Template:Did you know nominations/Three utilities problem
- The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.
The result was: promoted by Theleekycauldron (talk) 20:20, 15 December 2021 (UTC)
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Three utilities problem
... that although drawing non-crossing connections from three houses to three utilities in the plane is an impossible puzzle, it has solutions on the torus and Möbius strip?Source: Impossible: Kullman 1979 "it can actually be proved that no solution exists"; torus: Parker 2015, pp. 191–192; Möbius strip: Larsen 1994, p. 292
ALT0a: ... that although it's impossible to draw non-crossing lines from three houses to three utilities (pictured) in the plane, it is possible on the torus or Möbius strip?- Reviewed: Template:Did you know nominations/Mary Earle
Improved to Good Article status by David Eppstein (talk). Self-nominated at 23:14, 1 December 2021 (UTC).
- Comment: you'd think I'd have learned my lesson from that time I got absolutely and deservedly smacked for proposing a bad ALT on a math nom, but I think this one could improved; I've proposed an ALT0a that has minor changes and suggested that the image in infobox be used if this hook is ran as a lead (the white background would stand out on the blue highlight of the Main Page). We don't get enough diagrams and puzzles on Did you know, and I think this one would be fun and interesting for readers to try to work out—some will try to work it out, even though they know it's impossible. In fact, I think it'd get more attention if we didn't say that it was impossible upfront, but that's a different ALT. Cheers! theleekycauldron (talk • contribs) (they/them) 03:18, 3 December 2021 (UTC)
- I formatted the second image and added a border to both. If you prefer them without, feel free to remove the "border" parameters. MANdARAX • XAЯAbИAM 19:50, 8 December 2021 (UTC)
- ALT0a looks ok to me, a little less awkwardly worded. We don't generally allow contractions like "it's" in article space, but I guess it's ok in DYK. I took the liberty of adding "(pictured)" to the hook. —David Eppstein (talk) 06:03, 3 December 2021 (UTC)
- Comment: you'd think I'd have learned my lesson from that time I got absolutely and deservedly smacked for proposing a bad ALT on a math nom, but I think this one could improved; I've proposed an ALT0a that has minor changes and suggested that the image in infobox be used if this hook is ran as a lead (the white background would stand out on the blue highlight of the Main Page). We don't get enough diagrams and puzzles on Did you know, and I think this one would be fun and interesting for readers to try to work out—some will try to work it out, even though they know it's impossible. In fact, I think it'd get more attention if we didn't say that it was impossible upfront, but that's a different ALT. Cheers! theleekycauldron (talk • contribs) (they/them) 03:18, 3 December 2021 (UTC)
- Comment: I prefer ALT0a but with "it's" and "it is" made consistent. If, however, it's decided to remove mention of the torus and Möbius strip, I think this version with lines, one pair crossing, is better. Disclaimer: I drew both diagrams (and their brethren). Cheers, cmɢʟee⎆τaʟκ 02:01, 6 December 2021 (UTC)
| General: Article is new enough and long enough |
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| Policy: Article is sourced, neutral, and free of copyright problems |
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| Hook: Hook has been verified by provided inline citation |
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| Image: Image is freely licensed, used in the article, and clear at 100px. |
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| QPQ: Done. |
Overall: 
I recall seeing this problem in a recent YouTube video; glad it has a GA! I like the hook, but I feel it's trying to squeeze in a little more than it needs to, so my suggestion would be to just go with the simple:
- ALT1: ... that it is impossible to draw non-crossing lines from three houses to three utilities (pictured) in a plane?
I think that'll draw readers in, and they can then read about the torus/Mobius/etc. in the article.
For the other review components, everything looks good here, with some elements already covered at GAN. Slightly debatable where there's an inline citation for the hook fact right after it appears in the article, but I think it's fine. Picture is freely licensed own work from Cmglee (heads up that you're Main Page-bound!); we could also go with one of the alternate versions but I like how this one is clean and simple. Hook fact is interesting for either ALT0a or ALT1, and I think it's able to state the problem both completely and concisely (not always an easy task). Just let me know your thoughts on ALT1 vs. ALT0a and this will be good to go. {{u|Sdkb}} talk 08:59, 5 December 2021 (UTC)
ALT1 is good to go. I have struck ALT0 ALT0a, which I agree are too complex for the average reader (including me). I have also removed the other image to avoid confusion. Another very good article David Eppstein, thank you. Onceinawhile (talk) 19:29, 14 December 2021 (UTC)