Wikipedia:Reference desk/Miscellaneous
of the Wikipedia reference desk.
Main page: Help searching Wikipedia
How can I get my question answered?
- Select the section of the desk that best fits the general topic of your question (see the navigation column to the right).
- Post your question to only one section, providing a short header that gives the topic of your question.
- Type '~~~~' (that is, four tilde characters) at the end – this signs and dates your contribution so we know who wrote what and when.
- Don't post personal contact information – it will be removed. Any answers will be provided here.
- Please be as specific as possible, and include all relevant context – the usefulness of answers may depend on the context.
- Note:
- We don't answer (and may remove) questions that require medical diagnosis or legal advice.
- We don't answer requests for opinions, predictions or debate.
- We don't do your homework for you, though we'll help you past the stuck point.
- We don't conduct original research or provide a free source of ideas, but we'll help you find information you need.
How do I answer a question?
Main page: Wikipedia:Reference desk/Guidelines
- The best answers address the question directly, and back up facts with wikilinks and links to sources. Do not edit others' comments and do not give any medical or legal advice.
June 3
editO-Block Raid
editany News or references, (yes its me again)
Draft:Raid of Parkway Gardens EndermanSurfgo (talk) 18:25, 3 June 2026 (UTC)
- What is your rationale for this raid and arrest of four murder suspects meriting its own article separate from that on the Murder of FBG Duck itself? {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} ~2026-27434-43 (talk) 20:10, 3 June 2026 (UTC)
- its a FBI, Chicago police, and SWAT raid, it says NOTHING about the raid EndermanSurfgo (talk) 20:12, 3 June 2026 (UTC)
- The question raised is whether this raid is sufficiently notable to merit a stand-alone article. Every new day brings dozens of police raids; was there something special about this specific raid, such as evidenced by widespread media coverage?
- If it worth being mentioned at all, why not simply include it in the Arrests section of the article, by changing the first line of this section to read:
- "On October 13, 2021, following a two-month investigation, the Chicago Police Department, in cooperation with the FBI, conducted a raid on an apartment in O Block in the South Side neighborhood of Chicago and arrested five individuals in connection with the murder of FBG Duck."
- This addition would, of course, also need to be cited to a reliable source. Even if one can be found, the question remains, is this encyclopedic information? Is it
- sufficiently relevant to be mentioned at all?
- FYI, SWAT is not an agency like the FBI and CPD. The way in which the term is used in the draft makes no sense. ‑‑Lambiam 04:46, 4 June 2026 (UTC)
- Sorry, god every time I make a draft I get opposed EndermanSurfgo (talk) 12:27, 4 June 2026 (UTC)
- Hey, we've already got upwards of 7.19 million articles: finding a suitable subject for a new article is hard. I've been working on Wikipedia for nearly 25 years and I've never managed to do it (or seriously tried), but there's a lot of other tasks that Wikipedia needs, and fortunately for me some of them suit me better.
- Maybe, for example, improving existing sub-standard articles (or deciding that they're unsalvagable and getting rid of them via WP:AfD) might both appeal to you and give you good practice for assessing what new subjects might be better article candidates? Whatever you decide, good luck and happy editing. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} ~2026-27434-43 (talk) 15:35, 4 June 2026 (UTC)
- Your first para could come across as quite off-putting, even intimidating. Sure, we have protocols and policies that ensure articles about trivial stuff will have an extremely short life. That's as it should be, but there are still plenty of topics that need articles. That's what redlinks are for: to prompt someone to take up the challenge, find some sources, and write at least a rudimentary article. I've written well over 700 articles, and maintain a long list of topics of interest to me that still need articles. -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 22:07, 4 June 2026 (UTC)
- Sorry, god every time I make a draft I get opposed EndermanSurfgo (talk) 12:27, 4 June 2026 (UTC)
- its a FBI, Chicago police, and SWAT raid, it says NOTHING about the raid EndermanSurfgo (talk) 20:12, 3 June 2026 (UTC)
June 4
editBrands, Companies, and Corporations commenting on TikTok, like a normal person
edit| lta -fifteen thousand two hundred twenty four (talk) 07:03, 9 June 2026 (UTC) |
|---|
| The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it. |
|
Hello there, I never discovered this trend on so social media, especially Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram, until 2026 and beyond, when brands try to be relatable on social media platforms, by not commenting on these posts or media, but using slang, memes, or jokes, like if they are a normal person. For this issue, aside from relatable marketing, what is the issue of the brands or billion dollar corporations pretending to be the normal person, by commenting on TikTok shorts or Instagram photos, using slang? Why can not these companies act like teenagers or Gen Z randoms? What is the analogy here though? I'm just wondering though. For extra, take a look at user generated content and more on Social marketing. Sources:
Here are these links to those videos:
Thanks in advance! ~2026-33106-46 (talk) 23:24, 4 June 2026 (UTC)
|
June 5
editWhy do some historical inventions appear in multiple cultures independently?
editThroughout history, inventions such as agriculture, writing systems, pyramidal structures, and various tools seem to have emerged independently in different parts of the world. How do historians and archaeologists determine whether an invention was independently developed versus transmitted through cultural contact? Are there notable examples where a technology was once thought to have spread from one civilization but is now believed to have arisen independently? ArcadeFair (talk) 00:18, 5 June 2026 (UTC)
- See Multiple discovery. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 02:11, 5 June 2026 (UTC)
- There is a famous saying, "Steam engines appear when it's steam-engine time", whose original formulation appeared in Charles Fort's 1931 work Lo!, ""A tree cannot find out, as it were, how to blossom, until comes blossom-time. A social growth cannot find out the use of steam engines, until comes steam-engine-time."
- The "time" in question is when a society has developed the collective knowledge and technology necessary to make a particular 'invention' viable, at which point any of several people in that society might think of it. That said, humans have always been more globally mobile that is often imagined, and it only takes one adventurous or fortuitous traveller (usually anonymous to future history) to carry an idea from one culture to another to another where it may be taken up. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} ~2026-27434-43 (talk) 12:33, 5 June 2026 (UTC)
- I saw an example made of the plains Native Americans. They didn't have a wheel. They used long logs pulled by dogs. It worked. They didn't need a wheel. Horses arrived. They could use longer logs and move more things, still without wheels. So, it isn't that they didn't comprehend the concept of a wheel. They simply didn't have the need for a wheel. Therefore, lack of an invention in a culture isn't an indication that it couldn't have been invented. It is more an indication that the need did not arise. The "time" never arrived. ~2026-16820-81 (talk) 13:02, 5 June 2026 (UTC)
- The travois. Our article claims, without sources, that they work better than wheels over some types of terrain. There's a picture of one in use in Finland. Card Zero (talk) 13:30, 5 June 2026 (UTC)
- I understand that archaeologists have found wheeled toys made in pre-Columbian America in areas where no wagons were made. Wheeled wagons are only really useful when you also have roads. With a small population density, you need a lot of road for few people, making building and maintaining the road excessively expensive. Wide, large-diameter wheels run reasonably well on rougher surfaces like grassland, but such wheels are heavy and only pay off if the payload is heavy too. Such payloads are rare in pre-industrial societies. Sled-like devices may be the better option. PiusImpavidus (talk) 10:29, 6 June 2026 (UTC)
- I saw an example made of the plains Native Americans. They didn't have a wheel. They used long logs pulled by dogs. It worked. They didn't need a wheel. Horses arrived. They could use longer logs and move more things, still without wheels. So, it isn't that they didn't comprehend the concept of a wheel. They simply didn't have the need for a wheel. Therefore, lack of an invention in a culture isn't an indication that it couldn't have been invented. It is more an indication that the need did not arise. The "time" never arrived. ~2026-16820-81 (talk) 13:02, 5 June 2026 (UTC)
- The short version is that they don't and often can't know for certain if something was invented independently; the archaeological and historical record is often incomplete and prone to being overturned. Articles that will be of interest include Cultural diffusion and especially Hyperdiffusionism. At one point these were fairly mainstream concepts in archaeology and almost every example now known to be an independent invention had to be chipped away from the diffusionist point of view. Matt Deres (talk) 13:32, 5 June 2026 (UTC)
- I can agree. ArcadeFair (talk) 22:40, 5 June 2026 (UTC)
- We know for a fact that in modern times many inventions have been found multiple times independently. With the information diffusion rate of modern times, the later ones had to be found almost simultaneously by people who had not yet learned of the prior invention elsewhere. With prehistoric diffusion rates, multiple occurrences of the same invention could be apart by millenia. ‑‑Lambiam 08:23, 6 June 2026 (UTC)
June 6
editThe Facet "Warmth" of Big Five
editIn the Big Five personality trait of extraversion, the facet "Warmth" is defined as the degree of affection one feels for others. Therefore, would a person who genuinely enjoys close friends but dislikes interacting with strangers receive a high or low score on this facet? Ataled (talk) 13:16, 6 June 2026 (UTC)
- Link: Big Five personality traits. Alansplodge (talk) 18:04, 6 June 2026 (UTC)
- If someone does not enjoy the company of friends, this is not part of some personality trait; there is something wrong with them. Affection is a disposition, not a feeling like joy. One can enjoy another person without affection. Our articles on the Big Five and on extraversion mention neither "warmth" nor "affection". Could "affect" have been meant? In any case, lack of confidence in opening up especially to strangers is a telltale characteristic of introverts, whereas being comfortable with friends is not a distinguishing characteristic of anything. ‑‑Lambiam 20:56, 6 June 2026 (UTC)
- The personality facet "Warmth" is exemplified by Jung's extrovert type who thrives in activities that involve large social gatherings, see Extraversion and introversion. The described person's unwillingness to engage with a large social network rates a low score on "Warmth" which could correlate with an extrovert's crowd orientation but for which intense relationships limited to a rigidly selected group of friends are no substitute. ~2026-21660-55 (talk) 21:30, 6 June 2026 (UTC)
- Episode 101: The Big Five: Extraversion: “Warmth is the facet of extraversion most relevant to issues of interpersonal intimacy. Warm people are affectionate and friendly. They genuinely like people and easily form close attachments to others. Low scorers are neither hostile nor necessarily lacking in compassion, but they are more formal, reserved, and distant in manner than high scorers” (Piedmont, 1998). Ataled (talk) 02:03, 7 June 2026 (UTC)
June 7
editDiplomas
editDo most (if not all) diplomas have the same external design? The ones I've seen have medieval-like lettering of the name of the school, and the cover is just one single color. Where did these ideas come from? —TWOrantulaTM (enter the web) 03:24, 7 June 2026 (UTC)
- @TrademarkedTWOrantula Anyone can design and write a diploma. Look at images of diplomas on the internet and you will see various designs, some more impressive than others. But because the recipient is paying sometimes quite a lot of money for a diploma (and you can buy a variety of random diplomas online) the designer no doubt feels obliged to make it look a bit fancy. Shantavira|feed me 07:09, 7 June 2026 (UTC)
- Multi-colored covers look cheap and/or informal IMO. Unless you're graduating from a design or fashion school maybe. Clarityfiend (talk) 07:40, 7 June 2026 (UTC)
- My guess would be that for centuries university diplomas were produced (originally by hand, perhaps eventually with woodblock printing) using blackletter and similar letter forms. Over time that became a cultural expectation of "what a diploma looks like". So even digital templates these days will use a similar aesthetic because it "looks official". -- Avocado (talk) 13:18, 7 June 2026 (UTC)
- It seems to be something of a trope in USA universities. Not something common in other English speaking counties. Nanonic (talk) 16:01, 7 June 2026 (UTC)
- Mine are printed on somewhat better paper, using some serif roman antiqua font, I think in black, maybe some red. Diplomas are the kind of paper that tends to end up in a box in the attic, so I haven't seen them in years. The only blackletter printed stuff I found at home is a collection of German poetry, printed in occupied Netherlands in 1941. And I'm certain of the coloured cover. To get really fancy, roll them up and put them in a cardboard tube.
- BTW, the more you pay for a diploma, the more it says about the wallet and the less about the qualities of the owner. PiusImpavidus (talk) 18:00, 7 June 2026 (UTC)
- Apparently, university degrees in Britain iook like this. Alansplodge (talk) 21:52, 7 June 2026 (UTC)
- In the US, diplomas tend to have a landscape orientation, often seen framed, hanging on the walls of psychiatrist's offices. This photo is of the certificate of a honorary doctorate awarded by the University of Tartu. Apart from the name of the honoree, the lettering is remarkably unremarkable.
- One can, apparently, order official-looking French diplomas online in several "personalized" forms: classical, cheesy and gaudy. ‑‑Lambiam 06:28, 8 June 2026 (UTC)
- Because the diploma is ceremonial, not an official certificate (that is the official transcript from the university), you can reprint it however you like. I've known people who had their diplomas reprinted with fancier artwork and lettering. One added more signatures to the bottom to make it look better. I saw one that changed "Doctor of Philosophy" to "Doctor of Mathematics" because she didn't like that it looked like a PhD in Philosophy, not Mathematics. ~2026-16820-81 (talk) 12:44, 8 June 2026 (UTC)
Photographer?
editHallo. It's me again. I would like to know who originally took this photo or just something about its origin. I already know it's Shell Energy. It's a pretty good photo. https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shell_2847.jpg ~2026-22534-68 (talk) 16:44, 7 June 2026 (UTC)
- It was by Dash Snow, an American artist. Some more about it here. DuncanHill (talk) 16:55, 7 June 2026 (UTC)
- Thanks! Do you know if it was staged or not? ~2026-22534-68 (talk) 21:19, 7 June 2026 (UTC)
- I don't believe it was staged, but that's just my opinion. I see commercial signs with bulbs blown out like this all the time. One important thing to keep in mind is that the emphasis on "hell" is much greater in the photo. At night, these gas stations are very well lit, and most people might not even notice the "S" was missing due to the ambient lighting. Also, newer Shell stations no longer use this lettering, just the shell icon. That photo is from 21 years ago, and I think the redesign and refresh took place just after it was taken. Viriditas (talk) 22:31, 7 June 2026 (UTC)
- The image by Dash Snow is not identical to that linked to in the question. While they appear to be photos of the same gas station by night, the hellsigns are on different sides. Since it is unlikely both were accidentally compromised in just the same way, this appears to be artificial, easily explained by doctoring the image. Also, images found of Shell gas stations by night have lit red and yellow bands all around the rims of their roofs, as seen e.g. here. ‑‑Lambiam 06:00, 8 June 2026 (UTC)
- Good eye! Viriditas (talk) 00:06, 10 June 2026 (UTC)
- The image by Dash Snow is not identical to that linked to in the question. While they appear to be photos of the same gas station by night, the
- I don't believe it was staged, but that's just my opinion. I see commercial signs with bulbs blown out like this all the time. One important thing to keep in mind is that the emphasis on "hell" is much greater in the photo. At night, these gas stations are very well lit, and most people might not even notice the "S" was missing due to the ambient lighting. Also, newer Shell stations no longer use this lettering, just the shell icon. That photo is from 21 years ago, and I think the redesign and refresh took place just after it was taken. Viriditas (talk) 22:31, 7 June 2026 (UTC)
- Thanks! Do you know if it was staged or not? ~2026-22534-68 (talk) 21:19, 7 June 2026 (UTC)
This is a weird one
editThis curatorial summary of the art exhibition Childe Hassam: American Impressionist (2004) is well written and accurate. However, it does not include an author credit indicating the source. It assumes the reader understands that it is a shortened, textual distillation of the published exhibition catalogue by H. Barbara Weinberg, which it is; I recognize her writing, and I have the catalogue in front of me, which presents the same information in long form. But, if I wanted to cite this shortened form, I wouldn't be able to prove she was the author. What to do? Viriditas (talk) 22:18, 7 June 2026 (UTC)
- Cite the catalogue, link to the summary, and say that it's a summary of the catalogue. There's probably even a slot in the cite template for incidentally related web page or something like that. You don't have to prove things that nobody will argue with (WP:BLUE). Card Zero (talk) ※ 22:29, 7 June 2026 (UTC)
- Thanks. In recent years, I have seen curatorial summaries that do cite the author, but the old ones seemed to avoid it. Viriditas (talk) 22:32, 7 June 2026 (UTC)
- If citing the web page, leave the author blank. You know and can use the publisher, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 22:32, 7 June 2026 (UTC)
- I know, but I also know Weinberg was the original author, so it bothers me. Viriditas (talk) 22:33, 7 June 2026 (UTC)
- If you need to cite, specifically, the summary, you could use something like
- <ref>{{cite web|...}} Condensed from {{cite book|author=H. Barbara Weinberg|...|isbn=978-0-300-10293-2}}</ref>.
- Otherwise, why not cite the catalogue directly? ‑‑Lambiam 05:24, 8 June 2026 (UTC)
- I have cited the cat. in other places. The issue for me was that the shortened curatorial summary was perfect for what I was looking for, while the original material in the cat. was four times as long. Viriditas (talk) 21:35, 8 June 2026 (UTC)
- If you need to cite, specifically, the summary, you could use something like
- I know, but I also know Weinberg was the original author, so it bothers me. Viriditas (talk) 22:33, 7 June 2026 (UTC)
June 8
editWiki Workers United solidarity
edit| lta -fifteen thousand two hundred twenty four (talk) 07:02, 9 June 2026 (UTC) |
|---|
| The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it. |
|
Hello there, rd hosts. We know this is already been happening, could you please sign the Wikipedia:Wiki Workers United solidarity? I seen this at the recent news as of June 2026. For context, please take a look at these responses. Do not forget to write your own response after signing into it. I haved edited Wikipedia for years, and I'm using the temporary account. ~2026-33778-68 (talk) 21:28, 8 June 2026 (UTC)
|
June 9
editThinking
editHow practical would it be to cite my experience on Wikipedia for college applications? (I'm planning to double major in journalism and some STEM-related subject, but the future isn't certain.) —TWOrantulaTM (enter the web) 04:19, 9 June 2026 (UTC)
- Their first question might be something about verifiability. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 04:26, 9 June 2026 (UTC)
- For the college to be able to verify their activity? Editing their own user page to include their name or some shibboleth from the application seems like it'd do the trick. They could also link from the user page to diffs that demonstrate activity they're particularly proud of, so the person reading the application doesn't have to know how to use Wikipedia in order to dig it up. -- Avocado (talk) 10:54, 9 June 2026 (UTC)
- Very practical in the sense of being doable, and unlikely to be harmful, but is it effective? Assuming this is meant for application to a college in the US, it seems to me (not based on specific knowledge) that it is helpful if an application letter makes the applicant stand out among the possibly thousands of applications received. Merely being a Wikipedia editor may not contribute much to that aspect. As far as I could easily see, you created 11 new articles in the last two-and-a-half years, which is fine but not impressive. However, it may help to support an impression of being civic-minded, willing to put effort in bettering the world also for others, which may be something admissions officers are looking for.
- I've read more application letters for admission to some PhD-track position than I cared for. Many were fill-in-the-blanks boilerplate, not making clear why the applicant was seeking the specific position applied for, which immediately gave them a low ranking. College admission is something different, yet I imagine that a letter that also makes clear why you are applying to this college – because of something specific that distinguishes it from other colleges – can help to make you stand out. ‑‑Lambiam 05:44, 9 June 2026 (UTC)
you created 11 new articles in the last two-and-a-half years, which is fine but not impressive
-- Not sure I agree that that's not impressive. There are tens, probably hundreds of thousands of editors who have never created that many articles. And new article creation is not by a long shot the only work that's meaningful or even the most meaningful work.- Whether 11 new articles are impressive to a college admissions officer, I suppose, is another matter. What those articles (as well as Tworantula's other work here) do demonstrate, especially for a potential journalism major, is the ability to do research, determine what sources of information are reliable and support what statements, and cite that research appropriately -- which are skills plenty of college-bound kids graduate high school without.
- There's also the matter of demonstrating the ability to participate constructively as a member of an intellectual community, which I do see in their talkspace contributions. Heck, we get a lot of teenagers who come here just to vandalize, or who don't have the ability yet to be able to give or receive feedback politely. I wouldn't have guessed Tworantula's age based on their recent contributions, which says something about their maturity, both emotional and intellectual.
- The hard part, of course, is translating all of that into something a college admissions officer will both understand and give credence to without the admissions officer also being a wikipedian! -- Avocado (talk) 11:12, 9 June 2026 (UTC)
- Degree courses sometimes give marks for interacting with peers in the chosen field, like discussing a relevant problem. I think I've seen Wikipedia suggested as the venue for this interaction. (I remember because I was annoyed by the thought of students being sent to our talk pages to ask insincere questions for better grades.) Card Zero (talk) ※ 14:38, 9 June 2026 (UTC)
Creepiest Kim Kardashian pic ever
editGood morning. What made this photo look the way it does?! https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/kim-kardashian-is-seen-on-february-25-2023-in-milan-italy-news-photo/1247470859 Nightmare fuel! ~2026-33908-31 (talk) 04:43, 9 June 2026 (UTC)
- Looks like just poor lighting. But what's with the neck brace, or whatever that is? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 05:24, 9 June 2026 (UTC)
- It is a series of belts, each with holes reinforced with metal eyelets. ‑‑Lambiam 06:09, 9 June 2026 (UTC)
- It makes me think of Chucky. ‑‑Lambiam 06:11, 9 June 2026 (UTC)
- Kim Kardashian is a vampire, and that is her real face. Didn't you get the memo? Clarityfiend (talk) 00:01, 10 June 2026 (UTC)
- Maybe she Is... ~2026-33908-31 (talk) 05:18, 12 June 2026 (UTC)
Cursive writing revival
edit| lta -fifteen thousand two hundred twenty four (talk) 07:02, 9 June 2026 (UTC) |
|---|
| The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it. |
|
When will cursive writing be revived as the of 2020s? SpeedOfLight100 (talk) 05:27, 9 June 2026 (UTC)
|
Fiction books qualify as educational books
edit| lta fifteen thousand two hundred twenty four (talk) 06:58, 9 June 2026 (UTC) |
|---|
| The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it. |
|
When does educational books qualify as educational books? How do fictional books help you learn something new? ~2026-33899-80 (talk) 05:39, 9 June 2026 (UTC)
|
Does Khabat Jahany speaks Italian?
editHi everyone! In this 2014 video the Swiss poker player Khabat Jahany speaks only English instead of German, French or Italian with the girls at the Campione d'Italia casino and it annoyed me a lot I don't know why. Honestly, can Khabat Jahany speak Italian? Thanks! DanielParoliere (talk) 15:27, 9 June 2026 (UTC)
- The scant sources I can find give his name as Jahany Khabat and appear to place him in Zürich, but not everyone living there is Swiss. Do we have a reliable source establishing that he is Swiss? For all I know he could be ethnically Kurdish. ‑‑Lambiam 18:28, 9 June 2026 (UTC)
- Unfortunately not. For example, on this site says he is a foreigner (see: ) and this other one Swiss (see: ). It's not very clear. DanielParoliere (talk) 18:55, 9 June 2026 (UTC)
- Maybe he speaks Romansh and doesn't think the girls will understand it. --Trovatore (talk) 20:14, 9 June 2026 (UTC)
- And most people living in Zurich don't speak Italian. —Antonissimo (talk) 08:39, 15 June 2026 (UTC)
- Unfortunately not. For example, on this site says he is a foreigner (see: ) and this other one Swiss (see: ). It's not very clear. DanielParoliere (talk) 18:55, 9 June 2026 (UTC)
- Google AI reckons he's "an Iranian Kurd, holding Iranian nationality while identifying primarily with the stateless Kurdish nation." If that's true, he presumably speaks Kurdish, maybe Farsi too, and apparently English. I imagine that if he did speak Italian, he'd be using it when speaking to Italian ladies in Italy. So no, he probably doesn't speak Italian. If that annoys you, that would be your problem and not his. Chuntuk (talk) 10:28, 10 June 2026 (UTC)
June 11
edithelp identifying prop
editIn file:James bond girl (52594326026).jpg a woman holds a (presumably replica) pistol. There are other photos in that set with different angles of the object, but she is undressed (it's a glamour photography shoot, apparently). Which model of gun is it intended to represent? Arlo James Barnes 22:21, 11 June 2026 (UTC)
- Generic badass gun. I would guess it's actually a .22 target pistol based on the small caliber and the really long barrel and the distinctive rake of the grip. No idea what make or model. ~2026-34408-95 (talk) 06:18, 12 June 2026 (UTC)
- The photo is in Category:Beretta pistols on Commons, but, looking over the other images in that category and its subcategories, I don't see any models that closely resemble it. Deor (talk) 11:56, 12 June 2026 (UTC)
- It does kinda resemble the Beretta Target 87 but I don't think that's it. See: https://www.sigtalk.com/threads/beretta-87-target-review.106994/ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x49JUtbTVq8 ~2026-34645-39 (talk) 12:54, 12 June 2026 (UTC)
- The photo is in Category:Beretta pistols on Commons, but, looking over the other images in that category and its subcategories, I don't see any models that closely resemble it. Deor (talk) 11:56, 12 June 2026 (UTC)
- This looks very much like a sports pistol to me. The grip is very far forward. The port is behind the grip - so it isn't a semi-auto ejection port. The barrel is overly long. The big thing under the tiny barrel is likely a laser sight. ~2026-21283-08 (talk) 17:04, 13 June 2026 (UTC)
- Correction. Looking further, it looks like a target pistol. They fire pellets or BBs, not shelled rounds. Some have a CO2 cartridge that screws in under the barrel. ~2026-21283-08 (talk) 17:24, 14 June 2026 (UTC)
June 12
editRIP to someone who is still alive
editWhen did it become a thing to say RIP to someone who has been unlucky but still alive? I saw lots of social media posts after the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix saying RIP George and it gave me a fright. (~2026-34557-64 (talk) 11:47, 12 June 2026 (UTC))
- Did "George" survive? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 12:11, 12 June 2026 (UTC)
- Yes. (~2026-34557-64 (talk) 13:47, 12 June 2026 (UTC))
- Yes, George Russell is alive and well. the "RIPs" in this case are referring not to his person, but the likely demise of his hopes for winning the World Championship this year, having come only 12th at Monaco, scoring no points and now lying 68 points behind the Championship leader, his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli.
- These "RIPs" are somewhat presumptious, because although Antonelli is in great form, having scored five 1sts and one 2nd in the six main races so far (and having 156 points), he might sometime in the remaining nine race meetings be injured and left unable to compete, in which case Lewis Hamilton (with 90 points) and Russell (with 88), now 2nd and 3rd, would both have good chances of winning the Championship.
- (Note that the above points also include results from the shorter 'sprint' races that are additionally run at some, but not all, Grands Prix weekends.) {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} ~2026-27434-43 (talk) 13:48, 12 June 2026 (UTC)
- RIP to someone still alive is the sort of thing one expects from gangsters and Provos and the like, as a threat. DuncanHill (talk) 01:18, 14 June 2026 (UTC)
- When it comes to silly and often meaningless expressions, there's literally nothing that (some) social media users won't copy and turn into a thing. It's like a mental illness. -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 22:10, 12 June 2026 (UTC)
Requiescat in pace, et luce prima expergefactus refectusque diem laetus exspectet. (Yes, I used AI; I know a little Latin but this is beyond my competence, and I can't really tell whether it rings the right way.) --Trovatore (talk) 22:38, 12 June 2026 (UTC)- Perhaps laete? ‑‑Lambiam 03:58, 13 June 2026 (UTC)
- After a little searching, laetē with the macron maybe. --Trovatore (talk) 05:38, 13 June 2026 (UTC)
- For the sake of consistency, when using macrons to indicate long vowels, we should also write requiēscat, pāce, lūce, prīmā and expergēfactus. ‑‑Lambiam 19:56, 13 June 2026 (UTC)
- Well, fair enough, but I don't think any of those uses are distinctive, whereas laete could be read as "O joyful one", though maybe not in that sentence position. --Trovatore (talk) 22:02, 13 June 2026 (UTC)
- I'll have a laete, no spumae. Clarityfiend (talk) 01:11, 14 June 2026 (UTC)
- Macron? The only one of those I know is in the Elysée. DuncanHill (talk) 01:27, 14 June 2026 (UTC)
- I'll have a laete, no spumae. Clarityfiend (talk) 01:11, 14 June 2026 (UTC)
- Well, fair enough, but I don't think any of those uses are distinctive, whereas laete could be read as "O joyful one", though maybe not in that sentence position. --Trovatore (talk) 22:02, 13 June 2026 (UTC)
- For the sake of consistency, when using macrons to indicate long vowels, we should also write requiēscat, pāce, lūce, prīmā and expergēfactus. ‑‑Lambiam 19:56, 13 June 2026 (UTC)
- After a little searching, laetē with the macron maybe. --Trovatore (talk) 05:38, 13 June 2026 (UTC)
- Perhaps laete? ‑‑Lambiam 03:58, 13 June 2026 (UTC)
Units in Puerto Rico
editAre metric units ever used in normal life in Puerto Rico? Puerto Rico is a US territory, but it is more similar to Latin America than to US, so has it ever had any metrication like other Latin American countries? I have not seen a single measurement in any Puerto Rico-related article with metric units first. --40bus (talk) 21:48, 12 June 2026 (UTC)
June 14
editWhat MIDI software does the DEMO.MID file come from?
editGood morning! I found this file titled DEMO.MID on the Olidata recovery CD-ROM for Windows ME, but I'm not sure which famous MIDI software from the '90s it came from... Could you help me? Thanks! DanielParoliere (talk) 09:04, 14 June 2026 (UTC)
- It is difficult to identify without knowing the full directory path. Many audio card and chipset drivers at that time came with some form of a demo audio file. MIDI was a common format because it is tiny. So, the first step is to identify which organization created the MIDI file (which driver is it bundled with) and then see if it is possible to identify that organization's favorite MIDI program. Alternately, if you can access the actual file, it may have embedded clues in the text. ~2026-35239-54 (talk) 11:52, 16 June 2026 (UTC)
June 16
editMetric person’s height
editIn English-speaking countries that measure it in metric units, is person’s height usually measured in centimetres (like 175 cm), or in metres (like 1.75 cm)? In Finland, centimetres is the most common, but in English Wikipedia, I have almost never seen this format. -- 40bus
- [I assume you mean 1.75 METERS]. Anecdotally, I've mostly seen it rendered in centimeters, not meters. But there's no reason it couldn't be. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 21:20, 16 June 2026 (UTC)
- No, it's metres and centimetres in countries that actually use the units. But to answer the question, here in Australia it seems to have become normal for heights to be in centimetres. That's what hospitals do. HiLo48 (talk) 00:20, 17 June 2026 (UTC)
- (And parenthetically, we spell it 'metres' to distinguish it from the measuring instruments called 'meters'. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} ~2026-27434-43 (talk) 02:04, 17 June 2026 (UTC))
- "Centimeter, also centimetre." ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 03:17, 17 June 2026 (UTC)