Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2011 April 29

= April 29 =

How long is the Panamerican Highway?
Hi. In your article says it´s 40.000 Km long, but there are other sources (like [http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0837451.html this, based on The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press.) who says it´s 25.000. So, my question is, what data is wrong? Thanks. Sorry if this is not the right place to ask, but your help system is a labyrint. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Andreateletrabajo (talk • contribs) 00:16, 29 April 2011 (UTC)


 * Without lifting a finger to help you, or do any of my own research, my first reaction is "Hmmm, 25,000 miles equals 40,000 km." Might that be the issue? DaHorsesMouth (talk) 01:19, 29 April 2011 (UTC)


 * Correct, good sir. :) 40 000 kilometers = 24 854.8477 miles. Avic ennasis  @ 02:14, 25 Nisan 5771 / 29 April 2011 (UTC)


 * But that is not the explanation. Pan-American Highway says "about 47,958 kilometres (29,800 mi) in total length". http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0837451.html says "c.16,000 mi (25,750 km) long". Without researching it, I notice the map in Pan-American Highway shows more than one route and includes "Unofficial Route". I guess it's not clearly defined what is considered part of the Pan-American Highway. PrimeHunter (talk) 03:48, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Considering the great circle distance from Prudhoe Bay to Ushuaia is 15,264 km according to this site, it seems the highway must do an awful lot of meandering to be nearly three times longer. Astronaut (talk) 15:50, 29 April 2011 (UTC)


 * The Pan-American Highway article illustrates at least part of the measurement problem, where two major highways spanning the USA from north to south are both claimed to be the Pan-American Highway; and if I gather correctly, at one point somebody described the entire USA highway system as part of it. Comet Tuttle (talk) 16:40, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * I presume the distance of the Pan-American Highway doesn't include the Darien Gap? --TammyMoet (talk) 16:42, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * I've also estimated the distance of the most direct route similar to that illustrated in File:PanAmericanHwy.png (using Google Maps route finding where possible). The distance from Prudhoe Bay to the Mexico-Guatamala border is 10,477 km.  The distance from the Ecuador-Peru border to Ushuaia (via Santiago de Chile and Buenos Aires) is 8791 km.  I had to estimate the distances in Central America, Ecuador and Venuzuela. I came up with a total a little over 22,500 km.  The Darien Gap is a known break in the route but is actually quite small (<100 km).  40,000 km is looking increasingly improbable.  In fact it is so improbably, I've requested a citation on the Pan-American Highway article and opened a new discussion on the talk page.  Astronaut (talk) 17:02, 29 April 2011 (UTC)


 * The Mississippi River is about 2,300 miles long, which is about twice the as-the-crow-flies distance would be. As noted above, it would take a lot more meandering for the Mississippi to be, say, 3,500 miles long. So the Pan-Am Highway could easily be twice the straight-line distance, but three times the distance? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 17:51, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Google Maps provides a pretty good driving directions tool that covers the entire route from Prudhoe Bay to the Guatemala border. You can even add intermediate points by dragging the purple line to your desired routing.  That's what I did and got 10,477 km.  I did the same thing in South America.  Astronaut (talk) 18:03, 29 April 2011 (UTC)

Thank you all for your answers. Sorry I wasn´t clear at the beginning. I change the info in es:WP with the reference I gave you. It seems that article was translated from this one. Cheers. --Andreateletrabajo (talk) 16:50, 30 April 2011 (UTC)

WP:BOOMERANG
If this is not the place I apologize and will accept suggestions for elsewhere. But I just got done reading through the day's WP:ANI board (for educational purposes, of course), and am curious about the term "boomerang," regarding filing an accusation that ultimately come back to the detriment of the accuser. Was this used in the same sense before WP? And also, what it the first instance in which this term was coined on WP? Thanks! Quinn &#10025; STARRY NIGHT 02:07, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Interesting history, that. Formerly, the essay was at Plaxico, a reference to the unfortunate Plaxico Burress, who literally did shoot himself in the foot (or leg, whatever).  There was much ado about the name; was it appropriate to reference a living person in such a disparaging way internally?  See Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/Wikipedia:Plaxico and Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/Wikipedia:Plaxico (2nd nomination).  The essay was deleted, but most of the content subsequently copied and pasted into the current essay (probably violating the copyright of those who wrote the original essay, but whatever).  For your specific question, the term Boomerang effect does enjoy some modest use outside of Wikipedia, generally in a way synonymous with Unintended consequences (which is by far the more common term. Buddy431 (talk) 02:27, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * I think the "Plaxico" thing pretty much came to a halt after he got sent to prison, as it wasn't so funny anymore. The "boomerang" is a better reference anyway, since it's better known outside the USA than Plaxico was/is. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 04:44, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * The term "blowback" also comes to mind, it's military and security jargon for "unintended consequences". Roger (talk) 14:32, 29 April 2011 (UTC)

Longest Snake
What is the type and size of world's longest snake found ever ? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.242.178.158 (talk) 09:20, 29 April 2011 (UTC)


 * Please see longest snake record.--Shantavira|feed me 09:59, 29 April 2011 (UTC)


 * Infinitely long because it forms a full circle. (Solution here.) &#x2013; b_jonas 10:05, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Circles are not infinitely long. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 17:12, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * No, they aren't, but the Koch curve is, and like a circle it contains a finite area. -- Jayron  32  19:09, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Yes, well, let's not get into the odd and frightening concept of fractal snakes. I want my snakes to be fully three dimensional, than-you-very-much.  -- Ludwigs 2  00:19, 30 April 2011 (UTC)
 * The snake will be fully three dimensional, it's only its skin that has a fractal dimension between 2 and 3. &#x2013; b_jonas 13:40, 1 May 2011 (UTC)
 * Okay, it's not infinitely long, but is it at least worth a double score? &#x2013; b_jonas 13:39, 1 May 2011 (UTC)

Description of all the "stuff" on Prince William's wedding day suit
Is there anywhere on the Internet that describes what all those things like the blue sash, the wings-thing on it, the award just below, the stars on the shoulders, and every other "thing" are and how they were earned, or if not earned, what's the story on them? 20.137.18.50 (talk) 12:21, 29 April 2011 (UTC)


 * The blue sash and the star on his left torso are for the Order of the Garter, in which he is a Royal Knight Companion. (As a member of the royal family, he is a supernumerary member of the Order.)  Our article on Prince William has what looks to be a fairly complete list of his titles, styles, and honours.  The 'wing-thing' is the wings of the Royal Air Force, where he is a flight lieutenant.  The medal on the sash is the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal.  The red uniform tunic is the formal dress attire of a colonel of the Irish Guards, an honorary appointment: . TenOfAllTrades(talk) 13:41, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Very interesting how one can simultaneously be a lieutenant in the air force and a colonel (even if honorary) in the army. 20.137.18.50 (talk) 13:58, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * He's not a lieutenant, he's a Flight Lieutenant. It's equivalent to a Captain in the British Army (which he also is, just to complicate matters!). --Tango (talk) 14:20, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * The questioner seems to assume that Prince William has ever 'earned' anything. Huh. ╟─ Treasury Tag ►  UK EYES ONLY  ─╢ 13:42, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * I'm not watching the wedding, but I do hope his brother hasn't turned up in this --  KägeTorä - (影虎)  ( TALK )  14:05, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * So you're saying his military rank in the Royal Air Force, which he has been a member of for several years and for which he is trained, was not earned? 216.93.212.245 (talk) 21:44, 1 May 2011 (UTC)
 * Well, I'm sure that he was accepted into the RAF via fair and equal competition without being given even the slightest hint of preferential treatment from the military officers responsible for his training, if that's what you mean. ╟─ Treasury Tag ►  District Collector  ─╢ 21:48, 1 May 2011 (UTC)

It must be embarassing to have a bunch of honorary "achievements" pinned all over him. Seems it would make a guy feel like a fraud. AAhh but not if you're a prince I suppose.190.56.105.199 (talk) 15:48, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * I gather that he's going to return to his current job of search-and-rescue in the RAF, and I gather there's nothing fraudulent about that - especially including the high element of risk. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 16:04, 29 April 2011 (UTC)

Good point!190.56.105.52 (talk) 16:09, 29 April 2011 (UTC)


 * The honorary ranks aren't a perk, they're part of his job. I'm sure he'd much rather be relaxing in the officer's mess with a beer than inspecting the Irish Guards, but that's what he's there for. Although traditionally the heirs to the throne have been kept out of combat, other Royals have been in the very much in the firing line. King George VI was in command of a battleship gun turret at the Battle of Jutland, Prince Phillip came under kamikaze attack in the Pacific campaign and Prince Andrew had to use his helicopter as a missile decoy in the Falklands War. Alansplodge (talk) 17:22, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * His current job is as a search and rescue pilot, which isn't the safest of jobs! He has served in Afghanistan, helping to repatriate a body, and in the Caribbean where he took part in a drug bust. Prince_William,_Duke_of_Cambridge --TammyMoet (talk) 18:15, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * I think the reason he's allowed to be a search and rescue pilot but isn't allowed on the front line is that being on the front line would be more dangerous for him than for a regular officer. He would be specifically targeted because the enemy would get excellent PR by killing the 2nd in line to the throne. (That's why Prince Harry was only allowed to fight in Afghanistan if it was kept secret that he was there and he had to come home when the media blackout was breached.) --Tango (talk) 19:40, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * It's actually because being in a war zone puts the soldiers around him at greater risk. This isn't a problem with search and rescue, where the risks are mainly related to the difficulties of the job itself. Royals are not prevented from risking their own lives; many participate in extreme sports, for instance. --NellieBly (talk) 18:47, 30 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Yes, polo is quite extreme. Googlemeister (talk) 19:03, 2 May 2011 (UTC)

Jeep backpacks
I would like to know the phone number for the UK Jeep backpack? --Tyw7 (☎ Contact me! • Contributions)   Changing the world one edit at a time! 16:35, 29 April 2011 (UTC)


 * They are distributed by BagMan Ltd, contact details are on the website. Peter E. James (talk) 23:08, 29 April 2011 (UTC)

Draft policies World War 2
A distant relative of ours, in America, served in the Great War and was then drafted in World War 2. The birth record we have for him gives a birthdate of 1896, which would have made him 46 when drafted in WW2. The question is, isn't this a little old for active service in WW2? I'm pretty sure men of that age weren't conscripted in the UK at that time. Would he have been more likely to have volunteered? The record we have for his service in WW2 is a "Draft Enlistment and Service Record". Would this have applied to volunteers too? --TammyMoet (talk) 16:39, 29 April 2011 (UTC)


 * Conscription in the United States says that registration for the draft went up to age 64, and they actually drafted men up to age 45. Possibly you could double-check his birthdate to see whether he could have been 45 and 11 months, or something, on the date of his selection?   Comet Tuttle (talk) 16:45, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Hi and thanks for the swift response CT. His birthdate was 10 June 1896 but we don't know the date of conscription. Looks like he was a little unlucky then. --TammyMoet (talk) 18:07, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Unless, of course, he personally killed Hitler and twelve of his deputies and successfully escaped the bunker, and this knowledge has been lost to time and distance; in which case I would call him pretty lucky. Comet Tuttle (talk) 20:35, 29 April 2011 (UTC)

warning on my medical history
gidday mate i was just wanting to know what this reference number '721.723. 17/1/2011' refers to as it's listed as a warning in my medical history. i've recently moved and need to transfer to a new doctor and i'd just like to know what they are warning anyone about. i'd appreciate any insight into this available and thank you now for the time you will spend finding out for me. regards name redacted —Preceding unsigned comment added by 1.152.241.122 (talk) 16:49, 29 April 2011 (UTC)


 * I've taken the liberty of removing your name, as this is a very public forum; I hope you don't mind. People will reply here, rather than by email, anyway. -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 17:20, 29 April 2011 (UTC)


 * It may be an ICD-9 code. You should discuss it with either your old or new physician if you're at all concerned. -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 17:22, 29 April 2011 (UTC)


 * Well the 17/1/2011 is obviously a date (17 January 2011). The 721.723 could be anything. -- SGBailey (talk) 19:59, 29 April 2011 (UTC)


 * Our article on dorsopathy gives the associated ICD9 codes as 720 to 724. --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 17:33, 1 May 2011 (UTC)
 * ICD9 721.7 is Traumatic spondylopathy, also called Kümmell's disease - Term used for late post-traumatic collapse of a vertebral body. No idea if that's it or not, but perhaps it helps OP. Avic ennasis   @ 02:04, 30 Nisan 5771 / 4 May 2011 (UTC)

penguins in the usa
Can you legally keep a penguin as a pet in the USA? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.178.113.225 (talk) 17:27, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * That would likely depend on the laws of the specific state. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 17:42, 29 April 2011 (UTC)


 * Seems like it --  KägeTorä - (影虎)  ( TALK )  17:42, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Did you bother to actually read any of the pages you got from that search? None of them say you can legally own a penguin that I can see. The only thing more useless than just posting a Google search link is posting one that neither answers the question and is one that you have not bothered to read yourself. --Mr.98 (talk) 21:09, 29 April 2011 (UTC)


 * Most probably not. Also why? Penguins would be very hard to take care as they typically live in cold climates. They also need very strict dietary requirements, etc. In addition, are you planning to keep one? --Tyw7  (☎ Contact me! • Contributions)   Changing the world one edit at a time! 17:43, 29 April 2011 (UTC)


 * The IP emanates from Arizona. Penguins are built for extreme cold, so he'd have to keep his house air conditioning set to about 20 degrees or something. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 17:45, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Extremely uneconomical. And shouldn't it be set to 0 or below or something? Also you forget to sign. --Tyw7 (☎ Contact me! • Contributions)   Changing the world one edit at a time! 17:46, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Gadzooks! Left out a tilde. Now fixed. Yes, maybe 0 or below would be better. Penguins are so well-adapted to the cold that they actually like to stand on ice so as to balance out their body heat. Maybe the OP would be better off moving to Antarctica, where he could be surrounded by all the penguins he could ever want. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 17:54, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * I've heard that penguins are really quite friendly animals, so I think they would make good pets. This article and this article mention that others, including Wayne Newton, have tried in the past. Sounds like they're pretty expensive to keep though. Qrsdogg (talk) 18:34, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Regarding the myth that Penguins are all built for the extreme cold, the Galapagos Penguin lives in a place which is hardly "cold". -- Jayron  32  19:07, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Yes, not all penguins live in extreme cold. Many zoos in the US keep (antarctic) penguins well above 0 C. I've even seen them kept in ambient air during the summer in the midwest (though I think their water must have been chilled). Just because some penguins have adapted to live in extreme cold doesn't necessarily mean they cannot survive in warmer temperatures. I agree it is likely a very expensive pet, but let's not make assumptions that they can only live at 0 C! SemanticMantis (talk) 19:21, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * I don't think I'd call 0C "extreme cold", though. --NellieBly (talk) 18:32, 30 April 2011 (UTC)
 * It's not just that they can "tolerate" warmer climates, the Galapagos Penguin is built for the tropics. It would likely find the Antarctic impossibly cold to survive in!  Unrelated to the Galapagos Penguin, generally, animals which are built for cold-weather environments can tolerate warmer weather (most live in places which have short, temperate summers, or migrate to them), while the reverse is not necessarily true.  -- Jayron  32  20:03, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * While the Galapagos is technically a "tropical" archipelago, the water there is hardly what one would call "tropical" in the usual sense of being extremely warm. The air stays relatively balmy at 22C - 25C, but the water is chilled by the Humboldt current, which brings cold water north from Antarctica. And, as the article mentions, what warmth there is is a major factor in the troubles of the little bird. Bluntly, it is definitely not "built for the tropics", though I agree it's better suited to a warmer climate than the antarctic species of penguins. Matt Deres (talk) 19:56, 1 May 2011 (UTC)

Also there is an issue of GETTING a pengun in the first place!! --Tyw7 (☎ Contact me! • Contributions)   Changing the world one edit at a time! 19:25, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * You can make your own, apparently. :)  --   Jack of Oz   [your turn]  20:56, 29 April 2011 (UTC)

Quite apart from the obvious environmental problems, penguins are very gregarious during certain seasons and I doubt that you could provide that. A happy penguin is a wild penguin.190.56.16.156 (talk) 20:36, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Yeah, the Blue Fairy Penguins live in Australia, at least as far as Melbourne which isn't exactly known for heavy snowfall. Googlemeister (talk) 20:55, 29 April 2011 (UTC)


 * How about a reference here on the Reference Desk? The first obstacle to obtaining a penguin in the US is the Endangered Species Act, a Federal law that, among many other things, makes it illegal to import or export endangered species.  If you visit this page, type "penguin" in the field toward the top that says "Search Endangered Species Database", and hit Enter, you'll see that the Galapagos penguin and African penguin are endangered, and five more species are threatened.  Aside from the Federal law, as Bugs wrote earlier, it depends on where you live.  As stated at this link, most of these regulations are at the state and local levels &mdash; though this page from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service discusses federal regulations on importing commercial wildlife.  I took the liberty of assuming the original poster's "geolocate" link was accurate, and browsed Arizona state law and this page of Yuma County ordinances and didn't see anything about keeping exotic animals.  The lengthy Yuma City animal ordinances are here in Chapter 130 (under Title 13) and I didn't see anything there forbidding the keeping of penguins.  Naturally, none of this thread is legal advice, and if you are considering obtaining a penguin, you should contact a lawyer who can advise you.  Comet Tuttle (talk) 21:10, 29 April 2011 (UTC)


 * PS: Here's a page on the Wild Bird Conservation Act, another US federal law that is relevant. Comet Tuttle (talk) 21:18, 29 April 2011 (UTC)


 * Wayne Newton lives outside Las Vegas and he has a pet penguin. Actually, a whole flock, as I understand. Ref. Not sure what legal hoops he might have had to jump through for that, though. Avic ennasis  @ 01:25, 26 Nisan 5771 / 30 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Maybe he was singing at a gig where he was wearing his favourite tuxedo, and they all just followed him home. :)  --   Jack of Oz   [your turn]  06:04, 30 April 2011 (UTC)
 * A traffic policeman stopped a driver who had 3 penguins on the back seat and demanded an explanation. "I don't know where they came from but it's no trouble to let them sit there" said the motorist. The policeman ordered "Take them to the zoo!". Next day the policeman stops the same car and driver because the three penguins are still in the car, but now the penguins are wearing sunglasses. "Didn't I tell you to take those penguins to the zoo?" "Yes and I did that yesterday. Today I am taking them to the beach." Cuddlyable3 (talk) 15:22, 30 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Outstanding. :) Sadly, the guy's old man was arrested at the zoo. He was collared for feeding squirrels. He was feeding them to the lions. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 04:21, 1 May 2011 (UTC)
 * Wayne Newton is a Vegas demigod. He can do whatever he wants as long as he says the magic words: "Danke Schoen, danke schoen very much." Clarityfiend (talk) 04:16, 1 May 2011 (UTC)

At the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange NJ, there is a wall mural describing various penguin species and a section of it is devoted to debunking this myth that penguins are cold-weather habitatiers. Only the emperor and Adélie species live on Antarctica; the rest (chinstrap, blue fairy, king, rockhopper, gentoo and other varieties) live in Australia, South America and Africa (although the Wikipedia articles of some of these species contests this assertion, I'm just providing the Turtleback Zoo mural data).  DRosenbach  ( Talk 14:58, 1 May 2011 (UTC)

Pewter Pots
I saw this sign in a Wetherspoons in Huyton today, and I have a few questions about it (staff didn't have a clue). First one is, why are the 'standard pint' pots far smaller than the 'half pint' pots? Second one is, what does 'DOZ' mean? Is this a certain type of ounce? Dublin Ounces, maybe? Cheers! --  KägeTorä - (影虎)  ( TALK )  17:41, 29 April 2011 (UTC)


 * From context, it looks like DOZ just means "dozen". So they'd charge 45 shillings for a dozen "standard pint" pots. -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 17:50, 29 April 2011 (UTC)


 * As above. Doz is an abbreviation of dozen so the top line  means £2 and  7shillings (£2-35p)   for  12 pots.  The reason why they mixed up the size of the pots  is anybodies guess. Maybe it was a joke or maybe they were sort of pint size mugs.  These signs are just modern reproductions. --Aspro (talk) 17:59, 29 April 2011 (UTC)


 * Ah - cheers. You both make sense. I had mixed up the DOZ for meaning the amount the pot can hold, which wouldn't make sense as there are no numbers before that (besides the price in shillings). On a related note, when did beer glasses with handles disappear and get replaced by our standard pint glasses (and tulips for bitter)? --  KägeTorä - (影虎)  ( TALK )  18:09, 29 April 2011 (UTC)


 * You can still get this kind of pint mug in Scotland, if you ask. I think there was a slow change from those to straight pint glasses over the 1970s-80s, with the mug being increasingly an old-man's pub thing. -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 18:15, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * You can get them in England too. When I worked in a pub in rural Sussex there were some older regulars that would ask for them (usually calling them "jugs" rather than "mugs"). --Tango (talk) 19:56, 29 April 2011 (UTC)


 * Yes, I think the size mismatch is an artefact of the wrong pots being glued to the board. There are indeed huge and comprehensive catalogs from which the dressings and furniture of faux-trad pubs can be bought: old adverts, engraved mirrors, stained glass, fake mahogany, ropey ironwork, distressed tables, expanded-polystyrene-backed plaster cornices and ceiling roses, and on, and on. Enough to turn any soulless concrete mall space into an unconvincing "oirish" pastiche. With the exception of the Temple Bar, the real Ireland is refreshingly free of such crap. -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 18:11, 29 April 2011 (UTC)


 * Oh, there are pubs I go to where selected customers have their own metal mug kept behind the bar for them, and some pubs do still have a limited amount of handled glasses which are only used in times of shortage of the usual straights. And, yes, I do know about the fake ornaments, and with a chainstore like Wetherspoons, this can only be expected. And by the way, I only went to Temple Bar a couple of times, and it was alright. Maybe I'm just used to it. Cheers, anyway. --  KägeTorä - (影虎)  ( TALK )  18:21, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Step forwards the York bar in Broomhill, Sheffield, UK, where the real ale is still sold in a dimpled mug! --TammyMoet (talk) 20:22, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Those of you who remember the 1970s in the UK, when dimpled "jug" glasses were the usual recepticle for a pint will recall the etiquette; ALWAYS grip the whole glass with your fingers through the handle, NEVER ON ANY ACCOUNT hold the handle itself. Breaking that rule was (apparently) a sure indicator effiminacy, even in London. "The past is a foreign country..." Alansplodge (talk) 23:02, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Effeminacy? In London? Never! Not in the city that drinks babycham in Hello Kitty glasses! Never! :) --  KägeTorä - (影虎)  ( TALK )  04:22, 30 April 2011 (UTC)

Why is there a flattr.com icon on wikipedia statistics pages?
Are the statistics pages produced by Wikipedia (for example http://stats.grok.se/en/latest/User_talk:Henrik ) official? If so, why is there a little flattr icon (right hand bottom)? Did I miss an announcement somewhere? Ottawahitech (talk) 18:22, 29 April 2011 (UTC)


 * No, they're not official. Domas has a script on the toolserver which produces this data and Henrik makes little graphs based on that on his site. -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 18:29, 29 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Thanks for responding. Does this mean that other links viewable in the "Revision history of Wikipedia:" (which readers can see when clicking on the View History link available on any Wikipedia page) such as
 * Revision history statistics
 * Contributors
 * Revision history search
 * Number of watchers
 * as well as
 * Page view statistics
 * are also not official? Ottawahitech (talk) 18:46, 30 April 2011 (UTC)


 * I'm not sure that "official" a terribly meaningful term in this context. These are various scripts on the Toolserver, run by various people. The toolserver itself isn't owned by the Wikimedia foundation, but by Wikimedia Deutschland, a separate organisation. Toolserver accounts are given to people who have the skills and contribution history to suggest they're likely to use one constructively (see https://wiki.toolserver.org/view/Account_approval_process). Those links on the article history page are there because some admin(s) added them there, and no-one has removed them. None of this has much to do with the Mediawiki Foundation, but then really very little of Wikipedia does. Beyond basic usefulness and competence, none of this has a huge rubber stamp of endorsement from Jimbo, the Foundation, or the community; if something was wrong or harmful in some way, it would get removed in much the same way bad article content would.  So you should view these pages in much the way you'd view a good article: a decent work by conscientious people that's had some reasonable peer review. -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 15:06, 2 May 2011 (UTC)

Old stocks: finding out the basis and purchase date when your brokerage company is useless
One of the problems I ran into in filing my taxes this year is that I had sold an old stock and needed to know its basis and purchase date. In that particular case I was able to find out by rummaging around for a few hours in old statements but I'm afraid this will not work for many others I own. My brokerage company merged, merged again, and yet again and finally became Ameritrade without me ever transferring the stocks out. I am planning on selling a whole bunch of old stocks, bought from around the mid- to the late-nineties. So today I called up Ameritrade and was advised that they had no records on any purchases or cost bases going back more than six years. When I sell them this year, on April 15, 2012 I will then need to report my cost basis, date of purchase and number of shares (# of shares also change because of splits. etc.) to the IRS and my state taxing agency, not just to avoid cheating them out of long term capital gains, but myself out of long term capital losses. What can I do to find out the needed information?--108.46.109.70 (talk) 23:47, 29 April 2011 (UTC)

Perhaps you had an accountant who might still have that info.190.148.136.100 (talk) 06:09, 30 April 2011 (UTC)

Or if you used a tax service, they might still have it.190.148.136.100 (talk) 06:16, 30 April 2011 (UTC)
 * I hear you, 190.148.136.100. Wouldn't it be nice if Wikipedia could start collecting this type of information? Ottawahitech (talk) 18:50, 30 April 2011 (UTC)
 * I think you could assume from the context of my question as a premises that there was no one like this available. If not, then I am confirming the same.--108.46.109.70 (talk) 19:17, 30 April 2011 (UTC)
 * If you have an estimate of the date, you can check Yahoo's listing of the stock for the price going back many years. Since the exact information is unavailable, the IRS will accept a good-faith estimate of the date of purchase and the price, as long as it isn't obviously cherry-picked.  For example, you might find the average between the month-high and month-low for the month when you bought the stock -- that would be a good-faith estimate, in most circumstances.  Of course, you would have to attach a letter explaining this with your tax return. 63.17.71.218 (talk) 03:49, 1 May 2011 (UTC)
 * [On the assumption that we're talking about the Internal Revenue Service of the United States Department of the Treasury and not some other tax system (such as a state's, dominion's or province's):]
 * IRS Publication 550, Investment Income and Expenses, Chapter 4 (as I found by browsing through http://www.irs.gov) has this to say about a related, though not identical issue at this link"Identification not possible.</b> If you buy and sell securities at various times in varying quantities and you cannot adequately identify the shares you sell, the basis of the securities you sell is the basis of the securities you acquired first. Except for certain mutual fund shares, discussed later, you cannot use the average price per share to figure gain or loss on the sale of the shares. Example. You bought 100 shares of stock of XYZ Corporation in 1995 for $10 a share. In January 1996 you bought another 200 shares for $11 a share. In July 1996 you gave your son 50 shares. In December 1998 you bought 100 shares for $9 a share. In April 2010 you sold 130 shares. You cannot identify the shares you disposed of, so you must use the stock you acquired first to figure the basis. The shares of stock you gave your son had a basis of $500 (50 × $10). You figure the basis of the 130 shares of stock you sold in 2010 as follows: 50 shares (50 × $10) balance of stock bought in 1995	$ 500 80 shares (80 × $11) stock bought in January 1996	$ 880 Total basis of stock sold in 2010	$1,380"
 * But more useful, perhaps, is this recent article from Smart Money: Lost Your Stock Statements? How to Figure Out Your Cost Basis. I found it by Googling "calculating capital gain basis stock missing records"; I'll let you rummage through the other 1.25 million hits or refine the search by adding other search terms. Happy May Day ! —— Shakescene (talk) 05:29, 1 May 2011 (UTC)