Wikipedia:Reference desk/Miscellaneous

May 31

wii spiderman 3

hey, i have the spiderman 3 game for the wii, and i have been looking around for the spider symbols all around manhattan and i haven't been able to find one. I would just like to know if anyone can help me in that, and if anyone has already found them all, what is the surprise?

Wikipedia is not a guide. Check gamefaqs -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 02:25, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

WWII lighthouses

A question which I hope someone here might be able to answer... Dunring World War II, blackout conditions were enforced in many countries (stringent ones in the UK in particular). No house lights, no streetlights... but what about lighthouses? On one hand, they'd have been perfect navigational beacons for enemy aircraft, but on the other, extinguishing them would have been hazardous to all shipping, both enemy and friendly. How was this situation dealt with - were lighthouses lit or not? Thanks in advance for any answers. Grutness...wha? 06:16, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

A Google search on "lighthouses", "blackout", and "ww2" produces the answer in the first two hits. (There are lots of variations on that search possible, of course; that was just the first one I tried.) The answer is, some were blacked out, and some were not. Presumably the decision would depend on the particular risks at each location. By the way, this question would have been on-topic for the Humanities reference desk. --Anonymous, May 31, 2007, 06:41 (UTC).

In Norway, common practise was that harbour managers in major port cities along the coast controlled lighthouses close by. Lighthouses were nearly always turned on to aid friendly convoys, off otherwise. 81.93.102.185 17:06, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Likely hood of realistic androids and gynoids?

This kinda fits into both science and computing, so I figured i'd put it here. About when will robots be able to pass themselves as humans, such as in any number of sci-fi, kinda leaning towards Chobits or A.I., past the uncanny valley, and able to converse fairly realistically (at least a low highschool grade level)? And when will these be availble at realistic costs, around the cost of a car nowadays? -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 06:22, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Perhaps they're already passing for human ... how could you tell? Dum dum DUM! Neil (►) 09:59, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

I believe ASIMO is pretty much how far our so called robots have reached in intelligence. From what I think, it's a stupid robot compared to the ones in tv shows and such. We would still need to develop a sort of AI that can create it's own logic, or somehow be programmed for infinite possibilites since interacting with humans is random, at best. Looks like ASIMO is 166,000 USD/year for rent. As for when? I think sometime in the next 20 or 30 years, but your guess is as good as mine.--GTPoompt 12:40, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

There seems little point in creating robots that are only as good as humans at doing stuff. It's a whole lot cheaper and more useful to build specialist robots that can do one thing better or more efficiently than a human, whether it's washing your dishes or mowing your lawn. There is only one area in which making lifelike robots is economical, and that is proceeding by leaps and bounds.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 13:25, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

I don't think that's true, there's plenty of markets for realistic robots. Maids, nannies, caretakers for the elderly, companionship for the lonely, and in general, just something people will be expected to have, even if they don't really need them, like cars or a TV. I'm more looking for professional opinions/articles on when this would be probable, though -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 19:26, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

I would expect development of such bots to stop at the lip of the uncanny valley. —Tamfang 01:03, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

A.I. is taking a lot longer than people expected it to, and robots that can reliably interact with the difficulties and unpredictabilities of physical reality still seem quite some time off, though in the last decade or so some big jumps have been made. As for cost, I think the price of a car is probably about right, maybe cheaper depending on the constituent parts, assuming you are mass-producing them and not building them as one-off, two-off models. --24.147.86.187 13:48, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

What you are asking about is a robot that can pass the Turing test. I doubt that there will be many such robots ever, because although it may be useful to have a robot on the far side of uncanny valley, having one that can pass pass for human is pretty pointless; besides, as robots become more humanlike, people will learn to be better able to tell robots and humans apart. — Daniel 03:37, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

ASIMO is preprogrammed to walk, isn't it? I remember seeing ASIMO and another robot on a program, and the other robot has the ability to learn stuff on its own. For example, if you were to delete its walking program, it can relearn it through trial and error, much like a baby. Anyone know of this robot? I'm not sure how much else the robot can do, but still, that's pretty impressive to me. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 19:23, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

The one I saw on the program wasn't as small as Pino, a robot that can also learn to walk, and it was developed by a group that spoke English, as they had no translators during the program. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 19:30, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Architecture

Where does it fit in to Ref Desk enquiries I wonder. Anyway, does anyone know who designed the Ministry of Transport building here in Tbilisi, Georgia: [1] Thanks Mhicaoidh 10:43, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Georgy Chakhava, according to this new york times article. "Mr. Chakhava was not only an architect but also the minister of highway construction. As such, he was not just his own client; he could also hand-pick the project’s site." ---Sluzzelin talk 12:47, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

extended lifecycle of food products

could you please help me to understand what the title of this homework means: "list products that have had their lifecycles extended ie mars bars" --89.240.86.145 13:53, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Question slightly refactored. Answer: it's not a very good question, for the reason that it is ambiguous in nature. Taking the example cited, it is (to me, at least) unlikely that mars bars have had their lifecycle extended. A mars bar is a chocolate & toffee based confection, which without modification will probably last for months and years. Breaking the question down, it could be asking about a couple of things - list products which have a longer shelf life (i.e. longer period in which the product is usable) as a result of some process which extends the life (like canning fruit, ultra-heat-treated milk). Or it could be asking about products which in recent times have achieved longer shelf lives as a result of recent innovations (e.g. selling sandwiches in containers filled with inert gases, or the use of carbon dioxide gas, bacteriocin production, high-pressure, pulsed electric fields and irradiation to increase the shelf life of milk.) I'd advise you to answer the question by setting out the two possible branches of answer, and then illustrate each as I've done. You may find a google search on extending shelf life of milk and more generally on extending shelf life useful. --Tagishsimon (talk)

Oh boy! You have a problem with the setter of this question. I can't think of any way that Mars Bars have had their life extended. Extension comes primarily from promotion, based on either a real or perceived improvement. i.e. Soap power brands gained extended life through adding blue pieces of bleach, perfume, etc. But the Mars Bar hasn't changed. The Mars Bar Brand, however, has been extended... into Easter Eggs, mini-bars, ice cream and so on. You must define your terms (and hope that whoever set this question is smarter and fairer than it would seem). (p.s. Not a snide comment. Have been examiner for 20 years and this question is awful.)86.202.156.187 14:59, 31 May 2007 (UTC)petitmichel

Good catch. In which case Product life cycle management won't help you much, but it is at least in the right area. --Tagishsimon (talk)

word(s)?

What is it called when someone does something to get people to notice them. I think it begins with p. HS7 14:17, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

• pestering?
• Self-promotion? --Tagishsimon (talk)

Pose, as in poser ?86.202.156.187 14:51, 31 May 2007 (UTC)petitmichel

"Grandstanding"? Bielle 15:43, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

"Peacocking" would also be a possibility. Friday (talk) 16:25, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Posing, preening, posturing, or pretence/pretension? Neil (►) 17:11, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Publicity stunt?

Politics?

Atlant 20:01, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Peeing in Public? Thats 2Ps for the price of one!

As per Neil above, "posturing" and "preening" would both fit. I'd be inclined to go with "posturing". In yesterday's Times newspaper, columnist Matthew Syed described Graham Poll, the controversial football referee who is now retiring, as "preening" and "pouting"; if you read the article (see here), Syed certainly holds the view that Poll is somebody who often "does something to get people to notice" him! Hassocks5489 08:06, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Spelling Bee Protests

BBC News currently has a intriguing quote which it claims comes from protesters outside a spelling bee[2] - however, I can't find anything, either on the BBC or through a Google News search, which explains why people would be protesting over a simple spelling competition. Can anyone shed some light on this story? Laïka 14:34, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

An article from 2004 regarding this "fenomenon". --LarryMac | Talk 14:40, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Spelling Reform -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 20:51, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Wiki Markup

In [3] and other versions you can download Wikipedia, what I'm wondering is: where is a list of the markup (stuff like <foo>bar</foo>), and there function, that, I've heard but not seen, gets used? Thanks, Jeffrey.Kleykamp 14:34, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

I found something, is the markup used in the download the same as this: Wiki markup? Jeffrey.Kleykamp 14:41, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Are you talking about HTML? Neil (►) 17:04, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

No, I heard that the all files in the link are all text files with extra markup in between. Jeffrey.Kleykamp 18:44, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

The database dumps use XML. I'm not sure if there's a schema document for it or not, but it's pretty self-explanatory. --Carnildo 23:01, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Location of image

Can someone help me identify this building?

That's quite the building. Can you tell us what city and/or country it is located in? That information will help us narrow it down, as well as encourage people with the appropriate, specialized knowledge to click through. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 16:13, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

To my untrained eye, the writing on the boat looks like it could be in Arabic, suggesting a Middle Eastern or North African location. Rockpocket 18:03, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Or Farsi (Iran) or Urdu (Pakistan). Marco polo 19:13, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

I just asked some friends in an IRC chat who reside all over the world. The general consensus is that it's probably in Thailand. This is deduced from the type of building and the dragon on the side of the boat. However, being from Tunisia or Morocco is just as likely. JoshHolloway 20:33, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

My eye is even more untrained in respect of languages, but my immediate thought on viewing the picture was "Thailand". I did spend some time there and something about what little we can see of the writing on the boat suggests Thai lettering to me. Bielle 04:36, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

I'm not convinced that there's enough resolution to say for sure that the marking on the stern is writing, but if it is, I agree with Rockpocket that it's most likely Arabic script (which, as Marco points out, is also used in Iran and Pakistan). I can't absolutely rule out any other script. —Tamfang 05:55, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Arecaceae in Mumbai, India

If you are so eager to know, try to post the image in the Science RD. Maybe the vegetation would help narrow down the location. CG 11:47, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

I have already tried that scope of investigation, the resolution of the image doesn't appear sufficient to identify vegetation precisely. There is what appears to be at least two Arecaceae species, but they grow through-out the tropics and subtropics. The thin pointy trees are more interesting and I can't identify them. This question is driving me crazy, I'm going to be pissed if we can't get to the bottom of it! Rockpocket 17:29, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

This t-shirt

Is the "Tooth Juice" t-shirt male or female? Thanks, 86.148.185.28 17:21, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

The shirt goes either way from what I can tell. --Tλε Rαnδоm Eδιτоr 17:43, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

The shirts that have straight sides are generally unisex. Girl's t-shirts have a curvature on the side. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 20:20, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Food coloring in water

This may seem a little out there, but: once water has had food coloring put in to change its color, what would one have to add to it to make it appear clear again?--Fyre2387 ^{(talk • contribs)} 18:32, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

I believe you could try and freeze it or boil it. There's probably nothing that could simply be added would make the water clear, unless it's a very specific sort of food colouring. Neil (►) 19:05, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Bleach will probably remove some colors of food coloring, see here (scroll down to item K912). Just don't drink the water afterward. --LarryMac | Talk 19:52, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

United States Postal Inspection Service

...is headquartered where? The official link does not give an answer. Scriberius 19:06, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

According to the article's infobox, the headquarters is in Washington, D.C. Marco polo 19:12, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Yeah, but I need the address. Scriberius 19:19, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Since the headquarters is supposed to be in Washington, I don't know if this address is correct but I found it on the website.

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS SERVICE CENTER

222 S. RIVERSIDE PLAZA STE 1250

CHICAGO IL 60606-6100

Hope that helps. --Tλε Rαnδоm Eδιτоr 19:30, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Hmm, the C.I.C. is just a branch - isn't the HQ located in Washington, D.C.? A source would be great... -- Scriberius 19:38, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Okay. Here is a source. Notice that the second person listed in the second panel is the Chief Postal Inspector, head of the US PIS, who is based in Washington. Note the statement of the top post in this thread that US PIS employees are employees in the USPS headquarters. (Admittedly not the most reliable source.) The USPIS is a division of the US Postal Service, as you can see in this organizational chart. Per this document, and other documents on the web, the office of the postmaster general, and USPS headquarters as a whole (including the USPIS) is at 475 L'Enfant Plaza SW, Washington, DC 20260. Marco polo 20:13, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Alright, that's more than I expected ₪ thanks for the research! -- Scriberius 01:41, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Harmonica

Hi!

I need to know two things. Well, first I would like, (if possible) the information on the author, publisher and copyright date of Wikipedia-The Encyclopedia. Also, I would like to know waht material(s) the harmonica was originally constructed of.

 Vielen Dank!

P.S. Please supply by today! (Thursday, May 31)

Wikipedia is collaboratively edited. However, citation suggestions can be found for every article via the "Cite this article" link at the bottom of the left-side toolbar. Please be aware that for many papers, citing encyclopedias is generally frowned upon; consider independently checking the sources in the harmonica article and citing them directly. — Lomn 21:32, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

I agree that it's a little hard to tell by reading the article, but it sounds as if the materials haven't changed very much in the hundred years or so that harmonicas have been around. The article seems to me to imply, though not state, that the earliest harmonicas would have been metal, like the majority of modern ones. -FisherQueen (Talk) 22:11, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

How many feet are in a year?

Plz answer how many feet are in a year?

This is not a meaningful question, because a foot measures length, while a year measures time. -FisherQueen (Talk) 21:31, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

However, you can find how many feet are in a light year, should that have been your intent. Google "feet in a light year" for the answer. — Lomn 21:34, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

I'm thinking one unisyllabic foot (if there is such a thing) in "year", or one iambic foot in "a year". Clarityfiend 21:47, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

How many insane questions until Wikipedians refuse to answer more? :))) Keep up the good work! 81.93.102.185 22:07, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

There will always be new Wikipedians to answer the insane questions when the old Wikipedians get tired of them, or die. So the answer is, "As long as there are insane questions, there will be insane Wikipedians to answer them." -FisherQueen (Talk) 22:09, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

The answer is blowing in the wind. —Tamfang 05:57, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Maybe it means how many feet are grown by all the animals in the world in a given year. —Tamfang 01:10, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Perhaps this user/ip means how far does the earth move in a year? --Tλε Rαnδоm Eδιτоr 01:30, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

1. V-Man - ^T/_C 03:48, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Or perhaps the OP wants to know how many footsteps the "average person" takes in a year. -- JackofOz 01:58, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

I don't think an object can be inside a unit of time. ❤ ɱӑԀסԀÏƏ₭Ⓐ†Ǝ ✭ | ^talk 03:55, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

You can say either "I'll send it to you in a week" or "I'll send it to you in a padded envelope." —Tamfang 03:53, 24 June 2007 (UTC)

If year is a typo for yard, the answer is three. ---Sluzzelin talk 05:37, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Pace (unit of length) may be useful. -- SGBailey 06:12, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

My friend used to have a calculator which would happily convert seconds to meters to energy etc. I'll have to see if I can get hold of it 213.48.15.234 08:29, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

42 --LarryMac | Talk 13:16, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

A year is 1/100th of a century. In cycling, a century is 100 miles. So 1 year = 1 mile. Thus 5280 feet in a year. iames 15:49, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

What about cricket? —Tamfang 03:53, 24 June 2007 (UTC)

Five tons of flax. NeonMerlin 14:58, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

times square recruitment center

are there any picture on the internet of the interior of the times square recruitment center? also does the building have 1 or 2 floors

I could not find any picture right away, but an idea would be to do a google image seacrh for time square recruitment center. As to the 1 or 2, from the exterior photos I found, it looked like two. I'm not sure though. --Tλε Rαnδоm Eδιτоr 01:37, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

This is the building, and looks like it probably only has one floor, because of the way it's stuctured. Plus, it'd be just too small to fit two floors in for fully grown adults, so unless they employ midgets on the top floor, I can't see it being two. No luck on the interior front, sorry JoshHolloway 09:59, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Both of you might be correct as per Storey#First floor. Europeans count floors AFTER the ground floor, while in US ground floor is synonymous with first floor. Shinhan 19:46, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

That's silly. Naming floors is different from counting them. A two-stor(e)y building has two floors, weather they're called first and second or ground and first. To put it another way, if a building has floors called ground floor and first floor, you wouldn't call it a one-storey building or say it has one floor. 20:25, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

June 1

Geography

What are the jobs that are related to Geography?

According to the article, mostly engineering- and analysis-type jobs are available in that area. V-Man - ^T/_C 03:09, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

These days Geographic information systems are widely used and a lot of people are employed in the ever-growing field. Of course, the work tends to be computer database management and software/web programming, just like every other field these days it seems. Pfly 06:05, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

It also depends which area of geography you enter. Obviously, there are academic jobs. Beyond that, there are jobs with government agencies managing the environment. Geography is a good preparation for graduate study in city and regional planning, which leads to planning careers. Geography is useful in some areas of marketing and logistics. I myself have a geography degree and have ended up (for the time being) in educational publishing, where my geography training gives me valuable content expertise. One of my former colleagues, a climatologist, is now a television reporter on the Weather Channel (a U.S. television channel specializing in weather). If you study climatology (a subfield of geography), a career as a meteorologist is an option. Marco polo 17:08, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Banned from Redstate

Since the kind folks at RedState seem to be unwilling to reply, I will post this here in hopes that someone knows anything about this. It seems I have been banned (without warning) for no stated reason. I had been arguing that a certain blogger's support of the French Revolution while discussing the merits of the Iraq War was rather bizarre coming from a supposed "conservative". The original poster replied with personal attacks and accused me of "mobying". I was subsequently banned. Being a conservative myself, I am wondering why I have been banned. I am also wondering what "mobying" means. The post in question --71.189.165.175 02:55, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

From Googling "mobying," it seems to have something to do with the musician Moby and his remarks about posing as one party to make the other party look good. Perhaps you have been accused of misrepresenting the conservative movement? V-Man - ^T/_C 03:07, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Apparently the possibility of an anti-war conservative seems absurd to them for some reason. I guess Paleoconservatism is a liberal conspiracy. --71.189.165.175 03:16, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Wikipedia is in no position to know what goes on in other websites, or what rules they adopt. I think this is something you need to take up with the administrators of Redstate. I appreciate you've already asked them. I think any site that blocks people for unstated reasons and doesn't respond to questions about why the block was put in place, is not really worth spending much time on. Wikipedians sometimes get blocked here, but they always know exactly why. -- JackofOz 03:19, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Is the "original poster" European? The term "mobbing" (but pronouncing with a long "o") is used in German to mean harassment of one person by several others, for example, in a work environment where a clique makes a point of treating an individual badly. A more involved discussion can be found here. W. B. Wilson 05:48, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Blue moon

Since tonight is a blue moon (going from the definition of 2 full moons in a calendar month), I was wondering, what is the maximum number of blue moons in a year? 68.231.151.161 05:23, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

See Blue moon#Calendar blue moons. It seems the term "blue moon" is ill-defined, but in the sense I think you mean, while there are normally 12 full moons every year, every 2.72 years on average there are 13 of them. There are never more than 13, which means there can only ever be at most 1 blue moon in any one year. JackofOz 05:46, 1 June 2007 (UTC) ... except when there's no full moon at all in February, in which case both January and March will have a blue moon. (acknowledgments to my friends below for this correction) JackofOz 13:10, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Quote from Blue moon#Calendar blue moons. The months of the Gregorian calendar are all very close to the 29.5306-day period of the moon's phases: the synodic month, or lunation. Most of the months are longer than this by one or two days, except February, which is the only month which cannot contain a calendar blue moon. Since February is one or two days shorter than the moon's cycle, very occasionally it has no full moon – there is a full moon at the end of January, and the next one is at the beginning of March. What this means is that both January and March will have blue moons. This happens, on average, once every thirty-five years." -- SGBailey 06:04, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

All the math is beyond me; I have troubles with counting. However, this site [4] says that two in a year are possible, but only every 400-500 years. Leap year comes into it somehow. Bielle 06:06, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Look again: it says ";four or five times in a hundred years", which is more than one in 35 but in the same ballpark. —Tamfang 07:28, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

It last happened in 1999. It next happens in 2037.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 08:20, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

What is the third full moon of a month called?

Unlikely. V-Man - ^T/_C 21:51, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

sensors and transducers used in the ship control system

what sensors and transducers are used in the ship control system,and where on the ship they are used,what is their working principle and which companies supplies them in the market,and how they are maintained?

Too many questions and too much like homework, I think, to raise an answer. And, indeed, too many sensors. --Tagishsimon (talk)

Is gold Quest legal and safe?

some days ago , one of my friend informed me about the company Gold Quest. They are demanding Rs/-30000, for a gold coin(market value Rs/-15000-16000) and if I can recruit another 3+3 people for them, they will pay me Rs/-11000 and this chain will continue. This company belongs to Hong-Kong. I want to know , is this legal in India and is it at all safe? —Betaj 12:26, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Please help me as I am very confused.Betaj 12:26, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

It does not sound like an arrangement that can ever benefit all customers; it is analogous to a ponzi scheme, in that you make a return if you introduce others to the scheme. I opine that it is of dubious legality in most jurisdictions and very very unlikely to be safe. One to avoid, I think. --Tagishsimon (talk)

You might find our article on pyramid schemes to be helpful. The company claims that it is legit, but it has been accused of being a pyramid scheme, and has been banned in Iran, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. I found news stories out of Iran and Nepal that do not report positively on the experiences that Gold Quest investors have had. -FisherQueen (Talk) 12:41, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

This sounds like multi-level marketing, not a pyramid scheme. It is probably legal, but you are unlikely to be able to recruit enough people. NeonMerlin 18:52, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

If it's merely MLM, why is the sucker being asked to buy the goods for twice their value? —Tamfang 20:10, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

It's obviously a pyramid scheme - which would make it illegal in many countries in the world. Don't join it - you're either going to lose 15k - or someone you recruit will - either way, it's not good. The problem with pyramid schemes is that only the people at the top of the pyramid can 'win'. The more people are recruited, the fewer 'suckers' there are left to be at the end of the chain - all of those people lose out horribly in order to make the people at the top of the chain money. Trust me when I tell you that you aren't at the top of the pyramid! So it's certainly not safe - whether it's legal or not depends on your local laws. I know it would be illegal in the USA or UK. SteveBaker 16:51, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Yep. In a pyramid scheme, assuming EVERYONE continues the chain until a certain generation, at least 80% of the participants get screwed -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 20:50, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Digestion of steak

Some website I read a while ago claimed that a steak takes 9 months to digest. That's complete bullshit, right?

Right. Imagine what would happen if you ate, say, five large steaks within 9 months, if that were the case. --140.247.248.42 14:03, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

It is AFAIK possible for bits of fecal matter to remain in the large intestine for very long periods; the supporters of Colon hydrotherapy make claims that they manage to extract old bits of gristle through that process. But that aside, digested or undigested, that steak will for the most part pass through your digestive tract in a matter or a couple of days or so. --Tagishsimon (talk)

I imagine what this means is that someone once put beef samples in a flask of stomach acids and watched until no solids were visible. —Tamfang 21:09, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

What does the steak digest that takes so long ?86.197.17.24 14:40, 1 June 2007 (UTC)DT

The large chunks that you don't chew well enough, usually. V-Man - ^T/_C 17:40, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

The steak doesn't digest anything.

What websites are good

What websites are good other than Wikipecia.

What a nice implied compliment! As for "good", it means, as in most cases, "good for what?" It depends on what you want to do with the web. If you want to buy things online, there are good and bad sites for that. If you want gaming advice, there are good and bad sites for that. If you want news about gadgets, there are good and bad sites for that. And so on. --140.247.248.42 14:04, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

A list of the most popular websites can be found at Alexa. JoshHolloway 15:02, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Pokey the Penguin. Recury 18:24, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

While we're on the subject of penguins, I spend a lot of time at Ubuntuforums.org. Personally I'd rather play a good MMO than be on websites though -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 18:29, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

I like http://www.watching-grass-grow.com/ and http://www.watching-paint-dry.com/ —Keenan Pepper 07:52, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Certainly Wikipedia is pretty darned amazing - but if you look at (say) the most visited sites by American users, we're not the most popular. The ranking (as of today) is:

1. Yahoo!
2. Google
3. Myspace
4. Microsoft Network (MSN)
5. YouTube
6. EBay
7. Thefacebook
8. Craigslist
9. Wikipedia

(You get vastly different results if you look at UK visitors or something - but if you look at world-wide rankings, you get a lot of chinese language sites that probably aren't what our questioner wants)

So if we ignore the search engines, we're the sixth most popular in the USA. Those that are more popular (does that equate to 'better'?) ones are Myspace (a social network where people can set up webpages, etc), YouTube (where you can watch a lot of kooky videos and talk about them), Ebay (buying and selling your 'stuff'), Facebook (another 'social network') and Craigslist (look up businesses, classified ads, etc). But it all depends on what you want. Your personal interests might radically change your opinions. If you are into movies (for example) then IMDB might be a site you'd prefer over Wikipedia for looking up movies. If you're a computer geek - then you might crave news at Slashdot rather than reading WikiNews. There are lots of specialist sites that are better than Wikipedia within their niche. But as a completely generalised source for everything - it's pretty clear that Wikipedia wins hands-down. SteveBaker 16:37, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

For a good time, purple.com. - AMP'd 01:48, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

NFL

Who is the tallest person in the NFL? Also, who is the player that weighs the least?

Jonathan Ogden is 6'9", I think he is tallest currently. Recury 18:08, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Roscoe Parrish weighs 168 pounds. He is the smallest I've found looking through the rosters on NFL.com (I'm bored at work). Recury 18:24, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Defensibility of the bottom of a trench

During trench warfare, wouldn't it have been easy to open a raid of the enemy trench by digging tunnels across no man's land, to either intersect the enemy trench or lay explosives under it? NeonMerlin 18:41, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Yeah, basically! Recury 18:54, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Some info as it relates to trench warfare here as well. Recury 18:56, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

"Easy" is not the word to choose. 200 yards in soil under a battlefield cannot be easy in anybody's terms. And, Of Course, miners from the coal mines were used to dig and bomb the enemy. Equally both sides were alert to the danger and kept tunnel watches as best they could. (In old castles dishes of water were placed near the walls so underground vibration would be detected.) But "easy" never!!86.219.36.29 10:55, 3 June 2007 (UTC)DT

Where did the barbarians go?

If the Roman Empire fell to "the barbarians", where did the barbarians go? Is it true that we (modern Europeans) are the descendants of those same peoples?

Elinde7994 19:37, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

I bet if you asked this in Humanities that Clio would give you an lengthy and entertaining answer but here you just get directed the article because I don't know anything about anything. It says "The term "barbarian" is commonly used by medieval historians as a non-pejorative neutral descriptor of the catalog of peoples that the Roman Empire encountered whom they considered "foreigners", such as the Goths, Gepids, Huns, Picts, Sarmatians, etc." which I think supports your thesis. Recury 19:56, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

A good idea would to read the articles Goths, Huns, and other barbarian tribe articles. --Tλε Rαnδоm Eδιτоr 21:06, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

It was partly a matter of perception. If you were a Roman being attacked by them, they certainly seemed like a group of uncivilized savages, but if you lived in their home towns they probably seemed similar to other civilized people. On the other hand, if you were a "barbarian" captured in battle by the Romans and about to be killed for sport in the Coliseum to the cheers of the crowd, you likely wouldn't find the Romans to be very "civilized", either.

Many "barbarians" also eventually adopted many of the Roman ways, like the Latin alphabet, so became more Roman over time. To look at just one group of "barbarians", those north of Hadrian's Wall eventually became the Scots, and, to this day, are rather distinct from the rest of Great Britain. They could be thought of as a bit more "earthy" than the English, so there is perhaps a bit of the old barbarian spirit still left in them. StuRat 02:53, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Och StuRat, ye will regret that slight on me noble forbears, ya puny sasenach! ; ) Mhicaoidh 05:46, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Alas, I fear his days are numbered! He'll be kilt for sure. Clarityfiend 06:41, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

StuRat made a mistake!! What?? Never!! I don't believe it!!! Oh yes he did!! Hadrian's Wall doesn't separate England from Scotland and never did. And neither does or did the more northerly Antonine Wall that runs East to West across Central Scotland from the River Forth to the River Clyde as it passes through my home town of Falkirk. Both walls were built at the command of different Roman Emperors to keep out the marauding northern tribes (not necessarily Scots) then accustomed to attacking the Roman occupation of Britain. Neither wall succeeded in achieving that objective of course and long after the Romans left for home, the English and the Scots, with help from the Irish, Welsh, French, Belgians, Germans, and others, continued to battle over the Border issue. Just look at Berwick upon Tweed which changed hands umpteen times with murderous loss of life in the process. Today, Berwick is just on the English side of the Border, yet strangely, it's soccer team plays in the Scottish League. So the best that can be said, for the Antonine Wall at least, is that for a relatively short period of time, it marked the northern extremity of the Roman Empire. Sorry StuRat.

The original "Scots" came from Ireland, rather later. —Tamfang 21:15, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

The Migration Period article is another good place to start. As to "where did the barbarians go?" and "are we (modern European) .. descendents on those .. peoples?" -- a short answer is "they settled down in various parts of Europe" and "yes". A more complex answer would point out exceptions. For some of the so-called barbarians, their connection to modern European nations can be seen in their names. The Franks and France, for example; the Bulgars and Bulgaria; the Magyar (Hungarians) and Hungary; the Lombards and Lombardy in Italy; the Angles and England and England's East Anglia; the Saxons and Saxony, as well, in England, Essex, Wessex, and Sussex. Others less obvious from names alone: The Visigoths ended up in Spain and southern France; the Ostrogoths in Italy; and the Jutes, from Jutland, in southeast England. The Vandals gave their name to the Spanish region of Andalusia. I'm not sure what the ultimate fate of the Vandals was. The Vikings, or Norsemen, a term encompassing many sub-groups, settled lastingly in parts of England (eg, Northumbria and much else), Scotland, Ireland, Italy, France (eg, Normandy), and many other places.

This nutshell history is overly simple, especially as later migrations altered populations (eg, the Moorish conquest of Visigothic Spain). But in response to the question, many of the "barbarians" settled down and remained. Pfly 04:56, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

Modern Europeans' descent is quite complicated, but tests of the gene pools of European communities generally suggest that most people in the community are mainly descended from a mix of the earliest inhabitants, who arrived before the agricultural revolution, and the migrants who probably brought agriculture to the region, probably as part of the Danubian expansion. Gene pools do show traces of later arrivals, such as the Roman soldiers awarded land in what are now Spain, France, and Serbia, or the "barbarians" who were the ruling elite in many places after the fall of the Roman empire. However, the post-Roman "barbarians" were actually rather small minorities in most places where they settled, and most modern Europeans who traced their ancestry back 1500 years would find that most of their ancestors were the ancient inhabitants of their native regions. Just a few of their ancestors from 1500 years ago would have been "barbarian" invaders. Obviously the big exception would be the homelands of these "barbarians", such as Germany. But the same principle applies. The ancestry of most Germans from 1500 years ago would consist mainly of people speaking Germanic dialects and living in the present-day territory of Germany. Marco polo 15:38, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

The Vandals apparently settled in and around Carthage.

Circumcision

See circumcision. Some trolling was added, removed, re-added, and then fed. I've refectored this section to that it still contains the relevant link, but taken out the trolling and feeding. Friday (talk) 17:21, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

June 2

"N/A" ZIP code

I live in Canada. Is there a standard U.S. ZIP code to use in poorly-designed online forms that demand one even when I specify that I'm in Canada? NeonMerlin 02:44, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

A gift company that I occaisionally work at uses five zeros for a foreign zip code. Dismas|^(talk) 02:58, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

The backup for most US citizens is 90210, although if you want something shipped to you that might not be a good idea. There's 60062, from The Breakfast Club. Five of a single number is probably best though-- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 04:08, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Restaurant business

I am keen to open a vegetarian restaurant specializing in South Indian delicacies( Only three items)in Delhi. However, I am a novice as far as restaurant business is concerned. I would like the guidance of readers to achieve my dream?

Some factors to consider:

1) Do you know of a location which needs that type of restaurant ? That is, is there a shortage of such restaurants in that area ?

2) Is there a location you can rent or buy there ? An existing restaurant would be ideal, as it would have most of the equipment you will need. However, be sure to ask why they are renting it out or selling it instead of operating a restaurant themselves.

3) Will you need to hire employees ? If so, how much will you need to pay them ?

4) How much money do you have saved up ? Will you need a loan to get your business started ?

5) Do you plan to do any advertising ? If so, factor that cost in.

6) Are there any legal requirements (licenses, permits) required ?

7) Should you form a corporation for tax and liability purposes ?

StuRat 07:20, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

boarding pass question

For those of you who printed out your boarding passes for united airlines flights you may have taken. I am wondering what the big black numbers on the bottom left of the boarding pass stub mean.Thanks--logger 07:18, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Depending on the company you're going through, it could be a confirmation number, just to make sure that you are the person who printed the ticket at the time of purchase. Usually it is logged in the airline's system with your name, and your identification will complete this check. V-Man - ^T/_C 17:45, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Stellarium

pl. help me to download the above software. i couldn't find the correct link to download. thank you124.43.243.233 08:01, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Go to http://www.stellarium.org/ and then click on the OS of your choice in the upper right of the screen. For me, I just clicked on the Mac OS X version and it started downloading automatically. Dismas|^(talk) 09:43, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Daily Death Rate in Iraq

Approximately - what is the daily death rate OF CHILDREN under 16 years of age, in Iraq, excluding those caused by natural causes?

None, of course, death is natural. -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 22:41, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

While death itself may be natural the cause of death is rarely natural. Joneleth 02:57, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

The short answer is that that exact statistic is not likely to be known, though you may be able to estimate it from other known statistics. Here is what is reported:

• The United Nations reports that 34,452 violent deaths occurred in Iraq in 2006. The Iraq Body Count project reports approximately 24,000 violent civilian deaths in 2006. The Lancet calculates approximately 370,000 deaths in 2006 (an excess mortality rate of 14.2 deaths/1000/year.)
• A 2004 door-to-door survey of 988 Iraqi households, containing 7,868 people in 33 neighborhoods estimates that 46% of the violent deaths involving coalition forces in Iraq "were children younger than 15" [5]
• In 2005 the Iraqi child mortality rate (counting under 5s) was 125 deaths/1000 live births (i.e. in that year, 122,000 Iraqi children died before age 5). [6]

Take those numbers, mix them together and pretty much whatever way you look at it, you get a lot of dead children. Rockpocket 07:28, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Bunker as in Golf

Could any of you golf experts tell me if the word "Bunker" is synonomous with "sand trap"? Are all sand traps bunkers? Is it ever proper to call a grass area a bunker? Is there any kind of a dug out area, that is not a bunker? thanks, wsc

Bunker (golf) answers a few of your questions, but in short:

• Yes,
• Yes,
• Such things that are often called "grass bunkers" are not real bunkers in the Rules of golf,
• Depends on what you mean by "dug out area", but there are ditches and other hazards on some courses that may fit your description, but are not bunkers. Rockpocket 23:10, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

June 3

Smelly refrigerater

Hi...Recently my husband put some squid in our refrigerator, forgot about it, the bag leaked and spilled onto the bottom of the frig. It went into the seams of the refrig. I've tried everything to get the smell out. What would chemically neutralize the smell....

Baking soda is usually used to do this. Just setting an open box in the fridge should take some of the smell out. Dismas|^(talk) 01:33, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

My personal experience is that it is almost impossible to get smells out of rubber. If the smell is in the rubber stripping that seals the door, you may need to replace that stripping. Bielle 02:21, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Try freshly squeezed lemon juice for any fishy smells. If that doesn't work, see above. -- JackofOz 04:33, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

song lyric questions

In the song "Since you've been gone" by kelly clarkson, she says -how can I put it, you put me on- Is that basically like "turn me on"? if not, please verify! :) also, what is the basic gist of the song? is she glad that he's gone, what is it? thanks much!

Google "since youve been gone lyrics" to bring up this[7] and other sites. Yes the basic gist is she's glad he (or she) (or it, perhaps a cat, dog, some kind of pet, perhaps) is gone Mhicaoidh 03:46, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

To put someone on normally means that you've been fooling them into believing something that isn't true. Dismas|^(talk) 03:53, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Exactly! Thats what my two siamese cats constantly do to me. I thought I owned them but.... Mhicaoidh 04:04, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Court case outcome

What does it mean when on a court case file it says "Outcome: REVERSED and REMANDED" 69.156.53.32 03:47, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

See remand for a definition. And I am not a lawyer but I would think that "reversed" would mean that a previous ruling was changed to favor the other party in the dispute. But I could be wrong. Dismas|^(talk) 03:52, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Misheard lyrics

Darn it, as the Americans say, I've forgotten what the word is for misheard song lyrics. Anyone know? Mhicaoidh 03:54, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Mondegreen. --Joelmills 03:58, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Damn those edit conflicts! you just beat me to it, I was looking forward to a conversation with myself Mhicaoidh 04:00, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Proper name of Nature Strip?

Is nature strip the proper name for the grass area between the footpath and the kerb by the side of a road (sometimes has plants/trees)? Going from a house to the road: there's the frontyard of the house, then the footpath, then the "nature strip", then the kerb and then the road. I've also heard it being called a median strip, is this also the proper name for this? --203.208.110.207 05:01, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

depends where you live, in the antipodes the Australwegians call it a nature strip, the shakey isleites call it a grass verge or berm. A median strip is a grassy strip along the middle of a road / highway separating the two streams of traffic Mhicaoidh 05:10, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Often erroneously pronounced as "medium strip". -- JackofOz 05:46, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

While double-checking the two words I'm familiar with, boulevard and verge, I found that we have an article on the topic, entitled tree lawn. Anchoress 06:50, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Devil's Strip!! How wonderful! See [8]  : "What people call that strip between the street and the sidewalk turns out to depend on where they live. When I was growing up in Connecticut, we called it the "shoulder," but other terms heard around the U.S. include "tree bank" (common in Massachusetts), " berm," "right of way," "green strip" and the logical, if unglamorous, "dog walking area." According to The Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE), which pays close attention to such local lingo, "devil strip" is heard almost exclusively in Northeastern Ohio, up around Akron. DARE suggests that the term may arise from the strip's legal status as a sort of "no man's land" between public and private property. "Devil" occurs in many such folk terms, applied to plants, animals, places and things, usually those considered dangerous or unattractive, and the sense of "devil" when found in place names is often "barren, unproductive and unused." DARE notes a similar term "devil's lane," first appearing around 1872, meaning the unusable strip of land between two parallel fences, often the result of neighbors being unable to agree on a common fence. And another term, "devil's footstep," dates back to around 1860 and means "a spot of barren ground." So it's not surprising that a strip of land next to the street, unusable by anyone, would be christened the "devil strip." In fact, for Ohio, it's downright logical." Mhicaoidh 07:32, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

how wikipedia handles it

At extreme risk of violating WP:BEANS, I'm rather a little concern on how Wikipedia handles sockpuppets. If thousands upon thousands of master sockpuppeters (using OP) vandalize simultaneously/work together to destroy articles (copyright, POVism, highly disputed edits, personal attacks etc.), simply full protect the page will cut off the openness of the encyclopedia and the wiki will not improve effctively. How will Wikipedia survive under those conditions? Is there a away to enchance/upgrade semi-protection to refute sockpuppets of banned users and sockpuppeters?--69.228.148.219 05:17, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

The age old dilemma. See democracy Mhicaoidh 05:24, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Male astronauts aboard the ISS

Astronaut or not, men will still be men and will want to succumb to certain male urges (that is, masturbate). But does NASA allow its male astronauts to do this in space? I imagine it would be hard to keep the ejaculated fluid from flying away in no gravity and getting into the instrument panels. So are they allowed to/do they masturbate upon the space station? --172.129.193.125 05:21, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

For "precious bodily fluids" see Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb Mhicaoidh 05:30, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Allow? Just how are they going to stop them? Clarityfiend 08:09, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Likely they're told to just be quiet about it and use the vacuum toilet. Sex in space is kinda a taboo subject at NASA. They've experimented *ahem* with some techniques, like copying dolphins, with a little success, although it's hard to find their results-- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 09:10, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Bubblegum animated gif

I'm looking for an animated gif of a boy blowing bubblegum and the bubble bursting. Anyone know any good gifs that fit this description? --Candy-Panda 05:43, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Talking About Islam

I have two questions:

1. Are there any users of Wikipedia who are, or who claim they are, Muslims? If so, then can I have a talk to them?

3. Are the discussion pages of articles in Wikipedia suitable for writing and sending and telling messages, comments, advice, or requests about Islam or to look at something about Islam?

2. Are there any forums, blogs, chatrooms, soapboxes, or places similar to the Reference Desk, etc, on the Internet where I can do those sorts of things?

The Anonymous One 09:17, 3 June 2007 (UTC)