Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2007 February 9

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February 9

Dates

I was wondering when you add an event to a date article (e.g. September 23), can the event be more specific than a "new pope" on that date? Such as a new school that opened in a city a while back? Thank you in advance. -3322 02:38, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

It would have to be more important than a school opening. Clarityfiend 03:19, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

I disagree, if there is something historically important about the school opening etc., it could be added. So, I'd say that it would have to be a very very very notable school opening. --Cody.Pope 04:16, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

"Firsts" are probably notable (within limits) - beyond that, it's tough to say. Carom 17:36, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Your e.g. is my birthday. 194.80.32.8 19:53, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Legislative bill carryover

Do bills in the United States Congress carry over from one session to the next, or one Congress to the next? Meaning, if an bill gets introduced in a committee and then stalls, does it need to be re-introduced in the next Congress/session? I can't seem to find any pages on the process that describe all the ways a bill can die, only how a successful bill makes the rounds. I found that Washington State legislature carries things over between sessions, but that isn't what I'm looking for.

To be very specific, I'm trying to confirm whether or not the bill mentioned at http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=622&tstamp=200702 is dead or not, since it's from the previous Congress. —AySz88\^-^ 04:26, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

When a legislature adjourns sine die, all unpassed bills die. So any bill from the previous session of Congress must be reintroduced. However, bills need not be reintroduced if Congress was simply in adjournment. -- Mwalcoff 05:12, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Allakaket, Alaska - Oil Companies

Hi. I would like to have more information on the relationship between the oil companies (I do not remember company names) and the small Native American towns such as Allakaket. From what I heard, these companies resituted money to the towns or tribes for use of the land in the 50's and 60's.

War with no good songs?

Seems to me that not long ago, I encountered a quotation along the lines of, "It can't be [much of a] war if not even one good song came out of it...", a critical comment on the wars since WWII (if I recall correctly?). This would've been on the Web or possibly the International Herald Tribune or the English-language edition of Haaretz. Unfortunately, the spotty version I've written here is apparently too far from the actual quotation to yield results when I search it online. (I'm looking to cite it for a piece I'm writing about James Taylor's "Soldiers".). Any assistance would be appreciated by... yours truly, Deborahjay 20:28, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Tom Lehrer's Folk Song Army skit had the line "Remember the war against Franco. That's the one which each of us belongs. Though he may have won all the battles. We had all the great songs." I hope that is helpful. DDB 01:20, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

I don't know if there is an actual quotable quote in there, but this idea is the basic theme of this book God Bless America: Tin Pan Alley Goes to War and this essay meltBanana 01:42, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

This was mentioned in the episode "Dr. Pierce and Mr. Hyde" from M*A*S*H. Hawkeye goes for a while without sleep and in this insomniatic state wanders into Radar's office to send President Truman a telegram. He gets off on a tangent of how the Korean war doesn't have any good songs to come out of it. The telegram is eventually sent. It reads "Who's responsible?" The episode predates the book mentioned above by 30 years. Dismas|^(talk) 04:23, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

The atomic bombing of Nagasaki, and the three parachutes

I have checked several books, but none provide enough detail, and the project I need this information for is due in four days. Since I am animating the event, I need precise detail. My understanding is that a minute before the bomb "Fat Man" was dropped, three parachutes were released, and among the things dropped down were messages to Professor Ryokichi Sagane. But I do not actually know what else was dropped down. I am guessing that it was a blast measurement device such as a seismometer, but don't know what kind. Please respond as quickly as possible.

What was dropped down in the parachutes?

If it was a seismometer, what were American seismometers like in the 40's?

Were the three parachutes connected to the same thing?

Was it just a box containing letters?

Konamiuss 23:18, 9 February 2007 (UTC)konamiuss

The U,S. military wanted to drop a devastating bomb, and to monitor its effects. I have not seen evidence that they had philosophical leanings which would have led them to drop parachutes with letters. This sounds like a hoax. Edison 06:23, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Yes, but the book "Downfall" and the wiki page on it mention 'Instruments':

"A few minutes later, at 11:00, the support B-29 flown by Captain Frederick C. Bock dropped instruments attached to three parachutes. These instruments also contained messages to Professor Ryokichi Sagane, a nuclear physicist at the University of Tokyo who studied with three of the scientists responsible for the atomic bomb at the University of California, Berkeley, urging him to tell the public about the danger involved with these weapons of mass destruction. The messages were found by military authorities but not turned over to Sagane"

Konamiuss 14:58, 11 February 2007 (UTC)konamiuss

There is a citation on the Wiki article (fn 29). It is for real. As for the philosophical leanings, they had no idea at the time that two bombings would end the war and were in fact expecting to drop many more. --24.147.86.187 23:25, 12 February 2007 (UTC)