Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2009 October 29

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October 29

How do I see the Micro Lettering in a Rs.500 note?

After seeing this [1] I got enlightened to recognise a fake note. I happen to see that there is micro-lettering between the potrait and vertical band on the right hand side and it says that it can be viewed through a magnifying glass but I fail to see it. Is there a way in which we can see it clearly? Srinivas 08:29, 29 October 2009 (UTC)

Perhaps you have a fake note on your hands. Or perhaps your magnifying glass is not magnifying enough.--Quest09 (talk) 10:12, 29 October 2009 (UTC)

I also fail to find "RBI 500" in mucro-lettering on the image. It looks like "500" might be obscured under the end of the blue leader line. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 12:24, 29 October 2009 (UTC)

The area between the portrait and vertical band on the right hand side has a design that appears like little doted lines filling up entire area. The dots are actually the words "RBI" and "500" written in very small font size. First look for a pattern of three dots and space repeated. With some effort, in bright light, I can read out RBI and 500 without using any lens. - manya (talk) 04:10, 30 October 2009 (UTC)

What is "coke rush"?

Hi, I am a Chinese. I would very much appreciate if someone could tell me the meaning of "coke rush". 210.66.171.178 (talk) 09:19, 29 October 2009 (UTC)Ann

It refers to the artificial "high" that some users might experience immediately after taking the drug cocaine. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 10:54, 29 October 2009 (UTC)

"Coke" is a short name for Coca-Cola.

"Coke" is also a short name for cocaine.

A "rush" is when a person experiences a rapid quickening of the senses, perhaps rapid heart beat, or suddenly feeling good or feeling active. So a "coke rush" is such a feeling as a result of taking "Coke" or "Coke". Sussexonian (talk) 10:57, 29 October 2009 (UTC)

A "rush" can also mean a stampede or mass movement of people so that a "coke rush" could conceivably mean an extraordinarily popular move to buy Coca-Cola drink or company shares. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 12:15, 29 October 2009 (UTC)

As a trivial note, Coca-Cola derives part of its name from "cocaine". The drug was once an active ingredient in Coke, and spent coca leaves are still used in its formula. There is no "kick from cocaine" in Coca-Cola, though. The "kick" comes from the caffeine, from the kola nut which inspired the other part of its name. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 13:09, 29 October 2009 (UTC)

One thing that annoys me is when I Get a Kick out of You is bowdlerized to remove the coke reference. Some versions also change the line Flyin' too high with some guy in the sky is my idea of nothin' to do to ...some gal in the sky..., I guess because they thought it sounded gay or something when sung by a man, but there is no indication that anything romantic was going on with the pilot, so that's pretty silly, and also destroys the internal rhyming of the line. Admittedly, Cole Porter was in fact gay, so he could have had a subtext. --Trovatore (talk) 02:54, 30 October 2009 (UTC)

I just had to throw that in, it being the "opening number" of Blazing Saddles, a movie for which "bowdlerized" does not apply. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 03:07, 30 October 2009 (UTC)

Best thread of the week, because I thought the "cocaine" version was just Blazing Saddles having its fun. Back to the OP, though, who may not be totally fluent in English: Richardrj is correct above, and the other responses above are basically jokes. Tempshill (talk) 03:10, 30 October 2009 (UTC)

The part about the origins of Coca-Cola is not a joke, and is discussed in greater depth in its article. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 03:14, 30 October 2009 (UTC)

Very clear, very helpful, thank you all210.66.171.178 (talk) 05:28, 30 October 2009 (UTC)Ann

Meaning of "mast"

Context:

The Marine Corps Recruit Training Regulation lists the following "recruit rights:" 
(...)
(f) Request mast via the chain-of-command. 

What is he requesting here?--Quest09 (talk) 13:05, 29 October 2009 (UTC)

Probably this: Mast (naval), a non-judicial disciplinary hearing. Rmhermen (talk) 13:10, 29 October 2009 (UTC)

It makes sense, at least.--Quest09 (talk) 15:40, 29 October 2009 (UTC)

Feces

On the programme diet doctors on channel 5 in the UK, did one woman have to excrete out of her mouth because her intestines were full of feces? Im asking because a friend told me about it and i dont believe him.

Thank you —Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.216.36.105 (talk) 15:11, 29 October 2009 (UTC)

There is such a thing as Fecal vomiting. Sounds disgusting. APL (talk) 15:21, 29 October 2009 (UTC)

Sounds like a South Park episode. Adam Bishop (talk) 15:28, 29 October 2009 (UTC)

It's a distressing condition resulting from intestinal intussception, which is where the bowel twists in on itself and blocks anything from progressing through the intestine. It can result in death if not treated quickly enough. --TammyMoet (talk) 15:46, 29 October 2009 (UTC)

With respect Tammy can I just correct your statement. Intussuception is when the bowel slides inside itself, also called invagination. Torsion is when the bowel twists on itself. Both conditions can cause complete intestinal blockage and can eventually lead to faecal vomiting. I have witnessed this, many years ago, and it was extremely unpleasant because it was to some extent projectile as well. I suspect that it is pretty rare these days as diagnostics can pinpoint the problem before these extreme signs show themselves. Richard Avery (talk) 19:18, 29 October 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for the correction. My nephew had intussuception aged just 13 months, which is how I know about the condition. As you can appreciate it was quite a traumatic time so no wonder I couldn't quite remember the details! --TammyMoet (talk) 11:51, 30 October 2009 (UTC)

I watched the programme in question, luckily I had already finished my dinner! The lady in question was just plain constipated and was cured by a high fibre diet.Alansplodge (talk) 01:49, 1 November 2009 (UTC)

1970's incident

During the 1973-74 oil crisis, and shortly after the speed limit on highways was uniformly set to 55 mph by federal law, three drivers in Michigan decided to drive side-by-side at that exact speed one day. They ended up causing a traffic backup that stretched for many miles, since no one could pass them on the three lane road. I've been looking for an article on this story, without luck. Can anyone assist me? Thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.60.29.109 (talk) 16:27, 29 October 2009 (UTC)

It looks like similar protest have happened more than once: a Google search —Akrabbim^talk 18:10, 29 October 2009 (UTC)

The alleged original anecdote and the alleged protests in that link all look like wishful thinking to me. I don't see any reliable citations. Tempshill (talk) 03:08, 30 October 2009 (UTC)

I believe there were some instances of such "rolling roadblocks," and not just "wishful thinking." I have personally seen slow drivers in multiple lanes preventing people from speeding (perhaps by spontaneous conspiracy), but can't say how long such a phenomenon endured or how far the backup extended. Edison (talk) 05:03, 30 October 2009 (UTC)

I know that professional truck drivers do this before construction zones. It's OR from when I used to drive a truck. I don't remember the reason why they do it though... Dismas|^(talk) 05:12, 30 October 2009 (UTC)

In the UK during the early 'noughties' (Fuel protests in the United Kingdom#2000) there were reports of rolling road block being (definitely threatened if not acted out) by truck drivers as they tried to influence the government into reducing Fuel duty. Seems with a scan of the article linked that in Scotland in 2007 they may have done something like this in protest. 194.221.133.226 (talk) 09:07, 30 October 2009 (UTC)

need to find location on a 1966 lincoln continental

can someone please tell me where i can find the vin on a 1966 lincoln continental?Vls59dpt (talk) 22:40, 29 October 2009 (UTC) Moved from Talk Page by 86.139.237.128 (talk)

Did you check the inside of the driver's door? (e.g., on the outer edge?) --Mr.98 (talk) 00:35, 30 October 2009 (UTC)

This photo [2] of a '66 Continental's engine bay has a couple of tags on the firewall - I'm pretty sure the one on the right has the VIN. SteveBaker (talk) 03:45, 30 October 2009 (UTC)

This photo shows the door tag which has the VIN on it. That tag should not be missing. -- kainaw™ 17:47, 30 October 2009 (UTC)