Wikipedia:Reference desk archive/Miscellaneous/2006 July 22

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Humanities Science Mathematics Computing/IT Language Miscellaneous 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 at one of the pages linked to above.

< July 21 Miscellaneous desk archive July 23 >

Contents 1 1967 ny mets 2 Broadway tix 3 Flying out 4 Captain going down with the ship 5 Decay Teeth 6 How is irrigation done in 3rd World Countries? 7 free sample 8 Sensible World of Soccer 9 'a' for 'apple' .... 10 History of the (wedding) garter 11 furniture-where is is from 12 Drinking and gambling age in Holland (Netherland) 13 Hunchback Actors 14 SC replays 15 An Albino koala 16 Streamers on fans 17 Great apes vs. Humans

[edit] 1967 ny mets

to whom it may concern I am looking for the 1967 ny met short outfielder that reached 40th on the rbi list. Please help--66.24.45.116 02:51, 22 July 2006 (UTC)nichole swick

Do you mean 40th on the all-time RBI list for a season or for their career? Here are the stats for the 1967 Mets, Tommy Davis is #34 on the Single-Season RBI list (for 1962). what do you want?--droptone 04:54, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Broadway tix

Are there usually any tickets to a broadway show (any show...) for less than $40?

Perhaps. Usually the more prominent broadway shows are expensive, but I am sure that one less than 40 dollars for the lesser seats exist. --Proficient 09:53, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

There's are TKTS kiosks at Duffy Square (47th Street between Broadway and 7th Avenue) and at the South Street Seaport, which sell tickets for half price on the day of the show, if you want to chance waiting that late. - http://www.nyctourist.com/broadway_tkts.asp

A notable exception to the prominent shows are expensive rule is Rent. Before each performance, seats in the first two rows are sold for $20 each by lottery to people who sign up an hour or two before showtime. Rent creator Jonathan Larson didn't want people with the same tight finances as he had, people who had helped make it a success off Broadway being shut out from seeing the show because of Broadway's normal demand pricing model. SiteforRent.com has details about both the Broadway & touring performances, as well as the ticket lottery. --Ssbohio 03:02, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Flying out

I recently purchased a round trip flight from baltimore. According to my receipt it says you have to check in to choose your seats. I always thought you could choose online. I will use frontier for this trip. Can i choose online or do i have to go to the airport. Any help would be benificiary.

if you picked an airline like US Airways or United you can usually choose online but for some airlines (notably Southwest) it's first come first serve. It seems that with other airlines you have to check in at the gate to get seats.

[edit] Captain going down with the ship

Is this apocryphal? How strictly was this rule adhered to in history? Adambrowne666 07:26, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

A quick googling of Captain going down with the ship finds e.g. [1]. Weregerbil 07:54, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

Thanks, sorry, must have used the wrong search term Adambrowne666 12:49, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

It probably comes from the tradition that the captain is the last man off the ship. --Serie 23:10, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

A corollary to that is the tradition that members of the crew may not begin evacuating until all passengers are safely away. This is closely tied to the tradition of women and children first spoken of by Rudyard Kipling in his poem Birkenhead Drill, about the sinking of the HMS Birkenhead. The Captain (or Master) of a ship is not only responsible for seeing that all passengers are safely away, but also for making sure all crewmembers are similarly accommodated, before turning his attention to saving him or herself. --Ssbohio 03:52, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Also, in the British Navy at least, a Captain would have to face a court martial for losing his ship, and some may have chosen to remain rather than go through that, especially if they had reason to think they might be caught out on some point of behaviour. Some Captains did also form strong 'relationships' with their ships, and may have literally not wanted to leave them. I don;t think it was a widespread practice by any means however. Worm 13:36, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Decay Teeth

Can tooth paste clean off decay and stained teeth?

Usually it only prevents it, I believe. --Proficient 09:54, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

However you can buy tooth polish in the form of toothpaste, like Pearl Drops, which I use. Iolakana|^T 11:32, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

Some types of toothpaste are tooth whiteners but for decay you will have to face the drill (or laser nowadays.) Rmhermen 15:50, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

Baking soda also works quite well for whitening teeth.--Anchoress 06:07, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] How is irrigation done in 3rd World Countries?

How is it done?--203.124.2.17 10:44, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

Does irrigation and its See Also & External Links help? What specific additional information do you need? Weregerbil 14:36, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] free sample

how do i ship free sample for Turkey without european councils membership?

Certaion sample of what? Certain countries' customs information restrict certain amounts of certain things. Iolakana|^T 11:33, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Sensible World of Soccer

In one particular version of the videogame "Sensible World of Soccer" on the Amiga (circa 1996) the Brazilian team 'Vasco da Gama' had two outstanding players. One of them was called Clovis but does anyone know what the other was called? It's a long shot, I know, but someone must be up to the challenge.--Ukdan999 11:53, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

If the game has real layers, maybe Juninho Pernambucano. Philc _T^E_C^I 17:46, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] 'a' for 'apple' ....

For distant communications people say "apple" for "a", boy for "b" etc. A more formal way is "alpha" for "a", "bravo" for "b", etc. Can someone finish the complete series for the whole alphabet? Many thanks for your assistance.

YT--Doctrkan 14:02, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

NATO phonetic alphabet? Henry^Flower 14:04, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

This site has a much more complete list of historic and modern ones including ones starting Alfa, Apple, Adam, Able, Amsterdam, America, etc. They vary widely by time and user. Rmhermen 15:48, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

NATO phonetic alphabet. This is the only one in use by air traffic, police, and other radio communications in North America and some other parts of the world.

This statement is not true. Rmhermen 01:28, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] History of the (wedding) garter

Can anyone tell me the history of the American wedding tradition of tossing the garter? The Wikipedia article doesn't seem to help much. I asked this question on "Humanities", and got no response, so I figured I'd try here. The Jade Knight 17:00, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

Well this describes the custom. Also honi soit qui mal y pense is probably unrelated but an interesting legend. MeltBanana 20:48, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

Thanks. The Jade Knight 06:30, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] furniture-where is is from

I recently purchased a used/possibly antique small side table with a single drawer. It's modern in design, with all dovetailed joints, straight edges. I am trying to find the manufacturer or furniture maker to establish the age of the piece. There is a small label on the underside of the table. It reads: Jordan & Cook, Ltd. The Worthing Pantechnicon. I looked up the lovely word pantechnicon and found that it refers to furniture transportation. Jordan & Cook Ltd. appears to be an estate company in Britain...is it possible if anyone knows if The Worthing Pantechnicon is still in business? Or when it went out of business? fossmeg

Are you sure 'The Worthing Pantechnicon' is a different company? If it's one sticker, it's probably one company. I noticed from their website that Jordan & Cook Ltd has been in business for 120 years; is it possible they might have been responsible for estate sales etc, or the transportation of materials to beneficiaries etc? Even though now they seem like simple realtors, I'd suggest contacting them first.--Anchoress 23:41, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

It'ds also worth mentioning that Jordan & Cook have offices in Worthing, West Sussex. Grutness...wha? 02:29, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Drinking and gambling age in Holland (Netherland)

Hello, I was wandering what the drinking age and the gambling age in holland is. And also is it the same in the Amsterdam Airport? Thankyou --(Aytakin) | Talk 18:02, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

For your drinking question, legal drinking age may be of use. Benbread 20:17, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

16 for beer and wine, 18 for hard liquor. Rules at airport are same as elsewhere. -- Mwalcoff 02:13, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

Which doesn't mean it is enforced. I'm Dutch and I've never heard of a Dutch youth being fined for drinking alcohol under 16, even though it is done all the time. DirkvdM 05:43, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

• True, but if you are found to be drunk in public when you are legally not allowed to drink, you can bet on a fine an don't forget that stores aren't allowed to sell alcohol to people that cannot show proper ID (with the correct age). - Mgm|^(talk) 10:35, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

I don't know if this has changed, but as a kid (in the 70's) I ordered beer at bars from the age of 14 or so. DirkvdM 18:54, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Hunchback Actors

Does anyone know any hunchback actor?

Well, there was Marty Feldman in Young Frankenstein, but his hump kept on shifting ... DirkvdM 05:45, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

Charles Laughton played Quasimodo in the 1939 movie "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and Lon Chaney, Sr. played the same role in the 1932 silent movie version of the same name. --Yellow rosez 03:18, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] SC replays

I've downloaded 2 replays to "StarCraft: Brood War" but they are not shown in Maps although I copied both to this directory. What's going on? Thanks. --Brand спойт 20:05, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

Ensure you have copied them to the Replays directory inside Maps. I'm not sure, but maybe that's it. Also, be careful if the filename is too long, if it is StarCraft won't be able to play it. GTubio 22:29, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] An Albino koala

Hi everyone, I found this picture on the internet

Image:Koala---Albino.jpg.

This question is silly, but is this really an albino koala? I mean, when an albino animal is born, it is evidenced, like the penguin Snowdrop, R.I.P.--Captain ginyu 21:01, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

Did you try a google search? The first thing that comes up when you search for "albino koala" is this link. --Robert Merkel 00:00, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

Yes, that would be it, I haven't thought to google it, I don't know why. Thank you!--Captain ginyu 00:35, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Streamers on fans

Occasionally I'll see a movie or a sitcom, and in the background, there will be a running fan on a desk or something. Streamers (thin, foil strips, like tinsel) will be tied to the grating on the front of the fan. The air flow will cause the streamers to stick out rather than hang limply (when the fan is off). Is there any particular reason for this? Decoration? --Silvaran 23:20, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

I've often seen this in stores that are selling fans in order to get the customer's attention. I have no idea why it would be done in a movie or sitcom. Dismas|^(talk) 01:32, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

I've seen them. I always assumed that it was just so that you could see if the fan was switched on from the other side of a largeish room. --Kurt Shaped Box 01:35, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

• when the fan is running the blades are invisible so if you see the streamers flying the fan is on so don't poke your fingers in there!-hotclaws**==(81.134.68.10 08:40, 23 July 2006 (UTC))

Why would you stick your fingers into a fan anyway?! Also, your senses of hearing and touch should be able to tell you that there is a motor running and making the air move. Dismas|^(talk) 10:01, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

The answer is simple, the streamers are just for fun. Moving objects are more interesting to look at than (apparently) stationary objects. It also tells you the fan is working (I've got one that doesn't make any noise at all) - Adrian Pingstone 15:06, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Great apes vs. Humans

Dear Wikipedia, What are the anatomical differences between great apes and humans? Thanks, Joshua Clark

Look at our articles on each of the great apes: chimpanzee, gorilla, and orangutan, and some of the external links from those articles. Your textbook might conceivably be useful too. Feel free to come back here if you have more specific questions.-gadfium 00:21, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

Those articles will tell you the anatomical differences between other great apes and ourselves, won't they? Just a thought. Skittle 20:42, 23 July 2006 (UTC)