Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2015 November 1

Welcome to the Wikipedia Humanities 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.

November 1

Trick-or-treat: what if you don't give any candy?

What happens in the US if a group of children knock at your door and you don't give candy. The reason is indifferent: either because you don't want to, or, you just don't like children.--Denidi (talk) 02:04, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

It depends on the manner in which you do it, and the willingness of the spurned kids to seek revenge. If you leave your porch light off and don't answer the door, that's one thing. If you leave the light on and/or open the door and act like Scrooge, that's asking for trouble. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 02:44, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

Agreed. Types of traditional "tricks" include having toilet paper rolls tossed over your trees, eggs thrown at your house, or rude things written in soap on your windows. StuRat (talk) 02:52, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

So, could someone not give any candy because he's thinking on the children's welfare? That is, this someone thinks the kids are too fat, could have more fun playing a trick, and they should also learn that they won't get candy from everyone.--Denidi (talk) 03:09, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

Sure, just leave the porch light out and the kids skip your house. Also note that many neighborhoods don't do trick-or-treat anymore, because it's too unsafe. Those kids either go to a safer neighborhood or do some type of community indoor activity. You could also give out somewhat healthier treats, like granola bars (some are far better than others). StuRat (talk) 03:46, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

My normally nosey neighbor had four cones at the bottom of his driveway. I put across the little chain that can be strung between the lampposts though I left the chain unattached (I don't want some idiot to drive into it) with the little reflective tile propped up on the ground. I had one car come up the driveway and knock on the door. I just ignored it. I'm fine with Halloween, but for various reasons I don't care to deal with it.--Wehwalt (talk) 03:54, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

• Decades ago we carried a bar of soap, and if you did not answer the door, we'd put a soap X on your window. Occasionally you would see eggings or TP'ing, (not to be confused with T'Pring.) Most mischief for mischief's sake happened on mischief night, and we were not allowed out, although when I got older I could stand in the driveway with the garden hose to hose down would-be miscreants. This year we had no mischieffing, and about 60 trick-or-treaters. In the 70's, there would be about 200-300 kids, but the demographics of my New Jersey hometown have changed to a markedly older population with smaller families. μηδείς (talk) 20:09, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

To answer another question that might be coming up, candy isn't an absolute necessity. When I was a kid, I would occasionally get some coins (usually not much, not more than 50¢), a toothbrush, or a small toy (maybe a ring that looked like a spider or something like that). This year, a friend of mine gave out Beanie Babies since she has so many of them that she doesn't want. Dismas|^(talk) 20:23, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

Giving kids toothbrushes is even more likely to get your house egged than not giving them anything. :-) StuRat (talk) 23:42, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

We got about three times as many trick-or-treaters this year as last. So after the candy bars ran out, I gave away Hershey's Kisses (which are meant as a household snack), then to giving out diet granola bars with a quarter coin as consolation, then to giving out 50c/head, then, out of desperation, to inviting the tykes in for glasses of red wine. μηδείς (talk) 17:51, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

Half a century ago, I lived in a neighborhood where one fellow gave out John Birch Society pamphlets to the kiddies instead of candy. I think he was the least popular guy in the neighborhood. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 07:08, 4 November 2015 (UTC)

And then there is the case of Norman Clyde. Though there were many things admirable about him, he was guilty of extreme Halloween overreaction back in 1928. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 07:14, 4 November 2015 (UTC)

American Samoa website

Does anyone know where I can find an/the official website of the government of American Samoa? The american samoa article provides a link to http://www.americansamoa.gov, as does their profile on USA.gov, but that page is consistently returning an "Account Suspended" page. I don't suppose that the territory would let their website die without getting a new one, so it would help if someone could find it. I ran a Google search without finding anything official other than the USA.gov page, although I've discovered that other government-run websites (e.g. Department of Human and Social Services and the Elections Office) are still working without apparent hiccups. Nyttend (talk) 03:50, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

As far as I can see, that is the official page. You can also see it referenced on the as.gov domain websites such as http://doc.as.gov/links-2/ . There doesn't see to be any formal structure to the domains. .gov is a USA hosted domain as American Samoa is a US territory, but really they should use .gov.as for all governmental departments. It seems that (much like the main website) no-one cares too much about it. 'Account suspended' doesn't mean that the domain has expired, it usually means that the hosting package has exceeded its allocated bandwidth or breached one of the T&Cs (sometimes after being compromised and sending out spam). Nanonic (talk) 10:54, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

Thanks for the confirmation and for correcting my misunderstanding in the last sentence. I figured that it had been suspended because they didn't pay [whomever gets paid] to be allowed to continue using the domain, so it lapsed. Nyttend (talk) 12:35, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

US$ in Canada

Here in the USA, Canadian quarters and smaller-denominated coins occasionally appear in change (even showing up amid rolls of coins from the bank), and most people accept them without question: some vending machines reject them, but I can't immediately remember any other situation where a single Canadian coin would be rejected because it was Canadian. Except for the $1 and $2 coins, which I've never seen in use here, it helps that they're the same sizes, colors, and denominations as US coins. Is the parallel situation true, i.e. can one occasionally see US coins circulating in Canada as if they were Canadian coins? Nyttend (talk) 03:56, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

Since the exchange rate almost always makes US coins worth more than Canadian coins, there's no reason why Canadian businesses wouldn't accept US coins at face value, at the very least. Indeed, many businesses near the border (which is a large portion of Canada, population-wise) offer a favorable exchange rate to encourage US visitors. StuRat (talk) 04:02, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

I've traveled to 10 provinces and 1 territory, and it's usually been cents (pennies) north of the border, but that has ended with rounding. Sometimes nickels (nickles) as they are fairly close in composition, or were, before Canada went to plated steel and started pulling the old issues out. I've seen vending machines close to ports of entry (on the Canada side) where US coins work in vending machines, especially the ones by the Niagara River. When the Canadian dollar was down to sixty cents or so, I remember working those machines at my hotel in Fort Erie to get all the US coins I could out of them (if the refund slot returns to you the coins at the bottom of the stack, not the coins you put in).

Except when the metal value causes hoarding, people in general have never been greatly concerned with their base metal coins, as long as they are confident they can have them accepted by the next taker. In the UK, you'll run across, now and then, coins from Jersey, Guernsey, Gibraltar, or the Isle of Man (and in rare instances the Falkland Islands or St Helena). They are not legal tender. They are the same weight and composition as British coins. No one cares.

But don't take base metal coins to a foreign exchange dealer and expect anything but to be turned away. We're talking about casual transactions here.--Wehwalt (talk) 09:57, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

Wehwalt, what do you mean by "rounding"? Is this a reference to Penny (Canadian coin)#Abolition perhaps? Nyttend (talk) 04:02, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

Yeah.--Wehwalt (talk) 04:07, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

What's it got in it's pockets? Several Canadian coins of various denominations, and one American quarter. I probably got it at the grocery store, but I don't really know. Adam Bishop (talk) 14:19, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

You refer to yourself as "it" ? StuRat (talk) 19:35, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

It's because of his "twisted body and mind". Deor (talk) 19:46, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

However, that should be "its" and "pocketses". The Grammar Police never rest. Clarityfiend (talk) 02:27, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

When this one finds a coin with an American president's face on it, it makes the "historical imagery" bell ding. Then the "twisted people might find this metal precious" bell. Then finally the "Let us seal it in a dimebag, till the right moment" buzzer completes the transaction. Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it, eh? InedibleHulk (talk) 03:05, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

Um yeah. You're not driving, are you?--Wehwalt (talk) 03:09, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

Of course not. But I'm not the only one. The other side gets just as bad. InedibleHulk (talk) 03:16, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

Federalism, Canada and USA

Are the Provinces of Canada more or less autonomous (if that's the right word) than the states of the USA? --rossb (talk) 08:54, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

See here, including the related questions shown on the right hand side. Rojomoke (talk) 12:49, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

Gerald, an Old Etonian in China in the '30s

Another person from Peter Fleming's One's Company. Gerald is an Old Etonian, had "an extremely distinguished academic career, both at Eton and Cambridge", been to Mexico, reputed to have lived in a cave in Wales for a time, been a Reuter's correspondent with the Chinese armies, and was "a young man of saturnine appearance", and "His cheerfulness was as infinite as his curiosity... more completely impervious to the effects of discomfort, boredom, and delay than anyone I have ever met". DuncanHill (talk) 14:06, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

Astonishing. Did you have a question?DOR (HK) (talk) 14:11, 5 November 2015 (UTC)

Duncan is (implicitly) asking whether anyone here can identify who this "Gerald" might have been in real life. See the recent question here ---Sluzzelin talk 16:14, 5 November 2015 (UTC)

Thanks Sluzzelin. To DOR (HK) - anyone not able to realise what the implied question was wouldn't have the wit to answer it anyway, so no great loss. DuncanHill (talk) 18:50, 5 November 2015 (UTC)

Maybe Gerald Yorke? All the best: Rich Farmbrough, 00:15, 6 November 2015 (UTC).

DuncanHill All the best: Rich Farmbrough, 19:48, 6 November 2015 (UTC).

Gerald Yorke it is! Armed with the name I was able to find confirmation that he met Fleming in China, and was with Reuters at the right time and place. DuncanHill (talk) 02:17, 9 November 2015 (UTC)

How does the Federalist system in the US distribute power among states?

Do states with more or less the same population, for example, NY and Florida with around 19 million inhabitants each, or Illinois and Pennsylvania with something more than 12 millions, have equal power? Does a bigger state have 2x power as two other states half so big each? --Scicurious (talk) 22:53, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

This was the subject of the Great Compromise, whereby one house of the national legislature was based on population and the other has equal representation.--Wehwalt (talk) 23:35, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

Agreed. So what this means is that states with equal populations should have equal representation in Congress. More populous states have more votes in the House of Representatives, but not more in the Senate. So, on a per person basis, each person has roughly the same representation in the House, while those in less populous states have proportionately more representation in the Senate. StuRat (talk) 23:38, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

Low population states actually have a greater representation per person than high population states. This is a facet to the Great Compromise, to somewhat curb a few big states from hogging the Congress. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 00:04, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

See Connecticut Plan. --Jayron32 23:48, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

There are also clauses that equalize power among the states. Thirteen of the fifty states, with a fraction of the total population, can block a constitutional amendment sent to the states by Congress. No state can have another formed from its territory or lose its equal representation in the Senate without its consent. If the presidential election is thrown into the House of Representatives, the vote is by states, with the one representative from Wyoming having one vote by himself, and the fifty-odd from California casting that vote by a majority ballot--Wehwalt (talk) 00:03, 2 November 2015 (UTC)