Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2012 April 9

= April 9 =

Animated flag
here]. There are so many flags of most of the countries around the world. Why Vietnam's flag is one of the few that don't have any animated flag? Can someone make an animated one for Vietnam flag? Or tell me who has ability to do this? Or can someone tell me an easy way to just turn a flag into one of those animated flags so i can do it by myself. Thanks!65.128.167.101 (talk) 00:37, 9 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Many of them were created by User:Augiasstallputzer who seems to be inactive. So, that's a bit of a dead end. Dismas |(talk) 03:35, 9 April 2012 (UTC)
 * You could try asking at Help desk (although you may get a few rants from people who hate animated GIFs). --Colapeninsula (talk) 08:27, 10 April 2012 (UTC)

Mystery cane
Hello, my family is in possession of a commemorative cane that is a bit of a mystery (see pics). I am looking for suggested resources to find out detailed info about what it is and where/why we came in possession of it. From what I can tell from the clues it's an early 20th century commemorative cane made out of a fish backbone. The plaques (and other clues) indicate that it was given to my great grandfather in 1916 by Robert. de Lorenzo, most likely (from my family's geographical history) in Galveston, Texas. I'd like to know what it is (what it's made of) and if it is unique, or part of a series, or indicates something particular (like a retirement gift or award or something along those lines), etc. If anyone has any general ideas, that would be great to hear, but as far as the reference desk goes, I'd like info about the specific steps I could take to start tracking down its origins (specific agencies, phone numbers, addresses, etc.). Responses like "contact your local historian/appraiser etc." is not helpful b/c obviously I have done that already and gotten no more info than what I've already mentioned. If anyone has a background in this sort of thing, I'll happily email you with more info about my family member (name, occupation, etc) but would rather not put that info "out there" for all to see on this board. Thanks!!! Quinn &#9617; RAIN 02:55, 9 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Just a side note: I have not lived in Galveston (its likely place of origin) for 30 years, so that might be the place to start, but who/where? Quinn &#9617; RAIN  03:05, 9 April 2012 (UTC)


 * Can you explain why think it's not made out of fish backbone? What clues pointed you in that direction, and why do you not believe them? RudolfRed (talk) 03:07, 9 April 2012 (UTC)
 * (I assume you mean why I do believe it's made out of fish backbone. Unless I mistyped, that is my suspicion.)  I have been told it is likely made out of fish backbone due to its (the shaft's) light-ness, the fact that it is likely from Galveston, TX (a port city on the Gulf of Mexico) and the un-even alignment of the holes/vertebrae (minus any obvious "seams" -it's all one piece from what I can tell) that run along the shaft. This is the opinion from a biologist friend of mine (granted, he works in the shrimping industry, so perhaps not an expert), but it makes sense to me, though I am open to other possibilities. Quinn &#9617; RAIN  03:26, 9 April 2012 (UTC)


 * You told us it the clues said it was made from fish. Then you asked us to tell you what it is made of, which I took to mean you didn't actually beleive it was made from fish.  That's what I was trying to get clarification on.  RudolfRed (talk) 03:38, 9 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Ah yes, I see the confusion now. Sorry...to clarify, I meant what kind of fish (if a fish) it is made of, i.e. whale bone, snapper, tuna, etc. Quinn &#9617; RAIN 04:02, 9 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Interesting! It looks like something rare to me. I have never seen one like that before but well after all it is just my opinion. I'm no expert so yea. I'm kind of confused on something you said. According to what you said: someone named Robert. de Lorenzo gave it to your great grandfather. You can try to track down Robert's descendants or his original or something like that. I'm sure that your great grandfather can answer all the things about the cane but well i assumed that he is dead by now. I wonder why no one in your family ever ask your great grandfather detailed info about that mysterious cane when he still alive? Let me ask you a question. Have you ever seen some other cane that looks like yours or similar enough? Plus i want to add something. According to me, it doesn't matter much why/how your family got it. What matter is who made that cane in the first place? For what purpose was the cane made for? Why its creator designed the cane like that? (it is always a cool thing to search for a something mysterious. It is by far something i love to do. It is like a big adventure and i love adventure but unfortunately i don't have any mysterious to search for haaa. Doesn't matter what you found out at the end, you will have an unbeatable experience. Good luck!) 65.128.168.226 (talk) 05:11, 9 April 2012 (UTC)
 * I found a shark vertebrae walking stick from the Civil War period. It looks to be similar to your example. - Cucumber Mike (talk) 07:32, 9 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Obviously wrong when it says it's "unique"! Alansplodge (talk) 15:59, 9 April 2012 (UTC) Alansplodge (talk) 15:59, 9 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Oh Alan, silly, don't you know that nothing means what it used to mean anymore? How selfish, not to mention boring, to allow only one thing to be unique.  Keep up, man!  Witness what Yves Montand once said: I think a man can have two, maybe three affairs while he is married. But three is the absolute maximum. After that, you're cheating.  :)  --  ♬  Jack of Oz  ♬  [your turn]  23:06, 9 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Well, if it is made out of some type of fish and it is a walking stick, then it has to have been made from an amphibian - they can walk, you know. Benyoch (talk) 02:54, 10 April 2012 (UTC)

Obscure phrase?
I would like to have my Freshman Introductory Composition class look at obscure or lesser known cultural trends via catchphrases. So my question is: What are some less familiar "catch phrases" that are used in reference to cultural thought or action?

For example, food desert, hypergamy/"marrying down", and cream skimming are lesser known phrases (or not as widely reported in the media) that are related to current cultural phenomenon or thoughts, but, probably because they're obscure, I am having problems locating enough. I don't care if the word/phrase is in one type of area (i.e. economics, housing, technology, environment, etc.). The more varied the better.

Thank you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Piltricia (talk • contribs) 16:46, 9 April 2012 (UTC)


 * I must say I'm looking forwards to the answers to this one, and while I'm waiting for some I'll kick off (there's one) with "worried well". --TammyMoet (talk) 19:18, 9 April 2012 (UTC)


 * Heavy legs. -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 19:21, 9 April 2012 (UTC)


 * Automagically and its evil twin Heisenbug. -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 19:24, 9 April 2012 (UTC)


 * I've experience Heisenbugs myself, when adding debug prints solved the problem. StuRat (talk) 04:18, 10 April 2012 (UTC)


 * Michael Quinion frequently reports on such things at his World Wide Words site, but I don't know how one would find them except by trawling through the full index (it helps to keep an eye out for words with trendy elements like eco-). A few I noticed at quick glance in the B's are bossnapping, brain fingerprinting, and business theatre. Deor (talk) 22:21, 9 April 2012 (UTC)


 * That last one reminds me of the (not very obscure) Security theater. now is the winter of our discontent -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 22:52, 9 April 2012 (UTC)


 * Cargo cult (in its metaphorical use). -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 22:54, 9 April 2012 (UTC)


 * Teardown culture is talked about in that article as well as our article on Hinsdale, Illinois. Others might include snout house or McMansion.  Dismas |(talk) 02:19, 10 April 2012 (UTC)


 * But you'll never be able to afford a McMansion if you only have a McJob. StuRat (talk) 03:53, 10 April 2012 (UTC)


 * Nutraceutical, angel dusting, super PAC, metrosexual, mani-pedi, and let's not forget the wiki. Drug companies and defense attorneys are always interested in coming up with new syndromes so they can sell drugs and get their guilty clients off criminal charges.  For example, we have intermittent explosive disorder.  StuRat (talk) 03:57, 10 April 2012 (UTC)


 * Is that anything like Spontaneous human combustion, Stu? --  ♬  Jack of Oz  ♬  [your turn]  09:20, 10 April 2012 (UTC)


 * It certainly sounds like it. Whoever named it deserves both fates. StuRat (talk) 18:02, 10 April 2012 (UTC)


 * Also just look for new words, like these:, , , , and out own neologism article. (It seems odd, though, that some of those words I've used for years, like "audiophile" and "fussbudget", while I've never heard of many of the others.) StuRat (talk) 04:05, 10 April 2012 (UTC)


 * It depends what you mean by 'less familiar' I guess. I saw this story originally from the Independent just yesterday and a quick search suggests it went around, whether from the Independent and the UK, other sources or independentaly from the research.      . (Such a search will also find plenty of other earlier news and other sources using the term 'marrying down', e.g.    .) P.S. Hypergamy and marrying down are the opposite of each other, I think you'll find the hypergamy and marrying up are even more discussed. Nil Einne (talk) 09:20, 10 April 2012 (UTC)


 * Having recommended World Wide Words above, I've just noticed that Quinion tends to discuss such neologisms under the rubric "Turns of Phrase". The corresponding index will conveniently lead you to many such terms. Deor (talk) 20:29, 10 April 2012 (UTC)


 * From South Africa comes tenderpreneur - One who enriches himself by selling his/her political influence to illegally interfere in the awarding of government tenders. It is a subspecies of the more widely known kleprocrat. The word is a combination of "tender" and "entrepreneur". Roger (talk) 08:29, 11 April 2012 (UTC)