Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2015 May 5

= May 5 =

Sheet metal spoons
At first glance, stamped sheet metal spoons like this one seem like total junk: (scroll down). But then I think that it's all stainless steel, versus regular spoons that just have a thin coating of stainless steel. So, would the stamped spoons actually hold up better against corrosion ? (So far I only have stamped sheet metal measuring spoons, but I'm considering buying some serving spoons of that type.) Something else I hate is when spoons (or any utensil) have complicated patterns and writing on them, which are impossible to clean, and I also suspect stamped spoons would have less of this. Does anyone have something like this ? What is your experience ? StuRat (talk) 03:14, 5 May 2015 (UTC)


 * I think you'll find that "regular" spoons are solid stainless, just thicker and better made (and therefore more expensive). Why on earth do you think they're plated?  See here for a simple example of a solid stainless spoon.--Phil Holmes (talk) 09:21, 5 May 2015 (UTC)


 * As our Stainless steel article points out, there are 150 grades of stainless steel - it also remarks that in low oxygen and high salinity environments, they can still corrode - and that surface finish is important to that corrosion resistance. This leaves a ton of variables that might make either kind of spoon either superior or inferior to the other.  Stamping out parts tends to leave rough, exposed edges - and that would be one way in which the cheaper product could allow corrosion to take hold.  I don't think there is enough information available to make the call though. SteveBaker (talk) 03:25, 5 May 2015 (UTC)


 * Stu:
 * If married: Buy not just stainless/glass spoon plate, whatever you can think of because you don't have to clean.
 * If single: Buy plastic spoon and plate, one time use ones, easy to through after use. Also buy stainless/glass spoon plate for show or when guests come around... - Smartest lifestyle with a small petty cost!
 * Mr. Prophet (talk) 05:32, 5 May 2015 (UTC)
 * This post is so ridiculous I'm assuming it's meant as a joke. For the record, unless you live in the 1950s, you can't expect your spouse (assuming the poster above means wife) to do all the washing up. Secondly, advocating people to use disposable cutlery on a daily basis has got the be some of the most irresponsible environmental advice I've even seen... 131.251.254.154 (talk) 09:07, 5 May 2015 (UTC)
 * Sad.png -- Mr. Prophet (talk) 09:15, 8 May 2015 (UTC)
 * Regular spoons just have a thin coating of stainless steel? I doubt that, since it would complicate manufacture and stainless steel isn't that expensive compared to ordinary steel. Somebody who knows for sure? Sjö (talk) 09:19, 5 May 2015 (UTC)
 * (ec)"Regular spoons [...] that just have a thin coating of stainless steel" . All my silverware is stainless steel throughout, and I very much think that is the norm. Coating a finished fork with another layer of steel sounds like a very complex process - as far as I know, we rarely bond different layers of steel, instead using tempering and case hardening for things like armour plate where different properties of steel  are desired at different locations. Are you maybe confusing this with chrome plating? I'm fairly sure that even chrome-plated utensils have a base of stainless steel nowadays.  --Stephan Schulz (talk) 09:22, 5 May 2015 (UTC)


 * "All my silverware is stainless steel throughout..." All my silverware is silver. Most of my cutlery is stainless steel. DuncanHill (talk) 17:34, 5 May 2015 (UTC)
 * I think all my silverware is solid gold, if we are that particular. Diamond-encrusted, too! --Stephan Schulz (talk) 17:46, 5 May 2015 (UTC)
 * My ones are made out of Lawrencium -- Mr. Prophet (talk) 18:53, 5 May 2015 (UTC)
 * Solid stainless steel spoons (which isn't that easy to say 3 times quickly) are more expensive. For instance, this one is $2 more than the one that Stu gave us a link for but when you consider that a person only needs one or two for their kitchen, I would think that most people can justify the greater expense for the greater comfort in their hand.  See Steve's comment about sharp edges.  And when entertaining, it won't look like you stole your utensils from the local school cafeteria.  Dismas |(talk) 10:38, 5 May 2015 (UTC)


 * Perhaps the OP is talking about EPNS. Nickel_silver. 196.213.35.146 (talk) 13:10, 5 May 2015 (UTC)

Well, I concluded that my current spoons aren't solid stainless steel because where they have a flaw in the finish they rust, if I soak them. StuRat (talk) 17:41, 5 May 2015 (UTC)
 * Stainless steel does not (usually) rust, because chromium oxide forms a protective and non-soluble layer on the surface. If the surface is damage in certain ways, this layer will not form, and even stainless steel can rust. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 17:50, 5 May 2015 (UTC)
 * Don't use them please... I can't recommend anything as my internet usage is limited, you will find such products though. Try searching for some life time guarantee/warranted ones (or somthing similar). The utensils you hardly ever use, try oil polishing them after use (exclude vehicle oil and such relative category type), however, don't soak them with the cloth you use. -- Mr. Prophet (talk) 18:50, 5 May 2015 (UTC)

Song
Hey guys! Who can recognize the song at the end of the seventh episode of "Pasadena"? here 40:00. Gridge (talk) 16:45, 5 May 2015 (UTC).
 * That's "Words" by the very wonderful Low . --Viennese Waltz 17:11, 5 May 2015 (UTC)
 * Thanks. Gridge (talk) 17:47, 5 May 2015 (UTC).

Pegasus crossings
A question on the Humanities desk got me reading WP articles on various pedestrian crossings in the UK. Ain't Wikipedia great? This led to my question which I'm posting here because I don't see how crossing fit into Humanities. Anyway, here goes...

How common is it, in the UK, to see someone ride a horse in an area which is busy enough to require traffic lights? The article on Pegasus crossings brought this to mind. In the US, I don't think I've ever seen anyone ride a horse in an area that was developed enough to require traffic signals. Yes, I've seen carriage rides in cities like New York and Nashville but those are wider and it makes sense for them to act like other vehicles such as cars and trucks. About the only times I've seen people actually on horseback here in the States has been in more rural areas where there are no traffic lights. The exceptions have been in suburban areas where the riders are going from a stable to a forest preserve or trail system and need to briefly be on the road to get there. The photo in our article comes from Birmingham which is quite urban. Dismas |(talk) 18:32, 5 May 2015 (UTC)


 * (FYI, not answering your question, but you can see people riding horses in fairly urban parts of TX, right up in to the strip mall to order Starbucks at a drive-thru . Not to mention horse cops in city centers all around the US. So plenty of horse riders interact with traffic signals in the USA) SemanticMantis (talk) 18:58, 5 May 2015 (UTC)


 * I regularly see police on horseback here in the UK, even in built-up areas which use traffic lights. They usually travel in twos, side-by-side, and never clean their sh*t up. I have never seen the point in horses for police, because horses are notoriously difficult for putting over your back when going up/down steps, as compared to mountain bikes. KägeTorä - (影虎)  ( もしもし！ ) 20:03, 5 May 2015 (UTC)


 * See mounted police, lead section. A police officer on a horse is highly visible, both in terms of seeing things happening and being seen; and horses are also good for crowd control. --174.88.134.161 (talk) 00:43, 6 May 2015 (UTC)


 * I'd think a Pegasus crossing would be a cross of horse and a bird, while a Centaur crossing would be a cross of horse and man. StuRat (talk) 20:13, 5 May 2015 (UTC)
 * The name comes from the cross between a horse and bird - the bird in this case being a pelican. MChesterMC (talk) 08:00, 6 May 2015 (UTC)
 * This is further proof (as if it were needed) that WHAAOE. I didn't even know those things had names, but Wikipedia has an article on them!
 * If you'll pardon a bit of OR (and about the US, not the UK), they're common where I grew up, a "horsey" part of Los Angeles that is quite well enough settled to require traffic signals. For example, this intersection: 33.7826°N, -118.3522°W has them, and they show up plainly in Google Street View.  There's a bridle path paralleling Palos Verdes Drive North there, so the other major intersections along it have them, too. —Steve Summit (talk) 23:18, 5 May 2015 (UTC)


 * In western New York state and Pennsylvania you will see horse-drawn wagons driven by the Amish but other than that, the only horses you'll see in the street will be ridden by policemen for crowd control in Manhattan and Philadelphia. They used to have horse drawn carriages to drive people around Central Park, but fuehrer Mikhail Gloomburger put a stop to that due to the high sugar content.  (Much of central New Jersey is devoted to off-road pastures and stabling for horses, especially from Princeton, New Jersey to Freehold, New Jersey, as welll as many areas south of Gloucester County, New Jersey. μηδείς (talk) 23:36, 5 May 2015 (UTC)


 * I imagine they must also be fairly common in Gangnam: {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 212.95.237.92 (talk) 12:43, 6 May 2015 (UTC)
 * I imagine I am glad I don't get the allusion. 0_o μηδείς (talk) 22:08, 6 May 2015 (UTC)


 * From experience (ex-driving instructor so a lot of time on the road) I did occasionally see these crossings - there are only two where I live in Swansea, and the only other place I've SEEN them is in Wimbledon, London... However, despite the infrequent nature of them, I have seen them in use by riders on horseback... Note they are not traffic lights - they are pedestrian crossings - there is a subtle difference... So they can be (and often are) in very quiet places - as long as a "NEED" is identified to justify them - eg on a fast country lane, edge of an urban area, near a bend in a road to give the driver more chance of seeing the crossing etc... Apparently there are many in Devon and Cornwall, and they are used fairly regularly... No sources for any of this, I purely know this from conversations with fellow instructors and examinors on the subject) As for the origin of the name, it has nothing directly to do with any amalgamation of words, or connection with other birds - more it's simply named after the winged-horse in Greek Mythology, as all light-controlled crossings are named after birds (Toucan, Puffin, Pelican) so this was felt to be the best way to keep the theme while identifying the user ie for a horse crossing...  gaz hiley  13:01, 6 May 2015 (UTC)
 * When I used to work in the City (of London) there was a stable (Whitbread's Brewery) in Chiswell Street on the northern boundary.  They kept specially bred dray horses there who would deliver to the local pubs - so that's horses making regular deliveries in the city centre.   Apparently they found it cost - effective to continue this Victorian tradition.   I believe the stables have been sold for development and I wouldn't know how Whitbread delivers its beer now. 156.61.250.250 (talk) 11:55, 8 May 2015 (UTC)

Physical Prowess and testicle volume
Is there a proven correlation between testicle volume and physical prowess in humans? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 178.126.174.46 (talk) 18:52, 5 May 2015 (UTC)


 * There can be an inverse relationship in the case of those taking anabolic steroids. StuRat (talk) 19:06, 5 May 2015 (UTC)


 * The band AC/DC seems to think so. -- Jayron 32 19:08, 5 May 2015 (UTC)


 * μηδείς (talk) 23:39, 5 May 2015 (UTC)
 * μηδείς (talk) 23:39, 5 May 2015 (UTC)


 * Even if we take that that song to be about those balls, he never claims they make him physically strong, just upper crust.
 * Anyway, in 1987, these guys found a "significant" correlation between testosterone production levels and ball size. It wasn't a "strong" correlation, like how the bigger guys are more (or maybe less) hairy and have more sperm, and there may be more to strength than testosterone (look at a potential opponent's face instead), but it's something. InedibleHulk (talk) 13:42, 6 May 2015 (UTC)

Job satisfaction
What percentage of people are satisfied with their jobs? Of those who aren't, how many change careers and how many simply continue what they were doing? 84.13.154.250 (talk) 23:10, 5 May 2015 (UTC)
 * "In 2012, 81% of U.S. employees reported overall satisfaction with their current job..." -- Jayron 32 01:44, 6 May 2015 (UTC)
 * Yet another study finds 64% of Canadians do, making that the most satisfied worker state on Earth. Strange. Though if you count "Good enough for now" as "somewhat satisfied", it's 93%, which does seem higher than 81% (or 36% of "very satisfied" Americans). InedibleHulk (talk) 15:07, 6 May 2015 (UTC)
 * "'The further the Canadians progress in their careers the more likely they are to align themselves with their career passions,' says the report, noting that the percentage of workers that liked their employment gigs grew as they aged." Maybe not change careers, but find better jobs. Probably holds true in all capitalist places. InedibleHulk (talk) 15:24, 6 May 2015 (UTC)
 * It varies quite a lot, both by country and between companies. Star Lord -   星王 (talk) 14:48, 6 May 2015 (UTC)
 * 100% of a certain rock band are strangely dissatisfied, though they try and they try and they try and they try. Clarityfiend (talk) 23:54, 6 May 2015 (UTC)
 * "Any time that the team is down by two, or somebody had a bad day at the office, they're gonna stand up and sing We're Not Gonna Take It." Which is good for Twisted Sister, because being constantly yelled at by drunks to play that one song probably starts feeling like work after the first decade or so. InedibleHulk (talk) 17:25, 9 May 2015 (UTC)