Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2008 August 26

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August 26

new sentai rangers

i was email and was told that ther are new power sentai ranger called metal sentai gear rangers is this true i have a photo of them email me to let me noo at [email address removed] —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.128.165.140 (talk) 02:18, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

I've removed your email address. Replies will be given here - putting your email address online like that is likely to result in large amounts of spam. --Tango (talk) 02:58, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

Unitarian Universalism (cont.)

Whether or not Unitarian Universalists believe that the Bible is inerrant and infallible or not, do they believe that it is inspired by God? Do they believe any holy book to be a source of divine revelation? If so, then do they believe the Bible to be a source of divine revelation? If not, then what holy book do they believe to be a source of divine revelation? If they don't believe any holy book to be a source of divine revelation, then what do they believe to be a source of divine revelation?

When I say Unitarian Universalists, I mean especially the Christian Unitarian Universalists.

Bowei Huang (talk) 06:35, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

I think you are missing the point. This is a religion characterized, for the most part, by a lack of a formal and official creed. You can have a Unitarian Universalist who believes that natural sciences are a source of divine revelation and another who thinks that the Bible is a source of divine revelation (even if it isn't inerrant and infallible), for example. The whole point of the religion is that you get to pick what sounds good to you and ignore everything else. You can't make generalizations like this about Unitarian Universalists. -- Captain Disdain (talk) 08:13, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

I'm not sure that all Unitarian Universalists would even find 'divine revelation' to be a useful phrase when describing what they believe. -FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 12:00, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

I agree with you both, although the OP did ask specifically about Christian UUs... while they, too, are theologically diverse, it might be possible to outline some trends. I don't think Wikipedia has this answer, but here's the website for the Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship. I don't know if it would have survey results or anything like that, but it might offer a better sense of who UU Christians are. --Allen (talk) 22:20, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

Bartering sex for stuff and services

How can I know if a woman likes me or if she is bartering sex for stuff and services (see this for the full-story. Mr.K. (talk) 11:26, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

I suppose you could ask her, but presumably if you are in a long-term relationship you wouldn't have to. If you're not in a serious relationship, then what's the difference? She is getting something out of it, whether it be emotional comfort or a trip to the rainforest, and you are too. Plasticup ^T/C 12:27, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

I thought that article was very odd. I've never heard of anyone bartering sex for services. Maybe it happens. But it seems unlikely to me to be really as prevalent as they report. Or maybe I'm just sad because nobody's tried to barter sex for any of my services! --98.217.8.46 (talk) 13:56, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

I saw that on digg.com earlier, perhaps "dig" through the comments there for some more opinions. Useight (talk) 17:13, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

You could try not offering the stuff or services. See if she's interested in just sitting down and watching TV and eating pizza with you. --Tango (talk) 17:43, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

That's a good idea, but you might have more luck with conversation than with TV and pizza. I guess it depends on the girl though. Plasticup ^T/C 18:15, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

Well, yes, I was assuming you would talk while watching TV - if you're both just engrossed in the TV show, it's not going to work! --Tango (talk) 21:21, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

Real relationships are usually complicated. She can like you and be trading sex for nice dinners and nights out on the town. Darkspots (talk) 18:31, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

If it's dinners and nights out, that suggests she does like you - the company is usually more important in those activities than anything else. --Tango (talk) 21:21, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

From a biological point of view ALL sex is barter of services or goods, hence the heavy wait placed on the woman’s virginity at the time of marriage throughout most of human history. Male animals hove no biological need to be monogamies. In some ways it would make more sense for them to just impregnate as many females as possible. However females are stuck with the young, conceivably after breading with only one male. To increase the survival chances of their young it helps to have the guy stay to help rear the young. How are they to encourage the male to stick around? They offer a barter: the assurance that the male really will be expending his energy in order to bring up his own children (virginity), in exchange for the male remaining monogamous and helping rear the children.

As I understand it this is the leading theory explaining why “virginity” gets hyped up in so many cultures.[1] Sex is basically just an exchange of services. This can be seen even more clearly in the premating rituals of humans: the exchange of ill-considered gifts, take out Chinese food, moral support with that “sadistic old pedophile of a calculus professor”, etc. :) --S.dedalus (talk) 01:36, 27 August 2008 (UTC)

Three golf questions

1. Why is it rare for the 1st or 18th hole of a course to be a par 3?

2. Are there any courses on which the 1st or 18th is the shortest hole?

3. What is the hardest golf hole in the world?

February 15, 2009 (talk) 12:12, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

For the last, Hole 17 at TPC at Sawgrass is particularly famous (the island green). However, no objective answer exists. For the others: is it in fact (more) rare? Par 3s aren't common, and it's a reasonable expectation that somewhere the first or last hole is shortest. — Lomn 12:40, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

I think Lomn meant "Par 3s aren't uncommon". Par 2 or par 6 are uncommon. Rmhermen (talk) 14:29, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

Isn't par 2 impossible? Isn't par calculated as the number of shots it should take to get to the green (based on distance), plus 2 for putting? In which case, a par 2 would require the tee to be on the green, which would suggest you're on a mini-golf course. --Tango (talk) 17:45, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

Try Googling /hardest golf hole world/. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 22:49, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

Font

Why is Myriad's italic "a" one-storey? February 15, 2009 (talk) 12:15, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

The real question is why it isn't one-story when it is not italic. When it is italic is clear that it is meant to match the loops of b and d and e, etc. In its non-italic form though it doesn't really match anything—it takes up roughly the same amount of space as some of the other letters but that's it, it doesn't share any of their curves or angles. But the answer is no doubt "because the designer thought it looked best that way." (For a fun trip into the wonderful world of fontography, I heavily recommend the film Helvetica.) --98.217.8.46 (talk) 13:47, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

It's not unusual - off the top of my head, both Segoe UI and Gill Sans are the same — Matt Eason ^{(Talk • Contribs)} 18:43, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

Actually, it's extremely common among serif fonts as well, e.g. Garamond, Palatino, even Times New Roman. In fact, it's likely that the san-serifs that do this are emulating the serif's approach, which is much older. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 16:16, 27 August 2008 (UTC)

Cat jump

I am cat-sitting for a friend, and I'm worried about his cat jumping off my balcony. I live on the 1st floor (2nd floor for Americans), and it's a good 4m down to a concrete pavement from my balcony. How likely is it that the cat will jump down? He seems to like sitting on my balcony railing, and I'm getting nervous... — QuantumEleven 12:16, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

WP:OR warning... From my experience with having cats all my life, they won't jump if they don't feel they can do it safely. And I doubt any cat will think that jumping from 4m up is safe. (As a side note though, one of my cats just fell while walking from the bed to the night table... So, letting the cat sit on the railing may not be a good idea.) Dismas|^(talk) 12:21, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

I just thought of another example from my own house. We have a post and beam house. The cats will sometimes go out onto one of the beams that is about 3m high. So far, they've looked but have never jumped down from it. Dismas|^(talk) 12:24, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

If the cat looks like it does this often then don't worry about it. It's unlikely they'll jump down or do anything that will get them hurt. Cats love sitting in windows and balconies and watching people down below. They don't usually chase after things. They're stalkers, not chasers. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 13:52, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

It is not unusual for a cat to fall if startled, and they startle easily. Edison2 (talk) 15:27, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

Thank you very much everyone for your help! I shall see what the daft feline does... :) — QuantumEleven 05:54, 27 August 2008 (UTC)

My cat once fell from banister on the second floor to the first floor of my house and walked away like nothing happened. --Candy-Panda (talk) 11:52, 28 August 2008 (UTC)

This is now the RDs Schrödinger's cat (okay, I'm not sure what the trigger is in this analogy) ... did the cat survive your period in charge? --Tagishsimon (talk) 12:15, 28 August 2008 (UTC)

Oh great - now you've rolled us all into a superposition that we can't escape until the OP tells us what happened! SteveBaker (talk) 16:18, 28 August 2008 (UTC)

Scissors

Most scissors have a screw holding the blades together, but you cant use the screw to tighten the blades cos it wont turn. Why is a screw used than? —Preceding unsigned comment added by LCMk2 (talk • contribs) 12:43, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

Mine have a rivet like this, but google shows some with screws, like this. That's a good question, and I've never thought about it before. Does the screw have a screw-like body, or just that flat-head head? Maybe (for some quirky reason) the screw heads are cheaper than regular rivet heads? Plasticup ^T/C 13:05, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

Mine has a flat-screw head but if I open it wide enough (and past a little click-resistor thingy) it will come apart - allowing me to clean (or sharpen) the scissors easily. I suspect that ones with a screw-head that serve no purpose to the consumer have such a design because of the machinery that builds them - or as Plasticup suggests perhaps because of cost. 194.221.133.226 (talk) 13:36, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

For scissors I use in the kitchen, the ability to disassemble them is essential to getting them properly clean in the dishwasher. SteveBaker (talk) 14:39, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

Most scissors don't need any tightening, your grip keeps the blades together. That's why there's right hand scissors and left hand scissors. I use my right hand scissors in my left hand for cutting the nails on my right hand bu I have to hold it backwards so the blades keep together. Dmcq (talk) 17:35, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

Hmm. Maybe thats why they invented nail clippers--79.76.196.178 (talk) 18:13, 27 August 2008 (UTC)

I might surmise the screw is for ease of disassembly. Although most scissors are probably discarded before/when they get dull, in certain instances people may want to sharpen them. While there are now tools for sharpening scissors while still together, some people may prefer to disassemble them first, and then use conventional sharpening techniques. -- 128.104.112.147 (talk) 17:47, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

The screw may have turned at one time, allowing the scissors to be assembled and adjusted, but the other end of the screw may then have been swaged or peened to lock it in place.

Atlant (talk) 13:14, 28 August 2008 (UTC)

Linda Theret's daughter's name

What is the name of Linda Theret's daughter? Ericthebrainiac (talk) 18:39, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

Karrissa. Dostioffski (talk) 18:46, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

Where are they now?

Several years ago, 2 women who went to collede in the Boston area, bedded a number of men and then told what they were like in a public forum. What happen to them. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.112.109.251 (talk) 19:27, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

There was such an incident which received TV coverage, probably 10 to 20 years ago. Two college girls published some sort of ratings of a huge number of men they had sex with at a particular college. A Google search for such vague terms would probably lead to lots of non-work-safe sites. The girls were interviewed on a TV news magazine show, perhaps 60 Minutes. Edison2 (talk) 20:40, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

Is this an urban legend?

Is it true that your IQ can slightly drop if you are in an excessively hot or cold place due to your brain being too hot or cold, or is this just another urban legend? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hi, this is my username (talk • contribs) 22:23, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

Your ability to concentrate may well be affected by extreme temperatures, which would impair your ability to perform well on IQ tests. The temperatures would have to be very extreme, or for very prolonger periods, for the temperature of your brain to actually change - see hypothermia and hyperthermia. If you get into one of those conditions, cognitive function could well be impaired, I don't know the details (those articles may help). --Tango (talk) 22:32, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

Cognative impairment is one of the first symptoms of hypothermia. --Carnildo (talk) 00:04, 27 August 2008 (UTC)

As a note a person's IQ is not a static measurement such as one's height, age or weight. An IQ is simply the result of a test, which means the result can vary slightly from test to test, even when under the exact same conditions. So yes, extreme cold or heat can distract a person or impare their concentration where they might perform differently on a test. However, cold or heat doesn't necessarily effect one's mental capacity except in extreme cases such as hypothermia. Bvlax2005 (talk) 03:53, 27 August 2008 (UTC)

It would be very hard indeed to figure out whether any IQ drop was due to brain heating or cooling instead of the person being just too generally uncomfortable to be able to concentrate. I don't think that's an experiment that could ever be done under sufficiently controlled conditions to know either way. Since we cannot reasonably know - any claim that we DO know is strongly likely to be an urban legend. SteveBaker (talk) 04:23, 27 August 2008 (UTC)

In later stages of hypothermia, people often don't feel cold - so it could be said this isn't affecting their concentration. They certainly suffer severe confusion and mental impairment though. I expect full blown hypothermia is more extreme than what the questioner was asking about though. the wub "?!" 12:34, 27 August 2008 (UTC)

"Ah...Mr Jones - I see you're in the later stages of hypothermia. Now, if you could just take this standardized IQ test - then we can get on with warming you up and saving your life. You're shivering too hard to hold the pen? ...Oh dear - I'll just have to give you a zero then."... But really - how can you know that it's cooling of the brain? It could be pain or vibration due to shivering or some chemical excreted into the blood when other tissues get cold or...who knows? The idea that the ONLY effect of late-stage hypothermia is brain cooling is nuts. If it's not the only effect then you need to control for the other effects. You'd have to (for example) compare people who were in late-stage hypothermia with people whom you'd cooled down to late-stage hypothermia while carefully keeping their brains warm. It's simply impossible that anyone could conceivably have done those experiments. So this is either urban legend or bad science - either way you can't rely on it. SteveBaker (talk) 17:12, 27 August 2008 (UTC)

Of course, if you happen to be a rock-based life form then your IQ becomes very dependent on the temperature. In warm climates, discussions rely on head thumps, but in cold, quantum mechanics becomes understandable —Preceding unsigned comment added by Worm That Turned (talk • contribs) 10:06, 28 August 2008 (UTC)

Colleges?

Is there any page on Wikipedia where I can collectively find numerous colleges in the United States of America? Perhaps a reference page to different colleges that have different majors? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Anonymous16 (talk • contribs) 23:23, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

You'll probably want to start with the article Lists of universities and colleges, and pages linked there in, including List of American institutions of higher education. -- 128.104.112.147 (talk) 00:02, 27 August 2008 (UTC)

Antique Motor Scooter

I have a 1958 Forall Gasoline powered Motor Scooter that was made in Springfield,Illinois by the ILL FDRY CO.

I cannot find anything out about it - can you help ?

I have spent hours and sent I don't know how many e-mails and no one seems to know anything about it.

Any help will be appreciated. Pat Anderson [email removed] —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.255.0.169 (talk) 23:26, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

I have removed your email address; we do not give personal replies, and your email address is likely to attract spam. Gwinva (talk) 23:43, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

It's certainly hard to find anything! The only thing I could find was http://www.mikeybike.com/ - where there is a 'Forall' on the list of bikes he says he owns. There is a phone number and an email address. Maybe he knows something. Do you have a photo of this machine anywhere we could see? Maybe that would suggest something.

Good luck! SteveBaker (talk) 04:17, 27 August 2008 (UTC)

At first glance, I assumed "ILL FDRY CO" would be "Illinois Foundry Company", but that's not turning up much. There is an Illini Foundy Company currently located in Peoria. Not much, but perhaps another slim lead. --LarryMac | Talk 12:45, 27 August 2008 (UTC)

Yeah - I tried every search imaginable. That some guy at MikeyBike.com owns one is the only thing I turned up. At this point, literally ANY additional information would help. You can try all sorts of wild searches if you have more info. For example - if the scooter is green - then doing a Google image search on "Green scooter" or "Green antique scooter" might throw up a photo - or if there are any other markings on the thing - parts made by some other company - the name of the previous owner - anything. It's amazing what you can find online - but often you have to get really creative in your search. What makes this search especially tough is that the only piece of remotely "unique" information our OP has given us is the name "Forall" - but about a trillion people have accidentaly typed "Forall" instead of "For all" - and those hits dominate the search results. Worse still, the slogan "Scooters for all!" seems to be a super-common slogan for all kinds of scooter-related stuff - so again, we end up with a million hits. A photo of this machine would really help a lot - also ANY other words, numbers, logos related to the scooter. Meanwhile though - a phone call or an email to MikeyBike.com is your best route to more detail. SteveBaker (talk) 17:03, 27 August 2008 (UTC)