Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2009 November 26

= November 26 =

Government warehouse?
Where are commodities stored? I thought it was in a government warehouse, but I am not sure about the English word. It could also be "official storage" or whatever. The Spanish word is "almacén oficial." There is an article about Government_warehouse_(non-fiction) in WK, but it is not clear from if that is what I need.--80.58.205.99 (talk) 12:10, 26 November 2009 (UTC)


 * Which particular "commodities" do you have in mind ? Gandalf61 (talk) 12:25, 26 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Barley, soybean, rice, canola, sunflower seed, and other commodities that are traded through a standardized process. 80.58.205.99 (talk) 17:42, 26 November 2009 (UTC)
 * These days the standardised processes are just exchanges of bits of paper. The actual commodities are just stored in regular warehouses or in containers on a ship or whatever and are transferred to the new owners as and when it is appropriate. A lot of commodities trading is in forwards and futures, where someone buys a commodity for delivery on a later date (a few months time, next year, whatever). --Tango (talk) 18:23, 26 November 2009 (UTC)
 * And what if you want to use your commodities, stored in a regular warehouse, as a collateral? You could declare that you have some million tones of sunflower seed. For certain things you need certified warehouses.--80.58.205.99 (talk) 18:40, 26 November 2009 (UTC)
 * See warehouse receipt. I see no reason a privately-owned warehouse could not issue warehouse receeipts, although compliance with financial and legal regulations is obviously necessary. Gandalf61 (talk) 12:07, 27 November 2009 (UTC)


 * Commodities on which import, export or other duties are payable to governments are generally stored in a Bonded warehouse, which may cover some of what you are interested in. 87.81.230.195 (talk) 12:50, 26 November 2009 (UTC)

Bonded warehouses is in the right direction. At least, they are regulated. But they are not exactly what I need. 80.58.205.99 (talk) 17:43, 26 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Bonded whiskey is uncommon these days, but was a big deal for most of the last century. The booze was locked up in warehouses for at least four years under dual padlocks — one for the distiller and one for the reveneur.  This both imposed quality control on the spirits and allowed the distiller to postpone taxation till the spirits were bottled.  Booze taxation was a very big deal in US history, to the point where George Washington  became the first and last US President to be utile as a commander-in-chief in the field. PhGustaf (talk) 19:42, 26 November 2009 (UTC)

Why does tile have grout?
Why does just about all tile that's installed have grout? And not just a little bit, but thick lines. Tile is great material, very hard, difficult to damage, and easy to clean. Grout is exactly the opposite of all that. So why use it? Ariel. (talk) 18:42, 26 November 2009 (UTC)
 * The grout fills in the space in between the tiles. It resolves differences in the inconsistent contours of component tiles. It prevents dirt particles from falling in between the tiles. Tiles are small and light, unlike for instance flagstone. Dirt particles that found their way under the tiles would possibly eventually dislodge the tiles when weight was put on them from the traffic of people walking on it. Bus stop (talk) 18:47, 26 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Stopping dirt is one thing but more importantly, it makes a floor or wall contain moisture. Try to think what would happen if you spilled a bottle of soda on your kitchen floor without grout. Another thing, because tiles is such an unyielding material, if you had a solid sheet of tile material minor shifts in the house and expansion and contraction from temperature variation would just crack it. Using relatively small tiles with grout in between provides fault lines between discrete segments--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 18:52, 26 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Ironically, those little tiles often come in sheets that are put up like wallpaper. In that case, the grout serves mostly to mask that fact and make it look like you painstakingly put up all those little tiles individually (and perfectly). ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 18:54, 26 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Perfection detracts from imperfection. Bus stop (talk) 18:59, 26 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Ironic, ain't it? Now, if someone could invent a grout that would repel mold, that would be perfection. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 19:24, 26 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Various grouts claim to repel mould, with varying effectiveness. A good one for hardwearing-ness is epoxy grout, used in industrial flooring. 93.97.184.230 (talk) 20:17, 26 November 2009 (UTC)
 * The results of laying tiles without grout are: 1) Dust, crumbs, etc will collect in the minute gaps.  2) Moisture / water will seep in.  3) bacteria and fungi will thrive. 4) moisture will also creep under the glazing and cause it to flake off.  --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 23:32, 26 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Outdoor ground tiles should have grout or sand in the cracks to stop weeds growing. Roof tiles overlap and do not need grout. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 12:04, 27 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Tile has grout for the same reason bricks have mortar: a tile is a conveniently-placed modular object that needs a filler between to fix and seal the surface. Big tiles are hard to lay so that they don't crack, and there would still be a joint around them.Ceramic tile is not as uniform as you might think, and a grout joint allows some room for adjustment to the alignment. As noted above, there are epoxy and latex-modified grouts that resist mold and cracking (although epoxy grout is notably hard to do well).   Acroterion  (talk)  01:11, 28 November 2009 (UTC)