Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2018 June 14

= June 14 =

Caves of steel
Why is it, in Isaac Asimov's Robot series, that all Earthlings live underground? In his universe, was there a nuclear war long before the first part of the series which forced all people to take shelter in the "caves of steel"? Or is there another, less obvious explanation? 2601:646:8A00:A0B3:7158:3B89:88CF:A2DC (talk) 06:34, 14 June 2018 (UTC)


 * Haven't read Asimov in a long time, but if I remember correctly, overcrowding, living "inside" is comfortable and civilized, and by the time of Caves of steel many Earth-humans has developed a phobia for going outside. The protagonist later forms a "go outside" movement. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 09:22, 14 June 2018 (UTC)


 * The article The Caves of Steel notes that Asimov was a claustrophile (I seem to recall that he wrote in a memoir that, as a youth, he liked to read in an enclosed space), so it might just have been a reflection of his own personal preference. Clarityfiend (talk) 10:23, 14 June 2018 (UTC)
 * As an adult, he also habitually wrote in a windowless room. He wrote somewhere that he felt that the indoor existence in TCoS would be ideal for him, and was surprised after publication that others saw it as undesirable. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 2.125.75.224 (talk) 23:29, 14 June 2018 (UTC)


 * Another WAG is that since the Spacers (a human offshoot) barred Earth humans from colonizing other planets, they may have initially shut themselves in to avoid being reminded of their powerlessness. Clarityfiend (talk) 10:31, 14 June 2018 (UTC)
 * WAG = Wild-Ass Guess (I had to look it up). Alansplodge (talk) 10:40, 16 June 2018 (UTC)
 * Probably not relevant, but in The Shape of Things to Come by H G Wells (1933), after 1960 everyone lives underground because cheap electricity means that they don't need windows for light. Alansplodge (talk) 10:46, 16 June 2018 (UTC)

What's the strongest ranked men's national soccer team that's never played at least 1 of the teams currently ranked stronger EVER?
(friendlies not counting)

2. (maybe a little easier to find out): What's the strongest team that hasn't met every team currently stronger than it in the World Cup? Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 21:08, 14 June 2018 (UTC)
 * Wouldn't the answer, by definition, be whoever's currently ranked #1? --M @ r ē ino 21:11, 14 June 2018 (UTC)
 * Oh right. Well that was a poor way of wondering about the below. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 21:35, 14 June 2018 (UTC)

What's the strongest pair of men's national soccer teams that haven't played each other in a non-friendly?
Where strongest is for simplicity defined by the current official ranking of the weaker half of the pair. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 21:35, 14 June 2018 (UTC)


 * In the FIFA ranking, Portugal is currently 4th while Argentina is 5th. The two have have met 6 times in "pure" friendlies and twice in minor tournaments, in 1964 and in 1972. FIFA usually considers such matches international friendlies and counts them as such for the FIFA ranking, although there was no FIFA ranking back then. Does this count? --Theurgist (talk) 22:16, 14 June 2018 (UTC)


 * I would say so. I wouldn't have guessed it'd be as strong as the 4th and 5th best but apparently it is. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 23:34, 14 June 2018 (UTC)
 * Until the final game of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Brazil and Germany had never met in the World Cup, as incredible as this may seem, given they were at the time (and still are) the two countries that had played the most World Cup matches. They have met just one other time since, in a match the Brazilians would as soon forget. --Xuxl (talk) 13:31, 15 June 2018 (UTC)


 * The World Cup qualification consists of separate qualifying tournaments for each continental zone and rare inter-continental play-offs. Pretty much all other occasions where teams from different continents can meet competitively are the World Cup itself, the smaller-scale, more recently established Confederations Cup, and certain continental championships such as South America's Copa América which invite outsiders to participate.
 * So, there's a good chance that two teams from different continents have never played each other in a non-friendly. Peru is currently ranked 11th, but in its four World Cup appearances so far (excluding the current one) has played against only two of the seven European teams currently ranked above it: (West) Germany and Poland. The team is set to meet France during this World Cup's group stage, but still won't have played against Belgium, Portugal, Switzerland or Spain. --Theurgist (talk) 16:57, 15 June 2018 (UTC)

Images of the demolition of the Basketball Arena (London) and the Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium
Are there any known public images of the London Olympics Basketball Arena being dismantled? I've tried searching everywhere and was unable to find any. Also, has the Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium been dismantled yet? If so, are there any known public images of the dismantling? The article states that it's been demolished, but the statement has a "citation needed" tag. Narutolovehinata5 tccsdnew 23:13, 14 June 2018 (UTC)
 * Googling the subject "pyeongchang olympic stadium demolition" indicates it was planned to tear it down in March, but there's no report I'm seeing on it having been demolished. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 00:51, 15 June 2018 (UTC)
 * I have now added a reference based on an article I recently read. I have been unable to find an image, however. - Presidentman talk · contribs (Talkback) 17:34, 15 June 2018 (UTC)


 * Wikimedia commons has 46 images related to the Basketball arena here. (That page is the Arena article's sole External link.) The 44th shows it in a state of partial dismantlement. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230 195} 2.125.75.224 (talk) 03:01, 16 June 2018 (UTC)
 * Specifically File:Olympic park dismantling. Alansplodge (talk) 10:18, 16 June 2018 (UTC)
 * Couldn't they have just built it near Gangneung Stadium like the other indoor sports and given Gangneung FC a somewhat bigger stadium to use afterwards? Or enhanced Gangneung Stadium? Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 16:11, 17 June 2018 (UTC)