Wikipedia:Reference desk/Miscellaneous

June 20

Legality of Child Selling

Strictly speaking, in the USA, would transferring custody of a child in exchange for currency be legal, as long as they weren't being put into some illegal situation, such as sexual abuse or slavery? -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 02:42, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

Question is answered here: [1]. StuRat 03:14, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

Trying to find where to get a print of a concert photograph

My boyfriend is in a photograph taken at a Rush concert in the 70's. This photograph is in a book that was writtten about Rush. We have been trying to get a print of this photo but are having a hard time. Does anyone have the e-mail or address of Neal Peart or Rush to ask them? We have tried the books author and he doesnt even know who took the picture. Any help is appreciated.

Have you tried asking the publisher? They probably know more about it than the author does, since they probably had to pay the photographer royalties -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 03:30, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

If the photo is of decent size and quality, an alternative might be to get a professional photo restoration thing done to it. Won't be as good as having the original film, but it's better than nothing. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 04:34, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

what is the history of tampico fibre brushes?

Tampico fibre brushes are used in multiple industrial and residential settings. Where is this natural vegetable fibre produced/grown? In the scientific community it is well understood that this natural fibre cleans better than nylon or plastic becuase it is "hydrophyllic,(sp?) Absorbs water and particulate matter as opposed to pushing it around. An search on google only gives sources for tampico brushes not history of the fibre. Please respond. 63.194.90.237 05:20, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

It is made from Agave lechuguilla, which is native to the Chihuahuan and Sonoran deserts of Mexico and the Southwestern US. --mglg_(talk) 02:57, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

birth control

on Comparison_of_birth_control_methods#Effectiveness_of_various_methods, it says that the table is applicable for the first year of use.

1. Does this mean having sexual intercourse once a day for an entire year?

2. Then does this mean that if I have unprotected intercourse once in a year, then the probability of failure (i.e. pregnancy) is (1/365)*0.85 = 0.0023 ?

1. While the table is a bit unclear on this, typically these types of figures would be calculated from the failure rates of large sample sizes of people that were using each particular method of contraception over the course of a year. There would not usually be the 'requirement' that they had to have intercourse once (and only once) each day for that whole year. In general terms, it's more a case of 'use this contraception for a year and see if you get pregnant'.
2. No. The chance of pregnancy is highly variable. For example if your one time is in the peak of the fertile window then chances of pregnancy are relatively high, if in the middle of menstruation, then not so high. Remember also that these are only average figures, and can vary widely from individual to individual. --jjron 07:28, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

There are days in the month when you are very unlikely to conceive, and days where you are much more likely to. One of the survival mechanisms for the human species is that your body and your hormones may convince your mind that having sex is a pretty good idea right at the time that you are most able to conceive, thereby lousing up the statistical inference. Edison 13:45, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

Paratrooper in Civ III weapon

This is a very obscure question but what weapon does the paratrooper use in Civilization III? I have included a picture of the paratrooper, standing next to a marine [here].

The marine appears to be wearing USMC Vietnam-era clothes and carrying an AK-47.

I saved the sound file but how/where do I upload files? In the game it vaguely sounds like a MP5. --Blue387 06:46, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

Well, it looks like of like a QBZ-95, but with a shorter barrel and the magazine location is flipped. Honestly, it's probably just a stylized MP5 or something. --Haemo 07:47, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

That's a tiny little picture, but from the curvature of the magazine, I'd say whatever it is uses rifle ammo of some kind, not (relatively) straight-walled pistol ammo. Friday (talk) 19:13, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

I agree with Haemo, while the weapon on the left is definitely a variant of the AK 47, a CZ or AKMS or something perhaps, I suspect the weapon on the paratrooper to the right is either too pixelated to identify or more likely a fictional gap filler. SGGH ^speak! 20:41, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

NCEA math credits

Do you need good quality NCEA math credits as in excellence in year 11 to get into university in New Zealand?

It largely depends on what course you want to do in Uni. The minimum credits that you need for university entry is level 2 or above (I think, not 100% sure); in math-related courses where space is limited, it certainly helps if you get higher quality credits than just Achieved ones, but it depends on what course you choose. --antilived^{T | C | G} 07:49, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

I'm talking about ncea level 1 math credits

I doubt anyone would be too concerned about level 1 results, BUT it depends on what course you are aiming to do at University, entry criteria for some are very competitive. Best to ask your teacher or phone the university you are thinking of attending and ask for the School / Department /Faculty you want to enter or Intending Student Information. Mhicaoidh 08:30, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

What course in uni teaches me Pediatrics? and do i need math a lot for the course?

At uni level, pediatrics is in Medical School, NZ has two, Otago and Auckland and entry is very competitive. Phone or email them for advice. Math wouldnt be particularly useful but they will be looking for high level academic achievement all round especially analytical thinking and ability in the sciences of which math is one. There are other pathways to a career in pediatrics such as mid-wifery etc . Mhicaoidh 11:32, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

Do they look at ncea level 1 math?

Interesting 2-weeks courses

I am Spanish and stuyding English and would like some advice about a 2-week summer course in a English speaking country (especially USA, Canada, UK, Ireland or Malta). I am particularly interested in the following areas/subjects: sporting activities (including risk sports), cooking, art/pottery /sculpture, Sci-Fi/astrobiology, cinema, agriculture/farming/zoology. Could anybody suggest any ideas?. Basically I would like to do an informal, interesting and where possible relatively inexpensive course together with English native speakers and so practice my English and have some fun. Thank you for any advice or tips.--Javi--

[2] should give you some sporting/adventure holidays in the UK. Though, I think a good way of learning a language is to go to a part of the country where there are no tourists and just get chatting to locals. I'm going to a town near Lyon in summer to do exactly that and improve my French. JoshHolloway 12:12, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

The Cambridge Center for Adult Education in Cambridge, Massachusetts has lots of inexpensive courses. You could even sign up for a few in a two-week period, since several of them meet just once. Here is info on a rock-climbing course in Canada. Or, you can do your own searches on Google with search terms like "two week" "course" "August" "July" and "[activity]" (where in place of "[activity]" you type an activity that you'd like to learn). Marco polo 01:41, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

Number of planes in the air

Can't seem to find an answer for this on Federal Aviation Administration or Air traffic control. On any given day, how many civil aircraft (mainly ones tracked by ATC) are over US Airspace at any given time? - Zepheus <ゼィフィアス> 17:19, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

FlightAware.com might have the answer. Splintercellguy 18:45, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

I wonder how they count flights as some of their dots on the map are over Canada, Greenland, even Cuba. Rmhermen 19:23, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

Japanese soldiers not realizing war is over

I heard that there where some Japanese soldiers in hiding on an island somewhere and that they emerged after a couple of decades not knowing the war was over. Whats the basis for this story. Do we have any articles relating to this?

Here is a site with more on these men: [3] Rmhermen 18:23, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

See also: Shoichi Yokoi and Hiroo Onoda. Skarioffszky 18:36, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

Interesting. I remember being told stories about this by my dad when I was a kid. I believed them at the time - but later I dismissed them as urban legends. --Kurt Shaped Box 18:48, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

We also have a few articles: Japanese holdout, Hiroo Onoda, Shoichi Yokoi, Ishinosuke Uwano. Also, while it's not really a holdout picture, as the war is still on, you should still check out Hell in the Pacific. It's great and definitely on-point in its flavor. --TotoBaggins 18:48, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

Are there any holdout films? - Zepheus <ゼィフィアス> 18:54, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

Nectarini

How is a nectarini made - it's referred to as a harder alternative to an appletini on Scrubs, but I can't find anything much about it either on or off Wikipedia. I'm guessing from the name though that it either contains honey (nectar) or nectarine. Laïka 18:03, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

I found a recipe for it here. Jentaylor312 21:17, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

Competition 100m Records

I remember reading somewhere (quite some time ago) that no 'white' person had ever completed the 100-metres event in timed-competition in under 10 seconds, and that everyone in the "10 second club" was black. Does anybody know if this is true? Certainly casual observation of the events seems to suggest that there are much more successful black sprint atheletes than white. I cannot for the life of me remember where I read it, so no idea if it is reputable, but does anybody have any knowledge/know where I could find an answer to this? ny156uk 18:09, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

Defining "white" as having only European ancestry, then it appears the answer is yes. According to this site [4], 52 men have run sub-10 seconds, 51 of them of African descent and one of them half Irish, half Indigenous Australian. Rmhermen 18:20, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

Interesting, that seems to be too much to just be a coincidence. StuRat 19:06, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

Nicholas Wade [5] makes a case that it is, in fact, not a coincidence at all, but genetic: The fastest runners in short and medium distances tend to come from (distinct) geographic regions. What's more runners from each region have little success in translating their success into the other distance. Wade is a bit too eager to accept "edge" science as fact, but the book does make an interesting read. Donald Hosek 20:30, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

Imagine two overlapping camel humps, one centered just slightly to the right of the other. These are two bell curves representing the average speeds of European and West African (ancestry) men. The vertical axis is number of people; the horizontal axis is speed. So the biggest chunk of people in both groups have average speed. Now slice it vertically right in the middle and look at the right half. Those are the people in the fastest 50%. It will be about half black and half white (assuming you're dealing with populations of relatively equal size). Now go to the far, far right side of the graph so you're looking at the fastest 0.0001% of men. The vast majority of them will be black, because it's at the far ends where you have the biggest differences between the two curves. This is why sprint races are dominated by people with West African ancestry -- because when you focus on the extreme ends of the bell curve, the generally tiny and unremarkable genetic differences become much more apparent. -- Mwalcoff 05:28, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

I seem to recall the Australian media, particularly that at the lower end of the spectrum, made a bit of a sensation in 2003 of Patrick Johnson becoming the first white man to ever break 10secs. Certainly it was big news anyway as the first Australian to break 10secs. While not specifically denying his ancestry (he's the guy mentioned above of Irish/Indigenous Australian descent), I guess just saying he's the fastest white man in history makes for a better story. --jjron 09:34, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

I remember that too. It just shows the whole black/white thing up as fallacious and capricious. Johnson is described as "white" when the media want him to be white (because he has fair skin), but as "black" when the media want him to be black (because he's of indigenous ancestry on one side). No wonder people of mixed race have such a hard time in finding their place in the world. -- JackofOz 22:16, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

phillies parking question?

Does anyone happen to know what the VIP section of the phillies MLB baseball team is.--logger 18:21, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

Auto body parts

Do you know where I can find online directions on how to replace a headlight assembly on a 2004 Mercury Grank Marquis?

XXXXX

Online, no. But if you get a Haynes or Chiltons manual, it should show you in one of those. As they put extensive research into their manuals, I highly doubt that they offer the material on the net for free. You could check their web sites though to see if they have some sort of pay online option. You should find the official site of each at the bottom of their Wikipedia entries. Dismas|^(talk) 21:58, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

Many public libraries have car manuals. 10 minutes with the book should tell you all you need. SteveBaker 22:15, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

Longest top grade competition in any sport that has remained unchanged

Here's a good one for you.

A brief history of Australian rules football in Australia.

The Victorian Football Association was formed in 1877. This was premier competition until 1897 when a break away competition was formed, namely Victorian Football League. It began with 8 foundation clubs Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne, St Kilda and South Melbourne. In 1908, Richmond and University joined the VFL, however University only played up until the end of the 1914 VFL season. Then in 1925, North Melbourne, Hawthorn and Footscray were promoted up from the VFA. The competition then remained unchanged for the next 52 seasons, until South Melbourne relocated to Sydney in 1982.

If you can excuse the fact the Geelong was unable to field a team in the 1942 and 1943 seasons due to Australia's involvement in World War II, can anyone name any other top grade competition in any sport that can beat this feat. That is, where the clubs have remained unchanged for more than 53 consecutive seasons. I look forward to these answers. Cheers -- Ianblair23 (talk) 23:12, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

It is possible that the County Championship (the domestic first-class cricket competition of the United Kingdom) fits the bill. Between the addition of Glamorgan in 1921, and the addition of Durham in 1992, there were no changes in composition. You can find further information about the history of the championship here. Carom 23:26, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

Ah, you have got to love Brits don't you. Yes, that is what I am looking for. The competition began in 1890 with 8 foundation clubs Gloucestershire, Kent, Lancashire, Middlesex, Nottinghamshire, Surrey, Sussex and Yorkshire. Somerset joined the following season which was followed by Derbyshire, Essex, Hampshire, Leicestershire and Warwickshire in 1895. In 1899, Worcestershire was admitted as well as Northamptonshire in 1905. Then in 1921, Glamorgan took the total to 17 teams. They did suspended play for six seasons from 1940 to 1945 again due to WWII, but there was no change in clubs until 1992 when Durham joined. So that's a total of 65 seasons (1921–1939 and 1946–1991) without change. Excellent!! Any other answers? -- Ianblair23 (talk) 00:50, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

Not as impressive as the County Championship, but the National League remained unchanged between 1899 (when four teams were dropped) and 1953 (when the Boston Braves moved to Milwaukee). Carom 01:08, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

Yes, well done Carom. This lists all the teams from its formation in 1876 through to the Post AA merger. Referred to as the "classic eight" Boston, Brooklyn, Chicago, Cincinnati, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and St. Louis played together from 1900 through to 1952. In 1953, Boston moved to Milwaukee. A total 53 seasons equalling the VFL record above. Good stuff -- Ianblair23 (talk) 03:47, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

Would you count The Boat Race? Oxford v Cambridge since 1829, and annually since 1856 (except during the World Wars). Warofdreams talk 02:10, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

I don't think you could count that as that is something different, ie. one on one events like The Ashes or The Game. I am more after competitions where multiple teams participate. Thanks -- Ianblair23 (talk) 03:12, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

The makeup of the Ivy League athletic conference has remained unchanged since its founding, which was in either 1945, 1954 or 1956, depending on how you look at it. Considering the famous prestige and elitism of the league, it's doubtful the makeup of schools will change anytime soon. -- Mwalcoff 05:16, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

I have just found the article on the Original Six in regard to the National Hockey League. The NHL played its first season in 1917-18 with the foundations clubs of the Montreal Canadiens, the Toronto Arenas, the original Ottawa Senators and the Montreal Wanderers coming from the disbanded National Hockey Association. The Wanderers played only half the season and due to loss of Montreal Arena to fire and the club had disbanded by years end. Two seasons later the Quebec Bulldogs joined and the next season they became the Hamilton Tigers. 1924-25 saw the Montreal Maroons and the first Amercian team, the Boston Bruins enter and Hamilton exit. The following season saw two more American team join, namely the Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Americans. The league's tenth season saw three new American teams enter, namely the Chicago Black Hawks, the Detroit Cougars and the New York Rangers as well the split into the Canadian and American divisions. This remained the case up until 1930-31 when the Pirates moved to Philadelphia and played as the Philadelphia Quakers. By season's end they along with Ottawa was gone. Ottawa then re-entered the league in 1932-33, moved to St. Louis and play as the St. Louis Eagles in 1934-35 and was gone for good by season's end. 1938-39 saw the league revert back to one division due the Maroons dropping out. 1941-42 saw the end of the Americans and from following season, 1942-43, the remaining six teams Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Montreal, New York and Toronto play together unchanged until the 1967-68 season when NHL once again exapnded. A total of 25 seasons unchanged. -- Ianblair23 (talk) 05:33, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

Two more possibilities, though whether you could describe them as "top grade competitions" is open to interpretation: The Five Nations Rugby Championship between England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and France was unchanged between 1947 and the addition of Italy in 2000 - 53 seasons. Also the Home International Soccer Championship between England, Scotland, Northern ireland and Wales - unchanged from 1923-1984 with a six year break for WWII - 55 seasons, and far more than that if pre-1922 Ireland and Northern Ireland are considered a continuation of the same team. Doing that (which is, perhaps, questionable) would extend it to 90 seasons. Grutness...wha? 06:52, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

The other side of Major League Baseball, the American League was also stable for a significant period. Born out of the Western League, the eight charter members, namely the Baltimore Orioles, the Boston Americans, the Chicago White Stockings, the Cleveland Blues, the Detroit Tigers, the Milwaukee Brewers, the Philadelphia Athletics and the Washington Senators played in the inaugural season of 1901. The following season, the Brewers moved to St. Louis and played as the St. Louis Browns and Clevland changed their name to the Bronchos. In the 1903 season, the Orioles moved to New York and played as the New York Highlanders and Chicago officially renames themselves the White Sox. Apart name the changes of Clevleland to the Naps in 1905 and to their current name of the Indians in 1915, Boston to their current name of the Red Sox in 1907 and New York to their current of the Yankees in 1913, these eight team played together unchanged until the 1954 season when St. Loius relocated to Baltimore and play as the current Baltimore Orioles. A total of 51 seasons (1903–1953) without change. Ianblair23 (talk) 09:42, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

In comparison, the National Football League appears to be a model of consistent instability. It looks like the longest period without expansion or relocation was 1953-59, or seven seasons. I don't think the NBA's ever gone more than five seasons without a change. -- Mwalcoff 02:09, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

June 21

maneuverability driving help

When taking the maneuverability test, can someone please tell me how to turn the wheel when going to the left side of the top cone? Or the right side? I know you have to brake and turn the wheel to a half turn in some direction, but I'm not sure which. Thanks!

Perhaps it is obvious to some, but what are you manoeuvering? Bielle 03:12, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

He or she is talking about the test they give to new drivers in the U.S. (in some states anyway). -- Mwalcoff 05:06, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

Is this the test you're talking about? [6]

I don't live in Ohio, but it would seem to me that if the examiner tells you to go left, you turn the wheel left, then turn it back to the right to straighten out. If the examiner tells you to go right, you turn the wheel right, then turn it back to the left to straighten out.

When you have to back up, reverse the steps. TomTheHand 18:31, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

To be perfectly honest - if it's not entirely natural and obvious to you - then you aren't ready to take the test. I mean - we could tell you exactly what to do, then you might pass - but what happens when you are parking your car by yourself the day after the test and you have to do something similar...but not exactly...to this manouver? You need to go out with whoever is teaching you to drive and do lots of parking/manouvering practice in a big empty parking lot someplace. You have to have this stuff down at an instinctual level - you shouldn't have to think. SteveBaker 22:04, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

It's hard to argue with this logic. If you don't know that to go left, you turn the wheel left, you probably need more practice before taking any kind of test. TomTheHand 14:18, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Let me say that I am a very safe driver and haven't been in an accident in years, but I only "passed" the Ohio maneuverability test because I had a really nice tester who let me hit the cone twice on the backwards-driving part. -- Mwalcoff 22:49, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

About a copper coin dated back to Das Dynasty in India

Hi,

I have a coin probably dated back to 1236-37 AD , would you please help me out by sending me a literature to study autheticity of the article. Its probably dated back to Das dynasty (Sultana Rijia's time) in India. Wuld you please tell me how many coins datad back to the same period in avialable worldwide?

Would you please provide me a picture of a coin dated back to Das Dynasty in India, So that I could match the letters on both side of the coin? Its a copper coin.

Regards Reeju Roy

Please do not crosspost your questions. The same question was asked and answered at the Humanities section.  --Lambiam^Talk 19:15, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

New Zealand theme parks

What is the best and largest theme park in New Zealand? Is it Rainbows End?

I always thought New Zealand was the biggest theme park in Australia. Regardless, a quick google seems to suggest Rainbows End, although I didn't see a hard fact -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 09:31, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

The South Island. Mhicaoidh 09:48, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

<quote>I always thought New Zealand was the biggest theme park in Australia</quote> I hope your joking they are different countries Samarchist 01:24, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Haha of course, if you are either Aussie or Kiwi you would clearly know it was a joke:) Vespine 03:29, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

so is it the best and largest theme park in New Zealand?

Discomfort

I'm not sure how to say this, but okay.

I believe that it is usual (at least in Western culture) less "inappropriate" for a man to be seen naked by men than by women. (Think of locker rooms and police searches.) Why is this?

I am male, and I feel much more uncomfortable about being seen nude and/or touched in a "personal" way by women than by men. For example, I was quite uncomfortable with the idea of a sort of genital examination being done on me by a man, but I had been much less (psychologically) uncomfortable when a similar examination was done on me by a woman. I know it was just a medical procedure, but it is still my "personal area" and I don't want other men invading my "personal area"!

Also, I am much less uncomfortable about being touched, etc., by women than by men. I have let dance partners know this. I am not uncomfortable with being touched and (I would imagine) even molested by a woman, but I am much more defensive around men.

This isn't normal, is it? If it is not normal, why are other men different?

It's probably just a light case of homophobia. It's not just usual in Western cultures to be more appropriate to be naked in front of members of the same sex. For example, Japanese have public bath houses and onsen, which are usually separated by sex. As far as normal, there really isn't a normal in the sense that if you feel that way, it's normal for you. Other men might not care, and some might not care because they might be more comfortable with their sexuality. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 18:11, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

I have to agree with Wirbelwind. There isn't anything abnormal about feeling that way. On another note, generally in the USA, such examinations are done by a doctor of the same sex. Of course, for highly specialized things, you don't really have a choice. But for routine physical examinations, usually it's done with the same gender --GTPoompt(talk) 18:29, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

That would be sort of an awkward career, to be a female doctor specializing in male "personal area"s.. though I guess it's pretty common the other way around with male gynocologists --froth^t 18:34, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

The original poster's question is a bit confusing: I think the first time he said "more uncomfortable", he must have meant "more comfortable" or "less uncomfortable". As to the part about his own preferences, I have no comment.

But as to the question of why society sees it as "less inappropriate for a man to be seen naked by men than by women", the reason seems pretty simple. Society feels that in a situation not intended to be sexual, such as "locker rooms and police searches" as well as medical situations, or in public washrooms for that matter, it would be inappropriate if someone did start having sexual feelings. Which might happen if you're heterosexual and you get naked in the presence of someone of the opposite sex. Or not, but "society" presumes that it's dangerously probable, and also that people are heterosexual. Hence the prohibitions in question. --Anonymous, June 21, 2007, 22:40 (UTC).

Indeed. This is the main reason why various governments have excluded known male homosexuals from joining their armies. The supposed concern is that they will be aroused by the sight of their fellow soldiers naked in the locker rooms, and will proceed immediately to rape them or at least make unwelcome sexual advances. But on the other hand, it's ok for a gay male to enter the army as long as they don't disclose their sexual orientation. If they were so incapable of exercising personal control in the company of naked men, this policy would have no effect on their supposed propensity to commit outrageous sexual assaults. But there you go; governments know best about such matters, don't they. -- JackofOz 00:53, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

The government is all-wise!! o_o o_o o_o <_< >_> >_< X_X --froth^t 02:42, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Battery Recycling

Hello Again, I am here for more expert advice. Most, if not all, local councils are now offering doorstep battery collections, along with the other tins, paper, glass etc. To comply with recycling targets and EU directives.

I imagine that the council A will now pay some ludicrius price to a private firm B who will then ship them to the recycling plant C, most likely on the continent. I was wondering if collection firm B receives a payment from recycling plant C or whether C just charges B less than A paid to B thus leaving B with a profit.

The recycling plant C recovers cadmium, lead, nickel, iron, mangonese, cobalt, copper, plastic etc which are valuable commodities. I think I'm correct in that they also receive a payment from a battery fund which the battery manufacturers pay into (or something like that).

I was wondering if it was worth investing in my own battery recycling collection scheme to hoard many thousand tonnes of batteries until more recycling plants are opened and new ways are found to recover the metals thus giving a good price for old batteries. Scraggy4 18:22, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

Batteries, especially used ones, tend to break down over time. Ten years from now, your stack of batteries might be a unrecyclable lump of corroded metal. --Carnildo 19:54, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

What is it like to be multilingual?

I only speak one language fluently (I do know a little French and German, but not anything to be proud of), but what is it like to be multilingual? When I hear a foreign word i'm familiar with i have to, in my head, translate it into English, is it the same for someone who speaks two languages fluently? If anyone could answer a few questions, i would be insanely grateful!

- If anyone has learnt a language by being totally encapsulated in it, did it all seem like fuzz and then suddenly everything clicked?

I think it is more like mostly static at first, and then gradually the static subsides, and the signal-to-noise ratio improves. Marco polo 20:01, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

- If you're speaking in a language other than your own, do you translate it in your head as you go?

If you are really multilingual, no, you think in the foreign language. Marco polo 20:01, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

- Is it easy to switch between speaking two or more languages in a short space of time? (Do you sometimes become 'stuck' in one language?)

It depends on how used to each language you are. If you speak both of them daily, you can switch back and forth. If it has been a while since you spoke one, you don't get stuck, but you may have to search for words. Marco polo 20:01, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

- What language do you 'think' in? And what language do you dream in?

If you are multilingual, which language you think in depends on which language you are speaking. If you are thinking without verbalizing, your thoughts may not take verbal form, but if they do, they will probably form in your native language unless you have become more comfortable in a different language. Ditto for dreaming. Marco polo 20:01, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

- Do you have any tips for someone (me) trying to learn another language, i've been trying to watch translated cartoons but it's all too fast to take in.

Cartoons tend to move quickly, as does their language. You might try a more relaxed radio or (better yet) TV/video program. It wouldn't hurt to use language tapes, dictionaries, etc., for a while first if you are a beginner. Marco polo 20:01, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for any help anyone can give (I understand it's a rather substantial question!)

Thanks Again

-Benbread 18:25, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

I'm not quite sure about most of those questions, but for the 4th one, I think I know the answer to it. lets say you grew up with the french language, but then learned english in your twenties. French is still your main language, you grew up with it, so you would still think in that language. As for the dreams question, The same goes for that. BUT, the longer you are immersed in the other language, the more you might find yourself thinking/dreaming in it, because you are starting to use that other language more often than your main one. þοŁάṛωοŁf 18:35, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

I asked my brother similar questions years ago. He was born and raised in the States but has spent much of his life in Germany. His wife and their daughter have spent considerable time in both countries. All three are at least bi-lingual. I asked him if conversations stayed in one language or if they switched between languages. According to him they did switch occaisionally when starting a conversation but that the conversation normally continued in that language for the time that they were speaking. Although at times the members of the family would mix languages within a sentence by accident. One example he gave was that past tense verbs would get the German prefix and the English word, such as "gefixed". The 'ge-' is a past tense prefix added to many German verbs while the 'fixed' is the past tense English. Dismas|^(talk) 20:29, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

My Spanish friend on this subject tells me when he is climaxing with his partner, he invariably exclaims, "Oh God, Oh God", and not, "Mi Dios, Mi Dios". What might other language speakers say, I wonder?

My wife (who is French - but who has spend the last half of her life in English-speaking countries) - has two interesting quirks that I believe shed considerable light on what's going on inside her head. Firstly, she can't do arithmetic in English...if she has to add up a long column of numbers, muttering the subtotals as she goes - it's got to be in French. If you ask her "what is 6 times 7, she has to translate both numbers into French, repeat them back, get the answer (in French) and then translate it back into English. This all happens very quickly - but it won't 'go away'. Secondly, when she phones her family in France, for about 15 minutes afterwards, her accent 'slips' back into heavily French tones (normally, she speaks English with a UK-ish accent) and she makes the classic word order mistakes ("The book, green" rather than "The green book") and other subtle mistakes (like messing up the plural of the word "Hair" - which in English is "Hairs" for a few individual hairs - but "Hair" when you are talking about a lot of the stuff). This leads me to believe that she's truly thinking in English most of the time - but that this is not necessary - so for math problems (where she learned the rote arithmetic facts in school and never learned to 'think them' in English) - she's forced to think in French - and after speaking (and therefore thinking) in French for 20 minutes, it takes a while for her brain to go back to thinking in English and over that period she's still translating French thoughts into English - and making the classic mistakes you make when you do that. She speaks Italian, Spanish and a little German too - but I don't notice problems when she switches back and forth between those languages and English - which makes sense because she hasn't lived in any of those places long enough to start thinking in those languages....Well, this is just speculation. When I ask her - she says she's not aware of thinking in any particular language. SteveBaker 21:40, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

I came to the States in second grade or so, and knew pretty much no English. My parents decided that I won't pick up an accent if they don't teach me any English, and I get complimented on my lack of an accent (as in, I speak general American English) frequently. The way I learned English was through elementary school's ESL, and the way that they did it was to use picture flash cards so we can learn vocabulary for nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. I was also given some Disney records to listen to (yes, records, this was in the 80s). And gradually, I picked up more and more words in any given sentence, and eventually became fluent in it.

I don't translate words back and forth in my head from the two languages.

I don't get stuck in one language either. In fact, when I talk to my sister, we speak fluently and use both languages, often in the same sentence. It sounds weird to other people, because we used to get comments about that. Sometimes, I forget words in my native language and have to use English, but I'm a lot more proficient in English nowadays.

As for thinking, I generally think in English with rare exceptions, since my level of English is a lot higher than my Mandarin. Although I do count and do math in Chinese, and memorize phone numbers in Chinese, because counting in Chinese is insanely fast for me (all single syllables, I can count from 1-10 in Mandarin probably faster than most people can say one, two, three). Memorizing phone numbers in Chinese has also been bad in some cases though, such as when people ask your phone number and you have to say it in your head in Chinese, and translate it.

As for tips, I already mentioned how I learned it. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you're trying to learn Japanese? But in either case, learning vocabulary probably helps, so you can catch things in speech. Then once you have a small amount of vocabulary at your disposal, you can try to learn the grammar. Then when you listen to that foreign language, you will be able to catch some words, and hopefully, learn how to speak from that as well.

--Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 00:11, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

In the US we have the benefit of multiple Spanish TV channels. I took some Spanish but did not gain fluency. I find it helpful to have the captions on the Spanish TV chanels, to help with parsing, as would be the case for distinguishing English "I scream" from "ice cream" which may be phonetically equivalent. Edison 05:13, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

My story is similar to Steve Baker's. My ex-wife was born in Australia to Russian-speaking parents who'd migrated here less than a year previously. They knew very little English (in her father's case, none at all), and they very wisely decided to make no attempt to teach their children any English. They spoke only Russian at home, and this was my ex's only language until she went to school, where she very quickly picked up English. She is totally fluent and extremely articulate in both languages, and can switch from one to the other without blinking. She can even be involved in a high-speed group conversation with some people speaking Russian and others speaking English, without any apparent difficulty. She is a published poet (English), and has taught Russian to diplomatic staff in advance of their postings to our embassy in Moscow. When speaking, she never has to think of the word in the other language and translate it back into the language she's using. When writing, she occasionally has to refer to a dictionary, but that's usually because the word she wants is a little more complex or obscure than the words one tends to use in conversation. I asked her once about how she thinks, and I recall her saying that she's never conscious of thinking in any particular language. (But I've always suspected that's true of people who've only ever known one language, ie. most people). -- JackofOz 05:11, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

People who have been deaf since birth (presumably) don't think in sign language - there have been odd rare cases of children who grew up in extreme isolation who never learned to talk - they could still think. So clearly spoken language isn't necessary for thinking. It's very reasonable to assume then that people are not aware of thinking in a particular language. But it's not that simple - my wife's inability to do math in English - despite speaking it fluently (and hearing almost nothing but English) for 30 years says that some processes in the brain are represented linguistically. User:Wirbelwind's experience with doing math in Chinese echoes that experience. SteveBaker 11:33, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Fluency in a second language is a bit like fluency in specialist jargon: you could translate as you go, but most of the time it's easier not to. Some of the words I've learned over the years are English words and some are French (etc) words; to know a word is to know how to use it in its appropriate context. – When I was learning French (age 13), I once said trouve instead of find while challenging someone in an argument. I cannot explain that, and don't remember making a similar error since. – At age 16 I spent a year in a French-speaking town. If someone spoke English to me unexpectedly, I often could not process it at first. – A few years ago I had a brief conversation in Italian; on that occasion I had to do some mental translation, partly because my Italian is weak, partly because I was giving directions in an English-speaking city. —Tamfang 16:46, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

I occasionally hear people speaking two languages at once; it amazes me whenever they switch between Spanish and English in the middle of a sentence (the word orders are sometimes incompatible), but evidently some can do it. —Tamfang 16:51, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

I must say I'm finding this discussion fascinating! I've been learning French for quite a while and I suppose I'm fairly proficient. Sometimes I find myself translating everything I'm saying from English into French, which is quite the reverse of what we are talking about. Eventually I hope to be fluent in French but without immersion it can be very difficult. --Bearbear 15:43, 24 June 2007 (UTC)

Thank you everyone for your responses so far, all your story's have been truly fascinating! Wirbelwind: i'm not learning Japanese (though i can see why you'd think that), i'm trying to learn German - basically because my cousin stayed in Germany for a year and came back fluent, and an German exchange student came over here for about 6 months and just amazes me when she talks, so it's turned it seems to have a strange mysterious persona - Plus i feel i should learn a language after spending 3 years learning French at school and coming out knowing almost nothing (hence my questions on immersion learning!). I do hope some other people can can share some interesting story's. Thanks! -Benbread 20:16, 24 June 2007 (UTC)

Super Paper Mario (a wii game)

Is there any way that I can find the image of the characters "Blumiere" & "Timpani" standing on top of the hill at the end of the game? It's only their silhouettes, but I would like to see it. It plays the image at the end of the credits (I think)

um, try a google image search.--Randoman412 21:53, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

Fastest Race Horse Ever.

I heard a news report of the fastest racing horse ever named Got Country Grip. What are the chances that there is a faster horse and how do they figure that out?

I don't know if there is a faster horse - but "how do they figure that out?" would be with a stopwatch over some particular distance. But what makes me doubt such a blanket statement is the question "Fastest over what distance?" - some horses are better at short races - others at longer ones, some like soft ground - others hard. Some are fast when they run by themselves but get distracted when other horses are nearby - yet others need the challenge of another horse catching up with them to keep the speed piled on. I'd be surprised if any one horse could claim to be fastest over all distances in all circumstances...but like I said - I don't really know. SteveBaker 21:28, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

Let's put him up against Secretariat (horse) who won the 1973 Triple Crown and won the Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths, and was unquestionably one of the top athletes of the 20th century. That race was 1.5 miles. Got Country Grip ran 0.1988 miles at 41.55 miles/hour. Secretariat ran the 1973 Belmont Stakes at 37.5 mph, which was 7.5 times the distance. Would Got Country Grip fade halfway to the finish line in the Belmont? I rather think so. Sprinter versus distance runner. Could Secretariat have got up to speed in the short distance? Who could say. Could either have beat Dan Patch while pulling a sulky? Who could say? Edison 05:08, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Generic drug stores online

Has anyone had experiences with generic drug stores online? any recommendations or the reverse about certain sites? thanks...

I'd be weary of those, because there's absolutely no evidence that they have the slightest clue of what they're doing. (messedrocker • talk) 23:30, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Some are legit, others are not. I'd check to see what country the site is in first. If it's a country with strong drug regulation, or even pathetic drug regulation, like the FDA in the US, that's better than a country with no regulation at all. StuRat 05:29, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

Male hairstyles

Does anyone know of a good, browsable online database of male hairstyles? I've searched quite a few but they are pretty poor with little information and no catagorising. I thought the internet would give many answers but a fairly simple search is proving quite difficult! Thanks in advance --Bearbear 20:36, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

Does Category:Hairstyles help at all? Dismas|^(talk) 21:13, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

Wikipedia is good, but it tends to only list outlandish styles --Bearbear 15:25, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

I don't have any online sources but you could try these. I would suggest visiting a salon. Most of the ones I have been to carry "catalogs" of various hairstyles (for women I know for sure but I am pretty sure for men also) that they would be happy to let you look at. These only cover recent and somewhat popular hairstyles though. Another place that you could try looking would be in a "how to draw people/design characters" book. Many list various general hairstyles for men. 128.196.125.8 22:45, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

A hair catalogue/magazine is probably the best idea. Thanks for the help! --Bearbear 15:25, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

For interesting facial hair see [7]137.138.46.155 07:54, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Not my style... hehe! --Bearbear 15:25, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

video game related question

whats that thing that films video games called? the ones that the people at companys like ign and Gamespy use. Also, where can i buy it?--Randoman412 21:47, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

Don't know if it is the one those companies use but Fraps is a popular one. There is a trial version which watermarks and the full version unlock can be purchased online. Vespine 22:21, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

I'm not sure companies use Fraps, since it only works with DirectX and OpenGL. More likely is that they use hardware output to record, such as a VCR, DVR, etc. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 23:49, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

Do DVD-RW's work? if so, how?--Randoman412 15:29, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

DVD-RWs would only burn or play back footage you've already created. The problem with fraps is that it's hardware-intensive software running alongside a hardware-intensive game. One thing you could do is buy a DVD recorder with HDMI/DVI input and output (depending on what your PC monitor uses). You could connect your HDMI cable to the DVD recorder, than another HDMI cable from the DVD recorder to your PC monitor, and use the recorder to record the footage (using none of your PC's resources). You would then rip the DVD to your PC and encode it as an Xvid video. Froglars the frog 17:48, 24 June 2007 (UTC)

Weird Festivals & Events

Hi Guys

I'm trying to collate a list of wierd festivles & events from around the world along with their locations & dates. ie Running of the Bulls in Spain on July 11 & Bog Snorkeling in the UK on July 7 or the one where they throw the tomatos or chase the cheese down the hill.

I couldn't find a list here on wiki

Samarchist 22:52, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

How about the Gilroy Garlic Festival in Gilroy, California? -- Mwalcoff 23:22, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

Or the World's biggest fish fry in Paris, Tennessee? Dismas|^(talk) 00:26, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

The Rocky Mountain oysters Festivals struck me as odd when I saw on the TV. I mean, why would you want to eat that!? --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 00:33, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

You should probably work in some Wellie wanging on Gumboot Day in Taihape, New Zealand. SteveBaker 02:10, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

There isn't a separate category for festivals/events, but you can find some really weird ones in the list at Wikipedia:Unusual articles. 152.16.188.111 03:55, 22 June 2007 (UTC) EDIT: Googling "weird festivals" turns up a LOT of things I would never have imagined. 152.16.59.190 08:43, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

World Marbles Championship organised by the British Marbles Board of Control. Next championship, Prague, Czech Rep. 21 July.

Gloucester Cheese Rolling, Cooper's Hill, Next, annual, event 26 May, 200890.14.144.112 08:14, 22 June 2007 (UTC)DT

• Lawn Mower racing(warning involves a lot of cider),Extreme Ironing, Morris Dancinghotclaws 10:41, 22 June 2007 (UTC)
  • The world Rock, Paper, Scissors championship each fall in Toronto. - SimonP 14:02, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

• Every year in Ivrea, Italy, for the last 200 years, they have a "Battle of the Oranges" where they pelt people on carts with tens of thousands of oranges to commemorate no longer having to give the local bigwig the "privilege of the first night" with all new young brides. [8] --TotoBaggins 17:26, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Not a festival in itself but at the Sonoma-Marin County Fair in California, they have an ugliest dog contest. It made the front page of CNN.com today. Dismas|^(talk) 21:28, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

How about the Mike the Headless Chicken festival in Fruita, Colorado? Would you count Burning Man as a "weird festival"? Corvus cornix 22:53, 24 June 2007 (UTC)

June 22

Getting Tim Tams from Australia to USA

In Australia there is a food product called Tim Tams. I have included their mail link below. I live in Houston, TX, USA 77070 and I need to acquire some Tim Tams. Can you give me some information about how to do this, please?

www.arnotts.com.au/products/TimTam.aspx

RebaRoo 01:10, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Back in the day when I played on a MUD, I remember Australians on there mailing Tim Tams to friends in the US. So, make Australian friends? --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 01:20, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

The guys at Everything Australian in Arkansas will mail order them to you at $4.25 each(!): [9] or whole baskets full of 'em: here...so if your withdrawal symptoms are extreme, it's about an 8 hour drive from Houston - you could just about get there and back in a day! :-) SteveBaker 02:05, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

We have an article on Tim Tams. Could you not just gaze longingly at that? It provides more advice on US availability. --Tagishsimon (talk)

Hey, you guys don't have Tim Tams, we don't have guns and fireworks, pick a side and deal with it ;) Vespine 03:26, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Hey guys, I think he wants us to invade! --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 03:52, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

We do have fireworks, but to buy them legally you have to live in the right place and wait for the right time - right before the Queen's Birthday weekend every second store in the ACT becomes a fireworks seller. Confusing Manifestation 04:15, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Yes yes I realise that, if it wasn't obvious, i was making a gross generalisation, when I said WE, I meant the vast majority of Australians, not the 2% that live in the ACT:) Vespine 06:17, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Come across the ditch, we have BOTH fireworks and Tim Tams! --antilived^{T | C | G} 06:27, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

You can get Tim Tams in the UK, though I can't think for the life of me where I last saw them. Penguin biscuits are very similar. --Bearbear 15:29, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

My local Sainsburys has them. The first place I saw them was in Sainsburys in Swansea; a welcome taste of home! Penguins, although very yummy, just don't make it. (IMHO)--193.195.0.102 17:27, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Downloading music

Why is actually stealing a CD from a store merely petty theft, while simply digitally copying it from a friend/the internet without a license is copyright infringement? Seems like it should be less serious. --froth^t 03:20, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Likely because Torrents/P2P redistribute it, so you're essentially making bootlegs while you download. -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 03:30, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Isn't it still "copyright infringement" if it's a simple HTTP download, especially when downloading software? And how can that apply if you're obviously not making any money off of it? --froth^t 04:22, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Well for one thing each time you upload the full album it's equal to stealing yet another copy, and usually you are encouraged to have a share ratio of 1. So that means for every album you download, you stole 2 albums (I ain't no lawyer, that's just the way I see it). --antilived^{T | C | G} 06:07, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Stealing a CD from a store does not involve creating a copy of it. Copying a CD (usually via computer) does involve creating a copy of it. With that in mind, see Copyright. 152.16.59.190 06:52, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Yes, but in both cases you end up with a copy you haven't paid for, against the wishes of those who made the CD. StuRat 05:20, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

why games diff. time for different countrys

paper mario out in u.s.a. but september for europe. why not same time --71.185.143.224 04:29, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Localization -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 04:37, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

It takes time to translate the text in the game - and perhaps to re-record audio for voices - then the game has to go though play-testing with the new text and voices. Some countries r gay

Also, it might be cheaper for them to not use another country's work. If they had to pay royalties for each copy sold to use someone else's translation, that'd cost them a good deal more money in the long run. And they might not have been licensed at the same time, causing other delays. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 09:30, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

Am I allowed to create folders and upload files?

Am I allowed to create folders and upload files?

The following are examples:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Twma/folderA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Twma/folderA/fileA

Of course, I may have more files and folders by changing A to B,C,D, etc.

If YES, what should I do?

If NO, is there any part of Wikipedia that allows me to store files for public to view?

Thank you in advance. Twma 05:53, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

You may create those pages (they are not folders, just pages) if you have something constructive to the encyclopaedia to put in them, however Wikipedia is not a free web host and so the only files we host are ones that we can use for the encyclopaedia (i.e. image and sound files). So I guess the answer is NO. Rockpocket 05:58, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Thank you for the quick reply. Twma 06:03, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Suite

What do studio suites happen to be. i have already looked at the article about a suite in general. just wondering what the studio suite is as it is not on the suite article.--logger 07:27, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Haven't heard the term myself, but in Britain a studio flat is one that only has a kitchen, bathroom, and a combined living room/bedroom. Maybe the terms are related? --Richardrj ^{talk email} 07:28, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

If i could add something. how many televisions are in most suites.--logger 07:53, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Here's the result of some Googling. Some links are to hotels, some to apartments, all described as "studio suites": picture of Candlewood Suites' studio suite home page for Homestead Hotels Studio Suites; click "view floorplans" on the right the "studio suite" apartment offered by an apartment complex called "Rundle Manor Apartments" studio suite at the Royal Scot Suite Hotel.

What I'm concluding is that for the most part a "studio suite" appears to be a combined kitchen/bedroom with a separate bathroom. If it's a hotel room, I'd probably expect one TV. There'll probably be a desk, there may be a couch.TomTheHand 14:29, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Englands sporting success

As an Englishman living abroad can any resident English person explain why losing in the U21 football is being celebrated as a massive achievement ? Why the manager, Stuart Pearce described the match as the high spot of his long international career ? Come on Stuart YOU LOST90.14.144.112 08:17, 22 June 2007 (UTC)DT

I am also an Englishman living abroad, and it's not that hard to understand really. No-one said it was a massive achievement, he just said it was an amazing game and he could be proud of his young players. They only lost on penalties, which is nothing to be ashamed of, since they are just a lottery. Several of them were playing through injuries. Read the BBC report here. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 08:38, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Also perhaps the media was refreshingly supporting players that tried. Ultimtaely only one team can go through and England's team didn't. It is a better achievement than the current first team has managed for a long time and is perhaps a good signal for the future of our national team. The shoot-out was extraordinarily long and the ratio of goals we scored in it is probably better than most England penalty shoot-outs! But yes, they did lose. I understand praising the young for workign hard/trying is considered better for their future performance, whereas the full-national team are considered 'advanced' enough in their play to be berated for losing rather than applauded (although we do applaud when they show determination in defeat). ny156uk 16:59, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Given the circumstances, which include playing with 10 players for part of the match, including the injured Steven Taylor, whose injury hindered his prevention of Netherlands' equaliser, it was a good performance. You cannot question Pearce's opinion of "the high spot of his long international career" - as long as he is honest when he said it. He has been through a lot as an international player, and of course, things seem different when you're a manager. BTW, can you remember the last time the ENG U21s got that far? 1988. Personally I was very satisfied with the team's performance and attitude. If only this would transfer to the senior team (and their opponents) in the future.  slυмgυм [ ←→ ] 17:40, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Los Angeles to Mexico by bus

Can people recommend bus companies for travelling from LA to Mexico (like to one of the resort areas ideally like Acapulco) by bus? links would be great.... thanks for suggestions!

You can try this web site, but you will probably find a guidebook like Lonely Planet more helpful. LP and other guidebooks will list the bus lines that go to and from each city. To work out a route from LA all the way to a resort such as Acapulco will almost certainly require several stops and several bus companies. You should look at a map and check several cities along your route. Probably you will need to travel first from Los Angeles to a Mexican border city such as Tijuana. I think that Greyhound has services to border cities. If not, you can take Greyhound to San Diego, then the trolley to the border, walk across to Tijuana's bus station, and continue from there on Mexican bus lines. You might also consider taking Greyhound via Phoenix to Nogales in Arizona, since American highways are much smoother and faster than the Mexican highways that parallel the border. You should try to avoid traveling at night across northern Mexico. In the more rural areas, there may be bandits who hold up buses and rob passengers, especially at night. Aim to get off the bus in the last big town or city before nightfall, stay in a hotel, and continue on the next morning. The most efficient route may be via Mexico City, which has 3 or 4 major bus stations, each in a different part of the city. But that is true of other big Mexican cities. If you go through Mexico City, you will need to travel between bus stations, which is easy and cheap using the metro. The metro is a little risky, but not too bad if you are not carrying a huge and expensive-looking backpack. Taxis are also potentially risky. A good guidebook will help you find the safest and best way across the city. Finally, there are typically several types of bus along major routes. There are the luxury-class buses (often labeled ejecutivo), which have plush reclining seats, air conditioning, TVs, and toilets. Then there are mid-level (first-class or primero) buses, which might have AC or toilets but maybe not both, and finally there are the cheapest buses, which resemble aging US schoolbuses but are less comfortable and are to be avoided unless you are trying to travel for under $5 a day or you want to experience firsthand the misery of the third world. Try to pack super light and carry a really small pack. This will save you from having to check it (and potentially kiss it goodbye) on some buses, it will make you less of a target for thieves, and it will make your treks to and from bus stations easier and less of a burden on your legs and and back. Good luck and have fun. Marco polo 17:32, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Here is another site that covers bus travel from the USA into Mexico:[10] And it turns out that you can travel with a single bus company from either Nogales or Tijuana to Acapulco without going through Mexico City. The company is Estrella Blanca, but you will need to read Spanish to use their website. Marco polo 19:18, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Transitive knighthood

I have read in the Matter of Britain that although knights were usually created by sovereigns, sometimes a knight would decide that another person should be a knight, and create him one. (I don't think I can find citations of this now.)

1) Was this ever true, in the Arthurian mythos or the real world? 2) If it was true in the real world, when did it stop? Or did it ever stop?

I was wondering particularly about the second question today because I followed the link from the article about Isidore of Seville to this site, which attempts to demonstrate that it can legitimately call itself an order of knighthood because its founder had been knighted by the Queen and its founder therefore had the power of creating other knights. I assume this is bollocks, isn't it? The Wednesday Island 14:02, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

(answering my own question a bit after doing some research:) Knight says partway down the page Originally, any knight could make a knight; although there was greater honor in being knighted by more prestigious knights. and in the late Middle Ages, sovereigns began to forbid their subjects to make knights, as they forbade them other military preparations. (though this is all uncited). So it looks like the Seville people are about 800 years out of date. The Wednesday Island 14:10, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

A monarch in Western Europe wouldn't really have the (de facto) authority to create knights until the 13th or 14th century, when nation-states began to take shape. The word "knight" means "servant", although in other languages it has something to do with horses ("eques" in Latin and "chevalier" in French are horsemen, "Ritter" in German is a rider), and the original medieval sense was just a guy who is trained in horseback warfare. It was a profession, not an honourary title. Anyone who could afford to keep a horse, armour, and weapons, and to be trained from youth, could be a knight. In, say, 10th century France, a bunch of knights would be more likely to ride around fighting a bunch of knights from a neighbouring territory than to serve the king (who also had his own knights, but no authority outside the territory he personally ruled). Gradually, in England, France, Spain, Germany, and elsewhere, the monarch consolidated power over their vassals, and we can start talking about a nation with a leader. Then they began creating orders of knighthood - those existed before, in a supranational way (the military orders of the crusades), but now they had the power to make their own, like the Order of the Garter in England or the Order of the Golden Fleece in Flanders. The profession of knighthood still existed, but now there was an honourary element to it as well. As the middle ages progressed, and infantry warfare became more effective, and eventually with the advent of gunpowder, knights were no longer very useful on the battlefield, and so today we are left with only honourary knights created by monarchs. A knight could create other knights when it was still a real profession, but the honourary ones are only created by monarchs, even in the medieval honourary orders (but it would be funny if Paul McCartney could go around knighting people). Adam Bishop 16:45, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Actuarial Subjects

Which subjects are available for the Bachelor of Business Science in Actuarial Science degree at UCT? Also Postgraduate Actuarial subjects?

Where is UCT? Have you thought of emailing their admissions department and asking? The Wednesday Island 17:44, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

University of Cape Town? See here. Rockpocket 18:10, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

im wondering is Metal Gear Solid 4 the last game in the series because to me it seems like it is? does any1 have any information or rumours that it is or isn't? thx :D

Shock image

What disease/condition is this? O_O --froth^t 16:28, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

No idea, but he reminds me of Stewie Griffin. And oh dear, 7chan links are appearing here now... --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 22:09, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

And it's mostly fap.7chan too D: --froth^t 00:16, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

I know Wikipedia isn't censored, nor would I wish it to be, but somehow "Shock Image" isn't quite enough of a warning for the uninitiated. If the obstetrician didn't have nightmares, I will. Bielle 05:40, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

Gas Prices in USA

Is there a valid reason why gas prices has risen so much over the past three years?

Oil price increases of 2004-2006. The Wednesday Island 17:47, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

I live in Scotland UK, and don't know the answer to your question BUT, can anyone explain why this morning I paid the equivalent of $8.30 per gallon at Tesco, the cheapest local petrol/gas supplier to where I live, right next door to Grangemouth, which is home to the second/third largest motor fuel refinery in Europe? Any chance of the US sending us some of your really expensive fuel in return for us supporting the Bush wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which are all about maintaining a flow of cheap oil anyway?

I heard gas is more expensive on top of soapboxes... anonymous6494 22:05, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

One word: Taxes. --Carnildo 20:14, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Note that $8.30 per imperial gallon is only $7.10 per American gallon, but your point still stands. It's fascinating to me how Americans flip out at gas prices that are way lower than what Europeans pay. We hear that our economy is going to collapse because we are paying $3 a gallon, when people in other countries dream of getting gas that cheap. That's what happens when you have a society completely dependant on the automobile. -- Mwalcoff 22:46, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

taxes? in part. the autobahn, for example, is far more expensive to maintain that a standard american hwy and as such a lot of that larger coast is recooped in gas taxes. but don't forget subsidies. they are NOT paying 4 dollars in tax, we are paying 4 dollars in income tax in addition to the at the pump prices... form the wiki article subsidy: Examples of industries or sectors where subsidies are often found include utilities, gasoline in the United States, welfare, farm subsidies, and (in some countries) certain aspects of student loans.

ah now try and find an economist how will ignore the "n-1 restrictions is allways better than n restrictions" rule and be in favor of the american dog and pony gasoline pricing polices :) Childhoodtrauma 23:14, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

The 'flipping out' occurs because of the marked increase in cost. That it is more expensive elsewhere is something that has occured over a period of time, not 1 week/1 month. Long term increases can be worked into the economy reasonably easily, what is difficult to get through is the short-to-medium-term price hikes that are either A) Unexpected or B) severe (or worse both). We here in the UK have been conditioned to expect petrol/diesel to cost around a certain amount, just as American's have. To answer why it costs more even though you are so close to a refinery is that A) The cost is not incurred in moving the petrol from refinery to source, B) Tax in your area on fuel has a huge impact on price C) Oil is traded as a commodity on the stock-exchange, Tesco will buy bulk/source from oil buying firms and set prices based on supply/demand in each area. ny156uk 23:21, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

What's that guitar?

What sort of guitar is Ian Curtis playing in this video for Love Will Tear Us Apart: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=BNMbuygEju8? It's an unusual looking guitar (ie; not a Strat!), shaped like an almond and only just large enough to fit the pickups/dials etc (and there's a lot of dials; 5 of them, plus a bank of 6 buttons). Laïka 20:26, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Looks like some kind of Vox Phantom. See this link. Friday (talk) 20:44, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Standard typewriter typeface

Is there a name for the typeface that was commonly used in manual typewriters in the 20th century? Is a software font of it available anywhere? I'm not talking about Courier; even though that article claims that Courier "became a standard font used throughout the typewriter industry", I don't remember ever having seen Courier (at least not the version of Courier used on computers nowadays) in typewritten documents. I'm talking about the typeface used here, here, and (to show it's not unique to the U.S.) here. That's not Courier. Courier uses the "opentail g" , while the typewriter typeface uses the "looptail g" . Other differences are in the capital A (Courier has a serif on top, the typewriter face doesn't), and lowercase c, f, and s (the typewriter face has little balls on the ends of the characters, Courier doesn't). —Angr 20:33, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Pica (typeface) and Elite (typeface) are two common typewriter faces; no articles yet, though.

Atlant 20:50, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

I thought Pica and Elite were the names of typewriter face sizes (10 chars per inch and 12 chars per inch respectively), rather than the names of the faces themselves. —Angr 21:27, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Well, looking at these images, it does seem that the face I was thinking of is called "Pica 10" (or "Pica 10 swrt", though I don't know what swrt stands for). —Angr 21:31, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

And it's available as a computer font! Thanks for your help. —Angr 21:33, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

personality quirks

I know someone who over the years has had many hobbies. These include photography, rock climbing, fishing, scuba diving and now shooting guns(pistols). He always become very proficient in whatever and always has the best equipment. H goes from total involvement to no involment overnight. This isn't normal. What causes such behavior?129.112.109.253 20:50, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Short attention span? And why isn't this normal? If he got proficient in it, maybe he finds learning it or experiencing it fun, and not the actual act. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 22:07, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

I have a friend who will pick up whatever hobby I'm into, partly to have something in common with me and partly because he likes to train. But mainly because he wants to beat me (and always does). It's interesting you mention your friend always has the best equipment -- my friend is the same way. iames 22:13, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

There's a chance that since he mastered the skill, he has become jaded to it because there's no way to get better. (messedrocker • talk) 23:25, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Death letter

How does one begin a respectable letter informing someone of another's death? 74.111.82.91 22:17, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Perhaps "I have the sad duty to inform you than Aunt Nelly passed away yesterday, June 20, 2007, at the age of 87." Then some of the details: cause of death, perhaps some comforting remarks. Writing a letter assumes the recipient will not be coming to the funeral, unless you have faster postal service than we do. Yu might enclose a copy of the obituary if sufficient time has passed that it has been printed. Edison 22:50, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

As Edison says , but you might also want to read books about formal writing which will almost certainly cover this, The English approach, as far as I knew was to remain calm, polite and above all not cause undue distress. Discretion is usally advised in revealing the cause of death, and in some instances there may be reasons why it would be unwise to give the complete picture. You may wish to advise about the funeral, although that may be done seperately. Writing to the family of a serviceman killed on active duty is more complicated and you would be advised to consult the relevant official regulations for advice.62.56.86.251 23:39, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

How would you tell the principal of your daughter's school that your daughter has passed away? 74.111.82.91 23:44, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

My heartfelt condolences to the person reading this if this person has lost a daughter. If it is a matter of informing a principal, one can be more businesslike, unless the principal was personally (and not merely professionally) acquainted with the daughter. If the principal's acquaintance with the daughter was merely professional, then I would try something like:

"Dear X:

"I regret to inform you that my daughter, [name], passed away on [date]. Please inform her teachers and your administrative staff."

If you wish, you might add a statement like the following:

"You or your staff may relay the news of my daughter's passing to her classmates."

Then, "Thank you for your consideration."

"Sincerely, Y"

That should be enough. Marco polo 01:26, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

Interesting hat

Just curious, but is there a name for the type of hat the fellow on the right is wearing? I looked at every article in Category:Hats with no luck. jwillbur 22:18, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

French sailors wear something very like it, though I can't help you with a name in French or English. Bielle 22:43, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Mopette?Acceptable 22:44, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

It looks like a Scottish Tam o'shanter (hat) to me. SteveBaker 02:12, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

How to have dreams?

How does one induce a dream, if one has Asperger's syndrome and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and needs to take melatonin at night to sleep? Because one wishes to have a "lucid dream" and is fairly sure that said one can gain knowledge of the dreaming state. Said one generally does not dream (or at least does not remember said one's dreams). 71.34.252.168 22:33, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Should it make a difference? Try to get a good night's sleep, so that your body can go through the various stages of sleep. Most dreaming occurs in REM sleep.Supposedly everyone dreams, but the dreams may be forgotten. In my experience, a delay of even 5 seconds spent shutting off an alarm or turning on a light can allow the evanescent content of a dream to fade away,leaving only perhaps some of the emotional afect of the dream, but if I think about the dream content the instant I wake up, it is retained in vividness. Edison 22:44, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

I did go through a period of several years where I did not dream -- sleep apnea was preventing me from falling asleep deeply enough to reach REM sleep. If in addition to not dreaming you feel unrested when you wake up in the morning or if you feel sleepy during the day, you should discuss it with your doctor. It may be that something (not necessarily sleep apnea) is preventing you from reaching REM sleep. —Angr 22:55, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

If you sleep well enough to be able to function after more than a week of sleeping, you are hitting REM sleep, albeit not much. Usually the problem is Dream Recall, in which case I highly recommend MILD techniques. Check out our sister project, Wikibooks, for a good guide on getting started with lucid dreaming, and also check out ld4all.com. Personally, when I MILD, I have up to an 80% DR, but when I don't it's closer to 1-5%, so willpower can make a large difference. Once you can gain lucidity, DR is barely a problem at all, and dreaming is almost like a more fantastic state of waking life. I assume this is because being awake and living inside a dream actively works your memory, whereas a normal dream you're just watching helplessly is much easier to forget. Sorta like how it's easier to forget the plot of a movie than it is what your friends were talking about when you went out for drinks afterwards, even though the movie was much more interesting -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 23:58, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

June 23

pronunciation

why doesn't wikipedia provide pronunciations for entries? bruceb76.201.170.152 00:36, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

It does for some -- some even have audio pronunciations you can listen to. (For example, our article on France lists IPA transcriptions of both the English and French pronunciations, and our article on that nice street in Paris, the Champs-Élysées, has an audio pronunciation, too.) But adding a good phonetic pronunciation accurately is hard work, that not nearly every Wikipedia contributor knows how to do. —Steve Summit (talk) 00:43, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

Also, the brits talk funny and put incorrect pronunciations.--71.185.141.218 04:46, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

Funny compared to whom? I seem to recall the English language originated in Britain, and others later diverged from the true path. -- JackofOz 06:09, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

Well, if you want to get serious, it's more complicated than that. But the Language reference desk would be the right place to discuss it. --Anon, June 23, 2007, 09:25 (UTC).

brick wall removal

am taking down a brick wall, non-load bearing, and am wanting to save as much brick as possible for re-use. What is the best way to do this?

You could use some type of circular saw to cut through the mortar only, but I suspect the cost of even renting such a saw would be far greater than the value of the bricks saved. I'd just use a sledgehammer to break up the wall, knowing it will break many bricks. Some will be spared. For the broken bricks, you can still use them for landscaping, fill, etc. If you have a lot of time on your hands, you could also try to use a pressure washer to wash away loose mortar, which might be effective on an old wall where the mortar is in bad shape. StuRat 05:04, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

You could try an old hammer and chisel, I used this to take out an old tile counter once, but a brick wall is going to be much more difficult. If you want the bricks because they *do* look old and weathered, you could try a sledgehammer, but put a bit of wood/metal up against the wall to help spread the blow out some to prevent cracking -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 05:22, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

When our contractor was pulling down an exterior wall where we needed to keep the bricks, he just popped them from above and behind, using a crowbar. They tended to come apart along the mortar lines and very few were broken in the process. I suspect that exact placement of the bar with respect to the wall hehind and the bricks in front was important, but I couldn't see that part, just the results. It was a labour-intensive process, however. I wouldn't have wanted to have paid for more than the 10 foot x 10 foot area that we rescued. Bielle 05:29, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

Contacting Other Users

How can I contact, communicate with, talk to, tell something to, or send messages to other users of Wikipedia? Is there any right way or correct way to do so? If so, then how? How should I contact other users? In what way are we allowed do so? How and in what way should I tell them something, especially if it's something personal and private?

Bowei Huang 02:00, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

Every user has a user page and a user talk page; your user talk page is the primary place where people can communicate with you (or, conversely, their talk page is where you can communicate with them). For example, my user page is User talk:Ummit, and yours is User talk:Bowei Huang.

Guidelines for talk page usage are at Wikipedia:Talk page guidelines.

Of course, everyone else can see (and even comment on) messages you've left on talk pages. If a user permits it, it's also possible to send email. You can send me email by visiting Special:Emailuser/Ummit, and I could try to send you email by visiting Special:Emailuser/Bowei Huang. Note that if you use these pages to email a user, your email address is also revealed to them (so that they can reply).

My impression is that most people consider it good form to communicate out in the open (i.e. on regular talk pages) whenever possible. Certainly there are good reasons to carry out truly private conversations via email, but if you try to construct policy or make plans to manage a debate or issue that way, people could accuse you of conspiring behind their backs. —Steve Summit (talk) 02:08, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

Well, the main contact route is to click on their user name (eg User:SteveBaker - me), then click on the 'discussion' tag and leave them a message by appending one to the end of the file - just like you asked this question. Leaving a message there causes a big orange banner to appear on the top of the next Wikipedia page that this user visits. Some users (me for example) also leave an email address - you can email those people by going to their user page and clicking on the 'E-mail this user' link in the 'toolbox' menu to the left of their user page. If that link is missing - then it's safe to assume that the user does not wish to be emailed. Yet other Wikipedians leave other contact information on their user: page - so in my case, you'll find a link to my personal website. SteveBaker 02:09, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

See also Wikipedia:Emailing users for details. Rockpocket 02:12, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

Party

My Mom and I are planning to go to a party tomorrow(june 23). My aunt has been counting on this for a long time. My family has too. But I dont know if we should go tomorrow. I have an EXTREMELY bad feeling. I think somethings going to happen. Im not sure if it will happen if we dont go but im pretty sure that it will if we do. I always stick with my instincts, and everything that i trust inside me is telling me not to go. What do i do? Is it a precognition? Any help would be nice.

We can't help you here. I'd say go, you only live once -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 04:43, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

I'd call it a premonition. You may be interested in this site. Despite what Phoeba said, we can't give you any advice about whether to go to the party or not. It's something only you can decide. -- JackofOz 06:07, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

Think about it logically. What could your attending actually bring by way of danger/disaster to the party? Your worry about it could mean that you make this into a self-fulfilling prophecy: If you don't go nothing will happen so it will fit your plan, but if you do go your worry/concern about something bad happening could be the cause of the 'bad' thing happening, meaning that you are ensuring what you don't want to occur will occur. ny156uk 12:17, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

Taxi service

outside of the train station on 30th street in philly is there taxi transporation at the ready or must taxis be reserved.--logger 06:15, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

Having no knowledge at all of Philidelphia it would amaze me if it wasn't possible to get a taxi from a train-station within say a 20 minute period. I suspect they will have either a taxi-rank, a flag-down policy so you can flag down a taxi on the street or a freephone number to one of the major private-hire firms that can come and get you. Depends on time of day or not but it is, i'm sure, unlikely that you wouldn't be able to get a taxi pretty rapidly (unless 30th street station is some time little station in the middle of nowhere). ny156uk 10:43, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

The one time I was in Philadelphia, I arrived by train, walked out the front door, and there was a taxi rank. I got one instantly. Unfortunately, I have no idea if it was the train station on 30th Street. —Angr 11:15, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

If you are able to call the station (Facility/Station Management – 215.349.3196 or 215.349.2455) then I would try them and they would be able to give you a definitive answer. If you cannot do this, there may be some information on their website [11]. Xarr☎ 13:03, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

cleaning carpets

How do you remove candle wax out of carpets?

With a warm iron, apparently. See this ehow article. But do heed the warning to not actually let the iron touch the carpet. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 09:24, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

I would place a paper towel over it and use a hair dryer (on hot and low fan settings) to heat the wax to melting without any risk of damaging the carpet. StuRat 13:06, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

Death by virus

How many people are there in the united states who are beleaved to die from something (Like AIDS, cancer, or even a cold, anything like that,) each day as well as year depending on what ever source that relayable.

You'll have to dig through the data, but some of what you're looking for can be found via the links from here. 152.16.59.190 09:33, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

This is really hard to determine: You don't die from AIDS but rather the opportunistic infections at the terminal stages. Aside from physical trauma or exposure, you can pretty much blame every death on infections, and unless the cause is determined in autopsy you don't really know what infection is it (bacterial? viral?). Death is very complicated. --antilived^{T | C | G} 10:08, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

I do remember reading that (in the uk at least) at some point in the 50s they took away the option "old age" as a cause of death on death certificates. I suspect something similar has been done in the US. (http://www.avert.org/usastaty.htm) Shows you aids info. You might not die of 'aids' itself but what it does to your body certainly means that death could be attributed to aids. For a rather sombre read look at (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0005110.html) the top 10 killers in the US. ny156uk 10:40, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

What exactly is the OP looking for though? The heading says "by virus" but then the ailments listed include cancer which is not caused by a virus. Dismas|^(talk) 12:13, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

Except when it is, of course. Cervical cancer, for example. Algebraist 13:01, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

Amount of text in a certain type of page?

Is there any page that could tell me something like this, or a script for it? Mainly, I want to find out how much text is in all articles starting with "S". I have a friend that said he had read all of the articles that start with "S", and honestly, I'm not sure whether he was kidding or not. Mainly, I want to know how much text there would be there, that way I could imagine how many books it would be worth (counting of course articles added since then) -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 10:13, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

I would be amazed if your friend has read all articles beginning with S. If there are 1.85 million articles (just about) and 26 letters in the alphabet so that would be, assuming an even distribution, at least...71,000 articles. Taking into account that S is a popular occuring letter (see Scrabble letter distributions and I suspect that you could easily surpass 100,000 articles starting with the letter 's'. Not very scientific but anything near that ballpark would be amazingly unlikely that they have read all of the articles. Additionally I would not be sure how a user could find all the articles starting S in the first place. A useful tool for 'word counts' however is to copy/paste the text into a Word document and it should show the word count at the bottom of the screen in the bottom menu-bar (otherwise it can be found on one of the drop-down menu lists under 'word count'. ny156uk 12:14, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

I truly don't know the answer but it's huge. S is one of the more common letters in the English alphabet. My Linux spell-correction dictionary has 82,000 words, 9,200 of which start with 'S' - so statistically, we might reasonably assume that at least 10% of of English words start with 'S' - and therefore that at leat 10% of Wikipedia article title do too. We have 1.8 million articles - so we'd expect well over 180,000 of them to start with the letter S. OK, so let's be generous and assume that your friend has been reading articles for five years. That's 36,000 articles per year - about 100 articles every day. If your friend does this for 10 hours a day every single day of his life - then he has to have been doing nothing but reading one article every six minutes for five solid years all day without a break. No time for school or work - little time for friends - if this were true - you'd definitely know about it. It's just about possible to read an article every six minutes because some 'stub' articles can be read in maybe 20 seconds - and that would make up for the half hour it would take to read some of the longer articles - but it's very unlikely that someone could be that dedicated. Please tell him: "Steve Baker says you are a liar." Even if it's true (which we know it isn't), he's not going to be able to make that claim for much longer. New articles are added to Wikipedia at a rate of about 2000 every day - so if he really is reading them for 10 hours a day every day of his life without a break, he's going to have to up his rate to 20 's' articles per hour to keep up, so now he has to read one every 3 minutes - and the pace is increasing. He should probably have claimed to have read all of the articles beginning with 'X' there might only be 6000 WP articles that start with that letter so a mere one hour per day of dedicated reading for a year would be enough! SteveBaker 12:28, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

OK - I realised that the Special:Allpages page has one line for every 1,000 articles - there are 358 lines indexing the letter 'S' - so there much be between 358,000 and 359,000 articles that begin with 'S' - that's twice as many as my estimate above. So your very dedicated friend has been reading an article on average every three minutes, ten hours per day for five years without a break...and he's got to read one every minute and 30 seconds to keep up. But I just realist that there is a problem with that - five years ago there were only 10,000 articles - so only maybe 2,000 starting with 's' - so in that first year, your friend couldn't possibly have read more than 2,000 articles. So he can't have been reading at a rate of 70,000 articles per year for 5 years because there just weren't enough article 5 years ago. This makes it harder to calculate - but my previous estimate of an article every six minutes is too generous - for the past year he's had to be reading them at a rate of one every minute and a half. SteveBaker 12:45, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

Oh - and to answer your other question - the average article length is 3300 bytes - on a 'typical' page, I measured an average of 5 bytes per word of english text - so at leat 600 words per article. At your friends target rate of 90 seconds per article - that's 6 words per second (10 hours per day for 5 years without a break) - I can't read that fast. So now we can categorically say that no human could possibly have read all of the WP articles beginning with 'S' - no matter how dedicated and no matter how long they've been doing it. In the words of the 'Mythbusters' BUSTED! SteveBaker 12:56, 23 June 2007 (UTC)