Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2015 April 20

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April 20

How long does it take for package to come in the mail from California to Vancouver?

I'm waiting for a package. Venustar84 (talk) 03:22, 20 April 2015 (UTC)

It's going to depend dramatically on the type of package and type of shipping. Overnight delivery was probably available, although perhaps not from more isolated spots in California. Then you go to 2-day, 3-day, or longer delivery, depending on what you are willing to pay for. The shipping terms should have been disclosed when you purchased the item. Or, if it was shipped by a friend or relative, the postal service should be able to tell you the schedule. In any case, they can likely also provide you with a tracking number you can use to track it's progress, using your PC.

If you did buy something, note that some companies take weeks to deliver an item. In that case it's not just delivery to you that takes so long, they probably wait until they get enough orders, then order a batch from China or wherever. StuRat (talk) 05:06, 20 April 2015 (UTC)

Additionally, the package would have to go through customs. When I worked for a gift company here in Vermont, we couldn't guarantee the shipping times to Canada because our packages might be held up in customs. We didn't know how long that would be and had no way of finding out beforehand. That was only a few years ago and I doubt things have changed much since then. Dismas|^(talk) 05:14, 20 April 2015 (UTC)

If it's via USPS, it also depends on where it was posted from. There are two post offices near us, one is a huge regional postal center, the other isn't...that makes one to two days difference depending on what time of day we drop your packages off. SteveBaker (talk) 08:14, 20 April 2015 (UTC)

Anything dealing with Canada Post is cursed in my experience. When I mailed something this last summer USPS was quoting shorter delivery times to Eastern Europe than to major cities in Canada. In my case my three-week vacation in Canada was shorter than the delivery time of a package. Rmhermen (talk) 16:43, 20 April 2015 (UTC)

I'm near the border. Mail from the nearest city in Canada takes about eight days; mail from a thousand miles away within the US takes four. —Tamfang (talk) 09:00, 21 April 2015 (UTC)

Counter-example. I'm in Vancouver. I've had cross border shipments from the UK take 4 days from placing the order and the US take 3. Customs can be, but isn't always, a hold up. Mingmingla (talk) 15:52, 21 April 2015 (UTC)

NeuroRadiologist help needed

Human Voice Researcher- w/ MRI of 2 singers one Pop, one Opera - facinating responce from inside MRI - Need NeuroRadiologist Opinion (www.DenesStriny.com)

Need Help — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.104.246.122 (talk) 16:05, 20 April 2015 (UTC)

I moved the Q out of the title for you. StuRat (talk) 17:07, 20 April 2015 (UTC)

Beer Street and Gin Lane

The article Beer Street and Gin Lane is about a 18th century painting depicting "Beer Street" and "Gin Lane", with the intention of showing that drinking beer is good and healthy, while drinking gin only leads to ruin. But gin, by volume, is considerably stronger than beer. Did some people in 18th century England drink as much gin by volume as others drank beer, which would lead to obvious alcohol overuse, or was this only about the actual qualities of beer vs. gin? JIP | Talk 20:50, 20 April 2015 (UTC)

See Gin Craze which states that the average was 10 gallons per person per year around 1743. Nanonic (talk) 20:56, 20 April 2015 (UTC)

Our article actually states it was 10 litres per person, although 10 gallons doesn't sound unreasonable, either. This BBC article gives a figure of "14 gallons per adult male" in London, which would suggest either that "per person" in our article means "per man, woman and child", or the 10 litre figure is incorrect. (I'm reminded of a book I read recently which describes a (large) medieval book as being "nearly eight metres tall" - it's almost certainly 26" tall in reality.) Tevildo (talk) 23:41, 20 April 2015 (UTC)

This article from the British Library gives a figure of six gallons per person. I think it's time to look for some primary sources... Tevildo (talk) 23:56, 20 April 2015 (UTC)

Et viola. Is there somebody kind enough to do the arithmetic? Thanks. Tevildo (talk) 00:11, 21 April 2015 (UTC)

What has this got to do with small violins? KägeTorä - (^影_虎) (もしもし！) 05:09, 21 April 2015 (UTC)

Do we have an article on Sid Snot? No? Well, that's where I got it from. ;) Tevildo (talk) 07:47, 21 April 2015 (UTC)

Think that is a good link. Beer has soluble fiber (one can't see it but it is there), it is weaker and serves as food source. People would drink a gallon a day. It was a bit more complicated than others suggest.. Back street distillers did not separate out the headers and tails during the distilling process. Also the stills often had lead soldered joints. Vodka would be a better description, cause it could be made from cheap potatoes too. Thus, it was not gin as we recognize it to day and did not provide the addition substance that beer did. Err... which I think is a complicated way of saying Hogarth was right.--Aspro (talk) 18:31, 21 April 2015 (UTC)

Wilfully homosexual

We've all heard of closest gays. Those who are homosexual and keep it under wraps.

But are there any instances of straight individuals who force themselves to be gay outside a coercive environment (prison, rape etc) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.196.244.124 (talk) 22:24, 20 April 2015 (UTC)

You're assuming sexual orientation is an either/or situation. It ain't necessarily so. It is often a sliding scale. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 22:42, 20 April 2015 (UTC)

• Are you saying that no one is strongly hetero? —Tamfang (talk) 08:57, 21 April 2015 (UTC)

Not quite what you're asking, because he doesn't force himself (and because it's fiction), but I immedately thought of a late 60s hairdresser pretending to be gay, in order to make out "like a bandit" with all the wives and girlfriends of his friends (pseudoquoting Peter Biskind). ---Sluzzelin talk 23:01, 20 April 2015 (UTC)

"Force oneself to be gay" is a bit vague. Certainly homosexual sex (mutual masturbation etc) can be practiced by non-homosexuals; witness single-sex dormitory schools and cultures where females are kept under lock, key and veil. 88.112.50.121 (talk) 23:02, 20 April 2015 (UTC)

Also, you don't force yourself to be gay. Homosexual and heterosexual are ends of a continuum of sexual orientation, which is how you identify yourself. It is not an act. People can self-identify as one, and still have sexual acts with the other sex. See Down-low for example.--Jayron32 00:28, 21 April 2015 (UTC)

Perhaps the op means something like forcing oneself to have sex with men, although one would prefer female sheep, but bestiality is illegal? There is also the standard fraternity/british public school thing. μηδείς (talk) 02:10, 21 April 2015 (UTC)

Also, the OP seems to be confusing orientation with behavior. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 03:23, 21 April 2015 (UTC)

It might be worth noting Political lesbians, some of whom became lesbian for reasons other than sexual attraction. RomanSpa (talk) 09:07, 23 April 2015 (UTC)

At some points it seems to have been fashionable for upper-class men (or those pretending to be) to behave in a feminine manner. See fop and dandy. They had high heels, wigs, corsets, make-up, would faint at the slightest provocation, etc. The closest modern equivalent might be a metrosexual. And of course, there are also straight female impersonators and straight actors playing the part of gay men (like Robin Williams in The Birdcage or Eric Stonestreet on Modern Family). StuRat (talk) 04:00, 21 April 2015 (UTC)

Basically, the answer is yes, assuming you mean homosexual behavior and not gay sexual orientation. Rule 34 applies as usual. Google /forced bi kink/ for a variety of discussion fora, personal ads, porn, etc. It's basically a sub-genre of the cuckold kink. You can probably find all kinds of people who want to talk about that kind of thing at e.g. Fetlife SemanticMantis (talk) 04:46, 21 April 2015 (UTC)

The other phrase that applies here is gay-for-pay. Rojomoke (talk) 04:55, 21 April 2015 (UTC)

The OP is also using "willfull" and "forcing oneself" as synonyms, which they are not.[1] ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 15:18, 21 April 2015 (UT)

The op hasn't clarified himself. It is entirely possible he's interested in having a straight man wilfully forcing himself on him homosexually. There's no necessary contradiction in that. μηδείς (talk) 04:51, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

That's certainly possible, but it's getting into the area of sexual abuse, sexual attack or rape. Except, those require the victim not to have invited such behaviour. Would a rape victim ever be said to have "engaged in sexual activity" without their consent? Not likely. Because there is no "engagement" in forced behaviour. If the OP is asking whether a straight person could choose to engage in gay sex, then the answer is definitely yes. But if the OP is asking whether a straight person could choose to change their orientation to gay, I think that's as unlikely as choosing to change their handedness from right to left or vice-versa, or choosing to dislike broccoli after a lifetime of loving it. I mean, one can decide to change those things, that's simple; but executing those choices, ah, well, that's a different kettle of fish. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 09:53, 25 April 2015 (UTC)

I know one man who claims to have more-or-less deliberately switched to being gay, having had a reasonably large selection of girlfriends. It's an extraordinarily rare phenomenon: even having met one, I'm not sure I really believe in his existence! RomanSpa (talk) 13:09, 22 April 2015 (UTC)