Wikipedia:Reference desk archive/Miscellaneous/2006 September 16

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

< September 15 Miscellaneous desk archive September 17 >
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.
< August September October >


Contents

[edit] September 16

[edit] top viewed articles

Is there a list of the top most viewed articles on wikipedia?

I think this question was asked quite recently, but I don't remember the exact answer... 惑乱 分からん 00:14, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
WikiCharts ---Sluzzelin 00:44, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
Break! Break! Break!  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  13:55, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] most carbonated soft drink

Which soft drinks, out of the major North American Brands (coke, pepsi, sprite 7up, mountain dew, dr pepper, ginger ale,e tc...) is the most "fizzy"? Jamesino 00:30, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

I would think that would vary more by type of packaging and age than by brand. Newly packaged soft drinks in cans should be the most fizzy, with years old products in plastic bottles being completely flat. StuRat 00:44, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
Each soft drink has a set carbonation level. Here are a couple of examples: [1]. Rmhermen 05:24, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
I'm having trouble loading that link. As for me, I always felt that certain brands of root beer were significantly more "fizzy" than other pop drinks, I assume to give it more of the characteristic "root beer head".  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  13:53, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Cricket signatures

ĨI have a miniature Kookaburra cricket bat signed by various Australian cricketers headed by the names Paul Parker and Wayne Clarke. I was wondering if anyone could tell me which year these two played together and which match this might refer to. Unfortunately I cannot decypher all of the names and would like further information if possible. Many thanks to whoever!! A. Gillilan (email removed)

I can start you off by saying they both have wikipedia articles - Paul Parker (cricketer) and Wayne Clark; but neither played Tests or ODI's at the same time. Possibly a tour match in the late 70s or 80s where England or Australia played one of the state/county teams from the other country. I haven't been able to find any where both players played - but this is a full list of series where you might be able to find it. – AlbinoMonkey (Talk) 01:11, 17 September 2006 (UTC)
Hmm, this could be a tricky one. Paul Parker never toured Australia with an official England team, and neither did Wayne Clark ever tour England with an official Australia team. I'm sure Clark played some league cricket in England (probably in Lancashire) - but he would have been unlikely to encounter Parker, who was a pro with Sussex and wouldn't have played league cricket. I *think* Parker played some grade cricket in Australia, which Clark would also have done (in Australia, even test players occasionally play grade cricket). So a grade game in Perth (Clark's home city) is a possibility, or - perhaps more likely - some kind of charity game or benefit game in which both played. Few detailed records are kept of those sorts of games, since they are purely for fund raising purposes and often not played very seriously. It is not unusual for mementos such as miniature bats to be auctioned or raffled at games of this kind so it's entirely plausible, but it could be tricky to pin it down.AndyofKent 00:59, 23 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Brisket

I can not find brisket where I live. Are you aware of any other cut of beef that would produce the same results.

Leanne Chalmers

Ask your butcher. From what I recall brisket is a fairly cheap cut so there's probably plenty of cuts that would provide equivalent or better results. --Robert Merkel 01:15, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
Now that depends on where you live. Since corned beef is traditionally made out of brisket, it can be difficult to find and not that cheap. It's actually more expensive here (Alberta) than sirloin tip. --Charlene.fic 21:39, 20 September 2006 (UTC)
Is it the same as or similar to silverside?--Light current 01:22, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
Let's see. Brisket is a cut from the chest. Silverside is a cut from the hindquarter. Might not have the same texture. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 01:41, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
Yeah but its from the same altitude so should be as cheap--Light current 02:02, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
For most cooks, it is not primarily the price of an ingredient that determines whether it is a useful substitute for another. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 20:43, 18 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] caffeine

How come caffeine doesn't effect me? David A.

Do you drink a lot of coffee? I suppose you might develop a tolerance over time. Have you tried shooting the stuff? ;) --Kurt Shaped Box 01:46, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

For liability's sake, shooting caffeine is probably not a good idea. --AstoVidatu 01:53, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

Indeed. I am not an expert in anything that matters in the grand scheme of things and any advice given by the aforementioned party should not be taken in any way seriously. --Kurt Shaped Box 01:55, 16 September 2006 (UTC) Insertformulahere
You may be (a) a mutant, in which case watch out for Starbucks ninja assassins, or (b) an alien (probably from Remulak) and your parental units didn't bother to tell you. Clarityfiend 18:55, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
Perhaps you arn't using enough caffeine! Normally caffeine in beverages has little effect on me but 3 no-dose tablets and I will shake for 7 hours. (warning 3 no dose is eqivalent to 6 cups of coffee and according to the label quite dangerous) --Darkfred Talk to me 19:00, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
Almost forgot. I know nothing about anything whatsoever at any time. Any advice given is as-is and not subject to any liability, except in Wisconsin. Clarityfiend 19:02, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

I think you're asking the wrong question, David A. It assumes that caffeine could effect you, but we know that's not possible because you're already alive and, therefore, in effect. Now, if your parents had had coffee just before you were conceived, and it was the coffee that made them horny, it might be possible to say that coffee effected you. But if they were going to have sex anyway, then no credit could be attributed to the coffee. (I think I'll go and have a coffee now and see whether it affects my obviously diseased state of mind). JackofOz 05:02, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

Serious answer: Caffeine is subject to many of the restrictions that alcohol is, primarily body weight and metabolism type. Are you perhaps strong under the table as well? For me, caffeine doesn't seem to do much unless I'm actually trying to sleep, which it then prevents me from doing for hours, no matter how tired I am. One must assume that different people experience caffeine in slighly different ways, and I'm going to bet that you just have the type of body that doesn't succumb to caffeine's effects very easily.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  13:42, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Japan Automotive Trade Barriers

I have looked under the Japan-US relations area which states that barriers have dropped in the late 80's and 90's.

I would like to know the current trade barriers in Japan for North American vehicles. Any Tarriffs? Import Volume Restrictions? Import % restictions? Investment restrictions? (ie Could GM build a 100% owned plant in Japan?)

72.139.163.108 05:00, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

I can't find any specific information, but as far as I know, most of the existing trade barriers are imposed by the US on Japanese exports, i.e. the priority of the USians is to protect their domestic automobile industry. Similar barriers my still exist in Japan towards American exports, but while fairly popular recently, non-Japanese cars still don't compete very much with cheap, reliable Japanese cars, at least not in the low- and mid-range price sector.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  13:30, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] bulgaria

Are you sure that Bulgaria is not a state?

Thank you for pointing it out. It's fixed now.---Sluzzelin 06:58, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] actors missing

actor john Sutton(captain from castile) actor Phillip Reed (Last of the mohicans)

You lost them? Did you look under the sofa cushions ?
You mean Philip Reed [2] and John Sutton [3]? They are not missing, simply waiting for someone to write about them. Please feel free to click on their names and start their articles, you can use the sources i provide as a starting place. Rockpocket 18:31, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] poker bridge

Please find the rules of playing Poker Bridge, Thanks/Tawatchai P.

Please try looking for them!
Poker and Bridge, or are you talking about some weird new game combining the two? Clarityfiend 18:48, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] eat

my baby has just eaten the desiccant silica gel from out of a pair of trainers, i was wondering if it could harm him, he's 9 months old.Please e-mailme on e-mail address removed | J Ditalk 12:29, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

Wikipedia does not give medical advice. Please seek help from a medical professional. J Ditalk 12:29, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
See Silica_gel#Hazards. It would appear Silica in itself is harmless, but sometimes contain toxic dopiats. Call a doctor to be sure. 惑乱 分からん 13:24, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
In Belgium we have an anti-poison-center. You can call them (I think 24/7) for immediate (professional)advice. (something drinking something else can help). Does such a service exist in your country?Evilbu 14:26, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

Reminds me of a story I once heard. A woman calls the poison control center frantic because her son just ate an ant. ("I think that ant is eating away at him from the inside!"). After the person on the phone got her to calm down, he explained that there is nothing to worry about and while you shouldn't make a habbit of eating ants, it is perfectly digestable. "Oh good", the woman said, "but I made him drink a little ant poison just to be safe". Jon513 10:55, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

Ehhh, the skills of telling jokes largely depend on timing and finesse... @_@ 惑乱 分からん 12:58, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Are you Afraid of the Dark?

I'm trying to remember the name of a specific episode of this 1990s television show. It centered around a boy and a girl (one of them was new to the neighbourhood), I think the girl or her mother was deaf. One of them tries to help the other because they think they're dead only to find out they're dead themselves... I know it's not much. Can anyone help out? - Mgm|(talk) 14:04, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

Try http://www.tv.com/are-you-afraid-of-the-dark/show/744/episode_listings.html or http://epguides.com/AreYouAfraidoftheDark/ for a start, otherwise "Are you afraid of the dark" + "episode list" OR "episode guide" is pretty easily googled. 惑乱 分からん 15:20, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
  • Yes, but with all the ghost episodes it had, I don't feel much for checking all of them manually and possibly overlooking the one I'm looking for, that's why I'm asking if someone knows it. - Mgm|(talk) 18:49, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
    Looking at Are You Afraid of the Dark? (TV series), episode 3 was about a mute girl and a ghost, episode 50 was about a deaf girl and boy. Could either be the one you are looking for? On a tangent, that show was awesome. As I scrolled through the list I recognised many episodes even though I was younger than 7 through the original run. Hyenaste (tell) 23:32, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
I know for a fact that I've seen every single episode of that show, yet I cannot remember the plot of even one episode, or any of the characters names. Hell, I can't remember anything from when I was 7 years old : (.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  13:21, 17 September 2006 (UTC)
  • I'm positive it's not episode 50, but a mention of 3 online triggered my mind about it. Perhaps I'll have to look into that one... Yes. It was a great show... - Mgm|(talk) 21:21, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] tell me about the controvercies because of pepsi in india

I am preparing for the debate competition and I am participating in favour of pepsi 59.95.6.155 15:56, 16 September 2006 (UTC) (Address removed)

Do you mean in relation to the pesticide story, as reported in [4] and [5]? The claim seems to originate from the Centre for Science and Environment, see http://www.cseindia.org/. -- Rick Block (talk) 16:48, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
If it wasn't for the title, I would have thought he was participating in a Pepsi vs. Coke debate. How vague!  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  13:19, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] IP adddress

hey, my ip address is coming up dfferent today tham it has been since i've been using wikipedia. how is that even possible?

I had stuff on my ip address talk page before i got an account, and i wanted to see it so i made an edit and went to history to click on my ip as the source and get to the page, but it says it doesn;t exist, and then i found the actual ip page i was looking for and it was the ip address my computer had recently, but now it says its diferent, its weird.

Sometimes your ISP changes IP addresses when, for instance, you log in and out again. If you remember any edits you have made on any articles or discussion pages (and when) you should be able to find your IP again relatively easy, and then click your way back to your talk page. Otherwise, we would recommend you creating a username to prevent stuff like this from happening in the future and easier Wikipedia communication. 惑乱 分からん 16:12, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
Aaahh, I didn't notice you had a username already, sorry. In the future, please sign your posts on discussion pages with four tildes ( ~~~~ ). 惑乱 分からん 16:14, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

Sure, no problem. Thanks, and does this mean that sites may consider my computer a different one than they would have considered it a while ago? Temp

Hope the info helps. I think computer recognition is largely dependent on cookies. 惑乱 分からん 17:01, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
Sites often monitor incomming IP traffic for satistical reasons, but rarely to custimize the page for you, since, as we said above, it can often change. Some pages may change languages based on where they think your IP is comming from, but that wouldn't affect you (since both IP are from the same ISP). Jon513 10:50, 17 September 2006 (UTC)


If you delete your cookies, yes. --Proficient 03:58, 18 September 2006 (UTC)

There aren't enough possible combinations of IP addresses to give every network device in the world its own IP address. See DHCP and IPv4#Exhaustion --Froth 23:17, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] THE BEST QUESTION IN THE WORLD

Is there any sort of answer to 'what came first the chicken or the egg' I thought it would be the egg because you cant morph into something else, unless your michael jackson, and can only pass on the evolved DNA through your offspring.

thanks, --William dady 17:45, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

the egg, dinosaurs had eggs, before chickens had evolved, problem solved. Philc TECI 17:55, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

Evolution of animals preceded all animals that had eggs. Which came first, the Ova or the Sperm? Atom 18:06, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

Answering the spirit of the age old question which tacitly regards chicken eggs, the answer is the egg. At some point in the evolution of the chicken there was a times when some prior species was an "almost chicken;" a species that through gradual evolutionary change had become closer and closer to what we call a chicken. At some point that almost chicken was impregnated by an almost rooster and through an evolutionary change mechanism such as mutation, the zygote that was formed had a genetic makeup different enough from its parents that it was a chicken. That first chicken was hatched via an egg.--Fuhghettaboutit 18:10, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
Just out of curiosity: Couldn't the same point be made in favor of the chicken? The proto-hen you desribed laid an egg, so shouldn't we call it a 'proto-hen egg' rather than a chicken egg? What hatched from this egg was a chicken, but are eggs named for who laid them or who hatched from them? So which did come first?---Sluzzelin 02:42, 17 September 2006 (UTC)
That again ignores the spirit of the question in favor of a purely semantic "gotcha".--Fuhghettaboutit 03:24, 18 September 2006 (UTC)
You can't exactly apply limit theory to the evolution model- that protochicken might be less different from "today's average chicken" than one modern chicken to another... --Froth 23:21, 20 September 2006 (UTC)
See The chicken or the egg. Dismas|(talk) 18:36, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

The Bible states that the chicken came first becuase God created all animals [first]. Then, they laid eggs. Iolakana•T 18:46, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

Errr ... yes, so it all comes down to whether you put your faith in the Bible (which doesn't mention chickens until you get to Matt 23:37, but mentions eggs at Deut 22:6) or in Wikipedia.--Shantavira 19:04, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
And who came first, Matt or Dude? (That could very easily be misinterpreted, but then if it couldn't I wouldn't have bothered to say it, so if you look at it that way it wouldn't be a misinterpretation and now I'm stuck ... ) DirkvdM 19:50, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
The bird that laid the first egg that would become a chicken, was not a chicken.(similar but different) See mutation
The best question in the world: "Would you like the check for your Nobel Prize in krona or dollars?" Clarityfiend 06:00, 17 September 2006 (UTC)
Which would have the best conversion rate to euros? DirkvdM 09:47, 17 September 2006 (UTC)
Hold on, that was a trick question. Alfred Nobel was Swedish (where they have the krona), but the nobel prize is Norwegian and the Norwegian coin is the krone. DirkvdM 09:53, 17 September 2006 (UTC)
The prize is currently 10 million Swedish kronor, not surprising since most of the awards (except the Peace Prize) are given by Swedish institutions. Clarityfiend 18:57, 18 September 2006 (UTC)
Anyway, you could always also argue that the question doesn't suitly emphazi which egg and which chicken. I have never been amused by this question.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  13:35, 17 September 2006 (UTC)
It seems to be a type of paradoxical-dichotomy-question (I think) where you can word a question so that it infers one of two alternatives must be the case, but each is evidently wrong, like 'free will vs determinism'. Rentwa 20:14, 17 September 2006 (UTC)
Or moral relativism vs moral absolutism. But that's not the case here. Like Freshofftheufo says, if the question doesn't specify which egg or chicken then it can be any egg or chicken. Including a non-chicken egg (or vice versa, but that's irrelevant here), and eggs existed before chickens did, so problem solved. DirkvdM 06:11, 18 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] James Woods, 9/11

From James Woods:

"other airplanes were discovered at Boston’s Logan Airport with box cutters taped under their seats, a possible indicator that other flights were intended as part of the hijackers’ plans that went unused only because they were grounded following the attacks on the World Trade Center."

Is this true or some conspiracy theory?

Was it referenced? Durova 01:20, 17 September 2006 (UTC)
obviously not, less than 1% of wikipedia is referenced (citation required). In fact, try going to a major article that has guardians and putting in references. Try it, reference edit-wars are fun. 68.20.23.140 15:30, 17 September 2006 (UTC)
This is indicated in the article as Woods's claims, but it's totally unsourced. I've added an {{unsourced}} tag to the section, but it seems rather large for the article on the actor's entire life. User:Zoe|(talk) 03:31, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Billet wheels

Hello, First I would like to thank you for creating this informative site. Great job!

A friend of mine is looking for tech support on how to create custom billet wheels for motorcycles. You have nothing about forming billet wheels. You have direction on spoke motorcycle wheels/spoke bike wheels but nothing on where to find direction on how to create/cut/form/forge solid billet wheels from scratch. We would like to know of anything regarding the creation of billet wheels for custom motorcycles (tools and machinery needed, techiques, facts and figures) not where to buy them as there are plenty listed all over the world.

My friend does have a CNC Machine however has never cut a Billet wheel and is simply looking for information on the how and where to aquire such.

Thanks so much we appreciate any and all information regarding the custom creation of Billet Wheels.

Live superbly!


You're going to need a CNC machine, and an operator able to program it, for starters. Note that typical CNC machines hold the part still, and move the cutting tool around to cut the shape of the part. I've been told that at least one famous custom chopper builder has had his own CNC machine built that is able to rotate the part while the cutter is held still, in order to better shape a circular part. Good luck! --192.168.1.1 16:02, 16 September 2006 (PST)
Or you could get a billet, a big drill, a hacksaw and a file!--Light current 23:06, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
It should be noted that Wikipedia is not a how-to guide, so any information about how to create things in articles is coincidental, perhaps even detrimental. Carry on. --Maxamegalon2000 01:36, 17 September 2006 (UTC)
Mediawiki hasn't started a HowToWiki proposal yet? I'd be surprised. Other, ad-supported HowToWikis do exists.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  13:09, 17 September 2006 (UTC)
What was that other site called? Wikiguide? Wiki-howto? 惑乱 分からん 13:15, 17 September 2006 (UTC)
The one I found through google is called Wikihow, and seems to have all the basics covered, but I'd much prefer a site built with the principles of wikifoundation, if you know what I mean. Haha, it seems to have gone "down" all of a sudden. Maybe too many people (primarily me) were trying to search for articles.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  13:34, 17 September 2006 (UTC)
Although I was thinking about Wikibooks, sorry... 惑乱 分からん 14:22, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Are these leather shoes?

These are recently purchased Nike Air Force 1's. 119$ canadian. Here is the link to the photos I took of them:Photo 1 Photo 2.

Are these shoes leather or are they those cheap fake leather material? Jamesino 21:19, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

Do they smell like leather?--Light current 21:22, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
Not sure, I sprayed it with shoe protectors so the smell of the shoe is already masked. There are no marking indicating whether or not they're leather and the sales people did not know. Jamesino 21:39, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
Do they feel like leather?--Light current 23:07, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
I see where you are going with this, Light!
Do they taste like leather? Hyenaste (tell) 23:20, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
Is there some type of test or even chemical tests that I can perform on them to determine whether or not they're constructed of leather? Jamesino 23:26, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
One simple test involves grabbing the material near the seam and tugging it firmly (don't go over the top though). If it stretches and feels elastic, it's most likely pleather. If it doesn't stretch (or tears) it's probably leather, but you can't ever be too sure.---Sluzzelin 23:41, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
In the US there would be a symbol, which looks like a stretched cowskin, and says GENUINE LEATHER inside. If it lacks this symbol, it's not real leather. StuRat 00:20, 17 September 2006 (UTC)
No actually, I wasnt going to say 'do they sound/taste like leather'! I was going to say that if you look at the pics on a very high mag you can see the rough edges of the material. This certainly looks like leather to me. Also, I see they are made in China. I dont think China has the technology to stoop to our standards of crap yet. 8-)--Light current 00:52, 17 September 2006 (UTC)
Yes, it's probably made from the skin of Tiananmen Square victims, does that count as real leather ? :-) StuRat 11:06, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

According to Air Force 1, Nike recently switched to a synthetic leather upper...' You say you bought them recently, so they probably aren't leather. Hyenaste (tell) 01:42, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

But again, the box says they are the '03 model. 64.230.79.163 15:40, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Bapes

What the deal with Bape shoes? Why are they exclusive and expensive? Jamesino 23:34, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

See conspicuous consumption and positional goods.---Sluzzelin 23:45, 16 September 2006 (UTC)