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Reference Desk

January 8

music/art

Hi! I am currently wokring on a project for school. I am looking for some Russian art pieces or musical instruments to display for the project. Can anyone direct me to where I may be able to find such items in Canada?

Can you be more specific than "Canada" ? If you live in Toronto, I doubt if you would be willing to go to Yellowknife to see Russian art. Also, if it's in a museum, I doubt if they will check it out to you for a school project. You might want to try to obtain prints of Russian paintings, though, those might be available for a modest investment. Or, if you are as cheap as me, just print some copies you find on the Internet on your own printer. Note that the Russians did colonize what is now the West Coast of Canada and the Northern US, so you might do best in British Columbia or possibly the Yukon Territory. StuRat 01:34, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Nine Nations of North America

With reference to Nine Nations of North America, what exactly are the features that differentiate these nine regions? Can one distinguish between people from these regions based on their accent or language or any such cultural traits? deeptrivia (talk) 01:58, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

You can distinguish between citizens of the United States based on accent, language, and cultural traits. Why would you think that there wouldn't be a difference when travelling from one country to the next? --Kainaw 02:33, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

No, these are "nations" roughly within the US. I want to know some particular examples of features that can be used to find, for example if a person is from Texas or California. deeptrivia (talk) 02:44, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Judging from a quick reading of the Nine Nations article and its links, I wouldn't say its focus is on the individual personal level. I read some of the Dixie excerpt from his book, since that's where I live, and he did say you could generally recognize whether you were there or in one of the bordering areas by how often the subject of change from the old traditions crops up in conversation, which is sort of similar to what you're asking, but for the most part it seems to be broad societal differences, like race relations, economic growth, that kind of thing. --70.243.46.200 06:20, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

It's possible, actually, that your question has nothing to do with the nine nations. If you're just asking how to tell what region people are from, there's loads of stuff on that, and I have no idea where to find most of it. Dialect has a link to List_of_dialects_of_the_English_language, which might be of some use. --70.243.46.200 06:27, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Dialect and speech patterns are all that trained people need to pinpoint a persons origin. Obvious examples are keywords: Y'all for the south, wicked for the northeast, wersh (instead of wash) in the midwest, eh (at the end of a question) along the Canadian border. The central midwest has much faster speach rhythms than the the southern midwest. The northeast is more staccato. I studied it a bit because I am from the midwest and I know that there are stereotypes based on language patterns. For example, to make sure an audience knows a person is stupid without getting into any character development, a director will give the person a southern accent. To make sure the audience knows they are rude and obnoxious, the get either a New York or Boston accent. So, I studied enough to try and break my old habits. --Kainaw 22:10, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Speaking specifically to the Nine nations thing, that is just one man's way of dividing up the pie. It has some valid generalizations, but in other ways it is terribly off. For ex Los Angeles is included in Mexamerica. While there are some connections and influences, suburban LA such as Orange county is about as far in many ways from Mexico as you can get. But if you're looking for a way to tell where someone is from, I would agree dialect (accent) is the most reliable. It only takes a couple seconds to tell between some of the strongest accents such as Boston, New York City, Southern, Yooper, Canadian, etc. Some can still fool you of course depending on your familiarity with an area. But accent wasn't the prime criteria that author used to delineate his areas. In some cases he prioritized economic similarities over accent ones. - Taxman 14:44, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Something about the accent thing - I wouldn't rely on it too heavily. Four reasons. The first is that, with the constant mixing up the people in America are getting (moving across the country just for college, new job, etc.), there are plenty of people in, say, deep Texas who grew up in, say, Ohio and Montana. If they raise children, the children will be born in Texas, raised in Texas, and still have a strong tendency towards a Northern accent. And that's just if they don't move while they're young, which a lot of people do. The second is that people can, as the guy above mentioned, intentionally change their accent to something significantly different and harder to trace. The third is that accent is a subtle thing at the best of times, and is constantly changing. The fourth is that some people just talk weird no matter what they've been raised to. I grew up with quite a few speech impediments, and that combined with my northern parents caused almost everyone I met to think I was British, including at least one person who'd been to England. 69.154.179.63 02:58, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

• I'd recommend reading the book ;) Actually, having read the book, I can tell you two things.

1. As some people have suggested, the book, written in 1981, is stunningly predictive in many ways and stunningly obsolete in others. America churns and churns, and any one region is rarely left out of the mix. 2. The author's intent was to divide up America politically based not on parties, but on what people's actual desires from their government were. In this regard, this system of generalization is much more useful than the "red county"/"blue county" thing, which basically only tells you if you're living in a city or not. For example, the Rocky Mountain area is characterized by libertarianism, even the Canadian portion; Southern Florida really doesn't think or act like the rest of Dixie; and there is huge political tension generated by the fact that a huge portion of this nation's culture and history come from the Pittsburgh-DC-Boston crescent, even though this area underrepresents many of America's defining cultural traits, like pioneer spirit, jingoism, and religiosity. --Mareino 16:55, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Greek Mythology

Who are the three Greek Goddesses that took a vow of chastity?

Is this a homework question? If so, you may find some information at Greek mythology and the associated articles linked from that one. Dismas| 05:09, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Italy

Is Italy important in world affairs? How and how not? Is Italy declining, improving, or maintaining conditions in technology, economy, human rights, environment or infrastructure? What rights do teenagers have in Italy?

First thing that comes to mind... The Vatican is in Italy. I know, Vatican City is it's own country, but it is competely within Italy. The next thing that comes to mind is commerce. When I was in Bermuda looking for something to buy for my wife the week before she was going to spend a few months in Italy, everything I found (besides rum) said "made in Italy". --Kainaw 02:31, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Is this homework by any chance? - Akamad 03:06, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Read Italy and economy of Italy for a start. As to the rights of teenagers, what do you mean? There's broad legal provisions, and then there's culture. Broad legal provisions tend to be a national issue, culture can vary greatly within a country. I'd imagine teenagers brought up in the trendier suburbs of Rome or Milan are allowed considerably more latitude than those brought up in rural villages in the more backward parts of southern Italy. --Robert Merkel 10:07, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Hello, I need to find information on the communist uniforms of china.

I think you may be thinking of the Mao suit. WAvegetarian (email) 10:01, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Yea, that's the one that made them all look like janitors. StuRat 10:16, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

freedm

What does freedom mean to me?

...who are you? —Keenan Pepper 03:37, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

• If your teacher asked you to respond to the question, "What does freedom mean to me?", it means you have to answer the question for yourself. Halcatalyst 23:03, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

It means you are perfectly free to do your own homework. StuRat 04:14, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

I can absolutely guarantee that no one else but you can say what freedom means to you. - Akamad 09:54, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

your freedom should mean to you what my freedom means to me,and yeah, it's good for you to do your own homework, you'll gain freedom by doing that. ;) --Cosmic girl 14:29, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

To me, freedom means the right not to answer this question. smurrayinchester 20:35, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

"Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose," according to Kris Kristofferson. Geogre 00:37, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

• As memorably sung by Janis Joplin. Halcatalyst 01:48, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

It also means that you are free to tell your teacher that he/she needs some more original essay prompts. --Tothebarricades 01:54, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

I suspect telling the teacher that will lead to the realization that school is a not democracy, and your teacher is a dictator. StuRat 08:07, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

• Freedom is either wasted on, or dangerous in the hands of, all but the most intelligent people and I recommend you become institutionalised as rapidly as possible, like me. --bodnotbod 00:56, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

• While there you can ponder One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest -- both book and film are terrific. Halcatalyst 05:37, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

• This is less of a school essay question and more of a Miss America question. --Mareino 16:57, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Film credits on posters

These days, a poster for a movie will usually have a section at the bottom with a lot of credits, written in an elongated font that is very difficult to read. This seems almost pointless to me. What is this block of text called, and why is it there? Is it just to pay lip service to some legal obligation to have certain people credited? But it couldn't possibly contain the full list of credits, so who's in and who's out? What's this really all about? JackofOz 08:34, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

I happen to know someone in the business of making movies. He's one of the guys whose name about which you wonder "What is this guy's name doing in the credits?" I asked him a very similar question once. I asked him why people like the costume designer or the assistant to Mr. Eastwood or the key grip were in the credits when the general public doesn't care about those people's names. The answer that he gave me was that along with the money for working on a film there are a number of other things that studios and the people in these jobs can barter with. Someone may even take a little less money to get their name in the credits or whatever. It's basically just a little perk that they can write into the agreement when they agree to work on a picture. Now my question to him was specifically about the credits at the beginning/end of the films. I didn't ask specifically about the movie posters but I thought this might shed some light on the subject. Dismas| 08:51, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

I think there might be union contracts which require listing the unions which worked on the film. They usually only listed the main people otherwise. At the end of the actual movie, however, they seem to list entirely too many people, down to caterers, for example. TV stations get so sick of showing all that crap that they either cut the credits short or squish them to one side of the screen so you can't read them. Unfortunately, they do this so soon that you frequently can't see the names of the stars. These days you can go to the internet to look them up, provided you know the name of the movie. StuRat 08:55, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

My point was not to take issue with those being involved getting credit. I always sit thru the entire credits at the end of a movie at the cinema because (a) I really like the idea of people being acknowledged for whatever contribution they may have made and (b) the music is still going and the movie ain't over till it's over. (I agree that this is usually denied to us on TV). I was mainly intrigued about the choice of font for this material at the bottom of the film poster. It's always the same thin, tall, unreadable typeface, no matter which film company made the movie. Why? Is it to squash in as much information as possible in the space available? Is it some psychological/marketing thing about a quality movie having a certain look and feel? If it's effectively unreadable, that means it is not intended that people actually read it. There has to be some other significant agenda/purpose. JackofOz 10:01, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Also, they occasional throw in some bonus material after the credits. I don't know the answer to the weird font question, but also notice how they tended to use roman numerals for dates, which can be quite difficult to read when they go flying by. This seems to be changing though, as more recent films tend to use standard arabic numerals for the year. StuRat 10:14, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

I read somewhere that various people insist for various reasons that their name in the credits be of certain size, but that "size" is interpreted as "height". So the obvious way to pack more names in to the billing box, while keeping them of the contractually-obligated "size", is to make them tall and thin. You can read much more about this topic in a column by the inimitable Cecil Adams. Steve Summit (talk) 10:41, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

So, "billing box", that's what it's called. That answers one of my questions. Thank you very much. Steve. JackofOz 11:35, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

What does E B stand for in E B White's name?

There's a search box at the top left of the page. Typing E.B. White and clicking on go brings us to E.B. White, where you will find the answer to your question. Natgoo 15:39, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Education 1934

What percent of U.S. high school graduates went on to post secondary education (college, trade school, nurses training) in 1934?

• Here's a good place to start looking if you're really interested. Halcatalyst 22:38, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

For theologians

Don't Agustine of hippo and the creator of the opus dei, Jose Maria something, extremly contradict each other? the first one says that we should basicly turn our backs on the world because every human effort is worthless and God is the only way out and that the world traps the soul and stuff like that, while the other one says that materialism is not bad and that the material world is to be cherrished and based on his theology came all those christian rock and rap bands... now I find a huge contradiction here... how can a religion have such a self contradicting theology? where is catholiscism heading? what's this pope going to do? I also read that benedict didn't accuse pedophile priests and what's more, he excused them somewhat...is this true? and also, a religion that is changing its views constantly... what authority does it have to say that it posseses the truth? I find this extremly silly, being from a really catholic environment myself. and also, how can the vatican have an astronomy observatory, what is it looking for if they are supposed to know it all?--Cosmic girl 20:16, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Agreed. Even the Bible contradicts itself. For example, do you "turn the other cheek" when harmed, or do you demand "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" ? You can't do both. StuRat 20:11, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

If you actually had some knowledge of the Bible, you'd know the answer to this "contradiction". "Turn the other cheek" is the New Testament answer to the Old Testament "eye for an eye" approach. In legal terms, it overturns the previous precedent, if you buy into the whole Jesus thing (I personally do not). But don't take it from me:

You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth". But I say to you, do not resist an evildoer. If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. (Matthew 5:38-39)

There are many better points to criticize the Bible on, but it helps to know what you are talking about before you do it. The Bible is two books, and finding something in the latter one which explicitly overturns something in the previous one does not make it a "contradiction". Which is not to say that the Bible is free from self-contradiction in a true sense (mostly on non theologically interesting issues), but this is about the worst example of that you could find. --Fastfission 21:05, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

The contradiction is that it makes no sense that God would so competely change his rules for us when Jesus was born. What, did God change his mind ? "Forget all that stuff I said before, I don't know what I was thinking back then." I guess God must be a woman after all, LOL. StuRat 21:31, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

But Jesus did not overturn the law. He said so in Matthew 5:18 and Luke 16:17. --BluePlatypus 00:04, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

There are biblical scholars who take "an eye for an eye" mean "if you must exact retribution, it must be of a proportionate degree"; that is that it sets a maxiumum (not minimum) tariff. They contend it was meant to contradict the prevailing habit of manyfold-retaliation (where if I stole your goat, you'd burn my house down). With the "eye for an eye" method you'd only get to steal one of my goats, or a smallish cow at most. I'm inclined to beleive this rather more enlightened interpretation, not least because it sounds a lot more like a sage rabinnical saying this way. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 21:07, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

I would think that if it meant that, it would say that. If judges of the time had awarded less than equal compensation for any injury, this would cause the injured party to seek revenge outside the law, which would be a big problem for society. StuRat 22:39, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

There were no judges at the time. It was just Hammurabi. Babylon was very tribal. The example above doesn't begin to address the attitudes of the time. It was "you steal my goat, I burn your village, kill all your men, take all your women in as slaves, salt all your lands so no crops may ever grow there again." Hammurabi realized that this was self-destructive. Also, with people getting killed and crops being burned, he got a lot less in taxes. So, he set forth a code demanding and eye for an eye/a tooth for a tooth. To this day, people use those words to justify a village for an eye/a town for a tooth. --Kainaw 19:48, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

I guess acording to religion only God (whatever that may be because even they don't seem to agreee themselves about what God is) only God can demand an eye 4 an eye, but we are supposed to turn the other cheek, and of course! never ever think for ourselves,and turn our backs on science and let the human race practically die out because it's heretical to fight for ourselves since that would mean we have faith in ourselves and in science and not in God the ghost. --Cosmic girl 20:19, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Please! Remember that it is said about Jesus that he came to complete the old law (meaning the books of the Bible before his gospel). Only there can you find retaliation, and Jesus himself said 'give another cheek'.

This is one message that you must keep from him. I mean, do not follow a religion, try to improve it.

--Harvestman 21:03, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Religion doesn't want to be improved though, it wants to be followed, so to not follow religion and try to improve it, you are automatically un religious, but I didn't mean silly biblical contradictions, I meant theological relevant contradictions for example concerning the nature of God, how can there be contradictions there? there shouldn't be no religion at all in the world, and only philosophy in its place because it's so stupid to say you know it all and comand everyone to believe what you say and burn people at the stake ( people that made huge contributions to mankind) and then just be like I changed my mind, tehehe...c'mon!.--Cosmic girl 21:44, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Not actually correct, of course. Firstly God does things in time, so he may choose to reveal bits of himself at different times. So mankind may know more about God at a later stage; hence religion would change and be improved. Secondly we are not perfect in interpreting anything God may communicate to us. As we understand God better religion is constantly changing. A simple look at the history of any religion will reveal that it does change, frequently changes from within, and in many cases is actively seeking to change. DJ Clayworth 15:45, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

most recorded music albums

I would like to know who has the most recorded albums in the history of rock and roll music?

                          thank you

                             Miliie Durden

Do you mean the artist with the most albums in that periiod ? StuRat 20:06, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

yes, i would like to know which artist, band, who has the most recorded albums of all time.

thank you millie

My first guess would be Slim Dusty, who was recording his 106th album when he died. Here is a link to his discography. Taiq 02:34, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

• 106? Blimey. The Fall (band) are often spoken of as unusually prolific here in England but it seems they've "only" had 25 studio albums out (one per year since their inception in 1979), albeit considerably more when you take into account live and compilation releases according to The Fall discography. --bodnotbod 01:02, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

It isn't rock, but certainly pop.. what about Lata Mangeshkar? She has the world record as a performer I believe, with over 30,000 songs recorded, mostly Bollywood soundtracks. Of course, she didn't write them. --BluePlatypus 01:54, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

History

Analyes the impact of labor unions and immigration on the American worker between 1865 and 1900.

Please, do your own homework! Don't type a question verbatim from your assignment and expect people to answer it for you. I'll even give you a link to get you started: Labor unions in the United States. --Canley 22:42, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

And another: Immigration to the United States. JamesMLane 01:19, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

C. S. Lewis.

I believe that C. S. Lewis lived a part of his early life in Cork, Ireland. I would like to know if this can be verified.

Many thanks,

Peter Byrne.

I checked the C. S. Lewis article and it didn't mention it; a quick Google search seems to confirm that Lewis' mother was born outside Cork in Queenstown (in Cork county), and that his father was born in Cork, but it doesn't appear that he ever lived there. СПУТНИК 21:25, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

• Lewis' autobiography Surprised by Joy: The Shape of my Early Life will give you the answer to that question. Halcatalyst 22:57, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

homosexuality

What is the historical background on homosexuals?

See Homosexuality and History of sexuality. СПУТНИК 20:50, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Misplaced Pages's resources are a little sketchy, in my opinion. If you're really interested, drop by your local library and read Homosexuality and Civilization by Louis Crompton (ISBN 067401197X). It is by far the best introduction to homosexuals in history that I've read. --George 22:45, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Celts

Who are the Celts? Are, they Vikings? I just know that they have something to do with Northern Europe.

See Celt. —Keenan Pepper 23:14, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

• The Celt article really does tell you everything you need to know, but I want to emphasize that Celts are certainly not Vikings. The two intermingled a bit and their descendants are of course quite peaceful with each other now, but they were serious rivals during the formative years of Northern Europe. --Mareino 17:04, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

John Stockwell

CAN ANYONE GIVE ME MORE INFORMATION ON A JOHN STOCKWELL, PRIVATEER AND BUCCANEER WHO WAS COMMISSIONED BY WILLIAM III (WILLIAM OF ORANGE) TO TRACK DOWN AND CAPTURE CERTAIN PIRATES. HE FOUND PIRACY MORE PROFITABLE AND WISELY INVESTED HIS FORTUNE IN PROPERTY IN SOUTH LONDON INCLUDING PURLEY, STREATHAM, THE ANGEL ESTATE, AND OF COURSE STOCKWELL ITSELF.

THANK YOU, REGARDS DON LENNARDS--212.32.74.139 23:35, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

• FYI, a Google seach on

john stockwell pirate "WILLIAM OF ORANGE" "south london"

• turned up 8 results, none useful. Halcatalyst 01:46, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

From what I can gather, Stockwell has been known as such since the creation of Stockwell Manor near the village of Stokewell in the 1200s - the only info I can find about later years relates to Stockwell being the centre of tea smuggling . The Stockwell Partnership (history org) and Lambeth Landmark (archives) may be able to help you find more specific information. Natgoo 10:16, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

January 9

Mughal empire in 1780

If what is shown in yellow in this map is the Maratha empire, where's the Mughal empire? deeptrivia (talk) 02:22, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

I'm not an expert on the subject, but I believe that the Maratha empire and the Mughal empire existed in much the same place simultaneously. For much of its later existance, the Mughal rulers were just "overlords", with other rulers beneath them, and I think the Maratha empire was one of the places supposedly subject to Mughal rule. The warfare between the Marathas and the Mughals was, I think, basically a fight over this overlordship — I'm not sure whether the Marathas rejected all notion of Mughal overlordship, or whether they merely wanted the Mughals confined to a figurehead role, but I'm fairly certain that by this point, the Mughal Empire only really existed in theory, not as a "real" empire. It claimed supremacy over a large area, but in practice, the local rulers generally went their own way, and sometimes even fought the Mughals. (But as I say, I'm not an expert by any means — I could be completely wrong). -- Vardion 03:08, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Thanks! I think that makes sense. deeptrivia (talk) 04:26, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Philosophical/religious paradox

Is there a name for the idea that an omnipotent God would never have any needs and so therefore would never feel the desire to create something such as a universe? Glennh70 05:43, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

• Omnipotence paradox is today's featured article --Tachs 07:27, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

• Would this fall under that same heading? Glennh70 07:35, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

• No, that sounds diferent to me, although related. As I uderstand it, the purpose for God creating the universe is to test the people He created, to determine which ones are good enough and which ones are "morally defective". The question then comes up as to why God can't just create all morally perfect people and skip this test entirely. StuRat 07:56, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

From what I know of my Jewish religion, God created people not out of "desire" but because it was metaphysically "good."--Urthogie 11:14, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

It's not a paradox, actually. Plato, in Timaeus, suggested that a perfect creator would be perfect, unmoving and unmoved, because perfection can lack nothing and therefore be without motive or motion. He therefore had to resort to a demiurge to account for creation: the slightly imperfect near-perfect-thing did all the creating. This has implications for Christian heresies, as a number of Gnostic sects would essentially follow this scheme, and several dualist heresies would resort to the demiurge creating the world and God creating only the spirit -- this could take the form of the world being created by Satan and therefore all flesh as evil. However, traditional Jewish and Christian theology has been totally untroubled by this "paradox," because their idea of perfection is dynamic. I.e. God is alive. As a living being, God moves, thinks, etc., and love is the nature of perfection. Love necessitates creation. In other words, they'd say that Plato's idea of perfection was mathematical and absurd, that he defined his terms illogically and immorally. Geogre 11:38, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

• Yes, love is the key. In one interpretation of the Trinity I've heard, the love between Father and Son (the Holy Spirit) is so immense that it overflows the Godhead, both causing the universe to come into existence and sustaining that existence. Halcatalyst 15:47, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

How is this a paradox or conflict or anything like that? The creator is omnipotent. For example, if you create a web page, you know everything in the web page. If you create a painting, you know everything in the painting. If you create a universe, you know everything in the universe. --Kainaw 19:53, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

That's why it's a paradox. It undercuts the rationale that StuRat mentioned, about God creating people so he could test them to determine whether they were good. An omniscient being would know the answer without running the test. That's in addition to StuRat's point that he (God, not StuRat) could have just made them all good to begin with. JamesMLane 01:24, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Again, I'd say it's no paradox. It's a question of what you define as "perfect." Plato would have it be impossible, but Plato's perfection is static and dead. In Jewish, Christian, and Islamic thought, a thing is not perfect by being unmoving, but by being essentially one with God. Further, an all-wise creator could and would create humans who have the power to create, even to create evil by choosing not-God. This doesn't solve the problem of predestination and omniscience, but that's a separate issue and one that gets to the heart of theodicy. Would an all-knowing God know the outcome of all future choices and therefore be culpable in the evil created by unGodly choice/rebellion? Well, for some people that's a real snag. For others, it's not. (It's a lot easier, if you're existentialist, as there simply is no future. Futures cannot be known because they do not exist, and each choice is free.) However, the foreknowledge problem isn't really a perfection paradox. Geogre 03:31, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

isn't nothingness the only perfect unmoved mover thing? I can't cocinieve of a concious 'perfect' thing because no matter how perfect omnipotent and whatever God is, the 'nothingness' will always 'compare and compete' with him...correct me if my reasoning is wacky...maybe there's something beyond that absolute nothingness, I mean, maybe infinitness appears to us as if it's nothingness but then..I can't say anything abut that reality because I'd be lying, so therefore I think all religions lie somehow, because noone can claim to know THAT with our earthly brains.--Cosmic girl 13:23, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

1853

I was wondering if anyone knows what was the biggest type of christianity in 1853 i.e protestent, Baptist

Without doing any research, I'd say that in England it was Church of England, and worldwide it was Catholic. This is a guess, not research. Notinasnaid 09:07, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Not so sure about that...someone should double check.--Urthogie 11:14, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

It would sort of have to be Roman Catholocism in the West. This is because "Protestant" breaks down into Lutheran, Church of England, Church of Sweden, Church of Scotland, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist, etc. If all these new churches were added together, they probably would have massed to near the numbers of Roman Catholicism. Another factor is the Russian Orthodox Church, which, in 1853, had the population of Russia and most of the Romanov Empire. Greek and Syrian Orthodox Churches had very large numbers, of course, but, with Old and New World added together, it would be logical that Roman Catholicism was the most numerous church in 1853. Again, this is just a logic game. I don't know the actual numbers. Geogre 11:43, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

It seems like a lot of it is based on where you draw the lines.--Urthogie 11:50, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Of course it is. The question is to vauge to be answered, and it's also posed in a confusing way: "i.e. protestent, baptist".. since baptists are a protestant denomination it's a weird distinction to make. --BluePlatypus 21:33, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

That said, it really does have to be the Roman Catholic church. It has been the largest ever since the Great Schism, and it is truely one church, one heirarchy and one faith. It'd be pointless to lump all protestant denominations together: The theological differences between protestant denominations can be larger than the differences between certain protestant denominations and the Catholic church. Also, see Christianity. There are 1 billion Catholics, half a billion protestants, and a quarter-billion orthodox christians. In the last 150 years there really hasn't been any major religious upheavals. Most of the places that are catholic-majority now were then too, and most places that had a protestant majority then have it now as well. The only major change I can think of is the 'atheisation' of the Soviet Union, but even that would't be enough to bring the Orthodox into the largest. The only other significant factor that could change the Catholic domination would be the fact that the Catholic nations have had on average a higher birth-rate. But I doubt that has been a significant enough effect to give you a protestant majority in the mid-19th century. --BluePlatypus 21:49, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

nineteen sixties pop music

What was the song, written or performed, by a popular group in the nineteen sixties. that had meaningless lyrics that were (supposedly) written as a result of a bet.

Could be "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict" (1969) by Pink Floyd? --Canley 12:25, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

I think the only bet involved in that song was who could do the most acid and retain their sanity. I think Sid Barrett lost that bet.--◀Puck▶ 12:32, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

It's "Syd" Barrett, not Sid. And that song was released after he had already left the band. Dismas| 22:13, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Jimmy Webb said in an interview that I read a very long time ago that he wrote MacArthur Park on a bet. It was a very popular song - the most popular being by Donna Summer, though I am partial to the version by Richard Harris. --Kainaw 22:32, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

I heard, but can't verify, that Manfred Mann had a bet about performing songs with meaningless titles (but not lyrics), resulting in Do Wah Diddy Diddy and 5-4-3-2-1. DJ Clayworth 15:38, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Tallest population

Which nation has the tallest population ?

See Average human height around the world. According to that, it's the Netherlands; that is, if you're referring to average height. СПУТНИК 13:22, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

• Really, I was assuming it was Danish people. - Mgm| 09:04, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

strange collar

What is the name of the collar worn here by Michel de Montaigne? Do we have an article about them, or does anybody know why they were worn, when they were in fashion and when they fell out of fashion, and if they were comfortable? I just curious about them, but I couldn't think what to look up. Perhaps we have an article on Rennessance fashion? Smmurphy 14:10, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Maybe Ruff (clothing). Notinasnaid 14:26, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Ahh, so are the a collar at all? Also, does anyone happen to know the french term for these? Thanks. Smmurphy 23:21, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

OK for ruff. In french : fraise, or collerette. Very uncomfortable with the starch, but the ruchés give such a distinctive look ...--Harvestman 21:35, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

History of relationships between husbands and wifes in Saudi Arabia

I am trying to research the history of relationships between men and women in Saudi Arabia. I was told that men basicaly rule over woman as the head of the household. I was also told that if a woman cheated on a man, that the woman could be put to death. In the USA we handle marital disputes within the Family and Probate Courts.

My question would be, How or where could I find more information regarding the manner in which marital disputes are resolved in Saudi Arabia?

Thank you in advance for helping me with this topic. Brian Meuse

For a start you should see, Human rights in Saudi Arabia. Dismas| 22:18, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Note that the plural of wife is wives, not wifes. StuRat 02:42, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Music

What was the first world wide rock & roll hit song? I would like song and artist if possible. This is just a question I had so any help would be greatfull Jeff

IMO there haven't been any yet. There are still a number of places in the world that do not appreciate, or haven't had exposure to, rock & roll. You're question is going to be hard to answer until you more clearly define "world wide." Would being a hit in most English speaking nations count, Western nations, nations involved in World War II? Seriously though, if you narrow down that definiton it will be easier to get you an answer. WAvegetarian (email) 17:33, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

If by 'world wide' you meant the important parts of the world, i.e. the U.S, Europe, Australia and so on (ie, the 'Western' world), then maybe something like Great Balls of Fire or Rock Around the Clock. India, Africa, Asia and so on generally have shitty (and often government-imposed) tastes in music, and thus do not count. Japan is not so bad, but when those songs came out in the 1950s they hadn't caught up with the West (and then subsequently overtaken the West in everything except music taste and penis size). Proto t c 15:27, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

• That's quite a rant, Proto. Anyway, Rock_and_roll answers both the question of what's the first hit song anywhere in the world, and what's the first worldwide hit. Short answer: because rock & roll emerged gradually from other forms of music, it's hard to say, but Ike Turner's Rocket 88 (or Bill Haley's cover of it) is as good a nomination as any for the first rock song, while Bill Haley's Rock Around the Clock lead to a worldwide tour, and finally, Heartbreak Hotel hit #1 on the US charts and #2 on the UK charts. --Mareino 17:46, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Adolf Schmitz

Lately I've been looking for information about an artist called Adolf Schmitz, and my grandparents have an original painting by him. So I was trying to find out who he was and find out how much the painting might be worth. What I know about him is that he wasn't well-known from what I've found. I would like to know if his paintings might be rare. Can someone help me?

Well if he wasn't well known then it doesn't seem unlikely his paintings would be rare. But rare doesn't necessarily mean valuable, unless there happens to be a group of Adolf Schmitz collectors out there prepared to pay for it. In general, for lesser-known artists (who aren't likely to be collected) the price will depend almost completely on the qualities of the painting itself. Either you can go out yourself and make an estimate from what paintings of similar age, size, style and quality sell for. Or you can have it appraised by an expert, which is what I would recommend. Check with local auction houses and art dealers. --BluePlatypus 00:37, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Surf Music

I was wondering where surf music orginated from. Are Link Wray, The Ventures, and Dick Dale the founding fathers of insturmental surf music?

Sorry if this gets put in twice but I'm not sure if my question went in the first time.

See surf music. --Kainaw 20:01, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Dick Dale is the most universally credited originator of Surf Music. Dale used the double picking that he had learned as a child for mandolin on his electric guitar, and he chose the Fender Deluxe reverb because it sounded "wet" to him. That said, Dale played a circuit around the surfing communities, so that implies that there were other people already doing something akin to what he was doing and that they all worked out their sound together. However, Dick Dale got recorded, and the other fellows, whoever they were, didn't really get the records. After Dick Dale, the "fun and sun" lyrical content owes most of its origin to Jan and Dean. The wildcard in all of this is The Ventures, who were not a California band. They were a guitar group that had been doing popular song who then, apparently, changed their sound in response to Dick Dale and pushed things along considerably. The Ventures go back as far as anyone, just about, and, while others came and went, they kept producing reverb-drenched Stratocaster-based guitar music. Geogre 20:04, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Nettekoven's in history

I have a history textbook that has multiple references to people with the surname "Nettekoven". I'm wondering what the importance of these people are in the textbook. The textbook is about the history of Europe. These references only tell the last name of those who are referenced. Can someone help me find out the importance of this surname in history, and possibly how they are all related?

My last name is Nettekoven, but I don't know how my ancestry could actually get a footnote in a history text book...

What makes you think there's any connection at all? I mean, I can find any number of historical people named "Johnson", but it doesn't mean they're all related. --BluePlatypus 18:58, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Battle of Trenton

How did the Battle of Trenton in 1776 begin??? What caused it. I need this info for a history project!

As the top of the page states you must do your own homework. You should read the article Battle of Trenton. --WAvegetarian (email) 19:05, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

I believe that what caused it was an extreme difference of opinion about who should govern the British colonies in America. --Mareino 17:47, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Chrysler Building

How many people work at the Chrysler Building on a weekday?

--163.153.132.5 19:09, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Mmm. No responses yet so I'll do a highly approximate estimate (keep in mind that a better figure might be available from a google search, which I haven't done). All the info I have used is from Misplaced Pages articles. Take the World Trade Center. Building 1 had a floor area of 400,000m² and 25,000 people working there on a weekday. The Chrysler Building has a floor area of 111,201 m². Assume that both World Trade Center Building 1 and the Chrysler Building use floor space in the same way. The Chrysler Building has 30% of the floor space. 30% of 25,000 people is 8000. Maybe 8000 is a general ballpark figure. But that's a very rough estimate!--Commander Keane 11:04, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

You could use that as a "maximum" value, I suppose, since the more modern design of the WTC allowed more efficient use of floor space. --BluePlatypus 18:47, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Usage of Bromine In Swimming Pools, and Spas

I wrote an essay on the usage of bromine in swimming pools, and spas. I hvae indentified all the benefits and limitations, I have also explained the process of adding bromien to the pools and what happens one it's inside the water. But now I find myself looking for links between bromine and one of the following factors: economics, ethics, political, environmental, etc. and I can't! Please help it would mean a lot!

Thank you for your time!

Ludovica

• The article Bromine has a short discussion of economic uses under "Appications." You might also try Googling bromine applications. Halcatalyst 20:41, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

U.S. Commonwealth

I know there are four Commonwealths (VA, MA, PA and KY) On the Virginia Department of State Website they declare they are not a state only a Commonwealth. Does the Federal Government recoginze these four as states or Commonwealths?

MAV

From a legal standpoint and federal perspective, they are states, and the U.S. Constitution refers to them (and they assume implicit identification) as such. As far as I know, "commonwealth" is not an accepted term in this regard; see Political divisions of the United States. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 21:22, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

• "Commonwealth" dictionary.com is the word officially used by the states, but that in no way is binding on the federal government. Halcatalyst 21:30, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

See Commonwealth and State naming debate. -- Mwalcoff 23:46, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

what is the best rave song ever

That is a subjective question. Please listen and decide for yourself.--Urthogie 21:09, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

• Don't listen to him. It was We Call It Acieed by D Mob. --bodnotbod 01:09, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Crusades

how were the british involved in the crusades?

See Crusades and do a page search on England. Halcatalyst 22:30, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

You should also do a page search on Scotland, Wales and Ireland; all of which are or have been, with England, part of Britain. AllanHainey 13:45, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

"Complaint Dept" vs "Customer Service"

The diff is much like that between the old US War Department and the newer US Department of Defense. By pretending that customers don't have complaints and countries don't make war, they make it sound like we live in a fairy land filled with care bears who give strangers flowers all the time. StuRat 04:27, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

• It's part of a trend of business euphemisms. Complaint Dept -> customer service -> customer support -> customer care. Employees -> team members. Customers -> guests (at a department store?) Halcatalyst 14:51, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Another Question ???

Which buildings,monuments, structures, and types of homes symbolize this culture?

• Which culture? --Mareino 17:54, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Danish laws

Are the laws in Denmark the same as they are in the U.S.? Like what are some sites that I could find the taboos of the Danish culture?

You might try directly asking user talk:fyslee, who can tell you first-hand. alteripse 23:57, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Fyslee here. It took some hunting to find this reference to me. I got a comment elsewhere that must refer to this spot. Now what specific questions do you (whoever you are, please sign your comments!) have for me? -- Fyslee 05:19, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

What do you mean by 'the same'? They're not exactly the same as in the US, but US laws vary a bit from state to state as well. But the US and Danish laws are more or less the same contrasted to say, the laws of Saudi Arabia. There aren't any differences which would be significant for your average visitor. Remember to keep your headlights on while driving even in the daytime, and turning right on a red light is not generally legal. (but that varies within the US as well). Don't try and bring your handgun with you. The Danes don't really have any taboos the Americans don't have. In certain areas they have less taboos (e.g. more tolerant of nudity, pornography.. but that's also something which varies widely in the US). Oh, and Danes like most Europeans, hold their knives in their left hands while eating. (See: Zigzag method). All in all, there really isn't anything an American could do at home but which would be considered offensive in Denmark. For good or evil, Americans aren't really expected to know local custom in Europe (See: Ugly American). So at worst you'd just be confirming the stereotype. So if you're going there, be polite, humble, pick up some Danish phrases and help destroy that stereotype. Asking questions is a good way to start. :) --BluePlatypus 00:11, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

I think you mean the other way around: Europeans (including Danes) hold their knife in their right hand when eating. -- Fyslee 05:19, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Oh and another thing, if you want to act like a True Scandinavian, you should avoid taking the last of anything offered to eat or drink. (like the last cookie from a tray) And if you do, make sure to ask the others first. Emptying your plate at a meal is fine though. (as opposed to some cultures where that indicates you want more food). Not emptying your plate isn't any more offensive than in the US either. --BluePlatypus 00:20, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

The legal system is much different US Common law Denmark civil law

India's culture

Which buildings, monuments, structures,and types of homes sumbolize India's culture?

How do people communicate with each other? How is information spread in India?

What images (religious or secular) cause an immediate response in every person of India?

How does the average person get around in India?

What people, places and things spark feelings of loyalty ant patriotism in India?

Have you considered doing your own homework, starting with reading our India and Culture of India article? And here's a big hint: Sachin Tendulkar. --Robert Merkel 01:01, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, do your homework. Hints in random order: Vande Mataram, Mass media in India, Indian architecture, Arts and entertainment in India, Transport in India, Rail transport in India, Flag of India, Ashoka Chakra.

Civil Court

What are the advantages and disadvantages of accepting an offer in a dispute rather than referring to court. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.45.133.74 (talk • contribs)

• I'm not a lawyer and I suspect there will be some knowledgeable people along to help you out, and I suggest you wait for them. However, I can;t resist the temptation to try an answer and see if I can be in any way right:
  • I suspect the advantages in taking a settlement are:
    • Opportunity to avoid legal costs.
    • Avoid stress.
    • Avoid necessity to take time off work (or whatever) to go through the proceedings.
    • If the court does not find in your favour you would have done better to have accepted a settlement.
  • Disadvantages
    • Perhaps you would have done better if you'd gone through the court (eg, got a higher settlement).
      • How did I do?--bodnotbod 01:14, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

You did very well at hitting the most common reasons, although your fourth one should've been listed first. The importance of guaranteeing against the worst outcomes is seen from the existence of a limited settlement called a "High-Low". The parties might agree before trial that the defendant will pay the plaintiff at least $200,000 and at most $800,000. A verdict somewhere in that range will stand. If there's a verdict for defendant, or for plaintiff but in a small amount, the defendant must still pay $200,000. If there's a big verdict for plaintiff, the defendant has to pay only $800,000. The parties still have the expense of trial but reduce their exposure to variance.

Other (less common) reasons for settling would include: going ahead with the trial might entail divulging some information you'd rather keep confidential, or giving greater publicity to an embarrassing matter; pressing this case might set an unfavorable precedent that could work against you in other matters, so you settle this one on unfavorable terms while waiting for a better test case to come along. JamesMLane 01:36, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Well now I feel smug ;o) That matter of "precedent" you outline at the end; I understand what you're saying, but can you think of an illustrative example of it? Just out of idle interest. --bodnotbod 23:29, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

January 10

Chinua Achebe

What kind of writer was Chinua Achebe?

A. post-colonial B. African C. fiction D. often found on college reading lists

If you want his shoe size, favor dessert, mother's maiden name, or favorite football team, you will have to do your own research. Dalembert 01:55, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

The Safest Big Cities to Live In

When it comes to big cities,we all automatically think of high crime.Well,doing some research on New York City,they say New York City is one of the safest big cities of the world.Los Angeles is big and well known also,but we all know that LA is home to many gangs of the U.S.So my question to you is "What are the best safest and biggest cities to live in the United States?And why?

What are the best safest assumptions and biggest giveaways about homework questions?And why? WAvegetarian (email) 02:39, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

The safest U.S. cities are ranked yearly by different publications. CNN.com usually has an article about the rankings every year. So searching CNN.com and searching the rest of the net with Google should give you a pretty good amount of material to go through. Just search for something like "safest cities in the U.S." or whatever. Dismas| 03:51, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

You may get bonus points for noting how the "safe" is qualified. For example, does it include accidental death? Disease? Does it go with raw numbers, or does it calculate per capita? If per capita, what is the bottom limit on "large city?" Does it apply only to the United States, or is it global? Does it include wounding, or just death? Is it meaningless as a ranking, or is it totally meaningless as a ranking? Geogre 21:39, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Don't reply purely on statistics ... you need to understand how come so many people dying of cancer in a city that has the best cancer hospitals in a region ... look at their life expectancy and whether they came from some other city to be at those hospitals, or if you discount the impact on death rate because people coming to a city with lots of hospitals and consider the pollution situation. We can have several cities with same amount of pollultion, but depending on the surrounding terrain, it can get more concentrated in some valleys.

There's safety from crime where they steal your car or break into your home. Some cities have lots of that, while others have almost none. Then there is who is targeted. If you drive your personal car into Canada from USA, it is almost certainly going to be stolen and the police do nothing, but if you rent a car in Canada with Canadian license plates, it almost not get stolen. This is because the car thieves know they not gonna get away with stealing a Canadian car. If you drive a car into Detroit that was not made by the big 3 auto manufacturers, good chance you will get mugged, because a lot of unemployed people there attribute sales of foreign cars to cost their jobs. So many places are safe for some people and not for others, based on sociological patterns of their behavior. User:AlMac| 13:13, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

still taboos

Thank you, so what are some American taboos that the Danish might have in common, and how do you use that User talk:Fyslee thing.I think that's what it was called. Sorry if I called it the wrong name, I would have to close out of this question to see if I spelled it right. Thanks for your time! You guys are great!

All you had to do was click on the link supplied to you and you could leave a message on his user page. Dalembert 01:57, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Use your head. What things do you find rude, vulgar or ugly? What do you do you consider bad behaviour? Now, subtract those things which all humans find rude/vulgar/ugly/bad and you'll have your cultural taboos. You probably wouldn't go to have dinner with your neighbor without a shirt on. A tribesman in the jungle of New Guinea probably wouldn't have the same inhibition. See also Culture of Denmark. --BluePlatypus 02:19, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

You wouldn't have had to close the question window if you had Mozilla FireFox! :) --Ali K 08:15, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

I use IE with several Windoz open at same time when I visit Misplaced Pages. User:AlMac|

It seems to me that there are a few humongous differences between Danish and US culture and society, as represented in the US news media.

1. The Danish criminal justice system consists of locking up Suspects and interrogating them 24x7 until some limit is reached that a Judge imposes, like 30 days. The US criminal investigation system consists of collecting evidence at a crime scene, placing it in little baggies labeled as to where it was found, then looking at it all through microscopes and other very expensive scientific instruments then testifying as to what the technicians thought they saw to some humongous number of decimal places of accuracy.
2. The USA is largely governed by some prudish attitudes dating back to the Puritan colonists who came from Denmark for reasons lost in antiquity, while the stay at home Danes culture evolved in a different direction. In the USA, while rules vary from state to state, it is generally a no no for people to go unclothed, view other unclothed persons, engage in sex with persons of same gender, wildly differing ages, such as children, or view pictures of this. While in Scandinavia this is perfectly acceptable behaviro.
3. The USA has a wild west history involving heavy use of violence to solve problems that could have been solved diplomatically, such as honoring treaties with native indians. One of the top rights in the Bill of Rights of the US Constitution, is the right of the citizentry to bear arms, although there is some controversy over what kinds of arms, such as WW II surplus, explosives, and so forth. Denmark, and lots of Europe, find an armed populace to be anathema, and in fact this is probably wy the movie ET was banned in parts of Europe. User:AlMac| 23:06, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Um... I don't think it's acceptable to sleep with children or view child pornography in Scandinavia. The minimum legal ages may be off a year or two, but I'm sure you can't legally have sex with a 7-year-old in Denmark. I also have trouble believing ET was banned in any European countries (except perhaps those in the old Soviet Bloc). And many Americans also disagree with widespread firearms ownership. -- Mwalcoff 01:00, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

status

how are people generalized into classes in a specific culture. I'm comparing and contrasting Japan and Denmark to see the different status. Please write back with help on this topic!

It sounds like you are wanting us to compare and contrast for you. You should start by clicking on those links and reading up on the cultures you are writing your essay about. WAvegetarian (email) 02:42, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Well, how would I find the status of the people. I really don't get that part. What does status mean? Is it like how many groups they are classified in or what? I'm confused. Please write back. I don't want you to do the homework for me, I just need your help please. It will be greatly appreciated!

I'm not really sure what your teacher meant either. Maybe they are referring to caste system-like stuff. Some questions to consider: How are poor people treated in each of these cultures? Are classes even divided by wealth or are they divided by family heritage or job? What have the historical classes been in Japan and Denmark and how are they different now? WAvegetarian (email) 04:02, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Thank you! so, do you know of an available site where I can find if religion plays a part in the way the Danish people are treated?

Try the search box and follow links on Misplaced Pages rather than just asking questions here, it will help your research skills immensely. Sigh... see Religion in Denmark and Church of Denmark. Also Social class to get an understanding of the basis of the question and follow the links. --Canley 04:39, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Thank you for your time and effort! I think I can handle it from here. Thanks so much!!!!!

India's Taboos

What behaviors are considered totally unacceptable in India?

Maybe you would find what your looking for at Culture of India. I know that there are a great number of Hindus in India. --WAvegetarian (email) 02:50, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Blowing your nose in public is an example of behavior acceptable in the West but not in India. deeptrivia (talk) 03:29, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Then what do they do when their noses fill with snot ? StuRat 04:19, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Well, excuse yourself and go somewhere else to do it :) deeptrivia (talk) 04:23, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

So, if you had a cold, they would think you have severe diarrhea because of the number of times you go to the bathroom, LOL. StuRat 04:39, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Public displays of affection; holding hands in public before marriage for example, although less now than in the past. smurrayinchester 21:43, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Hand contact is another in my experience. Indian shopkeepers prefer to put your change down on the counter rather than hand it to you for example. Jameswilson 00:15, 11 January 2006 (UTC) Jameswilson 00:15, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Eating with your left hand can be considered bad because it's traditionally used to wash oneself after using the restroom. Depending on the ruralness of the location lots of other things can be taboo. Rural areas tend to be more conservative so things like revealing clothing would be looked down upon there more than in some cities. Someone should probably do some research and add all this into Culture of India. - Taxman 15:53, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

The problem is, none of this can be generalized for the whole of India, or even a major part of it. deeptrivia (talk) 01:36, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

who wrote "tumhari amrita"?

Javed Siddiqi WAvegetarian (email) 11:24, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Green Acres: Surreal or Postmodern

Settle a debate: Is the television show Green Acres a better example of Surrealism or Postmodernism?

I always just thought it was funny. If I had to choose I guess I would say it was more Surreal than Postmodern, but I'd have to add that you and whomever you are having this debate with need to get out more often.--◀Puck▶ 07:44, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

I'm not familiar with the show, but the two terms need not be mutually exclusive. --Nick Boalch 13:01, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Sorry to be the spoilsport, but it's not really either one very much. There are parts of it that were surreal (Arnold the Pig), but most of it was the comfortable "country bumpkin" humor that goes back to Horace's version of country mouse and city mouse, at least. Basically, you put a sophisticate in a place where he or she doesn't know the customs, and then hilarity results as the rubes prove cleverer than the smarty. Further, the show used quite a few standard folk lore types, such as Mr. Haney the huckster. It was still funny -- especially Mr. Haney. Geogre 21:43, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps a "fish out of water story" would be the way to classify it ? As in when Mr. Douglas plowed his field wearing a full suit and tie ? StuRat 02:37, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Sure, but it has some of the rural sports thing going, too. The Madcap and the Bumpkin are classic types, and, in particular, the Bumpkin who outfoxes the clever lads is a classic plot device (compare Tony Lumpkin in She Stoops to Conquer), and American folk humor, in particular, loved the story of the city slicker who lost his way. Still, I have to admit that there was surrealism in the show, although I think it came from tall tales and folk lore rather than from the art movement of that name. (Yeah, I know: I'm taking the question seriously, when that's not how it was intended.) It's just that postmodernism would kind of be right out. I can't see any postmodern elements to it at all. Geogre 03:08, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Why not Magic realism? Or even a Fable of sorts? --BluePlatypus 03:00, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Id, ego, superego

WHAT IS ID ? VERSES EGO ,FREUD CONCEPT??

Read the articles on Id, Ego, and Superego.--Urthogie 10:43, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Barcelona was taken over by the English for 10 years??

Good day,

I have got a question and was hoping that the forum might have an answer for me. I am looking for the time period that barcelona was taken over by the english, it should be a period of 10 years.

But I can not seem to find this information on the internet. Would you happen to know what time-frame this is? Or could you re-direct me where I would be able to find this information?

Best Regards, Wouter Vroegop

I looked at History of Barcelona and it didn't mention it. It did say that Barcelona was taken over by Napoleon and his brother Joseph; is that what you meant? Sorry... СПУТНИК 13:21, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Hi, thanks for the effort, this is already what I found too. But Napoleon was French not English. Wouter 194.109.22.148 14:41, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

I've never heard of the English (or British forces of any kind) occupying Barcelona, but if it was for a period of ten years I'm sure it would be mentioned somewhere on the internet, as the details of Anglo-Spanish relations and conflict over the centuries have been well-documented. How did you come to ask this question? What was the source of the information that England took over Barcelona? --Canley 22:34, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

• The English and Dutch (among other allies) occupied Barcelona for almost ten years (1705 - 1714) during the War of the Spanish Succession. I think that must be it. --BluePlatypus 23:21, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

• • I read about the War of Spanish Succession, and by process of elimination this would be the only time period that the English could occupy Barcelona. On the other hand what made me doubt again is the fact that Philip V was king of spain, and although born in France, was trying to get the french out of Spain... I have not been able to find a reference stating that the English actually occupied barcelona in this time period. I did find that the English and Dutch were were opposed to the union of French and Spanish dominions. On top of this, archduke Charles VI, the Holy Roman Emperor entered barcelona. He was from Austria..... Wouter 194.109.22.148 09:12, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

• • • Indeed Barcelona was captured by the Allies in 1705 by the Earl of Peterborough, october 9th 1705 the Govener surrenders. In 1714 surrendered to the bourbon army.

Chalta Purza (1932)

I was wondering if anyone knew anything about this obscure silent zombie film from india. The most I've been able to hunt down so far is that it was directed by Balwant Bhatt.

Thanks.

--67.76.164.21 15:17, 10 January 2006 (UTC)Neosamurai85

ariel sharone

Try Ariel Sharon. Chuck 15:37, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Icon

What is Nepals Icon for tourists?

Have you read our articles on Nepal and the economy of Nepal? — Lomn | Talk / RfC 16:27, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

I skimmed these two articles, but failed to find the answer. Pissant 17:08, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

• Easy -- tourists go to Nepal for the mountains. See Geography of Nepal. --Mareino 19:15, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Somerset Township Somerset Co PA

I live in the UK and have an interest in tracking down the sites of old land documents from any part of the world

I recently aquired three 1848 onwards land sale deeds for the same piece, or parts of, land in Somerset Township SomersetCo PA. The boundaries where spelled out on the documents in compass bearings distance so I know exactly what the shape of the land was.

Unfortunately the markers where things like "a pile of stones" " a stump" etc giving no real indication of location. I have an ownership and neighbour history from 1848 to 1929. I know that the 1858 document for instance was recorded in Vol 29 pages 280,281 but I don't know in what book or where they would be kept today.

I am looking for help and or advise as to how I could track this tract down from 3500 miles away.

Thanks very in advance for any help. David Orchard

See Somerset County, Pennsylvania, which will give you links to the county seat website and phone numbers. Somerset is a small town in a rural county. You could call one of the courthouse clerks and ask for the title office, and someone there could help you with your next step and the questions above. If things are slow and you have a good story, and your accent is charming, she might exert some effort in checking the records in her office and give you all the answers for free. At a minimum she could give you contact info for someone in town who frequently does title searches for real estate transfers. If this is so important it would be worth spending money on, she could recommend an agent or attorney. To visit, Pittsburgh would be the nearest airport and it would be about a 1.5-2 hour drive from there to Somerset. alteripse 17:35, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

You can also look through the contacts at the county's Rootsweb genealogy page. -- Mwalcoff 00:54, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Golda Meir's Health

Did Golda Meir ever have shingles? I thought she had shingles in her eyes, and am trying to confirm/deny. Many thanks. Robin Kessler--69.254.36.3 17:09, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

I find one reference to Golda Meir having Shingles, the first link in this page. Unfortunately, the site requires membership to read the article, so there's no way to learn more. Shingles does affect the eyes, so it's possible that she did. Sorry I can't be of more help. -- Vary | Talk 22:10, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Hitler

Did hitler only have one testical?

That's the rumor, there's even a song the soldiers sang which has a line about "Hitler's got one ball" but I've never seen anything authoritative about this. User:PedanticallySpeaking

Adolf Hitler's medical health#Autopsy comment on anatomy suggests it was probably Soviet propaganda. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 18:41, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

See Hitler has only got one ball. --BluePlatypus 18:42, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

See also Cecil's answer. Steve Summit (talk) 02:32, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Louisiana Purchase

Hi I need to find out facts about the Louisiana Purchase. Like when was it first created? Or when was it bought by the United States? For how much? How much land was in the Louisiana Purchase? Who fist established the Louisiana Purchase? How many people owned and fought over the Louisiana Purchase?

At first I thought the people here were just mean, but I'm beginning to see the logic of just shrugging and doing this: -->Louisiana Purchase<--. What part of Encyclopedia do you not understand? I mean, gosh, we're writing it for you; do we have to read it for you as well?--◀Puck▶ 18:46, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

The sad part is that the person who asked the question will most likely never return to read your answer and click on the link. --Kainaw 01:08, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Or, should they return, they are likely to post the same question again, but several days later, so that the question must be answered again ad infinitum. Perhaps I should devote some user subpage space to chronicling the social phenomena of the reference desk. :-) Jwrosenzweig 07:02, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

How long is the US Constitution?

How many words are in the Constitution before the amendments? How many with all the amendments?

It is an example to the world : it begins with words like "We the people of the States, &c." and is quite short.

Another example is the EC constitution which begins with "The Queen of (say, Belgium, followed by her colleagues kings and presidents and primes )" and is so long that few refer to it anymore. --Harvestman 20:16, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

2^30402457 − 1 is prime.

While our article on the United States Constitution lacks a "Trivia" section, it does contain links to the full text of the original document as well as the amendments. You should be able to copy the text into any word processor and answer your question. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 20:19, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

WHY THE HOTEL PUT THE BIBLE IN THE DRAWER

They don't. See Gideons International and turn off your capslock. —Charles P. (Mirv) 18:36, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Because everytime they used a driver they knocked it all the way across the room? --◀Puck▶ 18:52, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

To get to the other side? Proto t c 10:04, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Liberal, Moderate, Conservative: Classifying Members of Congress

I would appreciate it if you could advise me on searching this subject. I would like to find sites that, on a comparative basis, attempt to classify current members of the house and senate.

Thanks!

69.86.17.205 20:28, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Do you mean the United States Congress? WAvegetarian (email) 20:40, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

That's far, far, far too subjective a thing to get. The Nation won't list people as progressives ("liberal") that The National Review would. However, if you simply must have something like this, go to one of the political magazine websites that you like, and I'm sure they'll have a map of the House of Representatives and Senate for you. Really, though, it's somewhat pointless. Geogre 21:48, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Especially since the those terms are very fluid and can't come close to describing a politican like Ron Paul, nominally a very staunch conservative, who has been opposed to the war in Iraq from the very beginning and supports the legalization of marijuana.--◀Puck▶ 22:43, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Check out the ratings of the American Conservative Union and the liberal group Americans for Democratic Action. If a member of Congress has a 0 from the ACU and a 95 from ADA, you can bet he's left of center (by the standards of Congress). -- Mwalcoff 00:51, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Professions - Any occupations merging Dietetics (R.D.), Art, & Music?

Older students sometimes need Career Counseling as well ... this topic concerns merging a Medical Arts career with that of Performing Arts. Has anyone had any experience - or know anyone who has had experience - in merging the professions of Dietetics (as in Registered Dietitian), Art, and Performance Music? (No, I'm not joking.) I am an R.D. who uses Hypnotherapy for diagnostic help. I also a background in performance music, as well as being a very talented artist. My long-term boyfriend is a bass-player in a Metal band. I would love to have my own career, but to also be a little closer to flowing with that of my boyfriend. I have even thought of taking up Music Management courses. As I've had 6 years toward a career in Dietetics and have a gift for being nurturing, I question beginning another career at this point. Obviously ... these are not your average mix of priorities, but rather than just choosing one and ignoring the rest, I thought I would take a chance on posing the question. Thanks for any input. ---- Loraine

Well, there is music therapy, but it's not really dietary at all. There is a fair amount being done with psychoaccoustics as well, but that's pretty much bench science. The other option, and this is the most likely, would be to work as an illustrator or media supplier for dietetic education. Health teachers around the English speaking world need, and pay well for, visual and musical materials to help them get their point across. If you had some web authoring skills, combining dietary advice and instruction with music and art would be very helpful, although getting paid for web design is tricky. Geogre 03:13, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

If you're a talented artist, then as well as Geogre's suugestion, why not look into writing/illustrating a dietetics and nutrition book? Perhaps for children, where colorful and well drawn pictures always help to get he message across, and healthy child nutrition is becoming a major issue. Proto t c 10:03, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

antinonmium movement

Try Antinomianism. Halcatalyst 05:23, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

January 11

John Muir

Why did John Muir immigrate to the United States?

Other family members already immigrated and started a farm in Wisconsin. He followed them. --Kainaw 01:04, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

• You can find out more about his life if you want to. Halcatalyst 05:25, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Organizations

What are the most improtant organizations in the Danish culture? Would like a chess club be one? I've been trying to see if boy scouts was, but was unable to find any information on it. Please help me!

• Can't answer the general question, but you might like to look at Scouting around the world, then follow up with List of World Organization of the Scout Movement members. Halcatalyst 05:21, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Most major cities, in most nations, have embassies of foreign nations, such as Denmark. If you visit them, and be extremely polite, I am sure they would be happy to get you access to a wide range of reference materials. User:AlMac| 15:08, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Ways of everyday life in the Danish culture

how do people spend their days in the Danish culture, and how do they take care of things such as shopping, cooking, washing clothes etc..........

Take a look at this. And then, have a read at this. If you want more stuff, try the Denmark article and follow the many WP and external links there. I'm sure that your question will be answered. hydnjo talk 03:53, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

If you are the same person posting lots of questions about Denmark and not posting your identity, it sounds to me like a trip to Denmark would be extremely helpful for you. User:AlMac| 15:06, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Epidemics

How many deaths have been attributed to bird flu thus far; and how many people died from the Ebola virus? Thank you.

• You might try WikiNews. Halcatalyst 03:28, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

• According to this Australian news source, it is up to almost 80 human deaths from the Bird Flu.
• I saw an article in USA Today newspaper saying that Swedish researchers, in Vietnam, concluded a lot more people had got it than earlier reported, many more recover, so it not as bad as we had thought. However, I also see quotes where WHO saying we are on the verge of it mutating again, so that it can go human to human, like SARS. I also see that two cities in Turkey have had to be quarantined, with no one allowed out.
• Seems to me, the death toll to birds, killed by humans, to try to stop the spread of the disease, is astronomical.
  • When you said deaths due to Bird Flu, your question was not limited to people deaths.
• You might want to visit the official web site of the World Health Organization, which keeps track of this as best they can (some nations have bad habit of trying to cover up stuff, until it is totally out of control, instead of getting help when it could be stopped.)
  • Here's the official WHO page on the Bird Flu. I suggest you save the link and check back regularly because they have like daily updates.
  • Here's a WHO fact sheet on Ebola.
    • About 1,800 people caught it, of whom 1,200 died. Of course Ebola has existed in the world a bit longer than the latest Bird Flu.
• Last but not least, Misplaced Pages is an encyclopaedia with articles on all sorts of topics: Epidemics; Ebola; Bird flu.

User:AlMac| 15:14, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Why is the title of "Mein Kampf" never translated?

I'm not sure if this is exactly the right place to put this; but I've often wondered why Hitler's "Mein Kampf" in English translations still retains it's native German name, rather than being translated as "My Struggle". Has this always been the case? I've noticed that among Mein Kampf's links to corresponding articles in other wikipedias (ignoring those written in languages that use a script I can't read...) only the Spanish, Russian, Latvian, Finnish and Turkish wikipedias seem to have the book under a translated title, wheras the 15 other Wikipedias (obviously excluding German) all use the original title. How widespread is this practice? The article also mentions the various other meanings and connotations "kampf" has in German that the English word "struggle" does not. Is this also a factor in not translating the title? And finally, are there many other books who's titles are as consistently not translated? thanks. --86.135.217.213 02:42, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

"Das Kapital" by Karl Marx is another example. JackofOz 02:45, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Gotterdamerung, both as a musical and literary work, is untranslated as well, and some works by philosophers (Alsach Spraken Zarathustra) will be untranslated. It depends, more or less, on whether the work gets famous before it is translated or not. If the translation gets famous, the translated title gets famous. If people are talking up the work before there is a translation, they will talk of the , because they have no translated title to refer to. Once a work is famous, publishers will want, by all means, to print it under the title that will sell. Hitler was famous in the English speaking world and then his book was talked up -- no one cared to translate it before he rose to power. Marx was famous from Communist Manifesto before Das Kapital. It's a question of marketing. Geogre 03:20, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

As an opera, "Götterdamerung" is often translated as "Twilight of the Gods". However there are lots of operas that are not - La Traviata, Il Trovatore and La Boheme are 3 that come to mind. Nietzsche's "Also Sprach Zarathustra" is also usually translated, as "Thus Spake Zarathustra". JackofOz 05:38, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

One guess is that the title didn't get translated because the book didn't get translated much, and to the extent it did, it simply didn't garner a significant readership outside of Germany. It wasn't really relevant to people there. To make a modern-day comparison, I doubt Pat Buchanan's (just an example..) political diatribes get much readership outside the USA, and in the cases they are mentioned it's most likely by their English titles. --BluePlatypus 05:03, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

There seems to be a pattern of leaving German terms untranslated in English when referring to them in association with the Nazi era. For example: Führer, Luftwaffe, and Panzer, which just mean "leader", "air force", and "tank" or "armor" respectively: people today might speak of the German Air Force as it exists today, but use Luftwaffe when referring to WW2. Perhaps calling the book Mein Kampf is one more example of this pattern. --Anonymous, 05:30 UTC, January 11

"Heil, Hitler" is also much more famous than its English counterpart "Hail, Hitler". JackofOz 05:38, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

I doubt that's entirely Nazi-era related though (though the word for the Nazi era: "Third Reich" is itself a quite bizarre 'germanglish' phrase!). In WWI they were instead fighting the "Kaiser" and not the "Emperor". "U-Boat" is also from that era, and "Panzer" might be a continuation of that naming trend. --BluePlatypus 05:47, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Note incidentally that U-boat is another German-English hybrid; the German spelling is U-Boot. --Anonymous, 00:23 UTC, January 12, 2006.

America's Founding Fathers and copyright

Hi. I've been wondering what, exactly, America's Founding Fathers thought about copyright. I did a little research and it seems that they wanted to keep copyright under the control of the federal government, as they didn't think the states should control it. Is this accurate? Was there any major debate over this during the Constitutional Convention? Did any of the Founders have strong feelings one way or another? Was there any sort of consensus about whether strict or lenient copyright was a good idea? Thanks a lot. Stilgar135 03:15, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

• Have a look at United States copyright law. Halcatalyst 03:26, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Richard Wagner

Can you direct me to books that contain the german and scandinavian mythologies that the Ring Cycle is based upon so that I can undertand the 4 operas of the Ring Cycle. Thank you. Phyllis Mate

The sources of the Ring cycle include the Nibelungenlied, the Volsunga Saga, and arguably Thiðrekssaga and possibly others. And some bits Wagner just made up. If your goal is understanding the Ring Cycle, you should read/listen to it rather than its sources, I would think. - Nunh-huh 05:54, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Volsunga Saga, in particular, gives the background on the cursed gold, Sigurd, etc., but that tale existed in several forms. Wagner used the German form of it (Nibelungenlied) more than Volsunga Saga, but there is also material presented and explained in the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda of Snorri Sturlusson. Snorri's explanation is very compressed, however, I agree with Nunh-huh, though: you're better off not chasing the sources much, as they're pretty disjointed in the originals. Geogre 17:41, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

While I can't tell you a book off the top of my head, Decoding Wagner: An Invitation to His World of Music Drama by Thomas May (ISBN 1574670972) contains an astonishingly comprehensive bibliography which will surely be able to point you in the right direction. Your local library may have a copy. --George 19:13, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Overthrowing the US Government

What would be the most feasible route to a revolution that would overthrow the U.S. government and force a new constitution? Mysteriousinventors 06:28, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

As far as forcing a new Constitution, that can be done by Amendment, there could be one stating "The former Constitution and all Amendments are hereby repealed, and replaced with the following..."

It would require 3/4 of the state legislatures to force such a change. StuRat 07:16, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

There is currently only one more state needed to call for a Constitutional convention to write a Balanced Budget Amendment. Nothing in the Constitution as it is now written would force that new convention to focus on only that issue. The delegates at the convention could write up any changes to the US government as they saw fit, and if 3/4 of the states approved them, that would be the new US government. Remember that the original Constitutional Convention was called to "fix" the Articles of Confederation. User:Zoe| 18:37, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Campaign for your cause and vote for change at the next election. Or run yourself. - Akamad 11:01, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Make a movie full of half-truths and misrepresented sound bytes. --Kainaw 21:04, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Travel backwards in time and help the Soviet Union to develop a nuclear bomb and drop it on Berlin, ending World War II early and leading to Soviet dominance of the Cold War. If video games and science fiction have taught me anything, revolution is guaranteed to follow. --Maxamegalon2000 23:01, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

The U.S. military is incredibly powerful. If the joint chiefs of staff decided on a military coup, and they were able to hold sway over the ranks, they could hold everyone hostage with the threat of nuclear bombs. —James S. 23:20, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Military coups are unlikely to produce a new stable constitution as they usually have to be enforced by marshal law. WAvegetarian (email) 23:22, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

If they could hold sway over the ranks. Which is a big 'if'. Soldiers have political sympathies like everyone else, which is why the 1991 Soviet coup failed and why the 1956 Hungarian revolution wasn't struck down at once. And they had nukes as well. Face it: nuking your own population is simply not on the menu.. the threat itself would cause a loss of all support). Most successful military coups have been in countries with highly polarized political situations. The military, conservative by nature, has then favored a facist solution against the 'danger' facing the nation, be it socialism (e.g. Spain, Chile) or what they simply percived as a weak and corrupt government (e.g. Portugal, Argentina, Pakistan). And in all those cases they did have a certain level of popular support. --BluePlatypus 07:12, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

• The novel and movie Seven Days in May (screenplay by Rod Serling) is about a miltary coup in the US. An odd thing I almost remember in the plot was that a trigger for the conspirators had to do with the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. Halcatalyst 23:39, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Rig the e-voting machines so that your political party wins a big victory. Oh wait, that already been done, the entrenched victors might give you a hard time. User:AlMac| 13:22, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Fund a bunch of terrorists to do lots of chaos, then use that to excuse a bunch of new laws that take away what is America. Well that has not been done, but start conspiracy theories about it. User:AlMac| 13:24, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Find a charismatic foreigner sympathetic to the current administration and work him up the cursus honorum unitl he's President, setting a precedent for your foreign takeover. Wait, crap. I'm scaring myself. WAvegetarian (email) 18:06, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

• The military coup route is infeasible. I don't know the citation, but in the US, a solider would actually be required by the military code to refuse such orders. More importantly, American soldiers, and soldiers in just about any nation that has been a free-speech democracy since before WWII, would be more than happy to revolt against their commanding officer if he gave them an obviously treasonous order. Now, 3/4 of the state legislatures, that's possible, because it seems so innocuous. --Mareino 19:27, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

That seems like an oversimplification to me. The soldiers in a coup situation don't consider it treason, or at least justifiable treason, since they consider their opponents in power to be far worse criminals. It's simply large-scale vigilantism. The ends justifying the means. But strong democratic traditions are of course important, since respecting the opinions of others no matter how much you disagree with them, is a fundamental tenet of democracy. Still, military coups have occured in democracies. Even democracies that had been so since before WWII, see History of Chile. --BluePlatypus 06:31, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Dude, if you think that you can convince the US Armed Forces to invade their own nation because "the ends justify the means," then you are wasting your time sitting in front of your computer. :) --Mareino 22:55, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Number of independent states by year

Can't find information on number of independent states by year. Could you help please?--Nixer 06:34, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Do you mean independent nations worldwide ? StuRat 07:04, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

List of countries by date of nationhood will sort of answer your question, but this page doesn't account for extinct/dormant nations. Sorry. --Mareino 19:30, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

begining of the year

Why does the western calander begin in January? Seasonally it doesn't make any sense as it is just at the beginning of the northern winter. Is it linked to the birth of Christ? Virginia --220.235.233.157 06:46, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

• See Gregorian calendar#Beginning of the year. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 06:54, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

who invaided spain in teh 8th century

Napoleon ? --Harvestman 08:05, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Is this homework by any chance? - Akamad 10:58, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Try reading up on Spain. If you learn the answer on your own, Moors the better. :-) StuRat 10:59, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

"Who invaided spain in teh 8th century? Napolean ?"

Lol, that's the most hilarious thing I've read all day. thanx for that. :p --86.135.217.213 17:12, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Yes, I was lolling out plain. A reference to the above question (1O January) : "Barcelona was taken over by the English for 10 years??" Which was not so bad either. There are plenty more to come, as "Is it true that Napoleon was born in Geebraltar" ... --Harvestman 18:57, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

What Numbers of Mohd. Rafi's song?

In the Misplaced Pages reference shows that Indian playback singer Mohammad Rafi had been sung 26000 songs from 1940 to 1980 and less than 5000 can be verified songs. What are the sources of the figures because lot of gap between 26000 and 5000.

What is Mohd. Rafi's discography record shows from the sound recording companies of different labels?

Mohd. Rafi was a legend playback singer of Indian film industry and in his 40 years singer career he sing all type of moods, filmi/non-filmi, geet, ghazal, devotional, patriotic, qawwali, bhajans, cancel records, rejected films records, other languages.

Thank you

This is speculation, but one explanation could be the fact that he sang in different languages. He could've sung 5000 distinct songs and recorded each in about 5 languages, which would account for both figures. --BluePlatypus 22:21, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

I'm sure he didn't sing in 5 languages. Maybe he didn't commercially release all his songs. deeptrivia (talk) 01:33, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

This site with a database of Rafi songs, lists songs in Punjabi, Marathi, Sindhi, Bengali, Gujarati, Telugu, Kannada and English.. So five doesn't seem like an exaggeration to me. --BluePlatypus 09:13, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Oh, now that's a surprise! deeptrivia (talk) 13:56, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

UK monarchy

Why does the United Kingdom only have a queen, and not a king? Why isn't the queen's husband considered King of Great Britain?

Because King is a higher rank than Queen so the Queens husband can't be called King (unless he is the Monarch & has the kingship in his own right) as he would outrank her. Generally the Queen's husband (when the Queen is the monarch) gets a title (EG Duke of Edinburgh) but he wouldn't ever be considered as King because he doesn't have a claim to the throne through blood/heredity. AllanHainey 12:33, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

It's plain old sexism: a king's wife is a queen consort but a queen's husband is a prince consort. Gdr 13:33, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

More generally, it's a feature of the way British titles work: a woman can get a title by marrying, but a man doesn't ordinarily get a title simply by marrying a woman. The same way that (generally) when Phil Smith marries Elizabeth Jones, she becomes Elizabeth Smith and he doesn't become Phil Jones. - Nunh-huh 18:45, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

There have been "Kings matrimonial" in the past (the husband of Mary I of England was arguably such), but it was avoided for the husbands of Queen Anne and Queen Victoria, because it might have carried the implication that their foreign husbands were the ones who were really running the country. AnonMoos 18:40, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Yes, and it would be quite outrageous for England to be ruled by a bally foreign monarchy, it's absolutely inconceivable that such a thing could happen. So hurrah for Great British common sense! Pip-pip: Hurrah! Pip-pip: Hurrah! Pip-pip: Hurrah! --bodnotbod 23:21, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Election Symols of different parties in india

(unsigned)

Some political parties are mentioned in that article : India. Follow their links and find this nice symbol for example, File:BJP logo.png.

Symbols are of widespread use when people can't read, there must be plenty of them. Even where there are readers, symbols are still in use because of tradition and quicker appeal to the brain through the omnipotent visual system (see our userboxes quarrel). --Harvestman 21:35, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

List of recognised political parties in India deeptrivia (talk) 01:30, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Anti-science

Hi, I was wondering if there is any religion, sect, or philosophy that opposes scientific inquiry and the scientific method as its core belief, I mean, they have to take everything on faith acording to their religion, and science is to them like a sin. --201.230.146.101 15:57, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

There are none of significance. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 16:43, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

There are none, quite. Some groups, such as the Amish, will not use anything not mentioned in the Bible, but they don't consider science a sin at all. It's just not something they believe in employing. Further, the term Luddite is often used to denote someone who is "anti-progress]], but the Luddites were not against either science or progress: they were against the displacement of workers by machines, and they destroyed agricultural machinery as a working class revolt rather than any anti-intellectualism or anti-scientism. However, no significant religions are against scientific inquiry. Geogre 17:49, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

A serious misunderstanding of the Amish there. That's not their criterion for technology acceptance, and they certainly use things not mentioned in the Bible. See Amish. DJ Clayworth 19:05, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

This is a common misconception but is false. The Amish were an Anabaptist sect in Europe that formed during the late Reformation around theological ideas having nothing to do with modernism or rejection of it. Many migrated to Pennsylvania because of available farmland and religious freedom. Those who stayed in Europe became amalgamated and assimilated and are no longer distinctive communities. Those in America discovered, like many religious sects, that there was survival value in keeping distinct from their neighbors. Their society and decision-making is quite communal, and there were few other daily life differences between the Amish and their neighbors until the early 18th century, when many social and technological changes began to occur in American life. At this point the Amish began to consciously abstain from rapid adoption of technological advances for a variety of reasons, and through the 19th century this slowly became more and more of a defining characteristic (at least to non-Amish). So the strictest Old Order Amish have adopted few technical advances beyond 18th century clothing and farming methods, though there have been many exceptions, relaxations, schisms, defections, and split-offs over the years. Howevere, 18th century European and American rural life was certainly not "Biblical" and the Amish have not attempted to recreate that. Dalembert 01:00, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Thank you both for correcting my mistake. I apologize and should have done more research of it. There were a few "not in the Bible" groups, but they had fallen out of my memory and still aren't back. Geogre 13:03, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

I think you could argue that any sect, until the quite recent past, who eschewed anything not found in the bible, would quickly have been wiped out by their rivals, who allowed themselves guns and the like. At the level of nations, such fundamentalism is still likely to lead to the same result (would the Taliban's insistence on only teaching Islam have led that way in the long term? Possibly). Notinasnaid 18:19, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Not a religion, but a common term for anti-technology people is Luddites. --Kainaw 21:01, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Communists and other revolutionaries, though not really a religion, have certain traits in common with religions, like blind faith in a leader. Some of those leaders have led their countries down an anti-intellectual path. When the uneducated common people gain control of the government, they have a natural hatred for the intelligencia of the old system, and sometimes have intentionally killed off all educated people. This leaves a country ruled by idiots, like Mao Tse Tung, and his "great leap forward", which was so poorly planned it caused millions to starve. StuRat 03:03, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Totally agreee StuRat! finally I hear that from someone other that myself! :D .. oh , another thing, don't the amish use the internet? or have computers or cable tv? or are they allowed to have that. --Cosmic girl 03:09, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

<sigh> Sputnik Geogre 21:28, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

I'm sorry that u r so anoyed by me george...--Cosmic girl 23:21, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

(It was more StuRat's. The point is that a grand statement about "communism" and science or even "dictatorship" and science is just too darn big. The Soviet Union was frightening to us in the West for having a cold, scientific approach. They were regarded as forcing infants into scientific pursuits and devoting their whole energy into evil, nefarious scientific advancement. The American psychosis over Sputnik is an example of that perception. Cuba is not credited in the US, but other nations note that it is a tiny nation that has devoted enormous resources into medical science. China sees scientific advancement as vital for its national interests -- hence its long time commitment to sending its students to whichever nation has the best science education. Now, Robert Mugabe might turn his back on science, but it has less to do with his form of government or economics than his personal interest and political needs. Geogre 11:54, 13 January 2006 (UTC))

ok, Russia had a cold SCIENTIFIC aproach, but they shamefully lacked a cold ECONOMICAL aproach... they got carried away by their feelings in that aspect. i bet that if they had been a capitalist and radically scientific nation they'd be the number one country by now.--Cosmic girl 13:30, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Larry Butler

Could someone verify the information at Talk:Larry Butler, please? Thank you. User:Zoe| 16:22, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Well, it certainly looks like this Larry Butler, but there could be 20 country singers named Larry Butler for all I know.--◀Puck▶ 17:13, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, and I think the article is about this Larry Butler.. Although I'm no expert either. --BluePlatypus 02:53, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

One Dollar Bill

In the last few years, all the bills in circulation in the United States have undergone a design change - except the one dollar bill. Why is this?

--163.153.132.5 17:05, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

As I recall they were going to do it in stages starting with the higher bills first. That would put the dollar bill at the lowest priority. Secondly, the modifications were done mostly to detract from the bills being counterfited. Since it costs counterfitters so much money to do what they do, they tend to only counterfit higher denominations of bills. They simply wouldn't get that much of a return on their investment if they counterfitted $1 bills. Dismas| 17:16, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Dismas is correct; the government has no plans to redesign the $1 or $2 bills because nobody wants to counterfeit them anyway. See the press release at . For the record, New $10 bills will be issued starting March 2. --Aaron 19:54, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Also, there has repeatedly been a push to drop the $1 bill in favor of the $1 coin. It has never worked. Most people blame habit (who wants some newfangled dollar coin!?) I blame strippers. They just don't seem to like it when you chuck dollar coins at them while they are dancing. --Kainaw 20:59, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

I'd actually prefer it if we (I'm in the U.S.) got rid of the dollar bill. I much prefer the coins since they don't get mangled to the point that you can't use them in vending machines, along with other benefits... But yeah, the strippers I've known would have found them to be bothersome. Although, if the standard tip became a five dollar bill, I doubt they'd mind then.  :-P Dismas| 21:08, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

There's also been the occasional push to elimiate the penny altogether, replacing it with nothing. Those proposals never really go anywhere either. Personally, I'm against either replacing the $1 bill with a coin or eliminating the penny, both because the public at large is against both ideas and because the government actually makes money from pennies (see seigniorage). I am, however, pro-stripper. --Aaron 21:19, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Seigniorage isn't significant on pennies though. According to the 2004 Annual Report from the US Mint, the margin was 6.5% on pennies and 8.8% on nickels (year ended Sept 30 2004), which is drastically lower than for the other coins (68.6% for the dime and 70.6% on the quarter), and very close to breaking even. I'd say the days of pennies and nickels are limited. --BluePlatypus 23:04, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

When I was in Norway, there was some issue with the ore (equivalent to our penny). The people wanted it dropped, but the businesses wanted it kept so they could charge a few extra ore on each bill. In protest the people were throwing the ore they got in change on the floor in front of the register. I found this out because I started picking some up at a store and a lady started yelling at me in Norwegian. Luckily, another guy was there to explain to me what was going on. I don't know if the protest spread through the country or if the ore was every dropped. It does remind me of our "need a penny/take a penny" bowls. --Kainaw 22:55, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

The reason they still have the penny is because polls show people like it, and because the zinc lobby (yes, there is one) doesn't want to lose the business. Similarly, the people who make money from printing dollar bills, including Bureau of Printing employees, don't want to get rid of it. -- Mwalcoff 00:06, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

The smallest value Norwegian coin currently in circulation is the 50 ore. The 1 and 2 ore coins were last minted in 1972, the 5 and 25 ore were last minted in 1982, and all were removed from circulation by 1998 when they ceased to be valid. The 10 ore coin was last minted in 1991 and invalidated in 2003. Countries routinely retire small coins when their value becomes too insignificant - Finland and the Netherlands do not use the 1 and 2 eurocent coins, but this does not mean that odd values aren't used in prices - the total price is simply rounded up or down to the nearest 5 cents. -- Arwel (talk) 22:22, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

I've heard that another reason for the endurance of the dollar bill is Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA), who happens to sit on the committee that would make the decision. It also happens that there's only one factory that makes the paper used in U.S. bills, and it's in... Massachusetts. Steve Summit (talk) 15:57, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Do you actually have $2 bills now? Were these recently introduced as when I was in the USA about 8 years ago I don't remember them.

We've had $2 bills since our bicentennial in 1976. They are uncommon, however, as the few that get printed are snapped up bby collectors. Hardly any are in general circulation. The reason is because the $2 bill is the most beautifully illustrated of all U.S. money; it has a picture of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on the reverse. Check out U.S. two-dollar bill for more info. --WAvegetarian (email) 16:14, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

There were $2 bills before 1976, it's just that the current design dates from then. User:Zoe| 00:18, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

That was when the $2 paper currency was reissued and changed from a United States Note to a Federal Reserve Note. "Federal Reserve notes (FRNs, "ferns") is the official name for the type of banknote used in the United States, more commonly known as dollar bills," U.S. notes are/were not known as dollar bills. WAvegetarian (email) 18:25, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

On scrapping $1 notes & replacing them with coins try to avoid letting them do this as in the UK they have de facto phased out £1 notes & replaced them with coins (I think they're still legal currency but you never see them anymore & I don't think they're printing new ones, even in Scotland) and its just an increased hassle as your pocket is filled with even more change and the pictures on the coins don't compare to artwork on notes. AllanHainey 09:22, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

The Bank of England one pound note was withdrawn from circulation in the late 1980s (see British banknotes). This means it is no longer legal tender: people are not obliged to accept it in settlement of debt. But if you have any under the mattress the Bank of England with exchange them for pound coins.

OK, I didn't realise it was so long ago - Scottish £1 notes only stopped being seen commonly a few years ago. I was basing my above comments on my own experience, primarily with Scottish money. AllanHainey 16:06, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Of course there is an advantage to the British public of the switch to coins which perhaps outweigh the extra weight and less exciting artwork: coins last much longer in circulation, so cost less for the government (and thus the taxpayer) to issue. Gdr 23:55, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

I keep hearing one explanation as to why there is so much resistance to doing away with the $1 bill in the US is because the change drawers in already-existing cash registers already have all of the slots allocated, and there would have to be a removal of one of the other coins to make room for a $1 coin, so the business lobby is generally opposed, as well. User:Zoe| 00:18, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

I find that hard to believe since all the cash drawers I've ever worked with have 5 small slots for coins. Right now they are taken up predominantly by four coins (penny, nickel, dime, quarter). The fifth slot is often just a place to put random objects such as rubber bands from stacks of bills, a paper clip or two, some dust and crumbs, and maybe a Canadian coin or two that found their way into circulation in the States. So there is a slot that is available if this stuff is cleaned out and put in better places. It's like the junk drawer (that many people have in their kitchens for random object that don't really fit anywhere else) of the cash register. Dismas| 02:02, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Let's not forget that the U.S. Government has already tried twice to convince Americans to switch to dollar coins. The first time was in 1979 with the Susan B. Anthony coin. That bombed, partially because it was almost exactly the same size as a quarter, which confused lots of people, and partially because people just like dollar bills. (Ironically, this coin was reissued in 1999 because so many vending machines used them to provide change for $5 and $10 bills.) Then, in 2000, the Goverment went well out of their way to promote the new Sacagawea Dollar, including a multi-million dollar ad campaign trying to convince people to use them. It didn't work, and they all disappeared not long after they were released into circulation. (I personally have never received a Sacagawea dollar as change anywhere, ever.) --Aaron 18:45, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

The Post Office uses Sacagawea coins when providing change from their vending machines. User:Zoe| 19:50, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

I seem to remember the Sacagawea dollar was received quite positively by the public, as opposed to the Susan B. Anthony coin. The problem was just that there's tremendous negative inertia toward doing things the old way. I liked the dollar coins because they went into vending machines easily. (My co-workers thought I was crazy to put the pretty gold coins in the machine.) I think the Sacagawea would have been more successful had the Mint emphasized this advantage of the coin. -- 70.27.57.22 23:09, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

gladiators

who was the most favored gladiator to ever compete?

That's a little like asking who is the most famous baseball player to have ever played. Different people will give you different answers. They used to have riots in Rome and Constantinople over who was the the best gladiator.--◀Puck▶ 17:16, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Few gladiators are now known by name, though many achieved fame in their day. The names Verus and Priscus are preserved in a poem by Martial. The most notable gladiator is undoubtedly Spartacus. Gdr 18:01, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Franz von Papen

Do you think it was Franz von Papen who actually abolised democracy from germany? Evidence stating the opposite would be great!

Franz von Papen--◀Puck▶ 17:52, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Toquville

What is the Toquville connection between France and th USA

Do you mean de Tocqueville? AnonMoos 18:35, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

WHITE & BLACK

I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF THERE WAS A WHITE LEAGUE THAT PLAYED AGAINST THE BLACK LEAGUE? WHO WON? WHAT WAS THE SCORE? WHAT WAS THE DATE? WHAT WHERE THE NAMES OF THE TEAMS?

What country and what sport?- Akamad 19:41, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Never mind, I read the post below - Akamad 19:42, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

• I think this article on Negro league baseball may be what you're looking for. As far as I know, there were no games between the Negro League teams and and major league teams. But read the articles to find out for sure. Halcatalyst 01:24, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Apoligize for caps

I recentky posted a few questions on whites and blacks playing baseball. I would like to apoligize for using all caps it was not done purposely or with the intent to defend anyone. I work on computers all day and it is always in caps. It is simply a habit.

Thank you

Article 9 and the threat of force

Military may defend Japanese whalers

11.01.06 By Ainsley Thomson

Japan has warned it may send armed aircraft to defend its whaling ships in the Southern Ocean if clashes with protest boats escalate.

But hang on a moment?

RENUNCIATION OF WAR

Article 9:

Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes. 2) In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized.

ie. The Japanese people forever renounce the threat of force as means of settling international disputes.

So what gives? Ohanian 20:51, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Protest boats are not a nation. It is not an international dispute. It is a police action to defend Japanese citizens. --Kainaw 20:56, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Note also that Junichiro Koizumi, the current Prime Minister of Japan, has been testing the boundaries of the Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan. See Japan Self-Defense Forces#Article 9 for some of the recent movement on this. - BanyanTree 05:17, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

why columbus set sail

(no question)

See Christopher Columbus. Dismas| 21:02, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

He owed back rent? Geogre 13:07, 12 January 2006 (UTC) (Sorry, but the temptation was too great.)

about pearl harbor

what was the order of the the battleships that were hit by japeneses air crafts?

• You can start by reading the article, Attack on Pearl Harbor. That may help lead you to the answer to your question. Halcatalyst 01:19, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Boston Massacre

We are doing a mock trial in school about the boston massacre. I am to be a lawyer the procutor. (Is that spelt right?) anyways i need information that will help prove the soldiers are guilty! Hope you can help!

Thanks

--24.236.147.8 22:54, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Have you read the article on the Boston massacre? Dismas| 23:22, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

You will also want to read this site. —James S. 23:37, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

The spelling is prosecutor. AllanHainey 09:24, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Did you know that there were real world Category:Lawyer Wikipedians here? A bunch of them hang out at WikiProject Law. You might post something at the talk page there, inviting suggestions to help you out. Plus, the event was in Boston right? Guess what, there are like 50 law students from Harvard participating through the Wikiproject Cyberlaw, altough they are very busy with real contemporary events like what will happen if Misplaced Pages gets sued. User:AlMac| 11:04, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Theme tune to Friends: earnings? (I don't know why I'm asking, the answer will surely make me puke).

For some reason I'm wondering if anyone can give me an indication of how much money The Rembrandts have earned from creating I'll Be There For You (Theme From "Friends"). Figures for any particular year or a total or any revealing snippet is good. It must be a fortune as they'll presumably get some cash any time the theme is played on any showing of Friends throughout the world, the jammy swines. --bodnotbod 23:04, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

"To this day, we only get performance royalties, not publishing splits for the TV version of the song." -- Danny Wilde

Bet you didn't think you would puke for that reason. —James S. 23:34, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

• I wasn't quite sure how to interpret that quote until I read the whole article you linked to (thank you!). They are still recieving money for every time the song goes out with the programme, just not as much as they would have done had they been the billed writers of the song. Must be a pretty penny. --bodnotbod 00:11, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

• It's not necessarily that much money. Remember, they would get paid performance royalties bsaed on the number of times the song is played, not based on the number of people watching TV who heard it. --Mareino 19:41, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

The River medina on the Isle of Wight

Dear Experts,

I have searched in vain for an answer to the question; from where did the Isle of Wight's River Medina get its name?

Some have suggested it was named after the Admiral of the Spanish armada, but I suspect it is much older.

Many thanks,

Darryl Fry

The IOW Tourist Board say its derived from the Anglo-Saxon word for 'middle', because it divides the island straight down the middle. Jameswilson 23:51, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

I can't answer the question, but I can share your skepticism with the tourism board's explanation. That's not a regular formation for a derivative of Anglo-Saxon. The /i/ would very, very rarely go to /e/, and the only way it would have picked up the distinctly Romance -ina is if it were a contraction of "in hem" or "in" with some monosyllable ending in -a. It's a very unlikely explanation, although, as always, possible. The problem is that there are several Medina's that it could have been named after, as well as noble titles. Geogre 13:13, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

I had a further look round and the Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names says this:- Medina - 'Medine' 1196 - 'the middle one', from OE 'medume'. So thats the consensus although not necessarily 100% certain. They're saying the final consonant had already changed by then. As regards the vowels, maybe it's just that the "The Island is Different", and the general rules on vowel-shifts, etc, dont work well there. One thing that did occur to me is that at some stage of its evolution the name may have sounded too similar to 'midden' (waste-dump} and it was deliberately "re-branded" by some local magnate (like Shitterton to Sitterton and Piddletown to Puddletown). That might explain the romantic-sounding final 'a'. The noble titles came afterwards, I'm sure. BTW, it's interesting how many English rivers lost their ancient name and instead have more recent back-formations from a town, eg R. Chelmer from Chelmsford, R. Chelt from Cheltenham, and many others. Not in this case though. Jameswilson 23:44, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

D'oh! "Medume" works, although it's still very, very weird to pick up that -a. Honestly, I haven't seen that before. Med-ane is ok (ane = one) and that to ume is the schwa that English does. The -a, though..... I think you're right. It got rebranded. This just confirms the rule, though: English is a strange language, and even when you know the rules, there are no rules. Geogre 11:58, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Avenue,Boulevard, and Garage

Were the words avenue, boulevard and garage were around before the invention of cars? And did all three of those words originate in France?

Well and truly in the case of avenue and boulevard, not so much garage. And yes. (There's a language reference desk where it's probably more appropriate to post questions such as these.) Natgoo 23:55, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

According to the Oxford English Dictionary:

Avenue as a type of roadway dates to the 17th century, when it meant something like "tree-lined driveway." Its use meaning "wide street" dates at least to 1858.

Boulevard comes from the French word for "bulwark," because the original "boulevards" were wide streets built on former fortifications. It's been used in English since at least 1769.

Garage dates only to 1902 and from its first use in English meant a place to store cars.

All three words are of French origin. -- Mwalcoff 01:44, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Goethe's Faust Pt II

At the end of Goethe's Faust Pt II, Faust ascends into heaven. However, I've read various interpretations that contest whether this is because (1) Mephistopheles loses the bet so the Angels claim what is rightly theirs (Booknotes), or (2) Mephistopheles wins the bet, but does not get Faust merely because of the Angels' trickery (Misplaced Pages). Which is correct? --JianLi 23:51, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

• It depends entirely on who you were rooting for, doesn't it? Dalembert 00:43, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

January 12

sai baba

is he for real at all? I've read the article and cheked some links, but there seems to be 'evidence' for both sides. has he ever been debunked beyond doubt? is there any link with that information? --Cosmic girl 00:01, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

He's bogus, clear and simple. You are asking the wrong questions. He can't be 'debunked without doubt' unless he allows his claims to be properly tested, which he hasn't. James Randi has a million dollars waiting for anyone who can prove any paranormal claim in controlled circumstances. The question you should ask is why you should believe an extraordinary claim without proof? And why hasn't he 'materialized' anything larger than what can be accomplished with slight-of-hand? And why would you believe a paranormal explanation when other people can achive the same effect by purely normal means? Simply because he says so? --BluePlatypus 00:23, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

I know, that's why I doubt a lot, but there's a lot of supposedly educated people that believe in him ...so, and I don't say that is a proof or a reason to believe, but I was just wondering, because I'm a skeptic, but an open minded one, I mean, I believe in the possibility that stuff like that may actually happen,I don't have a fixed opinion about everything because I don't know it all, and stuff changes.-Cosmic girl 01:13, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

I second the comments of BluePlatypus. There is even a quote: "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof." StuRat 02:37, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Five Largest Cities

What are the five largest cities in the US, by land size (rather than population)?

A friend who lives there told me Jacksonville, Florida was the largest, although the article adds the qualifier "in the contiguous 48 states of the United States".. So maybe there's a larger one in Alaska? --BluePlatypus 00:52, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

According to the National League of Cities:

1. Sitka, Alaska (2874 square miles)
2. Juneau, Alaska (2717 m2)
3. Anchorage, Alaska (1697 m2)
4. Jacksonville, Florida (758 m2)
5. Anaconda-Deer Lodge, Montana (737 m2)

All of those places are combined city-county governments (in Alaska, they call counties "boroughs"). The biggest city that is not a combined government is Oklahoma City at 607 m2. (Jacksonville's situation is complicated; see its article.)

The smallest municipality? Lithium, Missouri, 0.001924 m2 (1.23 acres), population zero. -- Mwalcoff 01:51, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

That sounds like an extremely anti-manic place.--Joel 00:02, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Shame on you! Bethefawn 01:49, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Musical Instrument

I have a lovely old piece but I am not sure what instrument it is, I am hoping you may be able to help me. It has the shape of the viola campaniça with the fan top of the guitarra portuguesa. It has 10-strings and 14 frets. The information I can see shows Da Silva and Funchal everything else is in Portuguese.

I have had this piece for over 20 years and it came from a friend of my Grandmother. I am guessing the piece is anywhere from sixty years and older. Can you help me identify this piece and it's possible worth?

I can send pictures through email to anyone that may be able to help me.

I have had one person identify this as:

"According to a little book on tunings by my friend Jose Lucio entitled Os Sons e os Tons da Música Popular Portuguesa there is a 9 string instrument from Madeira Island (Funchal) which he calls "Viola de Arame da Madeira". It typically has 9 strings, 14 frets, total instrument length 87cm, body length 42.5cm and lower bout of 27cm (1 inch = 2.54 cm).. It has 9 strings distributed in 5 courses-- 4 courses have double strings and one course has a single string. The tuning is dd, b, gg, dd, Gg."

Thank You,

email deleted

--198.69.66.3 01:02, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

• If you come back and read this, please know that Wiki policy is against email exchanges -- everything happens right here on the pages. Here's what I suggest.

1. Sign up for a (free, anonymous) account.

2. Click on "upload file", in the toolbox on the left side of your screen, and upload your picture.

3. Read the instructions on how to post a picture into a page.

4. Edit this page to put in your picture.

If you do that, I'm sure that you'll get some responses. --Mareino 19:55, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Religion(Muslim/Islam)

1.) Who are four Islamic leaders over the past 100 years who have been major influences in the Islamic faith?

2.) Who brought Cassius Marcellus Clay into the world of Islamic beliefs?

3.) What did Cassius Marcellus Clay do to strive to achieve outside of the sport he participated in?

Thank you.:)

69.159.39.23 03:43, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Do your own homework, and search first, particularly for questions 2 and 3. If you type "Cassius Marcellus Clay" into the search box on the left of this page, and click search, an article with a great deal of information about the man will turn up. As to question 1, that's a lot tougher; defining who exactly is an "Islamic leader" is a bit confusing of the conflation between religion and politics in the Islamic world. --Robert Merkel 04:54, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

1. King Hussein of Jordan, King Feisal of Saudi Arabia, Osama bin Laden, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad 2. No one, the Nation of Islam doesn't represent Islamic beliefs (see the stuff on Yakub his genetically engineered followers & their spaceship and its bombs). 3.He made sure he didn't end up being shot at in Vietnam. AllanHainey 15:29, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Movies that start with "The Big"

I would like a list of the movies that start with "The Big". I have some listed such as "The Big Chill", "The Big Sleep", "The Big Heat", "The Big Sky", etc. Thanks.

67.40.179.34 04:02, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Try searching IMDB. --Robert Merkel 05:14, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

The Big Lebowski is another one. Zafiroblue05 08:10, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

What you need is an alphabetical list of movies. Old fashioned, I know, but five minutes in a bookstore looking through the very largest movie guide book should sort this out. Notinasnaid 08:52, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

People always underestimate Misplaced Pages. Click here and go nuts. Proto t c 09:55, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

the proper term

Some friends and I were wondering what the proper term of orientation for hermaphrodites is. We don't know whether it is gay or straight. Please help us. Thank you.

This is a semantic conundrum created by fuzzy and overlapping meanings of social labels for social categories. It is not a question about biological phenomena. Here are the problems with your questions:

1. Hermaphrodite was a 19th century medical term for a person with any type of intersex condition. In the 20th century the term was narrowed to refer to a single very rare intersex condition. In recent decades it has completely fallen out of medical use as a noun because it became used as a pejorative term in American vernacular speech (much as the term cretin was discarded by doctors when it became a vernacular term of abuse). So at this point your use of the term as a noun has two meanings, probably both different from what you think.
2. If I take your intended meaning as "person with an intersex disorder", the answer to the question is that it is still a matter of social convention. If a person who identifies himself as a man in our society is attracted primarily to other men he is generally considered gay, regardless of any discordances or ambiguities at biological levels of sexual differentiation. If a person who identifies herself as a woman in our society is attracted primarily to other women she is generally considered gay, regardless of any discordances or ambiguities at biological levels of sexual differentiation. There are plenty of people in both categories, but there are even more people with various intesex conditions who consider themselves male and are attracted to females, and vice versa.

In summary, the usual criteria for defining "gayness" or "straightness" are mainly behavioral and subjective, and attempting to map the definition against all levels of sexual differentiation in the presence of discordance simply generates misunderstanding and confusion. If you have not had all aspects of your chromosomes and anatomy thoroughly investigated and operated to the point of reproduction you may have a degree of discordance yourself. alteripse 05:21, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Note, a gay hermaphrodite would be attracted only to other hermaphrodites, would it not? Perhaps a straight hermaphrodite would be attracted to extremely gendered individuals. This inanely depicts the silliness of the question. Bethefawn 02:03, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

• Hermaphrodites and transsexuals often think of themselves as being a certain gender. Since sexual orientation is a psychological phenomenon in many respects, most people will say that if a hermaphrodite chooses to live life as, say, a woman, it's best to respect her choice (and please try to avoid using it; use they or just buck up your courage and ask politely which pronoun to use. I know you mean no harm, but they generally find that term de-humanizing, because it is almost never used to indicate a human.) If she finds men attractive, but not women, then she'll probably call herself straight. In general, though, this is probably one of those cases where the old saying that everyone is bisexual is the simplest answer to your question. --Mareino 20:04, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Supreme Court dissents

Someone with access to West/Lexis: Who's written more solo dissents per year (on 7-1 or 8-1 cases—i.e., where he's the only one coming down on one side of the issue), Stevens or Scalia? --zenohockey 04:39, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

I have Lexis, but I can't think of a simple way to search for solo dissents. --Mareino 20:08, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Class Action Lawsuit question

I am eligible to join in on a class action lawsuit but if all other class action law suits are any indication the lawyers would get $2 million while I got five bucks. Does anything prevent me from just waiting for the class action to end and using that case as precedence in a small claims case?

Depends on the law operating in your particular country which, as it isn't stated, I assume to be the U.S.A. I am not a lawyer but providing that the class action wins and you are still alive and no statute of limitations for the case has expired by that time I don't think there is anything to prevent you. That said it would be a good idea to ask a lawyer. AllanHainey 09:29, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

I'm not a lawyer either, but read the information available on the specific class action. It will include whether you can exclude yourself from it and how. In the US I've read a few, and if I recall they required you to do something to exclude yourself from the class if you wanted to sue separately. It could vary by the specific case and what the judge rules I suppose. Read our article that I linked above for you too as it seems to confirm my hunch. - Taxman 23:49, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Oh, and read precedent. The class action case won't likely result in precedent, but it would be taken into account I'd assume. - Taxman 15:03, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

• I concur -- you'll need a lawyer to be 100% sure, but try reading the fine print of that class action form you got. They are supposed to be worded so that laypeople can understand them. By the way, the reason the lawyers get millions of dollars in class actions is:
  • They usually don't; you just hear about the lucrative ones
  • They put in a tremendous amount of work. If a lawyer screws up a class action through incompetence, he can inadvertently give away the rights of everyone in his class, which in most states leaves him vulnerable to malpractice suits and disbarment.
  • Paying one law firm a lot of money is still much cheaper than having everyone who could have filed a claim file it separately.

--Mareino 20:14, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Oprah Winfrey promo

I have a question concerning a television commercial for the Oprah television program. It was aired to promote the show and it freatured a song where the lyrics "Oprah's on" were sung. It was broadcast in the early-mid 1990's or maybe late 1980's. The commercial featured women telling one another that "Oprah's on." I am very interested in finding out where the best place to find this commercial and view it would be. Thank you very much.

-Edith

A quotation about Ben Franklin and King of UK

I heard a story in Chinese about Benjamin Franklin and the King of UK. It said that after Benjamin Franklin invented the lightning rod, the King of UK rejected this new thing because he didn't like Franklin. A advisor of the king wanted to persuade him and said "The sword of satan is still a sword"(Sorry, I can only show the meaning of this quotation. I don't know the exact words). I'm interested in this story, but it's only in Chinese. Could anyone show me the original version of this story and the quotation? Thank you very much!--Addition 11:02, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

I've never heard this story before & doubt it is true. Going by memory Ben Franklin wasn't in the UK after his lightning rod work.

The King at the time would have been George III of the United Kingdom & as far as I know he had no animosity or dislikeof Franklin, at least before he started supporting the American rebellion. AllanHainey 15:40, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Well, another source I'm looking at says that George III had his palace equipped with a blunt lightning rod -- the debate was whether to use Franklin's favored sharp rod instead. The debate continues. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 16:10, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Yes, I check the Chinese story again. It's about the choice between sharp rod and blunt rod. Here's another source, but it's a pity that there is no hint about that quotation.--Addition 16:18, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Citizenship or nationality

We're looking for examples where autonomous populations or identity groups are recognized by some label or designation other than 'nationality' or 'citizenship'. Nationality is, of course, used in most passports and identity documents, but there must be other phrases or words, in english, or another language, that can be applied to minorities or ethnic groups to allow their identity to be differentiated from the majority or dominant nationality. Of particular help would be examples of any passports that specificy alternative identities. Thanks if you can help.

You're confusing the term "nationality" as in citizenship with "nationality" as in ethnicity. Most passports and identity documents do not include ethnicity (except some which include 'race', which is however a much broader term). There's good reason not to: Ethnicity has no legal relevance except for in countries which have laws which distinguish and/or discriminate between ethnical groups. So what reason would a democracy (where we're all equal in the eyes of the law) have in keeping official records of the ethnical identity of individuals? Nazi Germany marked the passports of their Jewish citizens as such. -I doubt any democratic countries are interested in following that example. At least I can't think of any which have. --BluePlatypus 11:34, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Well, I think most democratic countries distinguish between ethnicities, but I'm unaware of any that mark it in passports (some countries note religion). Most official government forms, etc have a section for ethnicity; in Australia they ask specifically if you are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, and here in the UK they make you tick a box out of about 30 options. This is to ensure that departments are providing programs to the people they were funded for, or that employment practices aren't disciminatory, or just for the collection of demographic data. It sounds to me like the word the original poster was looking for is ethnicity. Natgoo 11:50, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Right: They ask you because they don't keep records of it, but rather get that information on a case-to-case basis where it's relevant. My point was that it's not relevant in the legal context of what passports are for. They exist to identify you as a citizen of a particular state for entry into a different one. Including ethnical information there has no purpose except for those who wish to discriminate against letting certain ethnic groups into their country. --BluePlatypus 12:01, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for your comments so far. Maybe I can be more clear. There is legislation that identifies people living in Zanzibar as 'Zanzibaris', which is additional to their identity as Tanzanian citizens. I haven't been able to find on the internet whether or not the recognition of Zanzibari status is indicated in the Tanzanian passport. I don't think Zanzibari is ethnicity, nor nationality, though it might be 'citizen of Zanzibar'. I'd like to know if there is another term for it, or other examples where a sub-group wants to be formally identified as distinct from the state, and that distinction is accommodated formally somehow, especially in a passport. The Aland Island autonomy in Finland issues separate passports for Aland Islanders. How does it work in Quebec? Is the Quebecois identity, recognized in the Canadian passport, or other official documents? Is that identity 'nationality', 'ethnicity', or what?

Don't know about the Quebecois but in the UK the Scots, Welsh andNorthern Irish are legally recognised (through the fact that they have devolved Parliaments and seperate laws applicable only in their territories), on the passport though it says citizen of the UK. This isn't surprising as the body which issues passports (central government) is not usually interested in reinforcing identification with 'national sub-groups' or providing justification & encouragement for competing national identities, they'd rather encourage identification with the state as the UK so wouldn't want passports saying citizen of Scotland, etc. AllanHainey 15:57, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Åland is more than just an autonomous region within Finland, since unlike most such regions they have their own foreign relations. It is a demilitarized zone outside the EU customs union. Finland cannot force Åland to enter international treaties. (E.g. they could have stayed outside the EU had they wished) So there is a practical reason other than pride for their passports to be marked as such. Although de facto there is currently no reason since Finland and Åland have entered into the same treaties which are relevant for passports. (read:Schengen). --BluePlatypus 17:17, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Demographics of U.S. voters by Party

I am trying to compile information on the demographic of our two major political parties. I am looking for the percent of each educational level (from not finishing high school to Phd.)in both the Republican and Democratic parties. I would also like to get the income spread over the span.

Thank you for your help,

David

This looks like the closest you can get. --BluePlatypus 18:12, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

occupied territories

occupied territories? — Lomn Talk 18:05, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

It always amazes me that they can find their way here, but can't use a search box. WAvegetarian (email) 18:33, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

divorce

Is it a proven fact that women with carreers and families cause families to "break up?" If so, what would be the percentage?

No, it isn't. You don't need to do a census, either. What is the divorce rate? Now, what is the percentage of "working women?" They don't match, do they? Further, if they did, what would it mean? Check out post hoc ergo propter hoc. Geogre 21:33, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

• I suppose that among those women whose career is with their local government's Child Services agency, a subset is ideologically or otherwise inclined to prefer separation over preservative or unifying measures. Those women would cause families to break up. --Mareino 20:31, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

• • Complete and utter nonsense. Have you ever even met a social worker? They are honest people doing a very, very difficult job. They are not out there to split up families. Their only 'ideological inclination' if you can call it that, is to do what is best for the child and nothing else. If that means protective custody, so be it. Most of the time it does not. Also, Child Services are not the ones that decide on custody in a neglect case, only a court can do that in a hearing where the interests of both child and parent are represented. You are libelling an entire group of professionals who have more integrity, honesty and compassion than any other I know, and in the most trying of circumstances. No matter how professional you are, only a person devoid of human compassion could do that job without stress and anguish, and people who don't care for others have no business in social work. Talk to a social worker some time, and you'll see this. Those people are heroes, doing the job they do. I know I couldn't do it. It takes a special kind of person to cope with those situations. --BluePlatypus 04:36, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

• • BluePlatypus: My only apology is for forgetting the axiom, "sarcasm does not work on the internet." --Mareino 22:52, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Greek poet that inspired the latin lyric poetry

I think that it can be Alcman but can you confirm this for me.

Thanks

Raymonde Cyrenne Ottawa, Ontario Canada

• I guess you've looked at Alcman. Sappho was the first great Greek lyric poet. The Romans adopted (stole?) Greek culture in toto, but not until much later than either of these poets. Halcatalyst 23:07, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Ceaser

Why did Brutus kill Ceaser ?

Have you checked our articles on Marcus Junius Brutus and Julius Caesar (note spelling)? — Lomn Talk 20:58, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

How did people in the 16th and 17th centuries identify witches?

People determined that, since witches burned, they must be composed of otherwise identifyable burnable materials, e.g. wood. The problem then becomes one of determining if a prospective witch is, in fact, wooden. One cannot build a bridge of witches, as bridges can also be composed of stone. However, while stone sinks in water, wood floats. Since ducks also float, a simple test of witchery is to see if the prospective witch weighs the same as a duck.

Another theory is that witch identification was often arbitrary and politically motivated; such explanations lie at the heart of the Salem witch trials. — Lomn Talk 21:05, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

If you want to know what they did, check out Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles Mackay. Otherwise, look for Matthew Hutchison. Witch finders had various theories about their prey. Normally, they'd look for extra nipples (male or female) and numb spots that indicated giving suck to demons. See witch and witch trial for more. The methods changed with the times and the locale, and the folks I'm referring to are only the English. Geogre 21:37, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

• I can't remember the source on this one, but I heard somewhere that witches were actually more often hanged than burned. Seems to be worth looking into. Also the device that dunked them into water wasn't meant to kill them; just to torture them. - 131.211.210.17 08:58, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Maleus Malefactorum would be the ultimate source. Yes, they were hanged, not burned, in England. Burning was for heretics. Witches were not heretics. Also, the dunking was a trial by ordeal: it was supposed to get them to confess, and dunking was used as an interrogation technique and torture in other cases as well. As with the question far above, though, one must not accept Hollywood versions of witch trials. In England and America, they were only prevalent in a very narrow historical window. Other areas had them more commonly and for longer. Geogre 12:04, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

That last statement is misleading: England and America aren't uncommon in that respect. E.g. in Norway and Sweden the phenomenon was almost entirely limited to the 1670-1690 period. --BluePlatypus 12:44, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

True. Scandinavia had a short witch mania. I was mainly thinking of the various states of Germany, though, and a slightly longer prevalence in France. Geogre 13:59, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

1847 defintion of life and person. Why not the whole dictionary.

I am looking for and online dictionary that would have definitions from Meriam Webster (started in 1847) or other dictionaries that would included defintions of life and person at the time or even four years before 1847.

Thanks, Ken

This question has been asked repeatedly (assumably by the same person). Online dictionaries are current. They may contain older references, but will certainly contain new definitions. Also, if you are looking for definitions of the words "life" and "person", adding quotes around them makes your question clearer. Otherwise, it looks like a nonsense sentence. For what it is worth, there is:

• www.dictionary.com
• www.m-w.com
• dictionary.cambridge.org

Just to name a few. --Kainaw 02:15, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for the information. I was referred from the Science reference desk. This is only the second time I have asked. I have looked at the sites listed. They are generic. I have found more in law dictionaries. Thank you for your time though I am sorry that I wasted it.

PERSON. This word is applied to men, women and children, who are called natural persons. In law, man and person are not exactly-synonymous terms. Any human being is a man, whether he be a member of society or not, whatever may be the rank he holds, or whatever may be his age, sex, &c. A person is a man considered according to the rank he holds in society, with all the rights to which the place he holds entitles him, and the duties which it imposes. 1 Bouv. Inst. n. 137. 2. It is also used to denote a corporation which is an artificial person. 1 Bl. Com. 123; 4 Bing. 669; C. 33 Eng. C. L R. 488; Wooddes. Lect. 116; Bac. Us. 57; 1 Mod. 164.' Bouvier's Law Dictionary, 1856, Revised 6th Edition http://www.worldnewsstand.net/EdLewis/16.htm This is part from a site that I found when researching.

Salvador Dali

what was the mental state of salvador Dali at the time when he painted 'the red orchasta'(1944)? was he happy? depressed? going through hard times? or enjoying his success? and what caused his mental state?

• You could do worse thhan starting with the article Salvador Dalí.Halcatalyst 23:01, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Francis Bellamy and the Pledge of Allegiance

I searched your website and could not find an answer my question. Was Francis Bellamy instructed by anybody to write the Pledge of Allegiance. Was it a government official, friend or anybody eles?

• If you take a look at Pledge_of_Allegiance#History, you will see that the pledge was written as part of a marketing campaign. Bellamy took his orders from the publishers of Youth's Companion. The government got involved later. Halcatalyst 01:13, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

January 13

american history 1800's

was daniel and noah webster related? thanks, bonnie

• No. See Daniel Webster and Noah Webster. Halcatalyst 01:06, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Legal Working Age In BC, Canada

Hey, I was wondering what the legal working age in BC, Canada, more specifically, Vancouver(if that makes any difference)

According to right-to-education.org, the minimum age for part-time, full-time or hazardous work in British Columbia is 15 years. - Akamad 06:15, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Art Prices

What is the most expensive piece of art in the world?

202.37.229.19 01:54, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

The most expensive piece of artwork ever sold is Picasso's Garçon à la pipe. However, most of the world's most famous artworks have not been sold for many, many years, so we have no estimate of their true value at sale. I suspect the Mona Lisa, probably the most famous artwork of all, would be worth a gargantuan sum were it ever to come to market. This would be the case even purely on the basis of its attraction to tourists (how many people visit the Louvre each year?). --Robert Merkel 04:12, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

See List of most expensive paintings. Lupo 08:35, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

• How about sculptures? Those are art too. - 131.211.210.17 09:01, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

  Well, we had implicitly narrowed the field to paintings because these achieve the highest prices, AFAIK. If we consider other categories of art, here are a few examples:

  • Early photography: 113.Athènes, T(emple) de J(upiter) Olympien pris de l'Est, a daguerrotype by Joseph Philibert Girault de Prangey (1804-1892), sold at £500,000 at Christie's in London in May 2003.
  • Modern photography: The Breast, by Edward Weston (1886-1958) sold for US$720,000 at Sotheby's on October 10, 2005.
  • Contemporary photography: Cowboy by Richard Prince, sold for US$1.1 million at Christie's on November 8, 2005.
  • On Qing dynasty vases, see here.

  I'm sure others can provide you with figures for other categories, including ancient/modern sculpture auctions; or you could just google for it. I've found the above links googling for "+auction +"record price" -painting +art". Lupo 09:29, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Arguably, architecture is a form of art. In that case, I'd bet that there are buildings that have sold for more. Notinasnaid 16:36, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

If you want to go there, you can continue and argue that the world is a work of art created by (fill in your favorite creator deity here). I bet it is worth a lot. --Kainaw 19:41, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

I don't know...who would want a property with so many trespassers? Superm401 | Talk 04:55, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama

Officially, which country is he a citizen of? deeptrivia (talk) 01:59, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

He considers himself a Tibetan in exile. Others likely disagree. --Kainaw 02:10, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

• Is he then a man without a country? Halcatalyst 02:50, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Which passport does he travel on? deeptrivia (talk) 02:56, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

I believe he is stateless. Most likely he has an Indian passport, but not necessarily an Indian citizenship. Many countries offer "alien passports" which work as a passport of that nation for the sake of travel, but do not imply citizenship. My father was himself stateless a good part of his life, but he travelled with US (where he was resident) documents. --BluePlatypus 04:42, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Such passports are known as Nansen passports, after Fridtjof Nansen, the Norwegian humanitarian who set them up as a result of the Russian Civil War in 1920. David | Talk 12:00, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Old Dan Tucker

There are songs about "Old Dan Tucker", but I have also seen an old grave that supposedly was "Old Dan Tucker" in Elberton, Georgia. Is there a real man to go with the legend and the song?---------

• As indicated at the top of this page, it is always best to do a search yourself before posting a question here. If you had done so, you would have been taken directly to our article on Old Dan Tucker, which addresses the question, and not have had to wait for an answer to be posted here. Ground Zero | t 15:31, 13 January 2006 (UTC)
  • Well, that article (which I mostly wrote) doesn't address the Old Dan Tucker gravestone. This site does. I'm researching this song for a future expansion of the "Old Dan Tucker" article, though, so I must caution that no print source supports the Georgia story. There was evidently someone named "Dan Tucker" who lived in Georgia, but he was not the inspiration for the American folk song. Instead, the character in the song is a rough-and-tumble sort of character in the same mold as Paul Bunyan, Jim Crow, and other early American folklore types. He's probably not based on any real person, though he may be named for Dan Emmett and his dog. Then again, Emmett made up a bunch of wild stories in his old age, so even that's not certain. — BrianSmithson 21:36, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Blah, blah, blah

I can find better info by doing my own research.

The tone of the message I received was that my question was a waste of time.

I found my own info instead of the generic crap that I received for feedback.

Goodoh. I didn't understand your question - if you had phrased it more clearly perhaps you would have received clearer answers. And the reference desk shouldn't be a substitute for google. Natgoo 03:44, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

We're not perfect, but we do try our best considering none of us are paid to answer questions here. Like Natgoo says, we're not a substitute for Google, let alone a visit to a good research library. --Robert Merkel 04:03, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps you would have had a more useful experience if you had mentioned that you were looking for legal definitions of the words, as your own research implies. In retrospect, your question makes a lot more sense if you are interested in legal definitions of "life" and "person" vis a vis slavery, instead of only historical definitions. Heck, you could even have potentially been pointed to Misplaced Pages articles or external links on the subject. The Reference Desk is only as good as your question. --Maxamegalon2000 04:09, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

I was looking for a defintion of any type and found what I did. I did not google it. I would not have found it had I. I am sorry that you have to get into a pssing match because of your own shortcomings.

I asked for a defintion of the time. It is easy to understand that it could have come from the bottom of a well if it needed to be. BTW, law is history when it comes from 1847.

I answered the way I did based on the answer I received. I felt as though I was told I was not worth your time. I bow.

- I'm just trying to lighten the mood on this post. Let's all be courteous. :-) Akamad 06:08, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

• I don't really know what this is all about... I read from the bottom up and maybe it's new, or maybe I just missed the fight. If so, good. But I do have a thought. Some people might see terseness and think it is curtness and consider that rude. I don't know what any of us could do about that, other than to contribute more free time here. Halcatalyst 21:53, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Halcatalyst- No. Follow the links.

Akamad- Smiley faces are not the answer.

Ken- I remember seeing your post. Sorry I passed it up, but I didn't have an answer for it. I've done what research I can (including reading the responses to your question), and here's what I see:

• Although I can see why you were irritated when someone cut out your e-mail address, especially with such an insulting message, try to understand. This desk is not just Q&A. We don't just give answers, we discuss. By trying to send all the answers straight to your inbox, you rob us of the chance to learn something we'd never thought to wonder about, and of the chance to add questions of our own. The instructions at the top don't say this, and I doubt that's why they deleted it, but it's true nevertheless. Also, try to respect the power of mass communication. Deleting a few dozen e-mails a day is nothing. Read the hate mail section at maddox.xmission.com to see what can happen to people whose contact information winds up in the wrong place.
• The first response you recieved on the humanities board was, though not quite rude, certainly terse, unhelpful and uninformed. I apologize on behalf of Wikipedians everywhere. However, if you have time, take a gander at some other posts. Part of the problem is that
• You didn't wait. Unless I'm severely misreading our filing system, you gave up the day after you posted. Most posts receive quite a few responses, with a range of tones, scattered over the next few days. How many arrive each day depends mostly on what the people passing by are in the mood to talk about. The response you got was not in the least representative of the Reference Desk as a whole.
• Your question could have been a bit clearer, but it's plenty clear enough to be answered if the answer is available.

If you're still looking for answers, here's the result of my search:

• Google is, at best, a stepping stone, and a finicky one at that when you're looking for something outside the mainstream. I found http://www.usingenglish.com/forum/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=8 which may be able to answer your question, and http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=life&searchmode=none and http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=person&searchmode=none which at least try to give some history.
• Amazon, amazingly, doesn't have any dictionaries from earlier than the 1980s, and neither do the other book sites I can find.
• I followed some links from Etymology, and found http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/people.htm for person.

This is a very hard question to find an answer to, because it runs counter to what almost anyone ever wants to know, so most of the mass answer sites don't have it. So, if you're still reading, there's two things I'd like to know: Why do you want it? How the hell did you answer it? --Black Carrot 00:51, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

total area of U.S. and Europe

Which Country is larger The United States or Europe?

Europe is a country?? —Keenan Pepper 04:30, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

See USA and Continent. Europe is larger. (but not larger than the North American subcontinent) --BluePlatypus 04:36, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

The continent of Europe is larger than (the country) of the United States, both in terms of land area and population. StuRat 08:28, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Beginning of Saudi oil production

Could anyone point me to a page that might contain information on how Saudi Arabia first came to exploit its petroleum resources? --Impaciente 06:11, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

This short article from Time might interest you. David Sneek 09:41, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Thank you. --Impaciente 01:28, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Rock/Dum Dum Boys

The Norwegian Rock group the Dum Dum Boys has got its name from the song by the same name, sung by Iggy Pop on the album "The Idiot", and the lyrics probably written by David Bowie. The song refers to an original American group The Dum Dum Boys: "They just stood in front of the old drug store". I know for a fact that they produced at least one album, probably back in the 50's. Can anyone please furnish me with informations about this original Dum Dum Boys?

We have an article on DumDum Boys. Halcatalyst 02:03, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

That's the norwegian one though. --BluePlatypus 04:07, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Speaking in languages

I need to know more about "speaking in languages" according to the Bible. Where in the Bible can you find script relating to this issue? Observer

See the second chapter of Acts for the original Pentecostal event. It is alluded to more briefly in a couple of the epistles as well. alteripse 11:25, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

See if we have an article on glossolalia (glossalalia?) or speaking in tongues. Geogre 12:08, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

da vinci

Link titleg what is da vinci code

I'm tempted to say "you've got to be joking". Try Google first. JackofOz 13:25, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Why not read The Da Vinci Code? Dismas| 15:41, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Da Vinci code iz dat soffware dat Vinci guy 'rote. --BluePlatypus 16:15, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Software? I thought it was:

1. Talk softly.
2. Be professional.
3. Don't be a wiseguy.
4. Always make sure the cement shoes harden before throwing him in.

WAvegetarian (email) 18:51, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

The Da Vinci Code is a 2003 novel by Dan Brown. See our article on it for more information or try searching for it on Google or another preferred search engine. Rob Church (talk) 21:56, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

The Da Vinci Code is a cheatcode for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 that allows you to play as Leonardo da Vinci. Tails becomes the Vitruvian Man and you can roll on him like a ball. --Tothebarricades 02:35, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Mysterious german youth

This is kind of a vague question.

I remember several years I was reading a book about strange occurences and such. In this book there was a story about a German youth who was discovered in a town in the 1800s. No one knew where he had come from. He didn't know where he came from either. He was kind of a strange and aloof fellow, if I remember correctly. In the end he was murdered in his jail cell.

My question is - can anyone tell me the name of this youth? Because I can't for the life of me remember.

Thanks.

--163.153.132.5 17:12, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

• Kaspar Hauser--jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 17:39, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

I love the reference desk. Bethefawn 06:48, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

self-portrait: identify artist

Myself and friends are working on a display on the theme of "Walls".

I saw an intriguing TV documentary a few months ago about an artist: one painting shown was of a rock pillar standing solidly beside the sea, waves splashing around it.

Now the twist: the artist gave it a title something like "Self portrait".

I can't find anywhere who the artist was. I thought it was Edward Hopper but I've checked the internet and my local reference library but no sign ...

81.174.253.146 19:08, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

(No Title)

where can i find a timeline on R&B

You can try looking at R&B --Kainaw 19:58, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Conclusion of a lesbian porn scene

Hi there. While heterosexual/bisexual porn scenes usually conclude with the male ejaculating on the females' faces, what is the traditional conclusion of a lesbian porn scene?

--Reperire 21:05, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Still orgasm, but usually not quite as ejaculatory. Natgoo 21:42, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Aye, the orgasm's the thing. As mentioned above, female orgasms are just usually not so visually dramatic. A newish trend in adult movies, however, is female ejaculation - the expulsion of some sort of fluid from the female genitals during orgasm. The adult actress Cytherea is noted for her skill in this area, and the adult director Seymore Butts is perhaps the best-known exponent. --George 23:58, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

I think it's important to define what "lesbian porn" means. Seymore Butts type porn, whether featuring lesbianism or not, is intended for the heterosexual male market. The girl-girl couplings shown follow much the same format as their girl-boy counterparts. Real lesbian porn (that is, porn made by lesbians for lesbians) is often entirely different. One might argue that the whole idea that a scene should build to a climax (and that the climax should be visually eventful) is a male-sexuality way of doing things, and indeed pornograpy truly intended for women doesn't tend to be so monomanicially driven by the "money shot". -- Middenface 01:39, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

The article Depictions of lesbian sex in pornography has a fairly good explanation of the situation. Natgoo 11:42, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

calories Vs kilo calories

Is a kilo calorie always equal to 1000 calorie? I saw the packet of TANG juice made by kraft foods in which it is said that one glass provides 100 Kilo calories whereas it is a fact that wheat has just 100 calories per 20 gm.

Our calorie article explains - "...where the term "calorie" is used in nutrition and food labeling, it commonly refers to the kilocalorie." Sometimes food labels will say "kCal" or "kilocalories", but usually they'll say "cal" or "calorie" and mean kilocalorie. Stupid, huh? -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 23:03, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

why?

Not too long ago I read a WP article about why people contribute, but can't find it now. So why do you contribute? Halcatalyst 23:50, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

I was initially inspired to contribute by irritation, of all things. I sing opera (mostly), and I found a lot of the articles on vocal music in what I considered poor shape. They were obviously edited by people who didn't have much technical knowledge of singing and often weighed down with fancruft - Mariah Carey's high notes are impressive, but they hardly merit extended discussion in an encyclopedia entry on the whistle register.

Nowadays editing is a minor hobby and, more rewardingly, educational. Most often I find that composing a short overview of a topic is a great way to organize my scattered knowledge of it, but sometimes I find that there's no article on something I want to learn more about anyway. It's a great excuse when your friends ask why you're reading about biopoetics instead of your boring corporate taxation class. --George 00:22, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

It's generally something that I can do in small chunks while I'm at work plus I can read (at least the shorter articles) while I'm working as well. I'm also rather anal about details so when I see film/magazine/album titles that aren't in italics or United States abbreviated as US instead of U.S., I can just correct it and make the project better. I basically believe that it's a good cause which I get a lot of knowledge from so I feel good giving back to it in my small ways. Dismas| 01:12, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

I do it for the greater glory of God (amongst other things). Seriously, I do it because I enjoy it, it is intellectually stimulating, I feel I am contributing something of lasting value to the sum total of human knowledge, and it's very, very absorbing and addictive. JackofOz 11:50, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Because who doesn't want to be engaged in the unfolding of humanity's Greatest Working? --Fangz 20:07, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Honestly, this kind of endeavour is the closest thing I can think of that qualifies as a "holy work" in my as-of-yet-uninvented religion. But I mostly participate out of pickiness. Pickiness is next to godliness? Bethefawn 06:53, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

January 14

French palimentry longevity

Who is longest serving current member of the French Parliment?

• Here's where you can find out about the French parliament. "Parliament comprises the National Assembly and the Senate." Though you may not find the answer to your specific question on these pages, they are a good place to start. Halcatalyst 01:40, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

biggest budget of any movie ever

What was the largest budget of any film in history?

See List of most expensive films. Dismas| 01:01, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

What happens to Muslim women in the afterlife?

I've just been reading about the houris who "await devout Muslims" in paradise, but that's not much of an inducement for devout female Muslims, is it? Is there a comparable reward for them? (Let's restrict this discussion to heterosexual women, just to keep it simple ;-) ). --Heron 11:17, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

The same thing that happens to christian women-godisgreat

The Qur'an simply says that the faithful will be attended in paradise by "WakawaAAiba", which is translated as either "companions" or "full-breasted maidens". The trouble is, that word has meant different things in different times (before Muhammed), so it's difficult to know which meaning Muhammed had in mind. The Qur'an doesn't specifically promise 72 virgins, but the Hadith does. It's the same promise for women as for men. Presumably women would simply enjoy the companionship. More information is here. – Quadell 18:44, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Thanks. I enjoyed reading the 'Straight Dope' reference. If it's true, then most muslims don't take the scriptural description of paradise too literally. --Heron 22:04, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

How many Christians ACT like they believe that heaven is better than Earth and you get there by dying (as opposed to how many ACT like they believe money is good and will pick it up off the ground if they see it just lying there)? WAS 4.250 07:05, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

A few questions about India

Is having sex with opposite sex legal in India? (I am not talking about prostitution, but just casual sex). Is living without marriage (a sexual relationship) legal in India? Is having a child without marriage legal in India? Is having two wives legal in India if both wives agree for that?

• Given that prostitution is legal in India, it'd be rather odd if casual sex was outlawed.
• Various districts in India dont even require marriages to be registered< so it would be fairly difficult to make co-habitation illegal
• Polygamy is illegal in India

GeeJo15:46, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

• On that note.. Is sex outside of wedlock actually illegal anywhere? Certainly it's frowned upon in conservative cultures like the Arab world and the USA, but where is it actually illegal? --BluePlatypus 20:16, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

See fornication. Superm401 | Talk 22:00, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

As of January 2005, 14 states still had rarely enforced laws against "fornication" . I remember there was a case recently in which a mother successfully had her daughter's boyfriend prosecuted for sleeping with the daughter, but the appeals court threw out the verdict in light of the Lawrence v. Texas decision. -- Mwalcoff 01:15, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

• Just like in America or Britain, though, if you have casual sex in such a way that offends the locals, you can expect to be run out of town regardless of its legality. --Mareino 22:59, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Answers

• Prostitution: "The Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act, 1956 ("ITPA"), the main statute dealing with sex work in India, does not criminalise prostitution or prostitutes per se, but mostly punishes acts by third parties facilitating prostitution like brothel keeping, living off earnings and procuring, even where sex work is not coerced."

• Is having sex with opposite sex legal in India? Yes. Sex with same sex might be illegal.

• Is living without marriage (a sexual relationship) legal in India? Yes.

• Is having a child without marriage legal in India? Yes.

• Is having two wives legal in India if both wives agree for that? Legal for Muslims for religious reasons, illegal for others. See Uniform civil code.

• Sex outside marriage attract heavy punishments in Islamic countries like Pakistan. See for example Hudood Ordinance. deeptrivia (talk) 05:27, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Paromita Chatterjee of CNBC India

I just want to know where did Paromita Chatterjee, an anchor with 'CNBC India' all these days, go? Is she appearing in some other television? Has she left her career since marriage? Or what happened to Paromita Chatterjee?

Pinochet

I red he was relased this week,is this true,since i aint believe they let that monster go... Do is it true that hes free?

A quick scan of the article for Augusto Pinochet seems to suggest that he is not free. And with such a high profile figure I would think that his article would be updated with recent news if any major change such as that happened. Dismas| 14:11, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

He was released on bail from his house arrest. That doesn't mean he's free. He still has to stand trial. It just means the court doesn't think it's likely he's going to try to run away before the trial. I don't think so either, the guy is 90 years old.. --BluePlatypus 16:31, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Norway

Why is "Norway" called "Norway"? thankyou

See History_of_Norway#Etymology. --Heron 13:47, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

lactating women

Can a women be able to produce milk for life (either even without giving birth) or years after giving birth) by doing something? What should women do for that?

A wet nurse commonly provides milk long after having children. --Kainaw 18:41, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

In rare cases women have been able to produce milk without having given birth. The quantity is normally very low though. Dismas| 21:32, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Correct. Also, in extremely rare cases, men with breast cancer have produced small amounts of milk. --Kainaw 23:08, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

POint: both of those conditions are disease states, usually caused by an adrenal or pituitary microadenoma causing increased levels of prolactin. Surgery may be required for treatment of the condition, and they can be associated with brain cancer. However, yes, wet nurses lactated during their pre-menopausal careers and made a living at it. The survival of a previous child was evidence that her breast milk was sound. Geogre 00:41, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Let's start over and get it right. We assume that you are referring to enough milk to support an infant, not single drops. Second, over 99% of this type of lactation follows delivery of a baby. If nursing, especially suckling throughout the day, is continued, milk production continues for many years in both breasts. As mentioned above, in the past some women made it a profession (they were called wet nurses). All other forms of lactation are unusual or pathological.

1. Lactation can sometimes be induced in a woman who has not just delivered so that she can nurse an infant. This can be done with hormone injections and breast stimulation and is occasionally sought in the US by women who are adopting an infant. If an adequate milk supply is established it becomes like natural nursing.
2. There have been rare accounts of pubertal or post-pubertal but virgin women, or older post-menopausal women who just by suckling an infant for several days to weeks developed a milk supply.
3. There have been far rarer accounts of men developing enough of a milk supply after suckling an infant for days to nurse the child. These accounts generally date before the last century and many were recorded as hearsay, but some seem convincing. The largest collection of these accounts is in Gould and Pyle's Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine, originally published in 1896 by Saunders, but reprinted many times since.
4. Galactorrhea is the medical term for milk secretion in women who have not delivered a baby, and in children or males. It is often but not always bilateral, but the milk flow is far less than lactation (a few cc or drops a day, or enough to make a few cm spot on a shirt or bra), and sometimes must be squeezed out drop by drop. The most common cause of galactorrhea is hyperprolactinemia, which can be due to a pituitary macroadenoma, microadenoma, idiopathic hyperfunction, or anti-dopaminergic drugs (especially phenothiazines and metoclopramide (Reglan)). This type of galactorrhea can occasionally occur in males, nearly always with very small volume output. Pituitary adenomas are not cancer. Galactorrhea is not lactation.
5. Galactorrhea can occasionally occur without hyperprolactinemia. Many single cases of repeated breast stimulation or trauma causing galactorrhea have been reported, even resulting from herpes zoster of the chest wall. Some cases are idiopathic, meaning a cause cannot be found. As above the amount of milk produced is minimal (typically only drops). This type of galactorrhea is often unilateral. This kind of galactorrhea has been very rarely reported in males, also with very small volume output.
6. Transient galactorrhea is relatively common in newborn infants (usually in first days of life, ending by two weeks), usually in very small amounts. An old term for this is "witch's milk". It is not pathologic. There have been very rare cases of more profuse milk secretion in infants.
7. Finally a number of other breast conditions can result in very small amounts of fluid leaking or expressible from one nipple, only in drops or tiny amounts, usually only with squeezing. The fluid is not milk but interstitial fluid from inflammation, local cyst, infection (mastitis), or some types of breast cancer. It is unilateral, from only the affected breast. This is certainly not lactation and most doctors don't even call it galactorrhea. alteripse 04:19, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

1991 car

In 1991, what was the price of a new car? Thank you

In the United States, you could get a new Yugo for as little as $4,000 or a Ferrari Testarossa for as little as $94,000. What kind of car are you thinking about? --Kainaw 20:15, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

We answered that a couple of weeks ago. alteripse 03:26, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Individualism and loneliness

Ayn rand claims that the plight of the individualist is loneliness. Ayn rand was wrong about a ton of sh*t, but I'm finding in my own life that she was somewhat correct on this point. Are there any philosophers that describe how to harmonize individualism with happiness, and not being lonely and seperated from most of mankind on an intellectual level? I feel like the entire intellectual world is mainly a bunch of stupid sportslike arguments over things without any epistemelogical, ethical, or logical grounding. Take democrats vs. conservatives-- in their debates they only try to attack each other, instead of arguing how the nature of truth is closer to their way of seeing things. If someone could point me to a philosopher that could rekindle my spirits that would be nice. Thank you.--Urthogie 20:58, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

I haven't read any of Ayn Rand's books, so I apologize if I'm off target, but why would there be a correlation between individualism and intellectual loneliness? More to the point, why would there be a connection between the philosophy of individualism and a dislike of 'stupid sportslike arguments over things without any epistemelogical, ethical, or logical grounding'? I myself dislike all those things, and see no reason to put up with them when I come across them, but that's not based on individualism, that's based on common sense, self respect, and a scientific education. What am I missing? Also - What makes you think the vicious arguments of dyed in the wool political partisans should bear any resemblance at all to reasoned discourse? If that's where you've been looking for intellectual stimulation, I'm not surprised you've been disappointed. Last - Which spirits do you want rekindled? I myself consider Silverstein an inspiration, but that may not be the side of philosophy you're looking for. --Black Carrot 21:24, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Individualism, for example, may lead someone to tell to disputing groups of people that their argument has lost logical grounding-- therefore alienating oneself with both collectives. Those dyed in the wool political partisans are supported by surprisingly large amounts of people, who rally for them. And when you disagree with these people, pointing out that theyre supporting dyed in the wall partisans, they'll begin to dislike you for pointing out that they view politics as sport. I'll check out Silverstein.--Urthogie 21:37, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

I hadn't meant Silverstein seriously, but if you want, you can get his books in most any library, and here's a example of some of his more famous poems: http://cspeech.ucd.ie/~gina/gj/silverstein.html I can see how not following the herd could make the herd hate you, but once again, that just means you're wandering around in the wrong field. Try another valley, with fewer sheep and more humans. talkorigins.org might get you in the ballpark, but I haven't talked to most of the people there so I'm not sure. If you're feeling lonely, though, community is definitely the thing, not isolated philosophers. Try wandering around on forums. You generally have to wade through a lot of crap to find anything good on the Internet, but it's worth it if you have the time. --Black Carrot 22:37, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

I was talking about real life, and I don't want to seperate myself from hypocrites. They're human too, so I wan't to be around them being happy without sacrificing individualism.--Urthogie 22:41, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Let me see if I understand your goal. You want to stay around the same people, and continue to point out when they're wrong, but you don't want them to get mad at you? That's certainly better, if you can manage it. At the risk of offending, how tactful are you when you point out people's mental failings? Do they have good reason to get pissed off? For instance, calling their heated arguments about the relative evils of infanticide versus teenage pregnancy 'sport' might be taken the wrong way. Also, people hate to be embarassed, and if you try to point out that they spent the past half hour defending something any monkey could tell was wrong, they still probably won't back down, and as an added bonus they'll be mad at you for making them look bad. Sometimes a soft half-truth that lets them keep their pride is more effective at leading people away from their mistakes. --Black Carrot 01:25, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Literary Criticism of Silverstein

I've been trying to find scholarly criticisms of Shel Silverstein's poem 'Where the Sidewalk Ends' (not the entire book, which makes it even harder to search for), but I've had no luck so far. I know they must exist. The book made NYTimes Best-seller. The poem is awesome. Somebody has to have written about it. I have yet, however, to track down anything I can use. I welcome any suggestions, except ones that require I be enrolled in a college. --Black Carrot 21:00, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

You can try Google Print or Google Scholar . It's a lot to sort through, but you might hit pay dirt. Good luck. — BrianSmithson 23:32, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Thanks, but I've tried both, and neither helped. Any other ideas? --Black Carrot 01:02, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

questions for a class assignment

Hi there!

I am doing an assignment for a humanities class and could use some help with a few questions I am having trouble with. The first question I have is was woman created to serve man. The second question I have to answer is what is original sin? I have come up with some information but I am having trouble answering them completely.

Any help with these would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, --Mjs101283 23:53, 14 January 2006 (UTC)Mjs101283

• For the second, see original sin. For the first, that's a matter of opinion and/or religious beliefs, and presupposes that woman or man were created for any purpose. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 23:56, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

There's no particularly meaningful answer to these questions unless you also answer "according to who". One could say, "no, woman wasn't 'created' at all, let alone for serving man". But I suspect from the second question that "according to biblical exegetes (or "according to (some particular) religious sect), "was woman created to serve man" and "what is Original Sin?" So the best approach would be to look up the doctrine of that particular sect, or start from our general overview of Original Sin. Probablyl the first question arisies from interpretations of and generalizations about "an help meet for him" in the King James translation of Genesis 2:18 in one of the two conflicting stories of creation found in Genesis (specifically the one in which an omnscient and omnipotent god tries several times to create Adam's helper, screwing each one up until on his final try he gets it "just right"). - Nunh-huh 00:03, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Any religion created by men (which is pretty much all of them) is likely to say women exist to serve men. Similarly, any religion created by women would be likely to say men are just created to serve women (there were a few such religions, like that of Sapho, but they are pretty much extinct now). Quite a coincidence how that works, isn't it ? Now, while we are off the subject, what do you think the chances are that any group of people will create a religion where the "chosen people" are somebody other than themselves ? StuRat 03:42, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

?? The religion of Sapho??? Do you mean Sappho, the poet? She had no such religion. In fact, I think we're hard pressed to name any religion that say that "men are just created to serve women", while we would have no trouble naming religions that say that "women are just created to serve men", which should tell you something. I don't think even birth-death-rebirth mystery cults like that of Attis/Cybele, with eunuchized priests maintained that. - Nunh-huh 05:31, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

January 15

Last interview or picture of Pablo Escobar

Can you help me about it? Thanks a lot

the war in Iraq

why did the United stattes go to war with Iraq when it was obvious( via the documentary evidence his government had provided,and the ongoing at the time, inspections), Saddam had no WMD's and if he did he was pretty much contained behind his borders

Unfortunately, it wasn't as obvious as you seem to believe, nor was Saddam's government so forthcoming with documents as you depict. - Nunh-huh 02:35, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

The WMD reason was jumped on by Bush as the one which would generate the most international support. The real reasons for the war went far beyond WMD:

• The assassination attempt on the first President Bush by Iraq's intelligence service.

• The continual flaunting of UN resolutions adopted after the First Gulf War and exclusion/expulsion of UN weapons inspectors.

• The requirement that US troops stay in the Gulf indefinitely to discourage any future invasions by Iraq, following their invasions of Iran and Kuwait, and to patrol the Northern and Southern No-Fly Zones imposed after the First Gulf War to stop the genocide of Kurds and Shia.

• Support for terrorism by Iraq. Their support for terrorism against Israel is public and well documented. Their support for other terrorism is less certain.

• The ability of Iraq to cause significant disruptions in the world oil supply by cutting off production.

StuRat 03:20, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Add to this the belief by people described as "neoconservatives" that by installing a democratic, pro-Israeli, and secular regime in Iraq the political stability, economic progress of the whole Middle East, and especially the security of Israel would be enhanced.

However, this is all speculation to a large degree. It's hard to know what was really going on behind the scenes in the White House (and also in discussions with allies such as British Prime Minister Tony Blair). Eventually they'll all write their memoirs, and in another few decades cabinet records will be released, the historians will pore over them and the real story will out. --Robert Merkel 06:53, 15 January 2006 (UTC)