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February 10

Robert Irving Barrow

Can we conform that Robert Irving Barrow ([1]), uncle of Charles Dickens, "an artist and engraver" (per "Dickens's Theatrical Cousins", Long, William F. The Dickensian; London Vol. 117, Iss. 513, (Spring 2021): 38-48), is the same person as the artist whose works are in c:Category:Robert Irving Barrow? Can we find any other details about him? Were he and Dickens close, and did they ever work together? Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 09:58, 10 February 2022 (UTC)

Some of his works are attributed to R. J. Barrow - note in particular the print shown here, and the label on its reverse. (It would be good to find the 1992 Telegraph article referred to there; I'll ask on WP:REX.) A person of that name exhibited at the RA in 1834; giving two addresses; one as "Liverpool" and, in London, "84 Abingdon-street" (per [2]). Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 11:56, 10 February 2022 (UTC)

Article found, but not helpful in this regard. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 14:08, 10 February 2022 (UTC)

You might try The letters of Charles Dickens. Vol. 10, 1862-1864, p. 452 and Vol. 9, p. 391. R. I. is also listed as collaborating with an F. Long.[3][4]. fiveby(zero) 14:17, 10 February 2022 (UTC)

Useful, thank you. I think we have enough to say they're the same person. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 16:55, 10 February 2022 (UTC)

What is this instrument?

It kicks in at 0:33 on the track "Doctor Eleven" from the Station Eleven soundtrack by Dan Romer. The entire song reminds me of something I can't put my finger on and it's driving me up the wall. Not sure if the ref desk has an external link deletion policy, but if not, here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj9-hx4Pgzg — Preceding unsigned comment added by 60.241.88.155 (talk) 12:25, 10 February 2022 (UTC)

There's an acoustic guitar (maybe a 12 string) but also something more metallic. Hard to tell, given how it's mixed. The Dan Romer article says he plays the mandolin, but it could be a banjo, or maybe something hammered like a hammered dulcimer or zither. I think someone would have to find a "making of" to really know. There is one for Romer's work on the Beasts of No Nation soundtrack here, and there he's using all kinds of unconventional sound sources and then munging them through the DAW so heavily that it would really be impossible to figure it out without knowing. -- Finlay McWalter··–·Talk 22:44, 10 February 2022 (UTC)

Thanks for a much more comprehensive answer than I could've hoped for, even if inconclusive! I guess what I'm really wondering is the broader question "what precisely does this remind me of," which only I can (or rather, can't) answer. Since it very vaguely reminds me of something I listened to a lot around 2010 I guess I can just be glad the answer isn't "a mandolin, you're thinking of Mumford and Sons, dummy." (In fact something about it reminds me of something, somewhere, in Darren Hayman's Thankful Villages albums. Or perhaps not... 60.241.88.155 (talk) 12:14, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

February 11

When did tanks first appear in Greece?

Admittedly, I might already know the answer to this question, but I still want a confirmation. —(((Romanophile))) ♞ (contributions) 07:50, 11 February 2022 (UTC)

@Romanophile The Refdesk is not a quiz game, please state what you think is the answer. It would provide us with at least a lead to start searching. Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 08:11, 11 February 2022 (UTC)

This book says "French Renault tanks were involved in the Greco-Turkish War". Alansplodge (talk) 10:14, 11 February 2022 (UTC)

The earliest that I could find was a Renault battalion at the Salonika Front in 1918. —(((Romanophile))) ♞ (contributions) 10:22, 11 February 2022 (UTC)

According to Boney Fuller, it was only a detached company in mid-1918: Tanks in the Great War (p. 197) (but they were there). Alansplodge (talk) 14:30, 11 February 2022 (UTC)

D'oh! We've quoted the same source! Well done anyway, I'd forgotten the Salonika Front was in neutral Greece; we now call it Thessaloniki. Alansplodge (talk) 14:34, 11 February 2022 (UTC)

We still call it Salonica in this house. DuncanHill (talk) 15:13, 11 February 2022 (UTC)

Presumably also Leghorn and Flushing? Alansplodge (talk) 16:53, 11 February 2022 (UTC)

Quite so, and Rheims and Dunkirk and Flanders and Rome. I claim no privilege for myself that I would not allow a foreigner, if a Greek calls London "Londino" it's no skin off my nose. DuncanHill (talk) 17:30, 11 February 2022 (UTC)

Anyone who doesn't call it Londinium is using the wrong name... --Jayron32 17:35, 11 February 2022 (UTC)

... I'm guessing that's what people who have one of those "Sona si potest hoc legere" stickers on their car call it.--Shirt58 (talk) 01:24, 12 February 2022 (UTC)

Perhaps "Honk if you can read this"? (I had to Google it). Alansplodge (talk) 09:14, 12 February 2022 (UTC)

Looks like John Bercow isn't going to get a peerage. Following the report of the enquiry into his behaviour he commented (like so many before him) "Calling it a kangaroo court would be unfair to kangaroos." He was the one who denied driving around with a "F**k Brexit" banner visible through the window of his car - turned out it was his wife's car. 2A00:23C3:FB80:7C00:C495:3CE7:3180:2449 (talk) 13:44, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

London School Board offices, Victoria Embankment

The London School Board offices were on Victoria Embankment. The original building, designed by G. F. Bodley, opened in 1874. The building was extended by R. W. Edis in 1891-3. In the gardens was a statue of W. E. Forster. The offices were demolished in 1929. I would like to know what replaced the buildings, and what happened to the statue. Thank you, DuncanHill (talk) 16:27, 11 February 2022 (UTC)

The second part was easiest: see William Edward Forster Statue in Victoria Embankment Gardens.— Preceding unsigned comment added by Alansplodge (talk • contribs)

This states that it was close to Temple Railway Station, which I believe is Temple tube station. --Jayron32 17:11, 11 February 2022 (UTC)

This is the current building in its place. The gardens are still in front, but the more modern building on the right in this picture looks to be just about in the right place to match the London School Board. The kicker is the red brick building, which looks to be the same as was there next to the London School Board. The modern address is 4 Temple Place. --Jayron32 17:21, 11 February 2022 (UTC)

Looking at a map, Temple station abuts the Victoria Embankment Gardens, which had existed since when the School Board Building opened, and Temple Station predates both. If the statue and gardens are in the same place as in 1874 (and they might be, the Gardens look to be about the same size and shape on Google Street View as in some of the pictures and drawings of the London School Board Building), then today the site is occupied by The Globe House, a more modern building that is the home of British American Tobacco. See picture to right. You can see Here the red brick building immediately to its right is the same building, and still there today. --Jayron32 17:21, 11 February 2022 (UTC)

And checking the Wikipedia article Temple Place confirms it. "Around the same time, Bodley and Garner's London School Board Building was erected in Temple Place. It was replaced by Electra House, the headquarters of Cable & Wireless, in 1929. It was damaged during the Second World War when on 24 July 1944 a V1 flying bomb hit the east of the building, demolishing part of it, blocking Milford Lane and trapping people in rubble at 28 Essex Street. Three people died and seventeen were injured.[2] The building was repaired but demolished in 1999 and replaced by Globe House, the building that is now the headquarters of British American Tobacco." --Jayron32 17:26, 11 February 2022 (UTC)

More about Electra House, Temple Place WC2 and Globe House is up for sale apparently. Alansplodge (talk) 17:58, 11 February 2022 (UTC)

BTW, the red brick building next to Globe House is similar, but not the same as Bodley's 1874 building which is shown here. It's reminiscent of one of the contemporary three-decker elementary schools which can be seen all over London. Alansplodge (talk) 18:16, 11 February 2022 (UTC)

That's not the 1874 building, that's an earlier (unbuilt) design for the London School Board. As it says in the text of that image, that 1873 design was modified to include a central tower and two pavilions on either side, which was what was actually built, per the photograph I shared above. --Jayron32 18:23, 11 February 2022 (UTC)

Oh yes, quite right. Alansplodge (talk) 18:40, 11 February 2022 (UTC)

(ec) Many thanks Alansplodge and Jayron32. I remember Electra House, I thought it a rather attractive building. There's a picture of it, repaired, here. DuncanHill (talk) 18:18, 11 February 2022 (UTC)

The redbrick is Arundel House (not the old Arundel House), which now houses the Institute of Strategic Studies. DuncanHill (talk) 18:23, 11 February 2022 (UTC)

And according to This, the modern Arundel House dates from the "Late 19th Century". Which would fit in with what I noted above. This also states the same thing. --Jayron32 18:35, 11 February 2022 (UTC)

1884, architect John Dunn, according to this picture. DuncanHill (talk) 18:37, 11 February 2022 (UTC)

Nice! --Jayron32 18:38, 11 February 2022 (UTC)

February 12

Fundamental attribution non-error

Let's say Senator Bob gives a plainly stupid policy speech and votes accordingly. Why would he do such a stupid thing? One immediate answer might be that Senator Bob is a stupid person. But there might be a different and less visible explanation, e.g. Bob is smart, but he is taking payoffs from the spray paint lobby so he acts in their interests, and gives the speech because he has to spin this otherwise inexplicable vote to the public. Saying "Bob is stupid" is then called a fundamental attribution error, since the true explanation is that Bob is corrupt rather than stupid.

In another situation though, Bob might give the stupid speech out of actual, unfeigned stupidity. So "Bob is stupid" is then a correct explanation rather than an error.

Is there a name for this type of explanation, i.e. where you explain the action in terms of the subject's personal attributes, and the explanation is actually true? Like "fundamental attribution explanation"? Ad hominem is not quite what I'm looking for. Thanks. 2602:24A:DE47:B8E0:1B43:29FD:A863:33CA (talk) 04:25, 12 February 2022 (UTC)

English has a conveniently short term for straying from the right way (err), but not for staying on it unerringly. There is no usable antonym one can substitute for "error" to indicate the correct counterpart of an "XYZ error" (description error, framing error, lexicographic error, medical error, transcription error, ...). Although there are a few uses of the collocation "fundamental attribution theory", I think that the term "fundamental attribution" by itself will not be understood outside the context of attribution errors. A somewhat principled point is that it is impossible to be certain that an attribution of any human action to whatever cause or trait is correct. There are always several explanations that cannot be ruled out. "Stupidity" can refer to feeble-mindedness or lack of relevant knowledge, which are very different things. Apparent stupidity can be due to a temporary glitch like can happen to anyone, or to an incidental misunderstanding or misinterpretation resulting from some cognitive bias, but can also be a matter of "playing dumb" for tactical reasons.  --Lambiam 09:50, 12 February 2022 (UTC)

Thanks, "fundamental attribution theory" might work. I agree that stupidity is hard to pin down precisely, but that was just one example. Corruption is maybe easier: hypothetically Bob might have taken those payoffs because of coercion or other pressure (e.g. his family was threatened, he needed the money for cancer treatment, etc); but in reality, there were no such issues: he is simply a corrupt official (one of many, of course) who likes money and is indifferent to the public good. Also of course, as we know from math, something can be true without being provable. Heh. 2602:24A:DE47:B8E0:1B43:29FD:A863:33CA (talk) 01:19, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

Were there ever any Canadian people in history executed for witchcraft?

2 people in articles that I find people might have believed them 2 be witches were Marie-Josephte Corriveau and http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/vuil_daniel_1E.html. But were those 2 people executed for witchcraft? 2001:569:5262:A00:F032:10BD:FBB3:CB00 (talk) 05:12, 12 February 2022 (UTC)

I see no indication that anyone associated la Corriveau with witchcraft during her lifetime, and it is well documented that she was sentenced to death and executed for murdering her husband. I also see nothing suggesting an association of Daniel Vuil with witchcraft; his lucrative business in "spirits" regarded distilled alcoholic beverages and was the reason for his definitive sendoff. The last person known to have been executed as a witch in North America was Wilmot Redd from Massachussetts, who was hanged in 1692. Our list of people executed for witchcraft has no entries from North America other than one from Connecticut Colony and many from Massachusetts Bay Colony.  --Lambiam 08:45, 12 February 2022 (UTC)

Although the last person in Canada to be arrested and charged with witchcraft was in 2018, two days before the legislation was repealed (it was an offence "to use any kind of witchcraft, sorcery, enchantment or conjuration"). [5] Alansplodge (talk) 09:23, 12 February 2022 (UTC)

I'll like to point out that there was no Canada before 1867. Corriveau and Vuil resided in New France. Clarityfiend (talk) 09:34, 12 February 2022 (UTC)

• Just for the record, the present Canada was formed in 1867, but one of the colonies that merged to form it was Canada — formed in 1841 by the merger of Upper Canada and Lower Canada). --184.144.97.125 (talk) 16:41, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

According to Sorcery in New France from Canada's National History Society, Daniel Vuil was indeed accused of witchcraft, although selling alcohol to the locals and being a Protestant were probably contributing factors to his execution by firing squad in 1661. Alansplodge (talk) 10:26, 12 February 2022 (UTC)

Vuil was executed by musketshot in October 1661, the only person to die for the crime of sorcery in New France.

Fear and the Shaping of Early American Societies (p. 56), Lauric Henneton, ‎Louis Roper, 2016.

Alansplodge (talk) 10:46, 12 February 2022 (UTC)

I have added Vuil to the list of people executed for witchcraft. Alansplodge (talk) 11:35, 12 February 2022 (UTC)

How to search for speech (moved from talk page)

I want to know how to write a speech — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A03:2880:31FF:1C:0:0:FACE:B00C (talk) 07:28, 7 February 2022 (UTC)

Find a good speech on YouTube and write it down. That will give you a framework for developing a good speech of your own. --←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:53, 7 February 2022 (UTC)

I have read that Benjamin Franklin, as an ambitious youth, practiced a curious exercise. He would read an essay by some good writer, taking notes on key points, and then try to write the same essay himself; not from memory, but by original writing in the same style. —Tamfang (talk) 23:56, 10 February 2022 (UTC)

Writing a good speech requires at least two things: (1) understanding your audience; (2) knowing what you want to achieve. It is the subject of the field of rhetoric, which has been studied since antiquity. There is nothing wrong with the advice to study and emulate good speeches; this will be even more effective if you analyze them to understand what makes them good. You will then see that they appeal both to fact-based reason and to human emotion, the latter if only to make the audience connect to the topic. If they couldn't care less, then a speech, however carefully researched and eloquently delivered, will be a waste of everyone's time. The sooner you establish the emotional engagement, the better. Another practical advice is to give a summary both before and after an important segment, as in the mantra First you tell 'em what you gonna tell 'em; then you tell 'em; then you tell 'em what you tole 'em. This also applies to the speech as a whole. There are also techniques to build up subspense, by presenting the material as being (initially) a mystery, whose explanation is yet to come. Whether that is possible depends on the specific topic. The text of Aristotle's Rhetoric can be found online at Wikisource. It can be read in its entirety in a couple of hours, but it may be better to spread the reading over a couple of days.  --Lambiam 16:14, 12 February 2022 (UTC)

• If You Want to Write a Great Speech, Here’s How to Do It
• How to write a speech
• How to write a good speech in 7 steps

Alansplodge (talk) 16:38, 12 February 2022 (UTC)

Know your subject. You will be nervous, and the better you know your subject, the better you'll be able to cope with stress. Frankly, if you don't know the subject, you shouldn't be giving the speech.

Know your audience. If the audience knows the subject pretty well already, pitch the content at a higher or more controversial / humorous level (to avoid boredom). If they are not familiar with the subject, make it simple and straight-forward, or you will lose them.

Know how much time you have. Plan to speak for no more than 80% of the time, if you will be answering questions.

Memorize the first two or three sentences, no more. The beginning is where people tend to get flustered, so having the first part fully memorized can help launch into the remainder. After those opening sentences, follow a general outline.

If you are going to take questions afterwards, keep control! Don't let someone give a speech from the floor, rather than ask a question. Sometimes it is better to take 2-3 questions at one time, and then answer them as a group, rather than one-by-one.

Remember: you know your subject better than the audience, so don't worry about it! DOR (HK) (talk) 19:08, 12 February 2022 (UTC)

Charles Osgood said it can be useful to think of the audience as being nervous, and that your job as speaker is to put them at ease. --←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 22:44, 12 February 2022 (UTC)

Also, look on YouTube for JFK's speech at Rice University, in which he talks about why we should go to the moon. It's a classic of how to make a speech. --←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 22:46, 12 February 2022 (UTC)

Idiomatic translation from German to English

Hi Folks!! Can somebody translate the following:

Um diese beiden Männer und deren Ehefrauen scharte sich im Laufe der Zeit eine Gruppe von politischen Anhängern verschiedenster Charaktere und von verschiedenem Herkommen. Sie waren sich in der aktiven Bekämpfung des Nationalsozialismus und im Eintreten für den Kommunismus einig (Hervorheb. v. Verf.). Bis zum Kriegsausbruch mit der Sowjetunion lag der Schwerpunkt ihrer Arbeit auf innenpolitischem Gebiet. Danach verlagerte er sich mehr auf das Gebiet des Landesverrats und der Spionage zugunsten der Sowjetunion. Anfang 1942 wurde die Schulze-Boysen-Gruppe endgültig in das weit verzweigte Netz des sowjetischen Nachrichtendienstes in West-Europa eingeschaltet. Der Wert der Nachrichten, die von der Gruppe Schulze-Boysen an den sowjetischen Nachrichtendienst weitergegeben wurden, kann nach allgemeinem Urteil nicht unter- schätzt werden. Alle Personen, die sich dienstlich mit diesem Material befassen mußten, geben übereinstimmend an, daß es sich um die gefährlichste Verratsorganisation handelte, die während des 2. Weltkrieges aufgedeckt wurde... In keinem... Fall steht jedoch mit Sicherheit fest, daß die Verurteilten lediglich wegen Hochverrats und Feindbegünstigung verurteilt worden sind. Die Gruppe Schulze-Boysen war in allererster Linie eine Spionageorganisation für die Sowjetunion. Seit dem Kriegsausbruch mit Rußland trat der innere Widerstand zugunsten der Spionagearbeit zurück, und es ist davon auszugehen, daß alle Mitglieder direkt oder indirekt zur Nachrichtenermittlung eingesetzt wurden

Thanks. scope_creep^Talk 16:52, 12 February 2022 (UTC)

My attempt:

In the course of time, a group of political supporters of diverse character and backgrounds formed around these two men and their wives. They were united in the active fight against National Socialism and in supporting communism (emphasis by the author). Until the war with the Soviet Union broke out, their work focussed on domestic politics. Afterwards it shifted more to the realm of treason and espionage for the benefit of the Soviet Union. At the beginning of 1942, the Schulze–Boysen group was definitively linked into the widely branched-out network of the Soviet intelligence service in Western Europe. The consensus is that the value of the information passed on by the Schulze-Boysen group to the Soviet intelligence service cannot be underestimated. All who have had to deal officially with this matter agree that it was the most dangerous treason organization uncovered during World War II... In no... way, however, is there certainty that the convicts were only convicted because of high treason and abetting the enemy. The Schulze-Boysen group was first and foremost a spy organization for the Soviet Union. Since the outbreak of war with Russia, the internal resistance receded in favour of espionage work, and it can therefore be assumed that all members were directly or indirectly employed in collecting intelligence.

 --Lambiam 23:02, 12 February 2022 (UTC)

I wonder if "unterschätzt"/"underestimated" is what the author really wanted to say - it can only mean that the value was zero...--Stephan Schulz (talk) 12:47, 14 February 2022 (UTC)

What kind of color is platinum??

Platinum is supposed to be some kind of silver. However, the Platinum (color) article reveals that platinum is in fact a (very de-saturated) variant of orange. Can you disprove me?? Georgia guy (talk) 19:02, 12 February 2022 (UTC)

At 1% saturation, the color overwhelmingly has a grey appearance. The metal is its own element. It's not really discussed in the Platinum article, but in the 1930s, platinum was promoted or publicized as a kind of super-gold (one step in preciousness beyond gold), but that hasn't entirely held up in the years since... AnonMoos (talk) 21:51, 12 February 2022 (UTC)

Gold was heavily restricted in many countries in the part of the 30s when platinum was more expensive. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 00:22, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

Looking at the photograph of one litre of platinum in the article, the pure metal appears to have a very desaturated green hue. I can only guess that this reflects the colour of the ceiling.  --Lambiam 23:18, 12 February 2022 (UTC)

I'm talking about the color, not the element. Georgia guy (talk) 00:11, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

Platinum as in platinum blonde might just be because presumably more young women would try a silvery hair color if it was called platinum than if it was called silver, it sounds more chic and precious instead of reminding them of post-menopause and silverback gorillas. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 19:49, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

Definitely slightly increasing with wavelength in the 400-700nm reflectance spectrometry. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 00:22, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

• You're not even wrong. Silver as a class of colors just means "metallic grey" and as the article grey notes, there are greys that have other colors in them; for example it gives a range of "warm greys" that have yellow in them and "cool greys" that have blues in them. As the hex value for the platinum indicates, the grey has more red and green in it than blue, which makes it a "warm grey". So it's a "warm silver". You imply that because it has a slight "orange" hue in it, that makes it not silver. You are incorrect. It's just a slightly orange (or "warm") silver. --Jayron32 21:18, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

Anyway, an area of constant RGB color on a computer screen can at best only vaguely convey an impression of a shiny metallic appearance... AnonMoos (talk) 00:30, 14 February 2022 (UTC)

Who bombed the Maxim Gorkiy?

According to our article TS Maxim Gorkiy "In November 1975 an attempt was made to sink the ship. While she was being repaired at San Juan, two bombs were installed on board under the waterline. These were detonated later during the same month as the ship was approaching New York. The damage did not sink the ship however, and she was subsequently repaired at the Bethlehem Steel Corporation in Hoboken, New Jersey, United States". Do we know who planted the bombs? Thanks, DuncanHill (talk) 22:51, 12 February 2022 (UTC)

Hmm, conflicting accounts of multiple bombs:

• December 1974: one thrown on board while docked at San Juan (two injured)
• November 9, 1975: two time bombs outbound San Juan[6]

and

• November 2, 1975: two bomb blast at anchor San Juan
• November 28, 1975: one thrown on board (one injured)[7]

and

• November 1, 1975: A bomb explosion in San Juan harbor
• December 1974: crew members injured Kissinger

fiveby(zero) 12:38, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

In a letter to NYT, the authors of Outlaws of the Ocean claim November to December 1975: The Soviet-flag Caribbean liner Maxim Gorky is attacked twice, by a bomb and a limpet mine, at San Juan Harbor in Puerto Rico (right-wing anti-Castro extremists are believed to be responsible). fiveby(zero) 13:13, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

ru:Maxim Gorkiy (турбоход)en uncited claims bombs were 1 hour before leaving port, bombs and grenades both 1 a.m., and all passengers remained on board. fiveby(zero) 15:25, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

Dangerous BLP ground, but have a look at: From SAC, MM to Director FBI, 11/29/1976[8]. Found by the name, but probably a coincidence. Brigade 2506 veterans talking about bombing Russian ships in 1976. fiveby(zero) 16:11, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

According to Granma, a declassified document from House Select Committee on Assassinations dated November 5, 1975, Cuban National Liberation Front member Secundino Carrera Sánchez has his group taking credit for the December 1974 grenade[9]. Can't find the document, and nothing found for claims for the 1975 bombs. fiveby(zero) 22:21, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

For the November 1975 bombing, Primera Hora claims a FOIA document 105-22478 dated March 29, 1976 and declassified April 16, 1999 mentions a letter from Carrera.[10]. fiveby(zero) 22:37, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

This question would have been a lot easier searching for Máximo Gorki "Frente de Liberacion Nacional Cubano" "maximo gorki" fiveby(zero) 23:15, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

@DuncanHill:, the only semi-reliable statement is a generic "cuban exiles claimed" for the grenade attack, all the FLNC connections appear to get the date wrong (24th rather than 28th), and nothing for the November 1 bombs. I may have misread the Spanish in Primera Hora and can't find any of the FBI documents. fiveby(zero) 15:13, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

@Fiveby: Many thanks for your efforts. It rather looks like, whatever exactly happened, neither the Soviets nor the Americans wanted a big deal made of it. DuncanHill (talk) 18:25, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

• "Damaged Soviet Ship Sails". UPI. November 2, 1975. two explosions while docked at 1 A.M. yesterday
• Bamberger, Werner (November 9, 1975). "Soviet Liner, the Gorki, Goes Into Drydock Here". New York Times. p. 57.
• Mizell, Louis R. (1998). Target U.S.A. p. 110. ...three days after Christmas, anti-Castro guerillas hurled a hand gernade onto the Maxim Gorki, which was berthed in San Juan. Two Soviet crew members were wounded, one seriously
• Nelson, Anne (1986). Murder under two flags. p. 106. In December 1974, a grenade was rolled down the gangplank of the Soviet cruise ship Maxim Gorki, leaving a twenty-year-old Soviet seaman with a serious abdominal wound: an underground Cuban exile organization later took credit for the act.
• "Shipping/Mails, Outgoing, Sailing Today". New York Times. October 28, 1975. MAXIM GORKI (Black Sea). San Juan Oct. 31 and St. Thomas, Nov. 1...
• "Soviet Cruise Ship Target of Bombing". AP. December 30, 1974. pp. 1, 13. We take responsibility for the explosion on the Russian ship Maxim Gorki. There will be no peace in the world until Cuba is liberated from the communists, Roberto.

February 13

Who was Phillips?

In Phillips v Eyre we know who Eyre was, but who was Phillips? Thank you, DuncanHill (talk) 02:36, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

A writeup about the 1865 Jamaica problems, appearing in an 1868 newspaper, indicates Alexander Phillips. (And see Morant Bay rebellion). --←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 03:23, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

• Handford, Peter (December 1, 2008). "Edward John Eyre and the Conflict of Laws" (PDF). Melbourne University Law Review: 844–5.

Thank you. DuncanHill (talk) 10:47, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

Download high-resolution files of public domain art

A few years ago I read that you could download high-resolution files of classic art (which is in the public domain). I googled for such a site but I couldn't find it. Is there such a site? Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 05:25, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

There are a lot of them on Wikimedia Commons... -- AnonMoos (talk) 23:31, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

I'm looking for files of particular ones that are good enough to print to hang on the wall. What I found either had the colors off or were of too low resolution to print out at the size I want. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 23:45, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

This is an online ultra-high resolution photograph of Rembrandt's The Night Watch. I hope your wall is large enough.  --Lambiam 10:43, 14 February 2022 (UTC)

Bubba73 There's Haltadefinizione in Italy, which is ultra but not free. Museums also often have high res, though you'd need to check sizes. See the ones linked from this article: On Friday, The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced that “more than 400,000 high-resolution digital images of public domain works in the Museum’s world-renowned collection may be downloaded directly from the Museum’s website for non-commercial use… In making this announcement, the Met joined other world-class museums in putting put large troves of digital art online. Witness the 87,000 images from the Getty in L.A., the 125,000 Dutch masterpieces from the Rijksmuseum, the 35,000 artistic images from the National Gallery, and the 57,000 works of art on Google Art Project. Some others mentioned at A Guide to Little-Known Image Collections with Millions of Free, Hi-Res Images. 70.67.193.176 (talk) 18:31, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

That big link looks very promising, I need to explore it. Thanks. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 00:50, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

Well, I still haven't found what I'm looking for. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 04:50, 17 February 2022 (UTC)

Middle initial

Ok, I have to ask. Did any of the German author Alfred Neumann (writer) (1895-1952), the Austrian architect Alfred Neumann (architect) (1900-1968), or the East German politician Alfred Neumann (East Germany) (1909-2001) have middle initials? Thanks. 2602:24A:DE47:B8E0:1B43:29FD:A863:33CA (talk) 11:57, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

They were, respectively, Alfred Ernst Neumann, Alfred Erich Neumann and Alfred Emil Neumann. Just kidding.  --Lambiam 14:18, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

(edit conflict) Were you thinking of Alfred E. Neuman by any chance? :-) Alansplodge (talk) 14:21, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

I was thinking of Alfred E. von Neumann, Johnny's stupider cousin. 2602:24A:DE47:B8E0:1B43:29FD:A863:33CA (talk) 01:08, 14 February 2022 (UTC)

At least 99.999% of people are stupider than Johnny. Clarityfiend (talk) 07:15, 14 February 2022 (UTC)

A fairly thorough Google search failed to find any middle names for any of those Alfreds, except that the East German chap liked to be called "Ali". Alansplodge (talk) 11:40, 14 February 2022 (UTC)

In Germany, second and additional names are not that frequent (about 40% of current new-borns, less that for older people), and the use of middle initials is extremely rare. I have a very frequent name combination, but it never transpired to me to use my middle initial in scientific publishing until it was too late. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 12:38, 14 February 2022 (UTC)

Using a middle initial is a peculiarity of Americans. This previous RefDesk thread came to no conclusions as to why that might be so. Alansplodge (talk) 15:13, 14 February 2022 (UTC)

It's not unique to Americans. Lots of South Africans are known with middle initials, F. W. de Klerk, P. W. Botha, C. R. Swart, etc. --Jayron32 13:21, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

It balances all the extra u's in British English words. --←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 14:43, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

Geoffrey Sampson (an English linguist) said somewhere on his website that he is willing to be known as either Geoffrey Sampson or as G. R. Sampson, but Geoffrey R. Sampson would be an Americanism. —Tamfang (talk) 03:31, 17 February 2022 (UTC)

@Stephan Schulz: Do you have a source for only "40% of current new-borns, less that for older people" having second names in Germany? In my personal experience a clear majority has several given names (usually two), though most people rarely use their second name. --46.114.2.7 (talk) 19:04, 14 February 2022 (UTC)

I relied on this German source: https://blog.beliebte-vornamen.de/2016/09/wie-viele-zweitnamen/ Not a source I would use in an academic paper, but it agrees with my experience. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 20:02, 14 February 2022 (UTC)

Interesting, I wonder if that is a modern practice. I can immediately think of several German or Austrian historical figures with middle names (Wolfgang Amedeus Mozart, Rainer Maria Rilke, Johann .* Bach, Carl Friedrich Gauss, Hans Christian Andersen (ok, not German), etc. Contemporary names of that sort don't immediately come to mind though. 2602:24A:DE47:B8E0:1B43:29FD:A863:33CA (talk) 02:34, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

If you go go back far enough, naming conventions drift. Moreover, second names are more prevalent among the upper classes, and people you know from 200 years ago are mostly upper class, so there is a selection bias. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (note the "a") was baptised Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart - note that "Theophilus" is the Greek version of "Amadeus", and that he also sometimes went by "Gottlieb", which is the German equivalent. He mostly signed his name "Wolfgang Amadé Mozart" (with the French version ;-). And it's debatable if he was German - he was born in Salzburg, and mostly lived in Vienna, both now in Austria, but he lived before the Bismarck German unification (which left Austria out). --Stephan Schulz (talk) 17:14, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

It's only debatable if we use modern, anachronistic definitions of nation states, a concept that really did not fully exist at the time Mozart was alive, though it was certainly in development. The medieval and early modern understanding of "Germany" would have included Austria, which was not at the time thought of as "not-Germany". It was as German as Prussia or Hesse or any of the other German-speaking lands of the Holy Roman Empire. The idea that Austria was not part of Germany was not really considered until the the late 19th century when they were deliberately excluded from the German Empire; even then German question was not fully settled until 1945. --Jayron32 19:12, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

Well, your point is well taken. But, as you say, the concept of German was not well-defined at that time. Mozart certainly called himself "Teutscher", so he certainly self-identified as a German. But Hanseatic culture was very different from Rhineland culture was very different from Vienna culture. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 23:50, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

Midlands culture is different than London culture is different than Merseyside culture, and yet they're all English... --Jayron32 13:20, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

But not Wolgang A. Mozart or Johann S. Bach... :-) Alansplodge (talk) 13:00, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

Well I put in "German or Austrian" to account for Mozart being Austrian... 21:54, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

Kurt Georg Kiesinger is a 20th century German politician, and used a middle name. Anna Maria Mühe is a 21st century German actor, who uses a middle name. It seems to still happen in German. --Jayron32 14:58, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

Yes, the link above says that 40% of German newborns have a middle name; the remaining 60% don't. Alansplodge (talk) 18:29, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

There is also a difference between having one and using one. People may have (as in, we granted at birth on their birth certificate) a middle name, but may not use that name in common or official use. --Jayron32 19:03, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

It occurs to me that the German-born physicist Hans A. Bethe used a middle initial at least some of the time (or at least, other people sometimes used it when referring to him), but a) ok fine, there are some unusual cases, and b) he moved to the US in the 1930s and may have only started using his middle initial afterwards. 2602:24A:DE47:B8E0:1B43:29FD:A863:33CA (talk) 21:54, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

February 14

Terracotta army questions

I have some questions on the terracotta army:

1. How has the tomb of Qin Shi Huang still not be found? Presumably, this will be a huge find?
2. How are new statues found so regularly?—is there an estimate in how long more will keep being found? (re this article)
3. The article above says "Historical Chinese texts do not discuss the Terracotta Army or indicate why it was created"—is there really not a single mention in dynastic histories, encyclopedias or anything?

Best – Aza24 (talk) 07:09, 14 February 2022 (UTC)

According to this article, the Chinese government is waiting until they have good enough excavation techniques before opening the main tomb, giving as an example the loss of pigment on the first warriors, which can now be preserved. The same article says that 2,000 warrior figures have been excavated of an estimated 8,000, so still a way to go. Alansplodge (talk) 11:47, 14 February 2022 (UTC)

Alexandra Palace hill

What is the name of the hill that Alexandra Palace sits on? Is this Muswell Hill or is that separate? SpinningSpark 18:25, 14 February 2022 (UTC)

Google Maps terrain view suggests that there is a continuous elongated ridge running from the edge of Highgate Wood almost to Alexandra Palace train station, on which both the residential part of Muswell Hill district and Alexandra Palace are perched. Here Alexandra Palace is said to be "on the top of" Muswell Hill.  --Lambiam 22:45, 14 February 2022 (UTC)

Hornsey lies approximately six miles north of central London. It is an undulating area where residents are never far from a hill or ridge. Dominating the scene is Alexandra Palace, on a ridge known as the Northern Heights which extends through Muswell Hill and Highgate to Hampstead.

Hornsey Historical Society. Alansplodge (talk) 12:42, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

But the Victoria County History - A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 6, Friern Barnet, Finchley, Hornsey With Highgate (p. 101) has it on Muswell Hill, which is part of the northern heights (no caps). Alansplodge (talk) 12:56, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

I have added a note to Alexandra Palace#History. Alansplodge (talk) 18:54, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

Victorian port wine

What sort of port wine did Victorians prefer - ruby or tawny? Ghirla^-трёп- 22:12, 14 February 2022 (UTC)

Here the only type of port wine for "the habitual drinker" worth a mention is ruby port wine, but there is no lack of recommendations for tawny port wine.^[11][12] This author considers tawny port to be, of the different qualities, first. I suppose that in the end it came down to a matter of personal preference.  --Lambiam 23:12, 14 February 2022 (UTC)

Thank you. It would be interesting to know whether more ruby port was imported in Victorian Britain than the tawny variety. I've been assured that modern Portuguese prefer tawny port, unlike foreigners. Ghirla^-трёп- 15:55, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

Cyrus Redding in 1839 preferred on the verge of tawny that would have been eight, or ten, or fifteen years before bottling. I don't think he considered aging in the bottle as in Lambiam's last link. "Port-wine, when it is old, retains but a very small proportion of its vinosity. Time is required to destroy the fiery mixture with which it is adulterated, or the potency of the brandy: but before that moment arrives, the vinous charracteristics are generally gone. Tawny Port may be very good and well-mellowed brandy-wine, but it ceases to posses the original qualities of the juice of the Oporto grape." 1833

• Various practices are used to cause new port to assume the appearance of old, and to make it pass for that of superior quality...When port wine has been kept to a great age...known by the name of tawny port. As this paleness of colour has been often considered as a test of age... 1844
• ...the qualities of a good Port Wine...hue neither purple nor reddish...Port Wine, when tawny, loses its astringency, acquires a slightly acid taste, and is unwholesome. 1865
• when pure and unadulterated (which is very seldom the case), does not acquire it full strength and flavor till it has stood for some years, but care must likewise be taken that it is not allowed to becom too old. The color of new port wine varies from pale to rose to deep red, and changes with age, becoming a deep tawny brown. 1885 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Fiveby (talk • contribs)

February 15

Digitised copy of Monde (review) available?

Hi, I was looking for a 1935 issue of Monde (review) that appeared between 1928-35 from Paris. Does anyone know if digital copies are available? I was looking for an article written by Maxim Gorky in an issue a month after the International Writers' Congress for Defense of Culture that took place in June, 1935. This article is alluded to by Timothy J. Reiss in a riposte to a letter to editor by Roger Shattuck in a 1993 issue of the MLA journal. https://www.jstor.org/stable/462995 It looks like that Gorky's article has never been translated into English nor got much attention. I do not know the specific issue of the Monde but I guess it would be one in late July or early August 1935. I don't know French myself but if I could get hold of the article I hope I could get somebody's help to know its contents in English. Thanks for any information. --Narrativist (talk) 03:00, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

Gallica has 8 issues from 1933-4 online[13] but nothing 1935.

Could the posthumous Gorʹkij, Maksim (1938). "Deux Cultures". La Culture et le peuple: derniers écrits. be a reprint? If so there's a translation fiveby(zero) 04:41, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

Thanks a lot for your great help. You gave me the French original and translation at once. That was great, really great.--Narrativist (talk) 07:26, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

You are very welcome! fiveby(zero) 15:14, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

Lügenpresse

Redirects to Lying press which starts:

Lying press (German: Lügenpresse, lit. 'press of lies') is a pejorative political term used largely for the printed press and the mass media at large, as a propaganda tactic to discredit the publications that offered a message counter to their agenda.

I didn't check the edit history but the second-to-last word "their" doesn't seem to have a referent in this sentence. Does it refer to a propagandist? Is there a different term to use in a situation where the currently-incumbent mass media (e.g. the state-controlled Soviet media during that era) really is objectively dishonest, which means calling it that is not propaganda? Thanks. 2602:24A:DE47:B8E0:1B43:29FD:A863:33CA (talk) 03:54, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

The pronoun is meant to refer to those using the term. Before it was introduced, the sentence ended with "a propaganda tactic to discredit the free press".  --Lambiam 09:13, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

Interesting. If the term was always used that way, I guess it isn't what I'm looking for. I thought it referred to an actual lying press, or at least a dishonest press (one that prints stuff that perhaps passes point by point fact checking, but presents a distorted or false overall picture of what is going on). "Yellow journalism" isn't what I'm looking for either though. Thanks. 2602:24A:DE47:B8E0:1B43:29FD:A863:33CA (talk) 20:00, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

(Posting by banned user removed. Fut.Perf. ☼ 21:51, 15 February 2022 (UTC))

The article about Camilla says she and Charles married in 2005? But yeah, I'd count that as tabloid or yellow journalism. I'm thinking more of papers like the Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post, which have a veneer of respectability but (according to some) coincidentally slants the news to further Bezos's agendas, or that type of thing. Access journalism leads another such phenomenon. 2602:24A:DE47:B8E0:1B43:29FD:A863:33CA (talk) 21:39, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

Green in the flag alphabet

Why doesn't green ever appear on the flag alphabet?? Georgia guy (talk) 14:20, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

@Georgia guy: Possibly because it's not well distingushable from blue, so one of them had to be chosen... At least that's what I was told looong ago. --CiaPan (talk) 14:42, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

This is green. This is blue. Georgia guy (talk) 15:20, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

@Georgia guy: Nope, that is lime, not green. This is green and this is blue on a green, northern sea. --CiaPan (talk) 08:50, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

User:CiaPan, the RGB system is not called RLB. The color green has to be notated as lime in the color template; if you notate it as green it will reveal a darker green; that is, 008000 rather than 00FF00. Georgia guy (talk) 16:17, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

There is no universal definition of 'green'. In the RGB system, the basic color green is #00FF00. In printing, it is CMYK 100,0,52,35 that is called green (pigment green, equivalent with #00A550), supposedly the color that comes closest to what has been regarded as primary green. In the NCS system (Natural Color System), green (psychological primary green) is equivalent to #009F6B. And there are many more to choose from, see Shades of green. None of them are any more official than any other. --T*U (talk) 17:07, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

The choice of colors would obviously have to be limited to a selection that gives the least possible chances of misunderstanding, hence colors that make largest possible contrasts. Choosing what traditionally has been supposed to be the three primary colors (for subtractive color mixing, that is) red, blue and yellow plus black and white, seems the obvious solution. Adding any of the "in-between" colors green, orange or violet would make the possibility of misunderstandings greater. --T*U (talk) 15:39, 15 February 2022 (UTC) (My own preference would have been magenta, cyan and yellow (plus black and white), but then I am a book person. --T*U (talk) 15:39, 15 February 2022 (UTC))

Add: As for the example with green and blue text, you must be aware that printed green and blue on paper, textile or similar is a completely different matter from shining hues on a computer screen. It is much more difficult to choose hues of printed green and blue with sufficient contrast in all kinds of lighting. Also, colors in real life flags will fade, adding to the possibility of confusing the colors. --T*U (talk) 15:51, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

TU-nor, please show me what the green/blue text would look like in a way that's more consistent with your response. Georgia guy (talk) 15:53, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

Well, that is exactly the problem I am trying to explain. Colors on the screen cannot successfully emulate printed colors. The colors on the screen are additive, while printed colors are subtractive. If you mix red, blue and yellow paint or ink in certain proportions, you get black (as is done in some color printers). If you mix red, blue and yellow light on a screen, you get white. [In real life the screen uses red, green and blue, RGB, for maximum efficiency, while the printer uses cyan, magenta, yellow (and black), CMYK.] To see how green and blue could make confusion, you can print out a green page and a blue page on a printer and then compare them in different lighting situations (daylight, artificial light with different hues). You may be surprised. --T*U (talk) 16:24, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

In the First World War, it was found that the red cross of the British White Ensign could be mistaken for the black cross of the German War Ensign, [14] so a blue/green confusion at sea is perfectly plausible. Alansplodge (talk) 17:57, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

• See here. The colors were chosen for maximum contrast so there would not be confusion between similar colors. For this reason, only red, blue, yellow, black, and white are used, and furthermore, only certain color combinations are allowed, so as to further aid in avoiding confusion. --Jayron32 18:01, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

Apart from a desired contrast, one need to take color fading into account. Flags are used at sea, are exposed to sun and sometimes salty water, which cause dyes to decay. As a result colours get pale with time. The bigger difference in dyes, the longer flags stay 'readable' and may be used before replacement is needed. Colors which require dyes composition are prone to drift towards one of their components with time, which makes them unusable sooner. --CiaPan (talk) 09:00, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

Before the early nineteenth century, there was no color-fast green dye. [15] The first green chemical dyes became available in the 1820s, when Marryat's Code of Signals had already been in use for decades. Alansplodge (talk) 09:09, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

I think you meant to write "the 1870s". Also, these were the first synthetic green dyes, that is, synthesized from petrochemicals and typically containing aromatic rings; earlier green dyes, such as the poisonous Cu(C₂H₃O₂)₂·3Cu(AsO₂), discovered in 1814, were also chemical compounds.  --Lambiam 16:15, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

Yes, the article that I linked is describing "Paris green", which was a chemical dye and first became available in the 1820s. I did though misread the introduction date of Marryat's Code, but it still predates colourfast green dyes. Alansplodge (talk) 22:42, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

And before that, AsCuHO₃, around 1775. But even that was not really in widespred use in 1817, when the first version of Marryat's Code of Signals was published. Green colors used before that (mainly copper carbonate) were not colorfast. --T*U (talk) 16:48, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

Subjective and objective economic wealth

I'm trying to find some discussion of this, perhaps a book or a name for the concept. For example: hat-wearing among men in the 1960s was in decline. Prior to this date there was a larger hat industry, and it would have been counted when measuring economic activity, so presumably the extensive hat industry was considered to make countries a little bit more wealthy. I mean, if the industry didn't exist, and if all those hatters were just sitting on their hands the whole time, they'd be contributing nothing. Men stopped wearing hats, however, because hats were merely an encumbering decoration. I think it was around this time that women's habitual hat-wearing also declined. I suppose hats had some function as a kind of crude social signalling apparatus, but the public definitely decided they were more trouble than they were worth. So, really, what did the hatters contribute? It seems that they contributed to what we subsequently decided was a mistake, and actually if they'd refused to make hats we might all be "better off" today - I put the phrase in quotes due to difficulty establishing what it means. Then, looking at Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, I see all kind of things which are also of questionable necessity. People like live music, tourism, church congregations, sports, haircuts (this could be a very long list) but do these things do any actual good? It would be wrong and reductionist to say no, yet almost certainly a lot of those things - who knows which - are destined to be given up in the course of progress, just like wearing hats. The story of Ark Fleet Ship B from The Restaurant at the End of the Universe springs to mind at this point: and of course it turned out that the survival of the Golgafrinchans depended on their telephone sanitizers after all. I extrapolate that "economic activity" is a very crude measure of actual wealth (whatever that means), because it's composed entirely out of things which, for all we know, are purposeless and will look foolish tomorrow. Meanwhile, I'm trying to create a toy economy simulation for a computer game, and in order to make it moderately realistic I have to give the simulated individuals preferences for buying things, such as hats (since it should have a historical setting): and much though I would love it to be a kind of beautiful machine like in classical economics, what actually emerges is a big bundle of silly-looking arbitrary desires for things the people don't really need, so that the machine is driven by the arbitrary desires I have put in place - and after all, they're only simulated people and they don't really "need" to exist at all. (Unlike real people, they can't even attempt to solve any problems or feed any creativity through their desires.) I hope that illustrates my confusion. What's the subject that I'm confused about?  Card Zero  (talk) 18:06, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

What you are asking about are different types of Goods, and there are LOTS of ways to divvy up that cake. I'd start looking through that article and following links to find all of the different classes of "goods". --Jayron32 18:46, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

Economic activity is a measure of action, not accumulation. We do not add one year's GDP to the last year, but rather we examine the change (up / down) in the level, year by year. What "we all know" will be purposeless in a few years time might include a 1935 Bugatti Type 57, the Mona Lisa, or penicillin. You may find more about your interest in Progress, Human Development Index, Modernization, or Technological change. In your game model, perhaps you might incorporate a function such that certain items or tasks disappear if they are not selected by subsequent players, as happened with buggy whips. DOR (HK) (talk) 18:52, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

Card_Zero -- the more classic example of economic obsolescence is buggy-whip manufacturers. A search for this term turns up some results.... AnonMoos (talk) 04:17, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

You may be interested in the concept of "economic welfare" or "economic well-being"; see e.g. this paper and this article.  --Lambiam 07:38, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

Lunar New Year festivities

Do Japanese and Korean citizens, especially younger generations, bother celebrating the Lunar New Year nowadays? I know that the Korean term for the lunar new year is Seollal, and the Japanese people stopped using the Chinese lunisolar calendar as part of the Meiji-era reformations, but I have been told that almost nobody in Korea and Japan really bothers with any festivities that would be associated with the lunar new year or coming-of-spring in recent times, even if they are of partly Chinese descent. Meanwhile, in Vietnam and the Phillipines, it is a very big deal. Is it the result of prevailing cultural rivalries, or have people just stopped caring over time as it is no longer seen as relevant to their time or cultural identity (for example, the majority of the Korean populace is devoutly Catholic, so celebrating something commonly associated with traditional Chinese culture has little meaning to them, but this reasoning doesn't hold much ground as the Phillipines populace is also crazy Catholic)? --72.234.12.37 (talk) 23:55, 15 February 2022 (UTC)

In North-East Asia, and among ethnic Chinese in other parts of the world (e.g., the Philippines, Malaysia), it is the most important family holiday of the year, and in many places, the most important, period. Only about 40% of Koreans are Christian, and of that, a quarter (10%) are Catholic. DOR (HK) (talk) 00:51, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

72.234.12.37 -- We have an article Korean New Year, including an "Abolition and restoration" section... AnonMoos (talk) 04:12, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

February 16

Marian Ewurama Addy

In this picture [16] she seems to be wearing some sort of award or decoration (the cogwheel thing hanging in a ribbon), the sash seems to be part of it. Can someone tell me which award it is? Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 08:29, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

It seems to be the Ghanese Order of the Volta, as shown here. --T*U (talk) 09:16, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

Brilliant and thanks! Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 10:11, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

My favorite west African order was the "Order of the Mosquito", established in Sierra Leone in 1973 (see this New York Times article). Not sure if it still exists -- I'm having trouble Googling other information on it, and it's not included in Category:Orders, decorations, and medals of Sierra Leone... AnonMoos (talk) 13:11, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

Sadly, it does not seem to exist anymore, se list here of current orders etc. (Possibly it got malaria.) --T*U (talk) 13:33, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

The page you linked to does have a "Medal of the Mosquito", but not much info on it. AnonMoos (talk) 20:53, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

I scanned the list for "Order of" and did not see the "Medal of". Partial blindness, I guess. --T*U (talk) 21:02, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

Trump doing more than anyone else

As we all know, nobody knows more than Trump does, on any topic. But on what occasions has Trump bragged in that style about other stuff than his knowledge? "Nobody has done more / has achieved more / owns more ... than I do?" So far, the only example apart from "knowing" is ""Nobody Has More Respect For Women Than I Do" --KnightMove (talk) 10:27, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

• This one comes to mind: Nobody has done more for black people. Well, in his typical modesty, he made a possible exception for Abe Lincoln on this occation. --T*U (talk) 10:45, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

  Here he repeats the claim: "I say the fact is that I've done more for the black community than any president since Abraham Lincoln. I say it, nobody can dispute it."  --Lambiam 11:39, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

• "This is my 500th. Day in Office and we have accomplished a lot — many believe more than any President in his first 500 days."^[17]  --Lambiam 11:42, 16 February 2022 (UTC)
• "Nobody has done more for Christianity or for evangelicals or for religion itself than I have."^[18]  --Lambiam 11:54, 16 February 2022 (UTC)
• "Probably nobody’s been tougher on Russia than Donald Trump. ... There is nobody been tougher on Russia."^[19]  --Lambiam 12:00, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

He has a term for it: Truthful hyperbole. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 12:02, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

At some point while he was still president, someone commented at the Teahouse (something like) "Trump has done more against the covid pandemic than any U.S. president in history!" True, but... Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 12:07, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

• "Also, nobody has done so much for Israel as I have, as you know. ... Nobody's done what I've done and I'm very happy to do it."^[20]  --Lambiam 12:12, 16 February 2022 (UTC)
• On foreign policy: "I’m speaking with myself, number one, because I have a very good brain and I’ve said a lot of things. I know what I'm doing and I listen to a lot of people, I talk to a lot of people and at the appropriate time I'll tell you who the people are. But my primary consultant is myself and I have a good instinct for this stuff."^[21]  --Lambiam 12:15, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

• Okay, I'll bite. Whose brain does he have? Also, doesn't this belong on the Inhumanities reference desk? Clarityfiend (talk) 22:23, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

• Do we have a category called Category:Ultracrepidarians? No, apparently not. Pity. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 20:34, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

American Maps what reference would I consult to find the value of the commissioners map, a map issued in 1811?

WP:DENY
The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.
(moved from Wikipedia talk:Reference desk) O 24.244.23.28 (talk) 19:57, 16 February 2022 (UTC) Wikipedia article Commissioners' Plan of 1811... AnonMoos (talk) 20:56, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

Buddhist revival movements in the Muslim world

Are there any Buddhist revival movements or missionary efforts in the Muslim world either contemporaneous or historical in regions that were formerly Buddhist like Central Asia but are now predominantly Muslim? 67.170.133.177 (talk) 23:03, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

According to "The Rise of the West" by William H. McNeill, Russian expansion into Siberia and what is today northern Kazakhstan, together with "the progress of Lamaism in the central and eastern steppe", caused various animal-herding peoples to lose contact with Islamic civilizations in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, so that "The cultural and religious vacuum thus created was duly filled by Tibetan Lamaism." Not sure exactly where this took place, but probably to the east and north of Lake Balkhash. People in parts of this area apparently became Muslim again later on, but Mongols and Kalmycks didn't... AnonMoos (talk) 00:38, 17 February 2022 (UTC)

February 17

Woolworth bric-a-bracs

I was wondering if the F.W. Woolworth Company sold items to raise money for the RMS Titanic disaster relief efforts. Did they also sell maneki nekos in their stores? How about ladybug-themed items? Anyone know?2603:7000:8100:F444:282D:B901:E37B:C229 (talk) 07:11, 17 February 2022 (UTC)

Ex-nazi advisers after WWII

A few weeks ago I asked you guys about how many nazi war criminals were still at large and got some answers. But I ended up reading about Alois Brunner, who is dead now but seems to be one of the worst guys who got away with it (sounds like a really bad guy that the world is better without). But I read his bio and I was like "holy crap, old man Assad had his own Dr Strangelove?" - I didn't know that. So, I was wondering - how many of these former Nazis ended up as advisors or special consultants to various powers in the 60 years after the war? I know about Von Braun, SS-Sturmbahnfuher turned "humble rocket enthusiast" - but who else had one? Did the Russians? The British? The Chinese? Any other countries who'd take in some fairly bad guys or bad guy adjacents and forget that they were bad guys in exchange for their expertise? 146.200.129.62 (talk) 08:35, 17 February 2022 (UTC)

Von Braun was only one of over 1,600 German scientists brought to the US in Operation Paperclip (one of them was the grandfather of a classmate of mine). The Soviets had a similar program, see Operation Osoaviakhim. The Brits had Operation Surgeon. Cheers <x> _hugarheimur 09:24, 17 February 2022 (UTC)

Johann von Leers was welcomed in Egypt because he was a Nazi (not despite being a Nazi). A number of cases of those who found refuge in Argentina, Arab countries etc. lack the extenuating circumstances of rocket scientists welcomed in the United States and the Soviet Union because of their specific technical knowledge (though there were some problematic aspects to that also). AnonMoos (talk) 09:29, 17 February 2022 (UTC)