get a parrot to do it for you) I recommend dry-frying them (just put them in a hot pan for a few minutes, with no oil or anything). Once they change colour just a tad, pour them over salad. They're just great that way. -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 23:57, 18 April 2012 (UTC)

I'd boil them. That should definitely remove some of the salt, and might help them open, too. If not, at least they will be softer when you eat them whole. Just soaking might help, too. StuRat (talk) 00:59, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

We used to buy and eat baked or (maybe it was roasted) pumpkin seeds when we were kids. We ate them whole, and they were indeed heavily salted, with a fairly soft shell. Now, sunflower seeds are much harder. The experts crack them in their teeth, swallow the "meat" and spit out the shell, seemingly all in one motion. (This has become a widespread substitute for chewing tobacco in baseball.) ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:11, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

Well the ones I have are these to be exact. The reason I bought them is that a friend recently introduced me to pumpkin seed oil, which is incredibly delicious and is apparently used a lot in parts of Europe (especially Austria) for various things. Anyway, it's amazing and different on salads.Getting back to the seeds, maybe I just bought the wrong variety. No offense but the though of soaking them is not appetizing to me. I donlt think even the most mouth fixated baseball player could work with the ones I have.--108.54.27.24 (talk) 01:32, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

If they have salt on them that to me is a clear indication that they have been roasted. Try these two ways of opening them. Take a seed and gently bite on it edgeways with your front teeth, with luck the two sides will split apart giving you access to the roasted kernel (so to speak). The other way is to hold the seed edgeways in your teeth (that is with the seed edges in contact with the teeth) and with your finger and thumb give it a twist, this should also split the seed. Worked for me when i used to eat them. Richard Avery (talk) 07:24, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

There's no need to shell them before eating them; the whole seed is edible. The ones bought in bags, especially from convenience stores &c., do tend to be very, very salty. At least around here, where there is a pretty sizable Latino population, shelled pumpkin seeds are sold under the name pepita. --some jerk on the Internet (talk) 12:35, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

Give up.? Along with an unknown percentage of the population, you find pumpkin seeds practically inedible. I do to. You're not doing it wrong. That's just pumpkin seeds for you.178.78.88.114 (talk) 18:08, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

Actually I wonder if there is an 'active ingredient' something alkaloid or peppery, possibly intended to discourage the eating of seeds by some animals. I think the effect of the seeds appears to be slightly more than one would expect from just a very salty nut. I get a sort of tightness in the chest, and I'm not the only one - but all my searching was in vain - I couldn't find any real reference to this. Anyone else knwo?178.78.88.114 (talk) 23:00, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

If it were me, and I experienced this, I would avoid all contact with pumpkin seeds until I had described the reaction to my doctor, and heard their advice. 86.140.54.3 (talk) 15:38, 22 April 2012 (UTC)

April 19

Just one more

Here's a question (obviously). I've just created my 1,001st WP page, which was, naturally, Category:Music based on One Thousand and One Nights. I got to thinking about the original stories, and then about the fact that, even though we generally like things to be in sets of nice round numbers, we are also attracted to things that are just a bit extra (but not too much extra). There's a certain mystique to, e.g. One Thousand and One Nights that would not be shared by One Thousand Nights or One Thousand and Two Nights.

Here are a few more examples:

• year and a day is a phrase with a long history
• a baker's dozen is a real dozen (12) plus one
• various 101 Dalmatians (although 102 Dalmatians wrecked my premise)
• various other things at 101 (disambiguation)
• Twenty-six Men and a Girl
• One Hundred Men and a Girl
• Six Million and One
• the age of majority was traditionally 21
• tea is traditionally made with one teaspoon of tea per person, plus one for the pot
• drinkers, singers and others like to have One for the Road (I had to link that because, surprisingly, we have no article on the general expression "one for the road").

Is there some overall theme or description of this phenomenon? -- ♬ Jack of Oz ♬ ^{[your turn]} 00:51, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

I think it is an expression of fullness. The added digit only accentuates the sense of "filled to capacity" that presumably is present in the first quantity stated. That would be my initial explanation. By the way, I don't think the "Twenty-six Men and a Girl" and the "One Hundred Men and a Girl" are properly examples of what I think you are centrally describing as I think it is the gender that stands out as opposed to the additional small quantity. Bus stop (talk) 01:01, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

Wow, you come up with some interesting ones. Why don't you ask something easy, like "Why is the ocean near the shore?" or "Who's buried in Grant's Tomb?" or "How high is Mt. Everest?" The first term that came to mind is "whimsy", and I also wonder if there's any connection, at least on some level, with numerology. It's worth pointing out that round numbers are typically boring, as well as automatically sounding like estimates. "A year" could be flexible. "A year and a day" seems a lot more exact (although "forever and a day" doesn't really). Speaking of Everest, the original surveyors made several measurements, and to their non-amusement, they averaged to exactly 29,000. That sounded like a round number or a guesstimate (which it arguably was), so they announced it as 29,002. Another number that sounds nifty is in 2001: A Space Oddysey. It sounds more elegant somehow than 2000 or whatever. By the way, an alternative definition of a "baker's dozen" is "12 of today's and one of yesterday's." ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:07, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

They're some neat-o examples I didn't think of. -- ♬ Jack of Oz ♬ ^{[your turn]} 03:39, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

I've heard that Arthur C. Clarke chose that name because he considers that the correct first year of the millennium, as our calendar unfortunately lacks a year 0. Paul (Stansifer) 20:33, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

At the risk of starting a long and irrelevant side discussion, let me just rise to the bait in my own question by saying there was nothing unfortunate about there being no year 0. They decided to start a new sequence of years, beginning on a certain date (the reasons for that choice are irrelevant here). That date was the first day of the first month of the first year of the new calendar. Hence, calling the first year anything other than 1 would have been absurd. As absurd as starting every month with the 0th of the month, or by counting the months of the year starting with the 0th through to the 11th. They then gave names to the years preceding the new sequence, counting backwards starting at 1 BC. Maybe they could have called that year 0 BC, but that had nothing intuitive going for it, and a lot counter. The upshot was no year 0, and the sequence goes straight from -1 to +1. I understand mathematicians dislike disruptions to ordered sequences of things, like disjunctions, and non-linearities in otherwise linear circumstances, but sheesh, they deal with them unemotionally every day of the week in other contexts, so why the hullabaloo about something that happened many centuries ago and is never going to change? Anyway, whether there "should" have been a year 0 or not, the fact is there isn't. We work with what is. All millennia start with a year ending in 1, and end with a year ending with a 0. Just like counting from 1 to 10, or 1 to 100, or even, dare I say it, 1 to 1000. How hard is that to grasp? -- ♬ Jack of Oz ♬ ^{[your turn]} 22:02, 21 April 2012 (UTC)

Well, I really don't see any connection between your examples, I mean the reasonings for each of them are all quite different. "Year and a day" is just a very clear way of stating more than one year, baker's dozen was about ensuring the customer was not be jipped, 101 dalmatians is in my mind due to better Phonaesthetics than 100 dalmatians, room 101 (you didn't bring up but...) would be because we don't count things beginning at 0 as 0 is a lack of a thing. "Six million and One" the title is to separate out, to make particular note of this one person. Age of majority varies greatly around the world and in time. Tea is done like that to account for residue on the pot. One for the road...just means taking one for the road...though sometimes I take two for the road...

That said, I don't believe there is a word/concept for the idea you speak of, I think you just think too much. This could also be a case of a bias, giving more value to points which support your idea and less value to those which do not support the idea, and being less critical than normal of examples when they work in your favour. Unique Ubiquitous (talk) 01:35, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

Humph! All I'll say to that is, it's Dalmatian, not dalmation. -- ♬ Jack of Oz ♬ ^{[your turn]} 03:39, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

I'll see that "Humph!" and raise it to a "Harumph!" There may not be any direct connection between the examples themselves, but there is certainly an umbrella theme of "number play", for lack of a better term. And I don't know if this is related or not, but I've heard comedians say that for whatever reason, odd numbers are considered funnier. In his early recordings, Bill Cosby used to use crazy examples of counts of things, and they were often odd numbers. More recently, there's this example,[5] in which somehow 87 seems funnier than 86 or 88 would be. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 03:57, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

If you google things like "one for the road" and "one for the books", you'll see various references. It appears that "one for the road" comes in part from kind of wanting to slow down one's departure (in the case of Sinatra's song, there were two: "one for my baby, and one more for the road"). One for the books is a similar-sounding expression, but simply means something unique or record-breaking. I googled "101", and there are a number of items that come up. "101 Uses or a Dead Cat", a dark-humor book, is just one of quite a few things that are "101-something". Clearly, this is a popular number. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 04:08, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

I wouldn't say that 102 Dalmations ruins the premise, any more than Ocean's 12 ruins the premise of Ocean's 11. They're sequels, so it works. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 04:18, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

OK, but it's still Dalmati-ANS, not -ONS. -- ♬ Jack of Oz ♬ ^{[your turn]} 07:19, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

Dalmatians. 101 of them. Or more. A nation of Dalmatians. They tried to hide, but they were spotted. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 11:43, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

Sorry, fixed, Unique Ubiquitous (talk) 10:50, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

How could we have got this far without anyone mentioning Spinal Tap's amplifier that goes up to 11? --TammyMoet (talk) 08:54, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

But there were only 7 dwarves! And what about the 23 enigma? Unique Ubiquitous (talk) 10:50, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

OK, so this is just another example of my attempting to synthesise connections between things that are not actually ... what do you call it ... connected. Seeing patterns that nobody else has ever noticed before, or if they have, have not thought it worth mentioning anywhere - is there a term for this, apart from "sheer unadulterated genius"? -- ♬ Jack of Oz ♬ ^{[your turn]} 20:48, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

At the very least, it's "outside-the-box thinking", which is usually a hallmark of great leadership skills. Or a slightly twisted mind. Or both. :) ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:08, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

Jack was in the box, but now seems to be out of it. Hard to pin this chap down, methinks. -- ♬ Jack of Oz ♬ ^{[your turn]} 06:19, 21 April 2012 (UTC)

Just goes to show that to be creative, sometimes you have to flip your lid. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:18, 21 April 2012 (UTC)

I missed the chance to get in earlier, but isn't this a form of linguistic inflation? Certainly, that's how linguists seem to refer to the phenomenon whereby candidates on The Apprentice and The X Factor always "give 110%". - Cucumber Mike (talk) 20:57, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

Heh, I liked the bit about "Lexicographer Susie Dent traces this linguistic inflation back to the 1980s when ice-skating champions Torvill and Dean talked of giving 101%. Other sportspeople had to go one better, and increased their so-called commitment level to 110%". What ever was wrong with 102%, if "going one better" was their thing? I'm reminded of people who want to differentiate themselves in an extreme way, by going not just ordinary old 180 degrees apart, but double that, to 360 degrees. They might find they're not so very different after all.  :) -- ♬ Jack of Oz ♬ ^{[your turn]} 23:12, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

difficulty trying to open a packaged food

I bought some " Reser's original potato salad" and had myself a terrible time trying to open the plastic package , the plastic is so terribly strong , I was working on it for about an hour , I ruined both of my thumb fingernails trying to get them into the crack in order to open the top . I finally founf a knife which was pointy and thin enough to finally gain entry beween the lips which separate the top from the bottom , I had to apply a lot of force in order to achieve a separation.I am sure a woman would not have had any luck in getting this package open. As far as woman's house work and the tools for such house work are concerned , every inventor and company are striving to make housework for women easier , your company does not seem to share this philosophy. I wish you would have printed a telephone number on the package under which I could have reached your customer servive , it would have made it a lot easier for me to voice my complaint , but your company seems to strive to make things a lot harder in every department. Sincerely Fritz wacker , if you have enough curtesy to address this issue — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.113.131.34 (talk) 01:56, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

We are not Reser's, but might be able to offer suggestions. Unfortunately, that product comes in many different containers. From your description, it sounds like this one: [6], and I've also had trouble with that type. Is that what yours looked like ? If so, I sometimes cut a flap in top with a knife, instead. If you are concerned that it then no longer seals, you can move the potato salad to another container. StuRat (talk) 02:03, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

This is not the correct page for reaching Reser. Please click on this blue link to contact Reser with your complaint. I have removed your email address and phone number so that you do not receive unwanted contact from spammers. Personally, I suggest using a razor blade for removing tight, hard to remove plastic wrap. Unique Ubiquitous (talk) 02:09, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

Or scissorS, being slightly less dangerous. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 03:37, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

Do you only have 'scissor' your side of the pond, Bugs? Here in civilisation, we've long known that they work best in pairs ;-) AndyTheGrump (talk) 04:23, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

So do my hands, when typing, etc., except sometimes I fail to hit a key hard enough for the letter to show up. :) ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 06:57, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

WP:UR. Nyttend (talk) 14:51, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

Really long poles?

What's the word for the really long poles that clowns and some showmen strap onto their feet and walk on them? They showed something similar in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus too, where Jude Law started walking on a ladder and it split in halves and looked just like one of those poles... What're they called? 223.231.190.198 (talk) 10:14, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

Are you just talking about stilts? Mikenorton (talk) 10:19, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

Yes! =) Thank you! Sometimes I just can't remember some words that I actually know... Weird thing.. I knew they were called stilts, but couldn't for the life of me remember the word. >_< 223.231.190.198 (talk) 10:33, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

Annoying isn't it? You might find a reverse dictionary useful at such times.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 12:31, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

That's impressive, I tried 'poles walking high' and stilt was the first suggestion. Mikenorton (talk) 12:34, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

Did Pope John Paul II come up ? :-) StuRat (talk) 15:44, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

Sorry Stu, not in the first hundred results, so well below snow blindness - which does make sense I think. Mikenorton (talk) 15:49, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

I was expecting somebody to say "I wouldn't touch that with a ten foot Pole". StuRat (talk) 01:28, 21 April 2012 (UTC)

Probably no such thing, Stu. The tallest Polish person mentioned here is only 7 feet 2 inches tall. -- ♬ Jack of Oz ♬ ^{[your turn]} 06:16, 21 April 2012 (UTC)

Are you sure they don't measure heights from the ceiling down to their heads, rather than from the floor up ? :-) StuRat (talk) 14:36, 22 April 2012 (UTC)

Shilop?  :) -- ♬ Jack of Oz ♬ ^{[your turn]} 04:53, 23 April 2012 (UTC)

Identify the geographical, Clophill, Bedfordshire, UK

What is this large circle on the ground? http://g.co/maps/ra2qx --Rixxin (talk) 14:37, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

It used to be a AN/FLR-9 cold war radio listening device, also known as an 'elephant cage', [7]. Mikenorton (talk) 14:48, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

(edit conflict) According to this, "It turns out to be an FLR-9 high frequency signals interception antenna array which, at the height of the Cold War, was used to intercept Soviet and Warsaw Pact communications as well as non-US Diplomatic messages. During WWII, Chicksands' earlier antennae were used to capture the German Enigma transmissions, which were then passed to the GCHQ code breakers at Bletchley Park." It's at the former RAF Chicksands, now the home of the Defence Intelligence and Security Centre. - Cucumber Mike (talk) 14:51, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

On a similar theme, does anyone know what this is (side view)? It's a lot more modern.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 16:43, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

Click on 51.1626°N 1.3590°E / 51.1626; 1.3590, select the Bing OS map (at top of right-hand column), and zoom in. It's labeled "Aircraft Control Beacon". Compare the lead image at VHF omnidirectional range. Deor (talk) 18:35, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

It is the "Dover" or sometimes on aeronautical charts as "DVR" VOR/DME transmitter, have a look at http://www.trevord.com/navaids/dvr.htm for some ground images. MilborneOne (talk) 11:31, 22 April 2012 (UTC)

Verbing for England

Hearing fictional characters say "She could bore for England" and "You toss for England!" [meaning someone is a bore/tosser of national championship quality], I wonder what verb begat the template. The only sports that spring to my (foreign) mind in which there's a team for England are soccer and cricket, but "plays football for England" doesn't have the same flow. Bowls, perhaps? —Tamfang (talk) 22:27, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

You needn't identify the sport. She could play for England seems a perfectly cromulant template. --Tagishsimon (talk) 22:34, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

Are you sure the phrase isn't Lie back and think of England. is your wife into sport? Nudge Nudge, say no more, say no more... --Jayron32 22:39, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

There's Bonking for Britain. -- ♬ Jack of Oz ♬ ^{[your turn]} 23:04, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

"Could talk for England" seems to get far and away the most Google hits: 50,400 for the exact phrase. It's in common use here in London. Not sure how recent it is, but in six pages of Google Books results for that exact phrase, the earliest was 1997. "Could play for England" is obviously the reference point of the joke, but isn't in itself amusing, so seems a bit unlikely to have set the ball rolling. Alansplodge (talk) 23:17, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

BTW, England also has national teams for Rugby Union, Rugby League, Hockey, Polo and many others, some rather obscure like Rounders[8], and Tug-of-war[9]. Stoolball[10] is so obscure that nobody else seems to play it. Alansplodge (talk) 02:10, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

I think Tamfang might have guessed correctly at the original template: "bowl for England", but in cricket, not bowls, of course. Dbfirs 06:06, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

OR, but I'm fairly sure Tagish is the one who's got it right. "S/he / You should play for England" is probably the original. It's still commonly used, although it's often done tongue-in-cheek. --Dweller (talk) 10:10, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

A linguistic template of this type is called a snowclone, after the myth about Eskimo words for snow. BrainyBabe (talk) 15:08, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

April 20

10mmAutomatic(10x25mm)

I really enjoyed your extremely informative article regarding the 10mm Automatic handgun cartridge. I was wondering why the author didn't include that the HK-MP5 was/is used by the F.B.I.in 10mm Automatic. Also in military service the Glock Model 20 in 10mm Auto. is curently issued to an elite special forces unit of Danish Navy known as SIRIUS. They are responsible for the patrol of Greenlands enormous coastline(Denmark is the sovern of Greenland). The SIRIUS patrols carry the Glock 10mm mostly for self defense against large polar bears as the 9x19mmNATO round has been found to be unsatisfactory. Thank you. Maybe these things can still be addressed. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.28.181.213 (talk) 03:24, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

They certainly can be addressed - and you can help address them! Anyone can edit Wikipedia, just click the 'edit' link at the top of the page and start writing!

However, there are a couple of things it would be good to do first. When we add information to an article, we need to cite the source of the information, and make sure that it is a 'reliable source'. This means that, despite the fact that you already know the information above, you will need to prove it to other editors by finding it in an article from a well-known newspaper, or a (non-fiction) book or similar. You can find more reliable sources in the guide I just linked to.

If you have trouble editing the article, the best place to ask for help is on its talk page. If you need help finding the references in reliable sources, you can ask here. You might also like to pop in to the Teahouse, which is a new project on Wikipedia to help introduce new users to how things work round here. Best of luck! - Cucumber Mike (talk) 06:45, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

Actually, our article on 10mm Auto already notes that 10mm rounds are used by Danish forces in Greenland. Regards, Orange Suede Sofa (talk) 21:53, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

Housing question

i have a flat/apartment in india in Assam the which i am not occupied but locked . the society charges a huge amount monthly for maintenance which has increased again. are there any provisions within which i can be exempted some amount for non occupancy as it is hampering my budget. What is the body that controls the residents association in india. please suggest — Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.199.70.233 (talk) 07:09, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

If I understand you, you own an apartment, but are unable to live there and want to know if you are responsible for the entire monthly maintenance fee. We can't give legal advice, but, in most places, you are obliged to pay the entire amount. I suggest you rent out the apartment, in your absence, to help pay it, if this is allowed. If not, try to sell it. StuRat (talk) 15:33, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

Are BOF Auger Fines same as MIll Scales?

BOF Auger Fine is a "by-product" when a steel mill is producing "steel raw material such as billets or ingots" using "different process"! - May I know what is the difference between auger fines compared to mill scales?118.101.50.166 (talk) 07:17, 20 April 2012 (UTC) TQ

Harry Potter, Christianity, and Witchcraft

I've heard that J. K. Rowling is a Christian. Is that true? If so, then how come I've heard that Harry Potter is evil because it promotes witchcraft and witchcraft is from the Devil?

Bowei Huang 2 (talk) 09:41, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

People will tell you whatever they want you to hear. I'll just quote another famous English author here: "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so" --TammyMoet (talk) 09:44, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

If you read the books you will make up your own mind as to whether they promote witchcraft. Itsmejudith (talk) 09:49, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

Bowei, what you have heard is irrelevant next to what is. You keep asking these witless one-line questions whose answers are either totally subjective or easy to research. You've been asked to stop, and you don't. Your recent questions about systems of governance have been especially daft.

However, because this is a reference desk, and most of us are here because we like trying to answer questions, I'll try:

Joanne Rowling is at least an occasionally practising member of the Church of Scotland, a presbyterian church which is the established church in Scotland, as much as there is one. She is on record as saying "I believe in God, not magic".

The Harry Potter novels are fantasy fiction. They depict a wildly divergent picture of the world, in which history, politics and science are all very different from how they are in the real world. This is because all of these divergent feature were made up by Ms Rowling, or derived by her from admittedly fictional or legendary sources.

There are, to the best of my knowledge, no references to or depictions of Satan (or of God or Jesus) in the Harry Potter novels. There is almost no depiction of witchcraft as it is conceived of by modern Christian conservatives. The books draw on legendary conceptions of witchcraft, alongside other magical or quasi-magical systems such as divination and alchemy, to build up a secondary world in which magic can be studied as an academic subject by those with the aptitude to do so. Magic is depicted as an eccentric alternate science, in which precision and repeatability are key. Dealing with magical creatures is often depicted as a risky and unwise proposition.

But these are novels, and do not give any explicit moral guidance of any kind, nor is this the purpose for which they are commonly read.

The idea that 'witchcraft is from the devil' is a late medieval Christian synthesis without much earlier foundation. In the 11th century, devout Christians in western Europe practised folk-magic rituals alongside Christianity. More recently, Christian anti-witchcraft hysteria has killed many people; as a Christian I regard this as a sinful and sorrowful state of affairs.

The claim that the Harry Potter novels promote witchcraft and Satanism is a lie. If you believe in a personal devil, you might ask yourself who it is that is called the 'father of lies'.

And of course, we have an article on this: Religious debates over the Harry Potter series. AlexTiefling (talk) 10:19, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

"'witchcraft is from the devil' is a late medieval Christian synthesis" is not entirely correct as witchcraft is condemned in the Old Testament ("Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." Exodus 22:18). Rmhermen (talk) 15:05, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

It's by no means unanimously agreed that Exodus 22:18 refers to witchcraft at all, much less to witchcraft as understood in the late medieval and modern West. There's also no reference to a personal devil there, either. A quick search on Bible Gateway reveals not a single use of 'Satan', 'devil', or 'adversary' in this sense in the entire Torah/Pentateuch. I'd suggest that this is because the culture that produced it did not have any such concept. The idea of the Adversary as an accusing angel is late (it occurs in Job, for example); the idea of an explicitly anti-God chief devil or fallen angel is even later, probably a borrowing from Zoroastrianism in the late Second Temple period. AlexTiefling (talk) 16:31, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

For the record, the Church of Scotland is not established (see State religion#State religions by country). 81.98.43.107 (talk) 11:38, 21 April 2012 (UTC)

The most likely explanation seems to be that the people who wrote, and spread, the idea that Harry Potter was teaching 'witchcraft' were mistaken. Those stories began at the publication of the first few books, where only perceptive readers were able to notice that Harry Potter was being set up as a Christ-figure and that the series was explicitly Christian in its narrative. -FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 13:08, 21 April 2012 (UTC)

Witches

One thing people often were accused of in the past was being witches. But how did they know if someone was a witch?

Bowei Huang 2 (talk) 10:19, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

They didn't know. They guessed, listened to false accusations, and used pseudoscientific methods, including torture, to come to their conclusions. Then they often persecuted or even murdered the accused.

There is no such thing as a witch, in the sense of a person with control over supernatural forces. So there is no such thing as the true knowledge of someone being a witch. It should be obvious, therefore, that no-one ever 'knew' that those accused of witchcraft were really witches.

And yet despite this shameful and murderous record, people are still prepared to accuse their neighbours of witchcraft today. AlexTiefling (talk) 10:26, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

That's not really a complete answer, because it misses the point that at least some people practised (and still practise to this day) witchcraft of some type or another. Thus neighbours' reports that X "is a witch" are not necessarily false, even if magic does not exist. In other words, witches do/did exist (probably). But I agree that the evidence types Alex mentions are probably the correct ones, and that it was a very haphazard process that invariably did involve suggestions of magic actually having been practised (in the sense that livestock died as a result of Y's activities yesterday evening, or whatever). - Jarry1250 ^{[Deliberation needed]} 10:32, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

Someone asked a similar question last week. If Bowei is genuinely interested in researching this topic in more detail, the works of John Putnam Demos are very informative and authoritative. --Jayron32 12:44, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

Easy: witches weigh the same as ducks. Nyttend (talk) 14:45, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

Darn, ya beat me to it. —Tamfang (talk) 07:38, 22 April 2012 (UTC)

The question is implicitly based on a false premise, that such beliefs no longer exist. This is not the case, as a glance at Witchcraft will tell you. Many people die each year because they are accused of being witches, or harbouring demons. BrainyBabe (talk) 15:38, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

The most recent case was just 2 days ago.[11] I don't know what's sadder, people who stone "witches" or people who bury their head in the sand in order to pretend the former group doesn't exist. 142.150.237.18 (talk) 18:20, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

The OP asks "...how did they know if someone was a witch?" in many cases those doing the accusing neither "knew" nor even believed that someone was a witch when they did the "accusing". It was a convenient social or political strategy to assign negative characteristics to someone you didn't like. Arthur Miller made that point very strongly in his 1952 play The Crucible, which is an allegory of McCarthyism. HiLo48 (talk) 22:06, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

There was a famous book called Malleus Maleficarum ("The Hammer of Witches"), published in 1487, that explained in detail how witches could be recognized and how they should be treated. During the witch-prosecution era it was widely considered authoritative. Looie496 (talk) 23:08, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

UK import customs

So, a friend of mine sent me some stuff from america, and as well as charging me tax on it, the customs want to charge an £8 clearance fee too, I'm wondering what this is for and whether it's anything I can persuade them to drop whilst I argue that they're overcharging on the tax. Also, since they managed to take a week just to send me this letter and another whole weekend to ship my package out, I need it delivered to another address, is it possible to arrange this, or will I need to pay to have it posted to my new address afterwards?

79.66.96.30 (talk) 19:18, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

Why not ask the relevant government department? They're far more likely to know than us. HiLo48 (talk) 21:58, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

It might be worth checking where that clearance fee is coming from. It might be imposed by the shipper/customs broker rather than by HM Customs. Best of luck, Orange Suede Sofa (talk) 22:18, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

Why you are being charged VAT and/or customs duty depends on what is in the package and how much it is worth. This page on the Royal Mail website (scroll down to the last item) explans about the conditions when they charge the fee. Basically, they have 'got you over a barrel' - you pay the £8 plus any VAT & customs duty, or you don't get your package; it's as simple as that.

For the £8 handling fee, they keep the package in the mail centre, come to the pokey window when you come to get your package, collect your money and fill out the customs paperwork. Barely 50p's worth of service IMHO, but unfortunately such "handling fees" are the kind of crap you have to put up with when the government try to run a public service (like the mail) as a for-profit business </rant> Astronaut (talk) 14:31, 21 April 2012 (UTC)

April 21

Identify a shell

I found a shell, the top of it looks to be a scollop, but the bottom is deep and looks like a clam shell you may know what it is? I looked at all the scollops and clams and it really looks to be 1/2 of each. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.6.104.20 (talk) 00:56, 21 April 2012 (UTC)

A picture is worth 1000 words, and one answer... --Jayron32 01:09, 21 April 2012 (UTC)

Agreed. In the meantime, a wild guess - the turkey wing (Arca zebra); also called a zebra ark. Alansplodge (talk) 00:00, 22 April 2012 (UTC)

Diamond ring price structure

I'm wondering, when buys a diamond ring how much of that cost is split between:

1. The people providing the stones and precious metals (i.e. material costs)
2. The people who manufactured the ring (i.e. manufacturing costs)
3. The people who marketed and sold the finished ring (i.e. sales costs)

I've heard it said that the cost of diamond rings has been artificially inflated by supply limitations on the stones created by suppliers with near monopolistic powers. However, I'm curious how much of the ultimate cost is actually controlled by the material costs and how much of it comes from the other steps in the process. Dragons flight (talk) 02:28, 21 April 2012 (UTC)

I don't have an answer to your questions but in reference to the price fixing and monopoly, see De Beers. Dismas|^(talk) 02:56, 21 April 2012 (UTC)

A classic (if old) article on the diamond trade (or lack thereof) is Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond? Paul (Stansifer) 16:00, 21 April 2012 (UTC)

What type of APA source are these?

http://www.autismspeaks.org/about-us/annual-reports

What type of APA sources are the PDFs on that page? If you have a paid (or school) NoodleTools account and could tell me what type to select there, that'd be even more awesome (but even if you don't, giving me the APA type is fine too). Thanks. - Purplewowies (talk) 03:16, 21 April 2012 (UTC)

They are "Works by associations, corporations, government agencies, etc." as defined by this page, and the reference list is "Corporate author, author as publisher, accessed online" as defined by that page. --Mr.98 (talk) 04:05, 21 April 2012 (UTC)

Thanks. That didn't help me with the NoodleTools problem, but if it comes to it, I know what method to use to manually cite it (I'm just compiling all my citations and notecards through NoodleTools, so it's confusing to do it outside unless I have to). I've also sent them an inquiry (which they literally make impossible to do unless you've already created the citation), and hopefully I'll hear back from them soon. Thanks again! - Purplewowies (talk) 01:13, 22 April 2012 (UTC)

What do you call this part of a sword?

I'm trying to translate the German word Messingbügel, as it applies to a sword. Is there a term for this, other than (brass) handle?

In this picture, it's the C-shaped part which would go around the back of the hand. Herbivore (talk) 14:11, 21 April 2012 (UTC)

The part depicted in your example is the sword's guard. Regards, Orange Suede Sofa (talk) 14:20, 21 April 2012 (UTC)

according to http://web.archive.org/web/20031218222717/http://home.xnet.com/~shrike/rapier/histrap.html it's a "knuckle bow", or possibly "loop gaurd", I have also seem the generic term "curved hilt" — Preceding unsigned comment added by 178.78.88.114 (talk) 14:22, 21 April 2012 (UTC)

I don't think "knuckle bow" is a direct translation - judging from google image results "Messingbügel" in german does literally and figuative mean "brass handle" — Preceding unsigned comment added by 178.78.88.114 (talk) 14:26, 21 April 2012 (UTC)

Here it is called a 'knuckle guard'. Our article simply calls it a 'guard'. The differing styles appear to be called 'Bowl' or 'Bow' shaped. I suggest translating as 'Knuckle guard' or 'knuckle bow guard' for your example. - Cucumber Mike (talk) 14:27, 21 April 2012 (UTC)

More detail in the WP articles Hilt and Basket-hilted sword. Alansplodge (talk) 16:28, 21 April 2012 (UTC)

Kony 2012

This was big at the time of release of the film six weeks ago, but has it maintained its high profile? the article tells me "American supporters were asked to put up posters in their hometowns in an action named "Cover the Night", taking place on April 20, 2012." Did they? HiLo48 (talk) 17:19, 21 April 2012 (UTC)

All I can say is that driving along U.S. Route 9 through Wappingers, New York, today, there were dozens of Kony 2012 signs that weren't there last weekend. Juliancolton (talk) 17:48, 21 April 2012 (UTC)

Here's a graph of the number of mentions for '#kony2012' on Twitter in the last 90 days (or, actually, the 90 days to April 5th). As you can see, discussion peaked on Wednesday March 7th and, after a little spike on 15th/16th March, has hardly been mentioned since. - Cucumber Mike (talk) 21:17, 21 April 2012 (UTC)

As another data point, I just got home from driving around several parts of Richmond, Virginia, and saw a single hand-written sign on a piece of 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper. Generally when the question takes the form "did/do Americans do X?", the answer is "no, we don't get a newsletter every day telling us precisely how to act, and you may have noticed that it's a rather large country/population." --LarryMac | Talk 23:41, 21 April 2012 (UTC)

Surely you can see that I have simply used the wording from the article, which obviously I didn't create. It wasn't about "all" Americans. It was about "American supporters" of the Kony 2012 campaign. I thought it was an obvious question once I read that line in the article. Didn't mean to offend anybody. Just curious about the process triggered by that film. HiLo48 (talk) 08:21, 22 April 2012 (UTC)

This might explain the Kony sign I saw in someone's yard yesterday. It's the only Kony related thing I've seen though. Which is a bit odd considering Vermonters love to jump on a well meaning bandwagon. Dismas|^(talk) 02:09, 22 April 2012 (UTC)

Writing in APA

I am writing a meta-analysis paper on a specific topic by looking at published journal articles and summarizing and analyzing them. Almsot every sentence, I have facts/statistics that I obtained from different articles. Suppose that I am citing a specific article in many sentences in a row, do I need to cite it at the end of every consecutive sentence (John, 1995)? I seem to re-call a professor telling me that if I am citing a single article many times in a row, I can just put a single in-text citation at the end of the paragraph in APA style. Is this appropriate? Thanks. Acceptable (talk) 18:44, 21 April 2012 (UTC)

Yes, you can cite them after the last sentence in the series. That's how it's normally done, as long as its clear that the material comes from a source, and is not your own work. Dominus Vobisdu (talk) 00:05, 22 April 2012 (UTC)

This is often difficult to handle. The basic goal is that the reader be able to tell, or at least guess, which sources support which statements. My usual practice is to reference the first sentence, and not cite explicitly again until I come to something from a different source. If you find that the reader is going to be bombed with citations, you should think about reorganizing your material, perhaps in table form. Looie496 (talk) 00:13, 22 April 2012 (UTC)

What is officially single-spaced?

A paper that I am submitting specifies a the length as a functional of a specific number of pages at single-spaced. In word 2010, the default is 1.15 space and there is another option for 1.0 spaced. Which of the two, 1.15 or 1.0, is official considered "Single-spaced"? Thanks Acceptable (talk) 21:54, 21 April 2012 (UTC)

I think that 1.0 spacing is single-spaced, since "single" means "one". However, only the the organization that you are submitting the paper to knows for sure, so you should contact them with your question. RudolfRed (talk) 00:44, 22 April 2012 (UTC)

April 22

Help with signature please

When I type four tildes I get the following Benyoch ^{Don't panic! Don't panic!} 07:31, 22 April 2012 (UTC) and then Sinebot comes along and adds — Preceding unsigned comment added by Benyoch (talk • contribs) as you will soon see. My question is, what am I doing wrong to cause Sinebot to keep appending its unsigned signature status?

So, signing off now with four tildes ... Benyoch ^{Don't panic! Don't panic!} 07:31, 22 April 2012 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Benyoch (talk • contribs)

Your signature should link to your user page or talk page. See Wikipedia:Signatures. 128.232.241.211 (talk) 08:55, 22 April 2012 (UTC)

See also User:SineBot#What it looks for for why your signature specifically upsets SineBot. - Cucumber Mike (talk) 09:00, 22 April 2012 (UTC)

Just add a link to your existing signature, then SineBot will ignore it. e.g. [[User:Benyoch|Benyoch ^{''Don't panic! Don't panic!''}]] Dbfirs 09:09, 22 April 2012 (UTC)

Thanks, I'll work on it. Benyoch ^{Don't panic! Don't panic!} 12:28, 22 April 2012 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Benyoch (talk • contribs)

John Lewis Partnership and Jessops

John Lewis (department store) used to run a number of stores operating under their original names - I particularly remember Trewins of Watford. One of these was Jessops of Nottingham, which, according to our article, was only rebranded as John Lewis in 2002. Was there any connection between this Jessops and Jessops the photographic retailer? I can't find a reference either way, but the fact that Jessops photographic started in Leicester at least puts them in the right locality. Maybe there's a family connection? See what you can tell me. - Cucumber Mike (talk) 10:26, 22 April 2012 (UTC)

drivng licence

would like to renew my driving license,its old?advice — Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.49.74.163 (talk) 11:17, 22 April 2012 (UTC)

How old is it? Or more importantly, where do you live? (Your IP suggests Kenya.) Adam Bishop (talk) 11:23, 22 April 2012 (UTC)

You need to contact whoever issues driving licenses in your country. There isn't much advice we can offer... --Tango (talk) 11:48, 22 April 2012 (UTC)

Arab and Axis relationship during 1933-1945

I've read that some of the Arab leaders (like Haj Amin al-Husseini) had close relationships with the Nazi party during WW2 and about some massacres of Jews by Arabs (Farhud, 1929_Safed_pogrom,1929_Hebron_massacre and 1945 Tripoli pogrom) but was there any mechanized plan like the final solution ?