Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2015 March 1

= March 1 =

Lists of contest winners
If you do the customer satisfaction survey for Wendy's, you're offered the chance to participate in a cash drawing. The contest rules, which give the contest's address as New York, include a statement of how to obtain the name of the contest winner (or perhaps all of them?) from Wendy's. I've never heard of this kind of thing before (why would they give out the name?), so it makes me wonder if it's legally required. Does New York have some sort of requirement that contest winners' names be made publicly available? Nyttend (talk) 04:24, 1 March 2015 (UTC)


 * Well, it's supposed to give customers confidence that they did give out the money to somebody, whether they are legally required to supply the list or not. It's common for them to offer the list. (BTW, in Detroit, the customer survey gets you $2 off a large salad or sandwich.  This used to be a sweet deal, but now the price on those items has gone up, and $2 off is a smaller percentage.) StuRat (talk) 06:00, 1 March 2015 (UTC)


 * StuRat, the survey here in PA does that too; I was unaware that they also did the $500 drawing. I wouldn't do the survey just for an extremely miniscule chance of winning $500, but when I'm guaranteed an unrelated $2 coupon, I might as well sign up for the drawing too.  Nyttend (talk) 13:21, 1 March 2015 (UTC)


 * Yes, the only contests where it's worth your time to enter are generally those with food prizes or discounts. That $2 off might be less than the profit margin on one meal, so they still make money.  On the other hand, when they give away $2 outright, or more, they definitely lose money.  This is why the odds of winning are so incredibly bad, when dealing with cash prizes, but fairly good, when dealing with food prizes (even 100% in many cases). StuRat (talk) 17:07, 1 March 2015 (UTC)


 * "Acceptance of the prize constitutes permission to use the winner's name, likeness and any and all identifying characteristics including, but not limited to, the taking of photographs and/or videos by the Sponsor's photographer/videographer for publicity purposes, without further consent or compensation, unless prohibited by law...".
 * A good corporation shouldn't need to be told to take (and use) whatever potentially valuable info they can. The law is (ostensibly) there to mitigate this default setting. Wendy's would otherwise literally kidnap and sell you (or cook you) if it meant a marginal increase in profit. Not knocking them, so would the competition. It's called "leadership". InedibleHulk (talk) 07:56, 1 March 2015 (UTC)
 * InedibleHulk, see Anna Ayala :-) Nyttend (talk) 18:39, 1 March 2015 (UTC)
 * I remember hearing about that, but never got this full a story. Thanks. InedibleHulk (talk) 01:45, 2 March 2015 (UTC)
 * You could also probably ask them for a list of people who asked for a list of winners, but it'd cost more.
 * "If you are making a comment that warrants supervisory or other attention, we may need to share your information with others. We may need to bring your correspondence to the attention of our attorneys or other appropriate staff. InedibleHulk (talk) 08:03, 1 March 2015 (UTC)


 * Oh wait, that's not actually Wendy's, just a franchisee. The Questar policy is the relevant one. "Confidential information is collected through registration or contact forms on this site and will never be used for any purpose other than internal use or by our clients." They straight up invite you to transform customer feedback into business intelligence. InedibleHulk (talk) 08:20, 1 March 2015 (UTC)


 * From Wendy herself: "You agree that Wendy's and those with whom we share personal information ("Recipients") may Disclose and transfer your personal information worldwide (including in and outside the U.S, the European Union and other jurisdictions ) for any purpose relating to our operations, programs, or otherwise that is not allowed or prohibited by this Policy. InedibleHulk (talk) 08:26, 1 March 2015 (UTC)


 * In general, the names of lottery winners are usually announced. But it could depend on various laws. There may be a legal requirement for transparency in these kinds of games, but it may also be Wendy's protecting itself. A few years ago, a sting operation foiled an ongoing fraud by the ones running the McDonald's "Monopoly" game. So at least two reasons why a place like Wendy's might be impelled and/or compelled to reveal winners' names. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 19:26, 1 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Also good publicity. Being known as the company that made someone happy and rich makes you look benevolent. Putting a name and face to that person humanizes the benevolence. Good people = good food, at least on a primal level. InedibleHulk (talk) 01:45, 2 March 2015 (UTC)

Cost of shipping from US to Serbia
I was wondering how much it would cost to ship, let's say a book, from US to Serbia. I wager it's pretty expensive. RocketMaster (talk) 17:43, 1 March 2015 (UTC)
 * According to the USPS website here, a Priority Mail International Small Flat Rate Box (8-5/8" x 5-3/8" x 1-5/8", maximum weight 4 lb) will cost you $24.95 to send to Serbia, and will take 6 - 10 business days to get there. Quicker delivery is, of course, available at higher prices. Tevildo (talk) 18:16, 1 March 2015 (UTC)
 * How big of a book? You can send a Little Golden Book in a manila envelope, and it will probably be a lot cheaper than sending a 2500-page Oxford Universal Dictionary, which measures 10.7x8.3x4 inches and weighs eight pounds.  Nyttend (talk) 18:43, 1 March 2015 (UTC)
 * International shipping from the USA gets insanely complicated. For example, putting a "Little Golden Book" into an envelope makes the envelope too stiff to flex - and you get a surcharge on that because it prevents the envelope from going through the machine that automates reading the address...UNLESS you're shipping it first class, when it doesn't..sometimes it's cheaper to pay the surcharge, other times it's cheaper to bump it up to first class.  The weight and size of the box matter - and the definition of the "size" is weirdly variable too...in some cases the longest dimension matters, in other cases, the sum of the length, width and height.  As Tevildo points out, the "Priority Mail" flat-rate (kinda) system is the most predictable - but it's by far not the cheapest.  Bottom line is that you take your package to the post office and they come up with a dozen confusing options depending on speed, tracking and insurance needs.  USPS.com has a calculator for shipping costs, (click on the "Mail & Ship" menu then select "Calculate a price")  and it seems to work OK...but it's tricky to use and it's easy to miss some of the cheaper options because they are often hidden in little drop-down boxes where you might forget to look! SteveBaker (talk) 16:09, 4 March 2015 (UTC)

Westboro Baptist Church and ISIS
Westboro Baptist Church have been known to thank God for tragic events such as the Holocaust, 9/11, the Utøya killings, AIDS and Ebola. Have they been known to thank God for ISIS? J I P &#124; Talk 19:01, 1 March 2015 (UTC)


 * If this is any indication supporting ISIS is too far, even for them. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie &#124; Say Shalom! 10 Adar 5775 19:14, 1 March 2015 (UTC)
 * The site requires me to watch an advertisement video to be able to read the story. I couldn't get the video to even start. Is there an advertisement-free version available, or can someone give me the basic gist of the article? J I P  &#124; Talk 23:02, 1 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Try it with Javascript off. I didn't see anything except the story. The gist is quite opposite. A comedian offered to fly WBC to Iraq to protest ISIS, since ISIS is ostensibly an enemy of Christianity. ""I will personally pay for every member of the Westboro Baptist Church to fly to Iraq right now. I'll even fly you first class and pay the carbon offset."
 * WBC tweeted "We accepted! Whence tickets? @PhilCooke: An offer to fly WBC members 2 Iraq 2 protest. Sounds like good idea to me." But then the comedian reneged, despite plenty of donations, because he assumed they'd back out. "I don't want to fight hate with hate and I certainly don't want to give these guys more publicity," he said, apparently forgetting he made the initial challenge. He gave the donations people had intended for plane tickets to some charity St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which Robin Williams supported (this stemmed from WBC wanting to picket his funeral). I suppose he just wanted to piggyback his name. InedibleHulk (talk) 01:56, 2 March 2015 (UTC)


 * Meanwhile, Scott Walker compared unions to ISIS. But not to worry. He only finished second in the CPAC straw poll. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 19:22, 1 March 2015 (UTC)


 * Lord, that's off topic Bugs--which I say as a former Teamstress and a current union member. But could you at least have the decency to give a verbatim quote and a source? μηδείς (talk) 20:21, 1 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Here's the story. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 21:19, 1 March 2015 (UTC)


 * Thanks, there's a huge difference between what he said and how it was characterized.... The National Review is known for its support of liberal Republicans, so I think the most interesting part is that they don't even link to a full text of what was asked or said, just one phrase, where he's praising neither organization. μηδείς (talk) 23:16, 1 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Here's something closer to a full quote. It's worth noting that Rick Perry jumped to the same conclusion as "liberals" did, and that he accepts Walker's "what I meant was..." explanation. And I wasn't aware that NR was a supporter of "liberal Republicans", unless its direction has changed since William Buckley founded it. (And I've never, ever heard Buckley referred to as a liberal-anything.) But, anyway, it's the start of the 2016 campaign season, and foot-in-mouth disease has returned also. :) ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 23:38, 1 March 2015 (UTC)


 * NR is seen as supporting "establishment Republicans" which conservatives call RINO's. They were whole hog for Romney, who would never have won, given the base and the Tea Party opposed him, and did not turn out for him, as if Dems would have after his 47% comments and forced dog hosing and cutting the fag's hair incidents.  The only way Buckley was conservative was in the religious sense (he loathed Ayn Rand as an atheist and smeared her repeatedly), and although plenty of religious support the Tea Party, the Tea Party is basically small-government classical-liberal, not ban-smoking and brand-the-fags-on-the-foreheaders, like the "devout" Catholic Buckley was.  I assume you are aware Buckley's son Chris was an Obama backer, and that the NR fired Mark Steyn?  In any case, this is off topic for the OP, so that'll be my last comment on this here.  μηδείς (talk) 02:33, 2 March 2015 (UTC)
 * If you still think Buckley was a liberal, you would do well to read this writeup about Buckley. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 03:34, 2 March 2015 (UTC)
 * No, I don't call someone who wants to ban smoking and tattoo aids victims foreheads a liberal, in the sense of classic liberal. Nor di I so call a supporter of agrarians, monarchists, and turncoats from communism, like the ghastly Whitaker Chambers, betrayer of the principled communist spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.  Neither did Buckley really care about free markets.  He was an anti-communist who smoked pot but refused to argue in favor of its legalization, a snide Catholic who hated the sinner but tolerated the sin.  A fascist of the middle.  He'd make a great tour guide for a modern-day Dante's Inferno, as he was sometimes at least half as interesting as Orwell or Chesterton to read.  In the end he was a pragmatist, no different from Greenspan or LBJ, whatever their avowed principle of the moment. Oliver Stone should write a movie.  But given Truman Capote's dead, who would play him? μηδείς (talk) 04:06, 2 March 2015 (UTC)
 * David Frye did a dead-on impression of Buckley, but he's gone too. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 04:48, 2 March 2015 (UTC)
 * I hope they'll release it soon; there was a segment of the Dick Cavett Show where he and Robin Williams did an impromptu conversation impersonating Buckley and Truman Capote. It was drop-dead hilarious. μηδείς (talk) 17:07, 2 March 2015 (UTC)

Non-musical traits correlated with musical rhythm
I see from sociolinguistic research that high aptitude in musical rhythm among those without musical training is highly correlated with adult second language acquisition. Are there any other robust correlations established between musical rhythm and non-musical traits? Others that I can think of but don't find data to support are popularity and extroversion. Muzzleflash (talk) 21:11, 1 March 2015 (UTC)


 * Do you have a source for the claim of the correlation? I ask only because I cannot for the life of me keep a beat, but can pick up a foreign phrase with a few repetitions and a new language with a week or three of intensive training. μηδείς (talk) 23:20, 1 March 2015 (UTC)
 * I'm in the other boat. I can drum Latin, but forget almost every word after learning it. I'm a bad tympanista. "Log out" looks easy, according to that page. InedibleHulk (talk) 06:47, 2 March 2015 (UTC)
 * It's possible that you aren't horribly bad at rhythm perception. Maybe even moderately above average. Could you please take the following rhythm test and report your score? test link Muzzleflash (talk) 07:14, 3 March 2015 (UTC)
 * I think it's very possible. I worded that poorly, but meant to say I'm bad at languages, not drumming. Never gave the timpani a serious go, though, I may screw that up. I don't take online tests on anything, as a matter of principle. InedibleHulk (talk) 12:51, 3 March 2015 (UTC)


 * Some time ago I read a book by Deborah Tannen, in which she states that factors contributing to popularity vary from culture to culture. I don't remember which book it was, though, but the references in the book could be of interest to your second question. --Judithcomm (talk) 10:52, 2 March 2015 (UTC)


 * I've often heard that there is a significant correlation between musical and mathematical ability. Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 18:00, 2 March 2015 (UTC)

Here is at least one source link but it's not rhythm in particular, general musical intelligence rather. It's a study of musical intelligence and English learning aptitude of students in Iran. Muzzleflash (talk) 07:26, 3 March 2015 (UTC)