Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2022 May 23

= May 23 =

ISAF coalition
I've asked this question on here before, but it was so long ago that I forgot the answer and I can't find where I asked it: Which of the Central American countries had their troops taking part in offensive operations against terrorists in the Great War on Terror? (I kind of vaguely remember someone said that Honduras and Panama did, and maybe also El Salvador -- is that correct, and which other ones sent their troops, if any?) 69.181.91.208 (talk) 09:20, 23 May 2022 (UTC)


 * ISAF mentions El Salvador. The source, in German, says that troops were sent to the Hindu Kush, but nothing about operations. This might be the time when you got a reply mentioning Honduras. Card Zero  (talk) 11:04, 23 May 2022 (UTC)


 * Besides an earlier question about Romanians in Afghan, there were ISAF coalition on 30 December 2016 and ISAF coalition, take 2 on 5 January 2017. No mention of Central American countries, though. --Lambiam 05:58, 24 May 2022 (UTC)


 * Thank you Card_Zero -- that's exactly what I was looking for! (Surprising to see Nicaragua on that list, though -- I guess the Sandinistas were not in power at that time!) 69.181.91.208 (talk) 15:18, 24 May 2022 (UTC)
 * I figured the countries' own newspapers would be the place to find details of the operations of their troops in Afghanistan - if we were very lucky and could find newpaper archives and the details were ever reported. So I looked at La Prensa (Managua), for Nicaragua, but I only found another article about El Salvador sending troops in 2011. (The site will probably try to inflict a paywall on you which conceals most of the article, but it's a half-assed attempt and I got round it by pressing the stop button on my browser before the javascript kicked in). Here is an automatic translation of most of the article: The Salvadoran Foreign Minister, Hugo Martínez, although he did not confirm Funes' request, He told Acan-Efe that his country has “a general policy of supporting these missions within the framework of the United Nations and within the framework that they are missions, not combat troop, but of support in infrastructure, in engineering work, under construction". He added that El Salvador participates in these "peace missions" especially "when there are emerging states that need contributions from the most basic to found or re-found their institutions.". El Salvador is open to provide such assistance because "we were recipients of much international cooperation in the process of negotiating, signing and executing the Peace Accords," which in 1992 ended the civil war that began in 1980, he explained. For this reason, "we are always ready to heed any call made to us," he emphasized. El Salvador's contingent would consist of around twenty "military instructors", who "will not go to any combat zone" in Afghanistan, said a military source quoted by the local newspaper La Prensa Gráfica. The Salvadoran military also participated in a mission in Iraq, where they were between August 2003 and February 2009, and since 2008 they have been a peacekeeping force in Lebanon, under the command of Spain. So, in theory at least, they weren't there to do any fighting. Card Zero  (talk) 16:45, 24 May 2022 (UTC)

Brainless Survival
Hi, I need to know this as soon as possible. Can a human survive without a brain nor life support? I need to know within 53 minutes, thanks. --166.127.32.165
 * Too late? Although, note that many politicians get along just fine without brains. --←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 17:17, 23 May 2022 (UTC)
 * Fish and chickens can survive with only the brain stem intact: Mike the Headless Chicken is the famous example, and there's a video kicking around the internet of a headless fish swimming about. Destruction of the brainstem stops useful little habits such as breathing, and results in the death of the organism. However, without a brain, a human is considered brain dead, so this is probably not what you'd call survival of the human. There is some uncertainty over this, as you can tell from the article - particularly about persistent vegetative state. I vaguely remember also the case of somebody born with only a tiny amount of brain (perhaps I mean a tiny amount of cerebrum) which subsequently grew to fill the empty space in the head until the person functioned as well as anyone else. Card Zero  (talk) 17:19, 23 May 2022 (UTC)
 * You may be recalling this case: Hydrocephalus. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.209.235.54 (talk) 18:12, 23 May 2022 (UTC)
 * That must be the one! Thank you. I'm still attached to my version of events, but it probably comes from my imagination. So in fact it was a case of Hydrocephalus where his brain was reduced to 10% of the usual size, and stayed like that, yet he is still (to this day, presumably) able carry out a role in the French civil service. I wonder whether the structure of the brain was still all there, just compressed into a thin sheet? (But I don't really know what that question means. Number of neurons, I suppose, and he must have things like a Broca's area.) Card Zero  (talk) 18:51, 23 May 2022 (UTC)
 * A similar case in the UK was a boy born with hydrocephalus and only 2% of his brain mass. By the age of three, his brain had grown to 80% and now aged ten, "does maths and loves science".  Alansplodge (talk) 22:00, 23 May 2022 (UTC)
 * Oh now that's what I was remembering. There's the suggestion again that the brain was just compressed. Card Zero  (talk) 22:40, 23 May 2022 (UTC)
 * That guy worked as a civil servant, which confirms sooooo many suspicions. Clarityfiend (talk) 09:18, 24 May 2022 (UTC)

Obligatory gag time: https://www.irishtimes.com/business/lawyer-s-probes-pose-a-brain-teaser-for-doctor-1.159767 --Dweller (talk) Old fashioned is the new thing! 09:37, 24 May 2022 (UTC)

Reputedly, there was a squirrel without head that was fed. The reliability of the source I cannot determine. -- Cimon Avaro&#59; on a pogostick. (talk) 15:38, 24 May 2022 (UTC)