Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2013 October 17

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October 17

Pre-electronic and/or telephonic/telegraphic international trade.

Quite simply, how were payments made between international traders before stock/exchanges, international banks, and electronic communications came into being? How were currency conversions effected? Did real money or bars of gold exchange hands prior to the contract or after safe delivery of the goods? Or was it all done on a bartering basis wherein say, a shipload of tea would be despatched from Ceylon to England in exchange for a return shipload of spun and woven cotton goods? Thanks in anticipation. 80.6.13.178 (talk) 01:08, 17 October 2013 (UTC)

This can go a lot of directions but the simplest answer is barter or "bank note" which was the case in the US and many other nations up until the late 1800s early 1900s. As far as "international traders", most modern day physical stock exchanges (opposed to say NASDAQ) have their roots in financing sea voyages (the Dutch East India company is the oldest one traded I believe), and then in the mid 1800s took to financing rail companies. Prior to 1900 or 1910 it was the exception that a company or concern was listed on a "exchange", those trading houses were primarily only for those companies that were dependent on their 'ship coming in' or a similar endeavor that would require huge amounts of capital investment but not have a 'pay day' for some time like railroads in the mid 1800s. The whole notion of a government issuing currency is largely an invention of the 20th century (except if you go back to Rome or the Byzantines etc.) so that left barter and bank or trading house notes. ^{Market St.⧏} _{⧐ Diamond Way} 03:28, 17 October 2013 (UTC)

See Negotiable instrument. - Karenjc (talk) 04:00, 17 October 2013 (UTC)

80.6.13.178 -- Medieval trade in many regions was based on barter-or-bullion for goods immediately at hand. But in the Renaissance, a number of financial tools were developed, allowing for less cumbersome trading relationships. This was when banks more or less as we know them today came into existence in the West -- with northern Italy being the first hotbed of innovation, and the Netherlands the second. See History of banking... -- AnonMoos (talk) 12:59, 17 October 2013 (UTC)

Suspicion of possessing a destructive device

I'm rather confused by this news article: with what is the guy being charged? When he goes into his first court appearance, will the judge or the prosecutor say "You're charged with suspicion of possessing a destructive device" or "You're charged with possessing a destructive device" or something else? "Suspicion of possessing a destructive device" doesn't sound like the name of a crime (it's not a crime to be suspected of something), while "possession of a destructive device" easily could be a crime, but the wording of the article doesn't quite seem to admit of the shorter name. Nyttend (talk) 04:09, 17 October 2013 (UTC)

They might be misstating things a bit. He was probably arrested on suspicion of possession, and probably will be formally charged with actual possession, and very possibly other things as well. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 04:17, 17 October 2013 (UTC)

CBS says: "Dicarlo Bennett, a 28-year-old employee for the ground handling company Servisair, was taken into custody and charged with possessing and exploding a 'destructive device near an aircraft,' according to a statement from police. ", which makes more sense. The LAT seems to have phrased it poorly. Abecedare (talk) 04:21, 17 October 2013 (UTC)

The LA Times's copyediting has gone seriously downhill since newspaper revenues started to fall off. It's not the only paper in that position. It's still probably the best one in California (the Mercury News, for example, has become openly partisan, and is eroding the distinction between news and editorials). --Trovatore (talk) 04:35, 17 October 2013 (UTC)

"suspicion of possessing" comes up a lot, as a phrase, see [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6] - a small sample. I spent a bit looking around for why the word "suspicion" appears, I never found anything concrete- however, if I had to wager a guess, and I have nothing to back this up, it may have something to do with being innocent until proven guilty- until you are found guilty, you are suspected to have committed the act in question, so you would be arrested for "suspicion to", etc. The phrase "arrested for suspicion" comes up outside of possession, as in "suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder", and other such. --I used a searchable version of the CA penal code (and some others), the specific phrase never comes up- but, then again, the crime itself wouldn't include suspicion of it, the penal code defines what is criminal, the trial determines if you did the criminal thing you are suspected to have done.Phoenixia1177 (talk) 05:24, 17 October 2013 (UTC)

This may simply be CYA for the media reporting way prematurely, so there is no defamation suit later. In fast moving law enforcement situations being "arrested" for one charge and then having several or dozens of other charges added or replacing the original charge while your in custody for a day or two is not unusual. Also the local law enforcement might charge you with something they can hold you on and then have the Feds come in with the major felony counts after a day or so of investigation with the US District Attorneys office working the case. ^{Market St.⧏} _{⧐ Diamond Way} 05:28, 17 October 2013 (UTC)

If a newspaper factually reported that someone has been arrested for something, and later report that someone has been charged with something, they can't be held liable, at least not in the USA. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 15:40, 17 October 2013 (UTC)

Find the docket and figure out the actual statues the individual is charged with. The vast majority of reporters have not been to law school and... surprise, statute/legislative titles don't always describe the elements of the crime in a satisfactory way. Shadowjams (talk) 04:37, 19 October 2013 (UTC)

Visa US bank gift card

Where can I buy them beside ordering them online?97.116.186.162 (talk) 04:30, 17 October 2013 (UTC)

The malls and centers of Simon Property Group carry them at their guest info kiosks, at least they did for years. ^{Market St.⧏} _{⧐ Diamond Way} 05:24, 17 October 2013 (UTC)

Yep, still a go with Simon properties, see here. ^{Market St.⧏} _{⧐ Diamond Way} 05:29, 17 October 2013 (UTC)

US Bank [7], Walgreens [8], Walmart [9], Giant Eagle [10]. This page, [11], lists others (some duplicates, just wanted to provide direct links too).Phoenixia1177 (talk) 05:52, 17 October 2013 (UTC)

My bank, PNC, advertises them for sale at the branches. I'm sure many other banks will sell them as well. Katie R (talk) 13:21, 17 October 2013 (UTC)

• The OP geolocates to Minnesota. μηδείς (talk) 20:25, 17 October 2013 (UTC)

Invasiveness

Is there a wikipedia article about people who are invasive and tend to butt into other people's personal lives? Pass a Method talk 13:27, 17 October 2013 (UTC)

Start with Busybody and see where it takes you. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 15:28, 17 October 2013 (UTC)

Walking in the parent's footsteps as a career path...

What is the correlation between SES (socioeconomic status) and the likelihood of walking in the parent's footsteps as a career path? I'm not sure if there is a pattern, but I've seen that the some wealthy families are very closely affiliated with the entertainment industry, producing singers, song-writers, actors, TV hosts and personalities. I've seen people who aspire to be doctors and also happen to come from families with two working physicians and a long line of physicians. 140.254.227.61 (talk) 13:44, 17 October 2013 (UTC)

This is not broken down by SES, but it does have some basic information in this regard. --Jayron32 15:41, 17 October 2013 (UTC)

This is varies a lot in different cultures. In some cultures, there are strict expectations that sons should take up the profession of their fathers, in others this is not so important. Generally speaking, having parents in an elite niche business gives you contact networks by default. This gives you strong advantage over the general population. --Soman (talk) 21:22, 17 October 2013 (UTC)

That's a good point, and it can be true even in not-so-niche businesses. I've been friends with Eugene S. Pulliam's grandson and his family since youth, and (guess what!) some of the great-grandchildren are continuing in the same field (journalism) as the previous four generations of their family. Nyttend (talk) 20:44, 19 October 2013 (UTC)

In some professions it helps if you can take over someone's practice and patients (for doctors) or in Belgium for example a pharmacy: the number of pharmacies is limited by a law stating that no new ones can be started, and the law is usually extended every ten years, so the only way to open a pharmacy is taking over an existing one. Which means that pharmacist studies at university are taken by sons and daughters of... Ssscienccce (talk) 13:06, 18 October 2013 (UTC)

Christian X of Denmark

What was Christian X of Denmark's viewpoint on Jews prior to WWII?--The Emperor's New Spy (talk) 21:19, 17 October 2013 (UTC)

It's not so easy to know the viewpoints of these monarchs, as they did not participate very openly in the public political debate (and particularly, never penned manifestos etc.). There are indications that Christian X did not adhere to the anti-Semitic stream, as he participated in the 100th anniversary celebrations of Copenhagen synagogue (see http://books.google.com/books?id=Xfgc7ARLRKwC&pg=PA106) on April 12, 1933 (in the midst of boycotts of Jewish businesses in nearby Germany). --Soman (talk) 21:32, 17 October 2013 (UTC)