Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2008 June 9

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 9

Unique City

City names can be repeated in the US, with Portland, Oregon and Portland, Maine being perhaps the most notable case. Can a city name be repeated in the same state ? How about for other countries, do they reuse city names, too, as long as they are in different states or provinces ? StuRat (talk) 01:34, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Certainly, Stu. In Australia, there are Brightons in Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania; and Armadales in Victoria and Western Australia. Many other examples. -- JackofOz (talk) 01:49, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Frankfurts get distinguished by river, though they also lie in different states. Without specification, we usually mean Frankfurt am Main, but Frankfurt an der Oder is a notable German town too, and the article calls it a city. The Italian province capitals Reggio Calabria (from Greek Rhegion) and Reggio Emilia (from Latin Regium) are both just called Reggio when the context is clear. ---Sluzzelin talk 02:14, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

The UK has exactly 66 cities, none of which share a name, so the problem doesn't apply. For smaller settlements, disambiguation is not necessarily by region (e.g. Newcastle upon Tyne versus Newcastle-under-Lyme versus Newcastle-on-Clun). To me at least, the construction 'cityname, regionname' sounds very unEnglish, but I have heard (for example) 'Ashford in Kent' used. Algebraist 02:22, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

We also have Gillingham in Kent and Gillingham in Dorset, which are distinguished from each other by the way they are pronounced (with a soft G for the one in Kent and a hard G for the one in Dorset). --Richardrj ^{talk email} 09:22, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

California has two Brentwoods and two Westwoods, though only one of each is technically a city (the non-city ones are neighborhoods in Los Angeles; I think they may have been cities at one time before Mulholland built his water empire). --Trovatore (talk) 03:33, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

In the UK we have 40 towns called Newton, 22 called Sutton, 16 called Clifton, 15 Waltons and 15 Bridgends [1]. -- Q Chris (talk) 09:29, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

And that excludes places with those as part of their name (e.g., King's Sutton and Sutton Coldfield). FWIW, here in New Zealand things are far closer to unique... it's extremely rare for two places to have the same name unless one of them (or both of them) is/are suburbs of larger cities. There are a small handful of these suburban anomalies, but other than them as far as I know there are no duplicate names. It was New Zealand Geographic Board practice for many years to insist that if two places had the same name, the more recently settled one had to append either "North" or "South" to the end of the name - which is why there's a small settlement in the South Island called Palmerston and a big city in the North Island called Palmerston North (much to the chagrin of the latter's residents). Grutness...wha? 12:08, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

That does seem like a good idea, though, as duplicate names would likely cause much confusion and many mistakes. Imagine an ambulance being dispatched to Main Street in the wrong city, for example. StuRat (talk) 12:33, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

What would you do if your boss said "Quick, send this package to Springfield!" ? --LarryMac | Talk 19:46, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

The disambiguation page for Springfield also illustrates the first case - there are several entries for towns named Springfield in the state of Wisconsin. Rmhermen (talk) 00:21, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

But only one of them has the Springfield post office, and that's where anything addressed to "Springfield, WI" will go. --Carnildo (talk) 00:20, 11 June 2008 (UTC)

In the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, there are two unincorporated communities on the map named "State Line." Edison (talk) 14:27, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

The US Postal Service will not name two post offices the same in the same state. If there is already a post office with that name, they will suggest that the new place change is name. Corvus cornix_talk 16:43, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

NCAA data question

I was reading threw the NCAA men's basketball media guide looking at records. When I was looking at team's all-time records, I noticed the data doesn't span all the years. When I looked at the school's media guides, I saw different sets of data, over a larger span of years. Is the NCAA still researching data on these teams, and doesn't have the complete data yet?76.194.67.13 (talk) 06:28, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Can you cite specific examples? It may be a case of years considered ineligible by the NCAA or simply a case of omission, but it is not likely a case of ongoing research. — Lomn 12:55, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

cosmetic

which cream can be used as an altenative to dermovate nn cream Manoj kc26 (talk) 09:10, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Dermovate is a prescription-only medication, therefore it's up to your doctor to decide what to replace it with. Fribbler (talk) 10:13, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

In that case I suggest that this topic is getting pretty close to asking for medical advice, and I agree that any alternatives for prescription-only medication should come from a Doctor and not Wikipedia. -- Q Chris (talk) 10:16, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Thank you, Fribbler. Until I got to your response, I thought that "dermovate" was a typo and I was rather confused as to what could have been misspelled. Dismas|^(talk) 10:40, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

A deep, dark question...

Well, there had been some stuff I saw that scared me. I saw some videos on YouTube where people talk that Barack Obama, now the democratic Presidential candidate, could be the Antichrist. They said that he could be the Antichrist because the name of the Antichrist was in his name, Barack "Hussein" Obama. They said that he had a Muslim church with his reverend who said "God Damn America" as the pastor. They also said that they perceive whites as the Devil, which worries me because that might mean that blacks and other minorities might be bad people, and they were set to destroy Israel. Also, I saw a video where they talked that Jesus hates the democratic party because they don't obey the first commandment, which worries me because I support democrats. So, here's the question that might be controversial: Does all this talk mean that Barack Obama might be the Antichrist? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sirdrink13309622 (talk • contribs) 09:35, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

No, Obama is not the Antichrist, he's just a politician. This sort of thing is routine scaremongering and smear tactics by those who would not like to see Obama in the White House. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 09:38, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Out of balance here is someone who thinks that McCain could be the antichrist [2]. Of course this rubbish too. -- Q Chris (talk) 10:10, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Bush was labelled the Anti-Christ at one point. So were Hitler, Bin Laden, Emperor Nero, and plenty of others. Oh, and Jesus can't possible hate anyone, according to Christian tradition, as he teaches love and forgiveness. Don't listen to the Christian extremists or you'll be as bad as extremists all over the world and from every 'faith' that has them. Oh, and don't listen to the scare-mongers. They are there to get attention, not to provide valuable information.--ChokinBako (talk) 11:22, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

If he does turn out to be the Antichrist,we will gladly accept these folks were right whilst we're dodging fiery hail and brimstone from on high... Lemon martini (talk) 12:03, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Whenever you hear rumors like this, check them out at Snopes.com. Here is their investigation into the "Obama matches the Biblical description of the anti-Christ" e-mail, which, of course, is all lies: [3]. The "Christians" who send out and forward such e-mails are all breaking one of the Ten Commandments, incidentally: "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor". "Christian Conservatives", in the US, contrary to the name, seem to be among the most un-Christian people in the world, being pro-war, denying charity to the poor, bearing false witness, etc.; "family values" which are the complete opposite of those values taught by Christ. Most of the country has stopped listening to them, and I suggest you do the same.

Obama's former pastor is quite radical and did say "God damn America", but Obama has now quit that church as a result, so it isn't fair to say he believes the same things his former pastor did (although joining such a church in the first place does show poor judgement). StuRat (talk) 12:07, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Great point StuRat :-)--Serviam (talk) 15:06, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

As an evangelical Christian myself, can I say that StuRat ... has a very good point. May I be the first to apologize on behalf of my fellow evangelicals.

I find it interesting that there are Christians out there who assume that any preacher who teaches that America might be wrong about anything must be evil. DJ Clayworth (talk) 17:22, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Hussein is not the name of the anti-Christ. Saddam Hussein, while a brutal dictator, was nothing close to the anti-Christ—he was a secular Baathist who imposed a particular type of pan-Arabism on the Middle East, the worst of which took the form of oppressing his own people and a brutal war against Iran (in which the US supplied him weapons). The name Hussein is just a common Arabic name meaning "Handsome." That's it. Please, please, please—don't let something as silly as a common middle name determine who will run your country. Learn about the issues. Learn about the candidates personal leadership abilities and styles. Determine who would be a good person to run a major superpower for the next four years based on that. Not on the fact that their middle name happens to be a common Arabic name that happens to have been the last name of an Arabic dictator. That is not a way to choose a leader. Be suspicious of propaganda you receive by e-mail—the people who wrote it are using you, they are trying to exploit your ignorance for their political gain. Be suspicious, be skeptical. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 16:22, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

"Jesus hates the democratic party because they don't obey the first commandment"? The first commandment is "You shall have no other gods before Me." That can't even apply to a secular political body. --Ye Olde Luke (talk) 00:23, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

How about Nasser Hussain? Is he the Antichrist? AlmostReadytoFly (talk) 08:57, 11 June 2008 (UTC)

Nowhere in the New Teatament does Jesus even FART the word 'Hussein', never mind SAY it. He just preached love and forgiveness and occasionally went beserk in the market. He didn't predict anything or even talk about an anti-christ. That was John, who was stuck on an island going psychotic about Emperor Nero. Nothing to do with Barack Obama (whose grandmother incidentally, lives in England and is leaching off our social security system - bloody immigrants!).--ChokinBako (talk) 17:03, 11 June 2008 (UTC)

Jesus didn't even say the word Hussein in the New Testament, much less the New Teatament. bibliomaniac15 17:12, 11 June 2008 (UTC)

I really hope this was a joke question, please how can you be so nutty. And if you are serious, ill tell you a secret. There is NO omniscient God, thus there is no Christ, thus there is no Anti-Christ. So relax buddy. 137.111.130.108 (talk) 04:58, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

Non-English Wikipedias

Here, on English Wikipedia, we meet a lot of religious fundamentalists on talk pages like Evolution, Criticism of religion, Atheism, demanding to change articles' contents. Well I think it's due to high religiosity of United States. But what about other major Wikipedias (e.g. German, Japanese, French ones)? Do fundamentalists hang out there criticizing articles that do not suit their beliefs? It's interesting to me, as as far as I know, population of Germany, Japan, France is not highly religious as American folks. 89.236.214.174 (talk) 12:25, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

A quick glance at Discuter:Évolution (biologie) and Diskussion:Evolution suggests that it's not happening nearly as much. However, to guess why, I think you should also remember that the dominant denominations of Europe are not necessarily strongly anti-evolution. For example, see the Catholic Church's at-worst ambivalent position. AlmostReadytoFly (talk) 13:35, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Thank you for answer. But what about other (other than evolution-creation) "hot" topics, articles, in which "clashes" between science and religion are highlighted? 89.236.214.174 (talk) 14:08, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Yes Pope Pious (Can't remember what number Pious he was) actually endorsed it in a speech in 1950, and the Archbishop of Vienna last year labeled Creationists as madmen, I live in Europe and creatrionism is banned in school,s tew have no fundamentalists.--Serviam (talk) 14:50, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Not teaching Young Earth Creationism in schools doesn't mean that there are no fundamentalists. I can tell you for sure that there are Young Earth believers in Europe; enough to form some organizations. DJ Clayworth (talk) 17:18, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

And whether they choose to vent on Wikipedia also depends on the status of their language Wikipedia in their overall media. My understanding is that none of the language Wikipedias have anything like the pull of the English one, so that would logically be the sort of place that would draw more of the contentious people for debate. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 18:29, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

This is slightly older data, but given the results of this survey, you may want to check the edit history for the evolution page on the Turkish Wikipedia.--droptone (talk) 18:58, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Which is here. A little hard to find as it interwiki links not from Evolution but from Introduction to evolution. (made me initially think they didn't even have an article on it!) Fribbler (talk) 13:48, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

Fixed. Algebraist 13:54, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

Thank! I looked and was unable to find a link and gave up prematurely.--droptone (talk) 17:36, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

Chris Martenson, PhD.

Is there a way to check out the scholastic credentials of the above person?

Thank you. - nre43 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.253.192.138 (talk) 12:45, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

If you mean this Chris Martenson, I guess you could contact Duke University to ask. AlmostReadytoFly (talk) 13:12, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Usually completing a Ph.D. means completing a thesis, which is then usually deposited in the university's library system. In this case, that seems to check out fine with the information on his page:

Martenson, Christopher Hamlin, 1962-

Acrylamide neurotoxicity : effect on neuronal growth cones and axonal fast transport / Duke Theses 1994

Location/Request: University Archives: Library Service Center (Reading Room only) | Ph.D. M377A 1994 LSC

So there ya go. Ph.D. in neurotoxicology, why not. Harder to check things like the MBA from Cornell online, as that doesn't produce a thesis. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 16:28, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Question about Terminal 5

Does anyone know if there are any designated smoking areas in/near the terminal building? Thanks in advance. Scarian^{Call me Pat!} 13:44, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

As far as I know, there is no smoking at ALL UK airports. You have to go outside to smoke.--ChokinBako (talk) 13:59, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

This was certainly the case in Terminal 3. Once you go through the security to the departure lounge there is no smoking until you get out in your destination airport. -- Q Chris (talk) 14:31, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Yes, but at Heathrow there are designated smoking areas where smokers can smoke. I was looking for an area near T5 where this was possible. Scarian^{Call me Pat!} 14:56, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Under new laws introduced last year, it is now illegal to smoke in any enclosed public place or enclosed work place in England. You now have to go outside if you want to smoke. If there is a designated smoking area it will be signposted.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 15:25, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Okay, thank you for that. But what I was asking was where, if any, would they be? Scarian^{Call me Pat!} 15:28, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Good day. Where you ask? Wherever they put the sign, but I doubt they would put a smoking section in the airport. It is just to closed in and I'm sure no one wants to smell the fine smell of a recently lit tip. I hope I have helped. Have a positively wonderful day.Rem Nightfall (talk) 16:24, 9 June 2008 (UTC)Rem Nightfall

I don't know the situation in the UK, but in many parts of the United States, smoking is banned in all public buildings, including workplaces, such as an airport terminal. A few jurisdictions in the United States are starting to ban smoking within 10 meters or so of a public entryway to a public building. However, everywhere in the United States it is still possible to smoke outdoors as long as you are not close to the doorway of a building. If similar rules apply in the UK, you should be able to light up anywhere outside Terminal 5. If the UK bans smoking near doorways, you will just have to walk 10 meters before you light up. As others have said though, once you enter the building and head for your gate, you won't be able to smoke again until you reach your destination (and depending on your destination, until you leave the airport there). Marco polo (talk) 17:47, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Yup, it's outdoors. I have smoked there. William Avery (talk) 21:19, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

All enclosed workspaces and outdoor ones with a roof are no smoking areas in the UK. Doorways are not yet, but there is talk of making them no smoking areas, and some establishments have already implemented the idea (actually because the doorways end up full of people blocking the way out, and also full of fag ends, but not for any other health reason). You'll have to just have a fag before you go into the airport, stick a nicotine patch on for the length of the journey (you can get them free from your GP), and chew lots of gum to help you with the habit, then smoke your heart out (or your lungs) when you get to your destination. That's what I do, and I regularly travel on plane journeys of more than 14 hours. Good luck!--ChokinBako (talk) 10:24, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

Before the ban came in the forward-looking thinkers at London Gatwick Airport designated a Smoking Area... in the centre of the Non-smoking Area and with absolutely no barrier between the two areas. Brilliant!86.202.30.131 (talk) 17:47, 10 June 2008 (UTC)DT

Aye, well, the managers at Gatwick and Heathrow were never known for their organizational skills. Just look at the comic tragedy that T5 turned out to be! They couldn't organize a gang bang in a brothel, those guys!--ChokinBako (talk) 16:53, 11 June 2008 (UTC)

Fantastical Fantasy

Good day sirs and ma'ams. There had been something on my mind. I would like to create my own fantasy world, but I'm finding it hard to find heroes. The problem is simple really; dwarves, giants, etc. have all been done before. But then if I try to create something new it makes me look like a freak or it sounds just retarded. How could I overcome this? Is there any links to fantasy creating that could help me? Thank you in advance. I really appreciate the answers and the time taking to answer this question. Have a positively wonderful day.Rem Nightfall (talk) 16:21, 9 June 2008 (UTC)Rem Nightfall

Here's a suggestion: it doesn't matter if they are dwarves or giants or whatever. The creatures themselves have never been the real basis of the fantasy world. Tolkien's elves and dwarves would be nothing had he not carefully thought out the characters, the way they interact with each other, their deep histories. The analogy, from Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, is with a superhero: the question is not what the hero is, or how his powers work, but why they do what they do. That's what makes them a person, what makes them "real". If I were you, I would focus less on the population of your world from the perspective of "what D&D characters do they make up" and focus more on what the underlying driving tension is, and how that underlying tension is going to create all of the complexity that will make the world interesting. Once you've got that, populating it with peoples is not so hard. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 17:00, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

I can understand where you are coming from. That is true and I agree. I was thinking of a war against man and elves. And the reason for this war to start was because of the negative thoughts of men. The men believe the elves are being greedy not sharing ever piece of their knowledge. The elves have other thoughts. They have always like the they only fight in self-defense. The problem is this sounds unoriginal and so I get stuck.Rem Nightfall (talk) 17:29, 9 June 2008 (UTC)Rem Nightfall

Without wanting to be overly presentist, think about the world we live in today. There are many factions, some more powerful than others, some in weak alliances with others, some in strong alliances with others. They are dealing with both their internal interactions and the relations between their group and the outside world. There are underlying desires for certain resources. There are even some on-going wars—over resources, for political gains, for internal reasons as well as external ones, with multiple actors at all stages. In every group there is a strong range of opinion—there is no homogeneity to be found, even in the execution of policy by a single entity. That's the sort of richness and complexity that you want your fantasy world to have. Are the "men" all banded together, all thinking the same thoughts? Have we ever heard of human civilizations like that? Don't make them "the men". Make them a specific group of men. Perhaps united under the same culture and flag, but not the only men in the world. And not homogenous—not thinking the same thoughts. Not willing to stay in a costly, dangerous, and disruptive war if there is no end-game in sight, no obvious reason to be in it. Then, when you've fleshed out this kingdom of men, with all of the rulers and those with their eyes on the throne in place, do the same thing, more or less, to the elves (just because they are foreign does not mean they are not as complex). Make the fantasy world you create mirror the type of world we live in—complex, confusing, but mostly coherent. Just my two cents. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 17:56, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

And it is worth noting that even though Tolkien denied that Lord of the Rings was meant to be allegorical to actual historical events in any way, it seems rather unlikely to me that he could have not (even unintentionally) have been influenced in much of his approach to it by the events going on around him while he was writing it—World War II. Don't be afraid of taking a little from what you know and putting it into the broad structures of the plot—it's how these things are done. A radical thought: if Tolkien's epic was a WWII-style battle, and some of the later ones were clearly Cold War style battles (epic ideological struggle, fears of subversive spies), what does a post-Cold War (post-9/11?) fantasy world look like? What has our current world situation done to our understanding of military power, of the operation of nations, of the importance of culture and religion, etc.? Can these be integrated into a fantasy world? Do something like that, and you're out of the "unoriginal" territory... --98.217.8.46 (talk) 18:00, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

You know, one thing you could consider is playing off the elves' belief in self-defense. In most fantasy stories, noble causes like self-defense are generally shown to be all-around supported and positive. But, in the real world, such heroic beliefs are also sometimes excuses by the leaders to keep their subjects in line (patriotism is another popular excuse by leaders: "You don't agree with me? Do you hate your country?"). This opens up whole new possibilites. What would happen if an elf spoke out and said they weren't truely acting in self-defense, but in miserly isolation? What would the general popuation think of this elf? Could he get others to agree? Is he even right? By casting the elves in questionable light as well as the humans, the charcters all become expanded. (On a completely unrelated note, when you sign a post, you don't need to put your name after the four squigglies, i.e. "~~~~Rem Nightfall". Just put the squigglies, and the name comes automatically.) --Ye Olde Luke (talk) 20:59, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Good evening. I've read both of your suggestions and I like them both. It gave me an expanded idea of my own. I thought this the humans are living in a condition in, which their leader believes in his own lies. So if he says the enemies have for an example a nuclear bomb (not likely in a fantasy world, but still) no matter what he will always believe there is a nuclear bomb. So the leader when his information is questioned he blames it on the coordinators the second in command, anyone who follows him. It's there fault they gave him the information. So the humans are living in a giant lie and have to follow the government even though the whole government system is a lie and is lying. While I'll take Ye Olde Luke's idea of the elves living in a self-defense control. A control in which they are forced by their own leader to do as the land ask. If you do not submit then you are considered a traitor of the land. Then of course there are other creature factions of course.Rem Nightfall (talk) 21:40, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Sounds interesting, if you end up writing something, or doing something complete out of this, then be sure to let us know here. Chris M. (talk) 02:10, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

Well I thought it would be interesting if you had two failing leaders just one on each faction. And each leader fails in a different way. That way it makes the humans and the elves almost on the same playing field. Except one has been created and shrouded by lies, while the other has been smothered in control. And of course there has to be some causalities in the middle...that is were the other creatures come into play. Of course there also will be the outside influence to stop the war with "peaceful" fighting. These of course would be the heroes.Rem Nightfall (talk) 02:32, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

Even if the creatures you put in your world have appeared in novels and stories before, it doesn't matter. There are elves in both Harry Potter and The Lord Of The Rings, but look how different they are. In the former, they are utterly slavish and docile, while in the latter they are proud and extremely egotistic. As long as you bring a different and unique flavour into your characters, it doesn't matter whether it's a talking mouse or an orphaned boy-wizard. Best of luck! 117.194.225.130 (talk) 07:27, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

Not so long ago I read a piece by Terry Pratchett on this; it was in a printed compilation, and doesn't seem to be on the web, so I can't point you to it, and you'll have to rely on my memory for regurgitation. Anyway, on characters and plot devices, he mentions that they've all been done before, and will always be repeated (ie. there are always stories about elves, or time machines). But, they are merely ingredients, and good writers find new ways of mixing them, and occasionally add something new to the mix. Characterisation is as important in fantasy as in other genres: there is no excuse for cardboard characters. Let them live in your mind a bit, and you'll probably find they develop their own personalities and characteristics. Pratchett also pointed out that you need to know how your fantasy world works. Ask questions, such as how the magic is regulated, why the slipper only fit Cinderella, and no one else, and where werewolves get their clothes from. Fanatsy shoudl be taken seriously, he said. Also, read widely about the real world, its details and history; most of fantasy is the real world with a few tweaks and "what-ifs", and there are plots and devices everywhere. Enjoy your writing. Gwinva (talk) 08:31, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

Samba carnival question

Having seen a samba carnival in Helsinki, I started wondering. Why are very nearly all dancers in the carnival women? Men only appear as music players. And why do the women dress so skimpily? In Helsinki they wear little more than bras and knickers and as I understand it in Rio de Janeiro they don't even wear bras. Not that I have a problem with that, but why is it? What does dancing have to do with (semi-)nudity? I would understand it if it were some sort of fashion or glamour show but samba is all about dancing. Is it because of more demand for seeing women, or because women are more interested in dancing than men are, or why? JIP | Talk 17:59, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Well. for part of this question I think George Bernard Shaws quote is appropriate: Dance is a perpendicular expression of a horizontal desire. :-) Fribbler (talk) 22:20, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

I was so about to answer this question, but that quote trumps anything I could have come up with. Book me on the next flight to Rio de Janeiro! --Ye Olde Luke (talk) 00:14, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

I get the general idea, dancing in general is a romantic and kind of erotic activity, so it makes sense that dancers dress up attractively. But it still doesn't answer my question. I am singling out samba carnivals in particular. I have two points:

1. Why do only women dance in the carnival? I am pretty sure men dance samba too, in general. Is it some kind of tradition to only feature women, or are there simply too few men available?
2. Why do the women wear so little? Even given what I saw above, you don't see women going in bikinis or topless when they are dancing any other dance.

I hope I have made my questions clearer. JIP | Talk 17:41, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

Remember that the word carnival means "farewell to the flesh" -- it's just before the start of Lent, when you're supposed to repent for your sins. Someone must have decided that, if you were going to go to all that trouble, you might as well have some sins to repent for :-). --Trovatore (talk) 09:34, 11 June 2008 (UTC)

Get more information on a NY police report case number?

Im looking through this carfax report for a car im about to buy and its been involved in an accident and it gives you a police report case nnumber with it. Can i do anything with this number? are police case records made public? --Iownatv (talk) 18:29, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

I gather that police reports are ultimately kept by the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (NYS DMV). It appears that police reports are indeed public information and are available from the NYS DMV's web site: link. Their electronic search function requires "the NYS DMV accident case number of the accident (not the police agency number), or the vehicle plate number of a vehicle involved in the accident, or the driver license number (from NYS or from another state) of a driver involved in the accident." Searching their database costs $7, each report that you order costs $15 on top of that. I don't know how you would turn a police report case number into a NYS DMV accident case number, however. Perhaps you could contact the police department that produced the report...? TenOfAllTrades(talk) 19:20, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

NBA Team vs National Team

Suppose an NBA playoff team such as the Lakers, Celtics or Pistons was to play an European national team such as Estonia or Spain, who would generally win? It seems lately that the US Men's Basketball team is not as competitive as some of the European national teams, but how does a complete NBA team stack up? Thanks. Acceptable (talk) 20:29, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

I think a playoff-level NBA team with good chemistry and a couple of shooting specialists would fare pretty well. The last few US national teams were put together at the last minute, and the players just didn't complement each other (even though the collective talent was probably much higher than any other team).

Of course, most NBA teams have a few international players. Would the Lakers be allowed to keep Pau Gasol, DJ Mbenga, Vladimir Radmanovic, and Ronny Turiaf? Zagalejo^^^ 21:42, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

It is my humble opinion that, even given the excellent level of international play in the past decade or so, the worst NBA team in any given year could cruise its way through the Olympics on its way to a gold medal if (a) it did not have to play a full eighty-six-game season in the year leading up to the Summer Games and (b) it were allowed to spend some of that year in international competition. And those two considerations might not even be necessary. This is all conjecture, of course, as it would be for anyone offering an opinion, and therefore perhaps inappropriate for the Reference Desk. Mitchell k dwyer (talk) 20:11, 11 June 2008 (UTC)

History of Willy on Wheels

Who is Willy on Wheels and what did he do to get himself copied by so many users? I'm fairly certain that someone has asked this before, so if there's any pre-existing pages chronicling this user, you could just link me to there. If not, I'd just like to hear a brief summary of what he did. --Ye Olde Luke (talk) 20:45, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Page move vandal. There's an archived question and answers here. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 20:53, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, I knew there must be.--Ye Olde Luke (talk) 21:03, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

This might also be informative. Grutness...wha? 06:50, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

That was indeed a fascinating read. Thank you. --Ye Olde Luke (talk) 08:22, 13 June 2008 (UTC)

Willy On Wheels? Sounds like a mobile male brothel! (drum roll)--ChokinBako (talk) 13:24, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

mortal combat deadly alliance

I would like to know if there is anyone that knows how to unlock the charactersBizzyb0007 (talk) 21:39, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Good evening. To unlock characters in Deadly Alliance you have to go into the krypt and use your money to buy characters. The characters are in coffins. I have a list of what characters are in what coffin, but it is a long list. So I drop by your user page and give you the list. I hope I have helped. Have a positively wonderful evening.Rem Nightfall (talk) 21:44, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Game show judges

Here's something I've been wondering about: how does one become a judge on a show like Jeopardy? What kind of credentials do those people have? Zagalejo^^^ 22:35, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

It's likely to have almost nothing to do with credentials, but knowing the right people, being in the right place at the right time, and doing very well at a screen test and with audiences, etc. It is not something you can train for—there are simply too few of such jobs around. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 23:07, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

What do you mean by a "judge" on Jeopardy!? Corvus cornix_talk 18:01, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

Sometimes, Alex Trebek needs to defer to a group of judges to determine whether a response is acceptable. I don't think you ever actually see or hear the judges on TV. Alex just reports their decisions and announces any necessary scoring changes. Zagalejo^^^ 18:49, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

You might find this interview with a former Jeopardy! writer interesting. -- Coneslayer (talk) 19:29, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

Great read. Thanks! Zagalejo^^^ 20:09, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

Zimbabwean_dollar

Why would someone want to use it? The inflation rate is between (official) 355,000% March 2008 and (estimated) 1,694,000% May 23 2008. GoingOnTracks (talk) 22:49, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

I imagine having little choice would be a reason cited by people living in Zimbabwe. --Tagishsimon (talk) 22:51, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Tagishsimon is right, it's neccesity. But people are already using stable currency where possible. Fribbler (talk) 00:02, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

The point is if someone offers you 100.00 Zimbabwean Dollars for your services, products or whatever, how do you know how much is it? Is a terribly instable currency better than barter or cigarettes? GoingOnTracks (talk) 01:18, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

Well, I've kind of been in this situation before. Basically; small (a cup of tea, dinner) is dealt with in the local currency; With something a little bit bigger like clothes or a hotel room, the transaction is in a stable local currency (in this case the rand). And for life-changing transactions, a world currency is used such as the euro, or us dollar. Fribbler (talk) 01:32, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

Hyperinflation is worth reading, too, BTW. Grutness...wha? 06:55, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

In answer to the 100.00 Zimbabwean dollars question, according to this it is worth 0.334 cents US. But I doubt if you could actually get anyone in Zimbabwe (or probably anywhere else) to give you any amount of any stable currency for it. SpinningSpark 20:30, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

harmonics in metal

In what ways can harmonics affect the steel components of a large engine such as a 16 cylinder locomotive engine? Also, where do the harmonics originate from? The question derives from an injector I was shown at work today, I was told it split in half do to harmonics.Derulk (talk) 23:34, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

If you imagine that the injector has a resonant frequency which happens to be a frequency multiple, or harmonic of a frequency which the engine generates (e.g. an engine at 3,000 RPM generates a fundamental frequency of 50Hz, which has harmonics of 100Hz, 150Hz, 200Hz, &c) then you can probably imagine the vibration from the engine setting off the injector sufficiently to get it to vibrate itself to death. Successive impulses from the engine are picked up by the injector, each of which increases the vibrational energy in the injector because the two are vibrating at matched frequencies (just like successive pushes of a swing make the child go higher & higher). --Tagishsimon (talk) 23:44, 9 June 2008 (UTC)