Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2011 November 25

= November 25 =

deal or no deal
if u won the million dallors on deal or no deal how much of it do u realy get — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gar113 (talk • contribs) 02:46, 25 November 2011 (UTC)
 * It depends on how much you would have to pay in state and federal taxes (assuming you mean in the U.S.) -- Jayron  32  03:29, 25 November 2011 (UTC)
 * According to "Financial Secrets of Game Shows: Advice From Past Winners", about 60% or $600,000 after taxes if you're an American (unless you're in some weird tax bracket). Maybe all of it if you're a Canadian on the American version, after a tussle with the IRS that is (see Doug Hicton in the same article). Clarityfiend (talk) 03:38, 25 November 2011 (UTC)
 * (EC with all above.) This seems to be an unclear question. If you win a million dollars normally you would expect to get 1 million dollars (unless it's a spam win). At most, perhaps the transfer to your bank will result in some small fees taken from the original amount which for such a large win would be too insignificant to be relevant. Some countries may tax such wins but this will depend on the country. Do you have the situation in a specific country in mind?
 * The UK obviously does not use dollars so I guess you aren't referring to the UK version. The New Zealand version never offered a 1 million prize so I guess you aren't referring to that version either. The Australian version did once a while ago but since it's not the norm I would guess you're not referring to that version either. The Canadian version did have a million dollar prize although it's no longer produced. In countries like Australia, and I believe Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom , normal contestants aren't generaly subject to income tax for one off wins. (Professional contestants and those who receive appearance fees may be taxed.) The Canadian version article specifically mentions the winnings are tax free.
 * The older US version did have a $1 million prize. And I believe the US does subject even such one off wins to income tax. However, I'm not sure if the company actually witholds an amount for taxation purposes. Possibly they do not in which case you will still get 1 million dollars or thereabouts, but also a hefty tax bill later. Since the US has a progressive income tax structure, the precise amount you will pay will depend somewhat on how much you earned besides the prize, if you earned nothing else the amount is likely to be less then if you have an annual income of $1 million before the prize.
 * Nil Einne (talk) 03:58, 25 November 2011 (UTC)
 * The above ref suggests state tax may be witheld in the US, and seems to imply federal tax may be witheld from the Doug Hicton case although isn't so clear on that point. Nil Einne (talk) 04:06, 25 November 2011 (UTC)

If you were a UK citizen or a visitor from Canada, Australia etc. temporarily in the USA, would you get the full million? Conversely, if an American citizen wins a million in the UK version, are they liable for state and federal taxes in the USA on their British winnings?  D b f i r s   10:35, 25 November 2011 (UTC)


 * All these countries have tax treaties with one another. So even if the income isn't taxed in the US, the gameshow company reports it to the IRS which shares it with the corresponding tax authorities in other countries. -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 19:21, 25 November 2011 (UTC)


 * So does that mean that the IRS in the USA would tax an American's winnings in the British game, but HMRC would not tax a British person's winnings in the American game?   D b f i r s   23:40, 25 November 2011 (UTC)


 * No, the tax treaties are reciprocal. The essence of them is that countries share information, but in exchange taxpayers in one country who have income in the other are only taxed on the same money once - that is, if you earn $1000 in the US and pay say 20% US income tax, when your UK taxes are assessed the amount of tax the US took taken into account. People may have to pay a topup (as the parties are not tax harmonised) and the details of a specific transaction are hellaciously complicated, but it's in the interest of both countries to at once facilitate trade while preventing the other from being used as a tax haven. The UK's National Lottery's prizes are tax free, but I've no idea how that works for non-residents or other people with complicated tax affairs. Didn't I read recently that someone was denied his winnings in a US state lottery because he wasn't a US resident and and used a relative who was to file the claim, but got found out (implying whichever US lottery that was has a residency restriction)? -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 00:02, 26 November 2011 (UTC)


 * This google search I did regarding taxation of foreigners who win money in Vegas indicates that federal income tax is withheld at a rate of 30% on winnings automatically for foreign players; presumably similar rules work for game shows and other sorts of winnings as well (note that withholding of the tax is not the same as paying the tax in the U.S. In the U.S. one's anticipated taxes are withheld from one's income and held in escrow until tax forms are filed where the exact tax owed is calculated; taxes are taken out of the escrow, U.S. taxpayers then either have to pay off any shortfalls, or receive back how much they over-withheld.)  -- Jayron  32  00:12, 26 November 2011 (UTC)


 * The above ref provided by Clarityfiend suggests in the case of a foreign resident simply visiting the US, some taxes may be witheld but you may be able to get them back if you try hard enough. Which is likely worth it if you win $1 million. Of course you will then need to deal with your local authorities taxes, as I mentioned, in the case of Australia and from the Clarityfiend ref I think we can also confirm Canada, and I still suspect NZ and the UK, you're not likely to have to pay income tax on a one off winning if you're just a ordinary contestant. If you're actual resident in the US even if not a citizen, you're potentially a tax resident in the US so may not be able to do this. I have no idea how things would work if you were a tax resident but it's the beginning of the tax year and you return to your home country to live after winning. If you're a US citizen who visits one of the other countries and wins, you'll probably have no choice but report your winnings to the IRS in the US and pay tax unless you want to end up like this guy. I suspect if you're a US citizen resident in one of those countries, you're still going to have to pay tax to the IRS since unlike nearly every other country, the US doesn't care about tax residency for their citizens. So your only fallback is double taxation and other such treaties Finlay McWalter mentioned and these are unlikely to cover a case where no tax was due in the country of residence but where the IRS considers tax is due. It may seem the moral of all this is if you plan to win in a gameshow, don't live in the US and don't be a US citizen, but US$400,000 (rough after tax winnings of the US$1 million prize) is still more then AU$200,000. Nil Einne (talk) 14:30, 26 November 2011 (UTC)
 * ... in fact almost AU$400,000   D b f i r s   22:27, 28 November 2011 (UTC)

Video for Deploying Lifeboats
Hey everyone, I'm writing a book that deals with an incident where the characters are trying to deploy lifeboats. I was wondering if anyone could find a video or instructions how to deploy lifeboats. Now, I don't mean the lifeboats where they are deployed and then a smaller boat brings the inflatable boat to safety. I mean these ones, that are lowered into the water and the people inside boat themselves to safety. A video of the actual lifeboat being lowered into water doesn't really help. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! 64.229.180.189 (talk) 03:09, 25 November 2011 (UTC)
 * I just Googled for 'how to deploy a lifeboat' or 'how to deploy lifeboats' (and other combinations with verbs like use or utilise... have you tried this? I also found pages of manufacturers, like this or this with specs and others. --Ouro (blah blah) 09:15, 25 November 2011 (UTC)
 * This video shows what not to do with a lifeboard (premature emission!). Cuddlyable3 (talk) 09:59, 25 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Both movies that I have seen dealing with the Titanic have shown lifeboat operations in some detail. If I remember correctly, Titanic (1997 film) has a better depiction than A Night to Remember (1958 film).  Astronaut (talk) 10:50, 25 November 2011 (UTC)
 * This film from the former Royal Navy boys' training establishment HMS Ganges shows the traditional method. This film shows a rather more ceremonial version. This video shows a modern passenger ferry - the lowering seems to be fully mechanised. Alansplodge (talk) 12:22, 25 November 2011 (UTC)

Expansion project
Why don't you sell a version for portable devices to generate income? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.24.43.83 (talk) 10:09, 25 November 2011 (UTC)


 * Probably because due to Wikipedia's generous licencing terms, there's nothing to stop other people offering free versions of Wikipedia for mobile devices, and it would be bad business to try and sell something that other people could offer for free. If you want to use a mobile version, you can still make a donation. (Edited to add: Also, Wikimedia's goal is to produce educational content available as widely as possible, and this would not be met by selling access when it could be provided for free.)
 * However, this discussion probably belongs on Village pump (proposals) rather than the Reference Desk, which is not for discussing Wikipedia but for answering non-Wikipedia-related factual questions. --Colapeninsula (talk) 11:23, 25 November 2011 (UTC)
 * I hope you mean that the Ref. desks answer Wikipedia-related factual questions.
 * I realise that wasn't very clear. The Help Desk answers Wikipedia-related factual questions, the reference desk answers any other factual question. --Colapeninsula (talk)

Such a service called "Ask Adam" is already provided in Denmark, Norway and Sweden.Part translation from Norwegian: One of the mobile services being marketed is "Adam"...You enter a subject keyword to 2236 (Adam) to receive 3 messages with information about the keyword. Answers are collected from Wikipedia and they are sold for 5 crowns each. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 11:49, 25 November 2011 (UTC)


 * They're sending it by SMS? I guess they must be glad we switch to dual licence CC and GFDL. Nil Einne (talk) 12:16, 25 November 2011 (UTC)


 * Here's another stab at the original question... Because most mobile devices can already access the web while out and about so what's to keep people from accessing the free version?  Or put another way; Why pay for an app when a free alternative is already available?  Dismas |(talk) 13:35, 25 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Have you tried accessing regular (not mobile) versions of websites on a mobile device? It's a pain.  The OP is right, there should be versions of Wikipedia for iPhone and Android (they would be free, though, not paid), or at least a mobile version of the site. --Viennese Waltz 07:54, 26 November 2011 (UTC)
 * There is a Wikipedia app for Android, I have it on my Sony Xperia. --TammyMoet (talk) 09:52, 26 November 2011 (UTC)
 * The wikipedia app for Android is not official though AFAIK. There is an official app under development as well as an existing iPhone app (although neither of these are designed for offline access). I don't really understand VW's point, wikimedia sites have had mobile versions for a while and most mobile devices are automatically directed to them based on the user agent. (Originally this relied on a gateway but it later switched to a wikimedia extension.) Try http://en.m.wikipedia.org or http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Miscellaneous. The site does lack editing and you can't easily view talk pages (perhaps not surprising since you can't talk) but it's there. Then there's also the fancy new Athena skin under development . It's still a while off but from what I've read it potentially may mean the end of the mobile site, instead using a single site that adapts to the device.
 * I don't know if I'd agree with Dismas, while many mobile devices can access the web, I suspect quite a few people have sporiadic access because they are on a prepaid plan and don't want to pay for data usage and wifi access (if their device supports wifi) is not available everywhere. This is decreasing but I would still be hesitant to say a most mobile devices use the web, altho it may or may not be true that of those that don't have close to continous web access, the owners aren't going to bother with an app for offline access. (Although I wonder if even that is true if you take the tablet market in to account.) In any case, I do agree a paid app is not the solution nor in line with the foundations goals. There are BTW a variety of paid apps, including some which provide offline access, simply not developed by the foundation. I don't know if any of them donate a percentage of profits to the foundation, obviously there's no legal requirement for them to do so.
 * See also Help:Mobile access. Not mentioned there but the foundation is offering some support for offline access, including supporting the OpenZIM project however their limited efforts are targeted at outside the mobile device market at the moment as evidenced by the lack of any Android or iPhone ZIM reader.
 * Nil Einne (talk) 13:50, 26 November 2011 (UTC)

C&EI and L&N Railroad Routes
Re: please clarify the scheduling and routes of the C&EI train route from Chicago to Evansville that were run on the portion of the L&N's "humming bird" and "Georgiana". The Chicago to Florida passenger service ("dixie route") i.e., does that mean 4 trains the C&EI used traveled the same route (on different schedules, of course) but didn't stop in Evansville or the "dixie route" trains were on C&EI tracks all the way to Florida and bypassed Evansville? Let me tell you, my grandparents lived on Pennsylvania avenue where one of these trains (or all of them at one time or the other) passed every night at about 10:00 pm -- it was a treat to stay at grandma's because she would make us a pallet of quilts and pillows on the floor in front of the screen door in the summer time and we could stay up until this shiny, superfast train passed by -- wow!! All the lights were on in the cars and it rumbled by and the whole house shook but we loved it. I just can't remember which one it was -- I thought it was the silver bullet, but that isn't in the list. My grandpa worked for the C&EI and his job was to sit up in this little house and do something about the trains -- I remember walking across the tracks and up about 30 steps to take his soup pail and sandwich up --pretty scary for a 4-year old. I'm now 70 years old and as silly as it sounds, this is a story that i want to live on. . . And I want it to be just right. My dad was also a railroader and worked for the L&N in Evansville at the Howell yard. His job was wrecker engineer. To this day, I love the sound of trains and fondly remember walking the tracks to go get his paycheck, watching and waving as the troop trains passed and even recall the hobos that were camping under the viaduct. Didn't start this to share, but I just had to -- you probably have other special memories that you should share with others -- go ahead -- :) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.39.165.70 (talk) 12:28, 25 November 2011 (UTC)
 * We can't hear you! Please shout a little louder! 194.100.223.164 (talk) 12:39, 25 November 2011 (UTC)
 * I have refactored the original post so it is somewhat quieter. Maybe that will prevent the above rudeness.  Astronaut (talk) 15:50, 25 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Maybe our articles on the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad and the Louisville and Nashville Railroad will help. In particular, you might find useful  the external links towards the end of each article - both railroads have their own historical societies which I would imagine would be a great source of information for scheduling and routes.  Good luck.  Astronaut (talk) 16:00, 25 November 2011 (UTC)

tourism and environment
sustainable resource use and proper resource assessment will require an intergrated and consultative approach that addresses tourism and environment.Elucidate? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Lucius vivians (talk • contribs) 12:57, 25 November 2011 (UTC)

--Shantavira|feed me 13:59, 25 November 2011 (UTC)


 * As a start, make sure you understand each of the words by looking them up in a good English dictionary such a www.onelook.com or Wiktionary. However you must spell "integrated" properly. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 23:35, 26 November 2011 (UTC)


 * It starts out by making a reference to those resources, presumably of an environmental nature, that one would like to have around in perpetuity and be more knowledgeable of. It goes on to recommend a system that draws upon human resources from more than one sector of the society, in order to understand those natural resources better. It makes one particular point of the need to address the ways in which tourism impacts the environment.


 * I am taking some liberties in interpreting the original text. I think the original text could have been written more clearly. If you have any follow-up questions or comments, please feel free to post again. Bus stop (talk) 00:00, 27 November 2011 (UTC)

Advanced Inflatable Repair
So, if I have some inflatable toy, a nice big thing that I enjoy playing with in the swimming pool, and it has a quite large tear through it. I have paid quite a bit for this thing, I don't want to just throw it away, but as well, having already invested that much in it, I would be interested in more expensive high-tech sorts of solutions. I could of course just put a strip of sellotape across it, that might well need replacing every few hours, but what else could I do that might be more durable? The tear being along a seam, making it difficult to get tape or a repair patch into the shape there, could I effectively recreate the seam, melting it with some heat source to reseal it? Or what about glue, is there any sort that might create a strong, airtight and waterproof seal here? 148.197.80.214 (talk) 18:02, 25 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Purely on personal experience of comparable situations, I'd say glue is unlikely to work, because there will be too little area of overlap/join available to be glued securely. If the tear were on a smooth, unseamed area, then adhesive tapes wider and more water resistant than Sellotape™ are available that would probably suffice - something like Duct tape, though other sorts might be even better: you'd need to visit local hardware stores or trade suppliers to see what's available. Tears along seams on inflatables are, as you say, more difficult to fix because the small irregularity of the seam makes an airtight seal very difficult to achieve, but since a pool toy does not have to bear the same pressures as, say, an air bed, a suitable appropriate tape might well work. Trying to replicate by guesswork the heat and pressure seaming process used in the toy's manufacture (which will be heavily dependent on the exact material) would, I'd have thought, be very difficult, and if not exactly right the first time would leave the toy in an even worse and less repairable condition. Good luck! {The poster formerly known as 87.81;230.195} 90.197.66.98 (talk) 22:15, 25 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Depending on the exact plastic used to make the toy, it is probably possible to purchase a glue which is a gentle solvent for that plastic. This has to be used with care.  I recall making successful airtight repairs to PVC many years ago using this type of glue, but I can't remember what the solvent was.    D b f i r s   23:33, 25 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Happens all the time. Just Google "inflatable repair kit" and click away.--Shantavira|feed me 08:34, 26 November 2011 (UTC)
 * I wondered why I was so euphoric over that repair! Thanks for the link.  The solvents used seem to be Methyl ethyl ketone, Acetone or Toluene, depending on the material.    D b f i r s   17:26, 26 November 2011 (UTC)