Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2017 February 21
Miscellaneous desk | ||
---|---|---|
< February 20 | << Jan | February | Mar >> | Current desk > |
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. |
February 21
editWhat is the rate of depletion of minefields from animals blowing themselves up?
editSagittarian Milky Way (talk) 05:48, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- Search for wildlife landmine; you'll find some good information in the first few sources. --jpgordon𝄢𝄆 𝄐𝄇 06:41, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- It will obviously very enormously depending on the location. Landmines are designed to only explode if a certain amount of pressure is applied - specifically so they do not get detonated by small animals but only by the people they are intended to kill. Therefore only larger animals are going to detonate mines, and the number of them will depend on the local environment. Wymspen (talk) 09:03, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- People too.
Sleigh (talk) 16:42, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- I'd hardly describe it "blowing themselves up". -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 20:26, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- Use of the reflexive to mean the passive is very common. For example, "se explotó" in Spanish, which literally means, "It exploded itself" but implies no necessary intention by inanimate subjects. "John se explotó" would mean John blew himself up, while "John explotó" would mean John exploded. Even in these two cases, other unstated information could modify the intent. "John comió Alka-Seltzer y se explotó" would mean he ate antacids and exploded, unless we knew killing himself that way was his intent. Sentences don't have determinate meaning outside of a wider context of information. μηδείς (talk) 20:52, 24 February 2017 (UTC)
- How is Spanish relevant here? Suicide bombers blow themselves up; animals or people wandering onto a minefield risk being blown up. -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 05:23, 25 February 2017 (UTC)
- The reflexive indicates that the subject took some action the result of which is indicated by the verb: thus this 1974 newspaper headline Nixon dimitiu-se (literally "Nixon dismissed himself") which in English would be rendered "Nixon resigns". There appear to be syntactical differences between Spanish and Portuguese, for example this sentence on pt:wp:
- How is Spanish relevant here? Suicide bombers blow themselves up; animals or people wandering onto a minefield risk being blown up. -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 05:23, 25 February 2017 (UTC)
- O hdreto de sódio deve ser conservado em lugar seco e arejado pois em lugar com a temperatura levemente elevada corre risco de entrar em combustão e explodir.
- There is a spelling mistake in the article - the word is hidreto and the sentence means
- "sodium hydroxide must be kept in a cool, dry place because in a place with a lightly elevated temperature it runs the risk of catching fire and exploding." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.147.142.155 (talk) 13:54, 25 February 2017 (UTC)
- Again, what they do and say in languages other than English is utterly irrelevant here. -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 20:29, 25 February 2017 (UTC)
- Anyhow, leaving aside the semantic digression, our Demining article says "Cattle and other heavy livestock are often left to graze in mined areas in order to facilitate mine detonation".
- Less intentionally, Still Killing: Landmines in Southern Africa by Alex Vines reports that in Zimbabwe, "Since 1980, 9,084 cattle have been reported killed in minefields, representing a loss of income of some Z$15 million". Alansplodge (talk) 18:19, 25 February 2017 (UTC)
- It's a good thing that the author included the number of cattle (I wonder how the precise number was determined?), because the events described in our Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe article mean that "Z$15 million", without being tied to a specific time period, is absolutely useless as a measure of value. Nyttend (talk) 04:49, 26 February 2017 (UTC)
- According to this source, an estimated 2.4 million landmines were laid in Zimbabwe during the Liberation war, and that since that time there have been 120,000 "cattle accidents". This is not necessarily in conflict with the above claim of under 10,000 cattle fatalities, as my source does not specify the accidents resulted in death (EDIT: I notice the source used above is 20 years old, while mine is more recent. But without knowing what a "cattle accident" is, still can't draw conclusions about whether one is inaccurate, or the rate has changed). If you make an assumption that each accident detonated a single landmine, and that this NGO's estimate of the number of landmines is accurate, then cattle have cleared 5% of the minefield in the last 37 years. Not that efficient. Someguy1221 (talk) 05:00, 26 February 2017 (UTC)
- Perhaps also the precise number is counting cattle bodies that were found and the bigger number is estimated from rates of injured cattle and owner surveys of how many of their cattle never came back? Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 06:33, 26 February 2017 (UTC)
- According to this source, an estimated 2.4 million landmines were laid in Zimbabwe during the Liberation war, and that since that time there have been 120,000 "cattle accidents". This is not necessarily in conflict with the above claim of under 10,000 cattle fatalities, as my source does not specify the accidents resulted in death (EDIT: I notice the source used above is 20 years old, while mine is more recent. But without knowing what a "cattle accident" is, still can't draw conclusions about whether one is inaccurate, or the rate has changed). If you make an assumption that each accident detonated a single landmine, and that this NGO's estimate of the number of landmines is accurate, then cattle have cleared 5% of the minefield in the last 37 years. Not that efficient. Someguy1221 (talk) 05:00, 26 February 2017 (UTC)
- It's a good thing that the author included the number of cattle (I wonder how the precise number was determined?), because the events described in our Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe article mean that "Z$15 million", without being tied to a specific time period, is absolutely useless as a measure of value. Nyttend (talk) 04:49, 26 February 2017 (UTC)
Why do most glass jars have constricted openings?
editIn my experience most glass jars usually have a constriction at the top which makes it difficult to remove the last of the contents using a knife. Is it easier to manufacture them this way or is it just a tradition or something else? --129.215.47.59 (talk) 10:50, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- I don't know the answer. I think it is a good question. The best answer I could guess is that screw-on metal caps function better in smaller dimensions. Bus stop (talk) 10:55, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- For secure packing and transport, the sides of the bottles need to be in firm contact with each other - which could not happen if the sides were vertical and the lid then overlapped, which is necessary in order to get a good seal. If the lids prevented the glass jars from touching each other, they would be hard to pack, and would rattle about in transit with am increased risk of breakage. The narrowing at the neck allows the lid to seal properly, without extending beyond the sides of the jar. Of course, a lot of the more ornate and complex shapes are purely about branding and recognition: Marmite could just as easily be in a simple cylindrical jar, and there is no other reason for a square jar with a round top. Wymspen (talk) 12:00, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- Not entirely sure I've understood you correctly but if you are talking about jars with big shoulders like the Marmite shape mentioned, then these type are normally used when one wants to fully submerge something in a liquid, such as a pickle. With a narrow opening there is no need to fill the jar to the brim and so the liquid doesn't flow out when the lid is screwed on. Of course this isn't necessary with Marmite and the shape of the jar is just marketing. If you mean that a more or less cylindrical jar has a very slightly narrower opening, as opposed to having the thread on the outer limits of the jar, then I'm not sure, it may be something to do with structural integrity or it could be ease of manufacture. I have tried to find some videos of how jars are manufactured but as yet, drawn a blank. Best guess is that the jar is blown as a cylinder and then the thread is cut into it so the opening must always be smaller than the jar.--Ykraps (talk) 12:52, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- One (common sense) reason is to have one size of lid fit several different sizes of jars.--TMCk (talk) 13:31, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- Then one would expect the lid from a small Marmite jar to fit a larger Marmite jar and I'm not sure it does.--Ykraps (talk) 13:45, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- There are probably multiple design considerations, but I think TracyMcClark has at least one of them here. There are probably standardized lid sizes, that the bottles are designed to match ones of them. Looking at difference sizes of Mason Jars is instructive. the smaller jars have straight sides, and the lid fits over them. The larger jars use the same lids, and therefore the top has to be highly curved. That's not a complete answer though, since the smaller mason jars surely prove that it's possible to have a jar with straight sides. (I'll point out that mason jars never need to be shipped with their lids on, though.) ApLundell (talk) 16:14, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- You could read about the bottle (which is what I think you're actually asking about) and the jar. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 15:19, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- This page[1] indicates that ketchup and other sauces were made with narrow necks so that they could be sealed with a cork, as with wine bottles (and as per the bottle) article. As for getting the last bit of ketchup out of the bottle, you can sometimes find tools to do that at your local kitchenwares specialty store. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 16:24, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- Sure, but those are bottles. Why do peanut butter jars come in at the top? It would be much so more convenient to the user if the sides of the jar were perfectly straight all the way up to the top.
- I suspect Wymspen has the largest part of the answer. If the sides were perfectly straight, the lid (Which must go around the outside of the bottle) would be wider than the rest of the bottle, causing wasted space when they were packed in a box. To avoid that they shrink the top of the jar, so that the outer diameter of the lid can be the same diameter as the jar itself. ApLundell (talk) 19:50, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- Here's a picture of a Skippy jar.[2] In comes in at the top just far enough to allow for a lid which is in line with the sides. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 17:42, 22 February 2017 (UTC)
- FYI, many mason jars have no "neck" or "shoulder", they have straight sides, so as to allow freezing the contents without expansion potentially breaking the glass. See e.g. here [3] for more info. SemanticMantis (talk) 20:18, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- I can't find a source that directly references Wymspen's idea. But the idea that all packaging should pay close attention to "cube utilization" (That is, how much stuff can be packed in a cubic unit of space.) appears a LOT in the literature. So I think it's safe to say it's at least part of the explanation for tapered necks even on small jars. ApLundell (talk) 20:49, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- This page[1] indicates that ketchup and other sauces were made with narrow necks so that they could be sealed with a cork, as with wine bottles (and as per the bottle) article. As for getting the last bit of ketchup out of the bottle, you can sometimes find tools to do that at your local kitchenwares specialty store. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 16:24, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
Time to rename this the "I suspect Desk". Are you actually answering the question or just talking about stuff you think you know something about? The Rambling Man (talk) 19:56, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- OR: One possible reason is that larger lids can be harder to open, especially if food has been spilled on the threads and dried there. I've found this to be the case often. Another more sinister motive is that they don't want you to get all the contents out, they'd rather have you go buy another. StuRat (talk) 20:25, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- I was just going to link to this textbook on the subject that references a study that lids larger than 85mm are hard to open for some people. [4] Which explains why giant pickle jars have a next that goes down to that size.
- Still Doesn't explain the why smaller jars like peanut butter jars don't add a few millimeters. That's probably the packing issue discussed above, but I can't find a source that discusses packagine and shipping issues. ApLundell (talk) 20:29, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
It's down to ease of production, reduction in material costs, particularly when using glass, and strength. And these days some of it is tradition, people like the way glass bottles look. Packing is absolutely irrelevant, such items aren't packed so closely that a few millimetres saved here and there. To assert otherwise is patently wrong. The Rambling Man (talk) 20:53, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- First you criticize others for giving opinions without refs to back them up, then you do the exact same thing ? StuRat (talk) 20:59, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- No, I'm just acclimatising to the sort of thing you and the others here do. I can happily spend hours giving my uninformed opinion and will do so whenever I like, just like you do. What's the problem all of a sudden? You don't like me joining in with you doing that? The Rambling Man (talk) 21:01, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- Welcome to The Collective. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 21:12, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- The difference is I don't criticize others for that, unless they are being a hypocrite, like you. StuRat (talk) 21:17, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- No, the difference is that you offer nothing other than your opinion, and when I start doing the same, you get upset about it, like you own this kind of approach. Once you start adding references or links to your responses, we can take you seriously. The Rambling Man (talk) 21:21, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- I often give refs, as I proved when you said the same thing on the talk page. You just boxed up the discussion and ignored my response. You just do cherry picking to try to support your absurd opinions. StuRat (talk) 21:26, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- Saying "Don't do X" and then immediately doing "X" will upset anyone involved regardless of whether or not they are personally doing X. Odd that you're not aware of this perfectly normal aspect of human behavior. ApLundell (talk) 21:28, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- I assumed you were all dogs? My bad. As for absurd opinions, StuRat, you don't just own the t-shirt, you own the pan-galactic manufacturing plants which churn them out hither and thither! [citation needed] The Rambling Man (talk) 21:37, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- No, the difference is that you offer nothing other than your opinion, and when I start doing the same, you get upset about it, like you own this kind of approach. Once you start adding references or links to your responses, we can take you seriously. The Rambling Man (talk) 21:21, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- Just more baseless opinion from you with no facts to back it up. StuRat (talk) 22:54, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- In my opinion the response containing the greatest logic concerns preservation of space as concerns packing jars for shipping. I think the most interesting approach to answering this question concerns not design concerns but practical concerns, and not instances in which the production run is relatively small and/or the product is relatively expensive, but rather those instances in which the product is relatively inexpensive and produced in relatively large production runs. Therefore I tend to think of mayonnaise and peanut butter. Larger rather than smaller quantities I think should interest us more as concerns responding to this question. Mayonnaise fits that bill. Here are some images for consideration. Bus stop (talk) 21:10, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- No, slightly tapered bottles does not save at all on packing space. It would make the packages lighter, but not smaller in volume due to the size of the base. As for getting stuff out of these bad boys, see Bottle scraper. Awesome! I always find it easier to push a cat or a shrew into the bottle to get the last bits out. Problem comes when they eat so much they can't then escape. Hence the phrase "Shrew in a Bottle". The Rambling Man (talk) 21:14, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- We're talking about jars not bottles. A jar without a neck will have a greater outer diameter.
- Grabbing a jar I happen to have handy. (17 oz Chocolate-Peanut Butter Jar) I find that the diameter is 75mm. The neck saves about 10mm of diameter.
- If the sides of the jar were straight all the way, there would be a 28% increase in shelf-space required.
- More relvantly, in a 40in box your could pack 196[5] with 75mm lids, and only 151[6] with 85mm lids. ApLundell (talk) 21:28, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- Well if it's a slight taper, like a honey jar, then there's no issue with getting the residue out. Yes, it would make the packaging marginally smaller, but who uses "40in boxes"?! The example given is very "interesting" but can be tailored according to the argument. It's most likely that a 5% saving would be possible. Of course, that's clearly not always the case, see this for instance. A modern jam jar, which gets larger towards the top. Like an upside Mount Everest! Mind you, I've seen that mountain on Google, it's not that big, it's quite small actually, about 200px wide. Yawn. The Rambling Man (talk) 21:35, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- After eight edit conflicts I just want to say that there is a somewhat unsolvable problem here, given standard technology of jars and caps. You either create an overhang inside or outside the outer limits of the circular jar. The questions involve tradeoffs. Bus stop (talk) 21:43, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- I'm not sure "slight taper" describes it. The neck (Of my chocolate peanut butter jar I measured earlier) is more of a lip, as it comes in at a slope that is almost horizontal. ApLundell (talk) 21:50, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- No, slightly tapered bottles does not save at all on packing space. It would make the packages lighter, but not smaller in volume due to the size of the base. As for getting stuff out of these bad boys, see Bottle scraper. Awesome! I always find it easier to push a cat or a shrew into the bottle to get the last bits out. Problem comes when they eat so much they can't then escape. Hence the phrase "Shrew in a Bottle". The Rambling Man (talk) 21:14, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- Also note that you can boil/sterilize more volume, using square jars, in home canning, because they pack together more closely, but that the downside is that it would take longer to sterilize them. StuRat (talk) 22:50, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- I find the Talenti packaging unusual in the degree to which it fulfills what I see as the ideals that we are discussing, namely that the interior is straight all the way from the bottom up to the top. It is made out of plastic, both body and lid. Here are some images. Bus stop (talk) 04:30, 22 February 2017 (UTC)
- Yes, and note that the larger lids do prevent the sides of the containers from contacting each other, which may be an advantage on the store shelf, allowing customers to get a finger hold on each. StuRat (talk) 14:56, 22 February 2017 (UTC)
- How important is it that the design allows "customers to get a finger hold on each"? Bus stop (talk) 15:02, 22 February 2017 (UTC)
- That would depend on the clearance on top, and if customers can reach the top. If not, it could be quite difficult to grab one off the shelf and the customer might well pick the next brand. StuRat (talk) 15:23, 22 February 2017 (UTC)
- There also might be a wild lion guarding the competitor's brand of ice cream. Bus stop (talk) 03:41, 24 February 2017 (UTC)
- If you'd like a stronger statement, here it is: If your product is more difficult to remove from the shelf than your competition, then some portion of your customer base will choose the easier containers to grasp. StuRat (talk) 05:50, 24 February 2017 (UTC)
Glass is cheaper than metal lids78.148.42.79 (talk) 09:18, 26 February 2017 (UTC)
Trump on Uranium
editsee talk — Preceding unsigned comment added by Baseball Bugs (talk • contribs) 05:28, 26 February 2017 (UTC) |
---|
The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it. |
Recently, Trump spoke on Uranium. He's what he had to say : "You know what uranium is, right? It’s this thing called nuclear weapons. And other things. Like lots of things are done with uranium. Including some bad things." Is this a broadly truthful description of Uranium. Or else, what is he trying to express? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 93.81.249.93 (talk) 16:21, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
|
How can I ask a question to administrator at imdb
editThe message boards are gone now. 64.141.83.200 (talk) 20:25, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- They have a "contact us" link in the footer of their main page. Jahoe (talk) 20:30, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
Which gemstones symbolize friendship?
editI love gemstones. 64.141.83.200 (talk) 20:26, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- Here are some suggestions: [10]. But, if you send me any gems, I will be your friend. :-)StuRat (talk) 20:32, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- Including Gem blades? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 20:40, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- Diamonds are a girls best friend. :) Jahoe (talk) 20:43, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- And they are Forever. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 20:45, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- They certainly aren't indestructible, so won't really last forever. StuRat (talk) 21:01, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- Just like the friendship they symbolize... Jahoe (talk) 21:09, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- ...forever marked with blood. Blood diamonds, De_Beers#Diamond_prices, price fixing, etc. SemanticMantis (talk) 22:01, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- Harrumph! Girls get diamonds, but what do men get? Dogs! -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 21:23, 22 February 2017 (UTC)
- ...forever marked with blood. Blood diamonds, De_Beers#Diamond_prices, price fixing, etc. SemanticMantis (talk) 22:01, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- If you google "friendship gemstones" you'll find plenty of options. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 20:47, 21 February 2017 (UTC)
- Here's [11] an explanation of several nice stones symbolizing friendship in different ways. Here's [12] some discussions [13] of Victorian use of gems as symbols. SemanticMantis (talk) 22:01, 21 February 2017 (UTC)