Wikipedia:Reference desk/Miscellaneous

Welcome to the miscellaneous section
of the Wikipedia reference desk.

skip to bottom

Select a section:

• Computing
• Entertainment
• Humanities
• Language
• Mathematics
• Science
• Miscellaneous
• Archives

Want a faster answer?

Main page: Help searching Wikipedia

   

How can I get my question answered?

• Select the section of the desk that best fits the general topic of your question (see the navigation column to the right).
• Post your question to only one section, providing a short header that gives the topic of your question.
• Type '~~~~' (that is, four tilde characters) at the end – this signs and dates your contribution so we know who wrote what and when.
• Don't post personal contact information – it will be removed. Any answers will be provided here.
• Please be as specific as possible, and include all relevant context – the usefulness of answers may depend on the context.
• Note:
  • We don't answer (and may remove) questions that require medical diagnosis or legal advice.
  • We don't answer requests for opinions, predictions or debate.
  • We don't do your homework for you, though we'll help you past the stuck point.
  • We don't conduct original research or provide a free source of ideas, but we'll help you find information you need.

Ready? Ask a new question!

How do I answer a question?

Main page: Wikipedia:Reference desk/Guidelines

• The best answers address the question directly, and back up facts with wikilinks and links to sources. Do not edit others' comments and do not give any medical or legal advice.

See also:

• Teahouse
• Help desk
• Village pump
• Help manual

August 9

correction tape hand use

I am trying to find out when correction tape for hand use (to whiteout misspelled words on a notebook page for instance) was invented and when it first hit the market?

See Correction tape. MarnetteD|Talk 05:07, 9 August 2019 (UTC)

Our article doesn't say. SinisterLefty (talk) 05:33, 9 August 2019 (UTC)

Indications are that it was invented after correction fluid, which dates to 1956. And of course long before that there were disk-shaped erasers with little brushes to sweep away the eraser crumbs. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 06:45, 9 August 2019 (UTC)

I can't find many good sources, but I did find several sketchy sources like this that say that someone named Zhi-Zhong Bao may have invented it in 2005. That may give you a start for your research. --Jayron32 12:51, 9 August 2019 (UTC)

Not plausible, pure OR but I used it in the mid 1990s. Nil Einne (talk) 17:25, 9 August 2019 (UTC)

Our article use to give a 1989 invention date from some manufacturer [1]. Nil Einne (talk) 17:29, 9 August 2019 (UTC)

That might be true for a certain type of tape (and hand use) but generally correction tape (then called correction ribbon) is among us at least since 1973. See IBM Correcting Selectric II.--TMCk (talk) 18:12, 9 August 2019 (UTC)

That's a different kind. This Q is about a type used by hand on loose papers, not in a typewriter. Following MarnetteD's link to see this type in use. SinisterLefty (talk) 18:21, 9 August 2019 (UTC)

And didn't I just say that? Read before you type or use correction tape my beloved old friend.--TMCk (talk) 18:37, 9 August 2019 (UTC)

You should not have posted about correction ribbon, then, if you knew the question was about correction tape for hand use. --Viennese Waltz 07:58, 10 August 2019 (UTC)

No Invention arises from a vacuum and each one needs to be qualified as novel in the context of relevant Prior art. @TMCk thank you for your interesting post with sourced historical information. DroneB (talk) 18:37, 10 August 2019 (UTC)

August 10

Months where the day numbers match in the Chinese and Gregorian calendars

This month (August 2019), the day numbers match in the Chinese and Gregorian calendars for the first 29 days. The last month for which this was the case was October 2016. In general, how often does a month in the Chinese calendar start on the same day as a month in the Gregorian calendar? GeoffreyT2000 (talk) 04:58, 10 August 2019 (UTC)

As often as the first day of the month in Gregorian is a new moon. So I guess that would be approximately every 28 months or so? --jpgordon^{𝄢𝄆 𝄐𝄇} 20:42, 12 August 2019 (UTC)

do I need to be worried?

I just moved near an ip number (As seen on my talk page history with the California ip.) And I have a temporary job internship, that's right by outside of the red circle. Then is there an item or item tag, that I'm editing in the same location. Or that I'm editing nearby. Tainted-wingsz (talk) 20:40, 10 August 2019 (UTC)

@Tainted-wingsz: What red circle are you referring to? RudolfRed (talk) 21:39, 10 August 2019 (UTC)

The red line by looking at Geolocate, where the ip number; 67.180.45.107 and ip number starting with 2601. I'm near the line where the town or city says Fairfield and Vacaville. Because based on some of those edits from the ip. Before I was moving, they edited where I edited at and they chatted to me. Then I wasn't sure what to do next? Also, I'm not sure if this would get caught to places like WP:SHARE or if I'm reading it wrong? Tainted-wingsz (talk) 21:53, 10 August 2019 (UTC)

Maybe you could email your most trusted admin and tell him your exact IP address. (Don't post it here.) Then if any problems arise with that "nearby" IP, you should be OK. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:34, 11 August 2019 (UTC)

Where do I ask? I don't know any. Tainted-wingsz (talk) 01:46, 11 August 2019 (UTC)

You could start with user Jayron32. He's one of my most trusted, at least. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:50, 11 August 2019 (UTC)

Do I need to double click the confirm bottom? Then add the template thing. After writing the message? It's a little too new for me. Tainted-wingsz (talk) 03:03, 11 August 2019 (UTC)

Actually, maybe just start by leaving him a message on his talk page, pointing to this paragraph. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 14:52, 11 August 2019 (UTC)

I just did. Then do I go along with my business (to edit) or wait for now. Tainted-wingsz (talk) 15:12, 11 August 2019 (UTC)

I don't see why not. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 15:14, 11 August 2019 (UTC)

O.k. then. Tainted-wingsz (talk) 15:19, 11 August 2019 (UTC)

August 12

Computer memory (punched card voting systems)

Hi, I'm reading some articles about these voting systems, it's not the first time I write about it, but it all arouses me no one knows why one more than a fair curiosity. Regarding these systems, did computers connected to machines have a database inside them containing all the voters registered in their respective districts? For example, wanting to mention a county in the case, Palm Beach; each district of that county, had a list of voters registered on the same computer? Thank you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 93.41.100.198 (talk) 09:06, 12 August 2019 (UTC)

When you go to vote, the election officials have a list of the qualified voters at that precinct (assuming that's what you mean by "district"). So in order to vote, you have to identify yourself. The specifics of that process vary from state to state. The main point being that the database is for confirming eligibility to vote. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 09:10, 12 August 2019 (UTC)

Thank you very much, sorry I meant district; in the USA this is the correct term. Thanks again! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 93.41.100.198 (talk) 09:45, 12 August 2019 (UTC)

In the USA, land is divided into districts for representation. Each member of the House of Representatives represents a district. Within the districts, there are precincts. Some districts are small enough that there is only one precinct. Some are large or straddle other forms of political boundaries and are broken into multiple prectincts. My district has four precincts because there are three cities overlapping the district and an area ouside the cities. The ballot in each precincts is slightly different because they include city measures. However, when I lived in another state, everyone in the district was in the same precinct. When you checked in, you were given a ballot customized to your home address. That is how they handled the addition of various city or county measures. Therefore, for many people, the distinction between a district and a precinct makes no sense and the two terms are interchangeable. Also, because my experience is limited to three states, there are likely other uses of precincts in other states that are radically different that what I've experienced. 199.164.8.1 (talk) 13:44, 12 August 2019 (UTC)

In North Carolina, where I live, there are various levels of districts (US House District, State House District, County Commissioner District, School Board District, and many others). Generally, you get a customized ballot for your address based on where you live. Because we have open early voting, you can vote at any voting location in your county if you vote early; if you vote the day of the election you can only vote at your designated precinct. I have voted early for the past several election cycles, so I'm not sure what happens if you vote the day of, but when you vote early, there are a few dozen pre-printed ballots on a shelf that have a place to put a bar-coded sticker. When you enter the voting location, they confirm your name is on the rolls, check which ballot you are supposed to get based on your address (which will be some combination of all of the various races your address is allowed to vote in) and then affix your pre-printed sticker to your ballot. We use optical mark recognition ballots, so you take this now stickered ballot with your name and barcode on it and fill it out. They have private booths with pens in them if you'd like to vote in private, or you can just fill it out at a table if you'd like. Then, there's an optical scan machine that scans the ballot; on the front of the machine is a ballot counter that increments by 1; right before you feed your ballot a worker standing there asks you to assure your ballot causes the machine to increment its counter. When that is done, they give you a sticker that says "I VOTED" and then you leave. AFAIK, your name is not attached to your specific vote in the voter databases; two databases are kept separately. There's one that logs that you voted, without any information on who you voted for; just that you checked in at the voting site. The other tabulates the votes anonymously for the various races. We do optical scanner voting because the paper copy of the ballot serves as a means to allow a manual recount in the case of malfunction, hacking, or legal challenge. That process may be unique to my state; I'm sure it is different all over the US, but that's how we do it here. --Jayron32 14:11, 12 August 2019 (UTC)

When precisely were Pacers scrapped in Iran?

The Pacer train (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacer_(train) )was sold by the UK to Iran in 1997, before being retired by the Iranians in 2005 (they still run on British services to this day). Can anyone find the precise date that Iran scrapped their Pacers? 51.9.138.192 (talk) 12:06, 12 August 2019 (UTC)

How to retrieve an item accidentally dropped in a solder pot

Hello,

We have an automatic soldering machine, which contains a somewhat large pan filled with melted solder (when the machine is on). We worry that it's possible to accidentally drop an item into this pot while working with the machine. is there anything that is typically used for item retrieval in a situation like this? Obviously, it would need to be something that can withstand the heat involved. My best solution right now is to get a dross collector and hope that either the item floats on the top or that we can scoop it from the bottom with it.

216.173.144.149 (talk) 15:24, 12 August 2019 (UTC)

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure: Has anyone considered rigging a shield of sorts to minimize the likelyhood of such an accident? --Jayron32 15:50, 12 August 2019 (UTC)

I have an tool that could work, but unfortunately I don't know the name. It looks like a syringe, but it is all stainless steel, and when you press the plunger at the end, 3 hooks extend and are splayed outward from the tip, pointed toward the central axis. You then position those hooks around the object, release the plunger, and it is drawn back to the tip of the "syringe" by the spring. Does anyone have a name for this type of "grasper" ? This model is small, and designed to use with one hand to pick up screws and such, but I can easily imagine a much larger two-handed model. SinisterLefty (talk) 03:07, 13 August 2019 (UTC)

I won't link a specific website to avoid advertising a particular supplier, though these are very easy to find: Glass blowing tools are designed to grab and manipulate objects at temperatures far beyond that of solder. Blacksmith tongs will do the same thing, although not as gently. Both have inexpensive options if you don't intend to regularly destroy them. Although I agree with Jayron that prevention is probably better for this. If you're at a business or school, presumably you have some access to safety professionals you can ask about this, and whether you're even allowed to go fishing for stuff in there. I don't imagine people should be getting all that close to a large pan of molten metal anyway. Someguy1221 (talk) 03:23, 13 August 2019 (UTC)

This. The question itself is kind of worrying... why are you carting around stuff above a vat of molten metal? I'm not an expert, but maybe not doing that would be the thing to try? Failing that, a lid maybe? Matt Deres (talk) 15:21, 13 August 2019 (UTC)

They aren't carting it around, it's under an automatic soldering machine. Presumably it's not where people will fall into it, but a small component (maybe something it was soldering that broke off) could find a way in. Removing this component could be done for several reasons beyond reusing it. If the solder is to be reused, you don't want random junk in it. And it would be helpful to identify the component which broke off, to isolate the problem in the manufacturing process. SinisterLefty (talk) 15:32, 13 August 2019 (UTC)

August 13

Flag of Japan

I was hoping the article on the Flag of Japan would explain this but I don't see it. Apologies if I misunderstood and it is actually in there.

which is currently on the front page says "3/5 (of 2)" on the right side. Could someone explain this to me? I'm not understanding the "of 2" part. I get that, if the flag were broken up into fifths, that the sun would be 3 sections high with 1/5 above and below. But what is the "of 2"? Thanks, †dismas†|^(talk) 16:27, 13 August 2019 (UTC)

2 is the overall height. So the circle occupies 3/5 of the flag, or 3/5 of 2 units in total. The Rambling Man (Staying alive since 2005!) 16:33, 13 August 2019 (UTC)

But that is confusing, so a rewrite would be in order. StuRat (talk) 16:36, 13 August 2019 (UTC)