Miscellaneous desk
< February 17	<< Jan | February | Mar >>	February 19 >

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.

Is there something like GagaLive (clean, minimal Flash chat client) but which speaks IRC? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.225.51.82 (talk) 00:56, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

"In North America, where about 80 percent of men are circumcised"

WHAT?! This cannot be right, can it? Source: [1] —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.225.51.82 (talk) 02:18, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Why can't it be right? In fact, 80% seems a little low... 70.162.25.53 (talk) 03:06, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

WHAT?! Are you kidding?! Why would over 80% of all men mutilate their own bodies? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.225.51.82 (talk) 03:16, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

They don't. It's not usually their decision. Circumcision usually is done shortly after birth by parents. Many men probably wouldn't have gone through it had they had the choose. Bellum et Pax (talk) 03:44, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Most men probably wouldn't. Ack, the article doesn't say, but he had a circumcision in Israel at the age of 37. The aftermath was the worst and goriest I've seen. Much blood. 81.93.102.185 (talk) 06:05, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Is this a medical thing, then? I remember reading somewhere that only about 2% of the population of the U.S. are Jewish, so I figure something else must account for it? --Joe^Talk_Work 13:46, 19 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

In Australia, and I suspect in other anglophone countries, it was widely practised on Roman Catholic boys of Anglo-Celtic background, back in the '50s and '60s and probably still to some degree. Not that I was all that interested in looking when changing for swimming - not when I was that young, anyway ... no, I lie, all boys look at other boys' thingamies, and so do most men, come to think of it - other men's, that is, not boys' - but from memory the only boy in my primary school class who wasn't circumcised had Italian parents. I went to a state-run high school and the proportion of circumcised boys was noticeably lower. But just why it was done when none of us were Jewish was never explained satisfactorily. The best I could ever get out of my parents was that it was simply the custom. -- JackofOz (talk) 22:41, 19 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Circumcision was medically recommended (and pretty much routine) in many Western countries during the 40s and 50s, since it was believed to prevent penile cancer, posthitis, balanitis and infant urinary tract infections. Many of these men later chose circumcision for their sons because that was what looked "normal" (and because they had been told it was "right"). Ethical/moral/religious arguments aside, from a purely medical point of view the current thinking is that the benefits are probably outweighed by (or at least equal to) the potential complications of such surgery on young children. Gwinva (talk) 23:01, 19 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I would add that it was medically recommended right up into the 70s and 80s as well. I suspect that only recently has the number of circumcisions in North America begun to decrease. Virtually everyone I know (friends, relatives) who was born around the same time as me (late 70s) is circumcised. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Santegeezhe (talk • contribs) 23:05, 19 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

There is still a medical debate on the subject, and some physicians will tell you that it can prevent problems later on. I suppose many parents here opt for circumcision simply because that's what most other parents do, and because it's so common here, an uncircumsized penis might be considered gross or strange. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 05:04, 21 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Can someone insert this link:

• • Stephenvillelights.com

This is supposed to let people know about what has been going on there in Stephenville, Texas. MY ISP is acting up.65.163.115.237 (talk) 03:58, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry, but that doesn't meet our criteria for reliable sources. — Lomn 05:54, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

If each house has a unique combination of ZIP+4/delivery point code, then in theory, it would seem that all one would have to put on an envelope is "01001-0110-01" or similar and the mail would get to the destination (assuming there is postage) even without an addressee or an address. Would this work? Better yet, couldn't you just put the POSTNET barcode on the envelope?

I am curious to see if this works. Perhaps I should send a letter to myself. Jared (t)  04:59, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, it should work. A similar thing applies in the UK and Canada, where each postcode applies to a few houses on a street - you'd need to add the house number, though. In continental Europe, the system is much less precise for some reason. I asked about this difference ages ago, see here. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 06:19, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I have successfully sent a letter to myself with nothing on the envelope but a stamp and a ZIP+4 code. I had a P.O. box at the time, so I had my own ZIP+4 code all to myself.

I also successfully sent a letter to my mom with only 10 characters on it: five letters for her first initial and last name, and a 5-digit ZIP code. I'm kind of surprised that one got to her; I presume the ZIP+4 method is much more reliable. MrRedact (talk) 17:53, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Giuseppe Verdi was once asked his address. He replied: "Giuseppe Verdi, Italy" will suffice. -- JackofOz (talk) 23:00, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I bet if you send a letter addressed "W, 20500," it will get to its destination. I think one of the Imponderables books investigates whether you really need both a street address and a ZIP code, and the post office said that while they will try to deliver a letter without a street address, it might take longer, and they really prefer that people don't do that. Even if a ZIP + 4 code identifies a single residence, numbers may be hard to read, and it's helpful to have the street address as a backup. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 05:00, 21 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Warning: this question includes a link to an image which is highly graphic and may be disturbing to some. Please don't click the link if you think this might apply to you.

Here's the image:[2]. My question is: can this be real? Wouldn't such an injury to the face be life-threatening? --Richardrj ^{talk email} 08:47, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I've seen many such images. I doubt that they're all photoshopped, so I would say it's real. Life threatening? Possibly but I'm no doctor. Dismas|^(talk) 09:16, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I expect it would hurt like the blazes, but with proper medical care it usually wouldn't be life-threatening. There are no major blood vessels through the cheek, so an individual so impaled wouldn't be likely to bleed out. After surgical repair, there would be challenges to keeping the wound site clean, and eating and drinking would be difficult until the injury was fully healed. I don't recommend trying this one at home. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 15:21, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

It's actually quite common in a number of religious ceremonies to do things like that. See Mortification of the flesh. Injury to the cheeks is not life threatening though it could easily scar. --98.217.18.109 (talk) 15:56, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

One of my fellow students (in the long ago days when I was an engineering student) had a comparable injury on a building site. A steel reinforcing rod was dropped from the top of a building, pierced his cheek and the floor of his mouth, and ended up fixing him to the ground. He had a scar on his cheek: I didn't check the floor of his mouth but he had no speech infirmity, and I deduce that he was probably wearing a hard hat. (with apologies for the original research) SaundersW (talk) 16:30, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

See cheek piercing and Vegetarian Festival. Gandalf61 (talk) 16:57, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Treatment of such wounds should be reasonably straightforward today (although don't read that as encouragement to perpetrate such a wound on yourself or someone else!), and there have been numerous historical examples of similar. David II of Scotland took an arrow in the face during the Battle of Neville's Cross, but continued fighting. He lived another 25 years. Henry V of England (while still the Prince of Wales) was struck by an arrow at the Battle of Shrewsbury, which penetrated his left side of his nose and embedded itself in the back of his skull. Like David, he continued to fight. Afterwards, he endured hours of surgery: the surgeon used a series of probes and threaded tongs to retreive the arrowhead. He would have had a tremendous scar: note how the portrait of him at the above page is full profile! Gwinva (talk) 04:14, 19 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

A WP project, or some systematic way of ensuring these wonderful talented answers add to the body of the encyclopedia? I have done a couple, sporadically. Please repost this idea elsewhere if this is not the best place. BrainyBabe (talk) 11:17, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah, sometimes ideas stemming from here take the shape of articles, there's even a special cutesy template-box-thingy to signify this, but I don't know what is it called :) --Ouro (blah blah) 12:44, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia:WikiProject Reference Desk Article Collaboration. Shortcut: WP:RDAC (and those little hats are cutesy! There's also an adorable user box) ---Sluzzelin talk 12:59, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Whatever works for you :) --Ouro (blah blah) 18:59, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for pointing this out. I am glad it exists ( I sort of thought something must) but am shocked how little used it seems to be --- only a handful of changes in the past couple of months. BrainyBabe (talk) 19:34, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

As a sloth, I suspect it might have something to do with the fact that it looks like "work". Nevertheless, I too signed up enthusiastically. Revivals will always be welcomed, I'm sure. ---Sluzzelin talk 19:53, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I've actually made a number of changes to articles in response to Ref Desk questions, but then I am too lazy to paste all of the links/templates required for those changes to be registered as part of this project! Marco polo (talk) 02:57, 19 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

It would be reasonably straightforward to expand articles based on ref desk answers if the answers came fully referenced! But the work of chasing up all those cites would be a little off-putting. Gwinva (talk) 04:21, 19 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

If one earns £20k per year, how much can one expect to recieve in ones bank account every month. Thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.191.136.2 (talk) 11:55, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

an aprox figure of £1200 net per month. (might be closer to £1250 - but I was erring on the side of caution) 83.104.131.135 (talk) 13:37, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I assume from the £ sign that you're paying taxes in the UK, in which case the above estimate looks a little low to me. According to the rough and ready reckoner here, assuming you're <65, unmarried and not blind, with £0 outstanding in student loans, your take-home would be c.£1,276 a month. However, as the site says, this is a rough guide and your personal circumstances will affect this figure. --Dweller (talk) 15:14, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Hello wikipedia;

I have heard that there are games one can apply to a calculator with a suitable graphical disply module, and thus can actually play. On your calculator. I was wondering perchance if anyone would know exactly where on the world wide web one might find such programs and as to what calculating device they would work on. For the record my calculator is a CASIO fx-83es sceintific calculator with a natural display.

P.s. I notice a large amount of questions relating to the phallus.

PP.s Yes I am british.

89.241.203.130 (talk) 14:51, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The most widely used calculator for such things is the TI-83 graphing calculator. The wiki entry even has links to several games archives in the external links. Enjoy! Poechalkdust (talk) 17:17, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The TI-89 is better for this purpose, because it has a higher quality screen. I've seen graphics in TI-89 games close to what the SNES could render (but in only black and white, of course). 206.252.74.48 (talk) 17:23, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Depends what sort of games you meant, there are a number of simulations and mathematical games you can use a calculator for. Sfan00 IMG (talk) 03:06, 20 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

In Systematic Investment Planning in a Mutual fund,can I invest 500 Rupees one month and 200 Rupees the other month? I mean does it have to be a fixed amount every month? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.192.101.156 (talk) 18:24, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Which bank is it? What kind of fund? What kind of plan? You'd need to give us more specifics. --Ouro (blah blah) 18:58, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

wotcha all, mrs mankster needs an out-line of a foot, for an on-line reflexology course she is doing, we ave looked thru clip art and had a wee search on the net but alas (a bonny, bonny lass) to no avail.she who must be obeyed needs a simple small out-line of a foot (left or right), that she can paste onto a word document and add chaka points, nerve endings, whatever these reflexologists do thanks Perry-mankster (talk) 19:49, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

We've got some foot outlines (in shoes) at Image:GuteAB und schlechteC Fussbekleidung.gif. Found using this tool, which is pretty handy. — Laura Scudder ☎ 21:44, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

For anything to do with (Lat) pes, pedis: Try Wiki Pedia, specifically Canadian experts on submerged specimen thereof. Help, Bielle! --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 22:45, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

That's a rather ped-antic comment, BielleCookatoo.  :) -- JackofOz (talk) 22:56, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Hmm, I noticed that Bielle's signature had gone white a while ago, but are her entire posts invisible to me now as well? ---Sluzzelin talk 09:32, 19 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

My bad, I misread the post. -- JackofOz (talk) 11:01, 19 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Hate to see anyone in pain, try these [3] for size madam Julia Rossi (talk) 09:33, 19 February 2008 (UTC) n PS: this is printable [4] reflexology chart. It musta bin a week luke. ;)[reply]

guys, guys, guys! my sole is yet again sent soreing, by your no mean feat of finding the imagines mrs mankster needed, and yes it was a week luke, but mrs mankster typed 'feet' into google and you can imagine some of the interesting sites that found!, thanks again, wot ho watson the gout is afoot! Perry-mankster (talk) 21:50, 20 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

No worries, mrs mankster the reflexologist should be able to pinpoint that gout! : ) Julia Rossi (talk) 04:41, 22 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Can anyone help me find an image of McFly (| mcflyofficial.com) that I could use in their article? Also, could anyone explain to me what these licenses mean: | flickr.com/creativecommons -- Stacey _{talk to me} 22:06, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I know nothing about McFly, but we have info on the Creative Commons licenses in the article of the same name. Basically, Creative Commons licenses are a group of licenses where people can mix and match which restrictions they place on the item. Not all CC licenses are "acceptable" on Wikipedia. (e.g see Wikipedia:Copyright_FAQ, and Wikipedia:Image_copyright_tags#Guidelines). Acceptable licenses "must permit both commercial reuse and derivative works." So the CC licenses which have non-commercial (contains 'nc' or the 'no dollar sign' symbol in the short form) or "no derivative" (nd, equals sign) clauses are not permited on WP. (Note that Wikipedia:Image_copyright_tags/Deprecated#Non-free_Creative_Commons_licenses specifically lists all the unacceptable licenses and says "Do not upload [Creative Commons] images ... [with] non-commercial or "no derivatives" licenses".) Attribution ('by', 'by:') and share alike ('sa', circular arrow) clauses are okay on Wikipedia. The page Wikipedia:Images#Finding_images_on_the_Internet says of Creative Commons images from Flickr - "Images with Attribution and Attribution-ShareAlike may be used on Wikipedia subject to the license terms." -- 128.104.112.47 (talk) 23:05, 19 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]