Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2012 December 6

= December 6 =

suit colours
What are the common colours of suits worn by men? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Donmust90 (talk • contribs) 00:55, 6 December 2012 (UTC)


 * Grey, black, brown, blue, bone. --   Jack of Oz   [Talk]  01:04, 6 December 2012 (UTC)


 * Beige. Also GQ and Colonel Sanders like white. Clarityfiend (talk) 01:40, 6 December 2012 (UTC)


 * Shiitake mushroom isn't bad, found here. Bus stop (talk) 01:51, 6 December 2012 (UTC)


 * It rather depends on your industry. For a banker or insurance salesman, you want dark colors or neutrals (in solids or pinstripes), while red, yellow, lime green, pink, violet, and purple should only be worn by the artistic professions (perhaps in plaid, patterns, or paisley). StuRat (talk) 02:27, 6 December 2012 (UTC)


 * It depends on the occasion, dark suits for work and funerals, bright suits for Easter and weddings. Rmhermen (talk) 02:39, 6 December 2012 (UTC)


 * An English gentleman would "never wear brown to town". An accountant friend was once told not to wear a brown suit to a client's office because he would "look like a tradesman". I believe brightly coloured suits are very popular in Africa. Alansplodge (talk) 02:58, 6 December 2012 (UTC)


 * The link doesn't work for me but Google Images thinks you mean the second image in this link (also available elsewhere like the photographers site ) Nil Einne (talk) 13:35, 6 December 2012 (UTC)


 * No, it was a picture of a man in a canary-yellow suit smoking a cigar (the link still works for me). Alansplodge (talk) 18:29, 6 December 2012 (UTC)
 * As luck would have it, NE's links also include a picture of a man in a canary-yellow suit smoking a cigar. —Tamfang (talk) 00:14, 10 December 2012 (UTC)
 * D'oh! Alansplodge (talk) 22:40, 10 December 2012 (UTC)

Car identification
What car is this? I found it on a website specializing in import Japanese cars. The website doesn't list a model and the filename is just "x.jpg".Dncsky (talk) 01:13, 6 December 2012 (UTC)


 * It's a Porsche 911 (looks like a 1980s or early 1990s model). A Porsche forum will be able to pin it down much more accurately. -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 01:58, 6 December 2012 (UTC)


 * Thanks a lot!Dncsky (talk) 02:17, 6 December 2012 (UTC)


 * Looks like a 930 Turbo Cabriolet to be specific. -- Daniel (talk)  02:20, 6 December 2012 (UTC)

Why does grilled food taste different to oven-cooked food?
Why does the same food item taste differently when it's been grilled compared to when it has been oven cooked, even when other things (seasoning, oils, etc) are the same? Note I'm not talking about barbecues, charcoal grills, etc, but indoor electric cooker grills vs indoor electric cooker ovens. Thryduulf (talk) 01:52, 6 December 2012 (UTC)


 * Grills are designed to sear the meat (those are the darkened strips), while an oven cooks more evenly. StuRat (talk) 02:22, 6 December 2012 (UTC)


 * Of grilling and broiling, Harold McGee merely observes that it's especially hot, and that it can tricky to achieve browning without also having the outside burn. So some of that flavour is really burning, and some a particularly intense production of the flavours produced by the Maillard reaction. But he also notes that the Maillard reaction occurs above 120C and caramelisation above 165C; if your oven is set between the two and you'll only get the flavours of the former process. For wet oven cooking (e.g. casseroles) where the food temperature doesn't rise above 100C neither process occurs and so the casserole isn't browned and doesn't exhibit either process' flavour. Incidentally McGee explicitly distinguishes between a barbecue (where the temperature is around 90C, and meat is slow roasted with flavour from the smoke not Maillard) and a charcoal grill, where the temperature is hot enough for caramelisation and Maillard; lots of people do the latter and call it the former. -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 02:26, 6 December 2012 (UTC)


 * There's also this tasty cooking method. μηδείς (talk) 16:29, 6 December 2012 (UTC)

Population within cars in transit
In the present day, at any moment, what is the approximate average total number of people in the entire world in moving automobiles? I'm not asking how many car owners there are in the world; what I'm asking is how many people are actually in transit on cars at any given time. In other words, what is the average world traffic population? —SeekingAnswers (reply) 07:03, 6 December 2012 (UTC)


 * Figure the portion of the day each person spends in a car, on average, and multiply by the world population. Let's say the average person spends 1% of each day in a car (that's 14.4 minutes).  That might seem low, but remember that most people on Earth don't own a car.  If we multiply 1% by a world population of 7 billion, we get about 70 million people.   Feel free to do your own calcs based on your own assumptions. StuRat (talk) 07:52, 6 December 2012 (UTC)
 * In a given time zone there are two times of peak vehicle occupancy, see Rush hour. Unfortunately not all the vehicles may be moving, see Gridlock. SkylonS (talk) 09:20, 6 December 2012 (UTC)

Quiz question
"If 31 and 38 are European capital cities and 36 is the third largest city in Austria, which Roman god is 41 and which Salzburg family are 35?" This is from an article in The Telegraph. I've got Linz for the city, and I'm thinking von Trapp for the family, but I can't see a way in to the rest of it. I've tried Roman numerals and summing letter values (A=1, B=2, etc) but got nowhere. Any ideas? - Cucumber Mike (talk) 10:00, 6 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Try Mozart symphonies. ---Sluzzelin talk  10:41, 6 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Ah yes, very good. Easy when you know how! Thank you. - Cucumber Mike (talk) 12:00, 6 December 2012 (UTC)

Syrian WMD
Is it possable that these WMDs actually are the ones we thought were in Iraq,and they did film trucks moving things to Syria...? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.229.140.176 (talk) 14:12, 6 December 2012 (UTC)
 * I have added a title to your question. I have no idea what you are askign about though. WMD? Where did you hear about "these WMD" ? --Lgriot (talk) 14:31, 6 December 2012 (UTC)


 * The article Syria and weapons of mass destruction details what Syria's capabilities are, or are alleged to be. Agents like Sarin are not especially difficult for a modern chemical industry to manufacture - there's no need for a country of the size and degree of industrial development of Syria to import these from another country. -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 14:36, 6 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Sometimes governments do actually lie deliberately or are totally clueless or just believe what they want to believe. The people in the government are human beings, no better no worse than you or I on average. Dmcq (talk) 16:40, 6 December 2012 (UTC)


 * AFAIK, even the Bush government agreed that there were none WMD in Iraq, although not all agree if the belief on its existence was based on a lie or just an honest mistake. Anyway, you cannot produce and store Sarin for years and then deploy it somewhere else. It's easy to produce but difficult to store (and also difficult to deploy).


 * I don't believe that they are pulling the same trick again: hey, these Arabs have WMD, I saw some trucks over there, maybe we should bomb them. OsmanRF34 (talk) 22:34, 7 December 2012 (UTC).
 * Sarin is very easy too deploy. All you need is a bag of it and an umbrella.  KägeTorä - (影虎)  ( TALK )  15:24, 9 December 2012 (UTC)

40 year old children`s poem
mrs pussy sleek and fat, and her kitten`s four went to sleep upon the porch by the kitchen door.

mrs. pussy heard a noise, up she woke and said, kittens, wake up now, or you won`t be fed.−


 * Next time try google. The poem's quite a bit more than 40 years old, see here. μηδείς (talk) 16:24, 6 December 2012 (UTC)
 * It's a kindergarten song from the 19th century. SkylonS (talk) 10:44, 7 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Medeis seems to have hit the nail on the head; it's a fingerplay written by Emilie Poulsson (1853-1939) from Boston (presumably the one in Massachusetts), and set to music by Cornelia C. Roeske, neither of whom have articles on Wikipedia. The book linked by Medeis above is the first publication that I can find - it's dated 1889 - although in her preface, Emilie says that the rhymes were previously published in "Babyland" which seems to be absent from the internet, or at least invisible to Google. Poulsson was an advocate of educationalist Friedrich Froebel; she wrote and gave lectures on parenting, as well as writing copious books for children, some of which she translated from Norwegian. Alansplodge (talk) 17:59, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

The fluke inverness
How old is the fluke pub building in inverness and what did it used to be. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.116.201.49 (talk) 16:43, 6 December 2012 (UTC)


 * Personally I can't answer your question, but this site may have an old picture of the building. You may also wish to contact this site to see if anyone involved with it can help you. --TammyMoet (talk) 08:21, 7 December 2012 (UTC)


 * The this website says that it was formerly the "New Market Inn". The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland has two results, one for New Market Inn, Inverness, which has no details. The other is for Market Inn, Inverness which says "ARCHITECT: Ross & MacBeth (I.C. May 2, 1890) - rebuilding. Location unknown. See also: NH64SE 120 Inverness, Culcabock Road, New Market Inn" which seems to suggest that they are one and the same. The inn doesn't appear on the British Listed Buildings page for Inverness which suggests that it isn't old or notable enough to warrant statutory protection. Alansplodge (talk) 14:56, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

leprechaun
I would like a list of tne students that were the notre dame mascot ( leprechaun ). Thank you   John Donley  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.73.180.46 (talk) 18:19, 6 December 2012 (UTC)
 * It seems to be a bit complicated. Notre Dame Leprechaun says that John Brandt served until 1963, although the Leprechaun wasn't made the official mascot until '65. Then sometime around 2002 or before, they decided they needed two to handle all the appearances, a Varsity and Olympic Leprechaun. Michael Macaluso was the former, John Bisanz the latter in 2002. Mike George was the Varsity ("Gold Squad") one for 2011-2012, while Bryce Burton was promoted from "Blue Squad" (Olympic?) to "Gold Squad" for 2012. He was replaced at Blue Squad by Johnny Romano, while "Louis Ganser will cheer for the new Green Squad." Sadly the gremlins seem to have gotten to the Notre Dame Alumni Association's "Where Are They Now? Catch Up With Former ND Leprechauns" so that it no longer shows the full article. Maybe you should contact the alumni association. Clarityfiend (talk) 03:05, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

Closet space in 1900?
I recently moved into a house that was built in 1900, and I'm wowwed by the lack of closet space. Obviously, houses reflect the needs of the day, so I'm left wondering how this little closet space would've been viable. How many pieces of clothing would a member of an average, middle class family living in a small city in Northeast Pennsylvania have had in 1900? Did people use wardrobe cabinets more than actual wall-and-door closets, or fold clothes rather than hang them? Foofish (talk) 18:22, 6 December 2012 (UTC)


 * Yes, separate wardrobe cabinet furniture was the norm. Closets might have been limited to linen closets. StuRat (talk) 18:29, 6 December 2012 (UTC)


 * To answer the question a bit indirectly, most new-build homes in the UK, in this day and age, do not have "wall-and-door closets", if I understand the meaning of that phrase correctly. (Most larger ones do.) --Demiurge1000 (talk) 18:30, 6 December 2012 (UTC)


 * So does that mean people in the UK still use separate furniture to store their clothes ? StuRat (talk) 18:31, 6 December 2012 (UTC)


 * Many do, yes. I would imagine some in the USA do too. Presumably IKEA in the USA has at least some wardrobes in their catalogue? --Demiurge1000 (talk) 18:34, 6 December 2012 (UTC)


 * You can buy wardrobes here, but they aren't a common furniture store item. There are several options for cheap non-enclosed (or curtained) setups that are designed to be temporary. Most older homes I have seen in the US have obviously had closets built into all the bedrooms at some point, sometimes done very well, and other times clearly a poor job. 209.131.76.183 (talk) 13:21, 7 December 2012 (UTC)


 * And I think that it would be safe to assume that the "middle class family living in a small city in Northeast Pennsylvania" in the year 1900 simply had fewer articles of clothing per person than we do today. For instance nowadays we have fine-tuned our clothing collection to include Casual Friday, Business casual and Smart casual among other styles. Bus stop (talk) 19:35, 7 December 2012 (UTC)


 * That's the biggest part of what I was wondering -- I have a number of outfits for every occasion. Would a person in these days just have one outfit for church, one outfit for work, one outfit for going to town? I want to read more about this, but I'm not sure where to look. Foofish (talk) 17:02, 10 December 2012 (UTC)


 * I expect it all depended on income. This article from 1900, talking about "shirt waists", says; "While the maid or working-girl can wear a dark one several days, or even a week, the heiress can have a fresh... one every day." I think most people would have one set of work clothes and a "Sunday best". There was a very good British TV series called The 1900 House, where a British family had to live like Victorians for 3 months. The whole thing is on YouTube. Alansplodge (talk) 23:48, 10 December 2012 (UTC)

new Jersey questions: Is Lakewood New Jersey part of the Delaware area?
1. Is Lakewood New Jersey part of the Delaware area? 2. How far is Irvington from central Jersey? Is there any "safe rural" parts of Irvington? Like a park, beach, or somewhat safe neighborhood? Venustar84 (talk) 21:21, 6 December 2012 (UTC)


 * I don't understand the term "safe rural". Can you clarify that? Thanks. Bus stop (talk) 21:36, 6 December 2012 (UTC)


 * Lakewood is not really near Delaware. Irvington is a city. There aren't really any rural areas there. 24.229.178.39 (talk) 22:54, 6 December 2012 (UTC)

Irvington, New Jersey is entirely urban, moreso than The Bronx, and Lakewood, New Jersey is part of the Greater New York metropolitan area, considered perhaps Central Jersey, but gets New York broadcasts, not Philly ones. μηδείς (talk) 23:07, 6 December 2012 (UTC)

New jersey question rephrased: Is there any "safe area" parts of Irvington? I know that city/township has a high crime rate bu does it have any safe areas like parks, beaches, or neighborhoods or schools? Venustar84 (talk) 23:39, 6 December 2012 (UTC)


 * Irvington is fairly uniform. You will have to be a lot more specific as to what you mean by safe, for how long and for what purpose.  No, there are no nice parts compared to how, say, the Bronx has nice parts. μηδείς (talk) 01:37, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

Pardon me for asking, but does the Bronx or Manhattan have to do with Irvington?
New York City is not even the sate of New Jersey so what do with the question I'm asking about? Also I heard that Springfield Avenue that main street is safe enough to walk through out the day. Is that true? I'm only asking because I have a friend from that city who is living in a different city right now. Would alot of the population of that town be in crime? Thanks! Venustar84 (talk) 03:37, 7 December 2012 (UTC)


 * There is no part of Irvington you would want to be out on the streets in after dark, if you know what's good for you. - Nunh-huh 02:29, 7 December 2012 (UTC)


 * I suspect the comparisons to the Bronx and Manhattan were to try and illustrate the desperateness of the crime situation of Irvington, but of course it won't be an effective comparison if you're not familiar with the Bronx or Manhattan. Crimes and violent deaths happen on Springfield Avenue routinely: robbery, car theft, high speed police chases. It is not a place you want to be, or you want your friends to be. To quote our Irvington article: Irvington "has a violent crime rate six times higher than New Jersey overall and a murder rate eight times higher than statewide statistics. As of 2007, the New Jersey State Police reported that Irvington had a violent crime rate of 22.4 incidents per 1,000 population, the highest of all 15 major urban areas in the state."  Cityrating.com notes that the violent crime rate for Irvington in 2010 was "higher than the national violent crime rate average by 298.02%" and "higher than the violent crime rate in New Jersey by 422.09% ".  Springfield Avenue is not exempted. Just Google "Irvington Springfield Avenue crime" and spend some time reading. - Nunh-huh 21:25, 7 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Agreed with Nunh-huh's comments and good statistics. But while objectively Camden, New Jersey's statistics are much worse--the worst in the country, I believe--subjectively, Camden doesn't bother me in the least.  A lot has to deal with the when, where and why.  Most people who get killed in such areas are either misbehaving themselves or being very reckless; buying or selling drugs.  Without help from the OP it is hard to give more specific information. μηδείς (talk) 21:30, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

trying to find someone
I'm a little worried about my friend and business partner, being as he lives in another country it's difficult for me to go visit him to see what's up, but I haven't seen him online in about a week, and he's not replying to emails...

Any ideas how I might go about finding out if he's ok and so on? I have his full name and address, but no idea how to get in touch with anyone else close to him

86.15.83.223 (talk) 22:14, 6 December 2012 (UTC)
 * It's a tricky situation, but I think you're just going to have to ride this one out. He's probably just busy attending to real life, travelling or something.  No harm in sending a letter to his snail mail address, as well. --Viennese Waltz 22:25, 6 December 2012 (UTC)


 * If you're worried about his health or well-being, you can call the authorities in his municipality to have them check on him. 24.229.178.39 (talk) 22:56, 6 December 2012 (UTC)


 * Try to send him a telegram. They still exist. OsmanRF34 (talk) 02:25, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

Light touch approach: do you have a mutual friend or acquaintance who lives near your partner? You could ask them to drop round. There are any number of reasonable explanations, so calling in the authorities would seem heavy handed, yet you don't want to just let it lie because it's clearly troubling you, which is laudable. --Dweller (talk) 09:44, 7 December 2012 (UTC)


 * If you have an address, try getting in touch with a neighbor. Alternatively, you might try getting in touch with your country's embassy in the other country. They are probably pretty busy but if you think this is a matter of importance they might be able to send someone around as a convenience.--Mr.98 (talk) 19:19, 7 December 2012 (UTC)