Miscellaneous desk
< June 19	<< May \| June \| Jul >>	June 21 >

Welcome to the Wikipedia Miscellaneous Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

June 20

Legality of Child Selling

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

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

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

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

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

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

what is the history of tampico fibre brushes?

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

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

birth control

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

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

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

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

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

Paratrooper in Civ III weapon

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

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

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

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

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

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

NCEA math credits

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

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

I'm talking about ncea level 1 math credits

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

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

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

Do they look at ncea level 1 math?

Interesting 2-weeks courses

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

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

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

Number of planes in the air

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

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

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

Japanese soldiers not realizing war is over

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

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

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

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

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

Nectarini

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

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

Competition 100m Records

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

phillies parking question?

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

Auto body parts

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

XXXXX

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

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

Longest top grade competition in any sport that has remained unchanged

Here's a good one for you.

A brief history of Australian rules football in Australia.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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