Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2018 September 7

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September 7

Illegal?

Say I discovered something akin to the Popul Vuh or Dead Sea Scrolls, aka an ancient text in the US. Would it be illegal if I kept it to myself. Makuta Makaveli (talk) 01:44, 7 September 2018 (UTC)

In the UK the Treasure Act 1996 stipulates that any treasure found regardless of the circumstances in which it was deposited, even if it was lost or left with no intention of recovery, belongs to the Crown. The export of antiquities is now heavily controlled by law in almost all countries and by the 1970 UNESCO Convention. The ownership of the Dead Sea Scrolls is disputed among the Jordan, the Israel, and the Palestinian Authority. The Popol Vuh seems to originate in oral tradition transcribed by Father Ximénez of the Dominican Order whose documents passed to the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala from which Abbot Brasseur may have stolen the volume and taken it back to France. DroneB (talk) 03:24, 7 September 2018 (UTC)

For the United States, the answer is, "maybe." There are both state and federal laws that apply: Treasure_trove#United_States. Someguy1221 (talk) 03:30, 7 September 2018 (UTC)

This may or may not be a real life example, depending on your point of view. --Dweller (talk) Become old fashioned! 08:31, 7 September 2018 (UTC)

First, someone would have to find them. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 10:27, 7 September 2018 (UTC)

I think I have a photo of a couple of UFOs.

Where can I submit the photograph, so people can tell me what they think is seen in the photo? --Hacker1 (talk) 02:09, 7 September 2018 (UTC)

One possibility is Imgur. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 02:15, 7 September 2018 (UTC)

Most UFOs are later identified as conventional objects or phenomena. This is a list by country of UFO organizations and these are notable UFO researchers. DroneB (talk) 02:53, 7 September 2018 (UTC)

Is there anywhere on Wikipedia that is appropriate to upload the photograph of the potential UFOs? --Hacker1 (talk) 22:04, 11 September 2018 (UTC)

"Luster" in the Book of Mormon

Out of curiosity, I started reading the Book of Mormon here (beware annoying voice narration kicks in, presumably for those who can't read, but have somehow managed to navigate to this page... switch sound off before clicking) http://bookofmormon.online/lehites/7. I only got 8 verses in, when the text talks about "luster". I assumed it meant someone who lusts, but it seems from context (comparison with brightness) "lustre" is intended. Is that a typo in this edition? AmEng? Or is "someone who lusts" really intended? --Dweller (talk) Become old fashioned! 10:48, 7 September 2018 (UTC)

Luster is an acceptable spelling in American English. See Here in Merriam-Webster, the pre-eminent American dictionary. --Jayron32 11:11, 7 September 2018 (UTC)

Aha. Thanks. Chalk up yet another unfortunate ambiguity to the English language. --Dweller (talk) Become old fashioned! 11:17, 7 September 2018 (UTC)

My teacher asked me to give her one good reason for non-sequiturs. So I gave her one. --Dweller (talk) Become old fashioned! 11:17, 7 September 2018 (UTC)

And you added a double entendre into the bargain! {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 2.122.60.253 (talk) 14:43, 7 September 2018 (UTC)

Absolutely. My favourite type of ambiguity. I love a big one. Ambiguity that is. --Dweller (talk) Become old fashioned! 15:07, 7 September 2018 (UTC)

Cat jump height

Can cats jump from ground to rooftop or jumping up one storey directly from the floor? Once they jump up to high places, is it true that cats are less afraid of heights than humans? PlanetStar 21:39, 7 September 2018 (UTC)

Videos showing a Cat jumps 1.96 m (9 times own height) while others overestimate their abilities. DroneB (talk) 22:05, 7 September 2018 (UTC)

They have good reason for relative confidence while high, with their smaller paws, sharper claws, lower centres of gravity, wider bases and (if those all fail) tendencies to land upright. Some say they can't comprehend their own mortality, which might help. Others say they have nine lives, which also helps. InedibleHulk (talk) 22:27, 7 September 2018 (UTC)

Simply having four feet helps. It's well known that many humans in such situations will descend to all fours to give themselves greater stability. HiLo48 (talk) 22:44, 7 September 2018 (UTC)

Aye, wider bases, stable like a table, good for chairs, too. As long as everything's moving slowly, humans don't sweat perching on a precariously gabled roof for a few minutes. But sooner or later (depending on our flexibility and fitness), we're going to feel the burn in our odd-shaped hip joints and inefficent shoulders, and start to shift and wobble. Then comes the self-doubt, the worry, possibly the vertigo and the angry awning birds who think you're after their eggs.

You spring up like a poor man's frog, mind ready for the chase, as your body somersaults awkwardly onto the wrought iron fence below. The last thing you recall is your cat looking down on you from the weather vane, with her feet and belly on the same damn level, as if to say "What, you couldn't do this?", and you finally realize that's about as low as any mammal can go.

They also have very nimble tails, almost snakelike, and these work something like a tightrope walker's pole to counteract dangerous leaning. Nowhere near as useful as a monkey's, which is why you typically don't see cats fearlessly charging through hundred-foot tree canopies (that and thumbs), but you'll also rarely see a dog walking along even a five-foot railing (unless he's trained for it, doesn't wag carelessly, puts one paw in front of the other and has pointy ears). More common sight than a pig descending a ladder, though. InedibleHulk (talk) 05:56, 8 September 2018 (UTC)

I know cats who routinely catch dragonflies and bats flying about 1 meter/1,20 meter high but they can't jump much higher. But I knew a mother cat who would climb from the courtyard level to the first floor balcony running along the vertical wall carrying a kitten in her mouth. 194.174.73.80 (talk) 18:17, 10 September 2018 (UTC) Marco Pagliero Berlin

WolframAlpha states that a cat can jump 1.5m, but doesn't give a source. — Preceding unsigned comment added by LongHairedFop (talk • contribs) 20:23, 11 September 2018 (UTC)