Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2021 January 7

= January 7 =

Why are there hymns but not hers?
Sounds kind of sexist to me. Someone who&#39;s wrong on the internet (talk) 02:12, 7 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Amen to that. Doug butler (talk) 02:21, 7 January 2021 (UTC)
 * The etymology of "hymn" is to the Ancient Greek "húmnos" (ῠ̔́μνος), by way of the Latin "hymnus" and the Old French "ymne". The etymology of "him" is from Proto-Germanic. Thus, the words are not etymologically related, and therefore a grammatically "feminine" hymn would not be "her" (or "hyrn", to take the analogy fully). 69.174.144.79 (talk) 02:31, 7 January 2021 (UTC)


 * This is a joke on a par with this (now obsolete) item from my youth: "Why do hurricanes all have female names?" "Because there's no such thing as a himmicane." ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 03:34, 7 January 2021 (UTC)

Hymns in German are often sung in praise of der Herr ("the Lord"). Is that close enough? 2601:648:8202:96B0:0:0:0:313A (talk) 05:25, 11 January 2021 (UTC)

Highest Presidential Approval Rates
Which US president had the highest approval rate upon leaving office?164.68.230.86 (talk) 02:33, 7 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Where? My point being that the US has a massive influence on the whole world. HiLo48 (talk) 02:39, 7 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Normally this kind of question would refer to just the American people. Certainly other nations' citizens could have opinions, but they don't usually vote in American elections. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 03:36, 7 January 2021 (UTC)
 * But we are all impacted by what happens in the USA. It's citizens keep telling us how powerful the nation is, and in many ways they are right. The global image of the US and its Presidents should be of some concern to its citizens. Have they worked out why 911 happened yet? HiLo48 (talk) 03:49, 7 January 2021 (UTC)
 * It happened because some fanatics hijacked some planes. As to the approval rating, normally that refers to just the USA. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 04:57, 7 January 2021 (UTC)
 * It's probably dangerous to simply dismiss them as fanatics. As to the approval rating, I have lived my life challenging the status quo. HiLo48 (talk) 05:19, 7 January 2021 (UTC)
 * "Dangerous" how? Like they might come after me next? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 13:42, 7 January 2021 (UTC)
 * There is an article on it: United States presidential approval rating. You can use the chart in that article to see which president had the highest rating when leaving office.  Looks like it is Bill Clinton, but it only goes back to 1937.  RudolfRed (talk) 06:27, 7 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Yeah... sorry... my money is on George Washington. Blueboar (talk) 22:29, 7 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Not sure that he was too popular with the Loyalists though. Alansplodge (talk) 14:25, 8 January 2021 (UTC)

bling on a politician
Time and again, I'd see Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wear hoop earrings. Sometimes she wore pearl earrings, and sometimes she wore other stud earrings. Which earrings are more popular on her?2603:7000:8100:BD38:C5AB:6ECA:A37C:D5DA (talk) 11:50, 7 January 2021 (UTC)
 * I'm afraid that is a question that is likely unanswerable in this forum. Regardless of whether you mean "which type of earrings does she wear most often" or "which type of earrings do most people favor to see her in" with your use of "popular", it is basically a question for which no sources exist to refer you to for information.  I suppose you could just go through pictures of her and tally what she wore on any given day, but no one here is going to do that for you, and I have very little confidence that it has been done so before now.  -- Jayron 32 12:04, 7 January 2021 (UTC)


 * By the way, the word "bling" usually refers to jewelry which is conspicuously large, ostentatious, flashy, or in poor taste, and nothing that you mentioned would seem to rise to that level... AnonMoos (talk) 04:30, 8 January 2021 (UTC)


 * Agreeing with User:AnonMoos's answer above removing this question from any association with "bling." The choice of stud vs. drop ("dangling") or hoop earrings is a fashion statement, related to hairstyle. These aspects of appearance, whether for women or men, in public life or a conventional workplace, are a noteworthy matter often held up to critique. There are some associations with ethnic or gender identity. Perhaps the OP would consider looking in these directions to understand AOC's choices. -- Deborahjay (talk) 13:11, 9 January 2021 (UTC)


 * I suppose the aspect of fashion the OP would be considering is the part of it supposed to deliberately and sometimes innocently play with symbolism (sample). Probably women happen to be for the most perfecly immune to the symbolics of ties. --Askedonty (talk) 14:01, 9 January 2021 (UTC)

Capitol Breaches? (Not sure if that's the right word)
Have there been any other breaches into the Capitol (or a similar federal government building)? Maybe not to the same scale as yesterday's. Gageills (talk) 19:03, 7 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Prior to today, the last time the Capitol Building was breached at this level was the War of 1812 during the Burning of Washington; when the building was looted by British troops before being set ablaze. For other major federal landmarks, there have been a few unauthorized entries into the White House, but those have been single individuals and not a large group of armed individuals.  See List of White House security breaches.  For violent events in the Capitol itself since 1812, there have been various bombings, but only a few isolated incidents of people gaining unauthorized access and attacking people, the largest of which was the 1954 United States Capitol shooting involving 4 people.  See United States Capitol for more.  It should be noted that until the early 20th century (in the case of the White House) or the late 20th century (in the case of the Capitol) there was open public access to these structures.  When I was in middle school, you could just walk in to the Rotunda of the Capitol Building, for example; the only restricted areas were the Senate and House chambers themselves, and the private office space.  Furthermore, you could get into the House and Senate chambers by waiting in line to get access to the galleries above the chambers; you didn't need to book a tour or sign up or anything, you just needed to wait in the right place and you could watch Congress in session.  Since the construction of the United States Capitol Visitor Center and the restructuring of the access points of the Capitol, you now need to book a (free) tour to get in to the main Capitol; there are several levels of tours that take differing numbers of people per day, and some require advanced reservations.  But it really wasn't that long ago that people could just walk into the U.S. Capitol and look around the Rotunda and much of public spaces.  In terms of the third branch, the United States Supreme Court Building has never been closed to the public, though the main entrance was closed, and visitors are required to enter through a more secure location, they can still access much of the public spaces when court is not in session.  I know of no major incidents of any sort there, either before or after that.  -- Jayron 32 19:19, 7 January 2021 (UTC)
 * In addition to White House breaches, there was an attack on Blair House in November 1950, when it was the temporary residence of President Harry Truman during White House renovations. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 19:34, 7 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Regarding the Blair House attack, Attempted assassination of Harry S. Truman states it was the second attempt on Truman. However, I couldn't find anything about the first. Is this a mistake? Clarityfiend (talk) 05:51, 8 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Nor could I, and the links don't work. I'd be inclined to remove it. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 06:13, 8 January 2021 (UTC)
 * According to List of United States presidential assassination attempts and plots, the first attempt was a letter bomb sent in 1947. Rmhermen (talk) 06:22, 8 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Allegations that the 1947 bomb was sent by the Stern Gang have been denied: Former Stern Group Leader Challenges Margaret Truman Daniel to Sue Him for Allegedly Sending Letter. Alansplodge (talk) 14:21, 8 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Thanks. Clarityfiend (talk) 05:07, 10 January 2021 (UTC)

Ancient blackamoors
Although Blackamoor (decorative arts) states that it's an "art style from the Early Modern period", several images (e.g. this or this) suggest it existed back in classical antiquity. Seemingly they feature sub-Saharans rather than North Africans with whom the ancients were more familiar (which is a bit unusual). Are there any sources to read about those ancient blackamoors? 212.180.235.46 (talk) 20:05, 7 January 2021 (UTC)
 * --2603:6081:1C00:1187:711B:F9B9:2D8D:1EA (talk) 00:02, 8 January 2021 (UTC)
 * And Africans in Ancient Greek Art. Alansplodge (talk) 14:12, 8 January 2021 (UTC)

Prominent cases of "second acts" in United States politics?
Which prominent cases of "second acts" were there in United States politics? As in, where someone was denied an extremely prominent job but later made a political comeback in another (NOT the same) prominent job? So far, I can think of:


 * Charles Evans Hughes: Became United States Chief Justice over a decade after he lost the US Presidency in 1916 to Woodrow Wilson.
 * Al Gore: Became United States Vice President slightly over four years after he lost his bid for the US Presidency in 1988, in the Democratic presidential primaries for that year.
 * John Kerry: Became United States Secretary of State slightly over eight years after he lost his bid for the US Presidency in 2004 to George W. Bush.
 * Merrick Garland: Looks like he will become United States Attorney General five years after Republicans refused to hold any hearings on his United States Supreme Court nomination.

Anyway, though, which additional examples of this have there been throughout history? Futurist110 (talk) 22:52, 7 January 2021 (UTC)
 * If Al Gore is considered an example, there are numerous cases of the same among VPs who had been Presidential candidates at some point. 69.174.144.79 (talk) 22:55, 7 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Very true! Though it would help if their presidential ambitions would have at least been fairly strong. For instance, Kamala Harris's were, at least initially. Futurist110 (talk) 22:56, 7 January 2021 (UTC)
 * John Quincy Adams became a Congressman and the leading opponent of slavery in Congress, after he had been President.
 * William Howard Taft became Chief Justice, after his Presidency, and was much happier on the Court.
 * Franklin Delano Roosevelt lost on the 1920 Democratic ticket for Vice President, but became Governor of New York and President, later of course.John Z (talk) 01:21, 8 January 2021 (UTC)


 * Yeah, I wanted to include FDR in my original post here, but somehow forgot. Good point about J.Q. Adams and my homeboy Taft, though! ;) Futurist110 (talk) 06:40, 8 January 2021 (UTC)


 * Nixon lost for president in 1964 1960, then lost for governor of California a couple of years later, then seemingly retired. He said to the press corps, "You won't have Dick Nixon to kick around anymore." But things did not turn out that way. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 04:59, 8 January 2021 (UTC)


 * Except Nixon ran for the same office in 1968 that he ran back in 1960. I want a different office. Futurist110 (talk) 06:40, 8 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Nixon is kind of a special case (in more ways than one). Abraham Lincoln might qualify. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 06:52, 8 January 2021 (UTC)


 * F. Scott Fitzgerald famously said "There are no second acts in American lives". I'm sure you know this. --  Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  11:43, 8 January 2021 (UTC)


 * George H. W. Bush, then a Representative from Texas, ran for Senate in 1970, and lost to Lloyd Bentsen. Ironically, Bush would later defeat a ticket that would include Bentsen in the 1988 United States presidential election.  -- Jayron 32 13:03, 8 January 2021 (UTC)


 * This source may also be useful for the OP in researching. -- Jayron 32 13:07, 8 January 2021 (UTC)


 * Mark Sanford won a seat in the House of Representatives after losing the Governorship of South Carolina following a bizarre escapade in which he flew to Argentina to hook up with a woman, then lied about it and said he was hiking at the time. He technically didn't lose; though, because he just chose not to run, but it is likely he would have not even gotten the party nomination at the time.  -- Jayron 32 13:12, 8 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Also, Charlie Crist, who was Florida Governor as a Republican, lost the 2010 Florida United States Senate election (in which he ran as an Independent) to Marco Rubio, and then was elected to the US House of Representatives as a Democrat. Futurist110 (talk) 18:56, 8 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Alcee Hastings, U.S. Representative from Florida since 1993. Three years before entering Congress, Hastings was denied a prominent job, Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida — he was impeached for bribery and perjury, and removed from office following conviction.  Nyttend (talk) 14:05, 9 January 2021 (UTC)


 * Elizabeth Warren got shot down as the likely first director of the CFPB, so she clapped back by becoming a US Senator. 2601:648:8202:96B0:0:0:0:313A (talk) 06:39, 13 January 2021 (UTC)