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April 24

NorCal or SoCal?

Question: Are any of these cities NorCal or SoCal?

• San Jose
• Morgan Hill
• Aptos
• Redwood City
• Crescent City
• Watsonville

Follow-up question: Where/what divides California into two? TWOrantula^TM (enter the web) 04:44, 24 April 2024 (UTC)

See SoCal and NorCal. 41.23.55.195 (talk) 06:27, 24 April 2024 (UTC)

Few people seem to be able to agree on where the dividing line between Northern and Southern California lies, or if it exists at all.

From Does this curious spot mark the dividing line between Northern and Southern California? Alansplodge (talk) 11:04, 24 April 2024 (UTC)

What about East California? DuncanHill (talk) 18:25, 24 April 2024 (UTC)

The coastal elites have a one-dimensional view of California, in the sense that they really only consider moving along one axis, which is called North/South but is really more Northwest/Southeast. That said, there is indeed an Eastern California, and it's lovely, particularly along Highway 395. --Trovatore (talk) 20:10, 24 April 2024 (UTC)

In reality, there's no such thing as "coastal elites". The term was, ironically enough, invented by conservative elites to divide and conquer voting districts. Although the term has been around for a while and has a long political history, Rush Limbaugh was primarily responsible for popularizing the term to the public. And as with most things traced to Limbaugh, it is mostly fictional. Viriditas (talk) 02:42, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

While I think you and I have sharply different politics, still, in this case I was using the term a bit tongue-in-cheek. --Trovatore (talk) 22:00, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

I knew you were. Just wanted to point out the obvious. I can still hear Limbaugh's booming voice yelling about "coastal elites" into his EIB microphone, circa 1993. Viriditas (talk) 22:17, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

As a direct response, I would consider all of those cities to be NorCal, with the possible exception of Watsonville, which is arguably Central Coast. --Trovatore (talk) 20:11, 24 April 2024 (UTC)

I agree with this. Accepting that the boundary between Northern California and Southern California is fuzzy, there is no possible definition that would put any of the first five in Southern California. Crescent City is only 20 miles south of the California-Oregon border, so is definitely NorCal. San Jose and Redwood City are part of the San Francisco Bay Area, which is also definitely NorCal. Depending on your definition, Morgan Hill is also part of the Bay Area or very close to it. Watsonville is the only one that is arguable, but if I had to choose between NorCal and SoCal, I'd call it NorCal. CodeTalker (talk) 18:07, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

I have lived in Northern California for 52 years and readily agree that there is no clear boundary line between Northern California and Southern California. But Watsonville is in Santa Cruz County, universally considered to be part of Northern California. Watsonville is only 55 miles from San Jose, the biggest city in Northern California. Cullen328 (talk) 18:29, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

If Herb Caen was still around, he would have a snappy answer for this conundrum. For me personally, you know you're over the Northern border and into central territory when you start seeing the "I miss Reagan" and "Hunting is not a crime" stickers on pickup trucks. Viriditas (talk) 20:16, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

Let's put it this way — if you insist on dividing the whole state into Northern and Southern with no Central, then sure, Watsonville is Northern, no doubt. But if you include the Central Coast and Central Valley as separate regions, then I think Watsonville is Central Coast, whereas Santa Cruz might still be Northern. --Trovatore (talk) 21:54, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

I used to get all my strawberries from Watsonville, and at one time, I think all of the commercial strawberries in NoCal were from Watsonville (that changed a long time ago, most are from Mexico now, thanks NAFTA). I personally always thought of Monterey Bay as the border of the central coast, with Watsonville having its roots in the northern part of the state for various historical reasons. Viriditas (talk) 22:25, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

It's a close call. On reflection I think I agree. If I wanted to cut out a "Central California" that conflated the coast with the Central Valley, I'd probably draw its northern border from Monterey to Mammoth Lakes, and its southern border from, oh I don't know, Santa Maria to Ridgecrest or something.

If I'm forced into a two-region model, I'd draw a line from San Luis Obispo to, maybe, Bishop. --Trovatore (talk) 00:05, 27 April 2024 (UTC)

April 26

Competitive gardening

I am reading here and there about a tradition of competitive gardening in Britain, but I suspect it traces farther back to other countries. We have no article on competitive gardening so there's nothing for me to refer back to on Wikipedia. My question is this: how did this "sport" arise, and why were (or are) the British so keen on it? Viriditas (talk) 02:45, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

See The Big Allotment Challenge and [1].2A00:23C5:E12F:5300:686F:8285:5E66:FB1B (talk) 11:26, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

Also Britain in Bloom, which I see was based on the French Concours des villes et villages fleuris, so the UK has competition in that area, so to speak. There are also horticultural aspects of the County show, as well as more local shows and festivals in towns and villages. The Chelsea Flower Show (referenced in the previous answer) is the pinnacle of quite a large pyramid. -- Verbarson  ^talk_edits 12:52, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

And for the 'Formula One' of competitive gardening, you might consider Chatsworth House § Park and landscape, and its peers (pun intended). -- Verbarson  ^talk_edits 12:56, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

Thanks. Viriditas (talk) 19:43, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

Note, if anyone is interested in this topic, I have been referred to Roderick Floud, the author of An Economic History of the English Garden (2019). Viriditas (talk) 19:27, 2 May 2024 (UTC)

(Lack of) mustard for New Yorkers?

Per our article on McDonald's stuff, how come their hamburger, cheeseburger +varients, and ¼pounder are al served without mustard, as the article tells us three or four times, 'in all or a large portion of the New York City region'? ——Serial Number 54129 13:08, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

Every article I found chalked it up to customer preference from customer surveys in the 70s. 75.136.148.8 (talk) 15:06, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

This is one of those absurd takes that I will never, ever get. The taste preferences, demographics, and food choices of the New York metropolitan area have changed drastically in the last 50 years. If you were to take someone, let's say in their mid-20s, put them in a time machine, and take them back to 1970s New York and tell them to spend a day trying food all over town, virtually none of their current, 2024-taste preferences would share anything remotely similar with the 1970s. Even the pizza would taste different. Food science, additives, tastes, flavor profiles, and choices have changed so much over the intervening years, that it would be like visiting a different country. There's also the fact that while there were exceptions, food choices were extremely limited up until that point. I remember walking around the city at that time, and your choices basically amounted to steak dinner, Chinese (which bears very little resemblance to west coast Asian cuisine today), Italian, Greek, American (burgers, hot dogs, deli), and well, that was about it. Viriditas (talk) 20:06, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

Chacun a youse gout. Clarityfiend (talk) 13:20, 28 April 2024 (UTC)

April 28

Anglo American Plc Shareholding

On your website, Wikipedia, it states that Anglo American Plc is owned by Vedanta Resources with 20% of the shares. Have the Oppenheimer's relinquished control of Anglo American? 197.90.65.132 (talk) 14:53, 28 April 2024 (UTC)

What is Anglo American Plc? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 15:03, 28 April 2024 (UTC)

According to Wikipedia it is "a British multinational mining company with headquarters in London, England. It is the world's largest producer of platinum, with around 40% of world output, as well as being a major producer of diamonds, copper, nickel, iron ore, polyhalite and steelmaking coal. The company has operations in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America. Anglo American has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. The company has a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. In the 2020 Forbes Global 2000, Anglo American was ranked as the 274th largest public company in the world". It is very famous. DuncanHill (talk) 15:06, 28 April 2024 (UTC)

Anyway, It looks like they were down to under 2% of Anglo in 2010. DuncanHill (talk) 15:22, 28 April 2024 (UTC)

April 29

is there a list of seamounts of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge?

I can't find one. 115.188.127.196 (talk) 115.188.127.196 (talk) 05:05, 29 April 2024 (UTC)

We have Category:Seamounts of the Atlantic Ocean but presumably they are not all on the MAR. Shantavira|^{feed me} 08:01, 29 April 2024 (UTC)

May 1

Do the IBM Watson videos with the different robots still exist, or are they gone?

Over a decade ago, I once saw some videos that featured several fictional robots that were each interested in doing something that Watson could already do. In each video, one of the robots was interviewed. For example, one video showed a robot talking about how it wants to help improve air quality in Beijing, to which the interviewer responds that Beijing's smog problem is "a bit more complicated than that". In another video, another robot talks about how "Back in my day, vacuum tubes were" and I forget the rest of what it said, but I hope you get the idea. – MrPersonHumanGuy (talk) 15:36, 1 May 2024 (UTC)

May 2

What is the most notable Chinese knockoff of Lucky Charms?

OP has been indef'd
The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.
I mean specifically something that originated from China which is very similar to Lucky Charms, and is as of 2024 not illegal to trade in China. Oh and if that cereal has a wikipedia article on the English wikipedia I would appreciate it if you link it to me so I can read about it. Thank you. Blaze The Movie Fan (talk) 19:01, 2 May 2024 (UTC) Courtesy link: Lucky Charms —Tamfang (talk) 23:53, 2 May 2024 (UTC) This is an odd question because China is not known for cereal or for a culture of eating cereal. Do you mean a different Asian country perhaps? Viriditas (talk) 23:57, 2 May 2024 (UTC) No I mean China specifically. Blaze The Movie Fan (talk) 01:20, 3 May 2024 (UTC) I'm trying to picture a Chinese leprechaun. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 05:29, 3 May 2024 (UTC) The reactionary running dogs are after me Lucky Charms! They're communistically delicious. Clarityfiend (talk) 09:06, 3 May 2024 (UTC) They have the Mandate of Heaven! —Tamfang (talk) 17:12, 7 May 2024 (UTC) Look I don't mean to be a dick but I want serious legit answers, not jokes. Unless these are serious answers of actual products in China, and if so can someone link me to a WP article talking about either a specific cereal or cereals in general? Blaze The Movie Fan (talk) 20:19, 4 May 2024 (UTC) This website contains a listing of almost every known marshmallow cereal, so that should keep you busy for a while. I couldn't find anything in China, but I did find something within the same style in Korea made by Post (they are a version of "Mega Stuf Oreo O's"). Japan (and Norway and Austria) banned Lucky Charms due to its use of additives, and for several reasons, it doesn't look like the Chinese market is fond of cold breakfast cereals with marshmallows. However, and I think this is where you will find it if it exists, PepsiCo Quaker Oats Company has the majority (<20%) cold cereal market share in China, and they do manufacture several different Lucky Charm-like cereals. But, I could find no evidence that Quaker sells them in China. Given the Japanese ban and the closest knockoff being found only in Korea, it doesn't look good. Keep in mind, you could conceivably make your own cereal using oats and dried marshmallows. In fact, I think this is entirely reasonable. Foshan City Nanhai District Songgang Suifa Food Co., Ltd. makes similar dried marshmallow in bulk and will ship anywhere in China. If you cut them in half and add them to any cold oat cereal, it will probably taste the same as Lucky Charms. If you read the first link in this comment, this was how marshmallow cereal was invented, so you can just duplicate it yourself. "According to cereal mascot expert Topher Ellis, the very first marbit (marshmallow bits cereal) was developed in 1963 by a General Mills Vice President named John Holahan. Holahan got the idea after he chopped up some marshmallow Circus Peanuts and stirred them into a bowl of Cheerios. The first cereal to contain marbits was Lucky Charms." So just get yourself some Cheerios or Cheerios-like cereal (some versions of Cheerios-like cereals are imported from Thailand to China) and add chopped up marshmallow. Problem solved. Viriditas (talk) 20:52, 4 May 2024 (UTC)

What is the term for conscious awareness of the body?

I'm asking this question because I keep reading and hearing about this topic, yet I've never once seen anyone describe it with an appropriate clinical name, although I'm sure one exists, and I would be curious if we have an article about it here on Wikipedia. To backup a bit with an example of what I'm talking about, I was just reading about the untimely death of film editor Sally Menke in 2010. She unknowingly decided to go hiking on the warmest day of the year in September, in Los Angeles, and sadly died from complications related to hyperthermia. She had a hiking buddy at the time who realized that the weather was too warm and turned back, but Menke decided to keep going, which is thought to have led to her death.

I bring this up as an example because it's apparently quite common, in the sense that you have two people in the same environment, one who doesn't seem to be aware of the interaction between the outside climatic conditions and their body, and the existential risk this poses, and yet another person, who recognizes the risk and makes adjustments and changes to mitigate the problem and improve one's health. In this respect, I recently heard an interview with someone who survived a close brush with death, and they told the interviewer a variation on this theme that changed their perspective, and I paraphrase: "I finally became cognizant of the relationship between my mind and body." In other words, they were forced to change the way they understood their relationship with the world, as not just a mind in a body, but the synthesis of the two, allowing them to function better in the world.

My understanding is that many people have this disconnect between their minds and bodies, whether it is being aware of the dangers of hiking in high temperatures, swimming in the ocean during rough conditions, or simply not wearing sunscreen on a sunny day. One of the more common examples is someone who has a very intellectually-demanding career that eats poorly, or drinks and smokes to the point of harming themselves. What is this conscious awareness called, one that tells people "hey, don't do x, because it could harm you", that some people simply don't have or don't develop until much later? Viriditas (talk) 20:03, 2 May 2024 (UTC)

I think a mindset of personal Exceptionalism can be in play. I sometimes detect this in myself in less-than-life-threatening circumstances – "Hey, this situation does X to most people, but I can probably get away with it this once."

Another factor may be that some people are just not good at interpreting internal physical sensations and relating them to their own well- (or ill-) being.

There may be established terms for these factors. Anyone? {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 188.220.144.58 (talk) 05:27, 3 May 2024 (UTC)

Another factor may be that some people are just not good at interpreting internal physical sensations and relating them to their own well- (or ill-) being.

Yes! That’s exactly what I’m getting at. Viriditas (talk) 06:33, 3 May 2024 (UTC)

Eating poorly, drinking, and smoking give people direct, almost immediate pleasure, so they experience positive internal physical sensations. Donuts do taste good, even while they're killing you. There is (a kind of) logic in doing those things. Can't really say the same thing for continuing hiking in what must have been unpleasant conditions. I'm not sure that eating poorly, drinking, and smoking are good analogies. And no, I don't have a name for that behaviour. Sorry. HiLo48 (talk) 07:43, 3 May 2024 (UTC)

Some health-impairing conditions, including hyperthermia, may cloud one's judgement. Someone in a sound mind may furthermore not be fully aware of the gravity of the situation because they do not know or do not recognize the risks.  --Lambiam 14:31, 3 May 2024 (UTC)

"hey, don't do x, because it could harm you" is often called situation awareness. Modocc (talk) 16:50, 3 May 2024 (UTC)

The definition given in our article Situation awareness is in a sense more general, but is about knowledge. While important for effective decision making, the objective of the decisions need not be the avoidance of harm to oneself.  --Lambiam 20:17, 3 May 2024 (UTC)

Of course and per the article there are plenty of examples of the term being used regarding rational objectives like combat and survival situations. YMMV. Modocc (talk) 21:14, 3 May 2024 (UTC)

I can see some overlap, but one major difference I see is that SA is often used in the context of achieving conflict supremacy over the enemy. I think what I'm talking about is much more personal and in terms of the survival of the individual. Although HiLo48 says I'm having a bad analogy day, I've seen this kind of thing also play out when I talk to people about climate change, specifically people who are on the far right. For example, it is well established that the regions in the US that are most at risk for sea level rise have the highest number of climate deniers (Galveston, Grande Isle, Mobile, Myrtle Beach, Savannah, Daytona Beach, Miami). I would assume that given the threat, these areas would have the lowest number of climate deniers, but it appears that they are more engaged in denying reality than in accepting and mitigating it. I'm sure HiLo48 is pulling his hair out over this tortured analogy (rightfully so), but I see something similar with people who go hiking in 113°F (45°C) weather, decide to swim in an ocean during a hurricane, or don't wear sunscreen on the summer solstice. My question is given two people, why does one person accept the reality while another denies it? Viriditas (talk) 21:25, 3 May 2024 (UTC)

Pulling one's hair out may also be a sign of a mind–body disconnect.  --Lambiam 10:47, 4 May 2024 (UTC)}

If a medal, on both sides will be able to be read as > Chain of Fools! (per Conformity but heat is not in itself a symptom for when Sally Menke's buddy decided returning ) My first thought was we would have to be looking for a derivate of wikt:quale ( with the first quotation there, so nice ) following Self-Awareness possibly a Social construct. Wiktionary, however is also giving access to sensitivity. Sensibility? --Askedonty (talk) 17:51, 3 May 2024 (UTC)

I think you're on to something. I myself have been accused of being an HSP, to often extreme levels. I will pursue this line of inquiry. Viriditas (talk) 22:10, 3 May 2024 (UTC)

I have been called similar to that, true. I think it was merely coincidental or I prefer to think about it this way. But how do you wonder the why one person agrees and the other doesn't? If they are interacting, they need to singularize most often don't they? The one who knows is the cause for the other keeping on trying the other way. Remove one, the second will be looking for an other potential challenger, well kept fresh in the back of his/her mind. Sometimes that last might not exist - it would reveal itself to be only an ugly name, death, maybe, deception. --Askedonty (talk) 22:59, 3 May 2024 (UTC)

Yes, excellent point. I will spend time thinking about this. My first thought is that given the above, they are processing the same experience differently. For example, I dislike being in loud, crowded environments like a busy restaurant because I can’t hear the person next to me, and I can’t carry on a conversation. There is some research (?) that indicates this is a function of age. Younger people may not mind loud, noisy dinner environments as much as older ones. What if, in the original example, Menke and her hiking buddy were of different ages? Viriditas (talk) 23:02, 3 May 2024 (UTC)

Certainly good point as well. I just can say I do not see in town the case the who knows also knows he knows and is interested to be usefull to me. I read about it in the literature. I guess it must be about building oneself an idol of it somehow. --Askedonty (talk) 00:01, 4 May 2024 (UTC)

Note, I wonder if anything about the cocktail party effect is applicable here. Viriditas (talk) 23:10, 3 May 2024 (UTC)

Proprioception? -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 21:48, 4 May 2024 (UTC)

Thermoception, including of the internal body temperature, is generally not considered a sensory modality of proprioception. Moreover, like thermoception, proprioception need not involve awareness; it can be nonconscious.  --Lambiam 08:37, 5 May 2024 (UTC)

May 3

Trump’s fake electors

Hi. Could Trump's indicted fake electors, be part of the next electoral College in their respective states, in the next election? Thank you very much. 151.57.137.28 (talk) 15:31, 3 May 2024 (UTC)

First I've heard of this. I'll have a read now Trump fake electors plot. 2A02:C7B:12B:6B00:6550:C89:C5B8:F933 (talk) 16:29, 3 May 2024 (UTC)

Probably. See United_States_Electoral_College#Modern_mechanics for more details EvergreenFir (talk) 16:43, 3 May 2024 (UTC)

It is up to the individual states. Theoretically, they could enact laws barring people indicted or convicted of certain crimes to serve as electors. Other than that, I don't think any formalized rule stands in the way.  --Lambiam 19:56, 3 May 2024 (UTC)

Interesting enough, the laws surrounding eligibility of electors seem fairly unclear to me. For example I looked at Georgia, and didn't find their laws. This page doesn't discuss eligibility requirements. [2] This [3] seems to be the requirements to be a voter/elector in normal elections rather than an elector for the electoral college. Does it also apply to electors from the EC? I found [4] which does show some states have specific eligibility requirements but very few and the most common thing seems to just be they cannot hold an office of profit in the US (including being a US Senator or House of Representatives rep), although some do require that they are eligible to vote. Did they just miss it when complying that source, or do other states not have such laws? As an aside but interesting enough, Utah is one of those states which tries to prevent faithless electors but has an exception if the candidate received a felony conviction which is something that could theoretically come up for the first time ever. Note that for any of the fake electors who were convicted, assuming the state does require them to be eligible to vote this might be enough to disqualify them since felony convictions can do so, although it can be complicated. For example those on probation in Georgia can vote in some cases [5]. Although I'm not sure if any of the fake electors has been convicted yet and how likely it is to happen before the election. (Many states do controversially have laws barring people from voting with some sort of conviction that varies depending on the state, so I find it sort of ironic that possibly many do not apply the same standard to EC electors even if their role is primarily symbolic.) Nil Einne (talk) 08:35, 4 May 2024 (UTC)

May 4

Cost of dollar bill production

Various sources say that the production of a dollar bill costs surprisingly low - around 7.5 cents in 2022 (and, depending on timeframe, around 5.4 - 6.2 cents). But what about special paper, color-shifting ink and other sophisticated anti-counterfeiting measures? Seemingly, because of them the production cost of each bill should be higher. 212.180.235.46 (talk) 15:35, 4 May 2024 (UTC)

The cost per note is probably very low due to the large number of notes printed each year: [6]. They print several billion notes per year. This Federal Reserve page shows the amount spent on printing and the cost per denomination: [7] RudolfRed (talk) 16:59, 4 May 2024 (UTC)

Does it imply that the Bureau of Engraving and Printing or any other relevant body elsewhere get a sort of a discount on wholesale purchase of money paper, color-shifting ink and other perks for banknote production? 212.180.235.46 (talk) 19:32, 4 May 2024 (UTC)

The cost of producing a run of a product (such as special paper, or special ink) in a continuous operation can be split into a fixed part (the cost of setting up) and a variable part. For a short run, the fixed part may dominate, while for a very long run it becomes a negligeable part. The economically sensible thing for a producer is to offer a lower price per unit for bulk orders. It is reasonable to assume this also applies to the suppliers of the materials for the money presses. Quite plausibly, this is their economically most significant customer. See also Economies of scale.  --Lambiam 08:20, 5 May 2024 (UTC)

Chicago voting system

Can someone please tell me what the voting system was in Chicago in the 1970s, before the advent of punch cards? Thanks. 2.39.110.85 (talk) 16:25, 4 May 2024 (UTC)

Deer hunting

Does anybody know at what point in the year deer are both seasonable and unseasonable? Rutting season, perhaps, from Fall/Atumn? ——Serial Number 54129 16:50, 4 May 2024 (UTC)

Deer hunting seasons vary. Wikipedia has an article on deer hunting that will give you further information. Shantavira|^{feed me} 18:46, 4 May 2024 (UTC)

That article has two short sentences on deer hunting in my country, Australia. Doesn't mention seasons. Needs a bit of work. HiLo48 (talk) 23:49, 5 May 2024 (UTC)

Australia has deer? Not native, I'm guessing. —Tamfang (talk) 17:15, 7 May 2024 (UTC)

Correct. Some deer were brought to Australia fairly early after white settlement in order to give people something "British" to hunt. Those thoughtful importers also brought rabbits, foxes, and a lot of other "successful" feral pests. The biggest source of our wild deer though was probably a period in the 1970s and 80s when deer farming became a boom industry, and then, as booms often do, busted. A lot of farmers just opened their gates and let their worthless stock go. They are now causing a lot of damage in native forests. HiLo48 (talk) 02:43, 8 May 2024 (UTC)

How sex escalation works for lesbian woman, how they solve the stalemate?

I am a hetero man and I am curious about something, when talking about stuff, there are two things "I want to do X" and "I am having pleasure doing X", one example "I want to go to this restaurant" and "I am having a good time at this restaurant". Both can be true, none can be true or just one can be true (if you were forced to go to the restaurant and then had a good time there or this restaurant was the only one in town).

When talking about sex, woman need escalation and etc... to the switch "I want to do X" to be true, but when talking about lesbians both need escalation to do it, the thing is that this is a stalemate, their switch "I want to do X" is not true yet and so they wont want to escalate to turn the other person switch "I want to do X" to be true.

How they solve this stalemate? Does this happen by luck, by the fact they normal actions will be doing that for them without them even knowing or wanting to do it?179.134.97.227 (talk) 21:09, 4 May 2024 (UTC)

Lost you at the "woman need escalation" bit. Viriditas (talk) 21:32, 4 May 2024 (UTC)

People in general, not only women, may need some form of sexual stimulation to be "turned on", that is, to reach a level of sexual arousal needed for sexual intercourse to be a pleasant experience. Sexual stimuli (also called "erotic stimuli") can be manifold. What works, and how strongly, is highly variable among individuals and highly dependent on their mood and physical condition at any given time. One potential source is the physical contact of hugging; while generally not erotic, it can become a sexual stimulus in contact with an attractive partner. Just seeing an attractive potential partner in a state of undress, or in a suggestive pose (even if not intended as such) can also be a stimulus, also for women. Finally, knowing or imagining that one is sexually desired can be a turn-on for either sex; this can become a mutually reinforcing virtuous cycle.  --Lambiam 08:00, 5 May 2024 (UTC)

Jerry Seinfeld once said that men are like firemen: It's an emergency, and they can be ready in a few minutes. Women are like fire: It's very exciting, but the conditions have to be just right. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 22:46, 5 May 2024 (UTC)

Just how much subject-matter expertise does Jerry Seinfeld have on being a woman? Or on being anyone but himself, for that matter? This entire discussion seems to be based around unsupported (and probably unverifiable) assumptions about how other people experience sexual desire. We can't know that. Instead, we can observe that lesbians, just like a great number of other people, initiate sexual encounters, and get pleasure from such encounters. Expecting it to be different just because they are lesbians is absurd. AndyTheGrump (talk) 23:02, 5 May 2024 (UTC)

It is a well-known fact that there is a gender-related difference in the frequency of taking the initiative when it comes to sex. This may be largely cultural, but I do not think it has been established that this is entirely cultural.  --Lambiam 10:27, 6 May 2024 (UTC)

Not sure if that's true. There's several relationship subs on Reddit that indicate it could be as much as 50/50 in the US and Europe, but outside of the US and Europe where women have less rights, there's definitely a bias towards men taking the initiative. There's also a bias in some Asian countries where social roles of submission are enforced. For this reason, I think it is entirely cultural. Viriditas (talk) 21:25, 7 May 2024 (UTC)

I assume your last sentence is directed at the OP. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:17, 6 May 2024 (UTC)

May 5

Regarding “Daraja Tuffah”

So I was reading the article for the first stage of the Israel-Hamas war, and I came across a red link with the words in the title of this question. I did a little research, and I believe this could be referring to a location between to other locations, but it’s also highly obscure.

I also looked up the location on Google Maps, but no results were found. Can this possible mistake please be corrected? 38.23.177.112 (talk) 13:19, 5 May 2024 (UTC)

This is the reference desk. The place to suggest changes to an article is the talk page for that article, in this case Talk:Timeline of the Israel–Hamas war (7 October – 27 October 2023). Shantavira|^{feed me} 13:34, 5 May 2024 (UTC)

Al-Daraj and Tuffah are two ancient quarters of Gaza City. Israeli sources refer to the local Hamas militants as the "Daraj Tuffah Battalion".^[8]  --Lambiam 16:13, 5 May 2024 (UTC)

Coordinates, Please? 67.71.158.219 (talk) 22:39, 5 May 2024 (UTC)

"Daraja Tuffah" may not be an established name for a particular area. The original CNN news article using the term quotes an IDF Telegram post mentioning "the Daraj Tuffah area", characterizing it as an area "used as a terror hub for the Hamas terrorist organization". It may not mean more than "wherever the IDF thinks the 'Daraj Tuffah Battalion' can be found". Perhaps they can provide the coordinates of the over 70 targets that they struck.  --Lambiam 11:01, 6 May 2024 (UTC)

OpenStreetMap gives boundaries for both neighbourhoods,^[9][10] which appear to be contiguous.  --Lambiam 11:13, 6 May 2024 (UTC)

Driving side

Are there any formal plans to switch the United Kingdom to drive on the right side or road? How likely is that the UK will drive on the right in 2050? --40bus (talk) 21:18, 5 May 2024 (UTC)

As likely as the USA adopting the metric system. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 21:23, 5 May 2024 (UTC)

Why would they? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 22:43, 5 May 2024 (UTC)

I would very confidently state that there are no such FORMAL plans. Formal in this sense would involve government planning for such a change. It would be hard (and pointless) to keep such a proposal secret, so, no, no formal plans. Are there any formal plans to switch the USA to drive on the left side or road? HiLo48 (talk) 23:46, 5 May 2024 (UTC)

Not if the Republicans have anything to say about it. No lefty driving for them. (Also, no middle-of-the-road proposals either.) Clarityfiend (talk) 01:23, 6 May 2024 (UTC)

Yet they drive on the left side of the front seat. Unless they work for the post office. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:26, 6 May 2024 (UTC)

Regardless of which side a country uses, the driver is in the middle of the road so if the driver is rather bad at spacial recognition, the driver will hopefully not want to drift so far over that he or she is facing oncoming traffic. If the driver was on the side of the road, it would be easier to drift into opposing traffic without obviously noticing the threat. 12.116.29.106 (talk) 12:30, 7 May 2024 (UTC)

The UK government did look at changing in the 1960s but concluded it would be too expensive.[11] With the increased complexity of the road system, it wouldn't have gotten cheaper in the last 50 years. Hack (talk) 02:29, 6 May 2024 (UTC)

And being an island country greatly reduces the pressure from neighboring countries to harmonize road systems. --User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 11:01, 6 May 2024 (UTC)

We do have a land border with the Irish Republic, who also drive on the left. Alansplodge (talk) 11:12, 6 May 2024 (UTC)

By way of a reference, this 2011 BBC article, Could Britain drive on the right? points out some of the disadvantages, including that 10% of motorway junctions (freeway intersections) would have to be entirely rebuilt, all the road signs and traffic lights would have to be repositioned, one-way systems would need to be reconfigured, buses would all have their doors on the wrong side... It estimates the cost at £40 billion (almost 2% of our GDP). Alansplodge (talk) 11:21, 6 May 2024 (UTC)

I visited Dublin once, took a taxi from the airport. Cabdriver: "Where are you from?" Me: "Sweden." "Planning to drive here?" "No." "Good! See this roundabout coming up? Most accident prone roundabout in Ireland. People come to the airport, rent a car, and this is where they realize "Oh right... Drive on the left."" Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 13:16, 6 May 2024 (UTC)

There are road signs warning people to drive on the correct side, near ferry terminals in England and France, e.g. AlmostReadytoFly (talk) 14:01, 7 May 2024 (UTC)

Speaking of Sweden, the article Dagen H describes how Sweden switched from left to right in 1967. --Wrongfilter (talk) 15:18, 7 May 2024 (UTC)

Has any country switched from right to left? —Tamfang (talk) 17:17, 7 May 2024 (UTC)

Samoa in 2009 [12]. --Wrongfilter (talk) 17:24, 7 May 2024 (UTC)

And Namibia, according to the BBC article in Alan's comment above. In 1920, following occupation by South Africa, according to our article on Left- and right-hand traffic. AlmostReadytoFly (talk) 12:33, 8 May 2024 (UTC)

Okinawa in Japan switched to the left in 1978: 730 (transport). —Amble (talk) 16:50, 8 May 2024 (UTC)