Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2014 August 23

Welcome to the Wikipedia Miscellaneous Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

August 23

Knocking of a deaf person's door

How do deaf people who live alone get notified if someone is at their door, when they could be anywhere in their house? 75.75.42.89 (talk) 12:48, 23 August 2014 (UTC)

Doorbell that is wired to a light in a prominent place in the home. Dismas|^(talk) 12:53, 23 August 2014 (UTC)

If they use a hearing dog, it will alert them to the doorbell or knocking. CS Miller (talk) 13:41, 23 August 2014 (UTC)

See Action on Hearing Loss; "You won’t miss friends and relatives at your door if you have an amplified, flashing and vibrating doorbell. Some plug into sockets while others are battery powered and can be moved anywhere, including the garden". The same page has a list of devices available in the UK. Alansplodge (talk) 17:19, 23 August 2014 (UTC)

There are even portable flashing lights for use in hotels etc. A button can be stuck on the outside with a removable adhesive, which uses a radio signal to activate a light inside the room.    → Michael J Ⓣ Ⓒ Ⓜ 19:58, 23 August 2014 (UTC)

I have a deaf neighbor that has a strobe light alarm clock. I'd never thought about their doorbell, but I suppose it would make sense for that to work the same way. --Onorem (talk) 20:05, 23 August 2014 (UTC)

c. 1985 Long slump in mineral prices

http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/energy_resources_materials/a_new_era_for_commodities#1

An interesting chart showing an index for mineral prices from 1900-2010.

One fact that caught my attention is how c. 1985 was the beginning of a long slump in mineral prices that ended only around 2003 when Chinese economic growth started making a strong impression.

What happened in c. 1985 that began such a long slump? What made the slump so long?

Runupanddown (talk) 13:40, 23 August 2014 (UTC)

The chart is not based solely on mineral process, but certain metal prices have specific reasons for being lower. For example for copper, the US cent was changed from copper in 1982 (a huge factor), and from the Canadian cent in 1996. Digital cameras made the need for silver much lower - basically starting about 1990. 1987 saw a substantial stock market decline etc. Many reasons, but using a chart which includes food prices makes it harder to state exactly which metal you wish to discuss. Also note that speculation had caused a massive short term spike in gold and silver prices before 1985. Collect (talk) 11:24, 24 August 2014 (UTC)

To which order of Knighthood does Sean Connery belong?

Hi. I know that Sir Sean Connery was knighted by the Queen in July 2000. I can't find any information as to which order of British Knighthood Sir Sean belongs. Does anyone know? If so, I would like to add that information to his article. Not even Connery's own website specifies to which order of Knighthood he was admitted. Thanks. Zombiesturm (talk) 23:11, 23 August 2014 (UTC)

He's a Knight Batchelor, they don't usually belong to an Order (as those bestowed are usually already a member of another order such as the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire). It's seen as the lowest level of current Knighthood and are outranked by KBE's. Nanonic (talk) 23:18, 23 August 2014 (UTC)

(e/c) He's not part of any order. He was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2000 New Year's Honours [1], and invested at Holyrood Palace in July 2000. He is in the category Knights Bachelor, but perhaps this should be made explicit in the text of the article. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 23:32, 23 August 2014 (UTC)

You should add that shit yo. Or I can add it. How d'ya wanta roll with this? Zombiesturm (talk) 00:40, 24 August 2014 (UTC)

Just do it. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 00:53, 24 August 2014 (UTC)

Incidentally, we had nine articles linked to Knight Batchelor. All now fixed. Matt Deres (talk) 17:20, 24 August 2014 (UTC)