Talk:P-38 can opener

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1 Overall Length as the source of the name?
2 Useful information?
3 "Harmless"
4 Offensive

[edit] Overall Length as the source of the name?

According to my micrometer, the P-38 measures 1.504" which equates to 38.2mm. While that somewhat works, the P-51 measures 2.054" or 52.2mm so the length as a naming convention doesn't really work, unless you consider sloppy numbers and a penchant for naming can openers after fighters. Between that, and the U.S. not much using metric units in WW-II makes the names being based on the lengths questionable.

Naturally, this proves nothing but I'm bored so I thought I'd throw some metrology into the mix.

Cheers! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.59.3.188 (talk) 02:52, 26 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Useful information?

some p-38 are labeled "mil j-0837" this seems like useful information to me but only some are stamped this way. It is shown on http://www.georgia-outfitters.com/page52.shtml so it is sourced.

[edit] "Harmless"

The last paragraph contain a POV issue: "Airport security personnel who are unfamiliar with this harmless device have been known to confiscate these can openers from these people because of the presence of the tiny sharpened surface." Is the P-38 can opener a "harmless device"? According to "Creative uses" section, the can opener can be used to gut a fish and as a box cutter. I hardly consider that to be harmless. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jumping cheese (talk • contribs) ^Right, cause terrorists are gonna take over a plane with a 1.5" stamped steel tool,right?

I carry a P-38 to this day, and a ball point pen is more dangerous then a P-38. And having flown many times, I have never had a screener look twice at it. 72.161.165.44 20:25, 22 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Offensive

It is also known widely in its derogative term, the "Fucking Ridiculous Eating Device".

Can an encyclopaedic article contain an offensive term like that? I think it should be censored, or the whole sentence removed. This sentence seems like POV, so I don't think it should exist on the encyclopaedia.--ADTC 09:46, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

I believe that the sentence conforms to Wikipedia's profanity guidelines and should be left in. --Jrash 15:43, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

While the FRED has mostly been phased out in New Zealand based on the current ration packs no longer containing tins, it is still well known, and an oft privately used term in the NZ military. I cannot comment on it's prevalence in Australia though. Liberator 02:44, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Other than the profanity issue (on which I agree with the above editors) -- no, that sentence is NPOV. It's unsourced, but assuming it's accurate, then "it is also known widely" is not biased, "derogative term" is not biased, and the term itself is accurate. See, for example, "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_words_for_Germans" - another list of "also known as" terms, including mention of the derogatory nature of some of them. Tofof 16:56, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

There's an example at http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=F.R.E.D, not sure if it's quite authoritative enough to be a source. That said, Due to the profane words, I'm not sure if we'll ever find an official source Liberator 09:50, 3 January 2007 (UTC)