Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2008 September 9

= September 9 =

Chinese Workers
What are some popular jobs people take up in China? 220.233.83.26 (talk) 06:52, 9 September 2008 (UTC)

Try here Economy of the_People's Republic of China and Agriculture in the People's Republic of China too. 194.221.133.226 (talk) 09:58, 9 September 2008 (UTC)
 * I've changed your external links to internal links. --antilivedT 00:05, 10 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Were you looking for jobs people from outside China take there, like teaching English? Edison (talk) 16:24, 10 September 2008 (UTC)

Wii games sales percentages
Why do Wii games have a higher PAL region sales percentage than N64/Gamecube games? February 15, 2009 (talk) 07:39, 9 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Probably because there have been more Wiis sold? I can't find an exact figure, but outside of Americas and Japan, the console has apparently sold over 10 million units. I think it's safe to assume that a very big chunk of those were sold in Europe. For the GameCube, the comparable figure was a little under five million, and for the Nintendo 64, a little under seven million. And that's throughout those devices' entire lifespan; the Wii still has years to go until it's replaced.


 * But there are also at least two other factors at play here: first of all, at least in the case of GameCube, the European support for the console was fairly sparse. A lot of games that were released in Japan or the United States were published in Europe much later, or not at all. The GameCube was a pretty nifty console, and it was certainly cheap, but the selection of games available was pretty sparse, which didn't encourage people to buy the console, no matter how cheap it was.


 * Also, historically, Europe hasn't been console-gamin' country. Computer gaming has traditionally been more popular in Europe than in the US (or Japan). This has led to things like the demoscene emerging in Europe. Things have certainly evened out in recent years, though; once the PS2 and the Xbox (and especially the current generation of consoles) arrived, the focus started to shift... so there's simply a lot more interest in console gaming in general today than there was in the days of the N64 and the GameCube. -- Captain Disdain (talk) 08:30, 9 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Wasn't the GameCube part of the PS2 and Xbox generation though? Was it part of the change with the PS2 and Xbox? Nil Einne (talk) 11:13, 12 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Oh, sure; I was referring more to the N64 thing there. The GameCube was affected more by the other factors I mentioned. (Also, I don't think it had the marketing push the other consoles did, which was probably also a factor.) -- Captain Disdain (talk) 11:32, 14 September 2008 (UTC)

how many people have been killed by a clown?
i know there are killer clowns about roaming and killing children and maybe adults,

what is the total clown death toll?? Bradley10 (talk) 13:00, 9 September 2008 (UTC)


 * How do you know this? What is your reliable source. What, come to that, is your definition of clown? If it extends to muppets with guns & knives, then I'd be inclined to agree with you. --Tagishsimon (talk) 13:03, 9 September 2008 (UTC)


 * If you count certain national leaders as "clowns" then its pretty high. ;-) -- Q Chris (talk) 13:31, 9 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Ah, I have just found [this] also which, although it doesn't entirely answer my question, is interesting to the question...  is JWG counted in this list? Bradley10 (talk) 13:34, 9 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Killer Klowns from Outer Space is the only wikipedia information I could find on this troll topic. Faithfully, Deltopia (talk) 14:44, 9 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Heh. I just bought that DVD.  :)   Corvus cornix  talk  20:23, 10 September 2008 (UTC)


 * John Wayne Gacy was both a clown and killer, so at least 33. --Sean 15:05, 9 September 2008 (UTC)
 * As disturbing as this man was, I don't believe that there was any connection between his clowning activities and his choice of victims (who while young were all mid-teens to early twenties) Rmhermen (talk) 15:51, 10 September 2008 (UTC)
 * "To me, clowns aren't funny. In fact, they're kinda scary. I've wondered where this started, and I think it goes back to the time I went to the circus and a clown killed my dad." — Jack Handey — Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 15:46, 10 September 2008 (UTC)

Modern clown/killer or clown/demon linkage comes from Stephen King's work in 1990, but the notion of the evilness of clowns dates back at least to silent movie horror star Lon Chaney, Sr., who supposedly said "There is nothing laughable about a clown in the moonlight." BBC. There are lots of news articles discussing the horror of a clown face for children. . One could note numerous instances of clowns, including rodeo clowns, killing people, but to be accurate such statistics would need to be collected by law enforcement authorities. Even then they might be exaggerated to excite (like for domestic terrorism) or diminish (like justifying killings by police officers) the public's fear of clowns. Edison (talk) 16:21, 10 September 2008 (UTC)

Tool
What can be the use of this tool:  (No parts of it are movable - it is a rigid body.) (And if you don't know, where I could ask such question?) 83.23.205.167 (talk) 13:07, 9 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Some sort of combined pruning knife/saw? --Tagishsimon (talk) 13:53, 9 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Tagishsimon has it right. It does have a moving part, the shears are used to clip off shoots and branches, the saw is used for plant bits that are too big to clip. Diagnosis: Garden tool (pic should be in the article if it's free). Franamax (talk) 14:17, 9 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Fish scaler? Saintrain (talk) 14:20, 9 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Yup, I'm going for combined knife/saw, not secateurs (i.e. no moving part supposition) --Tagishsimon (talk) 14:27, 9 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Yeah, but look at the second picture. On the second picture, to the right, are fingertips, giving a clue to the size of the thing. Also, it's not a sawblade, it's a serrated scoop. Kitchen implement of some sort. --jpgordon&#8711;&#8710;&#8711;&#8710; 16:25, 10 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Agreed. Clearly not a saw. Not much like any fish-scaler I've seen in a quick trawl of the net. --Tagishsimon (talk) 16:29, 10 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Groan - Terrible-pun-of-the-week-award for Tagishsimon please! SteveBaker (talk) 17:09, 10 September 2008 (UTC)

How about a combined razor(the sharp part) and moustache holder/straightener?(the serrated bit) Lemon martini (talk) 11:06, 11 September 2008 (UTC)

It's a type of can opener,I've used a very similar type.You punch a hole by the rim with the point,put the blade in sideways and work it round with a sort of sawing action.It's hard work compared with the butterfly handled rotary type but has no moving parts to wear out.The point also make it useful for punching holes in things,such as drink cans pre ringpulls,hotclaws 01:19, 12 September 2008 (UTC)

Fitness
“I would like to know the excersizes & workouts necessary to increase height from 3-4 inches. I necessary, also cite some of the nutritional products for same available in India.” —Preceding unsigned comment added by Vipinn (talk • contribs) 16:56, 9 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Exercise and workouts can reduce fat, build muscle, strengthen your heart, improve oxygen uptake and generally make you fitter - but they cannot make your bones bigger - which is the only thing that could make you taller. So no amount of diet or exercise will make you taller.  Human growth hormone can do it - but only while you are young and still growing.  It's also not something you want to mess with unless you are unusually short due to some growth defect - in which case, that would fall under our ban on giving medical advice - and you should see a doctor.  If you see "nutritional products" that claim something to be able to do this - ignore them - they are a scam.
 * SteveBaker (talk) 17:07, 9 September 2008 (UTC)
 * If you are still growing, then a good diet can make a big difference. If you're malnourished as a child, you generally won't grow to your full potential. --Tango (talk) 18:24, 9 September 2008 (UTC)
 * I grew up to be around 3 inches taller than my brother. My dad hypothesized that this was due to my playing American football while I was in puberty, not so much because of the exercise but because of the many impacts which, as the theory goes, stimulated my bone growth. My dad isn't a doctor and neither am I. I'm actually posting this more as a question than anything. It's probably completely wrong, but is there any possibility of it not being completely wrong? -  Lamba  jan  22:50, 9 September 2008 (UTC)
 * this stub may shed some light. It seems that the more impact a bone part gets, the more bone parts it gets.-- Lenticel ( talk ) 23:45, 9 September 2008 (UTC)
 * There is also cosmetic surgery to lengthen leg bones in particular. It is a rather drastic option, and this information comes with no advice whatsoever. ៛ Bielle (talk) 01:51, 10 September 2008 (UTC)

A boy I went to school with for 12 years was the runt of the class. He lived in an abusive home environment. He joined the Navy after high school and had a growth spurt and grew to 6 feet (1.83 meters). Just saying. Edison (talk) 04:32, 11 September 2008 (UTC)

Importantly important
Does anyone know the e-mail address and/or phone number of those mad scientists with the machine that could destroy the world? February 15, 2009 (talk) 23:27, 9 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Many people know that information. Please do not misuse the ref-desk by posting questions with false premises, even if done facetiously. --Tagishsimon (talk) 23:43, 9 September 2008 (UTC)
 * You mean the LHC? Try http://www.cern.ch/ . However, I suspect they are rather busy right now and have already responded to all the concerns people have about the experiment (try reading some of the news articles on the subject), so I would advise against wasting their time (you won't get anywhere anyway, I expect they receive emails and phone calls on a daily basis about it). --Tango (talk) 23:44, 9 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Repent! Repent! — Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 00:39, 10 September 2008 (UTC)


 * As I WOULD have just posted on my blog if I wasn't at school and the site wasn't blocked, if I have to tell one more person the world isn't going to end... Avnas Ishtaroth drop me a line  01:38, 10 September 2008 (UTC)


 * I've been telling people the world isn't going to end as well. If I'm wrong, nobody will ever know, so I win either way. -88.109.98.70 (talk) 11:51, 10 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Indeed - this is one of the few issues I've ever heard scientists give a firm answer on. They usually hedge their bets at least a little, but this time even Stephen Hawking has said definitively that the world will not end. They know perfectly well they're not going to lose their funding for getting that one wrong (they'll still lose their funding if the world ends, of course, but at least it won't be a black mark on their professional record)! --Tango (talk) 16:02, 11 September 2008 (UTC)

The math of this question is interesting. When Fermi and company fired off the first atomic bomb during WW2, there was a similar concern that there was a very small probability of devastating consequences that the nuke would start a process which would end human life on earth (it has yet to be determined whether in an indirect way that might yet happen through nuclear proliferation).If there is a one in a million chance of an undesirable event, such as a bridge collapsing while we drive over it, or a subway tunnel collapsing while we ride a train through it, most rational people would proceed with their travel. If the event is the end of the world, then there would be a 1 in 1,000,000 chance of killing 6.7 billion people, or a mathematical expectation of the deaths of 6,700 people as a result of pressing the "Start" button, which would be twice the devastation of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. What is an acceptable risk? A 1 in 100,000,000 risk would be equivalent to killing 67 people outright by pressing the "Start" button, still probably unacceptable when the only benefit is an advance in knowledge of high energy physics. But a leader of a country would consider 67 deaths a small price to pay for some military adventure which gained him some political advantage. Looking at it the other way, if a major public work is built, like a major dam, a tunnel, a bridge, or even the excavations for the collider, several workmen are likely to be killed in construction accidents, and this is judged regrettable but does not prevent the project from going ahead. Most rational people would want the chances of an experiment ending human life on earth to be very small indeed, as in utterly impossible. Those with some historical perspective will recall that early X ray experimenters were as certain that rays could not harm a person as promoters of this atom smasher are that it could not create unruly and destructive black holes. Yet Xrays killed many people such as Clarence Madison Dally. Edison (talk) 16:04, 10 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Wow!! Well, I was going to recommend you visit the web site at http colon slash slash www dot ehow dot com slash how_2049858_make-tinfoil-hat dot html and follow their excellent instructions carefully.  But for the first time EVER (for me) Wikipedia refused to accept my edit because that website is on it's blacklist!?!  (I had no idea there even WAS a blacklist!)  Well, if that isn't proof of a great Wikipedia/LHC conspiracy - I don't know what is!  Better make sure you buy the things you'll need soon - because I'm sure supplies are running low already. SteveBaker (talk) 17:06, 10 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Perhaps we need a listing of signs that a small black hole might be absorbing things in one's proximity. Like: 10:I can't find my car keys. 9:I call the cat and it does not appear. 8:Wasn't there one piece of pie left in the refrigerator? Edison (talk) 04:29, 11 September 2008 (UTC)
 * ......1: I answer the front door only to find a mini black hole standing there with "Made in Switzerland" written on it. Fribbler (talk) 15:48, 11 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Ah so that's where all their national football team's talent has disappeared to. Lemon martini (talk) —Preceding undated comment was added at 12:01, 12 September 2008 (UTC).


 * Even more stuff on the machine is on the sci desk. Sizzle bang – Donna Noble has been saved... Julia Rossi (talk) 12:26, 11 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Everybody, quick! Add this handy link to your bookmarks!!11! -- LarryMac  | Talk  15:56, 11 September 2008 (UTC)