Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2012 February 28

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February 28

Deodorizing clothes

I'm storing my clothes in sealed plastic bags and would like to give them a pleasant scent for when they come out. I don't like the scent of dryer sheets. So, what else could I use ? I considered cedar chips, cinnamon sticks, mint leaves, and whole cloves. However, since these items might come into direct contact with the clothes, I'm afraid they might leave greasy stains on them.

1) Would each of those items leave stains ?

2) I suppose I could set up some type of barrier, but would prefer something that won't stain the clothes if it touches them. Any suggestions ? StuRat (talk) 00:14, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Have you read up on the literature on first world problems? --2.127.117.253 (talk) 00:34, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Any of those you mention will work fine, but wrap them thinly in a porous cloth. I use cedar chips, but get an old cotton undershirt, cut into squares, and wrap it once to avoid direct contact with the clothes, especially if stored for a long time. A very small scented candle (like tea candles) works too, but be sure to warp them in something to avoid direct contact with the clothes. Also, store at room temp...not an attic or outside shed where it might get really hot or cold. Quinn ^{░ RAIN} 01:23, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Hang the clothes outdoors on a sunny day on a clothes line or drier where fresh air and direct sunlight can reach them, and leave them out for a whole day. (You don't need them to be wet for this.) That usually gives them a nice scent. – b_jonas 10:45, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Since it's winter and my lot is heavily treed, that should give me clothes covered in a combo of pine tar, bird crap, and ice. StuRat (talk) 04:23, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

Cedar oils can potentially stain clothing, although it depends on how often you're planning to rotate your clothing. You can prevent any oil escaping by wrapping the cedar chips or balls in fabric. You can also store clothing in a cedar chest. Cinnamon sticks won't leave as strong a scent, but they will stain things red; whole cloves will also stain, and they can leave an acerbic scent. Sprinkling baking soda can help to deodorize already problematic clothing. Mint leaves contain oils that are sticky and hard to remove. Probably your best bet is to use cedar chips. Temperature isn't that important if you're only storing clothing, but I'd note that cedar has to be exposed to friction every couple of months to keep the scent strong. I've used cedar balls in all of my drawers and a big cedar chest for my blankets. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 161.130.188.51 (talk) 01:40, 2 March 2012 (UTC)

Thanks. Where do you buy cedar balls ? StuRat (talk) 18:00, 2 March 2012 (UTC)

Just spray Febreeze on them. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 03:06, 2 March 2012 (UTC)

Yuck, that's the same nasty chemicals I hate in fabric softener sheets. StuRat (talk) 18:00, 2 March 2012 (UTC)

SSI

So, a friend of mine, his parents get some SSI money thing for looking after him, (I don't know what that is, hoping people here do) but turns out they're not looking after him at all, to the extent that they've thrown him out of the house. So we're wondering, any way he can stop his parents getting the money and have it diverted to his own account?

148.197.81.179 (talk) 01:45, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

SSI = Social Security income? -- Jack of Oz ^{[your turn]} 02:03, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Yeah, SSI is a form of social benefit that's part of Social Security in the US (although your IP address shows as being in the UK). We can't give legal advice here. Your friend should contact his local Social Security office. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 02:07, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

(EC) The OP's IP locates to the UK, but we don't have anything called SSI - that's an American name, I think. OP, is your friend in the UK? If so, your friend can locate his nearest Jobcentre Plus and explain the situation from there. He can then apply for numerous types of benefits, such as Jobseeker's Allowance, Income Support, and Incapacity Benefit, as well as Housing Benefit from the DWP via the Jobcentre. In the course of his application, he can make it clear that he no longer lives at his parents' house, and their benefit will be stopped accordingly. If your friend is in the US, I believe there should be a similar system (albeit with different names for the various benefits and institutions). KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 02:12, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

yea, he's in america, we've been talking over the phone. is it the same there? 148.197.81.179 (talk) 02:16, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

SSI is an American program, so, again, he needs to contact his local Social Security office, which he can find in the blue pages of the phone book (if anyone uses phone books anymore) or on the Social Security website. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 02:20, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

The hard copy phone book is still indispensable for a great many people, including me. -- Jack of Oz ^{[your turn]} 02:24, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

indeed, but hard to get at when you're homeless, I guess. I'll look on the website. 148.197.81.179 (talk) 02:28, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Relevance? I was responding to "if anyone uses phone books anymore". -- Jack of Oz ^{[your turn]} 02:31, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Your friend could also go into any police station and ask where the local DCFS office is. Some states call this by different names but in general it's Department of Children and Family Services. DCFS would be able to help him out with the SSI or at least direct him to whoever can. Additionally, they could give him other assistance that he doesn't even know that he's entitled to. (I only suggest the police station because most people know where their local police station is but rarely know where any other random governmental office might reside. Dismas|^(talk) 02:34, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

OK, problem over, turns out you can't be homeless in america or they take all the other children away into care, so he's had toi blockade himself in his parents' laundry room until he starts uni. thanks for all the help anyway though. 148.197.81.179 (talk) 03:08, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

First off, I think I've heard a question almost identical to this on the RD before. Second, you're asking for specific answers about government benefits... which makes it the purvey of quite a few nonprofit legal organizations... and incidentally... a legal question... so nobody here is qualified to answer you, or if they are, wouldn't dare do so on here. Find your local Legal Aid organization. If they can't help you directly they'll refer you to the next best option. Shadowjams (talk) 09:45, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

announcement chime

What are the "dingdong" chimes at thes tart of announcements eg at airports called and where do airport operators get them? ----anon — Preceding unsigned comment added by 139.184.30.131 (talk) 11:39, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Have you tried calling someone at an airport? They might not know, but they might know who might know. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 12:44, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

For one method, see here at 6:40. (It's at a 1950's holiday camp, but doubtless the technique was more widely utilised.) {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.197.66.193 (talk) 13:10, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

They are electronically built into the PA system, using much the same technology as an electronic door chime.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 15:47, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Marriage license

My father and mother were married on April 12,1944 at the San Bernardino,court house,Where do I go to get copy of that marriage/license? Their names are Forrest Luther Denick and Ella Mae Potter. This information is needed so that we can get the SS benefits for my mother as my father died on 2/12/2012, we have looked every where and can not find the license any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank You Sharon Keeney — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.74.126.169 (talk) 15:24, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Perhaps from the Recorder of San Bernadino County, details here. You probably need their marriage certificate, not their marriage licence. --Viennese Waltz 15:33, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Right, the marriage license merely gives permission to marry; the marriage certificate is evidence that the marriage took place.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 15:51, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

If you strike out at the courthouse, see if you can find a contemporary marriage announcement in a local paper; that might not help for Social Security, but you might get lucky elsewhere. If your father was a veteran (and getting married in 1944 would imply that he was of age to be at that point), the Veteran's Administration may be a resource as well. There may be additional benefits as a result, though YMMV. Condolences for your loss, by the way. UltraExactZZ ^Said ~ Did 16:35, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Does California have a state Bureau of Vital Statistics or some such? That might be worth a look as well; some states keep centralized records of births, deaths, and marriages. UltraExactZZ ^Said ~ Did 16:36, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

The California Office of Vital Records warns that "processing time can easily exceed 6 months". [[1]] Best bet is to go directly to the county recorder. Also, things will be easier if your mother makes the request herself. Otherwise, be sure to take your birth certificate with you to prove that you are authorized to request the record. Dominus Vobisdu (talk) 16:46, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

The county recorder page is here. For mail-in requests, it estimates 3-5 weeks. Shimgray | talk | 22:43, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

I drove to the Office of Vital Records in Sacramento to get a copy of my birth certificate and was able to get it that same day because I was in the office. Of course, that was years ago, so that might not happen any more. But then, if you're not within driving range of Sacramento, that could present a problem. The Mark of the Beast (talk) 19:53, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Same-day for a walk-in request for a birth certicicate seems plausible. Marriage certificates seem to be a whole nother matter. See [[2]]. Dominus Vobisdu (talk) 20:03, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

Hueytown AL. School Teacher

I graauated from Hueytown High School in 1963 and was wondering if you have any information on a teacher Mrs. Mae Gilmore. Do you know when she retired, and has she passed away. Thank you Cecelia McCullough — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.70.244.232 (talk) 19:59, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

As the school website no longer seems to exist I suggest you try asking other former students or staff via Friends Reunited.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 08:37, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

According to this family research, Flora Mae Gilmore (née Payne) passed away aged 74 on September 12, 1971. She is buried in the cemetery of Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church, Hueytown. - Cucumber Mike (talk) 12:34, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

WOW, you are the winner of ref desk award, Mike. --SupernovaExplosion ^Talk 16:27, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

Well, steady on - my head'll get too for my boots! I can't claim credit for anything more than knowing the right Google search in this case. I was hoping to find a local newspaper archive with an obituary or a story on the occasion of her retirement or something, but failing that I just put in 'Hueytown history', came up with this site, followed the link to Family History and bingo! Gilmore family history. A search on 'Mae Gilmore Hueytown High School' told me that the person in question was married to Harley Gilmore, who died in 1966, which allowed me to verify that her full name was Flora Mae Gilmore, and gave her maiden name and date of death. With that, a further search for 'Flora Mae Gilmore Payne' found the burial record. 10 minutes work, max. I reckon that someone 'on the ground' in Alabama could find a lot more information in the archive, but I guess that wasn't bad at a distance of 4,500 miles! - Cucumber Mike (talk) 22:05, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

If everyone suddenly died...

There are a couple of pages relating to the scenario of what would happen with the world if humans were to suddenly disappear, but they tend to deal with how the various forces of nature would gradually claim the world back. For example, how long it would take for structures to crumble or towns to become overgrown. My question is more related to a scenario where a very few people have survived and find themselves virtually alone. In those first few days, how much of the things we take for granted 'electronically' would remain active and for how long? Presumably they would be able to use their phones and the internet for at least a few hours? Surely electricity would be produced and supplied automatically for a day or two? Until the places that produce/supply these services suffer some kind of breakdown. Is it possible that some of these services might remain active for a few weeks? or would the unmanned power stations, etc. shutdown or explode way before this? Interested as I'm writing a story set in this scenario, thanks. 87.113.119.16 (talk) 22:37, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

If you haven't already seen it, Life After People is a good show that covers this - I remember in particular that the Hoover Dam would produce electric without humans for some time. ^Avic_ennasis @ 23:09, 5 Adar 5772 / 23:09, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

This Straight Dope staff page discusses in some detail what would happen to electrical power if everyone were to turn into a zombie, which is similar to your scenario, as zombies are not known to maintain power grids. The author's best guess was that within 24 hours, North America would be without power except for a few isolated "islands" of electrification. It doesn't discuss the Internet, without which of course we would all wither and die. Comet Tuttle (talk) 00:10, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

Unless you already were dead, as hypothesized. But don't rule out that the proverbial infinite number of monkeys might get hold of a bunch of cellphones and start texting and tweeting each other. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 02:15, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

How long electricity would last would depend on the type:

1) Fossil fuel: Not long at all, just until the "tank" ran dry. Presumably most power plants have a relatively small fuel supply which feeds directly into the flames, as keeping larger amounts that close to the combustion area would be dangerous. So, I'm thinking a few hours.

2) Nuclear reactors: Could be quite short if there's some type of automatic shutdown and everything is run manually. Presumably some valve wouldn't get opened and some meter would go into the red quickly. If the plant is more automated, it might continue until a critical component needed maintenance, maybe months ?

3) Hydroelectric and wind: Could last for a few years, until the machinery gave out. I'm assuming some automatic lubrication system.

4) Solar: Should last for years, for the life of the solar cells.

Of course, the power distribution system might also fail, so you might do better to move close to the power plant, to minimize the distance the electricity must travel. If you could do some really basic maintenance, like adding oil to the reservoir when it runs low (for everything but solar), you might have electricity far longer. StuRat (talk) 04:17, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

The book The World Without Us is about this topic. Pfly (talk) 04:33, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

All those unmaintained nuclear power plants - surely some of their fail-safe systems will, erm, fail, catastrophically, meaning that the few survivors enjoy a whole new challenge. --Dweller (talk) 10:32, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

So, what are you saying? Voluntary Human Extinction Movement will be catastrophic for other animals? --SupernovaExplosion ^Talk 10:59, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

I'd never heard of that group, but their philosophy seems to imply a fairly lengthy decline in the human population, which would give enough time for engineers to make the reactors safe before the engineers were too decrepit to do any work, so the animals would be fine. I wonder who the members of the group think would look after them in their old age? --Dweller (talk) 13:21, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

There's a interesting sequence in Nevil Shute's On the Beach where the survivors (briefly) of a nuclear war journey by submarine to find out why a rather random transmission is coming from a naval base in an area thought dead. I won't spoil it, but obviously that might give you inspiration. S. M. Stirling's Dies the Fire series considers a related question: what would happen if electricity (and explosions, thus guns no longer fire) is no longer possible because of (apparently alien) action? In my opinion, his books are just an excuse for people swinging outdated weapons at each other for pages on end, but you might want to glance at the first book in the series and also there's a Yahoo! group that discusses his books in which he is active. The participants there are lively and undoubtedly would have a lot of ideas for you. link.--Wehwalt (talk) 10:49, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

The notion of just a few humans surviving some global catastrophe is as old as the Noah's Ark story and its variations. It has been explored countless times. The Twilight Zone TV series just by itself had more than one story about that scenario. All such stories make for interesting reading or viewing. The most interesting story, or theory, is that it may actually have happened, in the sense that the human species was near extinction at some point, explaining an apparent lack of genetic diversity among the species despite its global dispersion. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 13:14, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

Think these articles deal with what Bugs is referring to: population bottleneck (generally) and Toba catastrophe theory in particular. --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 16:37, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

Billionaires per capita by country

How many billionaires are there in the G20 countries? I am curious whether for example high marginal tax rates or types of economy might be particularly good or bad for creating billionaires.92.21.232.57 (talk) 22:51, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

There's information on this at the articles Billionaire and Forbes list of billionaires (2011). --Jayron32 23:53, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

I think any kind of analysis of this has to determine where the money came from and how, not where the billionaire currently resides. Comet Tuttle (talk) 00:11, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

Precisely. Country of residence or even country of citizenship isn't indicative of where the billionaire is making his money. Nor is the country of incorporation for his corporations. Taking such a list at face value might even do more harm than good.99.245.35.136 (talk) 00:15, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

What are we counting the billions in? US dollars? Euros? Yen? Australian dollars? Pesos? HiLo48 (talk) 00:26, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

I brought a 100 trillion Zimbabwean dollar bill off ebay for 3 USD. I hope my name doesn't end up on the list :) 99.245.35.136 (talk) 01:06, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

At least you didn't buy a billion razzbuckniks. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 02:12, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

See List of countries by the number of US dollar billionaires --SupernovaExplosion ^Talk 02:27, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

And this. --SupernovaExplosion ^Talk 02:29, 29 February 2012 (UTC)