Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2019 September 21

= September 21 =

boiled rat
Apparently rat-on-a-stick is a thing. Given that, just how big a health problem is boiled rat likely to be? Would the hazard come from infections the rat might be carrying, toxins such as pesticides/rodenticides, or what? Just wondering, not looking for recipes. Thanks. 67.164.113.165 (talk) 02:17, 21 September 2019 (UTC)


 * If boiled long enough, it should be sterile, but since it was in soup, it may not have been boiled long enough, especially if it just fell in. So, if you actually ate the rat, disease would be a concern. And yes, several poisons used for rats are also harmful to people, but unless you actually ate the rat, I doubt if you'd get much effect from the soup. First, only a small portion of the poison would transfer to the soup, and second it would be rather diluted by the soup, and third, the mass of a person is so much greater than a rat that it would take far more poison to have an effect. So, quite unlikely to be dangerous, just seriously gross. SinisterLefty (talk) 03:32, 21 September 2019 (UTC)


 * Thanks. I guess I'd try to not freak out too much then.  "Waiter, there's a fly in my soup!" except it's a rat, but most of the usual responses should still work.  I still wonder how the rat in the bowl made it out of the kitchen, and always suspect the restaurant patron of bringing it themselves. 67.164.113.165 (talk) 07:23, 21 September 2019 (UTC)


 * "Waiter, what's this fly doing in my soup ?" ... "Looks like the backstroke, sir." SinisterLefty (talk) 18:24, 21 September 2019 (UTC)
 * An old cousin to that oldie: "My mommy found a fly in the raisin bread you sold her." "So bring back the fly, and I'll give you a raisin!" ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 21:08, 21 September 2019 (UTC)


 * Suddenly dog meat seems appetizing by comparison. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 21:08, 21 September 2019 (UTC)


 * This is a nice way to kill two birds, or rats, with one stone. Too many rats + hungry people = ...


 * Here in the US, we have hungry people and too many Presidential candidates. Hmmmm. SinisterLefty (talk) 21:25, 21 September 2019 (UTC)


 * You guys should learn to eat guns. Poveglia (talk) 19:52, 22 September 2019 (UTC)


 * I'm going to assume you didn't mean to suggest we kill ourselves: . SinisterLefty (talk) 20:04, 22 September 2019 (UTC)


 * Kill a rat with a stone, then eat it? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcDfWj3Sek0 Poveglia (talk) 19:50, 22 September 2019 (UTC)

SinisterLefty's guess about toxicity is wrong and dangerous information. Although a typical rat is over a hundred times smaller than a typical adult human, a rat-lethal dose of bromadiolone, for instance, is greater than the human-toxic dose:. Bromadiolone, a commonly used poison in lethal rat-treats, also takes up to five days to kill a rat, and typically over a day for the rat to even show symptoms, so it may not be obvious the rat has been poisoned. Someguy1221 (talk) 21:55, 21 September 2019 (UTC)


 * Rats: if you can’t beat them eat them!, Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 2015.
 * Epidemiology of Leptospira Transmitted by Rodents in Southeast Asia, PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 2014.
 * Leptospirosis, also known as "rat catcher's yellows" has to be the main bio-hazard associated with rats.
 * Alansplodge (talk) 21:10, 22 September 2019 (UTC)
 * Since the reply was indented to me, then I'll say in case it was intended for me, that I was only referring to the specific claim that it was safe to eat a poisoned rat. I'd hope that rats intended for human consumption are raised in captivity, rather than scooped up off the street. Someguy1221 (talk) 09:21, 24 September 2019 (UTC)
 * Then you'd have animal rights activists complaining about caged rats vs. "free-range" rats. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 13:25, 24 September 2019 (UTC)


 * If you were referring to my comments, I specifically said that eating the boiled rat was unsafe, both from the POV of disease and poison. You must have been confused when I said that the soup would probably not be dangerous, considering the small amount consumed before the rat was discovered, and the small amount of poison, heavily diluted, transferred to the soup from the rat. SinisterLefty (talk) 13:48, 24 September 2019 (UTC)
 * Depends on how recently the rat has eaten. Rat bait is so poisonous it could easily vomit a toxic dose into a pot of soup. Someguy1221 (talk) 22:15, 24 September 2019 (UTC)

Free dating website
Is there any popular dating website that doesn't charge money? Most websites will ask dollars for sending direct message to other members. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 42.110.203.192 (talk) 04:55, 21 September 2019 (UTC)


 * The alternative would be a site supported by advertising. But dating sites might be a Veblen good (service, technically), where customers spurn free options, fearing they might attract inferior (unemployed and broke) prospects. SinisterLefty (talk) 06:00, 21 September 2019 (UTC)


 * okcupid can be used for free. They also have a paid plan which gets you a few extra features. I don't believe I've ever seen advertising on that site. CodeTalker (talk) 16:39, 22 September 2019 (UTC)
 * The same applies to Tinder and Bumble, fwiw. --Viennese Waltz 03:46, 23 September 2019 (UTC)
 * A lot of people hook up at my local bar, but I don't think they have a website. Maybe try something offline? Poveglia (talk) 19:56, 22 September 2019 (UTC)


 * Wikipedia as a dating app? 82.44.143.26 (talk) 15:45, 27 September 2019 (UTC)

Absentee ballot Q2
Since the absentee ballots are not punched, the ballot itself could be like the one in the link. I mean Palm Beach County. The drawing is the same, (the arrows), but the candidates are all on one side and there are no holes to be drilled, but circles to be blackened. This is my request. Thanks. https://www.berkeleyside.com/2012/10/17/how-much-to-mail-an-absentee-ballot-1-50-or-45%C2%A2


 * What is your request? I have read your posting three times, and I have no idea what you are asking. (Mind you, I know nothing about voting systems in foreign countries). --ColinFine (talk) 14:32, 21 September 2019 (UTC)

Sorry, you're right, I wasn't very clear, it's hard for me to explain. I try or rather try again. In the link you see the ballot absent on the left, with the names of the candidates and the relative arrow pointing to the circle to be blackened to vote. I imagine, even I do not know the voting systems, that the absent voters of Palm Beach from abroad in 2000, unable to vote with the Votomatic because it was not that the voting system, the ballots probably had to be like that of the link, the most sinsitra. Why do I make this association? Because in the county of Los Angeles in 2000, there was more or less the same system, the Votomatic. Regardless of the county, if PB's marks abroad were not punched but counted by hand it is plausible that the ballots were like the optical-scan ballots. That is with the names of the candidates the arrow and the oval. One last thing: the photo in the link shows a more evolved system, but this concerns only the vote in the county, that is the pink ballot only with the numbers no longer to perforate but to be marked with a felt-tip pen, but it is not important for me, since I am interested in the leftmost tab, the one with arrows and oval names; the same that was probably also to PB in that year. Now is it plausible what my question is? If the ballots absent in Palm Beach were like those of the link. I hope I explained a little better, curiosity makes me be pathological! Don't worry if you don't understand, or if you understand to a certain extent. Sometimes I demand too much, in all senses, I realize that it is not really that simple, for many factors. A greeting! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 93.41.100.198 (talk) 14:55, 21 September 2019 (UTC)


 * You question is still unclear, so rather than attempt to answer, let me describe how to ask a question (and not just here):


 * Do not include extraneous info. For example, if your Q was "What does the S in Harry S. Truman's name stand for ?", there's no need to describe why you need the info.


 * If you have a large amount of info which may be relevant, include it in an out-of-the-way format, like an appendix, or here, using one of these nifty boxes:

Source 1. Source 2. Etc.


 * Put an actual question mark after your question. The only two I see are "Why do I make this association? " and "Now is it plausible what my question is?", neither of which appear to be the real Q.


 * Use paragraph breaks so it's not a massive block of text.


 * If your Q has multiple parts, that is, sub-questions, put bullets in front of each, like my list here, or better yet numbers, so we can refer to the parts by number.


 * Proofread what you wrote. It can help to come back later and re-read it, so you see it more from an outside point-of-view, and understand what is lacking. So, write it up in a word processor first (preferably one which highlights errors), and perfect it over days, before posting it where others can see it. For example, what does "sinsitra" mean ? "Old Blue Eyes" ? :-)


 * Ideally the title should contain the Q, with supporting info listed in the body.


 * One other hint, just for here, is that each Q on the page must have a unique title, or it messes up the software. I adjusted the title here.
 * SinisterLefty (talk) 18:07, 21 September 2019 (UTC)

Guys ... I must learn not to write in a hurry, and not to abuse this page in vain. After all it's a frivolous request, it doesn't matter; I have already put to the test the patience of you all ... To hear from you soon, a warm greeting.


 * No problem, I'm not angry. But I do think you learning how to ask a proper question will be far more useful than any answer about absentee ballots. Imagine if you have a critical Q to ask your doctor, but take too long and he must get to the next patient, leaving your Q dangerously unanswered. Also, being able to form a clear question helps clarify the issue in your mind, too. SinisterLefty (talk) 18:41, 21 September 2019 (UTC)
 * I cannot find an image of the 2000 Palm Beach absentee ballot. I find many images of the butterfly ballot, and images of the absentee ballot envelope and voter id page but not the ballot itself. I found a research paper which merely stated that the absentee ballot was not of the butterfly design but with no details of what design it was. Rmhermen (talk) 04:05, 22 September 2019 (UTC)


 * So your question is whether the Palm Beach absentee ballot of 2000 resembled the Alameda County absentee ballot of 2016, with bubbles to be filled? —Tamfang (talk) 01:04, 23 September 2019 (UTC)

Exactly, this is my question. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 93.41.100.198 (talk) 14:55, 23 September 2019 (UTC)

Smearcase
Hello,

I see where "Smearcase" redirects to "Cottage Cheese", which is not incorrect, but there is a different meaning for Smearcase, per this Washington Post article, and it has nothing to do with cottage cheese:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/recipes/smearcase/11230/

It would appear that the search term "Smearcase" perhaps be designated for ambiguation?

Many thanks.

Joe Riley (CrashRiley)


 * That sounds like a good idea. You can change smearcase yourself. If you need instructions, we can help with that, too. (Unless we actually have an article on this form of cheesecake base, then a link to cheesecake would have to do on the disambiguation page, along with the link to cottage cheese.) SinisterLefty (talk) 18:16, 21 September 2019 (UTC)
 * I am not certain that is necessary. It is an obscure dessert made with cream cheese. A hatnote on cottage cheese perhaps. Some sort of transference from the original meaning of a certain style of cottage cheese and a shortening of the name smearcase kuchen. Rmhermen (talk) 03:14, 22 September 2019 (UTC)