Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2011 June 2

= June 2 =

Machine for ironing sheets
When I was a kid in the 1970s, my mother had an electrically powered machine for ironing sheets. It basically consisted of two wide rollers and a foot pedal. She would stand in front of this thing, feed the sheets between the rollers one by one, operate the foot pedal and hey presto, a beautifully pressed sheet came out the other side. I've never seen or heard of a similar machine anywhere else, though, which is a pity because it was a pretty cool contraption. (I imagine hotels must still use something like this on a larger scale.) Does anyone else remember these devices? Are they still in domestic use anywhere, and if not when and why did they die out? --Viennese Waltz 07:45, 2 June 2011 (UTC)
 * It sounds like a rotary iron. We don't have an article on rotary irons, and the Iron (appliance) article doesn't mention them, but they are mentioned in passing at Ironing.  It's still possible to buy a new consumer-grade rotary iron, although they aren't cheap.  Red Act (talk) 08:23, 2 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Thanks for that. One of the comments in your Amazon link got me searching and it turns out that this is actually a mangle.  There's a brief mention of electrical mangles in that article, and the main manufacturer back in the day seemed to be Ironrite according to a webpage I can't link to here because it's on Wikipedia's blacklist. --Viennese Waltz 08:39, 2 June 2011 (UTC)
 * We have a picture Ghmyrtle (talk) 12:50, 2 June 2011 (UTC)   >>>>
 * Hey, thanks. I should probably add that to the mangle article.  My mother's one was a lot smaller than that though.  I seem to remember it was a table-top thing rather than being free-standing. --Viennese Waltz 12:58, 2 June 2011 (UTC)
 * I don't know why they're not around much anymore. According to this article, even excommunication won't get rid of them... Matt Deres (talk) 13:57, 2 June 2011 (UTC)

Here's another one the Miele 990, beautiful! Richard Avery (talk) 15:26, 2 June 2011 (UTC)

I was using these on a cargo ship a couple of years ago, magic, but beware of zip or buttons, they get flattened to! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.211.169.124 (talk) 18:22, 2 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Flattened to what? --   Jack of Oz   [your turn]  22:25, 2 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Apparently, to-dimensional objects. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 22:30, 2 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Owe, eye sea. --   Jack of Oz   [your turn]  00:04, 3 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Or OIC. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 05:45, 3 June 2011 (UTC)
 * I have such a mangle in the basement. Doesn't everyone? They were very common in the 1950's, which is the vintage of mine. Edison (talk) 04:21, 3 June 2011 (UTC)
 * "The vintage of mine"? They didn't talk like that back then.  Witness the "progress" of language.  :)  --   Jack of Oz   [your turn]  07:22, 3 June 2011 (UTC)
 * These machines are not entirely uncommon in communal laundry rooms in Swedish apartment blocks, although they are gradually disappearing. Noone uses them anymore. --Soman (talk) 23:09, 3 June 2011 (UTC)Mangling-for-hire-Malmoe.jpg, Sweden, saying "Mangle for hire"]]
 * The leader of Herman's Hermits irons sheets??? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 14:23, 4 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Oh, we're on the ball today. Yes, actually he does do that.  He invented the custom of wearing a sheet to impersonate a ghost.  Because when you take the sheet away, noone's there.  :)  --   Jack of Oz   [your turn]  22:31, 4 June 2011 (UTC)

pre and post as one
as all the major telecom service providers have the prepaid and post paid system of payments,is it possible to merge them as one? will it be beneficial to the customer and company? any comment would be appreciated.thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.199.69.36 (talk) 14:23, 2 June 2011 (UTC)


 * As in that some customers pre-pay for their phone and some pay monthly/are billed? It would be beneficial for the company if there was only 1 way because it would mean they were more likely to be able to streamline their back-office processes. If pre-pay were number 1 it would also have an affect on their capital holdings (is tha the right term - basically how much they have in the bank) because they'd be getting all that money upfront, whereas with pay later they'd be owed the money (increasing the risk of bad debtors etc.). From a consumer perspective - it wouldn't be beneficial beyond simplifying the understanding of how things work. The reality is that some consumers wants to pay upfront (e.g. myself) so they can (amongst other things) control their spending on phones and some people want to pay later (like my friends) because they get a nice phone, don't have to think about credit and can pay the bill off on pay-day rathe than worrying about whether they'll have £10 to put on their phone a week before payday (again, amongst other reasons). ny156uk (talk) 18:21, 2 June 2011 (UTC)


 * Just re-read my comment...obviously any simplification and cost-saving could potentially be passed onto customers too so theoretically less choice could result in lower cost services in general. ny156uk (talk) 18:25, 2 June 2011 (UTC)


 * Most telecom companies give a discount for pre-payment and direct debit because of the admin savings, and they often try to persuade post-payment customers to switch payment methods, but if some customers prefer post-payment, then it is not in the companies' interests to lose those customers.   D b f i r s   06:55, 3 June 2011 (UTC)


 * The reason I insist on pre-paid is that there are no surprises (or at least they are limited to the amount you prepaid). When I had the other type of cell phone, they would over-bill me each month and I would have to spend hours on the phone trying to resolve it (that was Nextel).  Also, they can change the rates and continue to bill you, unless you manage to get hold of somebody who will actually cancel your account as you request.  Even then, they probably have a steep penalty for canceling. StuRat (talk) 05:20, 4 June 2011 (UTC)

ebay help
I recently won an auction on eBay and paid immediately. I waited over a week for the seller to claim the payment, which he never did. I contacted the seller and he never answered any of my messages so I canceled the payment. However, the item is now in the reminders section of my account under items that need to be payed for. Is there anything I can do about that?--ChromeWire (talk) 17:07, 2 June 2011 (UTC)


 * Try browsing this section on eBay's site, then use the "Contact Us" feature on the same page to see what to do next. -- McDoob  AU  93  17:19, 2 June 2011 (UTC)

Chrysanthemums
Are there any places in Europe especially associated with Chrysanthemums, specifically places where a lot grow? (I'm looking for a city or a town) I need this for a story I'm writing. Thanks. 72.128.95.0 (talk) 20:17, 2 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Jersey in the Channel Islands grow a lot of flowers (including chrysanthemums, I suspect) for the UK market - they're a lot further south than the rest of us. They have an annual festival called the Jersey Battle of Flowers. See also Spalding, Lincolnshire. Alansplodge (talk) 08:35, 3 June 2011 (UTC)

Things moving and changing
Thwe place where I live is quite different. My TV chanels change on me when I am watching it. The phone is like someone picks it up when I am on it and listens to my conversation. I always have a coaster on my desk where my computer is and this morning, my coaster for my cip was gone and when I came back in the room, my coaster was back on my desk. The thermostat on the furnace keepd changing on me, by itself. I don't think this is because I am a older person, as other people hane seen these things, as well as me. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.151.215.145 (talk) 23:06, 2 June 2011 (UTC)
 * These are the sort of things some people attribute to ghosts, People have told me so called ghost stories about with very similar events. People usually aren't open to simple materialistic explanations for this kind of stuff, but I would certainly apply occam's razor before jumping to any conclusions about the supernatural.  What you describe could generally be choked up to faulty electrics and mistaken memories. -- Daniel  23:57, 2 June 2011 (UTC)
 * The phrase is "chalked up", not choked up. As in marks being made under a heading with a piece of chalk.  Dismas |(talk) 02:40, 3 June 2011 (UTC)
 * The same stuff happens to me all of the time. Everywhere. So I know, either the world is full of ghosts, poltergeists, aliens, men in black tapping my phone or as the previous poster suggested, its my faulty electrics and mistaken memories.  He  iro 02:29, 3 June 2011 (UTC)
 * The electronics things can be blamed on the electronics. The physical things can be caused by your own faulty memory, after all, human memory isn't perfect.  I used to live in an old farmhouse in which the exterior doors didn't lock.  I'd come home to things being moved around every so often.  I just blamed it on my landlord's kids being nosy during a time of day when they knew I wouldn't be home.  Dismas |(talk) 02:40, 3 June 2011 (UTC)
 * If life has suddenly become perplexing, in that you suspect that mysterious entities are messing with your stuff, you might wish to discuss this with a trusted adviser or your doctor. Edison (talk) 04:19, 3 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Unless he has moved. Googlemeister (talk) 14:21, 3 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Did you recently get married to a suspicious and occasionally annoying spouse? Nil Einne (talk) 04:23, 3 June 2011 (UTC)


 * The TV thing is probably just a faulty remote control receiver. These sorts of issues were common back in the 1980s when some TVs still had acoustic remote controls. (Giggle your keys and the channels change!)  But they can happen with IR remote controls too.  Especially older ones. APL (talk) 22:15, 3 June 2011 (UTC)