Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2012 May 2

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May 2

OXXO stores

In Mexico there is a chain of convenience stores named OXXO. What does the name mean? Hugs and kisses? Ken — Preceding unsigned comment added by 218.160.35.219 (talk) 12:16, 2 May 2012 (UTC)

I don't see any indication that OXXO has any specific meaning. The original stores had very stylized XXs crossing and would loop the name around the store (see [1]). I suspect, but don't know, that it was just chosen to be catchy. It doesn't appear to be an abbreviation or any individual's name. There's nothing on their corporate website which explains the name. --Mr.98 (talk) 13:30, 2 May 2012 (UTC)

There are both high-end kitchen utensils (founded later) and grocery stores (founded earlier) branded OXO, so perhaps they were copying the grocery store brand. StuRat (talk) 17:09, 2 May 2012 (UTC)

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention two other similarly named brands: The Mexican beer XX, usually pronounced "dos equis" as in the native Spanish, and the Australian beer XXXX, usually pronounced "fourecks", as in the native Australian. There's something very visceral and simple in the "X" as a brand, and no doubt that the OXXO, OXO, and other similar brands are working for using basic shapes like crosses and circles which also double as letters. --Jayron32 01:38, 3 May 2012 (UTC)

And I'd be remiss if I didn't remind the ref desk (probably not for the first time) that XXXX is manufactured in Queensland, and southerners like to say that the Queenslanders call it that because they can't spell beer.  :) -- ♬ Jack of Oz ♬ ^{[your turn]} 03:01, 3 May 2012 (UTC)

Yes… "beer" is one word four letter word for a liquid often used in that joke. (I actually like XXXX bitter, but not gold) Fifelfoo (talk) 03:13, 3 May 2012 (UTC)

"XXXX" itself refers to a traditional grading system for strong beer, according to WPs XXXX. Benyoch^{...Don't panic! Don't panic!...} (talk) 03:17, 3 May 2012 (UTC)

I spent an evening last year writing an article on the history and use of the XXX beer grading system, but it's been deleted :-( Alansplodge (talk) 12:08, 3 May 2012 (UTC)

Not deleted but turned into a redirect XXX (beer). I have added the lost details. Alansplodge (talk) 16:28, 3 May 2012 (UTC)

I'll drink to that, and to all instances of non-deletion of carefully researched knowledge. -- ♬ Jack of Oz ♬ ^{[your turn]} 19:47, 3 May 2012 (UTC)

Cheers! Alansplodge (talk) 23:40, 4 May 2012 (UTC)

It may well be making a visual point. From our article on the OXO Tower:

Liebig wanted to include a tower featuring illuminated signs advertising the name of their product. When permission for the advertisements was refused, the tower was built with four sets of three vertically-aligned windows, each of which "coincidentally" happened to be in the shapes of a circle, a cross and a circle.

BrainyBabe (talk) 12:17, 4 May 2012 (UTC)

There is also Oxo (food) - a range of stocks and extracts. Roger (talk) 17:51, 4 May 2012 (UTC)

Yes, that is the beef (ox) bouillon product that the tower is supposed not to be advertising. BrainyBabe (talk) 12:26, 5 May 2012 (UTC)

Table-top storage of unrefrigerated butter.

Is it OK to keep on the table-top unrefrigerated (cow) butter between, say, 5C and 25C; for such is room temperature in the mild winter climate where I am in Australia? NB: I dont use a 'lid with a long interior lip' for the container, as mentioned in WP's butter. Thanks for your thougts. Benyoch^{...Don't panic! Don't panic!...} (talk) 13:25, 2 May 2012 (UTC)

Online sources and personal experience say it'll keep for a few days at room temperature at that temperate level, but it lasts much longer when refrigerated.[2][3][4][5][6][7] The main risks seem to be that (1) it'll go rancid which is easy to detect by the smell and taste, and (2) if not properly wrapped it'll take on the smells of other foods. --Colapeninsula (talk) 14:05, 2 May 2012 (UTC)

I concur with every part of Colapenisula's answer. You'll know when its 'gone off'! Richard Avery (talk) 14:45, 2 May 2012 (UTC)

The main reason people do this is that cold butter doesn't spread nicely. If this is your reason, I suggest either cutting off a pat and microwaving it, or using a more liquid form of margarine. StuRat (talk) 17:04, 2 May 2012 (UTC)

When I was growing up in Australia, Mom would mix margarine and butter in equal parts and melt them together. When it hardened, the mixture was always spreadable in winter and didn't melt easily in the butter disk in summer. I can't remember if it ever went off, but I doubt it had time as we ate a lot of sandwiches. --TrogWoolley (talk) 17:29, 2 May 2012 (UTC)

Before we had fridges, everybody kept their butter at room temperature until it was finished and then they'd buy another quarter pound. As Colapeninsula says, the taste changes if it stays too warm for too long, but I doubt if you're going to poison yourself. That's not medical advice, just a historical observation. Alansplodge (talk) 21:24, 2 May 2012 (UTC)

Isn't there also a color change, with rancid butter more yellow ? StuRat (talk) 21:44, 2 May 2012 (UTC)

Yes. Alansplodge (talk) 01:03, 3 May 2012 (UTC)

Back in those days, there was no such stuff as margarine (or, if there was, it wasn't something most people had, because butter had not yet acquired the bad name it so ill-deserves), so the butter that was in the house would get used up more quickly than it perhaps might today, because there was no alternative. -- ♬ Jack of Oz ♬ ^{[your turn]} 01:58, 3 May 2012 (UTC)

Anecdotally speaking, various French people I know store their butter at room temperature to this day. That's the point of the pot de buerre. Regards, Orange Suede Sofa (talk) 22:24, 2 May 2012 (UTC)

They probably use butter up in a few days. I keep it for months. StuRat (talk) 22:47, 2 May 2012 (UTC)

I live in Australia (Coastal NSW). I start leaving the bread butter out about April, but this Autumn has been a bit hot. The bread butter starts going back in the fridge around September / October. In summer I'm more likely to buy a butter-oil "spreadable" blend. The cooking butter always stays in the fridge, and comes out if there are scones or something being made. Fifelfoo (talk) 03:19, 3 May 2012 (UTC)

THANKS to EVERYONE for your replies, all of which have been helpful in different ways. The last by Fifelfoo describes the situation I am trying to resolve - your experience and practice is particularly helpful. Special thanks to Colapeninsula for your effort with the links. For what it is worth, I have ditched eating margarine after researching how it is made and the nature of the end result. Seems butter is way better, as JackofOz rightly alludes. Tastes a lot better by far, and its alleged disadvantages promoted by the margarine lobby out-way 'plastic' nature of marg. Benyoch ^{...Don't panic! Don't panic!...} (talk) 06:54, 3 May 2012 (UTC)

Why do you think margarine is unhealthy ? (Some of it was unhealthy, when they were adding trans fats to make it firmer and last longer, but I believe they've almost all stopped that now.) StuRat (talk) 07:09, 3 May 2012 (UTC)

The problem with that post is that you have to say "I believe...." because it's not that easy to find out exactly what goes into making non-butter "spreads". With butter, it's much more obvious. And don't get me started again on shops that "butter" my sandwiches with something that isn't butter. (Unless I stop them.) HiLo48 (talk) 08:12, 3 May 2012 (UTC)

Doesn't the ingredient list tell you what's in margarine ? If trans fats aren't explicitly listed there, look for "partially hydrogenated vegetable oils". StuRat (talk) 15:32, 3 May 2012 (UTC)

Yes it seems surprising to me that they don't. Here in NZ, the nutrition info always seems to have the percentage for trans fat. I'm not sure that it's legally required, although if it is it's even more surprising since the regulations are very similiar between Australia and NZ on that sort of thing AFAIK (see Food Standards Australia New Zealand). But in any case it seems it's in the manufacturers interest to say if it's low. Nil Einne (talk) 17:31, 3 May 2012 (UTC)

The ingredients list can be helpful, if you're willing to go to the trouble of translating it into colloquial English, but I was referring to the manufacturing process almost as much as the ingredients. How many people really know what trans-fat is? HiLo48 (talk) 20:29, 3 May 2012 (UTC)

I don't really understand you, it doesn't matter what others know, the point is if you are concerned about transfat then you should be able to avoid it. There's no translation required since it clearly says trans under fat. If you are concerned about the manufacturing process for some unspecified reason, then I guess we can't help. Nil Einne (talk) 21:09, 4 May 2012 (UTC)

What would be a good alternative verb in that circumstance? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 12:00, 3 May 2012 (UTC)

I don't verb it, but I use "smear" as a generic word for butter-or-marge-to-spread-on-bread, and I think some of my friends have caught it from me too. --ColinFine (talk) 15:31, 3 May 2012 (UTC)

Or, if you are in a New York deli, you can call it a "schmear". StuRat (talk) 16:02, 3 May 2012 (UTC)

Either way, it's not very appetizing. Maybe that's the point. I guess the waitress could say they could "oleo" it, and then they'd get some weird looks. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 00:53, 4 May 2012 (UTC)

Salted butter keeps longer than unsalted; that's what the salt is for. I would say unsalted about a week unrefrigerated, salted about two weeks, except in hot weather. Longer than that, tastes rancid, but won't make you ill. An interesting idea to mix with marge to make it spreadable. Or you could mix it with oil, or water, or both, or make flavoured butter with lemon juice, herbs etc. Itsmejudith (talk) 18:05, 3 May 2012 (UTC)

As in many cases of junk food and commercial snack foods, the salt is also (primarily?) there for flavour. HiLo48 (talk) 20:29, 3 May 2012 (UTC)

Perhaps primarily for flavour from the 20th century onwards. But dairy processing was always about ways of preserving the milk. Fresh cream cheese (fromage blanc) is unsalted, but all kinds of hard cheese are salty. Depressingly, perhaps people prefer salted butter because they are used to the salt in margarine - and the salt is in the margarine so it tastes like butter. Itsmejudith (talk) 20:56, 3 May 2012 (UTC)

I don't think the slight amount of salt they add preserves it, that's just for flavor, for two reasons. First, rancidification is primarily a chemical reaction, not much involving bacteria. So, killing off bacteria with a high salt content won't make much difference. Second, even when bacteria is the problem, a small amount of salt is actually good for bacteria, as they need it just like we do. It's only an overwhelming amount of salt that kills bacteria. This much salt also makes the food almost inedible to us, but we can manage if we dilute it by eating it with other (less salty) foods and drinks. StuRat (talk) 15:48, 4 May 2012 (UTC)

Requirements for a "write in" vote.

What are the requirements for a "write in" vote for a canidate that is not listed on the ballot ? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.232.86.63 (talk) 14:21, 2 May 2012 (UTC)

(added new question title - next time use the 'ask a new question' button at top). Benyoch^{...Don't panic! Don't panic!...} (talk) 14:33, 2 May 2012 (UTC)

See Write-in_vote. The requirements vary in different jurisdictions. RudolfRed (talk) 15:43, 2 May 2012 (UTC)

It sounds as if you have a particular ballot in mind. You might get an answer if you told us which one. --ColinFine (talk) 15:33, 3 May 2012 (UTC)

Identifying a wildflower

Is anybody able to identify this wildflower? It was photographed in Northunberland, in England. Chaosandwalls (talk) 18:52, 2 May 2012 (UTC)

Looks to me like a particularly well-flowered specimen of Petasites hybridus aka Common Butterbur. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.197.66.211 (talk) 19:16, 2 May 2012 (UTC)

Identify war movie

Dear Friends,

I was talking to a friend about war movies, and I remembered a old movie,I asked him about it,but he couldn't recallthe show. It came out in the early 50's It started out In black&white, heavy rain on a pile of slate behind a brick bilding.We then go inside and the Germans use a jack to pry up a slit in the slate pile and put a machine gun in the slit.there they have a nice vue of the road,and the slate protects them from return fire. I belive ti took place in Italy,attacked by Americans.The intire show is about overrunning this position. I believe I was in the third at the time.

Can anyone help me out with the name of this movie.

Russ Knapp — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.88.185.122 (talk) 21:05, 2 May 2012 (UTC)

The Entertainment Desk would be a good place to ask this. StuRat (talk) 21:12, 2 May 2012 (UTC)

Take a gander through Category:Italian Campaign of World War II films (some have plot descriptions, but I've not combed through them all) - perhaps it's listed there. -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 21:13, 2 May 2012 (UTC)

U.S. COast Guard

hi please. I would like to know if the Coast GUArd are actually consider part of the "armed forces". And are they actually armed? With guns and missiles and things. Is there any record of the CG actually using force in the past 100 yrs or so. These are the things which I would like to know thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.228.83.134 (talk) 23:38, 2 May 2012 (UTC)

The first sentence of the United States Coast Guard article makes it perfectly clear: "The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services."173.32.168.59 (talk) 23:48, 2 May 2012 (UTC)

ya i read that but are they "armed" forces in NAME ONLY or does they have guns and weapons and thing.--24.228.83.134 (talk) 23:51, 2 May 2012 (UTC)

They have guns and weapons and thing. You don't even have to read the text in the article-- there's a picture of a Coastie helicopter spraying bullets into the water. Orange Suede Sofa (talk) 00:24, 3 May 2012 (UTC)

That looks like a weapon on the deck to me

The US coast guard had a little bit of controversy recently with how much money they were spending on their Integrated Deepwater System Program, specifically their new cutter, USCGC Bertholf (WMSL-750). The Bertholf carries a Bofors 57 mm gun, 4 50 caliber machine guns, and two light machine guns, as well as a CIWS system. You can see it making its first drug bust here, in 2009. The coast guard also operates 9 older Hamilton class cutters, with a 76 mm cannon, 2 25 mm M242 cannons, and a Phalanx CIWS system. Buddy431 (talk) 00:25, 3 May 2012 (UTC)

According to Equipment of the United States Coast Guard, they are indeed armed. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 00:28, 3 May 2012 (UTC)

See also Category:United States Coast Guard weapons. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 00:29, 3 May 2012 (UTC)

Another "See also" would be the History of the United States Coast Guard article which mentions the Coast Guard's participation in many armed conflicts; in particular, check the section dealing with World War II. FlowerpotmaN·(t) 00:47, 3 May 2012 (UTC)

thank u. the coast guyard are truly heros of the nation. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.228.83.134 (talk) 04:55, 3 May 2012 (UTC)

A recent event involving a US Coast Guard vessel firing its weapons was when the Japanese "ghost ship" Ryou-Un Maru, lost at sea after the tsunami, was getting dangerously close Alaska. According to [8] "cannon fire from a U.S. Coast Guard cutter set the ship afire", and it sank soon after. The cutter was the USCGC Anacapa (WPB-1335). That page describes its armaments (basically a few machines guns and a grenade launcher).

I thought there were cases of US or Canadian Coast Guard vessels firing warning shots at fishing vessels during the so-called "Salmon Wars" of the 1990s, but it seems to have been US and Canadian fishing vessels firing at one another, as well as seizing vessels. If I remember right, the state of Alaska requested US Coast Guard escorts to protect their fishing vessels from the Canadians, but was turned down. (although the US and Canada mostly get along quite well, there are several unresolved maritime disputes--the Dixon Entrance area in the case of the Salmon War) Pfly (talk) 10:36, 3 May 2012 (UTC)