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May 5

User pages list?

Is there a way to get an auto-list of all of my user pages so I can keep track? User:DoctorGiants 02:18, 5 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Go to your contribs and look for a link called "subpages". That might be what you're looking for. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 02:30, 5 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Your Fort_McMurray page is missing info re forest fire currently destroying the city. I can't add this, as it's protected.

Re: Your Fort_McMurray page is missing info re forest fire currently destroying the city. I can't add this, as the page is protected.

Page: Fort McMurray

If I have posted this in the wrong place, please, please forward to the correct people!

Thank you, - Hal Lane - 5/5/2016 6:13 AM EDT 24.225.74.54 (talk) 10:14, 5 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

This is a fine place, though WP:HD might have been slightly better. It's okay though.

That said, it has been in the article at least since yesterday. See Fort McMurray#May 2016 wildfire. I didn't bother looking back any further since there are quite a few edits in the last few days. Dismas|^(talk) 11:57, 5 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The first entry was posted a couple of days ago:[1] ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 15:14, 5 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

It is now also mentioned in the lead paragraph (I was in the process of adding a note there myself, but another editor beat me to it). Alansplodge (talk) 18:49, 5 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

May 6

Mexican Holidays

Which is a bigger celebration in Mexico: Cinco de mayo or day of the dead? 50.68.120.49 (talk) 01:05, 6 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

this article claims there are 5 holidays "bigger" than cinco de mayo, including the day of the dead. The way I read it, the biggest national day is Mexican Independence Day, followed by day of the dead, which is celebrated around Latin America, not just Mexico. Vespine (talk) 03:39, 6 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Public holidays in Mexico has some information. The Mexican Federal Government recognizes 8 National (called "Statutory") holidays. Neither Cinco de Mayo NOR Day of the Dead (officially Día de Todos los Santos) is among them. The article does not mention the relative "size" of the celebrations involved, though Wikipedia does have articles on each of the holidays individually. --Jayron 32 12:09, 6 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

UK NHS fragmentation

Surveys and think tanks often suggest that the NHS is fragmented but does this mean fragmented in terms of workflows, policies and procedures? Do people have differing views on how things work? Clover345 (talk) 08:36, 6 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The NHS is not a single organisation - it consists of a large number of local health trusts operating services in relatively compact geographical areas. Certain standards are set nationally, and there is centralised oversight of the trusts, but they retain significant autonomy in the planning of local provision. Some degree of variation is inevitable: hospitals in a large city are fairly close to each other, and so may arrange for some specialised services to be available at some hospitals only, while in more rural areas a single hospital may serve quite a large area and will need to have the full range of provision available on the spot. The full structure is too complex to describe briefly in an answer here: read National Health Service (England) - and even then you only have a part of the total picture. 81.132.106.10 (talk) 11:43, 6 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The reforms introduced by Andrew Lansley have made the NHS more fragmented, as new bodies were created. They also made the NHS less fragmented, but healthcare more fragmented, because some responsibilities have been transferred to bodies outside of the NHS, such as public health moving to local authorities. --Dweller (talk) Become old fashioned! 12:18, 6 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Cultural Appropriation

I was watching this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HrmAgYE-6k) of Hugh Laurie's cover of Unchain My Heart with a friend who scoffed at it and complained Laurie should not be singing that song because he's white. The conversation boiled down to him trying to explain to me that it's wrong for white men to play blues songs. My question is, does this cover of an already well known and oft-covered song count as cultural appropriation, or is it really a homage? How can we tell the difference between the two? To me, it seems like Laurie just covered a song he liked, and was rather good at it, end of story. Does him covering the song cause harm to black people in the states in some way, by misappropriating their identity or by taking away their voices? 139.5.231.141 (talk) 18:59, 6 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia has articles titled cultural appropriation and cover song. Unfortunately, we cannot tell you what your opinion should be of Hugh Laurie's performance, though you are not forbidden by anyone here from learning about those concepts and formulating your own opinion. --Jayron 32 19:02, 6 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

It's perhaps worth noting that Unchain My Heart (song) has been recorded by many people before. Nil Einne (talk) 20:13, 6 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Based on that philosophy, Nat King Cole should not have been covering Mel Torme. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:46, 6 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Wow, Bugs remembers Nat in the days when all TV was all Black and White. Maybe Dr. Gregory House, MD would diagnose the very antipathy of Folie à deux for the OP & friend's experience and bewilderment of dicovering diffrent view points...--Aspro (talk) 21:25, 6 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

TV wasn't entirely black and white then, there was an occasional Asian. :-) StuRat (talk) 21:35, 6 May 2016 (UTC) [reply]

What about the Red Injun Tonto. Don't native Americans count anymore unless they have a Green Card? That reminds me of when Tonto ask the Lone Ranger to look up into the sky and tell him just why they could see thousands of stars in the middle of the night. What did it all mean. Can't remember the Lone Ranger's reply but Tonto said “"You dumber than buffalo. Someone stole tent."” --Aspro (talk) 23:09, 6 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Far Side cartoon: "The Lone Ranger, long since retired, finally gets a chance to look up a word in the dictionary he always wondered about" :

Kimosabe: n. Native American expression for the rear end of a horse.

"What the hey !" StuRat (talk) 03:16, 7 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

That is a dangerous route to go down. Should we ban anyone who isn't French from singing Piaf songs, or anyone who isn't Scottish from singing the Skye Boat Song? Perhaps Americans should not be allowed to sing Verdi opera unless they are of Italian descent! 81.132.106.10 (talk) 21:17, 6 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

We could just restrict the discussion to what is legal. That is, has the original author of the song (not always the original performer) or current owner given permission to cover it ? Thus, it's up to them to decide what uses of the song are, or are not, appropriate. StuRat (talk) 21:22, 6 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

From Cover version#U.S. copyright law:

Since the Copyright Act of 1909, United States musicians have had the right to record a version of someone else's previously recorded and released tune, whether it is music alone or music with lyrics.[6] A license can be negotiated between representatives of the interpreting artist and the copyright holder, or recording published tunes can fall under a mechanical license whereby the recording artist pays a standard royalty to the original author/copyright holder through an organization....

Loraof (talk) 00:41, 7 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

that's correct, people have the right to cover/rerecord music via Compulsory_license so long as they follow the proper procedures...68.48.241.158 (talk) 03:19, 7 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I'm waiting for someone to say that people not of New World descent mustn't eat tomatoes. —Tamfang (talk) 06:26, 7 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Nobody should eat tomatoes, vomit-creating balls of hives-inducing laxatives that they are. DuncanHill (talk) 08:24, 7 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

No, bees produce honey. Beekeeping supplies manufacturers produce hives. DuncanHill (talk) 19:07, 7 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Allergies can produce hives. Duncan might be allergic to tomatoes. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 17:03, 7 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Example of a naturally occuring beehive, made by bees. KägeTorä - (^影_虎) (もしもし！) 14:14, 9 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

That beehive looks rather exposed. Most bees build their hives in a more protected space, like my attic. StuRat (talk) 14:45, 9 May 2016 (UTC) [reply]

Lone Ranger and Tonto suddenly get surrounded by a hoard of hostile Red Indians. Lone Ranger says to Tonto: 'I think were in the shit here Tonto.' to which Tonto replies: 'What you mean 'we', white man?--178.107.62.251 (talk) 17:52, 7 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Cute, and very old. The punch line I've heard is "...paleface." And the joke ignores the fact that the Ranger was friendly with the Indians. :) ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 19:09, 7 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I think the tent story, farther up in this section, has also been told about Holmes and Watson. It could just as easily have been Sven and Ole. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 19:15, 7 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Burqa or niqab comedy video

I remember that on YouTube there was a video like a comedy video on burqa or niqab and it was aired on a French televsion or some European tv network and they were making fun of Muslim womens' right to wear the clothing and they did it by having a woman with niqab and burqa with holes for different part of the body like mouth, anus, vagina, breasts and etc. I see it is no longer on YouTube. Does anybody know the tv network and where can I find it? Please and thanks. Donmust90 (talk) 23:32, 6 May 2016 (UTC)Donmust90Donmust90 (talk) 23:32, 6 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Could you possibly be thinking of the "niqabitches", two anonymous performance artists who made a video of themselves walking around central Paris wearing face-concealing burqas, cut off at the upper thigh? That was in 2010, just before the French law changed. I'd call it political commentary, rather than comedy, but your judgment may differ. [2] Carbon Caryatid (talk) 17:40, 9 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

No not really. It was different than that. Donmust90 (talk) 16:21, 10 May 2016 (UTC)Donmust90Donmust90 (talk) 16:21, 10 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

May 7

Statistical occurences of road signs.

Does anyone here have any statistical data on how often particular road signs are used?

I was considering what signs should be included as 'guide-book' common ones in driving guides at Wikivoyage.

My list includes some obvious ones like

Stop/Yield signs
Speed limits.
No entry etc.

But it would be nice to have some statistical data for other signs which a traveller is statisticly more likely to encounter. ShakespeareFan00 (talk) 10:41, 7 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

you're going to have to clarify what you mean if there's any chance at people answering...what kind of statistics? as in ratio of 'stop' signs to 'yield' signs in the world? if so, this is very odd information...68.48.241.158 (talk) 11:46, 7 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

See [3]. Within the past few days the government has asked local authorities to cut down the number of road signs in their area. Motorists have suggested that this will increase the number of prosecutions - for example if the number of speed limit signs is reduced. Currently local authorities follow a government manual of many years' standing advising on the placement of signs - the government say it will still be available for guidance. 92.23.52.169 (talk) 12:04, 7 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

As in which signs occur the most often, the Sign resarch data linked by the other contributor is a good. Is there a comparative survey for road markings.

The manual you refer to is probably the Traffic Signs Manual IIRC, some of it's not been updated for some time ShakespeareFan00 (talk) 13:25, 7 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The Wikivoayge article I was initally focusing on was voy:Driving_in_the_UK#Road_rules ShakespeareFan00 (talk) 12:25, 7 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

but these are distinct signs, with different meanings...if there were two different kinds of signs that both mean "stop" then it might be of interest as to which style of "stop" sign you're most likely to run into...but otherwise, what's the point???68.48.241.158 (talk) 12:48, 7 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

For more on this see [4]. 92.23.52.169 (talk) 13:06, 7 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

For anyone inclined to assemble such statistics, don't forget that terminology may differ according to country. For example, in New Zealand, "Give Way" is the sign for "Yield", "Railway Crossing" is the sign for "Railroad Crossing", and "No Exit" may be called "No Through Road" or something else elsewhere. Akld guy (talk) 21:03, 7 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

One way to find out could be if you could find a source for the quantities of these signs manufactured annually. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 18:18, 8 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Given the long lifespan of some signs, that might not help with knowing how many of each kind are actually still in use. For example, the old "HALT" signs in the UK were/are being replaced with "STOP" or "Give Way" signs - but speed limit signs dating back to the 1900's are still to be found on back roads. So if you were able to discover that more STOP signs were manufactured than (say) 30mph signs - that wouldn't tell you anything about the ratio of the two in actual usage. Conversely, in the USA, when the 55mph universal speed limit was imposed - and then rescinded - the manufacturing of speed limit signs mush have gone through the roof, while other sign types would not. SteveBaker (talk) 13:22, 10 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The Road Authorities of some countries have databases that among many many other things, include every piece of signage on the roads. The Norwegian one even has a publically available API for extracting information. --NorwegianBlue^talk 06:29, 9 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Soap in hospital bathrooms in Beijing

Having lived in Beijing for a while something that strikes me as really bizarre is the lack of soap in the public restrooms of public hospitals. I've been to six public hospitals (these public hospitals are all considered among the best in the city) and not a single one of them had soap in the public restrooms. And for a prosperous location like Beijing I can't imagine complementary soap would be much of a financial burden.

This lack of soap in hospitals has struck me as maybe the most bizarre phenomenon I've seen in Beijing so I'm curious about this subject and would like to know the opinion of better informed. Is it that visitor hand hygiene isn't that important or is it bizarre negligence in a fairly well regulated and sophisticated city? Muzzleflash (talk) 13:07, 7 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I often encounter a lack of lavatory paper in public lavatories, but that's not a fault on the part of the authorities - anti - social customers nick it. You'd be surprised at the variety of things that go missing from hotel rooms, including bathrooms. 92.23.52.169 (talk) 13:13, 7 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

you could probably answer that as well as anyone...if you google, there's all kinds of culture shock stuff related to china and bathroom hygiene etc...I suspect there are sinks with soap in closer proximity to patients etc that doctors etc use....68.48.241.158 (talk) 13:16, 7 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

What? You mean complete bathrooms go missing from hotels? THats a new one.--178.107.62.251 (talk) 03:31, 8 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Yes - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/hotels/galleries/Unusual-items-stolen-from-hotels/luxury-bathroom/ 81.132.106.10 (talk) 09:42, 8 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I'm in Hangzhou, which is going to be hosting the next G20 summit (so, not Beijing, but certainly comparable). I don't think it's going to be just one single thing, but a combination of what everyone above has said and more. I could write a few paragraphs on this, but in short, most of the working folk I've seen generally don't live in the sort of conditions that would lead one to expect free soap ^{(yes, cities have a lot of rich people, but a lot of folks aren't rich)}, there is a general apathy regarding a lot of regulations, and most people simply just aren't concerned at all with the prospect of losing their jobs. I've also started to suspect that the understanding of germ theory is a bit different here than in the west ^{(and that's ignoring the people I've met who distrust "western" evidence-based medicine completely)}, and have concerns with how much style seems to matter more than substance ^{(though I had those in America as well)}. It's entirely possible that the hospital decided it was better to spend the money on trying to look clean than on actually being clean, or that whoever was supposed to put in the soap dispensers had enough Guanxi with a health inspector to not "need" to, or that everyone treated it the same as the various nominal smoking bans, or that there actually has been almost no demand for free soap dispensers. Probably a combination of all those.^{[original research?]} Ian.thomson (talk) 11:08, 8 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

May 8

Polish Government in Exile

the Polish Government in Exile had maintained its existence, but France on 29 June 1945,[6] then the United States and United Kingdom on 5 July 1945[6][27] withdrew their recognition. The Republic of Ireland, Francoist Spain and the Vatican City (until 1979) were the last countries to recognize the Government in Exile.

What was the reason why the G.B. had quit their recognition of Poland?
Why does countries like Cuba and Spain have still recognize the Polish Goverment? And did Cuba recognize them even if it has become communistic and "best friend" of Russia? What was the "benefit" for the country of Spain to recognize the Polish Goverment, was it because of the catholic religion, like Vatican did? --Ip80.123 (talk) 12:11, 8 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

You've quoted the Polish government-in-exile article; for background see Potsdam Conference and the earlier Yalta Conference, and generally Western betrayal, all of which should really be linked from the government-in-exile article.
The holdout recognition countries were both Catholic and anti-communist. Poland was the largest Catholic country to come under Communist rule. Cuba must have switched recognition after the 1959 revolution if not before. Ireland's position was ambiguous after it joined the UN in 1955; formal diplomatic relations with Warsaw came in 1976, but recognition might have been in the 1960s.

jnestorius^(talk) 13:28, 8 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry jnestorius I have really not seen any reason why the USA and UK stopped being "friend of Poland"... And about the other Countries there is no information in the Text only that Vatican has stopped the recognition..--Ip80.123 (talk) 14:11, 8 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The non-Soviet allies made a "deal with the devil" with the Soviet Union that they would withdraw recognition in exchange for the Soviet Union allowing free elections in those nations. The Soviet Union then betrayed the Allies by not holding free elections and instead maintaining puppet states in Eastern Europe. However, by that point the Soviet Union had executed the leaders of the Polish Resistance, and had nuclear weapons, so there was no way to force them out, therefore recognition of the government in exile wouldn't have accomplished much. (Might have still been a good propaganda move, though.) StuRat (talk) 14:27, 8 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

It is not possible to recognise two competing governments of the same country at the same time (which is why every country which eventually recognised communist China had to end recognition of Taiwan). When one government is actually running the country, and the other has no control at all within the country it claims to govern, there are many practical and economic reasons for recognising the government in power - whether or not you actually like its politics. You can only afford to recognise the government in exile if you have no significant political or economic ties with the country concerned. The western allies' agreements with Stalin may well appear unsavoury today - but we see the with the benefit of hindsight. During the war the choice was not between communism and liberal democracy - it was between communism and Nazism, and the Nazis were seen as the greatest danger, which had to be defeated at any cost. 81.132.106.10 (talk) 09:10, 9 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Part of understanding why the original Government-in-Exile never returned to formal power comes in the Provisional Government of National Unity, when some of the leaders of the Government-in-Exile agreed to form a coalition government for the reconstruction of the Polish State after the war. The Government-in-Exile members were eventually pushed out by the Polish legislative election, 1947, paving the way for a Soviet-friendly state. --Jayron 32 13:06, 9 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I remember clearly from my international law lectures forty years ago that recognition is significantly different between the UK and the US. The US regards recognising a government as a political act, the UK regards it as a practical one (and explicitly repudiates any suggestion that recognising a government grants it legitimacy). Our article Diplomatic recognition doesn't explain this, but its discussion of de facto vs. de jure recognition is relevant. --ColinFine (talk) 19:52, 9 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Which Satellite?

Can you tell me which Satellite has flight over the world for Apple Maps, Nokia Maps, Yahoo Maps, Bing Maps? It looks like they have not used the same satellite which has used Google for Goolge Maps.--Ip80.123 (talk) 14:09, 8 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Apple Maps has a little bit of info, saying "The main provider of map data is TomTom, but data is also supplied by Automotive Navigation Data, Hexagon AB, Intermap Technologies, OpenStreetMap, and Waze." And according to this, "Google gets its data directly from its own satellite images and Street Maps data (more on that later), while Apple has struck up a partnership with the fledgling GPS maker TomTom to fill out their online archive of everyone’s houses, businesses, and street names." Dismas|^(talk) 14:25, 8 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

So, it looks like AM gets its map data from TomTom who acquired Tele Atlas to get their imagery. Dismas|^(talk) 14:30, 8 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Seems rather weird for a source to call TomTom a fledgling GPS maker in 2013 or later. Nil Einne (talk) 16:49, 8 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Since you mentioned satellites, it sounds like you may be referring to photographic view rather than maps per se. If so, bear in mind that the imagery particularly high resolution ones aren't necessarily taken by satellite. They may be aerial photography. Nil Einne (talk) 16:54, 8 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

What about Nokia, Yahoo and bing?--Ip80.123 (talk) 16:59, 9 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry for the confusion, what I said applies to all. Nil Einne (talk) 21:24, 9 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Most large-scale online satellite photos actually use the same satellite source: Landsat 7. The reason that they look different is that they are processed by different companies (Google uses TruEarth, Bing uses TerraColor) which means that the colours will be different and some images may have been taken at different times or stitched together differently. Yahoo and Google also use satellite images from DigitalGlobe, who have quite a few different satellites. Smurrayinchester 08:06, 10 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah - but landsat 7's resolution is about one pixel for every 15 meters in some kind of false-color and only every 25 meters in visible color. If you're zoomed in to where you can see individual houses - then you're looking at photography from an airplane, not a satellite. SteveBaker (talk) 17:24, 10 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

May 9

Electric Golf Carts

Are all electric golf carts provided with speed governors. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:43:4101:327B:2419:65F5:234A:1001 (talk) 14:55, 9 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

This is a gas powered golf cart but it has lights so I suppose you could call it electric.Hayabusa golf cart] Goes of tangent at the start but then 7 minutes in it goes back to the cart for a test drive -really fast. Want one and I don't even play golf.--Aspro (talk) 17:21, 9 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

A quick search on the subject throws up lots of sites telling owners how to change the settings to over-ride the speed governor - which rather suggests that most carts do have one fitted. Confirming if they all do is rather more difficult - even if every model checked has one, that doesn't prove there isn't a model somewhere without one. 81.132.106.10 (talk) 19:22, 9 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Several towns in Texas seem to have regulations concerning golf carts - and of the handful I looked at, most specify a top speed of 20 mph - and several insisted that be enforced by a speed governor. SteveBaker (talk) 20:37, 9 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Golf cart racing involves revamping carts with new engines, suspension systems and tires. See U.S. goes crazy for 90 mph golf carts (a CNN report with a video that doesn't play). Of course sometimes having a speed governor could save embarassment (video). AllBestFaith (talk) 11:50, 10 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Our house backs onto a golf course - one that provides gasoline-powered carts. Having seen the way some of some of the more crazy golfers drive these things, I'm definitely in favor of speed limiters! This is a fairly hilly course - and even at 20mph, it's quite amazing that they don't roll them over as they drive across the steeper parts on wet grass with half a dozen people clinging onto the outside them! SteveBaker (talk) 17:20, 10 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

May 10

Earning money

what are the ways to earn money in india — Preceding unsigned comment added by 111.93.67.150 (talk) 10:14, 10 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Economy of India would be a good place to start your research. --Jayron 32 11:15, 10 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The only way to earn money is by working. Anything you gain by other means is not earned. The verb "to earn" is defined as "obtain (money) in return for labour or services." 81.132.106.10 (talk) 14:40, 10 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

That is one definition. There are other valid definitions which do not include labor. --Jayron 32 14:47, 10 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

BUNTHORNE. Tell me, girl, do you ever yearn?

PATIENCE. (misunderstanding him) I earn my living.

BUNTHORNE. (impatiently) No, no! Do you know what it is to be heart-hungry? Do you know what it is to yearn for the Indefinable, and yet to be brought face to face, daily, with the Multiplication Table? Do you know what it is to seek oceans and to find puddles? — to long for whirlwinds and yet have to do the best you can with the bellows? That's my case. Oh, I am a cursed thing! Don't go. - from Patience, or "Bunthorne's Bride", a Gilbert & Sullivan comic opera. AllBestFaith (talk) 17:49, 10 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

What's with the giant funnel?

In this photo on today's front-page, I'm reminded of a question I've long meant to ask:

Why does the locomotive on the left have that gigantic funnel for a smoke stack, where the one on the right does not? This seems to be a feature that's unique to steam engines of the Americas. European steam engines always seem to have the cylindrical design of the engine on the right. If the funnel-shaped design has advantages, why don't all locomotives use it? If it doesn't, then why were so many engines made that way? SteveBaker (talk) 12:53, 10 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

See Chimney_(locomotive)#Spark_arrestors and Spark arrestor. --Tagishsimon (talk) 13:09, 10 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

(ec)That is a "bonnet chimney", a type of spark arrestor. Different fuels, especially wood, are more prone to generate sparks. They weren't common in Britain because a) British locos mostly burned coal; b) by the time the railway age began, Britain was mostly deforested and so lumber wasn't as cheap and readily available as in North America; and c) Britain is rarely dry enough for stray chimney embers to spark a serious fire. Presumably the loco in your photo with the conventional chimney is a coal burner. -- Finlay McWalter··–·Talk 13:10, 10 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Ah - I guess that makes sense since the photo is from the time when the east and west coasts of the USA were first joined by a rail line. It might make sense that the loco from the west coast was wood-fired and the one from the more industrialized east coast used coal. If that's true, then it adds a whole layer of additional "depth" to the image since it implies more than just a physical connection - it adds a layer of "industry meets woodsmen" (of course, knowing my luck, the photographer was standing to the North of the event at the time! :-)

Many thanks for a great answer! SteveBaker (talk) 17:16, 10 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Not necessarily to the north; the photo may be reversed. Hard to tell in such a small image with no lettering discernible. Akld guy (talk) 21:18, 10 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Fortunately, that was not the only photo taken that day, so we know it's not reversed. You can also confirm this by sunlight and shadows. According to multiple sources the ceremony took place around midday local time, so the sunlight was from the south. So from the shadows and non-shadows of the people in the front rows to the left and right of the men shaking hands, we are looking more or less northwest. And in the particular area where the events took place, the tracks were aligned northeast-southwest, not east-west, so that fits. --69.159.61.172 (talk) 23:42, 10 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Talking now about the locomotive with the straight chimney, the Union Pacific Railroad was not, and still is not, an East Coast railroad; it's just that it was connected by other railroads to the East Coast. It originally ran west from Omaha. I had some trouble finding confirmation that Union Pacific No. 119 was coal-burning, but did find it in this 336-page PDF scan of a typewritten original document (from the US National Park Service, which the Golden Spike National Historic Site belongs to). See pages 14–17 (original numbering; pages 17–20 of the PDF). The UPRR's first 25 locomotives burned wood, but subsequently bituminous coal from Wyoming was available and #119 was built to burn that. --69.159.61.172 (talk) 18:02, 10 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

What did a piece of string around the wrist mean in the 1970's.

I was watching the film The Diary of a Teenage Girl (set in the 1970's) and noticed that the girl had a piece of string around her wrist in several scenes: first at around 11 minutes in the film when she is in the bath tub; and at about an hour in at the beginning of the acid taking scene; also in a bed scene with the lesbian. This reminded me of the cover of Sex to Sexty magazine #36 - a porn joke magazine also from the 1970's - where the man in front also has string around his wrist. Click here for that cover: http://www.comics.org/issue/524207/cover/4/

So what does this string mean? (Great film btw). Martin. 93.95.251.162 (talk) 14:02, 10 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Possibly a form of Friendship bracelet, which started to become popular in the 1970s. --Jayron 32 14:46, 10 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Some have a religious significance. Some are just a sort of good luck charm. Exactly what the meaning might be in each case depends on colour, braiding, country and the context. 81.132.106.10 (talk) 14:48, 10 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Wrong information provided about Kublai Khan under Genghis Khan

Under Genghis Khan it states that Kublai Khan was his brother, this is wrong Kublai Khan was his grandson. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.108.57.165 (talk) 17:51, 10 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Where in the Genghis Khan article to you see this? The only references to their relationship that I can find say "grandson". Favonian (talk) 17:58, 10 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Cube

I bought this Cube, not sure what it's truly called but its a fake made in china one; its smaller than the original one and white in colour rather than black.

Are all the colours situated similar to/exactly as the original?: Yellow opposite White, Green opposite Blue, Orange opposite Red.
What's the secret theory to put them all back to square one?

Apostle (talk) 19:25, 10 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Assuming you are asking about a Rubik's Cube, then based on the one I have on my desk, the answer to your first question is yes, that is the colo(u)r layout. There are several articles linked from the main article discussing solutions. --LarryMac | Talk 19:31, 10 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]