Susanovo-Mythen Circle

Does anybody know what this is? It is related to Japanese history and culture. This man here: Alexander Slawik, was writing a book on it. The German version (translation may not be accurate) is: Susanowo-Mythenkreis und zur kulturhistori-schen Stellung des Izumo-Gebietes im alten Japan. What is it> I can't locate a Misplaced Pages article, or German article, or google books, web. The man who was collecting material on it, was an absolute expert on it, with over 60+ year of study (he died at age 97 and was still working), so I suspect it is probably extremly byzantine. Hope it is not too hard. I would like to known, so I can get an article on it. Any help is appreciated. scope_creep (talk) 13:44, 5 May 2017 (UTC)

"Susanowo" is Susanoo-no-Mikoto. "Mythenkreis" would be something like "myth cycle". DuncanHill (talk) 13:49, 5 May 2017 (UTC)

So, the sentence in German you quoted is "Susanovo myth-cycle and the cultural-historical position of the Izumo area in ancient Japan" DuncanHill (talk) 13:57, 5 May 2017 (UTC)

Thanks DuncanHill. I just found it, this second, after searching for about an hour. I'm glad there is an article on it. scope_creep (talk) 15:31, 5 May 2017 (UTC)

Price stipulation before capitalism

Were prices in the pre capitalist era also subject to markt forces? What has changed when societies became capitalist? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 31.177.98.121 (talk) 13:59, 5 May 2017 (UTC)

Some form of free market forces have existed for all of history. What we think of as the "capitalist era" represents a change in thinking of macroeconomics from wealth-as-control-of-resources (so-called mercantalism) to wealth-as-control-of-means-of-production (capitalism). That doesn't mean that markets didn't happen or that concepts like supply and demand determining prices didn't happen. What happened is that people started studying how such markets operate. They didn't invent those market forces, they just codified them. On the small scale, the price of goods has always been determined by "What you are willing to sell it for, and what I am willing to pay" Some industries have been protected by state monopoly and heavy regulation, but even in so-called capitalist societies, there are some of those too (i.e. health insurance and utilities in the U.S>). It isn't like Adam Smith woke up one day and invented the idea that people should sell goods in markets, and that prices fluctuate with supply and demand. --Jayron32 14:07, 5 May 2017 (UTC)

Re: 'On the small scale, the price of goods has always been determined by "What you are willing to sell it for, and what I am willing to pay" ' ... not always. As far back as the Code of Hammurabi there were attempts at price controls, even on a small scale, such as the fare to cross a river by ferry boat: (section 275:). StuRat (talk) 21:08, 5 May 2017 (UTC)

31.177.98.121 -- Even in the most decentralized possible form of pre-modern trade — "silent barter", where the two parties don't recognize any common authority, don't talk to each other, and stay at a physical distance from each other — there's negotiation over prices... AnonMoos (talk) 15:14, 5 May 2017 (UTC)

See also: black market, which could be seen as proto-capitalism, and exists in virtually all economic systems. 107.15.152.93 (talk) 19:05, 5 May 2017 (UTC)

And, for an example of "What has changed when societies became capitalist?", see: Sprouts of capitalism perhaps. Although that article isn't particularly helpful, China's experimental endeavors in capitalism could provide insight into societal changes. 107.15.152.93 (talk) 19:20, 5 May 2017 (UTC)

"Airplane Egg" got burned by cargo cult?

I refer to this story: "PS I like the story about the cargo cult folks who saw airplanes during WWII for the first time. One crashed with a bomb on board. They tried to hatch the "airplane egg" by warming it in a fire. Another case of a group who didn't have a clue of the "real" physics of what they saw, and used a flawed analogy to interpret the data." אילן שמעוני (talk) 19:51, 5 May 2017 (UTC)

This sounds like apocryphal mambo jumbo. Fake news. Aspro (talk) 20:21, 5 May 2017 (UTC)

The earliest version of this I can find to this story on line is from Niven & Barnes 1981 sci-fi adventure, Dream Park. It's then mentioned again verbatim in a 1994 google discussion group. See here. — Preceding unsigned comment added by medeis (talk • contribs)

Does Niven cites any source? אילן שמעוני (talk) 21:28, 5 May 2017 (UTC)

No. You can read what they wrote by searching the google result I linked to above, then search (ctrl-f) from the bottom up. (Otherwise you will hit "thatch" 11 times first. Personally, I think it's apocryphal. I don't see them getting a fire hot enough, or thinking it wouldn't kill the egg. μηδείς (talk) 21:36, 5 May 2017 (UTC)

First, let's be clear that cargo cults were real and were in fact a manifestation of people not understanding the events they had experienced. And second, that Dream Park is a work of fiction, so we don't expect the author to provide references: it's not evidence that what people talked about is true, but it's also not evidence that it's false. --76.71.6.254 (talk) 22:26, 5 May 2017 (UTC)

I was searching for a ref on this and ran into this comment to a blog post: "I first heard of Cargo Cults back in 1981 when Larry Niven and Steven Barnes used them in their book Dream Park. I thought they were made up, but I believe there was an afterword explaining that they were real and that one of them once tried to hatch the egg of a plane (a bomb) with disastrous results." totally unreliable source, but if someone has that book could they please check the back for some sort of notes? --Guy Macon (talk) 00:29, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

Oh, you're right! I'd forgotten that the book has an afterword, and this does cite sources. The afterword begins:

The authors had a wonderful time researching Dream Park. As we hope you will agree, Melanesian myth patterns are as bizarre, convoluted and imaginative as any in the world.

All of the various monsters and most of the magics are taken from the literature available concerning New Guinea and its sibling isles. Road Belong Cargo by Peter Lawrence was the single most informative work; Albert and Sylvia Frerich's Anutu Conquers in New Guinea; Benjamin T. Butcher's My Friends the New Guinea Headhunters; Roy Wagner's Habu; and Ian Hogben's The Island of Menstruating Men (honest!) are also worth reading.

And about a page later, it says:

One tribe did indeed try to hatch an "airplane's egg" in a fire, with results better imagined than witnessed.

These passages are on pages 431–432 of the 1982 paperback from Ace. So presumably the bomb-as-egg story comes from one of the books cited. --76.71.6.254 (talk) 07:08, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

So it may be true. I wish I could get to the bottom of this. אילן שמעוני (talk) 10:54, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

• The books listed in Dream Park are a bibliography. When asked for a source I said there was none because none was cited or quoted directly in the WP sense. Of course I have known of the cargo cults since the 70's, but have not heard of this story elsewhere. Searching Google Books, I found only these two results, mentioning that the inhabitants of Rabaul (a township of East New Guinea) believe the planes dropped eggs that would "hatch":

Road belong cargo: a study of the cargo movement in the Southern ...

https://books.google.com/books?id=9ioHAQAAIAAJ

Peter Lawrence - 1967 - ‎Snippet view - ‎More editions

a study of the cargo movement in the Southern Madang District, New Guinea Peter Lawrence. failed to retain ... dead in the area. I told him how natives around Rabaul believed that a giant egg, filled with cargo, would descend from Heaven.

Matupit: Land, Politics, and Change Among the Tolai of New Britain

https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0520015568

Arnold Leonard Epstein - 1969 - ‎Preview - ‎More editions

Yali14 had taught that the dead would travel to the land of the whites, and they would then send the cargo to the native peoples. ... A number of elders followed, all speaking in similar terms, and threatening to deny access to their own egg ... As in the present instance, the councillor opened the meeting by reporting various matters decided on by the Rabaul Council or by an administrative officer. This was ...

μηδείς (talk) 16:09, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

The links to the relevant books are in the third post on this thread. Road Belong Cargo makes no mention of such an event. μηδείς (talk) 01:36, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

American citizens with official titles of nobility or peerages

Are there any American citizens living with official titles of nobility or peerages (not titles used by royals or nobles of abolished monarchies)? And theoritically, can peers from current European monarchies settled in the US, gain US citizenship, pass down their titles to their children born in the US with US citizenships and effectively form an American branch of that noble family. Also how many of the European monarchies still have an extensive peerage besides the UK and Spain and do they allow those holders to leave the country and take up foreign citizenships while still allowing them to be held by these people and pass to children without their native country's citizenship? Most peers I believe are irrelevant in modern European constitutional monarchies, so their prolong absence from their native country would not be much of a problem; it's just a question if they can keep those titles for ceremonial purpose outside their native countries under these circumstances.--96.41.155.253 (talk) 21:38, 5 May 2017 (UTC)

There's the 5th Baron Haden-Guest. DuncanHill (talk) 21:42, 5 May 2017 (UTC)

From our Hereditary peer article: "Nothing prevents a British peerage from being held by a foreign citizen (although such peers cannot sit in the House of Lords, while the term foreign does not include Irish or Commonwealth citizens). Several descendants of George III were British peers and German subjects; the Lords Fairfax of Cameron were American citizens for several generations." - Nunh-huh 21:58, 5 May 2017 (UTC)

So, a foreign citizen can certainly hold their UK titles. But whether their country of citizenship recognises such a title or even allows them to use it is a different matter. -- Jack of Oz 22:03, 5 May 2017 (UTC)

In the States, no one "holding any office of profit or trust" under the federal gov't may accept a foreign title without the consent of Congress. See Title of Nobility Clause. I am not aware of any such restriction on private citizens, nor of any requirement that they relinquish the titles before beginning an office of profit or trust. --Trovatore (talk) 22:38, 5 May 2017 (UTC)

Also, the first sentence of that section is "No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States." So titles of nobility, regardless of source, are essentially legally irrelevant in America. ←Baseball Bugs carrots→ 23:03, 5 May 2017 (UTC)

You mean Burger King isn't actual royalty? :(   -Guy Macon (talk) 00:31, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

Only within the fast food empire. ←Baseball Bugs carrots→ 00:58, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

Granting titles is a different thing from recognising titles granted by other countries. -- Jack of Oz 09:49, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

May 6

Under Hawaiian Skies

Can someone help me find a scholarly review of "Under Hawaiian Skies" (also exist as a second larger edition) which speaks about influences and history behind how the book was written? Thanks.--KAVEBEAR (talk) 00:45, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

The author also wrote The rulers of Hawaii: the chiefs and chiefesses, their palaces, monuments, portraits and tombs, (1927) and History of Iolani palace (ca. 1920s; no publishing date given), if that helps. DOR (HK) (talk) 10:26, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

Opposition to the Second Boer War

Why was the British Empire's role in the Second Boer War viewed so negatively by the contemporary public opinion of other European countries and the United States? I find such reactions strange since those nations have also been engaging in imperialism and colonialism especially in Africa in the decades leading up to the events of the conflict in addition to having waged multiple wars of aggression against each other for a long time. Might this be an example of the white supremacist or nationalist attitudes prevalent at the time period? 70.95.44.93 (talk) 09:23, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

Robert K. Massie's Dreadnought notes that the Afrikaners had plenty of sympathy in the Netherlands, both popular and high-up (the Queen sought the German Emperor's good offices in negotiating in favor of them), but as it's been years since I read the book, I can't tell you where that's found. If I remember rightly, the reason there was the Dutch history of the ZAR and the OVS, not something that would likewise attract the sympathy of many other nations. I can offer what's probably a solid speculation for other countries, but this is a reference desk, not a speculation desk. Nyttend (talk) 10:15, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

(Those are the Zuid-Afrikaanshe Republiek and the Oranje Vrystaat, if anyone's wondering). Rojomoke (talk) 12:47, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

Racism. Massacres of natives were just dandy as far as Europeans were concerned, as in the case of the Mau Mau, but treating the Dutch Boers the same way was completely unacceptable. StuRat (talk) 20:05, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

• This is apparently the "Nazi Troll" although his posts are usually removed so quickly I am not sure of his geolocation--revert me if I'm wrong. μηδείς (talk) 01:33, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

• I see no evidence of the Nazi troll. I would remove post myself if I thought it was that. StuRat (talk) 02:16, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

Today regarded as a vicious Nazi propaganda, the 1941 film Ohm Krüger (Uncle Kruger) attacks the British treatment of the Boers. In the film, Krüger's son, who has pro-British sentiments due to his Oxford education, visits a concentration camp to find his wife. He is caught and hanged, with his wife watching. When the women respond in anger, they are massacred. Krüger then prophesies the destruction of Britain by major world powers, which will make the world a better place to live in. Blooteuth (talk) 12:22, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

The International Impact of the Boer War by Keith M. Wilson makes some points:

1) Germany and the UK were rivals in the colonisation of Africa. The UK had effectively halted German expansion in southern Africa by confirming Portuguese claims in Mozambique.

2) It suited the hawks in the German administration to portray the UK as an aggressor, in order to get domestic arms funding approved.

3) Austria-Hungary in contrast, remained critical of the Boers in an effort to keep the UK onside in their struggles with Russia over the Balkans. Alansplodge (talk) 18:04, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

Are there parts of the world where land is sometimes sold in circles?

Are there any not in those circular irrigation areas? Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 16:07, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

Public Land Commission sold off or granted legal title to square plots of land to new settlers. Often this land was semi-dessert. Some of those land owners where fortunate enough to find that the was an aquifer of good water below them. Hence they could employ those rotary irrigation booms that you refer to. But the plots themselves are square – just as the Public Land Commission surveyor originally laid them out. P.S. Didn't you learn all this in skool ? Aspro (talk) 16:53, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

P.P.S. Didn't you learn that dessert is something you eat?  :) -- Jack of Oz 20:04, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

semi-dessert is for truckers only (if they finish their vegetables).  ;) —107.15.152.93 (talk) 20:39, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

Well I thought the circular irrigation areas might be too easy since all it'd take would be a legal system that allows farmers to split up their squares into the circle and the corners and sell the corners to oil companies or mineral speculators or God knows who else. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 17:05, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

There's plenty of other things to do with those areas, like roads, grain silos, storage sheds, barns, parking areas for farm equipment, etc. StuRat (talk) 20:01, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

One cannot divide land area into contiguous circles -- hex regions, however, would work well. -107.15.152.93 (talk) 20:44, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

Circles and concave diamonds would work though. Or a dude could just decide to sell a circular part of his land (if that's even allowed, I am not a lawyer) Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 20:59, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

Rather than sell it, it might be easier to rent it, as was done to sharecroppers. StuRat (talk) 21:11, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

• One could google cicular plot for sale. μηδείς (talk) 22:26, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

But why? We are not interested in plots along Circular Road, or Circular Avenue, or circular Norte. And not even in the circular-plot method for estimating wildlife.  ;-) --Stephan Schulz (talk) 05:49, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

There are thousands of mini-roundabouts in domestic clusters which are located at the end of the secondary access roads. In such cases the adjacent plots (generally single family dwellings) have a curved front whilst the local council is the owner of the public roads including the circular turning area plus any pedestrian walkway. Sorry, no references. --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 11:21, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

Cul-de-sac is a reference (that's what round dead end turnaround areas of minor roads are called in America). Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 17:00, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

Territorial waters claimed by a coastal state are in principle demarcated by drawing circles of 12 nm radius centered on every point along the coast. Blooteuth (talk) 12:00, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

An interesting Q is whether it is legal to sell land based on anything other than points and lines (of course, a circle could be approximated by a large, regular n-gon). This would necessitate new surveying equipment and techniques, so government wouldn't like that. Also, it might be a slippery-slope leading to all sorts of complex polynomial curves being used as land boundaries. Dealing with shifting natural boundaries, like rivers, is trouble enough. StuRat (talk) 16:41, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

May 7

Change in views of homosexuality

I remember reading a study about how most Americans held anti-gay beliefs, but it was done in the '90s. Now, it seems most Americans are pro-gay. How did change happen so quickly? Was it influenced by the rise of owning a personal computer at home and getting Internet access? The Baby Boomers - the largest generation - probably were parents in the '90s. Now, the Baby Boomers are retiring, in retirement, or dead; and the Millennials are coming of age. The people in power are not Millennials, because Millennials are still young adults or new parents, and politicians tend to be old people, way past reproductive age. So, the change in opinion has to occur among the Baby Boomers themselves. The Baby Boomers are also associated with the hippies. So, the people who support gay rights now are actually the same people who rejected gay rights in the 1990s? 50.4.236.254 (talk) 05:25, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

The Stonewall riots in 1969 are widely considered to constitute the single most important event leading to the gay liberation movement in the USA. Blooteuth (talk) 11:51, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

Yes, but OP was asking about the shift in opinion since the 90's. This article suggests that the change was driven by the increasing visibility of gay people, and the growing percentage of Americans who were personally acquainted with a gay person. This figure rose from 43% to 73% over the course of the 1990's. As for why gays became more visible, that is more difficult to answer, but two major factors were the Sexual Revolution of the late 1960's, which gave rise to large and conspicuous gay communities in the major cities, and later the AIDS crisis, which drove home the "silence = death" idea and the existential imperative of coming out to straight family and friends. The latter was probably more decisive in shifting opinion, since it personalized the issue in the minds of straight people. Many celebrities came out during the 1990's, popular entertainment began to treat gay characters as sympathetic, and some sort of tolerance towards gay people became a standard tenet of American liberalism, as well as a general marker of urbanity and enlightenment. Generational shift played a part, but wasn't really the driving force that some make it out to be. To some degree, all generations became less homophobic over the last twenty years. (To get a sense of this, look over this article on public opinion of same-sex marriage, which is a good metric of homophobia in general.) Needless to say, the shift is far from complete, large swaths of the population remain anti-gay, and despite major advances in the courts, there is nothing like a "pro-gay consensus" among American politicians. LANTZY 14:44, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

Many people of voting age nowadays are of later generations that come after the baby boomers but before the millenials (Generation X). With such a large population of which a significant proportion support gay rights, from a cynical point of view savvy baby boomer politicians have changed their views in order to increase support among the voting population. FWIW Gallup polls have recorded that a majority of Americans supported legalizing homosexuality since 1977 (with exceptions in the late 1980s and mid 1990s), but same-sex marriage specifically has been opposed by a majority up to 2011 as a separate issue. Alcherin (talk) 14:01, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

Note that even though Millenials may not hold office, they can still have political power, in that who they will vote for is still important, and Reps voting in ways they dislike could get voted out of office. StuRat (talk) 15:22, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

Aboriginal Australians

How common is the term First Nations, a specific group of Aboriginal peoples in Canada, used to refer to Aboriginal Australians? I just noticed it linked here and was wondering if a hat note was needed at the Canadian First Nations article. CambridgeBayWeather, Uqaqtuq (talk), Sunasuttuq 07:32, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

Never. They're called Aborigines or aboriginal Australians.
Sleigh (talk) 09:02, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

But there was an Australia's First Nations Political Party (AFNPP) federally registered with the Australian Electoral Commission from 6 January 2011 until 15 August 2015 when it failed to demonstrate evidence of the required 500 party members. There also exists a "Sovereign Union" of "FIRST NATIONS WHO HAVE DECLARED THEIR SOVEREIGNTY USING A UNILATERAL DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE" viz. Murrawarri, Euahlayi Peoples, Mbarbaram, Wiradjuri Central West and Djurin republics. Blooteuth (talk) 11:48, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

Never say never. Here's a few examples of references to Australia's First Nations:

• http://nationalunitygovernment.org/content/difference-between-first-australians-and-first-nations
• https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/arts/meaning-of-first-nations-peoples-australia-day-thought#axzz4gOqh4Lfz
• https://independentaustralia.net/australia/australia-display/australia-needs-a-treaty-with-the-first-nations,7529
• http://aiatsis.gov.au/publications/presentations/assembly-first-nations-and-treaty
• http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-26/victoria-to-begin-talks-for-first-indigenous-treaty/7202492

Mitch Ames (talk) 13:40, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

It's not especially common but not unknown per the above references. Hack (talk) 14:26, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

Thanks all. I've adjusted the First Nations page to cover it. CambridgeBayWeather, Uqaqtuq (talk), Sunasuttuq 22:33, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

What expert considers democratic socialism to be part of libertarianism?

What expert considers democratic socialism to be part of libertarianism?

I ask this in reference to the diagram on the talk page of the Libertarianism article. Benjamin (talk) 12:34, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

I don't see that diagram, just a repeat of this Q there: . StuRat (talk) 15:30, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

It is under "Libertarian classification diagram" at the top, you click to show it. Benjamin (talk) 16:40, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

I see. It's in a collapse-box currently. StuRat (talk) 16:43, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

A pound in England hundreds of years ago

I am pouring through articles and cannot find what I need.

Watching Blackadder season two, they talk of pounds. What were they made of, and what were they worth in terms of what one could buy? Sorry for the tough question. Anna Frodesiak (talk) 12:39, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

Are they speaking of units of weight or currency? Valenciano (talk) 12:40, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

Currency, as in one's money bag. Anna Frodesiak (talk) 12:45, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

Most higher denomination coins then would have been made of gold (link) as for value, it's tough to estimate since must-have goods then and now were obviously different. Bearing that in mind, this tool would give an approximate idea for 1485 and 1585 (the approximate year of the first two series.) Valenciano (talk) 13:05, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

The pound sterling is the currency in the UK; IIRC it used be the value of one troy pound (weight) of sterling silver. ---- LongHairedFop (talk) 13:55, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

See also Sovereign (English coin) and Sovereign (British coin) for an alternative comparison. Dbfirs 14:43, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

For several centuries after the Dark Ages the penny was the only coin made in Europe. That was so long ago that pennies were made of silverware-grade silver. If the value of silver was still like the New Testament one penny was enough silver to make a dude voluntarily work from sunrise to sunset if he was a day laborer. Large transactions had unwieldy numbers of pennies (tens or hundreds of thousands of pennies) so they were written in pounds. A pound would be a pound of silver (240 pennies), a shilling would be 1/20th of a pound and so on. Later, English gold coins were invented that were worth about then exactly as much as a pound (a pound coin made out of silver would've been ridiculously big obviously — a US silver dollar was an inch and a half wide and only weighed about an ounce). Even later they invented 5 pound coins that were large gold coins worth 1,200 pennies (which were now gigantic coins made of copper or bronze as greedy monarchs kept adding cheap metal to the silver till they took it out entirely). Today 5 pounds is worth an amount that's illegally cheap to hire a 25 year old at for 40 minutes and 1 second of work. It's about 6 bucks. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 15:54, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

In some areas during some parts of the Middle Ages, a tiny silver penny was considered equivalent to a day's labor, and was the only coin that circulated among ordinary people (as opposed to merchants, noblemen, and government officials), yet peasants and serfs would have rarely possessed such a coin. AnonMoos (talk) 18:15, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

I'm so confused. :) Sterling? Isn't that silver? Is gold ever called sterling?

So, in England in 1500ish, when a person took a pound from his bag, was it gold? Was it a single, really valuable coin? Was it worth its weight in the metal it was made of? Could you buy a horse with it? A very large turnip? Anna Frodesiak (talk) 22:35, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

Well, the pound was originally a pound of sterling silver. The problem is that neither "pound" nor "silver" remained the same. Around 1500, a lot of things happened - see Pound_sterling#Tudor. I can't find anything about the 1500, but around 1300, a knight needed an annual income of 40 pounds, and a commoner who made more than 5 pounds per year was a substantial person. A pound would probably buy more turnips than you would ever want to eat. Horse prices varied wildly with time, place, and quality. A pound would probably buy a cheap draft horse, but trained high-quality horses could be a lot more expensive (this source has examples of 10 pound for a riding horse and 80 pounds for a war horse). --Stephan Schulz (talk) 23:14, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

One of my high school Shakespeare books said that when his complete works were published on big pages in the 1600s it went for the lordly price of a pound (20 shilling). England's money was still on the silver standard and Europe was already experiencing silver inflation at that time (relative to both stuff and gold) because of the large amounts in the Americas. This would continue for most of the last half of the 2nd millennium. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 23:29, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

Yes, there was a gold coin with a face value of one pound, the Sovereign (English coin) (previously linked above) which was introduced in 1489. Whether it actually equalled the value of a pound of silver was variable, but that was the intention. Alansplodge (talk) 23:31, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

Thank you all! Very interesting indeed. I'm grateful for the good answers. :) Anna Frodesiak (talk) 01:54, 8 May 2017 (UTC)

Artcraft Studio

Trying to find more info about Artcraft Studio, a photographical studio located in Kapaa, Kauai in the 1900s. I am looking who was the company owner and the range of specific years the business was active. Thanks.--KAVEBEAR (talk) 16:49, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

By 1900s, do you mean 1900-1909 or 1900-1999 ? StuRat (talk) 01:47, 8 May 2017 (UTC)

1900-1999.--KAVEBEAR (talk) 03:37, 8 May 2017 (UTC)

In that case, this seems like a long time for a single studio. Can you narrow it down further ? StuRat (talk) 03:51, 8 May 2017 (UTC)

Stochastic discipline, a study of bread

What the following mean:

In 1918, he began to move to Vienna A "scholastic doctrine", a "study of bread" in Jura, which he failed after failing. State examination happily abandoned to switch to East Asia research. I think a study, means being unemployed, but scholastic doctrine, in Jura. scope_creep (talk) 20:25, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

Taking it's only badly written, and not pure incoherence it's still not up to any level of my understanding. "Scholastic doctrine" is an expression that does not make sense. Scholasticism is a method, at best, doctrines may be buried under contexts.--Askedonty (talk) 20:59, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

This looks like a poor computer translation from German. "Study of bread" is probably a literal rendering of German "Brotstudium", which (similar to "Brotberuf" – 'bread job') can be used to mean a course of study undertaken solely with the aim of earning one's livelihood, rather than driven by genuine interest in the subject. So, apparently somebody moved to Vienna, began studying law without being very much interested in the subject, failed his staatsexamen, and then abandoned that profession in favour of East Asian studies. Fut.Perf. ☼ 21:06, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

Here's the apparent original: . "Nach dem Zusammenbruch des Jahres 1918 mittellos nach Wien verschlagen, begann er nach einer Schlosserlehre ein „Brotstudium“ in Jura, das er nach nicht bestandener Staatsprüfung glücklich aufgab, um zur Ostasienforschung zu wechseln." Rough translation: "Finding himself penniless in Vienna after the defeat of 1918, he first served an apprenticeship as a metalworker and then began to study law in order to make a living, but when he failed his state exams he was only too happy to give up this career in favour of East Asian studies". Quite funny, actually, that the translation algorithm derived "scholastic" from "Schlosser" ('metalworker'), apparently purely on the basis of superficial similarities of letters. Fut.Perf. ☼ 21:14, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

<joke>It is half an OCR motivated algorithm. More seriously, it must have decided for "lehre" equals "doctrine", then after lexical order, selected from some imperatively organized list of links.

Well I'll admit I had completely forgotten about bread studies.--Askedonty (talk) 21:39, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

Operation Sovereign Borders, Donald Trump, & Media Coverage

May 8

Portuguese comb

What exactly is a "Portuguese comb"? This I'm guessing because of this? There are some mentions in a few old books () as well, but nothing on what exactly it's history or origin or even a modern image or any image of what it is beside the one. Is it just an archaic English name for a common Portuguese hair accessory or a forgotten/obscure item of the past? --KAVEBEAR (talk) 03:32, 8 May 2017 (UTC)

Wikileaks

Dear Misplaced Pages

I was just wondering how many articles Wikileaks has had to retract in their entire history of journalism? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.78.107.217 (talk) 03:36, 8 May 2017 (UTC)

WikiLeaks isn't a journalism organization, so "retractions" don't apply. Are you confusing them with Wikinews ? StuRat (talk) 03:52, 8 May 2017 (UTC)