Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2014 May 17

= May 17 =

HOW do I get in to a cash box
Got a cash box, clearly full of cash, might be a load of old coppers in the bottom of a bag, but the key is missing, I have the twin cash box, this one has key, but does not go in the other's lock. How do I get in? Horatio Snickers (talk) 02:27, 17 May 2014 (UTC)


 * Well, if you don't have the key, then is it safe to assume you'll never use it again once it's open? If so, just bust it with a hammer.  Dismas |(talk) 02:33, 17 May 2014 (UTC)
 * See Lock picking. Study the twin key to estimate the number of levers inside the lock and their positions. A simple opening technique that does not damage the lock is Lock bumping. Ethical people can do this as Locksport. 84.209.89.214 (talk) 03:20, 17 May 2014 (UTC)


 * As a self-taught lock-picker with a decent set of picks (yes, it's a sport thing), I can tell you that it's quite hard to learn unless you've got a dismantled lock of the kind you intend to pick to practice on. It's extremely difficult to visualize what's going on inside the lock using just your imagination of what you THINK it might be doing inside.  However, if you've had a chance to practice on a dismantled lock where you can see the little pins going up and down, it's really quite easy.  I can pick a typical cylinder door lock in about 30 seconds (and so could anyone else who cares to learn to do it - that's why I have digital door locks on my house!)...but faced with a different kind of lock, such as the one on your cash box, I'm not sure I'd actually succeed in doing it before frustration set in!


 * So, in your position I'd just take a pry-bar to it. The idea of those things isn't to prevent a thief from taking all of the money.  A determined thief simply steals the entire cash box and opens it by brute force.  The idea is to prevent casual light-fingered people from sneaking a dollar or two out of the box now and again and slowly leaching the money away - and it doesn't require a particularly strong lock to deter them.  So unless this thing was exceedingly heavy or bolted to the floor or something - it's probably going to be very easy to open with a bit of brute force.  And, as others have pointed out, if you don't have the key, it's kinda useless to you anyway - so you might as well go ahead and break it open.  Use either a pry-bar or a wedge and a hammer.


 * If you really want to avoid having money stolen, you need to hide it someplace like tucked into a book or inside an empty soda can or something. Burglars don't have the time to search all of those places - but a locked cash box is a blatantly obvious target for them.


 * SteveBaker (talk) 13:43, 17 May 2014 (UTC)


 * Drill out the lock. Raquel Baranow (talk) 16:54, 17 May 2014 (UTC)
 * If the OP has a cash box but not the key(s) and is not sure of the exact contents (and does not volunteer the provenance), then we should not answer this.  It suggests very clearly that this cash box is not his own personal property so he may inducing  us to be accomplices  by providing answers in order from him to execute and complete  a criminal offense.  The easiest is to go to a registered lock-smith but he will also ask questions to cover his own back.--Aspro (talk) 17:04, 17 May 2014 (UTC)

Best way is with a screwdriver - shove it into the key-hole, whack it with a hammer, and twist. Just the thing when you've bought a load of junk at a car boot or a house clearance and don't have the keys. DuncanHill (talk) 18:37, 17 May 2014 (UTC)

Out of curiosity, where did you get this cash box? We aren't assisting you in committing a felony are we? lol Bali88 (talk) 18:51, 17 May 2014 (UTC)


 * If blunt trauma to the lock or box doesn't seem easily fruitful, a hacksaw and some time is all you need for the cashboxes I'm familiar with. (WP:AGF applies here too. I've lost a few keys to my own things, as well as passwords to my own files :-/) SemanticMantis (talk) 23:51, 18 May 2014 (UTC)
 * Agreed. AGF. I've lost a key to a box that I knew had a Reggie Jackson rookie baseball card in it.  If I'd have needed to get into it, there's always a hacksaw or drill. Luckily I found the key.  So yeah, give OP a break.  Dismas |(talk) 23:55, 18 May 2014 (UTC)

FOR THE RECORD I AM NOT A THIEF! I am just a disorganised person! I used to put on a lot of events so we had a cash box at the door to keep the float in, change, etc. Haven't done so in a couple of years so I put them under my bed. I'm currently stony broke so I want to get into the red cash box to see if there's any money in there. The blue one just had a load of 1 and 2 penny pieces in so I'm not hopeful (and don't want to pay a locksmith!), so I might try and smash it up with a hammer. So do you mean I ought to be hitting a chisel or similar into the crack by where the lock is with the hammer? Horatio Snickers (talk) 19:18, 19 May 2014 (UTC)


 * Yeah - it's OK, some people here seem to have forgotten one of Wikipedia's core rules: Assume Good Faith.  I apologize on their behalf!   It's hard to guess the best way to break into the box without knowing more about it.
 * Simply whacking it at random with a hammer doesn't seem likely to do anything.
 * Pick the lock. Nice because it's non-destructive - but tough to do if you don't have a decent set of lockpicks and the opportunity to practice on a dismantled lock first.
 * Break the internal catch that's holding the box shut - or the frame that the catch latches into. Seems like a good approach, so basically you need to drive a wedge into the lid opening close to where the lock is. Wedges are good tools because they produce enormous mechanical advantage.   The tool that you need isn't a woodworker's chisel, it's a Cold chisel - not very sharp - but very heavy and indestcrutible.   Either that or find the largest, oldest flat-bladed screwdriver you can.
 * Break the lock itself. With some lock designs, you can hammer a screwdriver into the slot where the key goes and then turn the screwdriver to open the lock.   This might work - or it might just destroy the lock and make it even harder to open!   Alternatively, you can drill out the lock with a succession of progressively larger diameter drill bits until it opens.
 * Break the hinges. Sometimes this is ridiculously easy - you can often hacksaw through the pin that holds the hinge together and just slide it out...but a reasonably good strong box will have hinges that are hidden inside the box...so that doesn't work.
 * Drop it from a great height onto concrete. If it lands diagonally on one corner, the twisting forces can sometimes pop the internal catch and the thing will just fall open. comment - make sure there is no one in sight. I'm fairly certain this is a felony if there is the potential for someone to be hit in the head by said flying cashbox. lol Bali88 (talk) 21:20, 19 May 2014 (UTC)
 * But for all of these approaches, you need to know a lot about how the box is constructed. SteveBaker (talk) 20:00, 19 May 2014 (UTC)


 * Yes, either the corvid method (#6) SteveBaker proposes, or there's also the Breaking Bad method where you save a child from a life of abuse, foregoing the potential monetary profit. μηδείς (talk) 21:09, 19 May 2014 (UTC)

Ha ha, thanks everyone! I'll be here all week. Try the veal!
There's a trope where, when someone says something funny or otherwise does something entertaining or impressive (or perhaps fails badly at one of the aforementioned), they pretend to be the host at a dinner theater and engage the witnesses as if they were an audience. The basic form is to thank the crowd, mention something about the show's run or duration, and perhaps then add an exhortation to tip the waitstaff or try a particular dish. Is there a particular source for this? The standardization of the form makes me think that there's some specific origin. Matt Deres (talk) 13:28, 17 May 2014 (UTC)


 * You might want to ask this on the Entertainment Desk...the folks there are better at this kind of question. SteveBaker (talk) 13:46, 17 May 2014 (UTC)


 * I'm feeling pretty confident that the same people are here too. :) Matt Deres (talk) 23:36, 17 May 2014 (UTC)


 * I've come across Web posts speculating that it's a stock joke from the Borscht belt heydays. That's as much as I've found. OttawaAC (talk) 00:31, 18 May 2014 (UTC)


 * It from actual night clubs, where the guest comic would indeed want to tell people where he was next appearing and also might have been asked, or volunteered, to request better tips for the wait staff and tell the diners about the specials. I don't find it terribly funny for comics not at night clubs to do that, but some people seem to like that kind of "out of place" humor. StuRat (talk) 00:33, 18 May 2014 (UTC)


 * ...so it's a special kind of non sequitur (literary device)? ¡Spoon! (Fork\Knife) 07:44, 20 May 2014 (UTC)


 * Correct, although also with a link to the past, whether their own or the past of stand up comics, in general. Comics will occasionally throw in other references to past comics, too, like "I don't get no respect!". StuRat (talk) 15:03, 20 May 2014 (UTC)

What are these symbols?
Hoping you can see them clearly enough here [] We're in Newton Abbot,England-on the pavement there's a star and what appears to be an upside down U.Just behind the bench there's what appears to be a very large letter i.I've tried the local library,tourist info and no-one has any idea where they came from,when they appeared or what they mean.Any suggestions dear people? Lemon martini (talk) 14:09, 17 May 2014 (UTC)
 * It looks like a drawing of a shoe print instead of an i to me! Also, what is that line that goes over the flower wall? I'll ask my british friends and see if I can find some answers for you. :-) Bali88 (talk) 14:59, 17 May 2014 (UTC)

Ignore that big white line-the shot is from Google Earth and that's just the direction line for how you're facing Lemon martini (talk) 15:31, 17 May 2014 (UTC)
 * If you look at it on Google Maps from the Queen Street, the cross appears to have the letter N at the north end - a compass rose suggests itself. The other three paintings seem connected. Some kind of a game perhaps? Wonder if church across the street would mind if someone asked. 88.112.50.121 (talk) 15:44, 17 May 2014 (UTC)
 * I have a theory about the arc-and-circles: it is a picture of St Leonard's Tower (do an image search on it). 88.112.50.121 (talk) 16:36, 17 May 2014 (UTC)
 * It's funny you say that: my british friends didn't know what they were, but one of them mentioned it kind of looked like a castle that had been partially painted over. Bali88 (talk) 16:41, 17 May 2014 (UTC)

So far I haven't come up with any solid answers, but my guess would be the shoe print means this is a walking path and the U symbolizes something along the lines of "no bikes". So basically, they're trying to communicate that that particular area is solely for people on foot. Bali88 (talk) 15:55, 17 May 2014 (UTC)

I notice that some Google Street View imagery doesn't show the markings, and neither does the Satellite view image of the location. So the markings must be fairly new, maybe even temporary, like an art project. You might consider contacting the restaurant or maybe the church in the photo to see if anyone there knows what they are. Or try the local newspaper. --50.100.193.30 (talk) 03:45, 19 May 2014 (UTC)