Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2014 December 26

= December 26 =

survival post nuclear war event
Assuming you survive the initial event, it seems to be virtually impossible to manage long term in this type of scenario from what I gather. With predictions of a dramatic cooling event and loss of sun light the odds of survivors eeeking out a living seem unlikely. So would there be any hope. Would it be possible to accumulate enough food for up to 15 years or more and remain healthy. What about water or would this be hopelessly contaminated in the absence of powered water decontamination. Are there any documents that explain how a post apocalyptic society would function at all. Seems the odds are so nigh few bother to ponder such things...


 * Science fiction writers have been exploring this for years, some with care to get the science right (at the time they wrote) and others more concerned with the social structure. There is some discussion at Nuclear winter. I'm sure there must be an existing article more closely aligned to your question, though I haven't found it. --ColinFine (talk) 11:13, 26 December 2014 (UTC)


 * The very term "post apocalyptic" suggests there would be little hope of full recovery - and yet we've already had a nuclear war and have managed to keep going. In the days of the full Cold War, there was a good deal of thought about a possible nuclear holocaust in fiction - but, if anything, the non-fiction material was even more speculative. There were just too many variables involved; from timing to weather to the specific targets selected. If a large nuclear exchange were to take place, it would be terrible, but the effects would likely vary hugely from place to place, especially depending on the belligerents involved. Even a full scale exchange between the US and the then-USSR was not expected to kill everyone or destroy everything (see refs here) - they wanted to destroy each other, not ruin the world for the entire species. I don't think it's the case that the odds are so high, few bother to study it, it's that it's so highly variable and chaotic that few bother to try figuring anything out - there's too much guesswork involved. If or when it happens, people will do what they can to try to carry on. Matt Deres (talk) 15:35, 26 December 2014 (UTC)
 * The two atomic bombs we dropped on Japan don't really constitute a "nuclear war". WWII was otherwise totally conventional weaponry. In any case, the amount of stuff they put into the upper atmosphere was much less than what Mount Pinatubo put there a couple of decades ago - whose effect in the upper atmosphere was plainly visible for many months. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 15:57, 26 December 2014 (UTC)
 * I would suggest that the Japanese view that differently. The point of course is that the area is perfectly livable. No "Mad Max" types or anything; just folks getting on with their day. Matt Deres (talk) 00:28, 27 December 2014 (UTC)
 * How many died from conventional bombs as opposed to atomic bombs? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 01:22, 27 December 2014 (UTC)


 * See This.  KägeTorä - ( 影 虎 )  ( Chin Wag )  17:50, 26 December 2014 (UTC)

Cash Dispenser Queues.
Why do people waiting their turn to use a wall-mounted cash dispenser adjacent to a pavement, ALWAYS queue across the pavement thus forcing passers-by to walk around the queue and sometimes onto the road, rather than queue in line with the building itself? And God forbid that anyone should ever dare to break through the queue to continue their journey directly. Is there some perverse psychology going on here? 77.97.208.118 (talk) 12:44, 26 December 2014 (UTC)


 * Personally I do it to allow the current user privacy... It's harder to see someone's PIN and the amount of cash they are taking through their back than from alongside them, so they can feel less on edge while entering their PIN and taking their cash out... Plus they are (in the UK) often next to doors etc so you'd be blocking a doorway... I've never seen anyone take offence at anyone moving through the queue, unless they think you're trying to jump the queue... gaz hiley  13:14, 26 December 2014 (UTC)


 * Here in the UK there is some odd behaviour at cash points. The only time that I go into Birmingham city centre is Saturdays and there is always a long line at the cash point at my bank. The branch is open and there are three machines inside and it is rare to have to wait to use one. Also, the tellers are on duty and there is never a queue to see them. Guess where I go? I haven't encountered any problems walking through a queue, but Brits are usually quite polite. They may tut but they will allow you to pass. --TrogWoolley (talk) 15:12, 26 December 2014 (UTC)


 * I've often wondered the same thing as grocery store registers, where, given a choice of forming the line in a direction that does or doesn't block the aisle, most people seem to prefer to block traffic. I've even actively asked people to move the line to unblock the aisle, with only limited success. StuRat (talk) 07:04, 27 December 2014 (UTC)


 * I think it to do with queuing tradition. In a standard queue, you wait behind the person before you in the queue, rather than to the side. So folk just do that. At a local (to me) Post Office sorting office, there are 3 counters and a large area with a small entrance area separated from the main area by a low wall. As folk arrive, they walk forward to the end of the entrance area, and if all the counters are busy, they stop. Subsequent folk stop behind them etc, including going out the door into the cold and rain. If you make a fuss, the queue will partially shuffle snakelike into the main area, but as the front people are dealt with, it slowly straightens out until it is again counter-entrance-door-outside. I've often wondered why the P.O. don't put those posts with chains on to guide folk (See Shrek movie...) -- SGBailey (talk) 19:15, 27 December 2014 (UTC)

Name that hole
Is there a name for the hole in the top of a travel mug that allows air in while you're drinking? 2600:1000:B12F:32C3:1014:3396:CA79:31AA (talk) 14:47, 26 December 2014 (UTC)
 * "Air hole", as far as I can tell. --jpgordon:==( o ) 17:13, 26 December 2014 (UTC)
 * I'd always just considered it a vent. Not sure it has a proper name. --Onorem (talk) 17:15, 26 December 2014 (UTC)
 * Googling the subject suggests "vent" is conventional. However, some of these holes are intended for sipping, i.e. they're not necessarily just vents. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 17:23, 26 December 2014 (UTC)
 * For what it's worth, in this article on liquor pourer, the term "breather" is used to refer to a hole (or tube) that allows air into a bottle while its content is being poured out. --98.114.98.174 (talk) 01:48, 29 December 2014 (UTC)
 * I think people just call it the vent hole when they do think about it. As for the wine thing, keep in mind that when it comes to wine, everything has to have a silly name to it. Also,I have to say that this is a fantastic name for a topic. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie &#124; Say Shalom! 8 Tevet 5775 16:39, 30 December 2014 (UTC)
 * In this US patent related to cup lids, it calls a hole that allows air in for pressure equalization a "breather hole". "Breather hole" appears to be a technical term for the feature. --98.114.98.174 (talk) 02:44, 31 December 2014 (UTC)

What kind of plastic are these dog collars made of?
http://www.amazon.com/KONG-E1-PS-E-Collar-Size-Large/dp/B004ZU0FHY — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.83.184.207 (talk) 19:56, 26 December 2014 (UTC) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabethan_collar — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.83.184.207 (talk) 20:10, 26 December 2014 (UTC)


 * Wonder if the OP asks with Tongue-in-cheek? Polyethylene terephthalate is often used and better known as P.E.T.--Aspro (talk) 01:34, 27 December 2014 (UTC)