Wikipedia:Reference desk/FAQ

The idea is that when someone encounters a question that has been asked before, they place links to both those questions here, under a meaningful header (possibly with links to other related questions as well). Once that is done, people can start cleaning up both the answers and the questions, merging them into one set. No two questions are ever the same, but a common ground could be found and the answer could be polished to perfection over time (making it more article-like).

Of course, all this assuming there is no answer to that question yet in an article. In that case the question could still be placed here, but accompanied with just a link to that article instead of an answer. If that does not satisfy people, then that is an indication that the article needs to be adapted. In that sense the reference desk could be seen as an aid to improve articles.

How questions are categorised here does not necessarily reflect where they were originally asked.

Not all questions have all relevant reference desk links. Some have just one link because someone remembered a question being asked before, but not where.

=Computing=

Hidden file

 * Reference desk archive/Computing/2006 August 30
 * Reference desk archive/Computing/2006 August 26

=Science=

Work (energy)

 * Reference desk archive/Science/2006 July 25
 * Reference desk archive/Science/2006 September 19

Does everyone who sees colours see red the same way?

 * Reference desk archive/Science/May 2006
 * Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2006 December 31
 * Reference desk/Archives/Science/2007 January 14

What happens if the sun disappears or stops shining?

 * Reference desk archive/Science/2006 August 20
 * Reference desk archive/Science/2006 June 7
 * Reference desk archive/Science/2006 August 15
 * Reference desk archive/Science/May 2006 part 2

The edge of the Universe

 * Reference desk archive/Miscellaneous/2006 September 26

Is marijuana bad for you?

 * Reference desk archive/Science/2006 October 1

=Mathematics=

Why is 1+1 = 2?

 * Reference desk/Archives/Mathematics/2007 April 18
 * Reference desk/Archives/Mathematics/2007 April 30

Area of an irregular shape

 * Reference desk archive/Mathematics/January 2006
 * Reference desk archive/Miscellaneous/May 2006

Finding Hamlet in π

 * Reference desk/Archives/Mathematics/2006 November 11
 * Reference desk/Archives/Mathematics/2007 October 29

Positional number systems with non-integral bases

 * Reference desk/Archives/Mathematics/2007 November 30
 * Reference desk/Archives/Mathematics/2008 January 3

=Miscellaneous=

Sneezing at the Sun

 * Reference desk archive/Miscellaneous/December 2005
 * Reference desk archive/Science/November 2005

Volcanologist's wages

 * Reference desk archive/Miscellaneous/January 2006

Oldest airline still in business

 * Reference desk archive/Miscellaneous/May 2006

How do you check whether a company with a certain name exists?

 * Reference desk archive/Miscellaneous/May 2006
 * Reference desk archive/Miscellaneous/April 2006

What kept Hitler from invading Switzerland and Sweden?

 * Reference desk archive/Humanities/January 2006

Famous people on Wikipedia

 * Reference desk archive/Miscellaneous/2006 September 13
 * Reference desk archive/Miscellaneous/2006 September 27

How many humans have ever lived?

 * Reference desk archive/Science/2006 September 27
 * Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2006 November 21
 * Reference desk/Archives/Science/2007 April 16
 * Help desk/Archive 50

There is a discussion of this question in the article World population. The best estimates hover around 100 billion.

Wikipedia mirrors
Asked very often.
 * Reference desk archive/Miscellaneous/2006 October 1

Human resource management

 * Reference desk archive/Humanities/June 2006 Part 2
 * Reference desk archive/Miscellaneous/2006 August 21

Why are voltages always a multitude of 11V?

 * Reference desk archive/Miscellaneous/November 2005
 * Reference desk/Archives/Science/2006 December 6
 * Reference desk archive/Science/May 2006 part 2

=Humanities=

Trotsky vs Stalin

 * Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2007 May 1
 * Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2007 May 1
 * Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2007 May 7
 * Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2007 June 13
 * Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2007 August 23
 * Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2007 September 10

Persia vs Greece

 * Reference desk archive/Humanities/March 2006

Public Domain works that contain copyrighted characters?

 * Reference desk archive/Humanities/March 2006
 * Talk:Tom and Jerry Not a link to a ref desk question, but does that matter?

Why do men have nipples?

 * Reference desk archive/Science/2006 June 2

Decomposition

 * Reference desk archive/Science/2006 August 14

Why wet things are dark

 * Reference desk archive/Science/2006 August 13
 * Reference desk archive/Science/February 15-21 2006

The Internet after a global catastrophe

 * Reference desk archive/Science/2006 August 2
 * Reference desk archive/Miscellaneous/2006 July 13

Watertight ship's propeller

 * Reference desk archive/Science/April 2006
 * Reference desk archive/Science/2006 September 22

Cutting worms in half

 * Reference desk archive/Science/2006 September 22
 * Reference desk archive/Science/2006 June 15

Most valuable substance
This was also asked a few months earlier.
 * Reference desk archive/Science/2006 October 2

Why do men on 19th century portraits pose with one hand in the jacket?

 * Reference desk archive/Humanities/2006 July 27
 * Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2007 June 1

What are the dates for viewing the Siena Duomo's pavement?

 * Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2007 August 13
 * Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2007 September 3

How can I get my novel published?

 * Reference desk archive/Humanities/December 2005
 * Reference desk/Archives/Language/2007 May 14
 * Reference desk/Archives/Language/2007 November 6

Why did George Fox visit Barbados in 1671?

 * Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2007 September 29
 * Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2007 December 23

=Language=
 * See also Reference desk/Language/FAQs

What language is this?
(asked too often to list the occasions)
 * Language recognition chart might help, as might the Xerox Language Identifier.

Name for the first decade of the 21st century

 * Reference desk archive/Science/March 2006
 * Reference desk archive/Language/2006 August 5
 * Reference desk archive/Miscellaneous/2006 September 1
 * Reference desk archive/Language/2006 September 11
 * Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2007 January 2

Easiest/hardest language to learn

 * See also Hardest language


 * Reference desk archive/Language/January 2006
 * Reference desk archive/Language/February 2006
 * Reference desk archive/Language/June 2006
 * Reference desk archive/Language/2006 July 15
 * Reference desk/Archives/Language/2007 March 24
 * Reference desk/Archives/Language/2007 April 30
 * Reference desk/Archives/Language/2007 May 7
 * Reference desk/Archives/Language/2007 May 19
 * Reference desk/Archives/Language/2007 June 1
 * Reference desk/Archives/Language/2007 December 17

Who was the greatest polyglot?

 * Reference desk archive/Humanities/2006 August 16
 * Reference desk/Archives/Language/2007 May 3
 * Reference desk/Archives/Language/2007 December 18

"People" or "persons"?

 * Reference desk archive/Language/2006 October 2
 * Reference desk/Archives/Language/2007 October 7

"Further" or "farther"?

 * Reference desk/Archives/Language/2007 June 6
 * Reference desk/Archives/Language/2007 September 8

"Two weeks notice" or "two weeks' notice"?

 * Reference desk/Archives/Language/2007 February 7
 * Reference desk/Archives/Language/2007 May 18
 * Reference desk/Archives/Language/2007 October 25

=Entertainment=

=See also= Reference desk/Language/FAQs