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Write to the President of Germany

Hello:

I would like to write a letter to the President of Germany. I cannot find a way in doing so.

If you could pass this question on to the President. Back in the early years, there was a man who lived in Germany from what we call the beginning of time. This man was called King Henry 1st. Ok Im talking about history from the past, but King Henry 1st going back 23 generations ago was my grandfather. Where Lord John was his son, and King John of England, all are my grandfathers. I do have all of the proof of all of this. I have the real last name as well as the last name that is in the books that we already know of. As strange as it sounds, the family has married into the Stuart-Stwart family. Not just onece but several times. But on April 13 of 2002 there was another joining of the two familys again. When my wife and I joined for the last time. I know that the house of King Henry the 1st is in Osterburg. Yes I would love to live there, but that house belongs to Germany.

What Im trying to say is that the President of Germany has very little power, but the grandson of King Henry the 1st, I should have the right to say if the President shoud receive more power than what he has right now.

Yes you have a President, but I place as a Prince as well as a King. According to the family history. So I should have a say so of the power.

You can write to me at the following address. [email protected] I will await for your responce. Dennis.

Address of the Federal President of Germany

  • You can probably write care of the German embassy:
Embassy of Federal Republic of Germany
4645 Reservoir Rd NW
Washington, DC 20001-1918
  • The correct address seems to be:
DER BUNDESPRÄSIDENT
Spreeweg 1
10557 Berlin-Tiergarten
Germany

WhiteDragon 19:02, 16 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Sorry, but I don't think any of us here are that familiar with Johannes Rau. Good luck, though. Garrett Albright 01:02, 31 Mar 2004 (UTC)
That, and Germany is now a republic, with no royalty; the last Emporer, Wilhelm II of Germany, abdicated his power after Germany's loss in World War I -- See also the Weimar Republic. Sorry, but you have no sovereignty over Germany. Garrett Albright 06:00, 31 Mar 2004 (UTC)
It's a shame Germany is a republic. England however isn't. Since you are the grandson of king John perhaps you could lay claim to the English throne? Our own royal family have been shown to be somewhat lacking of late. The Queen is OK of course but she can't live forever, what will happen when she dies? Many people don't like the thought of prince charles becoming king, perhaps a new pretender would solve those problems. Of course the royal family don't have any real power nowadays but they do get to live in a nice big house. Anyway it's just a thought. theresa knott 08:42, 31 Mar 2004 (UTC)
After 23 generations pretty much everyone in Britain has some family connection to royalty, particularly on the wrong side of the sheets -- and many people have a closer connection than Henry I - Charles II was particularly prolific with his mistresses! Being a Pretender to the throne is not particularly advisable, look what happened to the Duke of Monmouth! Arwel 11:28, 31 Mar 2004 (UTC)
Funnily enough, somebody has just recently discovered evidence that the entire British royal family has been illegitimate for about 500 years. I'm not joking! It should have gone to the Duke of Clarence instead of Edward IV. It turns out the real direct-line descendant is an Australian republican named Michael Hastings [1] - IMSoP 23:08, 3 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Of course, the Act of Settlement 1701 makes it clear that Parliament determines the British monarch. So the legitimacy of Edward IV is no more than an interesting historical question. Gdr 11:53, 2004 Apr 9 (UTC)
Well i don't know my history all that well but i'm pretty sure that Henry Tudor took the throne by force from Richard III. I don't see any reason who that wouldn't have happened anyway. theresa knott 22:35, 7 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Citing Wikipedia

who runs Wikipedia so I can give credit in a school research paper?

See Wikipedia:Citing Wikipedia. Garrett Albright 13:11, 31 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Diacritic, apostrophe, or nothing?!

We are in process of looking for a new name for our company. The owner has come up with a "unique" spelling of a name that he thinks will give it more class! I'm wondering if it's correct (or somewhat correct!) to use an apostrophe?!!

The word is venture. He wants to name the company A'venture.

As another example, dish ... which he would change to A'dish.

What do you think? (Aside from the fact that it makes no sense...)

Thanks for any help/advice you can give me!

Lynn

Well, at least with A'venture, one could say the apostrophe stands for a "d" and get a play on "a venture"/"adventure." Silly, but not totally meaningless. A'dish on the other hand is a little weird. Personally I think the whole thing is pretty dumb but hey, he's the owner of the company, you might as well resign yourself to the fact that you have to put up with his silliness. moink 16:49, 31 Mar 2004 (UTC)

See if you can get any ideas out of List of company name etymologies. Jay 17:37, 31 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Egypt in 1947

What was Egypt officially called in 1947, before it became the United Arab League in 1958?

THANK YOU.

Try History of Modern Egypt. Jay 17:37, 31 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Daniel Bernoulli's Nationality

Recently, an anonymous user's only contributions have been to change Daniel Bernoulli and related articles to say that he was Dutch not Swiss. I've always been told in all my engineering classes that the whole Bernoulli family, Daniel included, was Swiss, but really, I'm an engineer, not a biographer. Can someone check this out? Thanks, moink 16:46, 31 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Presumably that change was on the basis of his having been born in Groningen, NL; on the other hand he did live in Switzerland for nearly 60 years. NL wikipedia describes him as "Nederlands/Zwitsers", but the German, French, Spanish and Slovene Wikipedias all call him Swiss. On the basis that he spent more than 2/3rd his life in Switzerland I'd call him Swiss! Arwel 18:40, 31 Mar 2004 (UTC)
I'd go with 'Dutch-Swiss' or something to that effect. --Smack 05:13, 1 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Or "Dutch-born Swiss" -- Jmabel 07:18, 2 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Wikipedia website font

Hi, I love this website and it has been more than useful to me on many, many occasions. The site is VERy professionally done but I thougth I will, if I may, make a suggestion that may help.

I am a web developer and we now see a much greater tendancy for Internet pages to be displayed in a font that is not Times New Roman. I agree that in a printout form Times New Roman is often the font of choice but for displaying on a monitor, as Wikipedia is intended, a font such as Verdana is more advisable. You will se my point when you look at two of teh biggest sites in teh world: www.microsoft.com and www.bbc.co.uk, they are both designed on the Verdana font and are much easier to teh eye when displayed on a monitor.

As i understand, it isn't that difficult to change the font and I strongly recommend that the Wikipedia webpages be changed to Verdana font. -- Thank you, Alom

Alom, a signed in user can select an alternate stylesheet "Cologne Blue", which has a sans-serif (I think it might well be Verdana) font. I think the reason the "classic" stylesheet remains the default is partially inertia, and partially the rather poorer handling of some older browsers with sans-serif fonts (and we do try very hard to sustain even the most antique browser). -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 22:01, 31 Mar 2004 (UTC)
Since when did "teh" Microsoft become an authority on graphic design? I mean, have you seen Windows XP's default appearance? Ug. I know the "experts" say that sans-serif fonts are better for screen design, but in my experience (I am also a web designer, of seven years) that applies more for short pieces of text (such as a list of links in a menu) than for long chunks of it as in a Wikipedia article. Garrett Albright 22:32, 31 Mar 2004 (UTC)
Also, if you use a good browser like Mozilla or its derivatives, you can choose your own font preferences. -- Wapcaplet 03:04, 1 Apr 2004 (UTC)
I personally think Times is underrated. It is a beautiful and highly readable font if only given proper spacing between the lines (preferrably 1.5em). Headings should always be sans-serif, though. Fredrik 20:57, 2 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Some people say that Times is too narrow (horizontally), as it was'nt designed for books but for newspapers, which have narrow columns. -- Stw 17:38, 13 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Thomas A. Hendricks

I'm confused- and wondering if there are any vice-presidential trivia buffs that could clear something up for me. According to this article, Thomas Hendricks served as Grover Cleveland's first VP, but died in 1885. It says that he was succeeded as VP by Levi P. Morton, who didn't enter office until 1889. Was there no one in the VP spot for those four years? Why wasn't someone promoted to VP, in following with United States Presidential line of succession? - DropDeadGorgias (talk) 22:50, Mar 31, 2004 (UTC)

At the time of Hendricks' death, the constitutional amendment allowing for a replacement for a vacant Vice Presidential office wasn't in effect. Whenever a Vice President died or resigned, the office was left vacant until the next election. The appropriate amendment was Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which was ratified in 1967. RickK | Talk 02:55, 1 Apr 2004 (UTC)

math

Could someone explain how the math works in the following trick? I realize that in this case, the "phone-number" is just a number in the millions, but what is the formula?

1. Grab a calculator. (you won't be able to do this one in your head) 2. Key in the first three digits of your phone number (NOT the area code) 3. Multiply by 80 4. Add 1 5. Multiply by 250 6. Add the last 4 digits of your phone number 7. Add the last 4 digits of your phone number again. 8. Subtract 250 9. Divide number by 2 10. The answer is YOUR PHONE NUMBER.

Sincerely, Kingturtle 00:34, 1 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Easy enough. Say the 1st 3 digits of your phone number is "x" and the last 4 digits are "y". Then the whole phone number is 10000x+y.
You multiple "x" by 80: 80x
Add 1: 80x+1
Multiply by 250 : 250(80x+1) = 20000x + 250
Add "y" twice: 20000x + 250 + 2y
Subtract 250: 20000x + 2y
Divide by 2: 10000x + y
Voila! --DrBob 00:41, 1 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Nicely demonstrated. →Raul654 00:43, Apr 1, 2004 (UTC)
Minor point. We don't all have 7 digit phone numbers.


DrBob, thanks. But all you've done is the basic math again, which I already knew. I should rephrase my question. Why those specific numbers? why add one? Why multiply by 250 and later subtract 250? Kingturtle 01:21, 2 Apr 2004 (UTC)


You can pick any numbers or procedures you like. If you generalise this procedure completely, and work through to get an algebraic expression, you can proceed again assuming a 7 digit phone number, with x and y as before, the phone number is 10000x+y.
Multiply x by a, a constant, add c to get ax+c, multiply by b, bax+bc, add y n times, bax+bc+ny. Now, to get back to 10000x+y, we need to reverse our steps and namely eliminate bc and n. Since we are allowed a little freedom in picking our constants, for bc, we only want to add 1 after we multiply by 80 (or a in this instance). So now we're back to bax+b+ny. Subtract off b, and we're left with bax+ny. Now, to make this equivalent to the phone number, we want to let ba=10000*n. If n=1, you can stop here and use factors 16 and 625 here, but the constants a=80 and b=250 give ba=20000, so divide by 2 also (so n=2). In general, if you pick constants a and b arbitrarily, you need to divide throughout by n=ab/10000.
Dysprosia 01:34, 2 Apr 2004 (UTC)


They make the answer non-obvious. If I said take your phone number, add 1, and then subtract 1, it would be pretty obvious what the answer is. Extra (and more complicated) steps are necessary to make the answer nontriival. Why those numbers in particular? It's arbitrary. →Raul654 01:24, Apr 2, 2004 (UTC)
That's pretty much exactly it. I'm passing through almost 2 weeks later, but here's an explanation I gave a friend (without the algebra--you guys must be math majors! ;-) ):
  1. Let's say your phone # is 123-4567. That's 1230000 + 4567. When you multiply the 1st 3 digits by 250 and then by 80, that's multiplying by 20000 (250x80). Which is the same as multiplying your first 3 digits by 10000 (1230000) and then again by 2 (so now it's doubled).
  1. But you added 1 before multiplying by 250, so it's that doubled number plus 250 extra.
  2. Now you add your last 4 digits twice (in other words, doubling that part), so now you've got 2 times the whole phone number--plus that 250 extra.
  3. So subtract that extra 250 and divide by 2.
They just moved around and disguised simple arithmetic (Add 4 zeros to the first 3 digits. Double it. Add 250. Double the last 4 digits and add to the total. Subtract 250. Undouble the result. -- Or, even more simply--double your phone number. Add 250. Subtract 250. Take half of your doubled phone number. Wow--you have your original phone number!) to make it look complicated.
Elf | Talk 22:35, 14 Apr 2004 (UTC)

morphology of vernacula earth build in the UK

[email protected] Land 08703215390 0701 0713 765 To whom it may consern I'm Mike a degree student and at last I have found what seems to be a useful site that collates and disseminates information. sorry about my spelling I? am dyslexic and don?t really worry about such things. To me the important thing is the content not the presentation. I am writing an assignment on the Morphology of vernacular earth build in the world with a particular interest in the UK. I already have lots of information on the world but appear to be struggling in the UK. there are lots of examples of earth construction but I want to see if I can prove a link between them showing an evolutionary nature to our knowledge and their construction over the millennia. So far I can see substantial variation in the types of early build with the great wall of China and Hannibal?s watch tower mentioned by the Roman historian Plyny from David Eastern book. But where is the change from one level of knowledge to another. Nina Jennings referring to Clay Dobbins of the Solway plains refers to the Long house derivatives their making a connection to the Norse tradition of building that was found in the Artic circle and changes in the locations of the fire wall but what about all the other changes to addobi or clay lump, when and where? I am desperately looking and quickly running out of time Please send me any information on changes to earth construction however insignificant it may seem. it may just provide the missing links I am looking for. In return I am willing to post my finished paper SPELT Correctly!! Thanks in anticipation Mike A

Thank you Mike but this page is for questions. DJ Clayworth 16:38, 1 Apr 2004 (UTC)

UK v. GB

What's the difference between Great Britain and the United Kingdom? --Alex S 16:26, 1 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Great Britian is the name of the island. UK is the country plus all of its territories (Scotland, England, Wales, the Antillies, Gibralter, etc). →Raul654 16:29, Apr 1, 2004 (UTC)
That's "Britain", "Antilles", "Gibraltar". And the latter 2 are not part of the UK. -- Jmabel 07:23, 2 Apr 2004 (UTC)
I can't speak to the Antilles, but from Gibraltar: "Gibraltar is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom" →Raul654 07:27, Apr 2, 2004 (UTC)
Simply put, the difference is that "United Kingdom" includes Northern Ireland, whereas "Great Britain" does not. "United Kingdom" is short for "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". --Auximines 16:46, 1 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Erm, the Great Britain and United Kingdom articles go into this in quite some detail. Mark Richards 20:09, 1 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Someone needs to run a bot to fix all those links to Great Britain that are actually intended for United Kingdom or Kingdom of Great Britain. British is a disambiguation page and many links to Britain are relevant to the country, not the meaning of the word. Any bot operators around? --Jiang 07:30, 2 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Whoa there. A thought - every history book I've ever seen refers to the "British" during world war II, even thought it was the whole of the UK that was actually fighting. Don't ask me why, either, it's juts an observation. my point is that I think it's important to be in agreement with all the other texts on the subject. So whoever runs that bot had better know what he is talking about - I don't want him making changes if he isn't certain (or virtually so) why he is changing something. →Raul654 07:34, Apr 2, 2004 (UTC)

Yes, there will be a number of options:

--Jiang 08:42, 2 Apr 2004 (UTC)

I annotated the list with comments - hope you don't mind!Mark Richards 18:41, 2 Apr 2004 (UTC)
I think the best thing would be to go with one of the CIA World factbook conventional forms -
  • conventional long form: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
  • conventional short form: United Kingdom
  • abbreviation: UK
Unless we are talking about one of the historical precusors or different geographical or political entities mentioned above like the Roman Empire or the British Isles. Using Britain to mean the UK is common, but incorrect. This is subtly different to the use of the word 'British', which, confusingly, can mean either 'related to Britain', or 'related to the UK'. Mark Richards 18:35, 2 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Yeah, it's because it's very awkward to say "United Kingdomer", "United Kingdomish", whatever... so generally, it's either "British", "Northern Irish", or the specific area of Great Britain (English, Welsh, Scottish, Irish). ugen64 22:43, Apr 7, 2004 (UTC)

What we substitute each with depends on context, of course. If it's in a historical context, the refer to the precuror (e.g. "The American colonies declared independence from [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Britain]]"). But someone reading that sentence would not be interested in how the word "Britain" evolved, so linking to [Britain] would do no good. We have different articles for UK GB&NI (at UK) and UK GB%I. For the UK before 1927, we would link to the latter. --Jiang 00:14, 3 Apr 2004 (UTC)

I agree - but I think that the poster was suggesting that where we link to Great Britain, but actually mean the UK, we should fix it. I think you agree with that too - I share your concerns about using a bot to do this! Yours, Mark Richards 20:43, 7 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Flanders and Swann said (about a related issue):

You've got to be very careful how you use those words, just by the way. The rule is, if we've done something good, it's 'another triumph for Great Britain', but if we've done something bad, it's 'England loses again'.

If the English/British/UKers can't decide, what chance (or need) have we? Andrewa 10:22, 9 Apr 2004 (UTC)

The need to be careful about these distinctions is fairly recent. As late as the 1950s people wrote "England" to mean "England", "United Kingdom" or "British Empire", expecting the reader to work out which one was meant from the context, or simply not to care. Gdr 12:19, 2004 Apr 9 (UTC)

I think that you are saying the same thing - we need to be carefull that we use the right term - I think that in the 1950s it was mostly the English who used 'England' to mean the UK or the British Empire - the trend towards more careful usage suggests a greater awareness of the political implications of treating them as equvalents! Mark Richards 13:24, 9 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Well put. Just BTW, despite my English name my ancestors came mainly from Scotland (I come from a long line of men with an English name with the good taste and fortune to marry girls from the North), and I proudly wear the kilt on formal occasions. Andrewa 09:54, 10 Apr 2004 (UTC)

There is a similar problem with regard to Germany and the Germans. Although the Reference desk might be the wrong place for a discussion on wikification and wikipedia usage of terms.
--Ruhrjung 12:55, 10 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Objects that talk to people

I am looking for the name(s) for objects that talk to people. Like a current TV show, where brass monkeys and wax lions talk to and give advice to the main character(Wonderfalls). I believe this is a common "myth" in many cultures, but I do not know what it is called, or where I can gain more information. Any help would be appreciated.

Seems like a type of anthropomorphism to me. Gentgeen 21:53, 1 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Artificial human companion ? Jay 18:46, 2 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Acid trips? Chopchopwhitey 10:44, 18 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Saint Ysidro

Does anyone know anything about the saint after which San Ysidro, California is named? Anglicised name? Biography? Reason for canonisation? Patron saint of anything? Vatican.va turns up nada, and google only finds the district of San Diego. No me gusta. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 23:46, 1 Apr 2004 (UTC)

60 seconds of googling brought up numerous references to one "San Ysidro Labrador" (de Chaperito) →Raul654 01:06, Apr 2, 2004 (UTC)
PS - translation = Saint Isidore the Laborer. See [2] →Raul654 01:07, Apr 2, 2004 (UTC)
Thanks. I really need to quit pretending to speak spanish - I managed to look at all those google hits and somehow think they were something to do with Labrador. -- Estupido.
Oh. I thought he was something to do with large friendly dogs! -- Arwel 02:08, 2 Apr 2004 (UTC)
The first thing it reminds me of is the province, not the dog from the province. Associations. --Menchi 10:04, 2 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Bing Crosby Records

I have several 78 records by Bing Crosby,Nat King Cole,Gordon Mac Rae, Rosemary Clooney,Sammy Kaye,Kate Smith,Patti Page,Gene Autry,Dinah Shore. There are 48 records in all , I was wondering if anyone knows the value or if there is somewhere I can find if there is any value to this collection.

Try looking on eBay for similar records (completed items) to judge how much they are worth. I don't think the majority of 78s are worth a great deal though, usually only a couple of pounds ($5) in junk shops Mintguy (T) 08:41, 2 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Train Gauge

The news headline says that S Korea has a new train. What gauge do they use in S Korea?

It's a TGV derivative. I expect that the gauge is 1435mm, as virtually all high-speed lines are built to that gauge, even in countries like Spain and Japan which have extensive broad or narrow gauge networks. -- Arwel 21:56, 2 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Japanese weddings

I need a person to talk to that knows about Japanese weddings. If anyone would answer a few of my questions please e-mail me at [email protected]. Thanks

Perhaps try asking over at the Talk page for Shinto. Garrett Albright 10:59, 3 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Actually do Japanese still marry in Shinto way instead of in church? -- Taku 01:28, Apr 8, 2004 (UTC)
Christian weddings are popular, especially with foreign (i.e. western) priests. Due to the lack of foreign priests in Japan some english teachers work as part time priest in Japan. Shinto weddings are also still common. Buddhist weddings are rare, but not unheard of. What exactly is your question? -- chris_73 05:10, 14 Apr 2004 (UTC)

list six different sounds that you can hear in your envirment

  1. The sound of me refusing to do your homework assignment.
  2. Sweet silence. - Fennec 23:42, 2 Apr 2004 (UTC)
  3. The screams of those whom I have imprisoned. - Also refusing to do your assignment
  4. The sound of a tree falling in the woods when no one is around. Gentgeen
  5. The sound of your English teacher telling you off for spelling "environment" incorrectly. - IMSoP
  6. My cat farted. - Nunh-huh 00:24, 3 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Anyone else? (We only need one more now...)

I'd grade that an A+ if I were marking it! Mark Richards 00:48, 3 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Urdu language file help required

hi, I have a problem with the LanguageUr.php (Urdu language file). The problem is that even if I edit the file and complete all the parameters still, it doesnt reflect the changes on Urdu language main page. I have tried few things and tried to find the answer by looking at the language files in other languages but didnt help. (may be because I can only read urdu and english :) ) Can you help please?

See my reply to your query on the Village Pump - hope this helps! Arwel 14:05, 3 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Source of Strategery

I'm trying to find when George W. Bush first said, as he was later famously quoted by Saturday Night Live, "Strategery." Does someone know of a newspaper or magazine article thats it in? Or maybe the context or date that it was said to make finding a secondary source of it easier? Its really hard to search for, since the word has practically entered into our vocabulary.

Internal link: strategery (new article based on response to this question)

And on 22 April 2001 Washington Post Staff Writer Dana Milbank reported that Ferrill coined the term [3] Several other sources say the word arrived in the Whitehouse as part of a vandalism campaign by former Clinton staffers that included removing the letter "W" from Whitehose keyboards and an improvised door sign for the "Office of Strategery" . Oh, those nasty vandals. They give us new words and make us do "unpleasant things" like play "block the troll" instead of contributing cogent copy to an encylopedia-salesman's forthcoming compact disk.
I'm gonna call this case closed. I wouldn't want to scoop the Post by finding George Bush first used the term; I might end up working in Washington DC.

Irenaeus on giving

Several encyclopedias list Irenaeus view on giving as a free will giver, where can I get information on exactly what his position was on giving/tithing?

Adv. Haer. 4.18 might be what you want; if not, you can look through his writings ([4] [5]) yourself.

George Olsen

I need to know who else recorded the song 'Who' besides Olsen. I know there was another recording, possibly british or canadian made in the mid to lat...

Ship SS Bellona

Hello from Eugene, Oregon USA:

I am looking for a picture/drawing/photo of the ship SS Bellona.

Regards, John Schlesinger.

Do you mean the HMS Bellona? Catherine 20:14, 3 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Public Domain classical music recordings

Does anyone know where I can find some public domain classical music recordings? I need them urgently! Thank you so much. Conover 20:54, Apr 3, 2004 (UTC)

Try [6] from the Library of Congress. They might have other collections to search, too. Gentgeen 00:19, 4 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Incredible. Thank you so much! Conover 00:46, Apr 4, 2004 (UTC)

Self-reference of characters in movies

Does anyone know exactly what the first movie was whose characters referred to themselves ironically as characters, as in "What do you think this is, a movie?", "That only happens in the movies," etc.

I don't know which movie (it kinda depends on how you define things), but this technique (which is called "breaking the fourth wall") is an ancient theatrical device - see Fourth wall. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 00:11, 4 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Well, I don't know when exactly this rather post-modern form of self-reference first cropped in film in this way, but you might find some information of interest on Fourth wall. - IMSoP 00:20, 4 Apr 2004 (UTC) (written simultaneously)
The best way to find the answer to this question is to register on the message boards on IMDB and ask a question on the I Need To Know board. Mintguy (T)

Cause of Premature Gray/White Hair?

Hello, I'm a sufferer of premature white hair, and I'm interested in knowing the cause of this condition, particularly given my rather young age of 14. Much thanks in advance. --Johnleemk 13:39, 4 Apr 2004 (UTC)

According to the Columbia University Health Education Program:
The change to grey or white is caused by the gradual decrease of pigmentation that occurs with age. Contrary to what you may have heard, special diets, nutritional supplements, certain vitamins, and protein will not affect the graying process. Graying, whether it comes with the normal process of aging or prematurely, has a genetic basis. Hair turns gray or white when a pigment (melanin) ceases to be produced in the hair root, and new hairs grow in gray or white. If you're a smoker, take note: a 1996 British Medical Journal study conducted by J.G. Mosley, MD found that smoking may cause premature graying. When compared to nonsmokers in the study, smokers were at a four times higher risk of graying prematurely.
Although graying usually starts in the thirty-something age range, there's nothing to worry about in graying prematurely -- some say it's rather sophisticated and sexy!
Have to agree, by the way -- my brother-in-law (like his father) had silver at the temples at sixteen, and it looked really good on him. He's completely white now at 26, and it's very striking!
I'm adding this info to Hair color...we seem to be lacking in that section -- thanks for asking! Catherine 21:30, 4 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Ismn't there a stress component to greying? Mark Richards 20:45, 7 Apr 2004 (UTC)

HELP!

(moved here from Talk:List of muscles of the human body — Timwi 15:41, 4 Apr 2004 (UTC))

I had a TBI 4years ago. I took my first swim class yesterday! BUT,now the back of knee hurts! What is name of that muscle,how can I strengthen,stretch it? THANK YOU, LisAnn Becotte

Knee Joint - Anatomy and Function might be helpful. WhiteDragon 19:46, 16 Apr 2004 (UTC)

meaning of names

I was wondering at what point did the names in the bible receive their meanings? For example, Isaiah, which means the salvation of the Lord. Did that name always mean that or did it get its meaning after Isaiah became know for being a prophet and trying get Isreal to turn back to God? And this question is posed for other names as well that have a meaning that refers to God in someway in the bible.

Wikipedia entries for the names you're wondering about will often provide etymologies. For instance on Isaiah you can see that the name came from the Hebrew ישׁעיהו or "Yeshayahu". In that you can see יהו, from יהוה, YHWH, Yahweh, the name of God in the Tanakh, which suggests that Isaiah always meant "(something) of Yahweh", at least. Someone fluent in Hebrew, which I am not, could probably go so far as to say that it has always meant "salvation of Yahweh", which is what the etymology provided there says. The root words which make up a name are not likely to change meaning because of one individual, and Hebrew names tend to be made up of Hebrew words.
Of course you may have to trust the etymology provided in some cases, or cross-check it with other resources; one freely-available resource to chech against is Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897), which while dated is still of some use. For example, you can see here that "Isaiah" has an etymology that agrees with the one in the Isaiah article here.
(This means that you would have to do the same sort of research for whatever other names you were curious about, but that's probably the best-case scenario anyway.)
Incidentally, note there that "Isaiah" does not refer to "the Lord" in those words, but to the specific name Yahweh; you've probably encountered an etymology based on a Bible version which systematically replaced direct mentions of His name with "the Lord" as is typical. — mendel ☎ 01:29, Apr 5, 2004 (UTC)
Perhaps you have things the wrong way around here. In many traditions, including for example contemporary Hebrew and the native American cultures, there are no names that are purely names, but rather every name means something. That is to say, the name already has a meaning before it is given to the person, and a meaningless name just wouldn't be considered a correct thing to do. This is contrary to our Western culture, where parents will happily invent a name just for its sound. But, we understand for example that Sitting Bull is a different sort of name from a different culture. The culture of Old Testament Israel seems to be somewhere in the middle, it has elements of both these extremes from time to time. The Book of Genesis in particular seems full of devices we can perhaps best understand as puns, to try to find a parallel in our society, but that's not exactly right. Does this help? Andrewa 09:27, 10 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Australian question inflection

Do we have a page on the Australian Question Inflection (under whatever its real name is)? -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 18:54, 4 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Well, I thought I might come upon something following links back and forth from eh, which does have an article; I ended up at Australian English via Distinguishing accents in English, which probably should cover it, but don't seem to. Which is a bit perplexing, because I would have put Wikipedia down as being the place I'd heard of the thing in the first place, but memory's weird like that, I guess... - IMSoP 21:56, 4 Apr 2004 (UTC)
No indeed (although the accent article is otherwise excellent). Google finds almost nothing for "australian question inflection" and "queensland question inflection". Maybe it's something that occurs only on Neighbours. Thanks for looking. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 22:38, 4 Apr 2004 (UTC)
AQI as it is also known actually stands for "Australian questioning intonation" Mintguy (T)
A-hah! That's the trouble with google - you can't search for something when you don't know its name. Now I can cobble together a couple of lines for Australian English, which is all this (hopefully shortlived) phenomenon surely deserves. Thanks. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 11:53, 5 Apr 2004 (UTC)

pollination of pear trees

Seems to be missing a question... Perhaps try at Pear? Garrett Albright 21:44, 4 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Try Pear, Pollination, Pollinator, Fruit tree pollination, Fruit tree propagation, or ask User:Pollinator.  :) -- Catherine 21:59, 4 Apr 2004 (UTC)

N X 3

I would like to know what this means please: N X 3. thank you very much

It seems likely to be algebraic notation, where 'N' represents some (possibly unknown) quantity. 'N X 3' could mean that quantity multiplied by three. However, this could be completely wrong; could you perhaps provide some more context in which you encountered this notation? -- Wapcaplet 19:54, 5 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Edward Gibbon Wakefield

yea hi my name is conrad and im doing an assignment for 7th form (level 3 NCEA) New Zealand History. i need information relevant to "how were wakefields ideas implemented" and "what were the outcome and effects of that". I also have other key questions but i have found satisfactory information on them. if you can help with sources and/or information, please contact me [email protected] thank you for your help.

conrad

Conrad, did you read our article on Edward Gibbon Wakefield? If you find that article lacking, although it seems rather good to me, you might check out the books listed under the "Further Reading" section at the end of the article. You also might look up New Zealand Company for more information. Gentgeen 16:26, 5 Apr 2004 (UTC)

trix card game

(moved from a now-deleted page moink 18:04, 5 Apr 2004 (UTC))

can anybody please tell me where i can download trix card game :) [email protected] thanx al

Object's weight as a function of depth down a mineshaft

Does anyone know if there is a simple formula for calculating the variation in an object's weight as it descends a mineshaft? Perhaps someone has even tried the experiment. It might be easier to assume that the Earth has uniform density. Even better would be a general formula that worked for height above the ground as well as depth below it. -- Heron 20:00, 5 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Above ground is easy: for an object mass m at height h, it's just:
where mE and RE are the mass and the radius of the Earth. (See Gravitation for more).
For below ground, it depends on your assumptions. If you assume that the Earth's density is completely uniform, it's:
where h is distance below the ground. This works because you can treat the gravitation of the Earth as a point mass at the centre of the Earth, with a mass equal to the fraction of the Earth's mass which is below the object's depth.
For non-uniform density, you need to know the density distribution as a function of the Earth's radius. -- DrBob 20:21, 5 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Thanks, DrBob. At first I thought your answer was too simple, but then I found this excellent article which explains why you are right. -- Heron 15:56, 7 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Isabella II and First Spanish Republic

Can anyone find the exact date of Isabella's escape into exile? Thhe closest I can get is "late September" of 1868. I'm trying to update the year pages to have the heads of state during each year. Any information on who was officially the head of state in Spain during the Republic (i.e., between Isabella and Amadeo and between Amadeo and Alfonso) would be very helpful too. -- Jonel 04:11, 6 Apr 2004 (UTC)

uniforms of Lt. Jr. grade USCG WWII

I am trying to find out what dress and field uniforms consisted of (looked like) for a Lt. Jr. Grade in the Coast Guard in WWI. I'd surely appreciate images or text descriptions. Thank you. Nan Z

Try [7], [8], [9], [10] from the official USCG.mil site; see also [11] and [12] for more stories and links. HTH, Catherine 00:48, 8 Apr 2004 (UTC)

"Solvitur ambulando"

This phrase, which might be rendered as "It's solved by walking around", pops up occasionally, with a vague attribution to Saint Augustine or sometimes to somebody else. Is there anyone anywhere who actually knows where it comes from? Not "Try St Augustine" (I have, I have, and I might as well have been visiting a city in Florida), but chapter and verse? Dandrake 06:51, Apr 6, 2004 (UTC)

It might come from Simplicius' commentary on Aristotle's Physics, but you might want to check that yourself (my library's copy is checked out). —67.69.189.172 14:28, 6 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Maybe it's related to "peripatetic," describing Aristotle's way of teaching, by walking around his school rather than standing in one room.

Name of "Deutschland"

Why is it that the country known in its own language as "Deutschland" is called in English "Germany," in the Romance languages some variant of "Alemania," and in the Scandinavian languages "Tyskland"? How did these different names come about for the same place? Mjklin 03:21, 7 Apr 2004 (UTC)

I found a discussion of this through some Google searching. It looks as though "Deutschland" came from an old German word, 'diutisc', which referred to a common vernacular tongue (and thence to those who spoke it). "Germany" apparently is from a Roman term for the Germani tribe, which was later applied to a region (Germany) where they once lived. The discussion at the above link explains it all better than I can. -- Wapcaplet 03:59, 7 Apr 2004 (UTC)
BTW, in Romania they use "german" to refer to a person from Germany, but "neamt" to refer to a person of German ethnicity. -- Jmabel 04:13, 7 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Tyskland and Deutschland are actually the same word, showing sound changes within the Germanic languages (because the Scandinavian languages are, after all, Germanic). In Romance languages they took their word from the Germanic Alemanni...you might ask, why that tribe and not some other one, but I don't know :) The English word I guess comes from Latin Germania, but as far as I am aware no one knows where the Latin word comes from (maybe from Celtic languages). And in Slavic they use some form of "Nemets" which is equivalent to "barbarian" I think. Adam Bishop 23:18, 7 Apr 2004 (UTC)
A mention of Alamanni can be made in the Germany entry for List_of_country_name_etymologies. Jay 11:32, 9 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Ajara - Were Ajars deported by Stalin to Central Asia

I am trying to confirm whether or not Ajars were deported to Central Asia by Stalin, along with other Caucasians...and if so, when. It would help me to have a scholarly reference. Thanks if you can help.

I don't know (though I'm inclined to ask, who wasn't?). As I understand it, there is some controversy as to wheter Ajars even constitute a distinct ethnic group. In any event, you might find it useful to know that the term is also sometimes transliterated "Adzhar" or "Adjar", which at least should help you do a more effective web search. In any event, we really ought to have an article on the Adzhar Autonomous Republic, and we don't yet. -- Jmabel 03:45, 8 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Yes we do. See Ajaria (several redirects are, admittedly required). It doesn't answer the original question, unfortunately, to which I can only say I have heard something along similar lines. I can only the original questioner success in his search, and googlespeed. -- Itai 04:08, 8 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Ships Built in Singapore in the 1854-1870

(from the village pump)

I am trying to find information on my great grandfather's ship building in Singapore around 1854-1870. His name was Daniel Robb originally from Forfar, Scotland.

He had built "Heart's Ease" and "Rainbow" with Mr. Buyers, his partner. In an old newspaper article from Singapore, these ships were called "Sarawack Steamers".

So, I entered "Lloyd's of London" for my search and entered up with your site which is great but I can't seem to get into any sites that will give me any information about ships built outside of the UK and especially in the mid 1800's.

Can you give me any more suggestions for my research? Thanks so much.

Flags of Arab nations

I was looking through the gallery of national flags and I noticed that Jordan, Kuwait, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates all have very similar flags. Is there any reason for the black-white-green/red design in particular? An origins story? --Alex S 23:10, 7 Apr 2004 (UTC)~

I did some checking, and I noticed that Flag of Jordan indicates that the colors refer to old Arab sovereign states and to a revolt during WWI. Flag of Yemen indicates that the colors are traditional colors that refer to abstract concepts. LuckyWizard 23:40, 7 Apr 2004 (UTC)
I've often noted that flags seem to go in "batches" in terms of colour - presumably sometimes due to common origin, sometimes due to influencing each other, and possibly sometimes just a subtle similarity in culture. For instance, a large number of European countries use (only) red, white and blue, whereas African nations tend to make heavy use of black, green, yellow and red; a lot of island nations, meanwhile, seem to use light blue/turquoise and yellow a lot, since they are the predominant colours of their environment. - IMSoP 01:39, 8 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Right, you're talking about the Pan-African colours in the latter case and a combination of the Pan-Slavic colors and the Tricolore in the former. What I'm asking is do the Arab flag colors have a similar standard name or origin? --Alex S 01:59, 8 Apr 2004 (UTC)
It's easy to see what IMSop means. The best explanation I can come up with is that they all felt compelled to include green in their flags, green being the color of Islam (see Green#Green_as_a_symbol), and the other colors just tagged along. The second best explanation I can come up with is that they thought no one would notice. I'm not helping, am I? --Itai 04:32, 8 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Take a look at http://www.fotw.net/flags/arabcols.html. -- Dissident 18:28, 9 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Thanks a lot Dissident, that's exactly what I was looking for. I think Wikipedia needs a Pan-Arab colors page now –Αλεξ Σ 18:45, 9 Apr 2004 (UTC)

What Gm stands for?

question type: medicine

Hi there.

First of all, sorry by my engrish. I'm not a medic but I have an old big yellow medicine book (with a medieval picture in the cover) called Principles of Surgery (Schwartz, Shires, Spencer, Stores, 1976, 3rd edition) (I'm not an expert, but, I think, this is a classical textbook, along with Guyton).

The problem is:

for example:

"Glycogen is stored in muscle and liver in combination with water and electrolytes, so that 1 Gm of glycogen yields only 1 or 2 kcal instead of the 4 kcal found in 1 Gm of dry carbohydrate." (page 19, chapter 1)

the above is a random page I had picked up, but the "Gm" spreads through all the book. So, what Gm stands for? grams? I've found nothing either in gram (unit) or talk:gram (unit), and besides:

"Initial therapy therefore always should be intravenous and should consist of 100 to 200 mg of cortisol as the 21-hemisuccinate or phosphate." (page 14, chapter 1)

So, if Gm stands for gram, why the author putted mg for milligrams? Is Gm a medical jargon? --200.154.209.96 01:16, 8 Apr 2004 (UTC)

This is almost completely a guess, and almost bound to be wrong, but might it have anything to do with moles? Obviously, "m" ought to stand for metre, and moles should be "mol", but with a "G" for giga, I thought this just might be worth consideration. (by the way, if that's "Engrish", I'm impressed - it was better than many native English-speakers!) - IMSoP 01:34, 8 Apr 2004 (UTC)
I think in this case the author is using "Gm" as an (incorrect) abbreviation for "gram". I think this because 1 gram of carbohydrates = 4kcal is correct.
By the way, your "Engrish" seems like perfect English to me. -- DrBob 01:41, 8 Apr 2004 (UTC)

DrBob is right that in the context Gm refers to grams and is a mid century american abbreviation which became obsolete with international standardization of abbreviations in medical journals starting in the late 1970s. The sentences you quote appear to refer to fasting fuel metabolism and treatment of adrenal crisis; there are more current sources of info on these topics than an old surgical text though Schwartz' description of both topics is still basically usable. In those days Schwartz and Guyton often hung out with Grant, Bloom & Fawcett, Robbins, Harrison, Nelson, Williams, and White, Handler & Smith. alteripse 9 apr 04

Well, thanks for the help folks! I also thinked Gm as Gigamoles, but ruled it out, since a billion mol of any element or chemical compound would weight several metrical tons. The information I needed was the historical context of Gm, wich alteripse has just provided right now. By the way: chapter one was "Endocrine and Metabolic Responses to Injury"

Regards, 200.154.227.4 07:47, 10 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Different pronunciations of Houston

Why is the name "Houston St." in New York City pronounced Houston as in house, while the city of Houston in Texas is pronounced as if it were spelled Hewston?

emm--emm 03:30, 8 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Final Sigma

What is the code to insert a final sigma (looking somewhat like an English S) into a Wikipedia page? I've tried ;sigmaf, but it hasn't worked.

The semi-colon should be after the sigmaf, and a & sign before, so it turns out as ς Adam Bishop 05:00, 8 Apr 2004 (UTC)
the code to insert a final sigma would therefore be &sigmaf; --WhiteDragon 20:00, 16 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Eponym: Half or Full Nelson - Wrestling Hold - Who was Nelson??

I have not been able to find information on the "Nelson" the Half or Full-Nelson is named after. I am ready to give up, but thought I would try posting the question to Wikipedia. Thank you, Gary Showalter Van Wert, OH [email protected] April 8, 2004, 10:15 am EDST

A brief internet search suggests that it is named after the 19th century Horatio Nelson. Why, I don't know. Mark Richards 15:34, 8 Apr 2004 (UTC)
I understand it's to do with Nelson beating the French so thoroughly that 'putting the nelson' on someone came to mean to incapacitate them. Given that Nelson himself also lost his arm in battle you can see where the distinction between a half and full nelson might have come from. Adamsan 11:40, 18 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Post WWII in Germany and Iraq Data

Where can I get information about Third Reich soldiers fighting U.S. or Allied troops AFTER World War II? In other words, the pot shots at Allied soldiers and battles with the Nazis in Europe after the war ended?

Also, where can I find the most accurate figures on the casualites in Iraq since the U.S. and Coalition forces began fighting the Baathists last year. I'm looking for both military and civilian casualities. I'd also like to compare the number of deaths in Iraq from the genocidal actions of Saddam's regime to the deaths incurred in the present operation to liberate Iraq.

Thanks you very much for your help.

Sincerely,

Janet Levy

On Iraq, I believe http://www.iraqbodycount.net/ may be useful. -- Jmabel 20:15, 8 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Though I'd take its figures cum grano salis: that website is uninterested in the genocidal actions of Saddam, and clearly have an agenda of their own (basically, they count deaths only when they make the American action look bad, see Iraq Body Count project). Accurate figures will be impossible to find. - Nunh-huh 20:24, 8 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Democracy, Whisky and Sexy

I remember that early on in the invasion of Iraq there was a commonly shown picture of some Iraqi citizens welcoming the US Troops, and one had a sign that said "Democracy, Whisky and Sexy". Now, when I google for it, I only get blogs that are now using the phrase ironically. Even when I use google images, I only get a blog banner that has pirated the phrase. Does anyone know where I can get a good news photo of the original banner? - DropDeadGorgias (talk) 15:35, Apr 8, 2004 (UTC)

I remember this, but I don't think it was a sign. See here:[13] for a link to a NY times article. -- DrBob 20:28, 8 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Lenses for my camera

(from the pump)

can someone help me??? i have a Yaschica FR1,wanna buy some lences on eBay...can you tell me please what is the mount type is on this camera?is it a bayonette,or a screw something???

thank you

I don't know the answer to your question, but you might have better luck asking at the Reference Desk. — Adam Conover | Talk 12:05, Apr 8, 2004 (UTC)
Old Yashica cameras had a Pentax screw mount, which meant that lots of lenses were available from many different manufacturers but there was limited support for linkages between lens and camera. Later Yashicas, including the FR1 I think, have a Contax bayonet. This is good, because it means you have the choice of the very cost-effective Yashica lenses and the excellent but expensive Contax lenses, all with full linkage support, and bad because it's probably the rarest mounting system of all for 3rd party lens makers such as Tamron, Tokina and Sigma. Contact me on my user page or by email if I can be any more help, or if you want to double-check exactly what lens mount you have. Andrewa 10:11, 9 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Xavier Cugat Caricature.

(from the pump)

Hi there! I have a Xavier Cugat original caricature that I want to sell. I know he worked for the Los Angeles Times during some time. Any ideas who would be interested? Where to go to get it evaluated? You can reach me at [email protected] Thanks, Mrs Worley


translation

(from the pump)

I was curious how you would write the female name of Jordan in aramaic. Or the initials J L L would also be sufficient. Thank You.

According to the Aramaic alphabet article, several scripts have been used to write Aramaic, including the Hebrew alphabet. In Hebrew, the river Jordan is written yod-resh-dalet-nun: ירדן. Gdr 12:12, 2004 Apr 9 (UTC)

Robert Lowell and James Russell Lowell?

What was Robert Lowell's family relationship to James Russell Lowell?

This article states that James Russell is Robert's great-great uncle. I have no idea, really :-) -- Wapcaplet 04:01, 9 Apr 2004 (UTC)

We need you!

Attention,

We are looking for Start Trek enthusiasts and those who take part in Start Trek Play-by-Email(PBEM) Role Playing Games (RPGs) on the internet.

We are hoping to set up an academy with the main aim of training and guiding people to play these PBEM RPGs.

If you have ever seen a PBEM RPG, you will know that many have their own small academies in order to assess new players and impart to them the rules and regulations of the particular simm. What we would like to do is build an academy and create links with many simulations so that we can train and award qualifications that can be accepted by these simmulations. We are planning many training programs, including ones aimed at more experienced simmers. We have already been in contact with websites and organisations who have offered to provide resources and guidance, so that we can plan this academy and one day make it a reality.

Below I have provided a list of some of the jobs that need filling, but in general, as this is still in such an early stage we are open to any help we can get and are willing to accept ideas and suggestions.


SIMULATION LIAISON We are looking for people to form and maintain links with Simulation groups across the web. You may already be a part of a simulation that wants to join the academy program, although we have not yet started advertising to simulations, and will not until there is more information available on the web.

PUBLIC RELATIONS We are looking for people to oversee all operations involving all those not in the academy. This job will involve dealing with and helping outsiders and watching over other groups like simulation liaison and advertising.

INSTRUCTORS We are looking for people with a fair amount of simming experience to help us plan and set up the academy before carry out the training when the academy is opened.

CONSULTANTS We are looking for people with detailed knowledge of any aspect of Star Trek to help us set up and create the training programs and provide an interactive resource. This job will be one were yo can put in as much or little time as you like.

ADVERTISING/RECRUITING We are looking for people to spread information about the academy and recruit students and staff once the academy is open.

In general we are looking for people who would be interested in helping to build the academy and run it. We would be perfectly happy to accept someone with another idea for a role or someone who would like to combine two roles. If you are at all interested or would just like to ask a question do not hesitate to contact me at:

[email protected]

I look forward to hearing from you,

William Lea

Universal Academy

This page is for questions. - Woodrow 15:55, 9 Apr 2004 (UTC)
You might like to try the members of the Star Trek wiki at Memory Alpha, as there will be far more people there who'll be interested in your game academy. If, however, you have also developed an academy for play-by-internet games which involve endless bickering about the spelling of the names of small towns in western Poland, I'm sure we'd love to know all about it. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 23:58, 13 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Kennedy Children Treehouse

I'm doing a project on JFK for school and I would be very interested to find out how President Kennedy's children had a treehouse on the lawn in front of the White House. Surely a treehouse has to be in a tree?

It was a treehouse on the South lawn near the playground equipment. I don't have a picture of the treehouse itself, but pictures from the Kennedy's Easter egg hunts on the South lawn include large trees. - Bevo 16:00, 9 Apr 2004 (UTC)
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?ean=9780641537875&pwb=1&displayonly=CHP
also has an excerpt from a book that details the history of the South lawn including the two treehouses (Kennedy and Carter) constructed there. - Bevo 00:10, 12 Apr 2004 (UTC)

What are the Gauss rules to find the exit of a labyrinth?

Question type: mathematical recreation

I know that Karl Friedrich Gauss once created five (I don't recall the exact number, it may be 15 as well) rules to one gets out of a labyrinth.

  1. ???
  2. ???
  3. ???
  4. If you find a trhee-way intersection, draw a mark on the wall and get the next way at your right.
  5. ???

Please, can some-one give-me the complete list?

I've never heard of these, but following the wall on your right the whole way around works. moink 20:14, 9 Apr 2004 (UTC)
...for labyrinths with no islands (I suppose one would call them acyclic). -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 20:54, 9 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Right, good point. I had missed that it was getting out of a labyrinth, not traversing it from one end to the other (at which point there's no opportunity to find an island.) moink 14:48, 11 Apr 2004 (UTC)

If you can mark the paths, and mark the nodes where the paths meet, and where a new node is one you haven't yet visited, while an old node is one you have visited:

  1. Start at the entrance and take any path.
  2. If at any point you come to a new node then take any new path.
  3. If you come to an old node, or the end of a blind alley, and you are on a new path then turn back along this path.
  4. If you come to an old node and you are on an old path then take a new path (if such exists) or an old path otherwise.
  5. Never go down a path more than twice.

Not sure if this is Gauss or Euler or someone else's algorithm, but it should work whether or not there are "islands". It certainly doesn't find the shortest path, but it should find a path if there is one. Maybe someone who knows the subject better can write something on mazes for topology or graph articles. - Nunh-huh 21:51, 9 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Thank you, Nunh-huh. I have seen this information once when I was thirteen (now I am 23) in a mathematical encyclopedia, in a chapter about topology, but I've found nothing in the maze article (there is a link to "creating mazes algorithm" but none to "solving mazes"). I have also seen something about a muslim symbol, wich interested me a lot and wich I also have a question. (See right below).

P.S. Further, when searching Google with "Gauss algorithm" maze keywords, I found the following post at http://www.math.niu.edu/~rusin/uses-math/games/maze/algorithm 

From: Kurt Foster <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Anyone remeber Gauss' algorithm on solves mazes?
Date: 16 Jan 1999 05:15:10 GMT
Newsgroups: sci.math
Keywords: Citation: algorithm for solving mazes

In <[email protected]>, [email protected] said:
. Everyone thinks I'm crazy, but I distinctly recall from high school that
. Gauss came up with a way to get yourself out of a (two-dimensional)
. maze.
[snip]
  According to Martin Gardner's "The 2nd SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN Book of
Mathematical Puzzles and Diversions", there was an algorithm given by
Edouard Lucas in "Recreations mathematiques" (Volume I, 1882), which Lucas
credited to M. Tremaux.  Gardner's description of this algorithm looks
similar to the one in your post.

I'll try to find more on that.

Muslim Symbol

question type: mathematical recreation (topology)

Note: this question is the continuation of the above (Gauss algorithm on mazes)

There is/was a symbol that, according to the muslims, only Allah (God) can draw (only one stroke of hand is allowed).

rough description:

Two moons (two "C") one faced each other and intersecting in the middle, formming an X

This way: 

 )(

The question is: can the picture/symbol be drawed with only one stroke of hand and without lifting the hand out of the paper?

Ah, and please, I´ll thank if anyone can provide a link to that picture.

  • As an X like you have there: no, unless you can go back over what you've written. However, you're probably referring to this [14], which you can. The property is known as unicursality (also Eulerian path). Dysprosia 14:12, 10 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Aramaic Translation

moved from Wikipedia:Village Pump

how to translate "only God can judge me" in aramaic


Friedrich Karl von Hessen

I wonder about the usage of German names and their English "translations".

I've always believed that German Hessen was "Hesse" of English, but it seems to me as the Wikipedia is becoming increasingly international. Does that mean that local names are better to use than more English sounding?

/Tuomas

Wikipedia policy is to use the version of the name that is most well-known by English speakers. RickK 23:51, 11 Apr 2004 (UTC)

sacco and vanzetti

Where is your article on Sacco and Vanzetti?

potential POV in Chrysanthemum Throne

I don't know if this material is factual:

Despite this there still exist people who would like to see the Emperor's power increased. These monarchists usually come in the form of politicians, Shinto fanatics and Yakuza gangsters.

Could someone who knows more about Japan check it out? silsor 04:43, Apr 10, 2004 (UTC)

Sounds believable to me. But I am only a temporary resident in Japan, so I cant say for sure -- chris_73 06:03, 12 Apr 2004 (UTC)

pin

i have came upon a sterling half inch iron cross pin with HIN onthe front and seal 1886 on the back can you tell me anything about this pin ? [email protected]

Empress of Iran

I am searching for some formal photographic portraits of th Empress Farah in Sate dress. Can Anyone help? Thank you, Thierry Gouette [email protected]

Per Aspera Ad Astra

Per Aspera Ad Astra - please tell me the meaning, thanks you. Angela

According to our List of Latin phrases page: "Through hardship to the stars" -- motto of the Royal Air Force and Royal New Zealand Air Force.
I'm a bit suspicious of the Latin phrases list, as it gives the same translation for per aspera ad astra and per ardua ad astra which seems unlikely. The RAF motto is per ardua ad astra which is through struggle/adversity/hardship to the stars (RAF history website - origin of the motto). I would translate aspera as hope, but then it's 30 years since I last studied Latin, so what do I know? :) -- Arwel 19:47, 11 Apr 2004 (UTC)
The Latin phrases list should be fine in this instance -- Arwel's memory (no offense Arwel!) is incorrect in this. Merriam-Webster note that [15] aspera means "harsh things" in English. I humbly suggest that Arwel was connecting "aspiration" to a conjectured Latin cognate "aspira". :-) Anyway, "Through harsh things to the stars" should be accurate. I've never heard of "per ardua ad astra", and M-W doesn't have "ardua" (though their list of Latin words is far from exhaustive). Interesting. Jwrosenzweig 19:54, 12 Apr 2004 (UTC)
You're correct - it's a "false friend", I was thinking of aspiration. Oh well, we live and learn, which is why it's useful to ask questions! Arwel 21:37, 12 Apr 2004 (UTC)
You may also have been thinking of "spes" (hope) or "sperare" (to hope).
It is also the motto of Kansas. Chris Roy 23:41, 10 Apr 2004 (UTC)

16" vinyl 33rpm

I have two distinct sets of 16" vinyl records (that's right - not 12") and am looking for some information on them (history, value, etc.). If you could help me out, or tell me who might be able to....

The first set appears to have never been played. It is from World Broadcasting System, Inc. (an affiliate of Frederic W. Ziv Co.) New York - Cincinnati - Hollywood. The cases are labeled "Vertical" and say "Reproduce at 33-1/3 R.P.M. ..."

Each record is numbered; this one says "Disc 381". They are from a variety of different artists (David Rose & His Orchestra; Doris Day...). They are a series of numbered discs complete with their own numbered file dividers. Jackets are plain brown.

These are definately NOT the 16 rpm's used for voice recordings. The songs and labels are from known artists. And they play on 33 rpm.

These are associated with radio stations and probably date back to the 1950's, although none are dated.

Around the edge of the label it says "This electricial transcription licensed for Radio Broadcasting only, is and remains the property of World Broadcasting System, Inc. 488 Madison Ave. New York 22 NY".

The other set is not numbered, and have been played. It covers a wide range of artists and labels.

Any information you could send me would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks! Betty

These are 16" broadcast master recordings. See here for a quick reference. They began to be used by Columbia broadcasting about 1929 and continued to be used into the 1950s. For issues regarding preservation / transcription to CD / etc. you might try the good folk at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at [email protected] or their Ask a Librarian page. - Nunh-huh 01:07, 12 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Name of short story

I once read a short-story the plot of which is set at a dinner table having 2 (or more) families. The entire story is in direct speech (a monologue actually) by one of the ladies. As she keeps chattering, the reader gets to know the stories happening in the background of their lives. She is unaware that her husband was having an affair with the woman at the other side of the table, but the reader comes to know it before she does.

Expert piece of work, but I don't remember name of the story nor the author. Can someone help. Jay 22:00, 11 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Robert G. Harrington

Need dates of birth/death for Robert G. Harrington, not to be confused with Robert S. Harrington (both were astronomers). Robert G. Harrington was professionally active at Palomar Observatory as early as 1949. Google has a number of hits on astronomical discoveries but draws a blank as far as date of birth etc is concerned. Would also be nice to know what the "G." stands for.

Perhaps somebody knows somebody who works at Palomar Observatory, or maybe it's buried in some genealogy site (but there are some other Robert G. Harringtons out there). Curps

Silver to alloy content of early coin peso-need to know

To anybody who can tell me this, please respond. I need to know (1)the silver to alloy content of the mexican coin peso between the dates 1870-1920. (2)If the silver content changed during this period and what it changed to or from. The Mexican standard for silver is listed as being 98%/2% (980) But I dont know if that was the silver to alloy content of the peso coinage during those dates. However, it was higher than the AMerican coin known to be at 900. Please respond soon. thank you. kc

Ranking the wikipedia articles

Google has an interesting algorithm for ranking all sites. Basically, a site is considered more important if many other important sites links to it. I would love to see this algorithm implemented on wikipedia! Is it already done? I've looked for it, but haven't find anything.


The Google algorithm provides the most convenient means yet for assessing interest in multiple articles containing common terms. You can apply the Google algorithm to Wikipedia by entering the term Wikipedia along with any search term, or by using the search box at the top of this page.
The algorithm does not, however, provide a qualitative ranking of articles in Wikipedia the way it tends to do in Google. The reason is that Google searches many articles on a similar topic and sorts out the most recognized articles. Qualification of Wikipedia articles would require validation of individual ariticles against similar articles from recognized sources. An earlier effort to develop a better-validated encyclopedia, called Nupedia, was abandoned when it did not progress as quickly as developers liked, probably because it did not encourage contributors to add what they know, regardless whether contributions could be validated against recognized sources. Wikipedia currently relies largely on an ad hominem method of validation, in which familiar contributors assess new contributions based on whatever they know about a topic and their opinion of whether a contributor is reliable.
Ranking requires a method of evaluation by which to assign rank. Google uses density of linkages to assign rank. Wikipedia offers a system of popular selection that sometimes bumps articles to featured status, but is otherwise organized according to common scientific or liberal arts taxonomies. There is currenlty no reliable means for ranking Wikipedia articles for their validity. RaymondByrd 04:26, 15 Apr 2004 (UTC)

John Ericsson Memorial.

I am trying to find out some information about the John Ericsson Memorial in Washington DC. I need to find out enough information to be able to do a book report on the memorial. Can anyone help me out.

Thank you Stephen Hosmer

Stephen, our article on John Ericsson includes a link to the National Park Service's website for the Ericsson Memorial on the National Mall here. Gentgeen 22:44, 12 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Trying to locate a large scale model of cessna 152 airplane

I'm trying to locate a source for a large scale model of a Cessna 152 Airplane. I'm looking for a model that can be assembled. If anyone knows where I might be able to obtain one I'd be greatful for your assistance. I've been searching the web without much luck. Thanks! Jeff Fox - [email protected]


These [16] don't need assembly but otherwise seem to fit the bill. Or this [17] is for the C150, which you could easily adapt to look like a 152. Google '"cessna 152" model kit' got me those. DJ Clayworth 19:54, 13 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Inventor of the Long Playing Record

Who was the inventor of the LP record.

I understand it may have been a gentleman associated with St Dunstans. I think he was looking for a record for his talking books and 3 minutes on a 78 was not enough. I was told no record company was interested in the research so he did the work in his garden shed.

Apparently he took it to one company (HMV or Decca?) who rejected the idea. He took it to another who took on the idea. The company who refused countered with the 45 record.

Any truth in any of the above?

Does anyone have any more details, please?

I would appreciated some names and dates.

Thanks in anticipation.

Ross Lambourn, Auckland, New Zealand.

The analogue disc record article has some info. The "LP" was debuted by Columbia Records. However there were earlier experiments with similar formats years earlier, including by Edison Records in the 1920s, but they weren't commercially sucessfull. -- Infrogmation 05:38, 13 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Good old Cecil Adams has a good article on different record speeds at [18]. The article focuses on "why these weird record speeds" and doesn't name the inventor of the LP -- by which I believe you mean the 33 1/3 speed big vinyl disc -- but you will probably get some leads. Tempshill 01:40, 14 Apr 2004 (UTC)

email ?

Is there a way to trace the sender of an email? i've received an email and the sender says it wasn't from him but the sender address says it was.

As a regular citizen, no. All of the fields in an email's header (its addressing and routing information) can easily be forged, and there are (still) innumerable open email relays that allow anyone to send email through them. As part of a serious criminal investigation, a law enforcement organisation (like the FBI) can generally track the sender of an email, providing the sender hasn't taken some (fairly simple) steps to conceal their identity further. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 09:27, 13 Apr 2004 (UTC)~
The mail you got could either be spam (very unlikely) or it could be a virus playing around. As McWalter above says, the header could be forged, so you could get nowhere with an investigation, but there are interesting ways you can start investigating - starting from getting the IP addresses and doing a whois. Also refer Stopping e-mail abuse, probably the "External links" section would be more helpful. Jay 10:51, 13 Apr 2004 (UTC)
If it's a matter of whether or not the message comes from your friend's machine, it's not quite so hopeless. There will be a series of headers called "Received:" telling, in reverse order, which machines it passed through --that is, if your e-mail program doesn't strip them out of the message. The last one tells what machine the message came from -- or rather, what machine first handled it and obeyed the rules for e-mail handling. If these headers are different from the ones in your friend's messages, then it came from a different machine, and the "From" information is a lie. It's little more complicated than that, but this is a rough guide. But if it did come from his machine, it could still have been sent by a virus that he knows nothing about. But you can be sure of this: messages do go out with fake sender addresses. Spammers send such stuff all the time. Dandrake 07:24, Apr 14, 2004 (UTC)

OKEH RECORDS RECORDING

I HAVE A RECORDING BY GENE AUTRY ON OKEH RECORDS OF BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHEN THIS RECORDING WAS MADE. THIS RECORD BELONGED TO MY FATHER AND I AM IN THE PROCESS OF GETTING IT FRAMED AND I NEED THIS INFORMATION FOR FRAMING


THANKS FOR YOUR HELP BECKY HALL 2282 HWY 105 S BOONE NC 28607 1-800-789-0477 [email protected]

According to a PDF file at newworldrecords.org, Back in the Saddle Again dates back to 1939, and was written by Gene Autry and Ray Whitley. (Okeh Records, Okeh 05080). Unsurprisingly, it was also used in his 1941 movie Back in the Saddle. You may be able to get confirmation from an organisation such as the Country Music Hall of Fame. -- Zigger 04:56, 2004 Apr 17 (UTC)

looking for a word...

I'm searching a word for renegade, but not in the sense of betrayer, but a convert, i.e. somebody who changes to your side during a war -- Stw 16:28, 13 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Turncoat. —No-One Jones 16:35, 13 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Thanks. The (very sad) background: I translated the text on Image:Himmler_report.jpg -- Stw 17:19, 13 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Also defector, maybe? Chopchopwhitey 06:35, 14 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Indeed. To clarify, turncoat is probably more appropriate in a military, or militant, situation. defector is probably more appropriate in political or espionage situations (like the cold war, for example). The line dividing which is appropriate is blurry. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 15:52, 14 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Grace Murray Hopper

I've noticed that you've left out Grace Murray Hopper, and extremely important contributor to the way computers work now. Every time you refer to a "bug" in a system, you're using a phrase that Admiral Hopper coined. In general, your articles seem to gloss over or completely neglect contributions by women and minorities in areas like technology. What's up?

  • Just to respond to the above - we have a fairly good article on Grace Hopper (I should know - I added the picture to that article myself). →Raul654 18:48, Apr 13, 2004 (UTC)
  • see Grace Hopper. Add whatever you think we've left out (though she didn't coin the use of bug to indicate a computer hiccough, she merely popularized it, so please leave our correct version of that story intact). If you notice any oversights in any other articles, you can edit them to your liking. In general, I don't think we're guilty of the systematic exclusions you accuse us of. - Nunh-huh 18:50, 13 Apr 2004 (UTC)
  • While there certainly isn't a deliberate policy of "glossing over" the contributions of women and minorities in areas like technology, there is an inevitable bias induced by the demographics of wikipedia's editorship. We can only fix this problem with the help of new editors, such as yourself (articles, frankly, don't write themselves). Why not join us and help plug some holes in the dyke - see : Community Portal -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 00:17, 14 Apr 2004 (UTC)
  • Look at the long-standing single external link in Computer Science for ideas on how you can start making all the articles better. What's up? is that you have not contributed enough changes to satisfy your own criteria. - Bevo 17:43, 19 Apr 2004 (UTC)

coin of Germany?

I have a modest foreign coin collection and one of the coins is german and is dated 1988. It says Bundesrepublik Deutschland and it is 5 Pfenning. Is this East or West Germany or did they have a common currency following the cold war and before reunification? I greatly appreciate any help, thanks! shawn

  • The Bundesrepublik Deutschland is West Germany. There was no common currency in 1988 - common currency was introduced on July 1, 1990 in anticipation of reunification (see here. -- Nunh-huh 21:16, 13 Apr 2004 (UTC)
    • More precisely, the West German currency became the sole currency of East Germany some three months before the countries were formally reunified. If i remember the reports correctly, vast quantities of East German banknotes ended up in salt mines... Arwel 21:24, 13 Apr 2004 (UTC)

REGISTERED MAIL

I SENT A LETTER BY REGISTERED MAIL AND THE SEALED ENVELOPE WAS OPENED FOR SOME REASON. I HAD ABOUT $5000 OF POSTAL MONEY ORDERS IN THE ENVELOPE ADDRESSED TO THE IRS. THE LETTER CAN NOT BE FOUND AND I HAVE ONE MORE DAY TO MAIL MY INCOME TAX RETURN WITHOUT PAYING A PENALTY. WHAT CAN I DO? I HAVE CONTACTED THE POST OFFICE SEVERAL TIMES AND THEY HAVE NO ANSWER.

REPORT YOUR LOSS TO THE US POSTAL INSPECTION SERVICE http://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/ THEN HIRE A QUALIFIED TAX ADVISOR OR TAX ATTORNEY. ADVICE GIVEN TO YOU ON THIS OR ANY OTHER WEBSITE IS UNLIKELY TO BE CORRECT, AND MAY SERVE ONLY TO COMPOUND YOUR PROBLEMS. Oh, and please don't type all in capital letters. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 23:40, 13 Apr 2004 (UTC)


So then where's Philip Emeagwali?

A "Father of the Internet?" I think you're kidding yourselves about not having a blind spot. Is it that I'm searching incorrectly? BTW, Grace Murray Hopper coined the phrase "debug".

Wikipedia is written by volunteers, and is (always) unfinished. We're not kidding ourselves about that, and we have millions of blind spots. If you find an article that you think should exist, but doesn't, you can help us out by writing one. Just edit this page Philip Emeagwali -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 23:45, 13 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Now what does Grace Murray Hopper have to do with Philip Emeagwali or the father of the internet ? Although Grace did discover a real bug she is not credited with coining the word, see list of computer term etymologies for the bug entry. Jay 06:33, 14 Apr 2004 (UTC)
I echo Finlay's invitation to start an article on the topic. However, I should add that Emeagwali's claim to be a "father of the Internet" is dubious in the extreme. His major contribution to computer science appears to be in supercomputing, where he figured out how to make use of the Connection Machine, an oddball supercomputer architecture, for doing some geophysical simulations. That's neat, but it has very little to do with the Internet as most people understand it. --Robert Merkel 06:29, 14 Apr 2004 (UTC)


Socrates and Hemlock

From the village pump

The article on Hemlock contains the following statement:

The Greek philosopher Socrates supposedly drank one of above toxic hemlocks to fulfil his execution sentence. However, this story is now known to be a myth, although Socrates is commonly linked to this form of suicide.

Does anyone have any modern references which can verify or disprove this statement that the story is a myth? WormRunner | Talk 03:48, 13 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Since just about everything I could find takes the execution/suicide seriously, I have reverted the hemlock page until someone comes up with corroboration. I have also put a note on this in the Socrates discussion. WormRunner | Talk 05:34, 14 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Perhaps the person who added it was thinking of Aristotle, for whom there is such a myth. - Lee (talk) 15:00, 15 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Hmm. That makes sense. WormRunner | Talk 20:28, 15 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Split pinky toenail and Han Chinese

I heard that Han Chinese have split pinky toenails as part of their genetic makeup. Cultural myth or is their scientific grounding in this? --Jiang 06:12, 14 Apr 2004 (UTC)

The case of the Babilonian cone-thing

I am interested in writing to a member of the Department of Archeology in order to obtain some information about an artifact which was obtained from someone who claimed to be the head of a University of Chicago Babilonian Expedition back in l936. This is a ceramic cone with markings, which is in a collection of my father, a college professor, now deceased. I would appreciate hearing from an Archeologist who might have knowledge concerning this matter. Thank you. My e-mail is [email protected]

Are you referring to the Diyala Expedition to Mesopotamia by members of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago in 1930–1938? If so, contact the Oriental Institute. Gdr 15:42, 2004 Apr 15 (UTC)

Joel Janowitz

I would like to contact Joel janowitz. Could you send me his email address. Carl Esparza [email protected] Thank you.


If you mean the artist, he is apparently on the faculty of Wellesley College. This web page gives a brief biography, and if you click on his name it's a mailto link to the following address: jjanowit at wellesley dot edu (address mangled to avoid spam harvesting, replace the at with the @ sign and the dot with .). I found this with a 5-second Google search using the search terms "Joel Janowitz". Note: I have emailed this person this information.--Robert Merkel 22:48, 14 Apr 2004 (UTC)

V. Ivanova

Text speedily deleted recently from above article:

Is this Vitaly Ivanova? I am interested in contact with a person of this name, originating in the Moscow region, City of Chernogolovka This person would be the father of Alla Ivanaova who married and moved to Canada. Please forward any contact to [email protected]

Polydactyly

Hi, I was wondering if I could get anymore information on the genetic disorder polydactyly. I am doing a report for my biology class on it. My e-mail is [email protected]. Thanks a lot, bye.

Brian

Here's a link to an image of a polydactylus hand: [19] and another [20] The extra digits of polydactylus appendages often lack effective muscular connections. Polydactyly is usually inherited as a dominant trait but is also sometimes induced by teratogens.

Formation of human hands and feet begins at about the 6th week of gestation, when cell death divides the apical ectodermal ridge into, normally, five segments. Normal patterns in digits are formed, or not formed, as a result of activity in a zone of polarizing activity at the base of arms and legs on their posterior edge. The morphogenesis probably involves retinoic acid (vitamin A) and a series of genes called homeobox genes.

Other embryonic malformations of hands and feet include ectrodactylyl, which is the absence of a digit, usually unilateral (one only one side) and syndactyly, which is abnormal fusion between fingers or toes.

Syndactylus appendages form in about 1 of 2,000 human births, when the normal breakdown of mesenchyme fails to occur. Clubfoot often presents along with syndactylus, but clubfoot might be inherited or a result of abnormal placement of the legs in the uterus during gestation. In clubfoot, the sole of the foot is turned inward.

None of these are the same as cleft hands or feet, called lobster claw deformity, consisting of an abnormal cleft between the 2nd and 4th metacarple bones and soft tissue, usually along with missing 3rd metacarpal and phalangeal bones, and often with fusing of the thumb and index finger and of the 4th and 5th fingers. You might learn more about this by reviewing articles on human embryology I'm not sure your teacher will be very impressed if you say a bird told you this. If you enter some of these words in the www.google.com search engine, you might find additional sources for this information. You should at least check my spelling, and do something to be sure the information I freely provided comports with some other reliable source. Byrd

Internal link: Polydactyly Bensaccount 04:15, 15 Apr 2004 (UTC)

After reading a bit more, I learned that polydactyly is present in as many as 100 other disorders, often as a minor trait compared to the gravity of the disorder, and that in rare cases it cannot be attributed to any known cause. RaymondByrd 04:35, 15 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Static electricity and ice

Does anybody here know if static electricity discharges from breaking ice? I'm not sure if it occurs when ice separates from plastic or when ice separates from itself. I observed the phenomena while breaking icecubes from a plastic tray in a darkened kitchen. I would expect static discharges from plastic, though I never really contemplated why they occur, much less if they occur in ice alone or in ice separating from plastic. Just curious...

I remember hearing or reading that breaking icicles causes sparks. I've just spent 10 minutes searching, though, and can't find anything online at the moment. I read something about breaking things causing sparks recently (maybe lifesavers), and the only thing I can find on the net says that from personal experience that's false. I might have read it in Discover magazine--I'll see whether I can find it in an old issue, unless someone else can come up with something. Elf | Talk 17:10, 15 Apr 2004 (UTC)
The thing with Lifesavers is called triboluminescence and it does work (I've done it myself). There may be a similar effect with ice; a google search for triboluminescence+ice gives some links, such as [this scientific paper]. -- DrBob 17:46, 15 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Root of the word "Germany"

Can any one tell me, why we call this country as Germany, while it is called Deutschland by Germans themselves? What is the etymological meaning of Germany? Thank you

The word Germany derives from the latin Germanic labeling the babaric tribes of northern europe, see Germanic peoples. The French word for Germany, Allemagne, derives from one specific germanic tribe of southern Germany, the Alamanni. The origin of the word Deutsch is a bit more complicated. The name derives from the germanic word theoda meaning folk, from which around the 8th century the latin word theodiscus labeling the german language developed. And I wonder why the above isn't included in the articles on Germany or German language yet. andy 10:10, 15 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Maybe it's the same user who asked the same question before. See the 'Name of "Deutschland" ' section above. Jay 10:52, 15 Apr 2004 (UTC)

im doing a A-level project

can you tell me the compostion of the english 2 pence coin when it was made of bronze and if you can can you give me detailed information on experiments that could be used to find how much copper is in the bronze. 

  thank you [email protected]
According to the Royal Mint the composition of British 2p coins minted before September 1992 is 97% Copper, 2.5% Zinc, 0.5% Tin. Gandalf61 15:25, Apr 15, 2004 (UTC)
Page 594 of my copy of Analytical Chemistry, by Skoog and West (ISBN 0-03-097285-X) gives the procedure for determining the percentage of copper in an alloy. I'd post it, but that would be a violation of copyright, and Dr. West was too nice of a professor for me to do that to him. Gentgeen 06:21, 17 Apr 2004 (UTC)

songbooks and music for basic guitar

I have been looking for good, simple songbooks for singing and playing guitar. All types of music from country to gospel. where and how to find the best ones.

An excellent resource is The Online Guitar Archive (OLGA). This collects songs transcriptions (both in chords and tablature) collected from various internet groups. The quality of the transcriptions can be patchy sometimes (or be in some deeply unsuitable key for your voice) but you'll often find that several versions exist for the more popular songs. And it's all free. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 18:01, 15 Apr 2004 (UTC)

CATCH PHRASE- help

I am stuck on the last question in a local rotary quiz. The answer is a 'Silly Saying or Catch Phrase'. We are given the FIRST letter of each word but not told the NUMBER of letters in each word. Most of the other answers in this group are from British TV.

T T D S C W

Any ideas?

Reagrding Pashto Article

"In Pakistan, Pushto has no official status; it is not taught in schools and Pushtun children learn Urdu as their language of education and activities outside the home."

I saw this statement in the article "pashto". I just want to make a correction that it is not true that pushto is not taught in shcools. It is taught in all governemnt schools in peshwar. I am pushtoon and i lived in Nowshera for 8 years and i been to govrnment schools in nowshera and peshwar and it is taught in governemnt urdu medium schools in peshawar.

Thanks.

Thanks for the help! We'll change the article. By the way, this is an open encyclopedia and you can make any corrections you think necessary by clicking on the edit this page link. moink 21:36, 16 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Thanks for pointing out this observation. However the line you are talking about is not in Wikipedia's Pushtu article, but in the website of UCLA. Wikipedia doesn't endorse the correctness of articles in external websites that point from an article. Wikipedia however strives to achieve neutrality in its own articles. Since you have a lot of information on Pushto, you can help adding information to the article. Jay 06:02, 17 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Bootable business card

Are there any retail vendors of this media? I'm having trouble finding them at CompUSA type outlets. - Bevo 20:37, 16 Apr 2004 (UTC)

if you mean the business-card sized CD-R then Fry's Electronics sells em. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 21:02, 16 Apr 2004 (UTC)
you can also buy them at www.5inch.com - DropDeadGorgias (talk) 00:05, Apr 17, 2004 (UTC)

The District of Columbia

I'm ashamed that I, a history major, cannot remember this, but why is the District of Columbia called the District of Columbia? And once someone remembers, could they put it in that article, as well as posting it here? Thanks! :-) Jwrosenzweig 23:39, 16 Apr 2004 (UTC)

I found this, which doesn't really answer [21]. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 23:58, 16 Apr 2004 (UTC)

list of Disney animated movies

From the village pump

I've looked all over trying to find a chronological list of the Disney cartoon movies and so far, your list is the closest to what I have discovered. Unfortunately, the second list omitted the two additional Lion King movies, the additional Hunchback of Notre Dame, extra Atlantis and extra Jungle Book movie. I am in the habit of writing which movies was which number on the inside of the movie box and I'd like them to be accurate to what the Disney studio says. According to them, like Peter Pan was 14th, The Jungle Book was 19th, Fox and the Hound was 24th, and so on. Can anyone help me number my other 30 some odd movies? Please? THANK U!!!

The article in question is List of Disney animated features. →Raul654 00:49, Apr 17, 2004 (UTC)

Sleep deprivation

Someone once told me that after around 20 days without sleep a person will... die. I was a little dubious of this, however the sleep deprivation article states that:

Lack of sleep may result in irritability, blurred vision, slurred speech, memory lapses, overall confusion, nausea and eventually death....

...but doesn't give a figure. Does anyone know what the (average) limit is?

(And yes, I didn't sleep too well last night.) Chopchopwhitey 15:09, 17 Apr 2004 (UTC)

If my shoddy memory serves me, the world record for human sleep deprivation was done by a california boy who did it under psychological supervision (from either Stanford or Berkeley - I can't remember which). He made it to ten days with no sleep, but at that point, it becomes a question of what exactly sleep is. Does microsleep count? Again, IIRC, in experiments with rats, the rats died after 3 weeks with no sleep. I don't think a human has ever made it that far. →Raul654 15:24, Apr 17, 2004 (UTC)
Am I the only one just a bit troubled by the fact that the world's leading sleep researcher is named Dr.Dement? -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 00:25, 18 Apr 2004 (UTC)
I wondered the exact same thing recently; I learned in my high school psychology class that it's impossible to die from sleep dep, that you'd fall asleep before dying. I did some googling, and from what I can tell by making inferences based on vague speculation, the only way to die from sleep dep is to be incapable of sleep. Check out this small table giving life expectancy with total sleep deprivation (no references given); a newsgroup posting with (again unreferenced) replies claiming death won't occur... I'd also love to see a definitive answer on this. I'm not convinced by any lab studies in which animal (or human) sleep mechanisms were intentionally destroyed. Obviously, if one is physically incapable of sleep, death will occur before sleep. -- Wapcaplet 01:07, 18 Apr 2004 (UTC)
I'd be very interested to know what the supposed physiological cause of death is in these cases. I believe I'm correct in saying that the Autonomic nervous system and brainstem don't really partake of "sleep", so surely can't itself be harmed by the lack thereof. And I think I'm (roughly) correct in saying that a patient with these intact can at least keep breathing, digesting, and heart beating. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 01:18, 18 Apr 2004 (UTC)

EDI 301

from the Village Pump

Can you direct me as to where to get information about EDI 301. It has something to do with Ocean shipment loading. Please send response to my email address - [email protected]

Thank you.

Ethylene Glycol Production

I am trying to determine how much of the Ethylene Glycol sold as "new" is actually remanufactured or recycled?

If you can help in any way please email me back at [email protected]

Thanks ------- Jerry

  • I think I remember a project I once did on ethyleneglycol. You might want to try to contact the NW&S department at Utrecht University http://chem.uu.nl

--MacGyverMagic

REQUESTED INFO DR. PHIL/ANTHONY HOROWITZ/ALEX RIDER

I think Dr. Phil is enough of a phenomenon to get his own entry here. I'd also like to see pages for Anthony Horowitz and his fictional creation -teenage spy Alex Rider. However, I'm not knowledgeable about any of them and there don't seem to be obvious places to link them. Should I just create some stubs and hope for the best? Or does anyone else want to help out? -- MacGyverMagic

We do have Phil McGraw (I think I'll make some more redirects, as that isn't too easy to find) -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 23:55, 17 Apr 2004 (UTC)
We don't have a Anthony Horowitz page (although Crime Traveller links there). So yes, you should make a stub for it, I think. You might also like to tell User:Paul A, as his talk page seems to suggest he's a Horowitzista too. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 00:17, 18 Apr 2004 (UTC)

home runs

I'm wondering if anyone knows the entire number of home runs hit in MLB in 1927 versus the total number of home runs hit in the entire MLB in 2003?

http://www.baseball-reference.com is a great resource for this stuff. In particular, the information I used is in the "American League" and "National League" links at the top of http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/ . (The other leagues listed did not play in either of those years.)
The results:
1927

American League: 439
National League: 483
Total: 922
Number of teams at the time: 16
Number of games to a season: 154
Home runs per team per game: 0.374

2003

American League: 2499
National League: 2708
Total: 5207
Number of teams at the time: 30
Number of games to a season: 162
Home runs per team per game: 1.071
Hope this helps. LuckyWizard 01:16, 18 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Glasgow based novel

I'm trying to find a novel I read many years ago. All I can really remember is that it was set in Glasgow, or more specifically the Gorbals (I think). All the events took place between a Friday and a Monday (inclusive). I also seem to remember the protagonist accidentally setting fire to someone's flat (again, I think). Does this ring any bells for anyone? - Lee (talk) 01:25, 18 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Nothing rings a bell. Take a look at No Mean City (30's razor gangs) which is supposedly the definative Gorbals novel. Then there's How Late it was, how late (written in the vernacular, lots of swearing) and Swing Hammer Swing! (about which I know very little). Perhaps it's one of these (they're all fairly famous). Maybe checking these out on Amazon.co.uk will refresh your memory (I'm ashamed to confess I've read none of them). -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 01:56, 18 Apr 2004 (UTC)
D'oh. Swing Hammer Swing!, winner of the 1992 Whitbread prize - which was why I read it in the first place. Stupid memory. Many thanks. - Lee (talk) 02:13, 18 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Pai Hsien-yung

Is Pai Hsien-yung gay? The article Pai Hsien-yung states that Pai has explained that he believed his father knew of his homosexuality and "never made it an issue," though it was never discussed. . If so, I would like to add him to the list of famous gay people, since he is a very influential writer among Chinese community. --θαλαμηγός (talk) 03:36, Apr 18, 2004 (UTC)

Ganesha using tusk as stylus

I find this under your Mahabharata entry: "In the course of writing, Ganesh's pen failed, and he broke off one of his tusks in the rush to keep writing." But I cannot find any such mention in the epic itself. Kindly give me the reference to this breaking off the tusk to write down the dictation of Vyasa. Pradip Bhattacharya [email protected]

Several Google references to this can be found here. RickK 20:03, 18 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Scientology

from the Village Pump

Fred Brewer

380 Rexford Drive

Hermitage, PA 16148

(724) 981-4695

[email protected]


To whomever it may concern;


In the 1950s, I heard that Scientology was started by fans of a novel L. Rod Hubbard wrote about a planet like Earth on the other side of the Sun. They said these fans disturbed Hubbard at first, but later he joined them and became the head of Scientology which had already started without him. In recent years, any source I ever see about Scientology says Hubbard started it after writing Dianetics. Which version is true?


Respectfully yours,


Fred Brewer


I'm no expert on the subject, but our articles on Scientology, Church of Scientology, and Dianetics are fairly thorough. According to those, it was initiated by L. Ron Hubbard himself. -- Wapcaplet 19:41, 17 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Legend has it that scientology was started by Hubbard as the result of a bar bet between him and Robert A. Heinlein. This legend [22] is almost certainly false... but it's amusing, and that's the important thing. (It's one of those stories which I preface with "now, it didn't really happen this way... but it should have!") Grendelkhan 21:22, 2004 Apr 17 (UTC)
Ummm...."almost certainly false"? I forget if Hubbard Jr. discussed it in his book too, but the discussion on that very page seems to conclude that five independently corroborative accounts seem like rather more than coincidence. Chris Rodgers 02:31, 18 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Grendelkhan said that the story of the bar bet with Heinlein was false. The five independent accounts are simply that Hubbard claimed the real money was in starting a religion. -- Wapcaplet 15:42, 18 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Dianetics begat Scientology. Your story about sci-fi fans is much contrary to what existing analysis of Scientology/Dianetics/Hubbardism in general has said... Some of Scientology is derived from Dianetics... Dysprosia 02:37, 18 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Presedentes

We would greatly appreciate to know the name and E-Mail of each of the LatinAmerican Presidentes.

Thank you in advance. Guillermo R. Morini [email protected]

List of maps?

Did I once see a list of maps on Wikipedia, or am I making that up? —Bkell 04:10, 19 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Maps has a list of sources within and outside of Wikipedia. Wikipedia:WikiProject Maps also has a list of orphans and requested maps. -- chris_73 07:45, 19 Apr 2004 (UTC)


Matrix Inverse

Is it true that if a matrix A is nonsingular, does it always follow that its inverse is also nonsingular? Do you have an item regarding this?

Yes, since matrix inversion is defined as a reversible process. So since a matrix can only be inverted if it is non-singular, the result must be non-singular so that (A−1)−1 = A This is an important property, if you think about it, because it makes inverted matrices behave like inverted numbers, which is what they're for after all. See also Invertible matrix. - IMSoP 13:39, 19 Apr 2004 (UTC)
This is the "easy way out". You have defined non-singularity to mean invertible (and admittedly the article you cite does this too). But what if non-singularity is defined as "no non-trivial solutions of Ax = 0" (as is common, and I suspect the direction the original poster is coming from). How then do you prove that non-singularity is equivalent to invertibility? Pete/Pcb21 (talk) 13:47, 19 Apr 2004 (UTC)

los angeles county, california demographics

i am trying to get more specific demographics data for the south bay region of los angeles county. specifically, i am trying to find population densities by postal code, and/or census tract, and/or a.p.n....any ideas how id go about getting this info??

-adam [email protected]

Zip files and Cursors

  1. The zip file format has been named after PKZIP developed by Phil Katz. Any idea why he called it "zip" ?
  2. Also the cursor that we see on text editors - why is it called a "cursor" ?

Jay 17:48, 19 Apr 2004 (UTC)

I suspect the computer cursor was named after the one on a slide rule. The COD says it's from latin, meaning "runner". -- DrBob 18:10, 19 Apr 2004 (UTC)
I've always assumed "zip" was meant to conjure up the idea of squashing things into a suitcase and pulling the zip (or zipper, if you're American) closed - and that metaphor has certainly been frequently used. The letter Z also seems to have some enduring connection with compression - perhaps because of LZ77 and its variants - so that connotation may already have existed when Katz started. I'm only guessing, though, I'm afraid. - IMSoP 18:20, 19 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Survey Lodge Ranger Station.

I am trying to find out information about the Survey Lodge Ranger Station that is located in Washington DC at the intersection of 17th Street and Independence Ave near the mall. I would like to know about it's history and what it has been used for over the last 100 years. Can anyone help me answer this question. Thank you.

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