Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2012 April 24

= April 24 =

HAND-MADE FIRE STARTERS
What are the contents to make hand-made fire starters? Two items are newspaper and water. I believe parafin wax is also used but I am not sure. The device that holds the shredded newspaper appeared to be a large pipe. How long period of time does it take for the mold to set up and be ready for use? I saw this done on a television program but I cannot find any documentation presentlyAUNTFRANY (talk) 01:58, 24 April 2012 (UTC)


 * It all depends on how you intend to make them. The way you are describing is similar too the ones I've made.  To do it the way I did, take some shredded paper and sawdust, put them into cardboard egg cartons, pour wax into each egg cup until full, let harden.  Cut egg cups apart and light.  Dismas |(talk) 02:46, 24 April 2012 (UTC)


 * I can't imagine where you would use water in the process. StuRat (talk) 03:23, 24 April 2012 (UTC)


 * To turn the newspaper into papier mache, obviously letting it dry before use. Dismas's method uses egg cartons, which are already essentially papier mache. 86.140.54.3 (talk) 08:48, 24 April 2012 (UTC)

There are a number of ways to make fire starters. Some I have seen or used:: ---— Gadget850 (Ed)  talk 12:55, 24 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Use a cardboard egg carton. Fill each section with sawdust, wood shavings, dryer lint or shredded paper. Fill with melted paraffin. Cool. Cut apart.
 * Same as above, but use baking cups or paper condiment cups.
 * Use cotton cosmetic pads or similar. Use tongs and dip in melted paraffin for a few seconds. Place on wax paper to cool.
 * Dip lengths of cotton rope or mop string in melted paraffin. Cool.
 * Fill toilet paper or paper towel tube with sawdust, wood shavings, dryer lint or shredded paper. Fill with melted paraffin. Cool. You usually have to do this in layers to ensure it fills properly.
 * Dip cotton balls in petroleum jelly. Store in plastic bag.
 * Fill baking cup with melted paraffin. Place medium pine cone in cup. Cool. (Add scented oil to paraffin and use these to start the fireplace)

What is this thing?
Are elevator call buttons depicted here?

⡤⠤⠤⠤⣤⠤⠤⠤⢤ ⡇⠀⣠⣾⣿⣷⣄⠀⢸ ⣧⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣼ ⡟⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⢻ ⡇⠀⠙⢿⣿⡿⠋⠀⢸ ⠓⠒⠒⠒⠛⠒⠒⠒⠚

--84.61.181.19 (talk) 17:54, 24 April 2012 (UTC)


 * Sure, why not. That works.  Among a million other possible interpretations... -- Jayron  32  18:17, 24 April 2012 (UTC)
 * WTF? HiLo48 (talk) 19:26, 24 April 2012 (UTC)


 * They look like Unicode characters that don't have a font to display them properly. There - now I've gone and spoilt it with an actual explanation. --Tim Sabin (talk) 19:56, 24 April 2012 (UTC)


 * According to unicodelookup.com, the characters are Braille letters. Looie496 (talk) 20:04, 24 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Though they don't translate to anything. They appear to be arranged decoratively. --140.247.10.19 (talk) 21:08, 24 April 2012 (UTC)


 * Yes, Braille in a decorative pattern. Here is an image of the six lines in Braille: . PrimeHunter (talk) 22:58, 24 April 2012 (UTC)


 * No. I pressed both and no elevator came. So, that proves they are not touch-screen sensitive. Otherwise, I will go with Jayron's answer, and other possible interpretations. Benyoch...Don't panic! Don't panic!... (talk) 06:49, 25 April 2012 (UTC)


 * Looks like the kinds of raised symbols they have next to the actual buttons on elevators. In this particular example, they apparently refer to the rare French Door elevators. The typical modern elevator opens the doors sideways instead of up and down as depicted here. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 01:15, 27 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Aren't these used to mark the location of a pyramid reflected in the serene Nile water? Very useful for tomb raiders. 109.65.9.22 (talk) 20:43, 29 April 2012 (UTC)

Video about assassination of Archduke Ferdinand
I distinctly remember watching a video in my world history class in part about the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand causing World War I. The video I seem to recall included a scene one of the assassins cutting himself shaving and included specifically the fact that Gavrilo Princip stopped to eat a sandwich and because of this happened to be in the right place at the right time to carry out the assassination. The video was part of a set of videos about events in world history. What is the name of this video? (Note: I don't think it is this one, but I don't know that for sure.) Thanks in advance, Ks0stm  (T•C•G•E) 21:23, 24 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Nevermind...it is that one, apparently. Ks0stm  (T•C•G•E) 21:36, 24 April 2012 (UTC)

How come we don't have Garbage disposals in The Netherlands?
Nobody I know has a garbage disposal, there's no Dutch word for them that I know of, and I haven't seen them in shops. Other American inventions like bubble baths, ice cube machines, microwave ovens, cellphones, walk-in closets, you name it, have all slowly been adopted, at least by the rich. Side question: are there actually any (last century, not "ovens" or "axes") non-US inventions that are used in nearly every household in the US? It may have to do with the fact that all the other things are shown in TV shows where disposal units are not, but they seem handy enough to have been adopted quite a while ago. Joepnl (talk) 22:14, 24 April 2012 (UTC)


 * I wonder if the Environmental impact section of that article gives us a hint? They do add a lot of extra material to the waste water, and I can imagine them even being banned in some places for that reason. Here in Melbourne, Australia I can recall seeing a handful some forty years ago, but never since. HiLo48 (talk) 22:22, 24 April 2012 (UTC)


 * I think they're banned in New York City too. Would be a good Seinfeld episode... the illicit garbage disposal business (actually, didn't Kramer install one in the shower?) Shadowjams (talk) 22:31, 24 April 2012 (UTC)


 * (EC) The materials a disposal would put into the sewage can't be much worse than my usual contributions, but the article does say it was forbidden for a while in New York. I've never heard of such a law here though. Such a law would also be very hard to maintain, I've never heard of the Dutch kitchen police needed for that. Joepnl (talk) 22:43, 24 April 2012 (UTC)


 * As to ubiquitous inventions, it's surprisingly hard to find a non-American one: the computer, television, and refrigerator are all debatable, with the UK and USA both having strong claims. The first hair dryer was French, though the Americans made it hand-held. Of course there are many hugely important components and smaller features that are not American in origin, e.g. the field-effect transistor claims Canadian and German inventors, and the now-defunct cathode ray tube was a British thing, and the landline telephone was invented by a Briton in the USA. --Colapeninsula (talk) 22:35, 24 April 2012 (UTC)


 * The toaster is British, although the pop-up mechanism was an American refinement. (I'm not absolutely sure how popular toasters are in the USA.) --Colapeninsula (talk) 22:41, 24 April 2012 (UTC)


 * Pretty much every home in the USA has a toaster, although they aren't all the pop-up variety. (Some Americans think toaster ovens are the greatest thing since sliced bread.) StuRat (talk) 23:57, 24 April 2012 (UTC)


 * The World Wide Web was invented by a Briton while in Geneva, although the Internet was a U.S. invention. --Demiurge1000 (talk) 23:02, 24 April 2012 (UTC)


 * Oh right, Al Gore.... --Trovatore (talk) 23:20, 24 April 2012 (UTC)
 * The huge increase in users and sites did start just after Al Gore held a speech about the "information highway". It might be coincidence, but my impression is that he ignited a range of events that otherwise would have happened years later. At least that's how I remember it. I don't like his global warming scaremongering, but for this subject he deserves some credits. Joepnl (talk) 00:11, 25 April 2012 (UTC)
 * WWW was waiting to be invented after Gopher, which again was a US invention. Joepnl (talk) 23:11, 24 April 2012 (UTC)


 * Presumably much like the electric light bulb was waiting to be invented after that French guy started pulling frogs apart? :) --Demiurge1000 (talk) 23:30, 24 April 2012 (UTC)


 * No, because I and probably many others made a text format from which Gopher links were extracted. The invention was to publish such an in-house format itself. Joepnl (talk) 23:43, 24 April 2012 (UTC)


 * Where I live, garbage disposals were banned by the local municipality shortly after my house was built. The ban prevented anyone who is on the local public sewage system from installing a new one or using their existing one though I've never had a police officer knock on my door to stop me .  The main objection is the stresses it puts on the wastewater system.  -- Jayron  32  22:53, 24 April 2012 (UTC)


 * And the alternative is to put it in the trash where it should end up in the landfill, right? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 23:22, 24 April 2012 (UTC)


 * What's in landfill isn't normally intended to subsequently feed back into your water supply. --Demiurge1000 (talk) 23:30, 24 April 2012 (UTC)


 * It;s It's not always possible (e.g. those living in high-rise units), but recycling via composting much or most of what would have gone into a garbage disposal thing is the trick. --  ♬  Jack of Oz  ♬  [your turn]  23:54, 24 April 2012 (UTC)


 * Jack, you may complain about my use of "it's", but at least I never crammed a semi-colon in there. :-) StuRat (talk) 00:00, 25 April 2012 (UTC)


 * Thanks for that, Stu. Your practice of using it's where its is required is wilful, wanton, wasteful and wicked, but at least it's just one error.  I've committed two errors: a lack of perfection, compounded by a lack of awareness.  I plead No Contest.  :)  --  ♬  Jack of Oz  ♬  [your turn]  00:17, 25 April 2012 (UTC)


 * I don't have a garbage disposal or the ability to compost, so I end up flushing things, instead. If it happens to be trash day, I will throw it out there, but I'm not going to let it rot in my garbage for a week and attract a cloud of flies. StuRat (talk) 00:02, 25 April 2012 (UTC)


 * My U.S. city's code requires each home to have a garbage disposal. Rmhermen (talk) 00:29, 25 April 2012 (UTC)


 * Isn't it curious that at least one U.S. city makes it mandatory, but others ban it. Seems a very extreme dichotomy.  Is there no middle ground?  --  ♬  Jack of Oz  ♬  [your turn]  00:50, 25 April 2012 (UTC)


 * A hungry dog ? I seem to recall that some nation (Switzerland ?) has an odd type of gun control, too, where every able-bodied male is required to own a gun, in case it's needed for national defense. StuRat (talk) 01:03, 25 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Apparently that strategy works, as they haven't been invaded for like 500 years. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 02:03, 25 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Let's stay on topic eh? Shadowjams (talk) 05:45, 25 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Right after you change your user name to "Nannyjams". ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 13:57, 25 April 2012 (UTC)


 * The Garbage disposal unit article which the OP linked notes several things:
 * They are no longer banned (since 1997) in New York after a study (which I presume found they would not cause problems for the sewer system).
 * I don't know where Jayron32 lives although his/her usepage says it's somewhere in North Carolina, evidentally Raleigh, North Carolina banned them (which also affected neighbouring municipilies) but it only lasted about a month. And the ban was only on the installation or replacement, not on existing units. So they may want to check the ban is still in effect.
 * In fact many cities in the 1930s-1940s had regulations prohibiting food waste into the sewer system but InSinkErator spent considerable effort, and was highly successful in convincing many localities to rescind these prohibitions. The article also claims many localities mandated the use of disposers but doesn't mention when this happened, or when the mandatory use began to change, also the claim doesn't seem to be mentioned in the ref.
 * Supposedly in Sweden and the UK their installation is sometimes encouraged either to reduce waste to landfill or to increase biogas production.
 * (Somewhat repeating what has been said) they're widespread in North America (probably Canada and the US, I'm not so sure about Mexico) but much less so elsewhere (the article gives a figure of 50% for US households in 2009 and 6% for the UK.
 * At a guess from the article,, one of the reasons they're common in North America is because of the efforts of companies like InSinkErator to promote them and ensure they can be used, but these efforts were less common or less successful elsewhere. Things may be changing now with the increasing use of biogas and increasing concern of landfills although some places are also introducing compositing collection which may partially reduce the need for them.
 * Nil Einne (talk) 07:46, 25 April 2012 (UTC)

Non-US inventions? Here's a list of a baker's dozen of British inventions found, I would guess, fairly ubiquitously in the developed world, let alone the USA: NB some of these are disputed. Cheers, old bean! --Dweller (talk) 10:00, 25 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Television
 * Lightbulb
 * Tin can
 * Toothbrush
 * Penicillin
 * Vacuum flask
 * Telephone
 * Adjustable spanner
 * Sellotape
 * Washing machine
 * Flush toilet
 * Corkscrew
 * Postage stamp


 * Could we please not turn this into a pissing contest about who invented what? --Saddhiyama (talk) 10:30, 25 April 2012 (UTC)
 * I was responding to the OP's "side question". I presume you're pre-emptively asking editors not to dispute the origins of the inventions I just listed. --Dweller (talk) 12:20, 25 April 2012 (UTC)
 * We have a nice history of RD responders answering questions they'd like to answer (strangely, often controversial ones) instead of ones they were asked.... so I think Saddhiyama is entirely justified in this comment. Nannyjams, a.k.a. Shadowjams (talk) 19:33, 25 April 2012 (UTC)
 * I think I have a nice history of responding properly to RD questions. And I think it's hard to misinterpret the question: "are there actually any (last century, not "ovens" or "axes") non-US inventions that are used in nearly every household in the US?" --Dweller (talk) 11:00, 26 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Not that I agree with Saddhiyama but I think your last statement is a bit funny because quite a few of those don't seem to have been invented in the 20th century (I'm presuming your message didn't travel across time from before wikipedia was launched). Nil Einne (talk) 22:06, 26 April 2012 (UTC)

Back to the point - in the UK, we call them "Waste Disposal units" which are available,  but I don't know anyone that has one. A less expensive option is called "a bin". Alansplodge (talk) 21:54, 25 April 2012 (UTC)


 * A garbage units was used in The Sopranos TV show. Junior Soprano had his arm stuck down it overnight. In Amazon Women on the Moon actor Arsenio Hall gets a tie stuck in one (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092546/). In Paranormal Activity 3 some girls sticks her hand in one (http://www.themoviespoiler.com/Spoilers/paranormal3.html) and in When Evil Calls, which was so good we don't even have an article, some girl loses an arm to one. CambridgeBayWeather (talk) 22:23, 26 April 2012 (UTC)
 * I'm not particularly sure the relevance of this to the question but IIRC InSinkErator made a very big fuss about a Heroes episode where Claire Bennet put her hand in InSinkErator unit. Nil Einne (talk) 22:34, 26 April 2012 (UTC)
 * I've had one of the things long ago in an apartment, but I never got the point. You're more likely to drop a spoon down in the thing and have an issue trying to fish it out than to get any real use out of it.  At least, if you're like me and toss stuff in the trash without a thought (like that head of cabbage I meant to make a soup out of last week ... was I going to put that down the disposal?)  With a proper drain you have little holes, too small for a fork, but large enough that the stray grape or noodle can go down with, at most, a slight push.
 * I wonder if the answer is just plain marketing - just like with the diamonds, where a concerted campaign makes people think something is "essential" when they have no need for it at all. Wnt (talk) 18:35, 27 April 2012 (UTC)