Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2008 June 2

Welcome to the Wikipedia Miscellaneous 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.

June 2

Lawn care

Today I fertilized my lawn (st augustine grass). Then i watered it. Does anyone know how long before i see some results? (I live in a warm humid semi tropical environment-n. hemisphere) JeanLatore (talk) 00:29, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Hi JeanLatore, there's an article St. Augustine grass called Buffalo grass in Australia where I am, quoting: St. Augustine grasses will be in full bloom between springtime and summer and there are links to FAQ. Hope this helps, Julia Rossi (talk) 09:11, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

I can't speak for your grass in particular, but I find that each spring after I've fertilized my lawn, the "nitrogen" in the fertilizer (combined with adequate water) causes the lawn to become appropriately green within about a week and "heavy mowing season" commences within two weeks.

Atlant (talk) 00:53, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Consider yourselves lucky. Ah the watered lawns of yesteryear when water wasn't rationed. We're considering chives for the front yard, because food's still exempt. ;-S --76.111.32.200 (talk) 16:58, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Could you water if it's food for your sheep or rabbit? What about adding thyme in there. (And the days of those watered plastic slidey things on the grass in summer.) Julia Rossi (talk) 04:05, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

(Off track) That would be a Wham-O Slip 'n Slide. (WHAAOE!)

Atlant (talk) 11:48, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

Do horses enjoy being ridden?

I remember reading 19th. century literature where it takes an hour to capture a horse in a field before riding. In those days, when horses were almost the only transport, I can imagine they disliked having to trot or gallop very long distances.

But do modern horses, kept as a hobby, enjoy being ridden? They might like the variety or exercise. Do they still run away when being caught for riding, or do they approach the rider? 80.2.200.148 (talk) 00:34, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

It differs depending upon the horse, its temperament, the rider, their temperament, the relationship between the horse and rider and how much and how good the grass on the horses field is at the time. Parelli Natural Horsemanship is much about establishing a relationship with a horse where it will want to be with you. So the answer to your question is a "sometimes". -- SGBailey (talk) 12:00, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

I would say that a riding horse craves being ridden, in general, and sulks if ignored and left alone in the pasture. This certainly supposes it is not abused by bad riders. Edison (talk) 00:46, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

While I've had a pony who could take an hour to catch, most horses come to call.They asocciate being caught with food and grooming which they definately enjoy.Most horses I've ridden seem to enjoy it, many being very keen indeed and wanting to dash off as quickly as possible. The pony who didn't like being caught had been badly treated and was eventually cured.,Horses often get to know when you come to get them ,if it's a regular time and will be found hanging round the gate.86.53.80.11 (talk) 14:03, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Yunnan tractor/truck hybrid - any term for these?

Saw these many times while I was in Yunnan. Basically it is either a tractor engine modified to include a small truck cab and flatbed or to be controlled by handlebars. Does anyone know if this is a Yunnan-only thing or does it also occur elsewhere? It doesn't appear that a single manufacturer produces these - there are no unique markings that I recall seeing, and the truck cabs can come from any model that fits. --BrokenSphere^{Msg me} 01:28, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

It is similar to the Philippine Kuliglig.--Lenticel ^(talk) 02:00, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

I've seen them in Zhejiang, but I don't know the word for them. Steewi (talk) 02:09, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

One of my tourmates coined the term "trucktor", but I don't think this is definitive. BrokenSphere^{Msg me} 02:18, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

example 2 looks like a Rotary tiller (see the last image in the article), with the tines removed, adapted to tow a trailer. Mhicaoidh (talk) 03:09, 2 June 2008 (UTC)...and so does example 1, looking at the wheels.Did it have handlebars too? That flap to the cab looks like a flexible material that would allow handle bar type turning. Mhicaoidh (talk) 03:18, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

I see what you mean. However most examples don't have this sort of set up; the cab tended to be closer to the engine and they had steering wheels. Also they seem to be treated as registered vehicles, as the ones with cabs do have license plates. BrokenSphere^{Msg me} 04:30, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Feasibility of real life batman

I have always wanted to get rid of the drug dealers, pedophiles and other assorted criminals in my town and after reading the law concerning the citizens arrest for my jurisdiction - New York, it seems that it is possible to be a sort of real life "batman" figure. Assuming you have witnessed someone committing a crime and film it, you could legally arrest lawbreakers and bring them in with your evidence. My idea is to stake out drug dealers, film them making illegal transactions then arrest them. I had hope of getting a group of friends together, getting ourselves sufficiently armed (legally of course) and making such arrests. My question is: is this realistic? Does anyone have any input or recommendations? --Baalhammon (talk) 04:24, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Usually drug dealers are better armed and better trained than ordinary citizens. I suggest that you give the evidence to the police and let them handle the stake out.--Lenticel ^(talk) 04:40, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

You are assuming that the police aren't corrupt and actually care about the community, or even more pragmatically, can spare officers from the NARC unit. There have been drug dealers in my community since I can remember, and they operate out in the open, on mainstreet, flaunting their wares. I highly doubt a drug dealer would pull a gun on 6-7 armed guys unless he had a deathwish. This does bring up an interesting point though... if frisking a suspect would be legal under the citizens arres clause of NYS law.--Baalhammon (talk) 04:50, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Drug dealers are only a small part of a drug syndicate. As I said earlier they are better armed and better trained and your group wouldn't stand a chance if their boss feels like your group is damaging his business. In my country, there are many cases and stories where drug dealers and those who pursue them "disappear" and end up floating in some body of water so I'm pretty familiar with that corruption, spare men problem.--Lenticel ^(talk) 05:05, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

No it's a very very foolish idea. The police are trained professionals employed by local/national governemnt. Groups of vigilanties going round trying to 'enforce' the law, or trying to play the role of police are liable to create as much headaches for the police (and local communities) as the people they are trying to remove/catch already do. If you have information/evidence pass it to the police. If you believe they are corrupt then take it to a higher level, pass those concerns of corruption on to the media/other government offices. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.221.133.226 (talk) 10:00, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Batman is a Super Hero, what you're talking about is a gang of vigilantes and amateur cops. Consider that in a town the size of New York, even if you could do what you're planning (And I also think it's a very bad idea.) it would not make much of a difference. In a city the size of New York, adding one or two more cops would not make a noticeable difference to crime levels. Batman is able to make a difference not only because his crazy get-up and perceived immortality strikes fear into he hearts of men, but also because Batman has the advantage of having tremendous technological resources that he can bring to bear on difficult, high profile cases that the Gotham City PD can't crack. Finaly, the majority of Gotham City's crime problem seems to center around a remarkably small number of people, Batman has the skills and resources to go after super villains that the police department lacks.

Bruce Wayne is also idle rich. He's got plenty of spare time to spend crime-fighting. You've probably already got a job. Will your current boss let you take off time to spend in court? Not only as a witness against nearly everybody you bring in, but also in your own defense when the crooks inevitably bring all sorts of charges and civil suits against you. I suppose you could wear a mask and protect your identity in true superhero fashion, but that would probably cause even more problems. APL (talk) 13:15, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Also, being a vigilante is pretty illegal afaik. That is why we have the police despite corruption. There are departments within the police that investigate corruption even in the inner ranks, so that might be a start to vent your general frustration with the so called law. Sandman30s (talk) 14:36, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

I doubt that "being a vigilante" is itself a crime; what'll get you prosecuted is breaking & entering, or assailing/detaining someone whom you have not demonstrably caught in the act of a felony. On the other hand, if you avoid these traps, the gang with the badges are going to be irritated with you for "interfering", and irritating them is always a crime. —Tamfang (talk) 19:44, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Batman also seems to operate without the burden of proof for much of the time. Most of Batman's enemies seem to either conveniently confess, or conveniently die (usually in a Batman-assisted manner) and so don't have to go through the process of a trial. As well as his convenient immortality he seems to be conveniently infallible, never killing the wrong person to avenge some crime. If he made the occasional mistake the inhabitants of Gotham would be a lot less happy with him roaming the streets handing out his own brand of justice. DJ Clayworth (talk) 15:06, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Note that the presence of drug dealers does not mean the police have not been doing anything. Arrest a bunch, pat yourself on the back, two weeks better there'll be new ones there to take advantage of the market. It's a case of classic supply and demand. The market will replace them.

Even worse: it's harder and harder to build real, workable cases against drug syndicates. The ones actually in charge of the operation hide themselves further and further from the actual crimes committed, and use violence and intimidation to stop people from testifying against them. There was a nice article in the New York Times a few months ago about exactly how hard it was to clean up one notorious little area in Brooklyn; about the difficulty of prosecution, about the difficulty of arrests, etc. The guy you see on the street making the actual transactions is the lowest level of dealer, easily replaceable.

As for vigilantism—how exactly are you going to make you case stick? With a video tape? Going to be pretty hard to convince a jury (or judge) that the tape is legitimate, that it is what it says it is, unless you're willing to testify openly in court. And if you do that, you're a dead man. So what will that accomplish? --98.217.8.46 (talk) 15:11, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Good day sir. I have a better idea for you, why don't you try to become a police office yourself. Or my least plausible answer, find a watch that turns you into ten different aliens and quick druggies butts. Of course this would require you to change your name to something that rhymes with ten like Ren. Hope I have helped in some way or maybe even made you laugh. Have a positively wonderful day.Rem Nightfall (talk) 18:15, 2 June 2008 (UTC)Rem Nightfall

You might be interested in the Real-life superhero article. Our local alternative weekly paper, City Pages, did an article a few months ago about real-life superheroes. Some of the references and links might have some practical advice about how to go about doing your own investigations without being killed by drug kingpins. It's up to you to figure out what kind of superhero outfit you'd look good in, though. --Elkman ^(Elkspeak) 22:05, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Military officers in a number of countries had real live batmen or batwomen working for them. Some of them probably assisted from time to time in law enforcement, but others may have gone to the dark side by procuring women or black market goodies for their superiors. The comic book Batman had a servant Alfred Pennyworth who was considered "Batman's batman."Edison (talk) 00:43, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

OP should probably have a look at this cautionary tale before attempting anything like this. --zenohockey (talk) 22:59, 7 June 2008 (UTC)

can we soften hair by our own techniques?

Earlier my hair used to be soft & silky...it remains in whatever shape i comb it....but seeing my nephew i made an experiment with my hair...combing in a diffrent direction to finally make it curly. Now the curls are so strengthened that i can't make them lie down. They are always facing in random direction. Whatever is the issue now my hair is curly & ugly. I wanna make my hair soft as earlier. Put aside the silky nature first of all it's shape should be appealing. I went to a saloon & asked will u do that for me & he agreed to do that but charged such a huge amount that I can't afford. So what should I do to make my hair soft? I mean I'm asking u some simple home techniques to soften curly hair. I can't afford it in saloons. Plz help me! Temuzion (talk) 04:36, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

I'm a little confused here. What do you mean you made your hair curly by combing in a different direction? Do you mean like when you have a ribbon and you hold it against a sharp angle (like the non-bladed edge of a pair of scissors) and scrape the ribbon against it to make it curl? I'm not sure what this is called, if it has a name. And what do you mean by making it soft? Do you mean making it straight? Did you try a hair straighteners to make it straight? There's also sprays to help protect your hair from getting damaged when you use hair straighteners. Does this or this help at all? --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 05:00, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Use a good conditioner! That worked for me! ReluctantPhilosopher (talk) 13:56, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

No guarantee, but try lemon juice, flatten (comb) your hair as much as you can for about 5-10 min. Rinse, apply aloe vera gel, rinse again, put one drop of jojoba oil on your comb and comb your hair as flat as you can. Good luck. Lisa4edit (talk) 17:02, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

You might find this a bit odd but there are lots of products marketed for African-Americans which are designed to help straighten curly hair—relaxers and straightening products that can be found at your standard pharmacy. You might try giving them a shot; I'd trust them more than the home remedies, personally, because there's a long-term market involved (and thus incentive to be correct; unlike random home remedies from the internet). --98.217.8.46 (talk) 03:38, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Binfield manor

I would like to know details about Binfield Manor house, as in how many rooms, bathrooms etc or better still a floor plan. Binfield Manor is in Berkshire, England and i believe owned by the Sultan of Brunei. If you could help or shove me in the right direction, i would be very gratefull. Thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.78.102.150 (talk) 09:36, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Why - are you planning to rob the place? Google Earth (and presumably google maps too) gives a pretty good resolution aerial/satellite of the house and the grounds. Astronaut (talk) 11:19, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Identify airplane

Is this a real airplane? If so any idea on the model and year. It just looks so strange but then it seems to have an engine and all the other bits. 200.127.59.151 (talk) 16:10, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Looks like an experimental design—maybe a parasite aircraft? (Doesn't look like it would be able to take off on its own.) Compare with, for example, the XF-85 Goblin. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 16:38, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

A good indication might be whether it has a registration number, if you had any other photographs. DJ Clayworth (talk) 17:59, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Clues: The tail has the colors of the Italian (or Mexican) flag. The badge near the nose looks like a fasces. HTH. —Tamfang (talk) 19:35, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

At a guess I'd say it's a one-off model built during the 1930s for racing purposes. --Carnildo (talk) 23:51, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Looks a touch underpowered to me, not to mention the lawn mower blades on the front. Could be a copy of something pre-war, one of these [1] but with a little engine intended only for trundling round the airfield, not unlike the similar craft to the left. Mhicaoidh (talk) 08:17, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Had a good look at this Italian aircraft production 1935 to 1945 and this [2] which I cant seem to link to properly and its many tributaries. But the more I look at the OP's image, despite its resemblance to say the GeeBee racers, and the Boeing p26 [3] the more I'm convinced its a toy or a parade float - so much seems wrong, lack of engine cone fairing, bad centre of gravity, poor angle of attack etc. Mhicaoidh (talk) 09:17, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

This is a replica of the Caproni Stipa, which, despite its ridiculous appearance, was a real flight-worthy airplane - see here for some original flight footage. -- Ferkelparade π 09:28, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Bravo Ferkelparade, that is amazing, my faith in the Ref desk is restored! not to mention the possibilities of heavier than air flight, though mind you 600m at 6m altitude in a straight line... You sound knowledgeable, care to do the decent thing? as we are missing this: Caproni Stipa. Mhicaoidh (talk) 10:06, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Your wish is my command :P -- Ferkelparade π 13:16, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Thank you Ferkelparade for creating a new little arrangement of nerve cells in my information sponge. Fantafrigginstic. 200.127.59.151 (talk) 15:23, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Thanks again FP its great to see Ref Desk questions add to Wikipedia. Mhicaoidh (talk) 11:41, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

Tracking old stock exchange data

Where could I get historical NYSE stock data from, say, the 1960s-1980s, without paying some huge fee? I thought about looking in old newspapers, though that seems, well, time consuming. Any place where it would be aggregated, say in print form? The company in question went belly-up in the early 1990s so there's nothing on it in Google Finance, for example. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 17:04, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Have you tried Yahoo Finance or Bloomberg.com? I tried searching for historical data for some other corporate failures but couldn't get much. Good luck! Zain Ebrahim (talk) 18:19, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

There a huge difference in availability of such data, depending on whether the historical data of interest is for a company that's still actively traded under the same symbol.

• If so, then Y!finance is as good as any.
• If not -- and this includes the case where NXTL became S, for example -- the free sources won't have anything.

The latter, you've probably already discovered. -- Danh, 63.231.153.176 (talk) 22:09, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Earplug purchases

I'm interested in buying some earplugs (preferably Moldex Rockets). What sort of shop would I buy them in, in the UK? Not online, an actual physical one? :-) Thanks. ╟─TreasuryTag (talk ╬ contribs)─╢ 17:39, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

You could try contacting Moldex's UK office. They should tell you who their distributors are. Fribbler (talk) 20:08, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Music Shops in the UK sell earplugs. But I don't know about that brand in particular.Franmars (talk) 11:05, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

I mean music instrument shops.Franmars (talk) 11:07, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

They are also sold in some DIY shops (especially larger ones such as B&Q) and builders merchants, to protect against the noise of power tools. 80.0.110.206 (talk) 20:37, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

The Multi-Gender Question

Good day sirs and ma'ams. This question will be strange. Are they any famous multi-gender people, and by multi-gender I mean hermaphrodites, recorded in history that were ninjas, warriors, samurai, etc? I hope this question isn't to strange and is a turn off by any means. Thank you for taking your time in answering the question I appreciate it. Have a positively wonderful day.Rem Nightfall (talk) 18:21, 2 June 2008 (UTC)Rem Nightfall

This is about the closest I've found for your query. It's not quite what you were asking, but it's close. I hope this helps. :) --Mizu onna sango15/水女珊瑚15 19:11, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

If we're talking about people who are not just transgendered but have physical characteristics of both genders, Wikipedia does have a short list of notable intersexed people. -FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 21:00, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Good evening. Thank you for all the help you are trying to give me. But its not really what I am was asking. Maybe I should just ask more boldly. Are there any recorded hermaphrodites who were ninjas, samurai,knights, etc? I am looking for armed hermaphrodites who use both of there sexes to their advantage. This is the strangest though I have had. I write comics for a hobby and I would like to write about a famous hermaphrodite, not something that comes from the strangeness of my mind. So I need to find ninjas, samurai, knights, etc. that were hermaphrodites. I don't want to seem like I have strange fantasies. Have a positively wonderful evening.Rem Nightfall (talk) 22:29, 2 June 2008 (UTC)Rem Nightfall

Since you're writing fiction, maybe you could get ideas for characters by looking at people passing as the other sex such as women pirates, ninjas included women and Joan of Arc dressed as a knight, there was Pope Joan, cowboys who were women in disguise and many soldiers in early armies were female as were sailors. The article might help with the reverse and if needed, you can herm them as you will. Julia Rossi (talk) 01:11, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

The Burnham Scale-academic qualification equivalent

I have a diploma in marketing (from the Chartered Institute of marketing), graded II/III on the Department of Educationn Burnham Scale. What is the Burnham Scale and what is the equivalent of this scales II/III qualification ie. is it equivalent to an A level or BA degree? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.212.86.222 (talk) 18:56, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Why not try the CInstM's web site ? In my day as a tutor a Dip M was equal to a BA, and gave exemption to year one of a two-year part-time Masters in Marketing.86.202.155.193 (talk) 15:00, 3 June 2008 (UTC)petitmichel

Tools

Does anyone have tools that help keep track of articles that are most watched, have been edited the most, which articles were the first to be created, etc.? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers, --Mizu onna sango15/水女珊瑚15 19:08, 2 June 2008 (UTC).

Help:Special page may be of use, though some of the functionality you reference (most edited, first created, and other depends-on-early-history-of-WP) doesn't exist as there aren't records to support it. — Lomn 19:21, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Oldest articles, most linked-to pages, pages with the most revisions and Wikipedia:Most frequently edited pages. There are no logs for the watchlist. D0762 (talk) 09:18, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

"Oldest articles" is actually a non-functioning page at this point. The discussion of the oldest remaining traceable edits to the project is at Wikipedia:Wikipedia's oldest articles. Rmhermen (talk) 13:45, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

I see. Thank you for the assistance. --Mizu onna sango15/水女珊瑚15 22:09, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

White foods

What cruel fiends invented white bread and white rice (or if unknown, when did they start plaguing the human diet)? Clarityfiend (talk) 19:30, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

According to this history of bread, white bread was first made by the ancient Egyptians. Historically, white bread, which is more expensive to make, was associated with wealth and privilege, and it is only recently that brown breads have been preferred by the upper classes. The cultivation of rice predates written history, but according to this history of rice, the more labor-intensive white rice was eaten by the upper classes, while the poor ate the cheaper brown rice. In both cases, although the white variety is more expensive to make and has been associated with the food eaten by the wealthy, the less processed brown variety has more nutritional value, which has resulted in the recent popularization of brown rice and brown bread among health-conscious educated people. -FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 20:58, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Oil price watch

Hi:

Which website offers historical and current oil price information? (Like stock websites)

Thanks.

76.65.14.129 (talk) 19:31, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Many sites that track the stock market also track crude oil prices; CNN Money is one that springs to mind quickly (see the banner at top). Google reveals many sites with a historical summary of crude oil prices; a search for "oil price per barrel history" yielded this site with a chart of normalized prices over the past 140 years. — Lomn 00:59, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Genealogy Tree

As far as I know my ancestors emigrate from Bollo d'Oletta,Corsica.My great grandfather names was Nuncio Colombani Grimaldi,son of Francisco Colombani and Maria Ignacia Grimaldi.Emigrate to Guadalupe island in the caribbean and then move to Puerto Rico,they were three or four brothers.Can you help me to find information related to my ancestors. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.207.124.143 (talk) 19:49, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

[4] has a redirect for the town, but doesn't mention anyone. It is possible that your family name got changed in the immigration process, though. There's bound to be old records in Corsica, like church records or census. (Be prepared to deal with several languages, at least French and Italian). Good luck --76.111.32.200 (talk) 16:44, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Milzwurst?

What the heck is "Milzwurst"? I had a dish of fried Milzwust at the Aumeister restaurant in Munich, Germany. The dish had two deep-fried patties of something that looked, and tasted, like a cross between meat, liver, and vegetables. It was served with potato salad, mayonnaise, and lemon juice. This is the only dish I have eaten during my whole trip to Munich that I do not know what it is, so I would very much like to know what it is. JIP | Talk 19:53, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Do you sprach the auld Deutsch? My german isn't good enough to translate the article, but a quick search-box nosey on the German -pedia shows that Milz is spleen. Fribbler (talk) 20:00, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Ah. So I have eaten some animal's spleen without knowing it. The taste was something between meat and vegetables, so I thought I was eating an internal organ, I just didn't know which. It was the cheapest item on the restaurant's "daily recommendations" menu, so I ordered that, because I knew from experience that Bavarian "würste" are good to eat. I just didn't know what the German word "Milz" meant. Had I known, I had probably skipped it and ordered normal Bratwurst instead. JIP | Talk 20:05, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

It is the Germanic equivalent to:

• the death penalty
• McDonalds

It also is a good excuse to drink lots of beer (Dr Ferkel´s - the notorious expert in sausages - venerable surgery in Munich recomends liberal dosages of Augsbuger) to forget the taste of it if you have been lucky enough to survive the gruesome punishment. If you are a Catholic, one helping of Milzwurst reduces your stay in purgatory by half an eternity but prolongs your life in Bavaria by five minutes... --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 21:38, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

I have nothing to add, except that it's Augustiner. Every other beer is That Which Has Been Passed Through The Horse's Bladder. -- Ferkelparade π 09:44, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

According to food from bavaria, the Milzwurst consists of 65% "Brät" (the filling used to make a Weißwurst, which in itself contains at least 51% veal, back bacon, boiled bacon rind, as well as herbs and spices), 25% pork, 10% spleen (usually bovine), salt, pepper, ginger, nutmeg, grated onion, lemon, and parsley. There are three varieties of Milzwurst: The most common Brühwurst type (boiling process denaturates the proteins. Pieces of spleen, 5-9 cm in diameter, get processed into the sausage, and everything is held together in an artificial casing. The Brieswurst is basically processed the same way but also contains chunks of sweetbread (thymus gland). The rarer third variety is a filled bovine spleen. --- Sluzzelin talk 11:22, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

I don't think the Milzwurst I ate was of a common variety. It looked like deep-fried fish, but tasted nothing of the sort. It had a very mild taste, which made me realise I was not eating pure meat. I actually had to guess that I was eating an internal organ. The sausages weren't even sausage-shaped, they were shaped like discs. I have a picture of the dish, should I upload it? JIP | Talk 18:31, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Of course you should. Posterity demands it. --Tagishsimon (talk) 22:12, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Milzwurst.

Here you go then. JIP | Talk 04:45, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

(outdent) As an offal fan, I would hate to disparage the dish. Sweetbread (spleen), Liver, Kidney, Haggis. I love 'em all! Sure, give us a picture so we can see what we're missing :-) Fribbler (talk) 22:56, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Having followed the links to the German sites, and seen a picture, it is clear that we all have been overlooking an important detail. Such a Wurst is 5-9 centimeters, as mentioned by Sluzzelin -- thus, a "slice" of such a sausage would definitely look like a small pancake or English muffin. HTH! -- Danh, 63.231.153.176 (talk) 00:21, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

Why was this link removed?

Please lets discuss below links if ours are inappropriate external links (wiki delited ours but accept those once). We just added it the same way with our visitor centre and other additional information. Could someone please advise why it is not allowed for us? Thanks a lot!

<point made, repeat of company links removed Julia Rossi (talk) 04:11, 4 June 2008 (UTC)>

The reply to our adding... Please do not add inappropriate external links to Wikipedia. Wikipedia is not a collection of links, nor should it be used for advertising or promotion. Inappropriate links include (but are not limited to) links to personal web sites, links to web sites with which you are affiliated, and links that attract visitors to a web site or promote a product. See the external links guideline and spam guideline for further explanations... —Preceding unsigned comment added by Manuka Health NZ (talk • contribs) 21:53, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

The reply you received should have had links to the appropriate policy. In short, adding content in which you have a vested interest is highly discouraged. In this case, the links in question were being added to drive sales to a company, not to enhance the quality of the encyclopedia article. — Lomn 00:55, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Holden's Hat

Does anybody know where i can purchase a red hunting hat similar to the one Holden Caulfield frequently wears in Catcher in the Rye ? Thank you . —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.5.206.57 (talk) 22:00, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Although I'm not sure of the direct answer to your question, it may aid others answering the question to know that from what I can surmise, Holden's hat is a red deerstalker cap, with a long peak. --Ybbor^Talk 01:15, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Horses

I had once read that horses won't sleep much unless there was another horse to stand guard. Is this true? If so, would it be alright to have a donkey in place of another horse? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.119.61.7 (talk) 23:11, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

There's something in the article Horse under behaviour and another Horse behavior which looks interesting. As you say, horses lay down to sleep with others standing guard. This is related to horses being herd animals (and prey animals). In the same way race horses are nervous types and are calmed by a companion in the stables, sometimes a goat is enough. They also settle well if there's a pony with them. Julia Rossi (talk) 00:59, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Louis XIII vs XO Cognac

To the average drinker, can one really distinguish between the taste of a $2000 bottle of Louis XIII Cognac compared to a $200 bottle of Remy Martin XO Cognac, or other much cheaper cognac? Thanks. Acceptable (talk) 23:17, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

As we are all volunteers - and, given a chance, even average drinkers - on this reference desk, please supply adequate quantities of the aforementioned beverages for copious original research to <address removed by soberbot>. --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 23:29, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Is it really $2000? I always thought it was $700ish. My dad has one, but no one in my family would ever open a bottle that costed more than $100 to drink, so I can't tell you first hand. =P --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 01:03, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Yes and no. There was a test done on Mythbusters about different filtered vodkas and the 'expert' got them all right, whereas the 2 presenters had varying degrees of success. It is a question of interest. My aunt (who has zero interst in cars) didn't realise my parents had switched from a saloon car to a 2-seater sports car becase it was the same colour. To her there wasn't a memorable difference. Similarly if you play me a song and miss a few notes/get a few out of key i'm not liable to notice, but maybe a musician would. If you enjoy cognac then you may notice a difference in taste, for better or for worse. Applying 'value' to it is the unthinkable part. To me $2k on a bottle of drink is unthinkable, but $600 on a lens for my camera isn't. There'll be people who think $600 on a lens is insane and that they can get just as nice photos with a $5 throaway camera - value and worth are things we apply to items, so if it sells at that price then somebody values it at that. As for taste I suspect yes you'd notice a difference, but not necessarily improvement/betterness, just that it differs. 194.221.133.226 (talk) 10:17, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

• Um, there's a world of difference between the variation in vodkas (which are essentially diluted ethanol) and the variation in cognacs. --jpgordon^∇∆∇∆ 14:17, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

In terms of what it is that differs - yes. In terms of comprehending that it is possible to distinguish between seemingly very similar products - no. The point, surely, is that enthusiasts no doubt really can tell the difference. There's a chapter in Malcolm Gladwell's Blink that covers this but with regards to the Pepsi taste test challenge... ny156uk (talk) 19:21, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Vodka is ethanol? Would my car run on it? Seriously, not meant as sarcasm, but wondering if it's fuel of any kind? Julia Rossi (talk) 01:08, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

All drinking alcohol is ethanol. Didn't the USSR have an airplane that ran on alcohol, when its crews didn't drink up all the fuel? I would guess, though, that even vodka has too much water to be safe for your car. —Tamfang (talk) 20:56, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

There is most definitely a difference. Having worked in posh hotel bars with lax (read ignorant and incompetent) management, I've had the chance to taste the super cognac (let's say to make up for unpaid hours). It's very smooth and round, you can barely taste the alcohol, no stinging of the back of the palate. I'd say there's about the same difference between them as there is between an average and a very good whiskey or wine. The good stuff is just the most velvety thing one can drink. It's hard to go back to the cheap stuff afterwards. Why not do the experiment yourself? A shot of the stuff should 'only' cost you about $200. I like it slightly warmer than room temperature and keep the cigar for afterwards. 200.127.59.151 (talk) 15:37, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

And then there is Black Pearl which, at $8,000 a bottle [5], should be saved for the night you win a big lottery. ៛ Bielle (talk) 21:09, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

If they invite you to buy it! Fess up, Bielle, how did you get invited? Julia Rossi (talk) 00:02, 5 June 2008 (UTC)