Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2010 March 9

= March 9 =

Marriage prospect of Nicholas II's children
Besides c (whose marriage prospects were Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, Prince Carol of Romania, Edward, Prince of Wales, or Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia) did any of the other children of Nicholas II of Russia and Alexandra Feodorovna (Alix of Hesse)? Did they ever mention anything about their own children future marriages, especially Alexei and Anastasia? I don't think they would have been freely allowed to marriage Russian commoners.--Queen Elizabeth II&#39;s Little Spy (talk) 04:45, 9 March 2010 (UTC)


 * Who is "c"? Did any of their other children do what?  --   Jack of Oz    ... speak! ...   06:43, 9 March 2010 (UTC)


 * I assume "c" is Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia. Don't know what they did either. Have marriage prospects? ---Sluzzelin talk  08:03, 9 March 2010 (UTC)


 * How did you come to the conclusion that "c" referred to Olga, Sluzzy? I'd be more inclined to believe it was a reference to the 3rd daughter, Grand Duchess Maria.  Maybe QELS can elighten us.  --   Jack of Oz    ... speak! ...   10:10, 9 March 2010 (UTC)


 * That's who QELS had there before the apparent copy-and-paste error when he edited the question. Adam Bishop (talk) 13:47, 9 March 2010 (UTC)


 * I hadn't even noticed that ! My own guess was based on the dashing young princes mentioned as marriage prospects. ---Sluzzelin talk  13:58, 9 March 2010 (UTC)

Sorry, I ment Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia. So back to the question? --Queen Elizabeth II&#39;s Little Spy (talk) 00:17, 10 March 2010 (UTC)

Skates
Are there any roller skate cross events or inline skate cross events (cf. snowboard cross, ski cross, motocross)?100110100 (talk) 05:59, 9 March 2010 (UTC)

Cock
What is the significance of in Burma? It is not located in the coat of arms or flag. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.3.110.108 (talk) 06:47, 9 March 2010 (UTC)
 * The Grey Peacock-pheasant, also known as the Burmese peacock, is the national bird of Burma (officially known these days as the Union of Myanmar but the renaming has not been universally accepted or acknowledged). --   Jack of Oz    ... speak! ...   07:43, 9 March 2010 (UTC)
 * The National Burmese Cock, not to be confused with this NBC. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 07:47, 9 March 2010 (UTC)

Selling a banned product
I have a over the counter diet product that was recently banned because they found out it has a prescription drug in it. Would it be possible for me to still sell it and say "its for disposal only" or as a collectible item only and its not for human use? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.169.39.243 (talk) 07:52, 9 March 2010 (UTC)
 * This sounds like a request for legal advice. Have you searched for this product in Google to see what a reliable source might have to say about it? Have you contacted the FDA or whoever banned it? As an example, I've sometimes had some discontinued medicines. But I'm not selling them. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 07:55, 9 March 2010 (UTC)
 * We can't give legal advice, of course, but if something's "banned" then I imagine it's banned. ╟─ Treasury Tag ►  consulate  ─╢ 07:56, 9 March 2010 (UTC)
 * And the answer might depend what country you are in. --ColinFine (talk) 08:48, 9 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Just as a general thing, I think TreasuryTag's exactly right here - if something's been banned from sale, you probably can't sell it regardless of what purpose you state it's for. I can't imagine "I was only selling that bag of crack cocaine as a collectible" getting you very far in court! ~ mazca  talk 09:37, 9 March 2010 (UTC)
 * In many areas the Refrigerant Freon-12 is banned due to concerns about the Ozone layer but it is legal to resell Freon-12 that has been recovered e.g. for car air conditioners.Cuddlyable3 (talk) 23:03, 9 March 2010 (UTC)

Third Anglo-Burmese War
"Following a succession crisis in Burma in 1879"

What was this crisis?100110100 (talk) 09:54, 9 March 2010 (UTC)


 * The crisis followed the death of King Mindon Min, who had not nominated a successor. After much skullduggery, he was succeeded by Theebaw - who got right up the British noses. DuncanHill (talk) 10:12, 9 March 2010 (UTC)

Flag of British Burma
What is the history behind this flag? How was it chosen?100110100 (talk) 10:00, 9 March 2010 (UTC)




 * It's a blue ensign with a peacock badge. The peacock is a symbol of Burma (I think the Burmese kings had "lord of the peacocks" or somesuch amoong their royal titles. DuncanHill (talk) 10:23, 9 March 2010 (UTC)


 * And, in case it isn't obvious, the Union Jack in the corner is because Burma was a British colony. StuRat (talk) 18:15, 9 March 2010 (UTC)

Last line of a novel or short story
Would anybody be able to tell me of which novel or short story is the following the last line:

"Yes we will" she said joyfully, "that would be grand. Daddy and I would simply love to be there"

Thanks. Pantscat (talk) 12:31, 9 March 2010 (UTC)


 * I googled ["Daddy and I would simply love to be there"] and learned only that this same question has been posed elsewhere and has gotten no answer. So, where did you see that line? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 14:07, 9 March 2010 (UTC)


 * If you google that without the quotes you get Twilight fan fiction! MY EYES! Adam Bishop (talk) 15:54, 9 March 2010 (UTC)


 * At a guess (and I've little to go on) I would start with British literature, becasue "grand" isn't a word I hear too much in the U.S.. Or, at the minimum, American but from around 1950 at the latest. I picture it as a word used more by a writer like Jane Austen. Also, you can presume the speaker is a mother, as "Daddy and I" is a phrase usually spoken by a mom. It need not be to a child, as there are times young women will call their fathers "Daddy," but usually the parents don't refer to themselves that way, so I would venture that it's a story with a child (or teenager) as one of the main characters. Perhaps you can try to surmise *what* the person is inviting his or her parents to, recalling that it might be far in that child's future (like their dream wedding.)


 * SOrry I can't be of more help, but at least that narrows it down a *little*.Somebody or his brother (talk) 13:29, 10 March 2010 (UTC)


 * The line might also be spoken by a teenage girl (probably not younger because her diction is good), referring to her father and herself.  --Anonymous, 22:25 UTC, March 10, 2010.


 * Grand and Daddy suggest upper-middle class to aristocracy in a British work probably mid 20th century, to me. In that context, the child could be any age, but is more likely to be female than male (given the use of Daddy rather than Father). 86.178.167.166 (talk) 17:29, 10 March 2010 (UTC)


 * Being British, I would say that "grand" was used in the past by people from northern England, and they could be working class or middle class. The text already says the speaker is female. Use of "daddy" is less modern than "Dad", so I would say best guess 1920-1940. The style is nothing like Jane Austin. 92.26.160.145 (talk) 21:19, 10 March 2010 (UTC)

Moses
May I find information about Moses, the Biblical figure, in Wikipedia. Please give me directions. Thank You; Gerald W. Maslin/ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.251.90.212 (talk) 17:52, 9 March 2010 (UTC)
 * I have removed your email address to prevent spam abuse, and given your question a separate section and title. Yes, you can find the information you seek by typing "Moses" into the search box at the top of this page, or following this link: Moses. BrainyBabe (talk) 18:05, 9 March 2010 (UTC)

Jewish shops in Germany
Which opening times have Jewish shops in Germany? --84.61.162.111 (talk) 20:05, 9 March 2010 (UTC)


 * question is a word-word-word transcription from German. Instead it should read: "What hours are Jewish shops in Germany open?"  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.113.121.89 (talk) 21:32, 9 March 2010 (UTC)
 * I don't think they have set opening hours any more than "Christian shops in England" – they open when the owner decides to open, and close when the owner decides to close... ╟─ Treasury Tag ►  Captain-Regent  ─╢ 21:34, 9 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Might religiously observant Jewish shop keepers close during certain hours when other shops were open? Perhaps that is what the OP wanted. Edison (talk) 22:27, 9 March 2010 (UTC)
 * I think the point is that Germany, if I remember rightly, has regulations that keep many stores closed on Sunday. The question is probably whether observant Jewish shopkeepers are allowed to close on Saturday instead. Unfortunately I have no idea of the answer. DJ Clayworth (talk) 22:44, 9 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Various versions of this question turned up in a ref desk recently. As I recall the answer was that Jewish owners are allowed to open on Sunday. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 04:01, 10 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Quite definitely not. Germany is a secular country, it doesn't have a state religion, much less does it have laws based on religious principles. The historical reason that shops are closed on Sundays is likely to be found in religion, but the modern law is due to pressure by trade unions. Ladenschlussgesetz is the appropriate link. This law would (of course) apply to everyone regardless of religion. Germany does have anti-discrimination law that ban to disadvantage anyone on the basis of their religion. Allowing people of certain faiths to open their shops on Sundays would discriminate against other faiths. 213.160.108.26 (talk) 23:44, 10 March 2010 (UTC)
 * The discussion is farther up the page and you're right, it's not Germany where Jewish stores open on Sunday, it's the UK. Interesting that it's the unions who keep the stores closed on Sundays. In the USA, most stores are open 7 days a week, thus bringing more revenue in. I'm guessing the union folks in Germany never thought of that consequence. The US used to have Blue laws in many places that forbade various types of businesses from opening on Sundays, but all or most of them have been abolished. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 00:07, 11 March 2010 (UTC)

Merchant Marine Vessels of Scotland and Great Britain
I have attempted looking on the British National Archive site and Scotland websites as well as many other ways to find the answer to my question. The years my great grandfather was a Scottish Merchant Marine the records were not kept for according to these sources. All I have is discharge papers from two tours on the ships CLYDESDALE and BISMARCK. I am trying to find out if the BISMARCK is a different one than the German ship of the same name as I read somewhere the English used it for training troops. However, my Grandfather's discharge papers from the Merchant Marines is dated 1883 and 1884. I assume he was with the British Merchant Marines although he was from Ayrshire, Scotland. I would like photo's of these ships and information on them during this time period of 1880-1887, particularly 1883-1884 as I know for sure he was on these two ships those two years on voyages to New York and Bilboa(I assume they meant Balboa,Spain although I am not sure about this either). He departed from Barrow once and Glasgow once. Any information will truly be appreciated as I have tried for several years to obtain further information to no avail.

Many Thanks in Advance, Sherry —Preceding unsigned comment added by Esjmcban (talk • contribs) 23:22, 9 March 2010 (UTC)


 * Interesting question. If it is the German Bismark, there's an article about it and photo of it on the German wikipedia - http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Bismarck - and a babelfish translation of the same. Another photo here. Sadly our Anglo-German relations article is paper thin; I well know the monarchical (sp?) links between the two countries, but I'm ashamed & surprised to say that I don't really know the temperature of Anglo-German relations in the 1880s, so don't know what to make of the suggestion that of merchant marines training on a German navel ship. --Tagishsimon (talk) 23:48, 9 March 2010 (UTC)


 * I don't think the tensions really started to heat up until a decade or more afterwards, when Germany built up its navy (see German Naval Laws, High Seas Fleet, Tirpitz Plan etc.), which was really kind of a stupid move in the grand strategic context (since for Germany, a large navy was more of a consideration of international prestige, while Britain was not self-sufficient in basic food production, so that the UK government was grimly determined to spend however much it took to match Germany dreadnought-for-dreadnought in order to stave off the threat of starvation of its population). If bulking up the German navy laid the groundwork for the "Entente Cordiale" and Britain coming in on the side of France in WWI, then Germany would have been a lot better off without the navy (which ended up at the bottom of Scapa Flow)... AnonMoos (talk) 07:37, 10 March 2010 (UTC)


 * I know you've tried "many other ways", but you might get some joy if you consult the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. --TammyMoet (talk) 08:50, 10 March 2010 (UTC)


 * Clydesdale is probably a 608 ton screw steamer built 1881 for Robert McKill & Co., Glasgow, wrecked 28/3/1890 off North Bishops Island, Wales, while outbound Glasgow to Bilbao with coal. Careful in your searches, all the photos i've found so far are of another Clydesdale, built 1862 for David Hutcheson & Co., and wrecked 13/1/1905 on Lady Rock, sometimes referred to as Clydesdale I.&mdash;eric 10:09, 10 March 2010 (UTC)


 * Bismarck is probably Graf Bismarck 2,406 tons, 315'x40', single-screw, 14 knots, built 1870 at Greenock by Caird & Co. for Norddeutscher Lloyd, scrapped 1898.&mdash;eric 11:09, 10 March 2010 (UTC)


 * I've tried a few more searches, but been unable to find any images. For Graf Bismarck i'm pretty sure you are looking for a two mast, single funnel vessel with a clipper stem similar to Ohio. Google searches combining ship name/builder/owner various ways give a bit more info. Clydesdale was by Blackwood & Gordon, Paisley & Port Glasgow.&mdash;eric 00:11, 11 March 2010 (UTC)