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January 1

Ne'r-do-well, layabouts and idlers

It is my observation that around till 50 years back, there were a few individuals in each Indian middle class family who were n'er-do-wells, layabouts and idlers, who would go about life doing nothing and being dependent on others. Of late, there seems to be a drastic decline in their numbers. I suppose this must be true of Western societies as well as I remember reading in the PG Wodehouse's books about young men who did nothing in particular but yet were comfortably placed in life . What is the reason behind their reduction in numbers? Does it have to anything to do with with the economy ?

Think this is a case of personal perception. You talk of 50 years back. Let me tell you a little story. Many, many decades ago, when family, relations and friends were asking “ well Aspro what are you going to do with your life?” I was perplexed. I was still learning the three ``R”'s. I could not even transpose in arithmetic. So I thought to myself “ I Know what it want to become. An old-age pensioner or uncle Harry. After all, they all just potter around in the garden, mowing the lawn, dead heading roses etc. and always have tasty treats when you visit. Then in tanager years one discovers that that view was only one's immature impression. Sometimes, one's life may apparently go absolutely pairs-shaped - in a very serious way. All of a sudden the police are searching your parents home, looking through draws and doing everything that law enforcement officers have to do in the performance of their duty. - one's facing clank until the end of time. Then one of the “Ne'r-do-well, layabouts and idlers” as you call them -turns up. And as suddenly, as it suddenly started, every thing cools down. Only then one discovers that their other job is being guardians of the family. You may not see them today because time and technology moves on, yet they may still be there but are ahead of you. 50 years ago the only way they could be there, was by being there and visible . Today there is the internet and other stuff that they use to watch over. So they might not be so visible as you remember, all-those-many-years-ago, in an age that is long past and gone. Disclaimer & COI: When I'm not up to my eyeballs in other peoples sh-one-t. I'm a confirmed “Ne'r-do-well, layabouts and idler”. And if the wife can make my feel guilty enough -I might, even get the mowing machine out of the shed – if she can find were I've hidden the key.--Aspro (talk) 13:28, 1 January 2015 (UTC)

Our Playboy (lifestyle) article has some details. In the UK, the first son of a wealthy aristocrat or gentleman would inherit his father's estate and/or business, while other sons would be expected to join the army, clergy or civil service to make a living. More indulgent (and wealthy) parents would simply give their sons "an allowance" so that they could amuse themselves without getting in the way; I suspect that some of Bertie Wooster's chums fall into that category, although Bertie himself inherited a fortune when his parents died. The First World War, besides killing off many aristocratic heirs, also prompted massive increases in Death duty which restricted the amount that parents could pass on to their children. I'm sure that there are still a few around though. Alansplodge (talk) 17:49, 1 January 2015 (UTC)

Rentier class is the traditional Marxist term. See also landed gentry and plutocracy. Tevildo (talk) 17:54, 1 January 2015 (UTC)

January 2

Logical Fallacy

What is this obsession that some Americans have with so-called 'logical fallacies'. Is this something that is taught in school there or something? It keeps coming up, time and time again here on Misplaced Pages, but also on other parts of the internet. I'm from the UK, and I don't even recall it ever been said to me even once by a fellow Brit. I see it so often in YouTube comments from teens who are very probably drunk and/or smoking the wacky backy that I even lose the will to find out what it even means. KägeTorä - (_虎) (Chin Wag) 06:07, 2 January 2015 (UTC)

Well, logic is part of debating, do Brits never do that either ? It's also part of math and science, of course. And it's an important part of consumer education, so you know exactly when somebody is trying to trick you into an unwise purchase. StuRat (talk) 06:10, 2 January 2015 (UTC)

Even the phrase itself is a contradiction in terms. How can it be logical if it's a fallacy? The fallacy itself cannot be logical. That is what defines a fallacy. Why not call it a fallacy in/of logic? KägeTorä - (_虎) (Chin Wag) 06:37, 2 January 2015 (UTC)

You're mixing two senses of the word "logical", one of which is "of or relating to the formal processes used in thinking and reasoning". ‑‑Mandruss ☎ 06:41, 2 January 2015 (UTC)

Which, by the way, is one of the most common logical fallacies: eqivocation. Dominus Vobisdu (talk) 11:05, 2 January 2015 (UTC)

Not infrequently, the example of the fallacy is an invitation to debate something or to make a political point. Kind of a mini-coatrack. ←Baseball Bugs carrots→ 09:56, 2 January 2015 (UTC)

Are you really talking about logical fallacies (such as affirming the consequent), or are you talking about so-called argumentative fallacies or informal fallacies (like ad hominem)? Either way, why do you think the people mentioning them online are Americans? I live in the US and I don't know if I've ever heard the phrase "ad hominem" spoken. -- BenRG (talk) 10:26, 2 January 2015 (UTC)

OK, case in point. I was referring to a particular comment I received, after I had said I would like to recommend that a particular wargame not have a time limit in the stand-alone scenarios, as massive battles such as the various ones at Gettysburg didn't last just 15 minutes or so, and I got this comment (after the others were really polite): Google straw man and learn something in the new year so we don't have to witness this particular logical fallacy in the future from you. which is absolutely unwarranted and total gobberish. I know this guy is American. My question was about is this particular phrase taught/used in America so much so that people use it? I have never heard it in the UK. KägeTorä - (_虎) (Chin Wag) 13:57, 2 January 2015 (UTC)

From what I can understand, the term applies to False Logic. See List of fallacies and compare this site. I think "logical fallacy" is misleading English on either side of the Atlantic, as it seems to imply a that a logical process has shown a statement to be False. False is not the same as "got the maths wrong", and the sets may overlap. Fiddlersmouth (talk) 14:10, 2 January 2015 (UTC)

It would still be interesting to hear whether this stuff is taught in high schools. Perhaps in English, as part of essay-writing. In Britain, KageTora, students who choose Critical Thinking at AS Level would be introduced to logic. Very useful, I think. Would also help if people learnt common courtesy when constructing an argument. Itsmejudith (talk) 18:30, 2 January 2015 (UTC)

We were introduced to various scams, fallacies, and types of false advertising in seventh grade in "social studies" as part of the NJ State mandated curriculum. We were expected to know what begging the question was, and an appeal to authority, ad hominem, misleading "sales" which simply meant something was being sold, and how to budget and use per-unit pricing to find scams based on packaging. We also had debates in 9th grade on Fridays in Earth Science, and were introduced to a list of formal fallacies at that point. (One of the debates was, Is the Earth Shrinking or Expanding, which was mentioned recently at the ref desk. That was fun since I argued both sides.) There was a political debate club for 10th-12th graders where noting a formal fallacy in another student's argument was counted in your favor. We also had formal geometric proofs in 9th grade geometry, but we were more focused on axioms, postulates, and corollaries than on fallacies per se. Fallacy would also have been a vocabulary word we would be expected to be able to define in our own words in 10th grade English. Basically you'd have had to go to a vocational school not to have exposure to certain types of fallacies and be able to point them out. μηδείς (talk) 21:14, 2 January 2015 (UTC)

As for the questions here,about half seem to be simple troling, and ways to smuggle in debate as has been stated above. μηδείς (talk) 21:14, 2 January 2015 (UTC)

• KT, are you asking about straw man in particular, or fallacies in general? Straw man is obviously not a formal logical fallacy, since it simply consists of putting words in your opponents mouth, and then arguing against what you report his position to be, rather than his actual position. Assuming the statement you quote from your opponent is the whole story, he simply seems to be using big words he doesn't quite understand, since your point seems valid on its own, without regard to your report o the positions of others. The term "straw man" is in very common usage in the US, as is the term "beg the question". But the latter is used more often wrongly to mean "to raise the question" than the actual fallacy of using the point at question as evidence of its own truth. μηδείς (talk) 01:41, 3 January 2015 (UTC)

I was actually asking about fallacies - I know what the word means, but very rarely use that in conversation. In fact, saying to anyone that their idea is a fallacy is actually rude in the UK. We'd rather say "That's not quite true" (even though in this case my argument definitely was true). Never heard of 'straw man', and didn't bother Googling it because when someone is rude to me as this chap was, I don't have the incentive to do what he tells me to do. That was, indeed, the only message I got from him, so that was the full story. We didn't have logic or philosophy or anything like that when I was in High School, and in university, students who studied that were considered to be dreamers (completely unpractical subjects when getting a job). And I disagree - 'that begs the question' means 'what you have just said brings me to a related question'. E.g. "We have only XXXXXXX money left, so we need to spend it on industry, small businesses, and military", "Well, that begs the question, what do we do about education and health care?" KägeTorä - (_虎) (Chin Wag) 14:29, 3 January 2015 (UTC)

Begging the question Widneymanor (talk) 16:46, 3 January 2015 (UTC)

That's interesting. Telling someone they are committing a fallacy is not rude in itself in the US, assuming they actually are committing a fallacy, and you can demonstrate it. Not that that means a person will want to hear it. I am reminded of the British usage of refute. In Britain "I refute your position" merely means I argue against it, while in the US refute doesn't mean merely oppose; it means conclusively disprove; as in the results of the Michelson-Morley experiment refuted the contemporary theory of the luminiferous aether. μηδείς (talk) 18:48, 3 January 2015 (UTC)

Yes, the OED says of "refute" used in the sense of "repudiate": "Criticized as erroneous in usage guides in the 20th cent." Wiktionary has both meanings with the note: "The second meaning of refute (to deny the truth of) is proscribed as erroneous by some (compare Merriam Webster,1994). An alternative term with such a meaning is repudiate, which means to reject or refuse to acknowledge, but without the implication of justification. However, this distinction does not exist in the original Latin refūtō (“oppose, resist, rebut”), which can apply to both senses." It's rather like using less when you should use fewer. Dbfirs 21:34, 3 January 2015 (UTC)

My point was to indicate the difference, not claim one usage was prior. "Irrefutable", however is used to mean not capable of disproof, not incapable of being argued against. I remember being shocked when I first heard Judy Dench's character on As Time Goes By say, "I refute that!" and then remain silent. I chastised the TV screen, "No, you haven't!" μηδείς (talk) 00:27, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

Yes, I agree that "irrefutable" derives from only one of the meanings of "refute" (the preferred one). The OED has cites of the usage to which you object, but none of them are from "good" writers. I chastise the TV screen when I hear "less" where "fewer" is intended, and when I hear "... someone and I" as the object of a sentence. Dbfirs 09:43, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

Exactly. I will leave the room as a courtesy if someone else's favorite show is on in and find I can't resist correcting its barbarisms or untruths. (Of course we all yell at the TV during Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune.) But this was Judy Dench for gosh sakes! μηδείς (talk) 18:35, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

Google's Ngram Viewer suggests that use of "straw man" was substantially higher in the U.S. than in the UK for much of the 20th century, though it's more or less equal now: . But use of "ad hominem" has seemingly been fairly consistent on both sides of the pond: . I didn't look at "begging the question" because there's no way to separate the traditional meaning from the raising-the-question meaning. -- BenRG (talk) 06:39, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

Not to be confused with "man of straw" a rather old-fashioned British expression meaning a weak willed person. Alansplodge (talk) 19:22, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

Ancient Egypt

What symbolism does the Uraeus (Cobra) on the Nemes (headress) and how does it associate with the sphinx? Venustar84 21:50, 2 January 2015 (UTC)

You do not have a main verb in your first question, so it's impossible to understand. What symbolism does it what, exactly? "Have"? In that case, read the article you linked to, and the answer is in the first sentence. KägeTorä - (_虎) (Chin Wag) 13:52, 3 January 2015 (UTC)

This question popped up a year ago. My answers weren't great, but I don't think they've gotten any worse with time. InedibleHulk (talk) 00:39, January 5, 2015 (UTC)

January 3

Peter Parker offensive name?

Why is Peter Parker an "offensive name" for a gay man? On July 18 bill maher made a joke that made everyone laugh, saying that Marvel cannot make Spiderman gay because that would an offensive name. It seems to have been really funny. Bill maher joke starts at 0:58

I'd be very happy if someone can explain. Lgriot (talk) 16:21, 3 January 2015 (UTC)

"Peter", in the US, is one of many slang terms for "penis", so a "peter parker" would be somebody who "parks" their penis someplace, and with a little imagination, we can imagine where a gay man might "park" his. Of course, it could also be offensive for a straight man, but potentially sexual terms seem more likely to be taken that way when applied to gay men, as prejudicial as this is. StuRat (talk) 16:46, 3 January 2015 (UTC)

It's a bit like the way 'Woody' in Toy Story was named - it means 'erection' in American slang. There are lots of these. KägeTorä - (_虎) (Chin Wag) 22:11, 3 January 2015 (UTC)

It's not a term you hear all that much, compared with some others. But in the book Superfolks, there's a bit where the protagonist goes into a gay bar in search of long-time friend Peter Pan. He tells the bartender, "I'm looking for Peter." The bartender responds, "Who isn't?" :) ←Baseball Bugs carrots→ 00:24, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

The father in Family Guy is named Peter, and not accidentally. They get plenty of material from that name. StuRat (talk) 01:53, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

Lots of characters have intentionally rude names, such as Kenny Everett's female character 'Cupid Stunt'. KägeTorä - (_虎) (Chin Wag) 06:10, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

It's nothing new. Even in the staid and prudish 1950s, there was Beaver Cleaver. How that one got past the censors still has me scratching my head. Dominus Vobisdu (talk) 20:39, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

There was never a hint at the time that there was anything double-entendre about that name. Folks might have had "dirty minds" in those days, but were not so open about it. ←Baseball Bugs carrots→ 02:46, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

Thanks all.--Lgriot (talk) 22:35, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

January 4

Joseph Cattarinich's kids

Hi all. I've struggled to find any information regarding children of Joe Cattarinich, an early hockey builder. To put it bluntly: did Mr Cattarinich have children? Feel like that's the only piece missing from the article I've compiled at hr.wiki.

Help, please! :) Splićanin (talk) 01:19, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

According to his obituary in the Chicago Tribune, he had one daughter, Mrs Jeanne Seremba. His wife's name isn't recorded in the article. Tevildo (talk) 01:39, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

This forum thread (in French, but the relevant information is in English), has a reference for his marriage to Blanche Vermette, in Montreal, on 13 April 1901. There is evidence for a Jeanne V. Seremba who was born in 1907 in Rhode Island, but she might not be Cattarinich's daughter (although the dates are OK). There was also a racehorse (presumably) named after her. Tevildo (talk) 01:56, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

Thank you for swift delivery! I understand Ms Vermette and Mr Cattarinich married on March 13, 1914 per this. Also, I reckon they were in a lengthy relationship beforehand, starting as early as the turn of the centuries. Splićanin (talk) 02:49, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

Well, the Planète Généalogie reference is from a printed book, rather than a very illegible hand-written document, and having an illegitimate daughter would be a major career handicap 100 years ago, so I think the 1901 date is more likely. I'm sure definitive records are available if this is an important issue. Tevildo (talk) 16:21, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

Disappeared airplanes which were later found to be safe

Have there ever been instances of planes, preferably commercial ones, which were reported to have disappeared, but were later found to have landed safely somewhere, or a commercial flight which disappeared but was later found and, while it crashed, there were several survivors? Narutolovehinata5 08:57, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

In the latter category, one that comes to mind (partly because they made a film about it) is 1972 Andes flight disaster. ‑‑Mandruss ☎ 09:15, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

I know about the latter, and I was half-expecting that to be mentioned sooner or later here. But has the former ever happened? Narutolovehinata5 09:23, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

I couldn't find any in the first category, but 9 Unbelievable Airplane Incidents That Will Make You Appreciate How Safe Flying Has Become tells the story of Varig Flight 254 in Brazil, on 3 September 1989 (number 5 in the article), which went the opposite way to its planned course and crash landed in the Amazon rain forest. Some of the survivors had to walk out of the jungle to fetch help. 13 died but 42 survived. Alansplodge (talk) 16:24, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

As for missing aircraft that later turned up safe, there have been several incidents of aircraft landing at the wrong airport, but I imagine they weren't missing for very long. StuRat (talk) 03:11, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

What does "is the new black" mean?

Hi all,

I'm not an English native speaker and I really wonder why everything for the last months "is the new black". I saw tee-shirts "white is the new black", posters about nature "green is the new black" or ads for aquacenters "blue is the new black". What does it mean? Thx! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.97.195.110 (talk) 12:32, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

See Phrasal template. "X is the new black" apparently originates (rather indirectly) from a line by Diana Vreeland, "Pink is the navy blue of India". See also Little black dress. Tevildo (talk) 13:14, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

This article goes into more detail on the phrase's origin. Tevildo (talk) 13:20, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

(after edit conflict) It's a fashion thing. Black clothes are always in fashion as black goes with everything. It became popular for a while for fashion writers to proclaim other colours as "the new black", i.e. the new most fashionable colour. After that the phrase became a cliché and was adapted to a variety of contexts, including things that aren't even colours - a popular new band, for example, might be referred to as being the new black. It got a bit out of hand. Private Eye magazine used to have a "Neophiliacs" column collecting the most ridiculous uses of "x is the new y" from the media. --Nicknack009 (talk) 13:22, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

This has been sufficiently answered -- I just thought I'd link to snowclone as the more specific type of phrasal template that applies here. Basically a popularly known cliche phrase/term which allows for one or more parts to be replaced to create new meanings without losing referential familiarity. In fact we have a whole category for pages about snowclones. --— Rhododendrites \\ 20:27, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

Perhaps snowclone would be a better redirect target for the new black than phrasal template? There doesn't seem to be an obvious talk page to discuss this on. Tevildo (talk) 22:54, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

Parliament voting systems

Where can I find detailed information and pictures about the systems members of parliament in various countries use to vote on issues in the main parliament chamber? JIP | Talk 15:37, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

Something like Division of the assembly? TenOfAllTrades(talk) 15:47, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

Sort of, yes. Here in Finland and in Sweden the parliament uses an electronic voting system instead of physically shouting their votes or going through different doors. I didn't notice anything of the sort in the article. Do all those countries listed there really use "traditional" voting systems? JIP | Talk 17:04, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

It depends, in many places, on the exact vote in question. In many places, for many routine votes, a "voice vote" is all that is required, and the standard unless someone (or the rules themselves) call for a recorded vote. Each body has its own rules for determining which matters get a voice vote, and which get a roll-call vote. I would be surprised if EVERY vote on EVERY issue in the legislatures of Sweden and Finland used a recorded vote. Many mundane and routine matters of such chambers wouldn't require it, and doing so would bog down the normal business of such bodies as to make them ineffectual. United_States_House_of_Representatives#Passage_of_legislation and House_of_Commons_of_the_United_Kingdom#Procedure both indicate that voice votes are the normal way to conduct business, but also note the manner in which someone may call for a recorded vote, either by division or recorded electronic vote, etc. --Jayron32 00:46, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

I'm specifically interested in machines for electronic voting in parliament chambers, to see what they look like and how such votes are handled. JIP | Talk 04:53, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

<Anecdote time> In 1992, the Swiss National Council decided to introduce an electronic voting system in their chamber. Concerns regarding potential abuse of the system were met with striving for a solution where both hands had to be employed for casting a vote and, more importantly (and more amusingly) by referring to the fact that the councils had taken an oath and were to be trusted to use the apparatus fairly and competently. Less than two years later, Christoph Blocher managed to cheat the system by voting not only for himself but also for an absent colleague normally seated next to him (Lisbeth Fehr, same political party, but she was not amused at all). (Here's a TV report from March 1994 in German, but it gives you an idea of what the device looks like—and it does not look like you need two hands to push any of the colorful buttons). Blocher was reprimanded, but no consequences otherwise.

The Council of States, known to be slower and more conservative, introduced the same device last year, over 20 years after it's sister-chamber had. This Blick article has some pics. The device looks much the same as the older one in the TV report I linked to above (and it reminds me of Simon :-) ---Sluzzelin talk 10:53, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

January 5

Websites related to "Oldest in Britain"

I know there is "Oldest in Britain" website for oldest living people in the United Kingdom, but are there websites that show all deaths for and oldest living people of the following countries: United States, Japan, Spain, Australia, Canada, Italy, and other countries? Deaths in 2013 (talk) 03:25, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

Places which prohibit photography for reasons that are unknown or/and kept secret

Are there any places in the world with no photography policies, but the exact or official reason for the implementation of the policy is either unknown, or explicitly kept a secret by the people operating/owning/taking care of the place? Narutolovehinata5 04:23, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

Damn, you are obsessed with this exact topic. and and show prior answers to this similar topic. What makes you think we know more today than we did in prior years? Is the horse you've been beating not dead yet? --Jayron32 04:35, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

So, the answer is neigh? μηδείς (talk) 04:41, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

In fairness, our viewership and response rate can vary quite a bit over months, let alone years. As long as a question is not being asked several times in the same week I see no problem with checking in later to see if new or better referenced answers might turn up. SemanticMantis (talk) 16:42, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

Further, each of those questions are quite distinct and would have completely different answers; they just happen to fall under a similar umbrella. So, it's a herd being beaten and none of them are dead, merely injured. Matt Deres (talk) 22:48, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

A lot of people's houses are like that, or at least certain rooms. Mine sure is, for perfectly innocent reasons. InedibleHulk (talk) 02:11, January 6, 2015 (UTC)

Achieving wealth

Are there statistics on people of modest or average birth who achieve substantial wealth (say at least $5M) and how they got there? I'm curious about the paths that get people rich, e.g. successful business people (what industries?), athletes, actors, singers, etc. For purposes of the question, I'm not interested in inherited wealth or luck (e.g. lotteries). Dragons flight (talk) 05:00, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

PS. There are a number of professions that are typically regarded as high-earning, e.g. doctors, lawyers, engineers, bankers, etc. My impression is that while these careers do tend to do well (e.g. the upper middle class), most people in these areas aren't saving enough to reach the $5M threshold, I asked about. In other words, that reaching high levels of wealth is about more than just having a traditional "good job", and I'm curious what the earning paths actually look like at the higher levels. Dragons flight (talk) 05:58, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

Warren Buffet came from a pretty ordinary background. ←Baseball Bugs carrots→ 06:14, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

It's very easy for a professional athlete in the four major North American team sports to acquire wealth over $5 million (a lot of annual salaries are well above that). The NBA and NFL are known to recruit a lot of athletes from underprivileged backgrounds. In baseball, most Latino players also come from modest means (it's typical for a player from the Dominican Republic to say he did not own a glove or a pair of shoes when he grew up). Ice hockey used to be filled with farm boys from the Canadian Prairies, and as the saying goes, when you're a farmer, you live all your life in poverty and you die a millionaire (i.e. your assets are worth a lot - farm buildings, equipment and livestock - but your cash flow is usually not so great). See also Horatio Alger myth and rags to riches for a more general discussion of the topic. --Xuxl (talk) 10:16, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

This article at Forbes.com and links from it do a good job of answering the OPs question, though for a very small subset of "the wealthy", specifically the Forbes 400. However, it does give some insight as to how few people grow their wealth from nothing. Of the 400 wealthiest individuals in 2004 (according to that article), only 19 built their wealth from literally nothing. --Jayron32 18:20, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

• There are several routes. Wise investment is one, Michael Burry made his money as a hedge fund manager, after passing up law and medicine. Or you can create a business like Steve Jobs. But most make their money in some ways to do with connections. George Soros made his money off currency speculation. Ross Perot got a huge government contract. Bill Gates got the contract to write a substandard operating system for a very large company. Michael Bloomberg provided a news service for well-heeled investors. There's also success in sports and the arts, like Madonna and Michael Jordan, with concert tours and endorsement deals. And then there's election to the Senate, which has netted Harry Reid between $3-$10 million in stocks and properties, and Made Trent Lott a multi-millionaire by the time he resigned as Bernie Ebbers' biggest campaign fund recipient. μηδείς (talk) 21:54, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

  It should be noted that for some of those "self-made" should be taken with a grain of salt. The certainly made more wealth for themselves than they started with (so they were in a sense, "self-made") but most of those (indeed most wealthy people in general, even those that get richer) started with a sizable head start, and also access to the social networks that allow access to the machinery of wealth creation. Jobs, Soros, and Jordan were all from modest backgrounds and social classes without access to such things, but the many others all had sizable advantages over the "average" middle or working class citizen because they already belonged to the upper class (their families were already in the upper echelons of society, they merely took this head start and made it even higher). For example, Bill Gates' father was a prominent lawyer, and his mother served on the boards of several firms. No one in the middle class serves on boards. Ross Perot's father was a wealthy commodities trader with political connections and sent him to exclusive private schools, as Gates's parents had. And so on. The 1-10 ranking system the Forbes 400 uses is VERY instructional in answering the OPs question, more than individual anecdotes of select millionaires is. It at least tries to quantify the very wealthy as to whether they started dirt poor, and made all of their money on their own (ranked 1) to those that were born insanely wealthy, and have sat on it and done nothing (ranked 10). Most of the top 400 wealthiest people still rank 5 and higher on their scale, which means most of them already had enough money to be considered among the highest socioeconomic classes in America, even those that made their own wealth started with enough to give them the advantage necessary to be able to do so. Stories like Gates or Perot (wealthy, connected family puts their children through best schools money can buy, pulls strings where needed, and kid ends up getting even richer) are far more common than those of Soros and Jordan, which is statistically indistinguishable from winning the lottery. --Jayron32 01:38, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

  I'm reminded of something Richard Armour said about the Kennedy-Nixon contest: When Nixon turned 21, his father gave him a gold watch. When JFK turned 21, his father gave him a million dollars, because he already had a watch. ←Baseball Bugs carrots→ 03:12, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

On a similar anecdotal theme, Larry Niven was once asked what was the best advice his (oil magnate) Father gave him. He related that when he turned 21 his Father said to him "Son, here's a million dollars. don't lose it." {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 212.95.237.92 (talk) 14:08, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

μηδείς seem to acknowledge that a bit with the connections bit. However they seem tp have missed people from such families isn't what the OP asked about. Also, I think the point they missed that while connections may be important, it isn't the only factor. Gates access to time share computers at a relatively early age for someone of his era clearly wasn't just about connections (although it does seem like these connections helped once the paid time ran out and they also undoutedly helped him in numerous ways both in his school years and later with the various things he did). For that matter, Gates dropping out of Harvard to form a business was likely not such a big deal compared to someone from a poor family, realisticly if he'd failed he would still have many options. Heck, you've got to figure Gates knew hacking free time on a computer, or using the scheduling program to put himself in classes with interesting girls wasn't that big a risk, someone from a poor or even middle class family probably legitimately wouldn't have felt quiet the same even if they were somehow had the same opportunity, which again may have a bit to do with connections but also a lot of other things. Nil Einne (talk) 15:14, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

I noticed J seemed to have missed my allusion to connections, but we've basically agreed. I am not sure the OP's question is capable of a well-sourced reliable textual answer. Consider the joke about the mail-order "How to Get Rich Quick" book that advises readers to write a how-to-get-rich-quick book. From OR the answer, not in terms of specific people, seems to be, be your own boss and either cater upscale: Martha Stewart, or broad and wide: J. K. Rowling, or offer services (law, restauranteur, plastic surgeon, jeweler, real-estate sales, car sales, stock broker, etc.) to high-paying customers. I'd also like to point out that being connected seems to fit Soros by definition, given his conviction by the French supreme court for insider trading, and the European Court's refusal to overturn the conviction, for which, and a very interesting quote by Paul Krugmann, see the article linked above. Oh, and I know a multi-millionaire painter and gallery owner who does swear by The Martha Rules although he was rich well before he read that book. μηδείς (talk) 18:30, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

Microsoft Points

I bought microsoft points awhile ago and I have $39 in my microsoft account is there anyway I can get this money out? I want to spend it online somehow but I dont want to buy microsoft apps or games. Can I get around microsoft? I want to buy something off amazon. Can this be done? Anyway I can get the money out of microsoft and into something else would be great! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 204.42.31.250 (talk) 06:53, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

Microsoft Points talks about it in the past tense. You will probably need to call Microsoft and find out how or if you can cash in that 39 dollars. ←Baseball Bugs carrots→ 07:04, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

And "Currency gained from converted Points will expire on June 1, 2015." (I suspect Micro$oft will make a tidy profit from unredeemed points.)--Shantavira| 08:15, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

what happened to the small village of Morra in Avellino in Campania in Italy? (Village-Province-Region)

Italy is broken up into communes villages and towns within a larger category of Avellino within Campania, within the country of Italy. I cannot find this village called Morra on a map. I cannot locate a map of Campania with all the small old villages where our ancestors came from. I do not know if it was combined with another village, but it definitely existed in 1920. Is there a map with everysmall town on it from 1920 in Avellino in Italy? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Richie25rich (talk • contribs) 14:45, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

I'm probably just displaying my ignorance, but we have an article on Morra De Sanctis in Avellino. Mikenorton (talk) 14:55, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

The Italian wikipedia states "Morra De Sanctis, formerly Morra Irpino, is an Italian town of 1320 inhabitants of the province of Avellino in Campania." Mikenorton (talk) 14:58, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

This view from Google Maps shows Morra and surrounding villages. Marco polo (talk) 16:33, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

Many Italian villages have changed their names a bit. A friend of mine's family came from a town that used to be named Cazzone (a name which means ladle, but also literally means big cock to a modern Italian), for instance, which was thankfully changed at the close of the 1800's. Other times, the place has a long name and a short name, and it's just simpler to use the short name. People know where you're referring to if you put the name of the provincia after. A friend of mine actually took me to visit that area last Spring. You come from a beautiful area with a rich history, good sir. If you'd like to go a bit further in your ancestry hunt, here is the village's website with contact info. You could email them and ask for records about your family's history. Let me know if you might need any help translating messages into Italian if English doesn't work out (in case you don't speak the tongue, but if you do, bravo). Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie | 14 Tevet 5775 16:53, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

January 6

Reason nipples aren't allowed in mainstream media or Instagram, etc

Some celebrities have been posting topless photos on Instagram in order to "free the nipple".

Why SPECIFICALLY are nipples banned in the first place? Not looking for some kind of obvious value judgement like "Americans are prudes" or "Americans are hypocrites who don't mind exploding heads but can't stand nipples" or something like that. I'm looking for an actual devil's advocate argument why nipples are bad or WHY and HOW nipples will corrupt the children. I mean, clearly they WON'T corrupt the children, but there has to be SOMEONE out there arguing that they will. Who is this person (or are these persons), and what is their argument exactly? Please provide links.--Captain Breakfast (talk) 05:15, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

Think "Puritanism". It explains everything that seems contradictory about American cultural taboos. ←Baseball Bugs carrots→ 05:32, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

I don't agree with this line of thought, but here it is:

1) If female nipples are shown on TV, this will lead girls to show their nipples, too.

2) Once they show their nipples, that will lead to fondling of those nipples by boys.

3) That will lead to sex, venereal diseases, and unwanted pregnancy.

A separate line of thought is just that "God wouldn't want nipples shown", in which case nobody is supposed to question God's reasons. StuRat (talk) 05:34, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

The Garden of Eden story in the Abrahamic religions directly teaches that nudity is shameful, and that good people should be modest and cover themselves. Much of Western thought on the issue of nudity is strongly influenced by such religious traditions. In addition, nudity gets closely connected with notions of sexuality, which likewise is only considered acceptable to many religions within limited contexts (i.e. marriage / procreation). See also: Nudity in religion, religion and sexuality, and nudity (note that "nudity" contains many images of naked people). Dragons flight (talk) 07:53, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

This reminds me of Burlesque performers. They can take their tops off as part of a routine, and expose the entire breast, but cannot for some reason show the nipples. They always have to have either some form of pasty or a tassle. One performance I saw recently the tassle actually fell off mid rotation and the performer screamed and covered the nipple with her hand and left the stage red faced a moment or two later... I've never found out why the whole entire breasticle is allowed to shown other than the nipple... I don't get it! gazhiley 10:15, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

I think the issue may come from the difficulty of defining what is a breast, once you accept the rule that a naked female breast cannot be shown on television. Should the slightest bit of flesh be considered taboo ? Obviously not, because various perfectly acceptable styles of dress allow a peek of flesh. But then how much skin is too much ? Should the censors get out their rulers to decide? The solution is that when you see a nipple, the acceptable threshold has obviously been passed, so it's a violation. Which is how the nipple came to stand in for the breast itself. --Xuxl (talk) 12:42, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

I understand what you are saying: showing the nipple solves the definitional problem of "what exactly is a breast?". But, back to the post immediately preceding yours: why would the entire breast be allowed to be shown? Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 22:47, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

Showing everything about the breasts except the nipples is routine for female burlesque performers here in Finland too. Sometimes, a tassle accidentally falls off. Usually the performer finishes her dance anyway, and as soon as it is over, covers the nipple with her hand. Sometimes they cover their nipples with their hands already when dancing. I have never seen a performer scream and run off the stage red-faced just because her tassle accidentally fell off. JIP | Talk 19:28, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

To be fair, it was right at the end of the routine, so she was leaving within a few seconds anyway... She was a fairly new performer and probably was scared she'd get into trouble as the rule of no nipples is strongly advised during training... My best friend runs a burlesque training school and runs a monthly show - it's a hard life being her friend... ;-) gazhiley 11:35, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

• The real reason is that TV broadcasts in the USA are regulated by the FCC. Here is a link to their code on "Obscene, Indecent and Profane Broadcasts" . It says in part:

In short, showing a female nipple on broadcast TV (but not a male nipple, apparently) could be classified as obscene, and the broadcaster could be fined. The thing about a standard like this is that even the idea of punishment is often enough to keep people away from the line. At present, one viewer complaining (about virtually anything) might be enough to cause a hefty fine . So there's a lot of de facto self censorship going on. These descriptions of obscenity go to court from time to time, there are some listed at United_States_obscenity_law, and I'm suspect that some court cases specific to nipples on TV could be found by googling variants of /FCC obscene nipple case law/ SemanticMantis (talk) 16:17, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

Replying to the OP to address one thing. My 3-year-old niece must have seen both of her parents naked in the sauna several times. She will probably stop going to the sauna with her father in a few years. I don't think this has caused any harm to her. But last Christmas time, a relative had left a war film running on the TV and failed to spot her going to watch. She saw a scene where enemy combatants were executed by shooting in the head (or something, I didn't catch it myself) and was instantly absolutely terrified. It took almost an hour of consoling to calm her down. JIP | Talk 20:15, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

What is the similarity between train sets and nipples? They are both intended for children, but it's always the father that plays with them the most. KägeTorä - (_虎) (Chin Wag) 04:53, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

Closest railway stations?

Here in sunny old Exeter,we have three railway stations within a very short space of each other.From St.Thomas to St.David's is timetabled at 1-2 mins,and from St.David's to Central as another 1-2 mins. Are there any railway stations closer to each other than this? Lemon martini (talk) 13:42, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

In Paris, Gare de Bercy and Gare de Lyon are about a minute apart, closer than most metro stations. --Xuxl (talk) 13:55, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

In the UK there is also Ryde Pier Head to Ryde Esplanade, timetabled 2-3 mins apart. Clever rail users used to take advantage of the fact that they were so close together and buy an annual season ticket for travel between the two, even if they never lived anywhere near the Isle of Wight and never intended to use the season ticket. The reason for this was that possession of an annual season ticket enabled one to buy heavily discounted rail fares across the country. I have no idea if this loophole still exists. --Viennese Waltz 14:08, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

In London, Kings Cross and St Pancras are virtually next door to each other, and share the same underground station. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 17:56, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

Was going to say those two. They are quite actually next door from each other though. You just walk across that wee little street and you're in the the other. Euston Station is a short walk over from those two as well. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie | 15 Tevet 5775 18:21, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

Carlton railway station and Netherfield railway station are just 460 yards apart. Don't know how the journey gets timetabled though. --Antiquary (talk) 20:47, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

According to this forum thread, the shortest mainline distance between stations is London Blackfriars to City Thameslink at 14 chains (280 m). Tevildo (talk) 21:02, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

Huyton to Roby only takes two minutes, as does Oxford Road to Picadilly in Manchester. KägeTorä - (_虎) (Chin Wag) 06:23, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

Is Ethiopian centenarian still alive?

I have found few year old articles about Mekey Yetashawork, Ethiopian centenarian from Denver who is born April 1909. Is he still alive because I haven't found any report about him since january 2013 and if he has passed away is there any obituary about him? 62.72.228.251 (talk) 16:34, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

Please review WP:BLP. Providing information on private individuals is fraught with the potential for abuse, Especially full names and dates of birth (WP:DOB)and amounts to abuse of this desk as well. μηδείς (talk) 17:32, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

Unhatted. Good grief Medeis. The OP is asking for sources. I'd reinstate the name and date of birth, except that you've unbelievably removed them. --Viennese Waltz 19:33, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

For reference, here's a video where the guy talks a bit about his life and habits. It also contains his full name, which we can assume he consented for USA today to publish. I have not been able to find any mention of his death. The fact that I can't find any death records doesn't mean he's alive, but I also wouldn't expect more news about him after the spate of blurbs from 2013. SemanticMantis (talk) 21:22, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

St. Clair A. Mullholland Hobbies

Did he do any painting? We have a painting ( a seascape ) that is signed St. Clair A. Mullholland - 1903. Could this the same person as the Civil War hero described in Misplaced Pages?72.95.222.9 (talk) 19:31, 6 January 2015 (UTC) David G. Chalmers 404 McKown Ln. Sewickley, PA 15143 412 749 3583

Certainly the US Civil War officer St. Clair Augustine Mulholland was an artist, and I see many references to him on the Web as a specialist in maritime subjects. Here's an example of his work. Note that his name is spelled Mulholland, not Mullholland, and if your painting's signature spells it the latter way then there may be a problem. --Antiquary (talk) 21:25, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

3 digit railroad identification numbers

Does anyone have a list of the 3 digit numbers used to identify railroads 96.245.25.59 (talk) 19:35, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

Could you please be a bit more specific? Do you mean railroad companies? Railroad routes? Railroad stations? Which country's railroads are you referring to as well? Details, man, details! Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie | 15 Tevet 5775 20:07, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

Numbers used by whom? —Tamfang (talk) 11:45, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

Spanish Peseta

Questions are what was the value of the gold Peseta in 1492 and what would be the value of the peseta today?

I am writing the life of my father, Philip Louis Fishler. In one of the Pogroms our forebearers (Jews) were sent from Jerusalem to Spain and lived there for about 1700 years. The name was Fiz, Fizlores,Fizler, Fishler (America) over the years. In 1391 there was a Pogram in which 50,000 Jews were killed and 50,000 to 100,000 Jews were forced to become Catholics. In 1492, Isabella and Ferdinand made an edic driving all Jews from Spain unless they became Catholic. Those leaving could take no money out of the country. My forebearers,became Catholics either in 1391 or 1492, becoming Conversos, Crypto-Jews, Baptizos, etc. Many of those Conversos practiced Catholicism, with some practiced Catholicism and Judaism, called Marranos (Swine/pigs), Hidden Jews, etc. My forebearers practisted Judaism and Catholicism. In the year Ferdinand (1492) drove the Muslims from southern Spain and had no money to fund Christopher Columbus. Ferdidnad and Isabella "collected" one billion Peseta from the Jews leaving, dividing the money equally between the Inquisition and Ferdinand and Isabella--to support Columbus. What is interesting is that there are many books on Columbus writing that he was of Jewish descent--read his statement in his journal when he left the area seeing the Jews on ships moving out from Spain.

Stan Fishler — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.169.219.207 (talk) 20:06, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

I can't answer your question, but based on my experience in Jewish genealogy I recommend that you be more critical of the sources from which you derived your family history as mentioned above. הסרפד (call me Hasirpad) 05:50, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

When Spain switched to the Euro in 2002, the exchange rate was 1 euro = 166 pesetas...so in 2002 a peseta was a very small amount - less than 1 US cent or one UK penny. It's hard to predict what the value of the peseta would have been today had it not been abolished because that would depend on how Spain would have managed economically without being a part of the eurozone and all sorts of other complications arise with making that guess. But it's reasonable to assume that the exchange rate would be at least comparable to the 2002 rate.

Back in the late 1400's the concept of money exchange was decidedly sketchy - if you wanted to convert a gold peseta into something else, probably the only concern would be the weight and fineness of the gold. In the UK, in 1492, gold was selling for 2 UK pounds per fine ounce (http://www.measuringworth.com/datasets/gold/result.php). I was unable to discover anything about these "gold pesetas" dating back to the 1400's - the best I could find was the 1794 gold 20 peseta coin. But most gold coins that were actually used in active circulation seem to be between about 3 and 8 grams - which is 0.1 to 0.3 ounces, which would have been worth between 0.2 and 0.6 UK pounds at that time.

So it seems that the value of the peseta compared to the UK pound has declined by a factor of maybe 30 to 100 over the intervening five centuries - but then the buying power of a UK pound has declined steeply over that period too. I find it hard to believe that there was even a billion pesetas in existence back then - for sure it would have been an ungodly amount of money! Of course if you actually have a 1472 gold peseta then the present day value of the gold is US$39 per gram - so the value of the gold in the coin itself would be between $100 and $300 (66 and 198 UK pounds). Historical value to a coin collector would obviously be larger than that - but the actual value is hard to guess, because the rareity and condition of the coin is absolutely everything to collectors.

A billion 0.1 to 0.3 ounce coins would be between 3,000 and 10,000 tons of gold. Over all of human history, we've only mined 165,000 tons. If we'd been mining it at a constant rate since 1497, then only a few hundred tons could possibly have existed back then - and I'm sure our production rate has increased steadily over the years. So you're suggesting that the Jews were taxed an amount equal to perhaps 2% to 8% of all the gold ever mined? That's just impossible...there simply wouldn't have been that much gold in the entire world in the 1500's. SteveBaker (talk) 15:32, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

SteveBaker (talk) 15:22, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

There is no really accurate way to convert historical values into present-day values because of dramatic changes in the relative value of things. The biggest issue is that a given amount of labor today commands vastly greater purchasing power than the same amount of labor in past centuries and especially before industrialization. This is because of huge advances in technology and productivity. For example, it might have taken 3 or 4 hours of work at the median wage in 1500 to earn enough to purchase a one-pound loaf of bread. Today, the median worker probably needs to work just a few minutes to earn enough for such a loaf. Let's say that a loaf of bread today is worth £2 and the median worker earns £14 per hour. Let's say that a loaf of bread in 1500 cost a penny and that the average worker earned a farthing an hour (to use historic English currency, since I'm familiar with it). If we convert the value using labor, £1 in 1500 would be worth £3,360 today. If we convert the value based on purchasing power relative to bread, £1 in 1500 would be worth only £480 today. Of course the ratio would be much different if we used the purchasing power relative to other items. The cost of labor-intensive items such as haircuts has fallen much less relative to wages than the cost of more capital-intensive items such as bread. Then there is the issue of relative prestige. A person with a yearly income that translated into an average purchasing power of, say, £5,000 today would be considered poor in the UK. However, the same purchasing power in 1500 would have made a person quite affluent, since the cost of living was dramatically lower at the time, and there were so many fewer things to have to pay for. (No bills for electricity, water, internet, waste removal, or phone service, lower taxes if any, few and simple household appliances, no trains or cars, and so on.) So given all of these incomparables, there is really no way to state an "accurate" conversion rate. Having said all that, I agree that the billion peseta figure sounds implausible. It is probably an exaggeration. I don't doubt that millions of pesetas were taken, but a billion sounds doubtful. Marco polo (talk) 21:00, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

What documents required in order to enter Iraqi Kurdistan by a car that has Swedish license plates?

I want to know about what documents required in order to enter Iraqi Kurdistan by a car which has Swedish license plates via the following countries:

 Sweden →  Denmark →  Germany →  Austria →  Hungary →  Serbia →  Bulgaria →  Turkey →  Iraqi Kurdistan. --Kiel457 (talk) 20:36, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

Passport and visa money where necessary, I'd assume. Not sure they'd care about the plates as everyone loves Swedes anyway (except for some Norwegians and Finns). Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie | 15 Tevet 5775 21:14, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

Someone asked a similar question on this blog, and the blogger suggested contacting the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) directly. Here is a contact page on their website. Or you could contact the KRG office in Sweden, listed here. According to this source, Swedish citizens do not require a visa to enter Iraqi Kurdistan, but you might confirm that with the KRG office in Sweden. Marco polo (talk) 21:27, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

The OP specifically said Swedish plates though, not a passport. It might be a foreigner meeting up with friends in Sweden and road-tripping it down to Erbil (which sounds amazing as an aside). But good call on pointing him to or her the KRG just in case. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie | 15 Tevet 5775 22:43, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

The license plate of the car doesn't matter - it's completely irrelvant what nationality your car is. It's your passport that matters. To go through EU-member states, you'd need a visa, then also another visa to get into Kurdistan (which is an autonomous region fo Iraq) from Turkey. At this particular moment in time, I wouldn't really recommend going there, however. KägeTorä - (_虎) (Chin Wag) 04:32, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

The OP might be from a country that's part of the visa waiver program and might not need a visa for EU countries. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie | 16 Tevet 5775 05:40, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

The EU and Kurdistan are not exactly in the US, are they? KägeTorä - (_虎) (Chin Wag) 06:10, 8 January 2015 (UTC)

Television Advertisements, their (Adverts) Flow from Companies to TV Channels and relay.

Dear Expert,

We request you to answer the following questions, the answer needed is for education purpose.

Thank you.

1. How do the channels maintaining data? (New and old data) drama, serials live shows etc.,

2. What department maintains it?

3. How do companies approach the channels for adverts and vice versa? How do they approach each other? Which is the concerned department?

4. Who maintains the advert data? How is it being controlled / manipulated, who & which department?

5. From companies to TV relay, what is the sequence/line of flow of advert in your channel?

6. In what format does the TV channels maintain data? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.206.131.223 (talk) 17:19, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

• We recently had a very similar question, if there were answers it should be in the archives. μηδείς (talk) 17:59, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

In the United States at this time, a broadcast television station receives advertising content primarily by file transfer from distribution companies such as Extreme Reach and DG FastChannel. Some local ads are produced in-house by the station's production department. The files are stored in a video server housed in the engineering department and the database information and billing is handled by the traffic or accounts receivable departments. Clients wishing to purchase advertising time normally use an advertising agency, although the station's sales department also seeks out potential clients themselves. --Thomprod (talk) 19:27, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

Not only are there advertising agencies, most media outlets have advertising departments that will promote such things as Nielsen ratings to show the appeal of certain show to certain demographics. It scares me that most of the adverts for the only two TV shows I watch regularly (Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune) are for cancer treatments and other drugs that imply morbidity and age-related illness. μηδείς (talk) 04:42, 8 January 2015 (UTC)

• Question number 3 relates mostly to Media buying and that article has some good information. Effectively, there are professionals who are employed to functions as go-betweens for advertisers (and advertising agencies) and television stations. St★lwart 04:09, 8 January 2015 (UTC)

Obtaining a copyright licence to use maps

Hello

I wish to obtain a copyright licence to use a few maps found on wikimedia. Most (if not all) of the images I need for an up coming book on my family history are maps originally published more than 100 years ago. Thus, all of the originals - if they were copyrighted at all - have long since been in the public domain. What are the licencing requirements, and where to I obtain them?

Thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.12.16.206 (talk) 22:10, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

Basically, credit your source as you'll see all over the internet when other publishers use our images. Read Misplaced Pages:Text of Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License and ask at the Misplaced Pages:Help desk rather than here (they do this stuff all the time) if you need further advice. Good luck with you project. μηδείς (talk) 22:16, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

Whilst not disagreeing with μηδείς, my best advice is to click on the image(s) until you get to the image page, and if the image is marked as being in the public domain, you do not need a licence, nor permission, nor do you need to credit anyone. If the image has tags which suggest it is in the public domain and there is also a Creative Commons licence on it, the CC licence can be ignored: if it's PD it's PD, end of. Finally, if it is not PD and there is a CC licence on it, then you need to heed the CC requirements, for whch I direct you back to μηδείς's advice. --Tagishsimon (talk) 23:01, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

To be clear, Tagishimon's response is correct (to the best of my non-lawyer understanding, and offering no warranty if I'm wrong) as far as it regards copyright. There's quite a separate (non-legal but still important) issue of academic honesty, whereby you're not supposed to claim credit for other people's work. I don't know if anyone would really suppose you had made these maps yourself, but in any case it's best to attribute them to the source. In addition to protecting you from any accusations of plagiarism (an academic-honesty rather than a legal concern), it is also useful to your readers, as they can then investigate further from the same source, or inquire as to the source's reliability. --Trovatore (talk) 23:08, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

Tageshimons response seems very appropriate in an academic setting--the prof will alwasy set the required level of and means of giving credit. μηδείς (talk) 04:41, 8 January 2015 (UTC)

How Ferrari/Maserati cars are shipped from Italy, inspected and prepared for shipping across the U.S.?

I want to know about how the Ferrari/Maserati cars are shipped from Italy to the U.S., inspected and prepared for shipping across the U.S.. What's the main U.S. port that Ferrari/Maserati arrived?

And what company that transports Ferrari/Maserati cars from Italy by sea? --Kiel457 (talk) 09:45, 8 January 2015 (UTC)

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