Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2009 April 22

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.

April 22

Why isn't there a help desk section where sociology and anthropology would actually fit?

I have moved this question to the reference desk talk page, which is the best place for such discussions. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 07:42, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

US schools and allegiance/flag ceremony?

I have a vague idea that (some? all?) US schools have ceremonies where the kids are made to swear allegiance or vow on the flag or something. As you can tell, I'm rather hazy. I presume we have an article about it, but I don't know how to search for it because I don't know what it's called. Or if I just made the whole thing up. Someone? Thanks. --Dweller (talk) 13:04, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

Pledge of Allegiance. Many schools do this every morning. APL (talk) 13:16, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

I would think most schools do. Private schools can do whatever they want to, but I expect most of them do. And in public schools, they can be legally compelled to do so. Technically, the students can't be compelled to participate, but the teachers can be compelled by law or policy to lead the pledge. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 13:28, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

Thanks. There's not a lot in the article about what's done in school, and the history and extent of it seems very blurry. Do kids stand? Do they hold their hands on their hearts like I've seen American athletes do during the national anthem? What ages does this apply to? Does it need a separate article Pledge of allegiance in American schools or similar? --Dweller (talk) 13:30, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

Traditionally, the students are required to stand, face the flag, place their right hand over their heart, and solemnly recite the pledge together.

In recent years some schools have gotten a bit lax., such as simply playing the pledge over the school's Intercom system and letting students join in or not as they please. (Almost nobody bothers if they're not required encouraged to participate.)

Even in schools that follow a more strict tradition, students are usually theoretically allowed to not participate, but this can be very strongly discouraged.

As B. Buggs says, the large majority of schools have a daily pledge of allegiance ritual. Usually grades 1-12. But it wouldn't surprise me if some kindergartens also did it. APL (talk) 13:38, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

Any self-respecting British schoolchild would fart or giggle throughout. DuncanHill (talk) 13:49, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

Of course they would. Why would a British kid want to pledge allegiance to the American flag? The very idea. 65.121.141.34 (talk) 14:06, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

Of course! The goal is to say something that sounds close enough to the real pledge that the teacher can't tell the difference, but is funny enough that all the students nearby get a giggle out of it.

The danger is that the teacher will be the sort of person who goes in for this kind of ultra-patriotism, and will give you a detention for the slightest offense during The Pledge.

It's a fine line. Such is the drama and adventure of being a class clown. APL (talk) 14:09, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

How tragic that DH has so low a regard for his (I presume) country's children and teachers.86.219.37.254 (talk) 14:04, 22 April 2009 (UTC)DT

I have a very high regard for our children and teachers - that is why I believe that they would never take such daftness seriously. Jelly-bellied flag-flapping has never really caught on here. DuncanHill (talk) 14:11, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

With a few exceptions ;) TastyCakes (talk) 14:18, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

On football I make no comment - it is a closed book to me. As to the Falklands - I think we did the right thing. Fortunately, fascistic military regimes have never really caught on here either. DuncanHill (talk) 14:21, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

Not for a while anyway. TastyCakes (talk) 14:25, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

We learnt from our mistake there! DuncanHill (talk) 14:29, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

Ah, but what a glorious mistake it was ;) TastyCakes (talk) 14:34, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

I spent 2nd to 4th grade in a California public school. I didn't have a problem with the pledge of allegiance (I was 6-9, after all) but I think my (English) parents thought it was a little strange - more something a totalitarian state would force its citizens to do than the leader of the free world ;) TastyCakes (talk) 14:10, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

Children cannot legally be compelled to participate, but group pressure will usually do so. Teachers can be compelled to lead it because it's a condition of their employment. And if you're living in the USA, you should support the USA, which is our home. Nothing totalitarian about that. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 14:13, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

Would Americans be happy with American children overseas being compelled to pledge allegiance to a foreign power? There is a difference between respecting the country in which one lives and giving your allegiance to it. DuncanHill (talk) 14:16, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

When living in a foreign country, one should obey the laws and customs of that country. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 14:24, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

Up to a point - but a pledge of allegiance is much more than that - it is placing that country above all others. In Scouting in the UK we have an alternate form of the Promise for children from countries which do not have the Queen as head of state, precisely because it is wrong to ask a child to deny his allegiance to his own country. DuncanHill (talk) 14:28, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

And you assume taking the pledge of allegiance should be construed as "supporting America" rather than a daily chore that many kids seem to ignore anyway. TastyCakes (talk) 14:20, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

Precisely. You go along with it, because it's not worth making a big deal over. Unless you come in looking for a fight. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 14:24, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

True, like that damn atheist! TastyCakes (talk) 14:26, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

So patriotism is keeping your head down and never questioning authority? APL (talk) 14:32, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

Do you mean not questioning authority? No, it's picking your battles. And Newdow, if that's the one I'm thinking of, is a publicity-seeking egotist who used his daughter as a pawn. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 14:35, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

Yes, I meant "not". Corrected. You're essentially arguing that this issue can never be contested or debated. It's obviously pretty important to you, why are the other side's feelings on the issue irrelevant?

I would bet money that if the wording of the pledge supported atheism, or socialism, many of the people now arguing that it's no big deal, and that it doesn't matter, would suddenly feel that it matters a lot. APL (talk) 14:41, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

I think I'd put myself with Baseball Bugs on the Newdow thing, and probably the pledge in general. I think the pledge has become a tradition, and that people derive comfort out of tradition, as with Christmas trees or the easter bunny. And I think nationalism is (usually) a good thing for a country's citizens, especially when in the more or less non-divisive spirit of the pledge of allegiance. It (in theory) looks to remind everyone that whatever their beliefs, they are all Americans and are all looking to improve their country. Whether or not it's ineffective at this goal and a big waste of time is another matter. Incidentally, do you guys say the pledge all through high school? TastyCakes (talk) 14:51, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

In my highschool (In the late 90s) the pledge was played over the intercom in the morning. It was pretty low-key, no one saluted, no one joined in, and sometimes they forgot. In lower grades we had the more traditional, strict, stand and salute ritual.

This was in Massachusetts, I wouldn't be surprised if it was more strict in other regions. APL (talk) 15:08, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

To be clear, To a large (but minority) portion of Americans "Under God" is every bit as strange as "Under Allah" or "Under Zeus", or even "Under Communism". It's a pledge to something we don't believe in and don't want to pledge to.

And many people (mostly on the left side of the spectrum) find it vaguely unsettling that we're required to pledge our allegiance every single day. It's a subtle insult, really. APL (talk) 14:47, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

The real problem is that the mindless repitition takes away the meaning. There was a time when the Cubs did not play the anthem at Wrigley except on special occasions. P.K. changed it in the late 60s when he thought patriotism was on the wane. It is ironic you mentioned betting money, though, since the money says "In God We Trust", while at the same time the 1 dollar bill also carries Masonic symbols. To those who get bent out of shape about the IGWT part, I simply say that refers to the old saying, "In God we trust - all others pay cash!" Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 17:53, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

Who's PK? A Quest For Knowledge (talk) 21:12, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

P.K. Wrigley, the owner of the Cubs at the time. He was kind of an eccentric character. He's probably best known for never installing lights at Wrigley Field. Anyway, he thought the anthem should only be played on special occasions, such as Memorial Day and July 4th. So after WWII until the late 60s, the players would take the field, public address guy Pat Peiper would announce, "Play ball!" and the game would start. During the Vietnam era, P.K. decided to start playing the anthem for every game, as was presumably the norm at other parks. It's worth pointing out that he also installed security cameras, one of the pioneers of such, after a few too many incidents of drunken rowdiness at the ballpark. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 21:20, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

(After E/C)Many (myself included) would argue that mindlessly, and ritualistically reciting a rather long sentence every day doesn't "support" anything at all. Worse, fact that the sentence is deliberately theist is divisive.

To go one step further, some (myself included) would argue that the idea that recitations and bumper stickers count as "support" is a major problem in this country. Actually contributing anything to the betterment of the nation or even being a good person in general, takes a backseat to browbeating our neighbors about having the right bumper stickers. APL (talk) 14:31, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

Rather like the difference between people who think that the point of Wikipedia is deploying an impressive set of userboxes and those who think it's creating encyclopedia articles. Deor (talk) 02:53, 24 April 2009 (UTC)

As a child I had no idea what it meant. "allegiance" is not in most kids' vocabularies, much less "indivisible" or "to the republic for which it stands," which are not-the-clearest ways to express not-the-clearest political principles. It is not really about the kids—it is something adults make kids do to make the adults feel better, and if you take it away it is the adults who will complain. The kids just go through it numbly. Once you've said the same thing every morning for years and years you do not pay much attention to it. It doesn't make one love one's country or God or anything in particular. --140.247.251.231 (talk) 21:07, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

In elementary school, I didn't know what a "round young virgin" was either, but I still sang "Silent Night" when everyone else did. :) Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 21:23, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

It must be 20 years ago now that a friend of mine (British) was working in Carolina (S or N?). Anyway his kids went to the local non-private school (for UK reasons, I am trying not to write "public"). It took several weeks to get the pledge sorted out with the school who wanted his children to join in. He stated that they weren't US citizens and so weren't going to pledge allegance to this foreign (USA) country. He suggested that they should stand quietly and respectfully whilst the US children pledged - eventually agreed. The biggest problem appeared to be incomprehension by the school authorities that someone might NOT WANT to pledge allegance to the US flag if they had the opportunity!

Since they were enjoying the benefits of living in the USA, it was only fair that they give something back. There was no anchor keeping them here. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?}

carrots 21:45, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

Who's to say there were any benefits? Why do you assume it was all take on their part, or that they moved to the US for what they could get? And it's quite clear they were contributing: the father was working, contributing his skills, experience and taxes. Gwinva (talk) 23:17, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

It's rare that children have much choice about where they live. DuncanHill (talk) 21:48, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

Am I misreading you, or are you actually suggesting that it's appropriate for people to pledge allegiance to foreign countries in which they happen to be residing? Algebraist 21:52, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

(ec : reply to Baseball Bugs) I don't think you are understanding the point here. They were UK citizens living as a family working in the US. They do NOT pledge allegiance to the US. Yes, they obey all the US laws. Yes, they are respectful to the conventions and mores of the place that they live (USA). But if you follow your suggestion then a US family living and working in, say, Libya should pledge allegiance to Libya. I suggest that there might even be grounds on the part of the US government for prosecuting said family for treason (Yes I know this is an extreme and is pushing it, but I'm trying to make a point)! The British family were not Americans. There is no way that they should or could make such a pledge validly.

I had a fellow student in my grade school class who belonged to a Christian denomination that didn't allow him to say the pledge (7th Day Adventist, perhaps.) Every day we stood up for the pledge and he walked out. It was never an issue. Rmhermen (talk) 21:53, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery: Under plans drawn up by the Home Secretary in 2005,with followup efforts in 2008, British teenagers were to be asked to swear their loyalty to Queen and country on their 18th birthday, a one-off "British pledge of allegiance." The proposal was criticised as "half baked," an "empty gesture,""puerile,"and "synthetic patriotism. Some in the U.S. have similarly criticized the every-day recitation in our schools, especially with the "under God," theocratically added in 1954. During the McCarthyism madness, "loyalty oaths" for adults were sometimes required, as if a spy or saboteur would refuse, rather than merely persons of principle. Before F.D. Roosevelt made the gesture "hand over heart," a salute similar to the Nazi salute was required. Edison (talk) 22:33, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

Not to get picky but the loyalty oaths weren't just about spies refusing them. They usually contained clauses that implied the person saying them was not a member of any party which advocating overthrowing of the government—e.g. Communist Party. If at a later date it turned out that said person was lying when they took the oath it could be grounds for a perjury charge. So it's not just about the honor system; it was a way of trying to catch people in a legal bind, a way to effectively ban the Communist Party (even though the US doesn't like to talk about banning political parties, because that's something only other, less-civilized nations do). --98.217.14.211 (talk) 01:34, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

Hm. Apparently young British men don't have to troop down to the post office on their 18th birthday to register for selective service? (a much stronger pledge than the other) I particularly like the part where illegal aliens have to register to possibly serve a country that would deport them if it found them. Rmhermen (talk) 22:51, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

No such registration here, I'm glad to say. I remember seeing the posters about it in American post offices and wondering what on earth that was all about. DuncanHill (talk) 23:16, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

Did they have it during World War II? Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 23:21, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

Conscription in the United Kingdom occurred between 1916 and 1919 and between 1939 and 1960, and at no other times. (but see Impressment) Algebraist 23:24, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

It's no fun, being the cops of the world. :( Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 23:13, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

It's interesting that you would refer to the US as the cops of the world when they tend not to support international law (they haven't signed up to the International Criminal Court, for example)... --Tango (talk) 23:45, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

Didn't you know that cops are above the law. >:) Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 23:50, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

Just sit back and let terrorists and pirates do what they will, and carp about what the cops are doing in their efforts to limit the damage. Edison (talk)

complete tangent - while i enjoy the idea of a 'round young vigin' as much as the next man, baseball, I was taught the version 'around yon virgin mother and child' —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.249.138.179 (talk) 06:56, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

Well, at the age of 5, I wasn't real sure what the term "virgin" meant, and the song sounded like a trio: (1) round young virgin; (2) mother; and (3) child. Or maybe I should say a "trinity". :) Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 09:29, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

It was "Round John Virgin." Edison (talk) 06:07, 24 April 2009 (UTC)

Other daily ceremonies in school

When I was growing up in Canada, every day in all four of the schools I attended (before university) started with the Lord's Prayer (I was in high school before I figured out that I could just stand there silently instead of repeating words I did not believe in) and one or the other national anthem. Do US schools play/sing the national anthem or is the pledge considered sufficient proof :-) of patriotism? What about British schools, or the experience of anyone from another country who's reading this? --Anonymous, 23:35 UTC, April 22, 2009.

British schools are required to have a "daily act of worship of a broadly Christian nature" or something like that, but it's very vague about what that actually means and there many/most schools don't do anything particularly religious on a regular basis. --Tango (talk) 23:45, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

In Britain we do have assemblies, which will usually include a mumbled prayer or hymn (by law there must be some sort of "mainly Christian" observance in state schools - and parents have the right to withdraw their children from any form of religious observance in any state school), but I doubt there are many schools which have Union Jacks hanging around the place. DuncanHill (talk) 23:40, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

U.S. schools play "The Star-Spangled Banner" before most any large public event, not usually in the individual classroom. Unlike the British anthem, the first verse has no theological references as such. The fourth verse, though - get ready, and keep in mind this was written in 1814 - contains the line, "...and this be our motto, 'In God Is Our Trust'." However, very few people know more than the first verse, and even fewer can sing it. An anthem best appreciated from a distance, i.e. hearing someone else sing or play it. The American anthem has been criticized for being too war-oriented. Those critics apparently never read the English translation of "La Marseillaise", where it speaks of bloodied banners and slitting throats and tainted blood drenching the furrows... and that's just the first verse. My favorite verse in the U.S. anthem is the third, which reminds you of the Marseillaise a bit, where they sing about how the enemy's own blood "has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution." I'd like to hear some American schoolkids sing that one... especially with some innocent young Brits in the audience, since that's who Key was writing about. >:) Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 23:50, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

Just as long as they aren't doing any knavish tricks! --Tango (talk) 00:05, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

Well, American kids sing that song, too. Only we call it, "My Country 'Tis of Thee". Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 00:18, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

When will the Americans come up with tunes of their own for their patriotic songs? Must they always use British airs? DuncanHill (talk) 00:47, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

It would be ironic if the lyricist for "My Country Tis of Thee" was forced to pay a royalty. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 00:55, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

The irony of the original salute has been lost on some. Who then was a gentleman? (talk) 00:24, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

As with the swastika, the Nazis took a perfectly good thing and ruined it. I could say that about Germany itself, too, only the U.S. helped rebuild Germany. But they didn't put any funding into rehabilitating the swastika or the salute. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 00:37, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

In grade school we did the Pledge of Allegiance daily, and we also sang patriotic songs, such as My Country 'Tis of Thee. The neighbor's cousin from the city came to visit one weekend and taught me some "alternative" lyrics. They went like this: "My country sick of thee, send me to Germany, over the sea.... Let Communism ring!" I thought that was funny and cool, so I decided to sing those lyrics the next day at school. I did, the teacher heard me, and I was sent to the principal's (headmaster's) office. He paddled my behind with a wooden paddle until it was sore. This would have been about 1970. Marco polo (talk) 02:09, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

I recall that one too, or variations thereof. And your day was filled with learning, as you found out all about the "board of education". I wonder, though, what they would have done if you had sung "God Save the Queen"? I also wonder if they still do corporal punishment anymore. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 02:20, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

In Texas, which is the only state I can speak to, they do still practice corporal punishment in public schools. However, the parents are asked to sign a permission form at the start of the year and they can decline to allow corporal punishment for their child. Dragons flight (talk) 06:05, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

Beating children is illegal in schools in the UK. DuncanHill (talk) 09:59, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

Trust me, Texas is unlike the UK in more ways than you can imagine! SteveBaker (talk) 20:52, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

Illegal for everyone, or just for the teachers? Tempshill (talk) 20:54, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

What about really shitty ones?

My mum is a teacher in Canada and she had a colleague who survived an investigation in which he punched a kid a couple times by reasoning at his injunction that the first was to prevent him from hurting other kids, and the second was to stop him from hurting himself. TastyCakes (talk) 21:22, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

Hum. I am trained and experienced in safe methods of physically controlling and restraining violent children, and punching never came into it. DuncanHill (talk) 21:28, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

It's quite possible some exaggeration entered my mum's description of the event ;) TastyCakes (talk) 21:35, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

Violence is unnecessary. Just remember Red Green's axiom: "Duct tape - the handyman's secret weapon!" Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 03:14, 24 April 2009 (UTC)

How do you know about the Red Green Show? I thought that was one of Canada's horible, dorky secrets it would never allow outside of its borders. TastyCakes (talk) 06:21, 24 April 2009 (UTC)

The Red/Green show has been shown here in Texas (on PBS stations, mostly) for many, many years. The early episodes were pretty good - but it went downhill fast when they ran out of ideas. Still - it could be worse. We Brits have to cringe every time they rerun "The Benny Hill Show" AND "Are you being served?"...you Canadians have it easy! SteveBaker (talk) 14:11, 24 April 2009 (UTC)

There are some advantages to living in Britain - no Benny Hill or Are You Being Served :) DuncanHill (talk) 19:49, 24 April 2009 (UTC)

Thankfully there seem to be many Canadian shows even PBS won't touch... I look at it as a kind of plausible deniability. There seems to have been some kind of breakdown when Degrassi made it out of the country. TastyCakes (talk) 14:28, 24 April 2009 (UTC)

There are only so many ways you can milk the same formula. "I'm freeee!" probably gets tiresome after awhile. Key question: Do you cringe at, "Hello, Polly!" Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 14:16, 24 April 2009 (UTC)

Way back in first grade, I heard the alternate lyrics "My country's tired of me, I'll go to Germany, to see the King. His name is Donald Duck, he drives a garbage truck, from every mountainside, let garbage fly." We 6 year olds were cautioned by the 7 year olds that it was against the law to sing those lyrics (not so many years since WW2).Edison (talk) 06:12, 24 April 2009 (UTC)

Has anyone's penis been bitten off during oral sex?

This may seem like a stupid question, but when you watch porn, you forget that women have teeth when you watch them giving a blowjob. When you get a girl IRL to give you a blowjob, the fact that she has teeth and could potentially bite your penis off becomes much more apparent. What's with that?--LeninAwaken (talk) 21:49, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

Sure, it's happened: [1], [2], [3], but it sure aint common. What you really need to be scared of is teeth in another place. That's a joke. Don't worry too much about it and try not to date women named Bobbit.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 21:58, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

It happened in Parma, and East Anglia. It has even [happened to Bonobos in Stuttgart.Edison (talk) 22:47, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

From a scientific viewpoint I think it would be extremely difficult to bite off the penis. Mutilation is more common, but severing completely with the teeth would be impeded by the gristly nature of the penis. 86.4.190.83 (talk) 07:59, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

Sounds like you've tried it before. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 09:26, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

Yes. That's the only way anyone could know that. (Also, the only way to know that punching a brick wall as hard as you can will hurt your hand is to try it! Curse our feeble brains for having no capacity for the hypothetical.) -- Captain Disdain (talk)

The inflexible nature of a brick wall would be fairly obvious to the layman. Not being a physician, and not having studied the matter in minute detail otherwise, I would need to see a reliable source confirming the reported penile gristliness. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 22:30, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

John Irving seems to think it can be done. Karenjc 18:49, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

Indeed. It's been a long time since I read it, but I think that was when the couple were in a parked car and were hit by another car at high speed, so there was an extra momentum factor there that might figure into it. The momentum factor, vaguely related to a straw being driven into wood by tornadic winds. (I'll let your imagination fill in any apparent jokes here.) Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 21:30, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

As does, if memory serves, Stephen King. ("The reflex is to BITE DOWN." – Shawshank Redemption) 03:09, 24 April 2009 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.181.228.210 (talk)

Well, in that instance, the chances of Andy just bluffing were pretty high... I haven't read the story, though; perhaps that has a different take on it, but in the movie, I think even Bogs suspects that Andy is bullshitting him. It's just that he'd rather not take the chance. (Also, at least in the film, I think the implication of the "I hear the bite reflex is so strong they have to pry the victim's jaws open with a crowbar" line is that Bogs'd be stuck with a dead guy's jaws locked around his terribly mutilated penis.) -- Captain Disdain (talk) 12:01, 24 April 2009 (UTC)

Drinking Cold Coffee

Suppose I was to make a pot of coffee at night and leave it overnight in the pot, will it be safe for drinking the next morning? Palatability aside, will the coffee still contain the same amount of caffeine content as a fresh pot of coffee and hence provide me with the same amount of stimulation? Acceptable (talk) 23:51, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

If the pot is covered overnight so no flies can land in it, or anything else contaminate it, I don't see any problem with drinking it. I also can't think of any way the coffee going cold would affect the caffeine - the human body can certainly absorb caffeine from cold drinks (coke, energy drinks, etc.). --Tango (talk) 23:58, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

I recall health warnings about reheating coffee - but Google search results are split about 50/50 between "It's OK" and "It's suicidal"...who knows? This seems somewhat scientific: http://www.ciboj.org/cib_new/certification/ENRD/WebReadyPowerPointshowsfromENRD/FoodSafety.pps (annoying bloody powerpoint). But this refers to re-heating - not to drinking it cold the following morning. SteveBaker (talk) 00:59, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

If the coffee was flavored with almond when you brewed it, you might wish to test for cyanide before drinking it in the morning. I have microwaved left-over coffee hours later and enjoyed it. Coffee left in a cup for a few days sometimes has mold on the surface, and I would strongly caution against drinking moldy coffee.Edison (talk) 05:59, 24 April 2009 (UTC)

There goes my plan to count moldy coffee as my daily vegetable. :-) StuRat (talk) 22:56, 25 April 2009 (UTC)

y = mx + b

Is there a reason that 'm' was chosen to represent the slope in this commonly used equation for a line? Nadando (talk) 23:54, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

This page discusses that question - the conclusion is basically that nobody knows! --Tango (talk) 00:00, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

Another, more involved discussion. Same conclusion. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 00:02, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

I was always taught "y = mx + c"...not "b"...but also, no reason was ever given. SteveBaker (talk) 00:41, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

"y = mx + c" was taught in my school too and teacher did not even discuss why m and c are used. I assumed it to be multiplication factor and constant. manya (talk) 03:34, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

It was "b" for me. At some point I was also taught, or perhaps came across, the version of the question where you use the X-intercept instead of the Y-intercept: x = y/m + a. Using a and b for the two intercepts seems natural enough, but of course this gives no insight into m. --Anonymous, 05:41 UTC, April 23,2009.

This reminds me. Professor: "Let us denote the surface area by S ...". Student, with indignation: "No, S is entropy!!!". Sad but true... At least half of the undergrads never realize that you can denote any quantity by any letter, and the physics will remain the same. --Dr Dima (talk) 05:31, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

I remember learning that some scientific field has an equation that has been promoted as E = m²c, just to be ornery. Of course the variables have totally different meaning than what goes into Einstein's version. Dragons flight (talk) 05:39, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

Einstein's original version wasn't E = mc² anyway. There are conflicting versions out there of exactly what he did first write: this forum posting quotes a book as saying it was L = MV² (which I've seen in print somewhere myself), while this magazine article says he said the change in mass was equal to L/c². Both versions have L for energy, not E. And no, I don't know why; "energy" starts with E in German too. --Anonymous, 06:13 UTC, April 23, 2009.

Odd. These days L usually denotes angular momentum in that context. --Tango (talk) 15:04, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

The original paper is in the public domain and can be found online, here for example. What he wrote is "Gibt ein Körper die Energie L in Form von Strahlung ab, so verkleinert sich seine Masse um L/V²". i.e. "If a body gives off the energy L in the form of radiation, its mass diminishes by L/V²" (translation courtesy fourmilab). He also uses E and H for energies elsewhere in the paper, so my best guess is that L stands for Licht. It's the energy of the light (but the mass is not the mass of the light, it's the mass of the body that emitted it). -- BenRG (talk) 22:48, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

I seem to remember reading that the area of a black hole's event horizon is a measure of entropy, so Student should chill. —Tamfang (talk) 06:44, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

As I recall, the entropy of a black hole is proportional to the surface area of its event horizon, yes. --Tango (talk) 18:52, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

That exchange reminds me of this one (from Littlewood's Miscellany):

Schoolmaster: "Suppose x is the number of sheep in the problem."

Pupil: "But, Sir, suppose x is not the number of sheep."

-- BenRG (talk) 22:48, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

That pupil, in a very polite way, is actually saying, "Baa? Humbug!" Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 22:54, 23 April 2009 (UTC)