Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2018 September 15

= September 15 =

Unknown lettering on penknife
I recently purchased this penknife and would be grateful if anyone is able to tell me the meaning of the lettering on the knife. Additionally I am puzzled by the curious shape of one of the blades, what might be the purpose of that? With anticipatory thanks. Richard Avery (talk) 06:54, 15 September 2018 (UTC)
 * The monogram near the hinge looks Cyrillic - a D and a V. DuncanHill (talk) 11:12, 15 September 2018 (UTC)

Odd Blade, either a crown bottle opener or for taking stones out of horses hooves.194.126.80.63 (talk) 13:17, 15 September 2018 (UTC)
 * I don't think it would work on crown caps. Could be a type of sheep's foot (a blade used to trim sheep's feet). DuncanHill (talk) 13:21, 15 September 2018 (UTC)

Agree on Cyrillic. The first character in what looks like a serial number is also Cyrillic. --Dweller (talk) Become old fashioned! 13:50, 17 September 2018 (UTC)


 * Thanks for your contributions, It was purchased from Latvia so Cyrillic lettering is not surprising.Richard Avery (talk) 07:11, 18 September 2018 (UTC)
 * Agreed, but just to note that Latvian has always been written using the Roman alphabet. 2A00:23C1:CD83:1F01:D536:2A6C:D8F2:9746 (talk) 09:41, 18 September 2018 (UTC)
 * Yes, but when Latvia was part of the Soviet Union, Russian would have been prevalent as well. See Languages of the Soviet Union, which also notes that after 1937, there was a concerted effort to both a) write all languages in the USSR in Cyrillic and b) spread Russian throughout the Soviet Union.  -- Jayron 32 11:14, 18 September 2018 (UTC)

That lettering is price. (ц 1р60к)(1,60) -Yyy (talk) 09:22, 25 September 2018 (UTC)


 * The Russian word for price is цена, so I'm guessing the first letter is an abbreviation of it.  The Cyrillic "r" looks like a "p", so "Price one rouble sixty kopeks". 92.31.140.53 (talk) 13:17, 25 September 2018 (UTC)

York sidewalk glass button
What is the function of this glass button in York sidewalk? It is about 3 cms in diameter. It might have been used for some communication device, but now obsolete. Etan J. Tal(talk) 11:01, 15 September 2018 (UTC)
 * They marked the old 'Breadcrumbs' trails. It was a scheme by the city to get people visiting the sights in an interactive way - see . You can still buy the book on Amazon. Nanonic (talk) 11:18, 15 September 2018 (UTC)
 * Thank you! Etan J. Tal(talk) 11:32, 15 September 2018 (UTC)

Where is the original Japanese copy of the WWII surrender?
In the article Japanese Instrument of Surrender, it says that a replica of the Japanese version of the surrender document is on display. Where is the original? RudolfRed (talk) 21:08, 15 September 2018 (UTC)
 * Diplomatic Record Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan) -- now called Diplomatic Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan; per file description: file:Japan Instrument of Surrender 2 September 1945.jpg 107.15.157.44 (talk) 23:01, 15 September 2018 (UTC)
 * Thanks! RudolfRed (talk) 02:22, 17 September 2018 (UTC)