Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2015 March 13

= March 13 =

Lowest headroom on a road or pavement
OK folks see if you can help with this one. Near where I live is this lovely little road. http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/l492/PinkLigier/ssb.jpg As you can see,it has a headroom of about 6' tops.Is this the lowest headroom for a road-or even a pavement suitable for pedestrians-I can't imagine you could go down much further. Googling lowest road just produces results in terms of sea level and lowest headroom just gives lots of road signs.... Lemon martini (talk) 14:50, 13 March 2015 (UTC)
 * It may be an unanswerable question; given the millions of underpasses, tunnels, overhangs, etc. out there in the world, I highly doubt that anyone has taken an exhausting survey of the height of each of them.  -- Jayron 32 14:54, 13 March 2015 (UTC)
 * I think this one beats it. -- Q Chris (talk) 16:02, 13 March 2015 (UTC)

United Kingdom in 1989
Hello everyone. I am writing... again. And I was trying to find a source that talks about UK in late 80s and early 90s. The historical context  Miss Bono  [hello, hello!]  15:33, 13 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Wikipedia has an article titled History of the United Kingdom (1945–present) which will give you an overview of that time period, and a timeline titled 1989 in the United Kingdom. You can also look at the years on either side to get more information.  -- Jayron 32 15:36, 13 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Be aware that, due to years of Thatcher rule, it was one of the most polarised times in the UK in recent history. You will find a lot of revisionist literature from Thatcher apologists about how everything was all unicorns and rainbows then. 82.21.7.184 (talk) 18:05, 13 March 2015 (UTC)
 * And vice-versa. Alansplodge (talk) 20:15, 13 March 2015 (UTC)
 * That's why I wanted something neutral. I'm not writing a historical novel, but I think it is good to be aware of the historical contex.  Miss Bono  [hello, hello!]  18:10, 13 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Telling you to read the Adrian Mole stories might seem an odd suggestion, but bear with me. Factual accounts can often only focus one a few particular aspects of life, whilst a comprehensive fiction book, particularly one in diary style like these, gives a good insight into 'real life'. Now, I'll admit that Adrian isn't strictly a neutral source, but equally he explores his biases so that you can judge for yourself. The two books that cover the years you are looking for are The True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole and Adrian Mole: The Wilderness Years, and I honestly can't think of a better source for background reading about 'real life' in the UK around that time. - Cucumber Mike (talk) 18:41, 13 March 2015 (UTC)
 * If you go on further in the series, remember that "Offally Good" is actually a comedy but he thinks... oops, spoiler for those who haven't read the series.
 * For the 1980s, I'd recommend listening to the English band The Smiths. Constantly, incessantly.  To the point where you know all of the lyrics to all of their songs, the songs a perfect combination of beautiful music and poetry, and those lyrics speak directly to you, because you are different, you're bookish and sensitive and care about the arts, and if only other people could understand, it takes guts to be gentle and kind, and... ooh, I think I got a bit carried away there. Just a general observation, nothing do with my own experience.  Move along please.--Shirt58 (talk) 04:37, 15 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Andrew Marr has written a series of quite readable books about recent UK history. The two you need are Revolution! and New Britannia. I really commend his style. --TammyMoet (talk) 20:43, 13 March 2015 (UTC)
 * User:Miss Bono Look up 'Boys From The Blackstuff on YouTube. You will see from there what life was like in 80's UK.  KägeTorä - ( 影 虎 )  ( Chin Wag )  22:55, 13 March 2015 (UTC)
 * A vignette rather than an overview. Alansplodge (talk) 21:48, 14 March 2015 (UTC)


 * The World Wrestling Federation debuted, possibly persuading Big Daddy to finally fade away. InedibleHulk (talk) 06:08, 15 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Completely unrelated to this question, but when I was in Japan, I was reading a Japanese newspaper which said that Mike Tyson had left boxing and joined the WWF, and I thought 'Why has he suddenly joined the World Wildlife Fund?  KägeTorä - ( 影 虎 )  ( Chin Wag )  15:23, 15 March 2015 (UTC)
 * "Love animals, don't eat them." InedibleHulk (talk) 23:08, 15 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Aye, but biting the ears off people seems to be fine. KägeTorä - (影虎)  ( もしもし！ ) 15:17, 16 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Hey, it was the '90s. A simpler time. InedibleHulk (talk) 06:37, 17 March 2015 (UTC)

What country is this coin from, and how much is it worth there?
I found this coin behind some books on my bookshelf. I have no idea where it came from, but I dimly remember picking it up off the ground somewhere. One side has a picture of a building, and the other appears to have the denomination and year. The script looks like Arabic or Hebrew to me. I ran a picture through Google Image Search, but got nowhere. Here is the presumed obverse and the presumed reverse. Can anyone identify this coin? NealCruco (talk) 18:56, 13 March 2015 (UTC)


 * I can't do Arabic script, but the date in Eastern Arabic numerals says "1992" on the left and "1412" at the bottom of the coin, which is the same year, but in the Islamic calendar notation. Alansplodge (talk) 20:09, 13 March 2015 (UTC)


 * I'm trying, but no luck so far. I'm almost certain it's Arabic. Less certain that's the Umayyad Mosque. I read the date as 1413, but twos and threes are pretty close. InedibleHulk (talk) 20:21, 13 March 2015 (UTC)
 * This Egyptian coin is sort of close, but not it. InedibleHulk (talk) 20:26, 13 March 2015 (UTC)


 * This is it. 20 piastres, and the Al-Azhar Mosque. InedibleHulk (talk) 20:28, 13 March 2015 (UTC)


 * The Arabic text at top says "Egyptian Arab Republic" (جمهورية مصر العربية), and the bottom says "20 Qirsh" (قرشي (1413 / 1992) (١٩٩٢ / ١٤١٣, but the text is written in an Arabic calligraphy, so it is not easy to read unless you're a bit more than half-literate.
 * In Egypt, it wouldn't buy very much at all. With a hundred of them, you might buy a sandwich.
 * Nimur (talk) 21:57, 13 March 2015 (UTC)
 * A hundred of them is $3.20 Canadian. So not quite enough for the subway. InedibleHulk (talk) 23:43, 13 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Over 20 toast sandwiches. ---Sluzzelin talk  00:25, 14 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Or all the beverage in the world, if you find an Egyptian McDonald's with a free refill policy. InedibleHulk (talk) 00:33, 14 March 2015 (UTC)

Thanks, everyone! I wonder how this coin ended up in the US... NealCruco (talk) 16:07, 14 March 2015 (UTC)
 * An awful lot of Americans visit Egypt as tourists; one site that Wikipedia won't let me link to says (if I'm reading it correctly) that more than 6 million people from the USA visited Egypt in the year ending December 2014. Alansplodge (talk) 17:21, 14 March 2015 (UTC)


 * Its low face value and (I assume) ubiquity made it more mobile, through its discardability. Might have gone a direct route, maybe not. You can likewise find American pennies scattered across Earth, sometimes in strange places, sometimes on the ground. But you don't run into many stray dollars, pounds or gold tokens. People would still rather hoard those. Makes sense to collect many cents, too, but be careful who you melt them around. InedibleHulk (talk) 19:05, 14 March 2015 (UTC)


 * Not exactly relevant, but this "Double Eagle" coin has an interesting US-Egyptian history. If you find one of those on a bookshelf, probably best to not tell strangers. InedibleHulk (talk) 19:18, 14 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Uh oh. Wikipedia's already on it. InedibleHulk (talk) 19:22, 14 March 2015 (UTC)

marrying an american citizen
If I marry an american citizen do I then have the right to live in America with my child from a previous relationship and how long does the process take — Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.65.188.182 (talk) 22:06, 13 March 2015 (UTC)


 * You need to consult a lawyer about this, and one well versed in American immigration and citizenship law, not anonymous strangers on the internet. --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  22:17, 13 March 2015 (UTC)


 * To the generic question, the foreign spouse of a US citizen (and children of that spouse) can apply for a US visa (typically an IR1/CR1 visa assuming they hope to live and work in the US permanently).  That requires detailed documentation of the marriage, proof of sufficient income to support the family, a background check, and various other things.  Most applicants are successful, but the common reasons for denial are filing false or incomplete information, having committed a serious crime in the past, or having had any US immigration problems in the past (such as previously entering the US illegally).  The average application time for IR1/CR1 appears to be somewhat more than a year.   We can't say whether your specific situation is likely to be successful.  For that you should consult an immigration specialist.  Dragons flight (talk) 22:38, 13 March 2015 (UTC)


 * Complicating matters, I think the rules can be different depending on which country you're coming from. Take Jack's advice and seek professional assistance. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 22:39, 13 March 2015 (UTC)


 * The rules are actually consistent regardless of the country of origin. But yes, there will be background checks, medical checks etc, and yes, get professional assistance. (And a wheelbarrow to carry all the documents you will need). Manning (talk) 03:07, 17 March 2015 (UTC)