Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2012 February 16

= February 16 =

parking enforcement in east lansing, mi
This question has been removed. Per the reference desk guidelines, the reference desk is not an appropriate place to request medical, legal or other professional advice, including any kind of medical diagnosis or prognosis, or treatment recommendations. For such advice, please see a qualified professional. If you don't believe this is such a request, please explain what you meant to ask, either here or on the talk page discussion (if a link has been provided). -- Jayron  32  02:05, 16 February 2012 (UTC)


 * Metadiscussion removed to WT:RD. -- Jayron  32  19:52, 16 February 2012 (UTC)

United States Post Office information on cost of producing postage stamps
Dear Wiki Folks,

I'm really having a hard time finding out what is paid to artists, the cost of original production for a new USPS stamp and the historical data in these areas. I would appreciate direction, if not the article info per your fabulous service. Thank you!189.222.248.33 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 16:42, 16 February 2012 (UTC).


 * I would be most surprised if this information were not classified "commercial-in-confidence" and thus unavailable to the public. --   Jack of Oz   [your turn]  18:36, 16 February 2012 (UTC)
 * I believe that historically, most USPS stamps were designed in-house by Federal employees. However, that is changed over the past thirty years or so.  You might want to contact the American Philatelic Society in Pennsylvania.  They have a very good library, I'm told, and their librarian may be well-suited to help you.--Wehwalt (talk) 18:57, 16 February 2012 (UTC)


 * Being that the U.S. Postal Service is still government run (despite being nominally a separate corporation; still has a legal monopoly on first class mail), I would imagine a Freedom of Information Act request might reveal that information. I would be most surprised if it were classified. Shadowjams (talk) 19:44, 16 February 2012 (UTC)
 * And Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee might have some more information about the selection process. Shadowjams (talk) 19:44, 16 February 2012 (UTC)
 * The best stamp newspaper has always been Linn's Stamp News. No doubt the APS has their microfilm, but a call to Linn's may point you in the right direction.--Wehwalt (talk) 22:00, 16 February 2012 (UTC)


 * I doubt this is classified in any way. It's probably just obscure or complicated (e.g. depends what federal "grade" you qualify as).
 * Anyway, the USPS says that they have art directors that then contract out the work to various artists to execute the designs. "Stamp designing is an unusual art form requiring exacting skill in portraying a subject within very small dimensions." This page discusses the process a bit as well. (We have a list of Artists of stamps of the United States). Anyway, you might try just e-mailing them and asking. It sounds like a lot of the work is done under standard contracts or by people who are already paid by the USPS. --Mr.98 (talk) 22:17, 16 February 2012 (UTC)
 * How ironic, emailing the postal service; perhaps you could mail them a letter with a newly-designed stamp :-) Nyttend (talk) 03:32, 21 February 2012 (UTC)

ATM with envelope
Would it be too much of a hassle for an ATM to put the money into an envelope? Or at least into a folded piece of paper? Does this exist at all?Ib30 (talk) 22:42, 16 February 2012 (UTC)


 * Technically it would be possible to build a machine that does this...I just don't think there's any real consumer demand for it. Most people I see get the money out of the ATM and then put it straight into their wallet/purse. ny156uk (talk) 22:55, 16 February 2012 (UTC)


 * But, in this case, all can see how much you got. And how can you know how high is the real "real consumer demand?" Maybe people simply didn't realize that they need this. Remember that people are always afraid of being robbed, even in places with very little criminality. Ib30 (talk) 23:00, 16 February 2012 (UTC)
 * Well, such a device is feasible. But, in this case, you are raising the issue with the wrong group of people.  Your chance of finding someone at the Wikipedia reference desk who has the ability to implement your good idea is next to nil.  Perhaps you could contact a company that manufactures ATM machines instead.  That would be a better outlet for your ideas than here.  -- Jayron  32  23:12, 16 February 2012 (UTC)


 * I'm not trying to find anyone who could do that. I just asked for references: 1- difficult? 2- already exists? It seems that no is the answer to both questions. Ib30 (talk) 23:14, 16 February 2012 (UTC)


 * Saving paper is very fashionable. Big companies like to be seen as being environmentally friendly. That may tend to present an uphill battle for your idea even though the amount of (recycled) paper may be inconsequential. Bus stop (talk) 23:34, 16 February 2012 (UTC)


 * Given the number of transactions at a given ATM, the amount of paper is not inconsequential, at least from a financial point of view. Envelopes cost money, and providing them for withdrawals would only add to the banks costs; costs which they will pass on to their customers.  Some banks are now also doing away with envelopes on deposits as well; they have an optical scanner which reads bills and checks directly, so you don't even have to key in how much you are depositing.  You just feed bills and checks into the machine without using any envelope.  This probably saves the banks that use them untold millions of dollars in paper costs.  It is highly unlikely, given this new trend to avoiding all envelopes, that there will be any impetus to effectively double the number of envelopes in use at an ATM.  -- Jayron  32  14:44, 17 February 2012 (UTC)


 * I can just imagine the amount of littered empty envelopes which would ensue. The Mark of the Beast (talk) 00:08, 17 February 2012 (UTC)


 * In defense of the idea, it could be optional. Bus stop (talk) 00:38, 17 February 2012 (UTC)


 * Receipts usually are yet they still usually litter ATMs even with a slot for disposal usually present on the machine. Nil Einne (talk) 01:09, 17 February 2012 (UTC)


 * The difficulty need not be too hard. One can imagine a device that just glues a paper envelope around the cash. It still sounds like a horrible idea to me. "Remember that people are always afraid of being robbed, even in places with very little criminality." This is not my experience. I don't think this would really deter ATM-related crime in any case. --Mr.98 (talk) 00:38, 17 February 2012 (UTC)


 * The trend is away from inessential materials such as deposit envelopes and deposit slips. One can imagine that trend to have a momentum of its own. Bus stop (talk) 00:45, 17 February 2012 (UTC)
 * Keep your eye out for the ATM machine that also dispenses a switchblade. --Mr.98 (talk) 13:24, 17 February 2012 (UTC)


 * Indeed I'm guessing in many countries the number of people concerned about getting robbed at the ATM who want an envelope so the amount of cash they are withdrawing is more hidden is dwarfed by the number of people who want the reassurance of counting their money to make sure the machine gave them the right amount and would find the envelope fairly annoying. Also when are you going to take money out of the envelope? Going to your car (if you drove) or somewhere nearby is potentially worse then at the ATM machine where there are security cameras and people generally give you a fair amount of room. (In Malaysia it's fairly common for ATM rooms at banks to have a security guard.) Also I don't think it's as easy to see as IB30 seems to think. Sure if you count your money people probably can get some idea. But you usually just get a bundle and if you stick is straight in your wallet or purse, the thickness of that bundle isn't generally that easy to see if you aren't right next to that person. Nil Einne (talk) 01:09, 17 February 2012 (UTC)
 * Someone figuring to rob an ATM user isn't likely to be all that selective. "Whatever ya got, gimme it." ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 02:09, 17 February 2012 (UTC)
 * What about the solution of selecting a different ATM? Usually there are some standing in the plain wide open, unsheltered from the elements or onlookers' eyes, and there are others which can be accessed inside bank branch offices or booths (vestibules (Q: Friends)), comfy cosy. --Ouro (blah blah) 07:03, 17 February 2012 (UTC)
 * Most ATMs that I've seen in recent years in the United States have been kept inside little lobbies that require ATM cards to get into. You could still get robbed coming out of the lobby, but that's the case with this scheme too. The idea is to give a small semblance of security when you're taking out money and whatnot. But anyway, those who are afraid of ATM muggings have plenty of options — like not going to ATM machines at night, or going to "safer" ones, and whatnot. I live near a few free-standing ATM machines in an area that I'm not sure I'd like to spend too much time alone at night; I exercise my hard-evolved intelligence and don't go withdrawing hundreds of dollars there at 3am. :-) --Mr.98 (talk) 13:24, 17 February 2012 (UTC)


 * Unfortunately I do not have a reference, but the very first ATMs that I used back in either 1979 or 1980 did provide the money in an envelope. If I recall correctly, the envelope contained a twenty dollar bill and a five dollar bill (US$), and you could get either one or two envelopes in a single transaction.  -- LarryMac  | Talk  13:56, 17 February 2012 (UTC)
 * That would mean that the evolution is going from enveloped to envelope-free. --Ouro (blah blah) 19:44, 17 February 2012 (UTC)
 * I remember my dad using an early ATM at around that time in the UK. The notes came out in a plastic clip of sorts and there was a slot in the ATM for you to put the clip back once you had removed the notes from it. --Viennese Waltz 18:14, 19 February 2012 (UTC)