Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2008 May 13

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May 13

Bacardi's old buildings in Cuba

After Castro nationalized all private property in Cuba, making Bacardi owners relocate and leave behind their old destilleries, did Castro start using these buildings to produce a different kind of rum?? if this is the case, what's the brand name? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 201.224.139.247 (talk) 02:49, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

According to this article, the Varadero brand, most likely not available outside Cuba, makes an implicit claim that it is produced in the original Bacardi distillery in Santiago de Cuba. Marco polo (talk) 19:54, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Query on South African Passport (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_passport)

As stated, the South African Passport is in English and in French. My question is why is it in French?

I know that seems a wierd question, but as a South African I have no clue as to why my passport is in French. The only logical solution I can think of is that there is some international understanding on common languages to be used in passports - but I doubt this is correct. Please advise.

CB —Preceding unsigned comment added by 196.212.140.161 (talk) 08:11, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

See Passport#Languages. Dismas|^(talk) 09:53, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Silver cloth

How does one make one? Kittybrewster ☎ 09:41, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

More info required... do you mean a silver coloured cloth, a cloth for cleaning silver ornaments/cutlery, or some other type of silver cloth? Astronaut (talk) 12:56, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

If you mean cloth of silver, it's made using the same technique as Cloth of gold, with a core of silk wrapped with a band of metal. -FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 13:03, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

No I meant a cloth for cleaning silver. I imagine it contains ammonia. Kittybrewster ☎ 14:29, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Any questions with "how to" in them are worth checking at the sister project WikiHow. Here is an article on cleaning silver. BrainyBabe (talk) 17:29, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Here is another. Rockpocket 18:18, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Just a quick warning about jewellry, don't use anything liquid with emeralds or opals, emeralds can absorb the liquid through the flaws and opals are porous and become discoloured. .hotclaws 10:08, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

Olympic Games

There are rumors which say that 2008 Olympic Games will not be held this year due to the earthquake, is it true? Abdullais4u (talk) 10:02, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

So far, it looks like everything is proceeding on schedule. The following came over the wire services a few hours ago:

..."The Olympics is safe, Beijing is safe and China is safe," said Zhang Jian, project management chief at the Beijing Olympic organizing committee...

Olympic venues and buildings in Beijing weren't threatened by China's strongest earthquake in 58 years because they were constructed to withstand magnitude-8 shocks, Li Zhanjun, director of Beijing's Olympic media center, said today....

The full story is here. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 11:37, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

From what I heard on the news on the radio this morning is that the route of the Olympic torch through China will be altered due to the earthquake. Dismas|^(talk) 14:15, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Avoiding questions

Someone asks you a question whose answer is readily available online. What do you answer? a. just google it?

Someone asks a direct private question (how much do you earn? Are you planning to have children?). How do you avoid these questions? GoingOnTracks (talk) 12:05, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

1. Some people (like me) don't have access to the internet. My location restricts me to only Wikipedia and other encyclopedia websites.
2. If someone is direct enough to ask such a personal question, you can be direct enough to tell them that's none of their business. --Endless Dan 12:39, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Look vague for a moment, then change the subject. Q: How much money do you make? A: Hmm? Enough; have you seen "Iron Man" yet? -FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 13:01, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Just don't answer them if you don't want to. Or give a very generic answer like "58% percent of people earn..." or "The majority of people..." —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dr. Dangerous (talk) (talk • contribs) 13:06, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

OK - lets see -- Q Chris (talk) 13:38, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Of course you could always just provide a quirky response. Dr. Dangerous (talk) (talk) 13:51, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Why avoid the children one? I am one of those rare few who answers consistently in the negative (I'm not having children, it's pretty simple), and while I don't have a problem answering that way, the people asking the question are usually the ones who are the most thrown off by the answer. It's one of those questions that people assume only has one answer, and when you honestly give them another, they get somewhat confused. Amusingly their follow up question usually has to do with whether we plan to own dogs, as if that was equivalent! But anyway, if in doubt, and if unhappy with answering, answer something vague ("Oh, who knows") and change the subject. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 14:38, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

If someone asks me a question which is readily available online:

1) If I know the answer myself, I tell them, and then maybe also tell them that in the future they can get such an answer themselves at www.google.com.

2) If I don't know the answer, I may Google it for them, to ensure that the answers are there, then do step 1. If I know the answer will be there, but don't know it myself (like the atomic weight of the most common isotope of molybdenum), I'd just tell them to Google it.

As for the children question, I'd reply, "No, I'm not planning on halving any children; I don't think anyone since Solomon has considered cutting a child in half, and I certainly don't want to be the first !" :-) StuRat (talk) 16:27, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

To the first question I would answer: haven't you found it online? Then the questioner has to admit that s/he is dumb or lazy.

To the earnings' question: depending on where you are it is okay to ask it. In the US I have notices that many people don't have any problem asking or anwering this question. If you want to avoid it anyway: 'Enough for living', 'less than I want'.

To the children: if it is a job interview nobody has the right to ask this question. Don't bother about a too diplomatic answer to it. In same places you are also allowed to lie about it.

Answers like StuRat's above can be the best way to go. It adds a touch of comedy to a situation that could turn unpleasant. You tell the indiscreet asker that the question was not okay, but you don't cave in. 23:10, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

I've seen the famous in documentary interview footage simply looking back pleasantly and saying nothing (Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Rudolf Nureyev etc). They smile and say nothing. If you can't do that with a personal question you don't want to answer, ask are they hitting on you? Or, Why do you want to know? Shifts the power for one thing, Julia Rossi (talk) 08:25, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

I can write a song a day

I remember reading a magazine some years ago, maybe in 2001, probably during the summer, in which there was a feature involving an interview with a little known singer. In the interview, which spanned a page and a half, the singer was asked various questions, to which they gave a response. For the life of me I cannot remember the content of this interview, except for the rather confident and somewhat big headed quote "I can write a song a day". Could someone who may have also read the interview please tell me who this singer was, and if possible provide an internet link to an online copy where I can read the article. Many thanks. Dr. Dangerous (talk) (talk) 13:16, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

For some reason, I recall Jack White saying something similar to that. I could be (probably am) wrong, thought. --Endless Dan 13:43, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Wikiquote ascribes it to Avril Lavigne! (unsourced) ---Sluzzelin talk 13:45, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

You are kidding me!!! Scaller (talk) 14:18, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

LMAO! *plane flies over my head* --Endless Dan 14:20, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Were one not assuming good faith, one might look askance at this edit and wonder if the original question was asked in good faith. --LarryMac | Talk 14:31, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

:-D Among other, it's quoted in a Rolling Stone article by Jenny Eliscu here. The full quote is

"Songwriting is like that for me," she adds, with a snap of her fingers. Someone can say, 'Go write a song,' and I can do it. I can write a song a day."

---Sluzzelin talk 14:26, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Obviously Dr. Dangerous knew who she was when he wrote the question, Sherlock. It was a funny joke. But, hey, let's assume good faith before things get out of hand.--Endless Dan 14:42, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Well, I don't think the reference desk is here merely for the amusement of Dr. Dangerous and his sockward. The assumption of good faith is one aspect, providing references and answers to the benefit of other interested readers (if indeed they exist) is part of our noble duty here as well. ---Sluzzelin talk 14:54, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Could we please, please, at least move these sorts of questions to the Entertainment desk where they belong, and where people who presumably care about such things could answer them? We have an entire section for this sort of thing, it doesn't need to be spread out all over the whole apparatus. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 17:15, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Jon Foreman of Switchfoot?.--droptone (talk) 16:58, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Perhaps these people can write a song a day, but Billy Childish can write several. I seem to remember him saying in an interview that his groups often record an album in a couple of hours. Warofdreams talk 18:30, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

I'm sure it's possible. Especially when you write crap like Billy & Avril. --Endless Dan 20:37, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Writing a song a day isn't particularly difficult, I'm sure -- not that I'm a songwriter, but I am a writer, and I could absolutely write a short story a day, no problem, provided that I had the luxury of not having to do work that actually pays the bills. Hell, I'm pretty sure I could even write a song a day, actually. Now, if I had to write a good short story or song, that'd be something else, but it doesn't exactly take a prodigy to pull that off if quality isn't much of a concern.

...also, at this point I'm pretty much bored with this Avril shtick. -- Captain Disdain (talk) 00:18, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

Most bought & sold item

What item has been sold & bought most often?

By this, I'm thinking more about a single unchanging identifiable object sold multiple times (e.g. this ring / painting / candlestick at auction), rather than, for instance, rice or wheat where different grains are grown each season & sold). --Tagishsimon (talk) 16:15, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

To clarify, you're asking about a specific item, like the Mona Lisa, rather than a class of items, like "paintings", right ? StuRat (talk) 16:31, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Yes. A single painting, such as Mona, not a class of objects, such as paintings. Happy to include identifiable parcels of land, or buildings, but again, identifiable single objects. The question was put to me by a child, in the context of a discussion on the meaning of second-hand, third-hand, fourth-hand &c. I suppose it is unanswerable, but shy bairns get nothing, as they say. --Tagishsimon (talk) 16:44, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Check out this link and search for "Shtar Mechirah" therein. Apparently the deli is sold every Sabbath, so that it is not Jewish-owned, and can remain open. That's an interesting twist on your question... -- Coneslayer (talk) 16:52, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

I wonder if there is some object in some culture with the reputation that "if you sell this object, it's good luck". Such an object would presumably be sold continuously. StuRat (talk) 13:00, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

A vintage car? They change hands a lot so an old one has the possibility of many owners,hotclaws 10:12, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

Sock it to me, baby

How do you measure the length of socks ? I recently bought some socks that claim to be 27 inches long. When I measure them off my feet, relaxed, they are 23 inches long, but I can stretch them to about 30 inches long. When I put them on, however, they stretch width-wise and shorten length-wise to only 20 inches long. So, are these socks really 27 inches long in the normal way that socks are measured ? And what is that method ? StuRat (talk) 16:41, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Warning: Dyslectics may find the above question offensive.

Answering the question: I have not measured mine since puberty, but I am sure they were not 20 inches long. --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 23:34, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Dyslexics ? You mean as in "sock it" = "socket" ? Or did you misread the "o" in "sock it" as a "u" ? StuRat (talk) 12:33, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

I'm guessing the answer is in here, but not knowing about the topic well, I can't tell exactly where! Fribbler (talk) 01:06, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, but I didn't see the answer there. StuRat (talk) 12:33, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

I had a look around for hosiery standards. Even the Germans, who might even have a standard for length of finger inserted in nose, don't have a sock standard. The thing is that natural fibers are hard to standardize and tricotage leaves a lot of elastic leeway for things to stretch this way or that. An exception are Compression stockings for which there are standards. ANSI is contemplating a common set of standards with China as far as I read this [[1]]. If you ask here you might get more detailed information [2]. Hope this helps. {Sea no plrobem for teh diselycsic :-)71.236.23.111 (talk) 22:19, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

Thanks. It seems I've stumbled across a real problem, how to know if socks will fit without actually trying them on. The socks I got say they "fit shoe sizes 12-17", but I'm size 12 and they barely fit me. I can't see how they could possibly fit anyone with a size 17 shoe (a basketball player, I'd assume). StuRat (talk) 04:28, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

One trick is to make a fist and wrap the foot of the sock around it. The heel and toe should just meet for the sock to fit. (Reference: my aunt) The different shoe sizes might be for a different country or because the company's standard measurements are out of whack. You might also have found a box of kids' socks. I know that I'd fall out of European shoes that, according to a comparison chart, should be an equivalent size to the US one I wear. --Lisa4edit (talk) 15:34, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

Carp ponds

Sorry about this one but I have looked around and failed to find decent info. I recently bought a house in the SE UK with an man made 12th century carp pond. It has no fish in it and is under a lot of tree shade. I wondered about having some carp to eat. Is it really as easy as mail ordering some common carp and throwing them in the water and waiting or do I need to do other things (like check water quality, depth etc)? I am not sure I could easily dredge the pond because pre 1250 AD construction is protected from disturbance here. --BozMo talk 20:02, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Your local council should be able to povide guidance on what you can and cannot do with your pond (whether you can renovate/dredge it or not, for example). Astronaut (talk) 21:46, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Actually in this case it is a body called English Heritage. --BozMo talk 06:10, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

Carp can tolerate water of marginal quality, but it should not be stagnant or polluted. Besides water quality, another factor to consider in raising carp would be their source of nourishment. If the pond is too heavily shaded, the shade will inhibit the growth of algae or other phytoplankton on which the carp would normally directly or indirectly feed. (Some carp also feed on grasses, which likewise need sunlight, and/or on zooplankton, which feed on phytoplankton, which in turn requires sunlight.) Your carp would do probably do better in a pond that gets some sunlight. You might want to dredge to prevent an excessive buildup of rooted plants that could suck oxygen from the pond at night and endanger the fish. Or, if you dredge the pond deep enough, rooted plants can't grow. The only reason to dredge would be for plant control (which you can also accomplish with other methods), since carp are quite tolerant of shallow water. Here is a [blog post on raising organic carp in the UK]. Marco polo (talk) 02:03, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

Thanks. --BozMo talk 06:10, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

Carp will produce crap. In order to keep your pond from fouling Hypoxia (environmental) and anerobic bacteria from multiplying, you'll almost certainly have to put in a filter. If you are sure the pond was designed as a fish pond and worked in the past, you might be able to keep it stable without. Particularly if it has a freshwater source apart from rain and run-off. But it will take a lot of effort and adjustments and watching what grows or multiplies in excess. If it is 12th century it will have a clay or tile bottom, probably. That makes using a pump a problem because it will silt up. It would be easier to maintain it as a natural garden pond without fish. People at this site [3] will be able to help you. Lisa4edit (talk) 06:37, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

Dragons

How do scientists know that dinosaur bones are actually dinosaur bones and not those of fire-breathing dragons? I'm pretty sure that such dragons existed and are now extinct and would like to know what proof scientists have that they never existed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.35.162.18 (talk) 20:39, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

I don't think scientists actively engage in dragon denialism. To answer your question, we first need to know what you think a dragon is. Let's assume that your answer is "a fire-breathing creature of some sort, now extinct, shaped somewhat like Tolkein's Smaug". We could now pose your question as "why have scientists not given support to the fact of fire-breathing creatures of some sort, now extinct, shaped somewhat like Tolkein's Smaug". And the answer to that is, they have yet to find skeletal remains of the right shape (somewhat worm-like, with wings) and - more importantly - they have not discovered a mechanism for fire breathing in what remains they have found. That does not mean that T.Rex and chums did not breath fire; but rather that there is no evidence at the moment to enable an assertion that they did breath fire. You might want to check out Falsifiability, which at quick scan seems to deal with the problem of proving a negative. --Tagishsimon (talk) 20:54, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

It's Tolkien. These things matter! Algebraist 21:34, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Well actually I watched a documentary of what would happen if scientist found dragon remains and what they would discovered when they found the dragon remains. It had a CG story that went along with it. But it answered a lot of questions of how they might have breathed fire. I can't remember the name of the documentary though. I know it showed on the Animal Planet. It might be helpful to you once you know the name of the documentary.71.142.222.245 (talk) 21:42, 13 May 2008 (UTC)Cardinal Raven

It's not difficult to come up with a mechanism for producing fire from the mouth of a beast. The ignition of methane from fermenting food in the gut by, I don't know, a cheek full of flints picked up for the purpose, for instance. The difficulty is in finding any evidence that any such mechanism was ever pressed into action. --Tagishsimon (talk) 21:57, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

You might be interested with this site--Lenticel ^(talk) 23:40, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Homemade Dog Food

Are sheep meat, potatoes, and carrots good ingredients for homemade dog food? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.119.61.7 (talk) 23:45, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

as long as there's no chocolate then I think it is safe. You should vary what you give to them. My dogs gets bored eating when I only feed them the same commercial dog food so I give them 1 part leftovers + 1 part dog food. --Lenticel ^(talk) 23:55, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Our dogs get raw chicken every day. Occaisionally, we'll get turkey from the same place that we get the chicken but that's usually around Thanksgiving when the farm has a lot of turkey. By concentrating on just those three things, your dogs won't be getting much calcium. Chicken bones are our dogs source of calcium. You should probably check with your veterinarian for a more clinical answer. Also note that cooked chicken bones are bad (possibly deadly) for dogs since they splinter and can injure the dog. Raw chicken bones rarely, if ever, present this issue. Dismas|^(talk) 04:21, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

You have seen Dog food? Lisa4edit (talk) 06:18, 14 May 2008 (UTC) (damn that bot)

Also avoid onion, garlic and other allium plants. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 06:38, 15 May 2008 (UTC)