Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2019 October 22

= October 22 =

Please help identify this potential korean buddhist statue


Approximately 10lbs. Standing Buddha while holding a lotus with a sauwastika engraved on the chest. I believe this to be made out of bronze. I don't have the slightest clue what time period this is from as well. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Cluxury (talk • contribs) 05:35, 22 October 2019 (UTC)


 * The verdigris patina certainly implies some type of copper alloy, which makes bronze a possibility. SinisterLefty (talk) 05:54, 22 October 2019 (UTC)


 * Are there no inscriptions or maker's marks on the back/underside/inside/whatever? If there were they might help. From the photo alone I see no way of telling if the statue is of significant antiquity, a modern copy of an antique original, or just a cheap modern piece made for tourists. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.200.41.118 (talk) 17:12, 22 October 2019 (UTC)

Bengt Feldreich
The article on Bengt Feldreich says that he was a biastophiliac (Biastophilia). Now this may be a featured article but when I looked up what biastophilism was I was surprised that if he indeed did have this rapist tendency that we would feature him. Now I looked at the source for this claim and can't see that this is justified. Perhaps a better Wikipedian than I can look into this, perhaps its vandalism? Thanks Anton 81.131.40.58 (talk) 08:49, 22 October 2019 (UTC)
 * That was a recent piece of vandalism that unfortunately slipped through. Fut.Perf. ☼ 08:54, 22 October 2019 (UTC)

USA and war
When was the last time the USA was not involved in a war. It would appear to me that the USA seems to almost constantly be involved in some form of war. Also do we have a list of all wars that America has been involved with? Associated, I was told that there is a place in the USA where there is a house or perhaps a restaurant where a list of all wars involving the USA is kept and that this spirals out for some way. Any info please. Thanks Anton 81.131.40.58 (talk) 09:27, 22 October 2019 (UTC)
 * List of wars involving the United States 2606:A000:1126:28D:D0BC:ACFA:AC47:D7A (talk) 09:58, 22 October 2019 (UTC)


 * Find out when the Temple of Janus was closed... [[Image:SFriendly.gif|20px]]
 * But seriously, before 1898, U.S. wars were overwhelmingly local (internal or with territorially-adjacent areas). It was only in 1898 that the U.S. began interventions in far-flung regions of the globe... AnonMoos (talk) 10:23, 22 October 2019 (UTC)
 * The Barbary Wars were well before 1898. -- Jayron 32 12:25, 22 October 2019 (UTC)

So according to the list, it would be between Kosovo and 9/11 or 1999 to 2001. Really? The US were not involved in anything between this time? Also the only other hiatus I can see is between WWII and Korea or 1945 to 1950. Again, really? The US were not involved in anything between this time? Thanks Anton 81.131.40.58 (talk) 13:11, 22 October 2019 (UTC)


 * It's going to depend on what you define as a "war" and what you define as "US involvement". If you mean to include every nation that receives US aid and has taken military action against some faction during that time, then the US is perpetually involved at war, but then many other nations would also be, under that def. SinisterLefty (talk) 15:04, 22 October 2019 (UTC)
 * I would define it as US troops actively involved in combat or actively deployed for the purpose of engaging in combat in an ongoing conflict. I would suggest that many within the List of wars involving the United States are not wars at all but rather simply military expeditions.  Any further clarity would be appreciated.  Thanks Anton 81.131.40.58 (talk) 15:39, 22 October 2019 (UTC)
 * Perhaps Lengths of U.S. combat forces' participation in wars is closer to what you are looking for, though it returns the same answer you have above, 1999-2001. It also has a collapsible menu of "Armed conflicts involving the United States Armed Forces" at the bottom (in Desktop View) which might align better with what you're looking for. 70.67.193.176 (talk) 22:43, 22 October 2019 (UTC)

In the January–February issue of Smithsonian there was an item "A Nation at Arms", which said that if "war" includes any use "of military force, or the imminent threat of force (as in the gunboat diplomacy of the 1850s), to achieve national ends", then the US was at war for 227 out of the 235  228 out of the 244 years since 1775. For some reason the infographic (credited to Matthew Twombly) won't display for me when I go to that page, but while I still had the issue on paper I noted that the 16 peacetime years it showed were 1796–97, 1807–09, 1816, 1894–97, and 1935–40. So on this basis the answer to the OP's question would be 1940. --76.69.116.4 (talk) 01:49, 23 October 2019 (UTC)
 * I'm reminded of the apt aphorism "War is the continuation of politics by other means" -- Jayron 32 12:21, 23 October 2019 (UTC)

Given that the question’s definition is “US troops actively involved in combat or actively deployed for the purpose of engaging in combat in an ongoing conflict,” and that the Korean War is paused, rather than “over,” the US was not “at peace” in 1999-2001. DOR (HK) (talk) 19:38, 28 October 2019 (UTC)

Sable, the human skeleton?
I was looking frantically for the reason that Famine (of the four horsemen) is named Sable in Good Omens. Long story short, in Derry I found that there's a figure "Sable, a human skeleton", and that a book about the Great Famine (Ireland) is named "Sable wings over the earth". So there seems to be some fictional famished skeleton figure folklore by the name Sabel, but I couldn't find further details. Any input? אילן שמעוני (talk) 12:59, 22 October 2019 (UTC)


 * Sable is a heraldic term for "black". See tincture (heraldry)... AnonMoos (talk) 13:11, 22 October 2019 (UTC)


 * Hmmm, and what about "the human skeleton" (or maybe it's "skeleton man")? אילן שמעוני (talk) 14:04, 22 October 2019 (UTC)


 * See Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The skeleton riding a black horse symbolizes famine. A sable is a small furry animal whose fur was prized. They are dark brown or black. See Sable. Black has long been associated with death and evil, as in bad guys wearing black hats in Westerns. The association of a skeleton with death and specifically death by famine is obvious, as a starving person looks like a skeleton, with bones prominently visible under the skin. SinisterLefty (talk) 15:09, 22 October 2019 (UTC)
 * Cheers, both of you. אילן שמעוני (talk) 15:37, 22 October 2019 (UTC)


 * Thanks. I suggest using the resolved tag instead of changing the title, as that causes problems with links. SinisterLefty (talk) 22:25, 22 October 2019 (UTC)
 * Fixed. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 00:47, 23 October 2019 (UTC)


 * AnonMoos did not make explicit enough (imho) that "Sable, a human skeleton ..." is the beginning of the formal description of a coat of arms with a black background. —Tamfang (talk) 23:37, 27 October 2019 (UTC)