Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2022 January 13

= January 13 =

Height/weight question
Is 150 pounds for a 5'3 or 5'4 woman with a large bust a healthy size? 2001:569:5262:A00:C5F0:4EE4:D8AD:9643 (talk) 05:33, 13 January 2022 (UTC)
 * That would be speculation on our part but you may find body mass index useful. 41.165.67.114 (talk) 05:54, 13 January 2022 (UTC)


 * Please note that the association of healthiness with such indices is merely based on statistical averages of certain risks in certain populations. What is fine for someone with a healthy lifestyle may be problematic for a beer-swilling chips-and-sausage munching couch potato. Correlation does not imply causation. --Lambiam 07:17, 13 January 2022 (UTC)


 * Agreed. BMI is very rough and ready. See Body_mass_index. Someone who is very muscular compared to the norm for their height, may well show as overweight. I'd suggest that the OP advises the woman in question (the way it's worded suggests it's not about them themselves) gets personalised advice from a professional, rather than generalised from people they don't know on the internet. --Dweller (talk) Old fashioned is the new thing! 10:25, 14 January 2022 (UTC)

Fabric lumps from socks
When I take off various black socks after some time, I often have fabric lumps from them on my feet - normally not much visible, but quite gross when they fall off under a shower. Is such sock lumping a known thing? Perhaps something to do with pill (textile)? Thanks. 212.180.235.46 (talk) 21:21, 13 January 2022 (UTC)
 * Yes, that sounds like pilling. But do you wear socks when taking a shower??? --←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 22:18, 13 January 2022 (UTC)
 * The OP clearly said that they first take off the socks, then find 'fabric lumps' adhering to their feet which come off in the shower. Please don't misrepresent OPs' statements for the sake of a cheap joke.
 * That said, retaining one's socks in the shower, during which soap and water from the body runs through and cleans them (as well as the feet), is an established short-cut when time and facilities are scant. The British humorist Frank Muir (with whom I was slightly acquainted) recounts in Chapter 14 of his memoir A Kentish Lad doing so when staying overnight at hotels while on tour, along with other little life-hacks such as pressing one's hankerchief by washing it while showering, smoothing it on to the tiled wall, and peeling it off 'ironed' and dried in the morning. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.195.175.103 (talk) 00:05, 14 January 2022 (UTC)
 * Maybe not very encyclopaedic, but a simple solution: Turn all socks inside out and dump them into the washing machine.  Do not forget to clean the fluff filter after the cycle.  --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 09:01, 14 January 2022 (UTC)
 * There are devices that can "shave" the pills off things like sweaters. Never tried one on socks, though. --←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 09:59, 14 January 2022 (UTC)
 * Can't believe that Remington Fuzz-Away is a redlink. Even more suprised that Remington Microscreen is, too. --Dweller (talk) Old fashioned is the new thing! 10:29, 14 January 2022 (UTC)
 * That's because other brands of Fabric shaver are available.--Shantavira|feed me 10:36, 14 January 2022 (UTC)
 * I've never seen an advert for a fabric shaver on TV, other than Remington's, which I reckon, with perhaps a little exaggeration, I probably saw about a billion times. . And as for the Microscreen, you can probably multiply that number by itself. About 35 years later, I can recite chunks of both by heart. --Dweller (talk) Old fashioned is the new thing! 13:37, 16 January 2022 (UTC)


 * I make my own socks on a circular knitting machine, as I find it impossible to purchase 100% pure wool socks which are thick. I find the pilling only occurs in the foot, mostly around the heel. The thicker the wool, the greater the pilling. Eventually the heel wears out, leaving a perfectly good leg part. What to do? Simple - take off the old foot and knit on a new one. --TrogWoolley (talk) 11:54, 14 January 2022 (UTC)
 * See also darning. Alansplodge (talk) 17:26, 14 January 2022 (UTC)
 * Actually, I think what they're referring to might simply just be lint from the socks. ― Blaze WolfTalkBlaze Wolf#6545 14:19, 19 January 2022 (UTC)