Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2017 May 19

= May 19 =

Peel & Co
Are two sets of Peels connected? The politicians who descended from Sir Robert Peel, 1st Baronet (including his son the prime minister) started their fortune with cotton mills. The family associated with Peel & Co., founded in Alexandria just before Victoria's accession in 1837, made their money exporting cotton (and wheat). The Peel Society offers an essay from 1852 showing more Peels than I can count. Were the cotton exporters and the cotton manufacturers related? Carbon Caryatid (talk) 01:18, 19 May 2017 (UTC)


 * The article on Edward Peel (big-game fisherman) says he was a member of the Peel family - see Earl Peel. Wymspen (talk) 11:13, 19 May 2017 (UTC)
 * Yes, I've been working on the article that we both linked to. That unsourced statement re the relationship is what I am seeking to verify, or enlarge upon. Carbon Caryatid (talk) 20:59, 19 May 2017 (UTC)
 * A stub "Sir Edward Peel" was speedy deleted when it looked like this and, after it was restored at DRV, I improved the article retaining the original content "Peel was the son of William Felton Peel, of the wealthy aristocratic Peel family" (which I had a hunch was true but could not reference). I now see the information about his father is at odds with this maybe reliable source and have discovered from a "blog" that "Sir Robert Peel (1750-1830) ... his brother’s great-grandson, William Felton Peel (1839-1907), lived at Comberford Hall until 1902". But, and I suspect this is no coincidence, Edward Peel's executors included John Willoughby Peel and Denys Felton Peel. I'm not sure how this fits together (or doesn't). Contact me on my talk page if you think I can help more. Thincat (talk) 19:26, 20 May 2017 (UTC)
 * I've now found this but I'm too far into genealogy for my Wikipedian comfort. Thincat (talk) 20:12, 20 May 2017 (UTC)

NEXUS_(frequent_traveler_program)
NEXUS_(frequent_traveler_program):

NEXUS members entering Canada may use a NEXUS machine to make customs declarations, as long as the member's irises are on file with the CBSA.

NEXUS members entering the United States, either at preclearance facilities or by landing in the US, can use the Global Entry kiosks, as long as the member's fingerprints are on file. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Scala Cats (talk • contribs) 04:43, 19 May 2017 (UTC)

Does the iris scans only apply when entering Canada? Are there no iris scans when entering the US for NEXUS members or am I reading it wrong? I always thought that the US immigration checks were much stricter than the Canadian ones. Scala Cats (talk) 04:14, 19 May 2017 (UTC)

what do the numbers mean?
Hi, on this page, I find Steven Pinker is a "42.77". So what is a 42.77? I can tell it's, the higher the better, but apart from that, I can't find anything, and I can't find any site help there. IBE (talk) 18:57, 19 May 2017 (UTC)
 * Maybe you've already seen this, but the website has some fairly limited information. 92.29.152.96 (talk) 19:08, 19 May 2017 (UTC)
 * As you'd imagine, some academics have asked the same question. -- zzuuzz (talk) 19:14, 19 May 2017 (UTC)
 * Hovering over the number in OP's link shows it to be his "RG Score". The last paragraph of ResearchGate states that this is a "citation impact measurement" that "is not a citation impact measure", but correlates with citation impact measures, and that the exact method of calculating it is unknown.--Wikimedes (talk) 19:35, 19 May 2017 (UTC)
 * Fyi, Wikipedia has an article on that: Citation impact. — 2606:A000:4C0C:E200:0:0:0:1 (talk) 19:40, 19 May 2017 (UTC)

Is Gibraltar a country?
Does Gibraltar count as a country? Or Is Gibraltar in a country, like Illinois is in the US?--94.143.77.231 (talk) 21:32, 19 May 2017 (UTC)


 * Gibraltar is an British Overseas Territory. It isn't considered part of the United Kingdom or are part of the European Union. While it governs most of its internal affairs, things like defense and foreign relations are handled by the British government. uhhlive (talk) 21:36, 19 May 2017 (UTC)


 * Correction - Gibraltar is currently within the European Union, as is the UK. Perhaps not for much longer though.   Ghmyrtle (talk) 22:02, 19 May 2017 (UTC)


 * Perhaps? I'd say it's highly probable. Brexit is for real. --Hofhof (talk) 22:04, 19 May 2017 (UTC)
 * The word "country" has many different meanings. Many people equate "country" with "sovereign state", but the two are not always synonymous - for example, Scotland is a country but not a sovereign state.  Gibraltar is not a sovereign state.  Ghmyrtle (talk) 21:42, 19 May 2017 (UTC)
 * hmmm... Scotland was a sovereign state... Gibraltar never has been. Blueboar (talk) 21:57, 19 May 2017 (UTC)
 * Illinois was invented in 1818 and thus was never a country. Illinois Territory had even less power than a state. Vermont has been a country though. Mostly. Texas too. And California, New York, Georgia, two Carolinas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Jersey (New, not regular (Jersey Jersey, the Jersey near France that's not Jersey Shore or Jersey Boys)) Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 23:20, 19 May 2017 (UTC)
 * And how is all that relevant to the status of Gibraltar? {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 2.122.60.183 (talk) 00:09, 20 May 2017 (UTC)
 * A better analogy might be the United States Virgin Islands which is a US unincorporated territory. Alansplodge (talk) 00:12, 20 May 2017 (UTC)
 * To be fair, the OP did ask if Gibraltar was "like Illinois is in the US?". The answer is no. Gibraltar has no representation in the UK Parliament except for the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who has responsibility for three of the Overseas Territories. Alansplodge (talk) 00:19, 20 May 2017 (UTC)
 * However, Gibraltar is represented in the European Parliament, in South West England (European Parliament constituency). Matt's talk 01:47, 24 May 2017 (UTC)
 * Most do not consider the original 13 colonies to have ever been independent countries. Rmhermen (talk) 00:44, 20 May 2017 (UTC)
 * On the contrary, they were recognized as 13 independent countries ("sovereign and independent states") in the Treaty of Paris, which ended the American Revolutionary War. As a practical matter they didn't become a single country until the new U.S. Constitution provided for a powerful federal government starting in 1789. --69.159.60.50 (talk) 06:32, 20 May 2017 (UTC)
 * They [the Thirteen Colonies] weren't represented in the UK Parliament either. The Gibraltarians seem rather happier with that arrangement. Alansplodge (talk) 00:50, 20 May 2017 (UTC)

Irrelevant but perhaps interesting OR: The Financial Secretary of Gibraltar once told me that it was the only jurisdiction in the EU that fully complied with every EU regulation. It seems they are so afraid of losing access (this was pre-Brexit, so Spain was the main threat) that they would create a situation just so that they could regulate it properly. DOR (HK) (talk) 17:51, 23 May 2017 (UTC)

Does British TV news ever say Breenter or Bremoan?
Or are those too informal? Bremain was said on the news right? Does the man on the Clapham Omnibus use these? Are there other Brewords? Like Brenter (referring to the original entering in the 20th century), Brestroy, Brein and out, Brevolving door..? Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 23:37, 19 May 2017 (UTC)
 * No, never heard of any of them. Alansplodge (talk) 00:05, 20 May 2017 (UTC)
 * I've only seen Bremain and Bremoan. The rest I made up. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 01:25, 20 May 2017 (UTC)
 * Nor have I. Brexit has an entry in the OED, but the others are more jokes than words (by OED standards).    D b f i r s   00:32, 20 May 2017 (UTC)
 * Bremain does have a few Google results for British newspapers but I can assure you that it was not a word in common use. However, I have heard of Nexit. Alansplodge (talk) 00:44, 20 May 2017 (UTC)
 * Isn't "nexit" what happened when Netflix doubled their rates and sent their customers a letter saying they were doing this to improve customer satisfaction? μηδείς (talk) 17:12, 20 May 2017 (UTC)
 * No. Alansplodge (talk) 18:02, 20 May 2017 (UTC)

New York Times and Comey memo
How did the New York Times obtain the Comey memo? Did they obtain a written copy or did someone read it out loud to a reporter over the phone?Uncle dan is home (talk) 23:58, 19 May 2017 (UTC)
 * I believe I heard it described on one US TV news clip as being from "a source very close to Comey". In the British media and political milieux this phrasing is a stock formula which everyone understands really means "directly from Comey himself on the strict condition of non-attribution." Does the same convention hold in the US? {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 2.122.60.183 (talk) 00:18, 20 May 2017 (UTC)


 * The Times itself reports on the 16th: Mr. Comey shared the existence of the memo with senior F.B.I. officials and close associates. The New York Times has not viewed a copy of the memo, which is unclassified, but one of Mr. Comey’s associates read parts of it to a Times reporter. Hence the Times has positively claimed that it has not seen the memo (which many take to mean it was read over the phone) does not know its full contents, and that Comey himself was not the leaker.  Of course we have only the Times own word for this. μηδείς (talk) 00:53, 20 May 2017 (UTC)
 * In other words... the Times reported on unsubstantiated claims. Oh Well... at least they were honest about it not being substantiated.   Blueboar (talk) 01:04, 20 May 2017 (UTC)

Slovak World War play
Does anyone know the name of this Slovak World War play? I saw it in the Slovak National Theatre but as I don't speak Slovak, I don't remember much of how it ended (post-intermission), however the first half was about some social-conflict in their village/community after someone dies. If it may help, I believe I saw it on 19 September 2016. I REMEMBER reading the story on WP that evening.Lihaas (talk) 23:58, 19 May 2017 (UTC)
 * Could it have been one of the several dramatic adaptations of the novel The Good Soldier Švejk? {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 2.122.60.183 (talk) 00:21, 20 May 2017 (UTC)
 * The Cambridge Guide to Theatre (p. 276) suggests Midnight Mass (1959) and Antigone and the others (1962), both plays by Peter Karvaš about the Second World War. Alansplodge (talk) 00:28, 20 May 2017 (UTC)
 * Eugen Suchoň: Krútňava (Whirlpool) played on 17 Sept and 24 Sept. The plot could fit. Rmhermen (talk) 00:41, 20 May 2017 (UTC)
 * Ah yes, whirlpool. Thanks.
 * Gotta check out the oters too ;)Lihaas (talk) 14:18, 20 May 2017 (UTC)