Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2012 August 25

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August 25

Help Identifying House Plants

mystery plant 1

mystery plant 2

I obtained these two house plants, and have no idea what they are. Any ideas? Buddy431 (talk) 22:40, 25 August 2012 (UTC)

1 looks like a ficus of some sort; there are many ficus which are common as indoor potted trees. While all of the Wikipedia articles on ficuses feature full-grown outdoor trees, if you type ficus into Google, you get better pics of indoor ficuses. I'm by no means a plant expert, but that's my guess. --Jayron32 01:06, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

Have to agree with Jayron in full, both look like potted ficuses. I'd try giving the second a little more but not too much direct sunlight. μηδείς (talk) 01:57, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

I have a potted plant that looks just like number 1. Back in April, I went to a flower show and was able to find out what they are called. I wish that I could tell what the name is; the only problem is that I forgot the name. Sorry. Eskimopie300 (talk) 03:48, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

The first plant reminds me of a poor specimen of schefflera arboricola, I say poor because it is a bit short on leaflets, it is a bit 'leggy' and looks neglected. The second plant is a really badly abused, neglected, unloved solenostemon, previously called coleus, I base this on the faint colouration of the leaves and the pathetic emergent flower spike. Richard Avery (talk) 07:13, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

I think you are right about the Schefflera, but can you give a more convincing image for the second? It hardly seems like the non-woody coleus. μηδείς (talk) 07:19, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

OK, this pic shows the likely colouration that is 'washed out' by lack of light and this pic shows the inflorescence emerging from the top of the stem. You might also like to consider the shape of the leaves when compared to normal solenstemon plants. It is hard to find another image of a solenostemon like the image because it is so badly neglected few people would photograph it. The plant is flopped down because it has become etiolated by lack of light, if those stems were woody it would remain erect. But then again woodiness is a relative term Richard Avery (talk) 08:05, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

Yes, I do suppose the flowers could be those of a coleus. μηδείς (talk) 18:33, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

Thanks for the suggestions. It's not too surprising that the plants are a bit poor looking - they've been living in a windowless chemistry lab for the last several years. We'll try to give them some real sunlight and see how they do. Buddy431 (talk) 23:01, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

Lemon juice

The articles on ReaLemon (marketed in the US) and Jif (lemon juice) (from the UK) seem to contradict each other. Both appear to be the same product (as both are marketed in unique lemon-shaped containers, while Jif itself was once known as ReaLemon according to its article). However the articles make no mention of any relationship between them, and the ReaLemon article claims the idea for the name and packaging originated in the 30s, while the Jif article suggests the 50s. Are the similarities between these two products really just a colossal coincidence? It seems more likely to me that there has to be some sort of relationship between these brands, which the articles ought to mention if there is one. Are there any lemon juice experts here who'd be able to clear this up? LonelyBoy2012 (talk) 23:33, 25 August 2012 (UTC)

I'm unsure (I don't consider marketing lemon juice in a lemon-shaped bottle that huge of a coincidence — it's a fairly obvious design idea and it's completely plausible that they could have independent origins), but apparently ReaLemon attempted to market its wares in the UK and got sued for trademark violation by Jif, and the judge sided with Jif. Part of the ruling apparently hinged on the difference between the ReaLemon and Jif bottles (the judge thought the ReaLemon bottles looked more like hand grenades than lemons) and the fact that ReaLemon modified their UK product to look more like Jif. Details: [1]. --Mr.98 (talk) 01:34, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

Jif? That is peanut butter, not lemon juice. More seriously, how could any company market lemon juice in squeezable lemon-shaped containers before modern plastics were on the market, which I thought happened in the 1950's at the earliest. If the juice were in a lemon-shaped glass bottle, I would not feel very motivated to buy it. Edison (talk) 04:18, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

They made lemon shaped containers for lemon juice already. They're called lemons. --Jayron32 05:16, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

Edison's point is a good one. The ReaLemon article doesn't, after all, say that the product was always marketed in those squeezable, lemon-shaped containers. In my childhood (1950s), it could certainly be bought in normal glass bottles—they were green glass, as I recall—but I can't remember whether the yellow "lemons" were already available as a (smaller) alternative at the time. Deor (talk) 14:49, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

In Australia we clean our bathrooms with Jif. HiLo48 (talk) 05:33, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

We used to have Jif bathroom cleaner in the UK (it didn't come in a plastic lemon, so there was no confusion). But a few years ago, the name was changed to Cif. Alansplodge (talk) 08:09, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

In America we "torture" dogs by spreading JIF on their hard palates. μηδείς (talk) 06:04, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

Disturbing as that is, I suppose it is at least a plausible use for that alleged food substance, if for some reason you consider it necessary to torture a dog. Why anyone would buy it to eat is beyond me. --Trovatore (talk) 06:30, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

Is your complaint with peanutbutter as such, or just the Jif brand? Dogs seem to like peanutbutter, you know. They just don't have fingers to scrape it off the rooves of their mouths. μηδείς (talk) 15:40, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

The Jif brand, and all alleged peanut butters of the same sort. If you ever try real peanut butter you'll never go back. I recommend Laura Scudder's ("Just peanuts and salt — that's all). --Trovatore (talk) 15:55, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

Oh, one of those Whole Foods types, eh? I'll try some boutique butter next time I see it, but I don't think Walmart carries it. μηδείς (talk) 18:29, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

When Jif cleaner changed its name to Cif in the UK, the adverts made a big show of how this was to harmonise their sales across Europe - apparently Jif was being pronounced 'djiff' in English-speaking markets, 'zhiff' in France, 'hiff' in Spain and 'yiff' in Germanic countries. Cif, pronounced 'siff', was supposed to be easy for every European to say. Imagine my disappointment on finding that in Sweden it's still sold as Jif. - Cucumber Mike (talk) 10:02, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

So in Spain it's now Thiff? μηδείς (talk) 15:40, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

... and please don't ask what Australians use Durex for... ;-) AndyTheGrump (talk) 05:43, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

If someone in the US said "When I was in town I got Cif, listeners would assume he had acquired a venereal disease. Edison (talk) 13:51, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

Old timers might. "Normal people" would assume he'd acquired an STD.  :) -- ♬ Jack of Oz ♬ ^{[your turn]} 19:30, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

My brother actually thought that those little plastic things were real lemons, from the name. He was very surprised the first time he saw an actual lemon. :-) StuRat (talk) 08:59, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

I wonder if he ever got to visit a dairy. If so, did he run away screaming? But speaking of multiple uses, don't ever forget Shimmer, the 1970s product which was both a floor wax and a dessert topping. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 13:42, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

This thread now has three responses relevant to the actual question, along with 15 responses that are irrelevant to the question being asked and/or bad jokes. The signal-to-noise ratio is a little off if you ask me, especially when most of the discussion is on the banalities of what different consumer products are called in different countries. But by all means, carry on... :-/ --Mr.98 (talk) 12:36, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

But, of course, both your comment and this follow-up also count as noise. StuRat (talk) 23:38, 27 August 2012 (UTC)