Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2007 July 29

Welcome to the Wikipedia Miscellaneous Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

July 29

Does This Energy Drink really work?

To Whomever,

I found this on wikipedia as I was trying to find something else. Regardless I was curious if more information could be updated on this or if information had already been updated. Here is a copy of what I read.

"Does This Energy Drink really work? I was wondering if XS Citrus Blast Energy drink is simply made up of caffeine and some flavors, or does this drink have a makeup of things that really provide energy. Also, would it be best to just buy a can of coke instead?

It depends on how you define energy. By most definitions any drink with any amount of calories can be described as an energy drink. I assume this drink has plenty of sugar. Whether you would be better off with a can of coke depends on the relative costs and your taste preference. A handful of sugar in a glass of water would be even cheaper. alteripse 16:25, 29 September 2005 (UTC)"

I have had this "XS" drink before and my friend gets it from www.quixtar.com. Could you please look at the nutritional content information on this and see if there is more that can be added to the original question? Thank you.

Sincerely, Mary

(Question reformatted for wiki-legibility)

Nutrition facts

Calories 8 Total Fat 0 Cholesterol 0 Sodium 24mg potassium 25mg sugars 0 protein 2gm vitamin a 0% daily value Vitamin c 0% Calcium 0% Iron 0% Vitamin B3 100% Vitamin B5 100% Vitamin B6 300% Vitamin b12 4900%

soccer terms

Dear wikipedians:

What does the soccer terms "goals for" and "goals against" mean? What's the difference between the two?

Thanks.

74.12.39.188 01:49, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

"Goals for" is the total number of goals scored by a specific team in a season or competition. "Goals against" is the total number of goals scored by other teams against that team. "Goal difference" is the first number minus the second number. So, considering the following matches for Team A:

• Team A 2 - 0 Team B
• Team A 4 - 2 Team C
• Team A 1 - 3 Team D

Team A would have a "goals for" value of 7 (2+4+1) and a goals against value of 5 (0+2+3), Team A's goal difference would be +2 (7-5). Rockpocket 02:09, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

Thank you for such detailed response. 74.12.39.188 17:05, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

They're often abbreviated to "For", "Against" and "Difference" or even (especially when tabulated) "F", "A" and "GD". By the way, thanks for saying thanks. It's remarkable how rarely questioners bother. --Dweller 12:09, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

What Kind Of Knife

It's kind of like a survival knife. It's fixed blade. It has a bottom that unscrews and is a compass. The handle is hollow so you can put stuff in it. It's basically a multi-tool fixed blade knife. It's also the one seen in Rambo: First Blood. I have been looking everywhere for it, but I cannot find it. Please Help, Thanks.

It appears to be just a variation of a survival knife, as you suggest, sometimes called a 'Rambo knife'. Or, from the Rambo article, "The Arkansas Knifesmith, Jimmy Lile, created the knives that Rambo used in first two Rambo movies. Stallone specifically asked for a large knife with a hollow handle capable of storing a "survival kit". In reality, a full tang knife is more sturdy and practical. The knife used in Rambo III, created by Gil Hibben, is a full tang knife. In Rambo IV, Rambo is seen forging a full tang knife himself, which he later uses.". That may help; if you really want the same sort of knifes, you could look up the knifesmiths mentioned. --jjron 13:48, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

Effects of larger rims

How does putting bigger rims on your car affect the ride. Someone wants to trade me 20" rims for my stock rims on my 1994 Lexus Es300. And I wanted to know if bigger rims really make the ride rough or not. They're MB rims and NITTO tires. Any insight is appreciated!

Larger wheels will often produce a harsher ride as your shock absorbers/suspension will have less 'travel'. I also believe that if there is a large enough difference between the wheel sizes (say from 16" up to 20") that it will affect your speedometer's read-out. The tyre-profile has a huge impact on ride-comfort/performance as well. ny156uk 09:52, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

I assume you're talking about bigger rims - but correspondingly skinnier tyres - so the total diameter of the wheel+tyre stays the same. If you do that, your ride will be a little harsher because rubber is soft and aluminium (or whatever) isn't. If you were to use bigger rims and the same thickness of tyre than you use now (which I think is what ny156uk thinks you want to do) - then all sorts of very bad things might happen - certainly your suspension would have less travel - but you might also find that steering the car sharply results in the wheels hit the body of the car - or that when you go over a bump, the wheels might hit the body...either way, that could be really, really dangerous. But going up one or two inches in rim diameter and sticking on skinny tyres won't be too terrible. It's really unfortunate that this has become a 'trendy' look - because it's not a great thing for the performance of the car. There are several consequences:

1. As you suspect, the ride gets a bit more harsh - skinnier tyres means less rubber/air 'spring' between you and the road - so you feel the bumps in the road more acutely. Some people with delicate hind-ends get upset by that - but other people describe this as "better feel for the road" and seek it out as a benefit.
2. Because the rubber on skinny tyres have less side-to-side flex, the handling of the car in cornering will change somewhat. In some cars that'll improve cornering - in others it'll make it worse. It's hard to predict what it would do to a Lexus.
3. Skinny tyres are more blow-out resistant because they have less area of side-walls.
4. Performance in rough handling depends greatly on what they call 'unsprung weight' - the weight of the parts of the car between the road and the springs. In most cases, bigger rims and smaller tyres makes for heavier wheels - which means more unsprung weight - which in turn is bad for handling and general performance. However, after-market rims are generally lighter than the rims the car came with - so this may not be a practical problem.
5. Wheel spin and braking performance will be somewhat worse because with bigger rims, the weight is further out towards the outside of the wheel - with smaller rims it's concentrated closer to the axle. This means that the moment of inertia of the bigger rims is higher. This makes the wheels more resistant to changing speed - so your car won't accellerate as well - and it won't stop as well either.

Personally - I like the look of skinnier tyres - so what I do with my car is to put skinnier tyres onto the stock wheels. This gives me the look I like and the handling benefits of skinnier tyres (and a harsher ride - which as I pointed out - is a two-edged sword). It also gets me better accelleration and braking and less unsprung weight because the overall diameter of the wheel is smaller. But if you are after the look where the wheels fill the wheel wells more - then I don't have much in the way of good news. SteveBaker 17:19, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

From what I learned here, if you increase the rim size and maintain the tire size (therefore increasing overall tire diameter), you will decrease overall torque, which should reduce acceleration. Acceptable 00:32, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Yep - that's true too - but the risk of the tyre rubbing/bashing the body is a much more severe worry IMHO. It's a potential safety risk and I certainly wouldn't undertake it without a LOT more knowledge of the limits of the cars' steering and suspension geometry. Since you are asking the question, we can probably deduce that you aren't all that knowledgeable about the car - so I would say that bigger overall diameter is a complete No-No! SteveBaker 03:18, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

I think the general answer is, if you like how they look and don't care what they do to how your car drives, sure, go ahead. (But, in my opinion, if you don't care how your car drives, you're probably a safety hazard to the rest of us, so you should take the bus.) If you actually do care how your car drives, don't just randomly trade wheels with someone, and definitely don't go with ridiculously oversized wheels. If you're trying to improve performance, go to a reputable tire/wheel shop that understands the issues, not just somebody that wants to sell the most expensive wheels available. Friday (talk) 17:26, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Teleconverters

I know that a 2x teleconverter gives twice the apparent focal length and 2 stops less light (eg. 100mm f/2.8 -> 200mm f/5.6), but how does the DOF change? In the example is the DOF at similar levels to 200mm f/2.8 or does it somehow have more DOF and become 200mm f/5.6? --antilived^{T | C | G} 06:32, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

DOF is directly related to f stop and focal length, it does not ignore a teleconverter, so yes, the DOF will be more similar to a 200mm f/5.6 then a 100mm f/2.8. But remember that 5.6 will be the the smallest f stop (largest aperture) you can set, not the ONLY apature setting you get. Vespine 01:38, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

Hmmmm OK I seemed to forget the fact that f/ number is the ratio between the focal length and the aperture size, so doubling focal length would double the f/ number is well. --antilived^{T | C | G} 06:51, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

radisson sas?

what does sas stand for in the radisson sas hotels? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.16.118.208 (talk • contribs) 09:52, 29 July 2007

According to our Radisson Hotels article, "Radisson Hotels in parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia are branded Radisson SAS and are operated by the Belgian hotel firm Rezidor SAS Hospitality under a master franchise contract with Carlson. Carlson and SAS, the Scandinavian airline, are equity holders of RezidorSAS.". —Steve Summit (talk) 12:57, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

So the answer is that it stands for Scandinavian Airlines System (apparently the company's name is in English; I suppose they did that so as not to favor one of their national languages). --Anonymous, July 29, 2007, 19:51 (UTC).

Crow

How many Eyeballs does a Crow has ? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.76.184.38 (talk • contribs) 13:59, 29 July 2007

Before I answer, I have to ask: how many do you think it has? (We are talking about the ordinary crow, right?) —Steve Summit (talk) 14:47, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

It definitely sounds like a trick question - but I'll go out on a limb and say that most of the options presented in Crow (disambiguation) are not it - and we're talking about Birds of the genus Corvus and the answer is 'two'. SteveBaker 16:48, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

I have two. Corvus cornix 03:39, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Depends on how hungry it is ("I'll just have one, thanks, I'm on a diet")? Confusing Manifestation 04:37, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

If it's a trick question asked verbally it may be none. (There are no "i"s in "crow"). Lots of tricks and gags play on this - like Q. What do you call a fish with no eyes? A. Fsh. --Dweller 12:06, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Gardening

i kinda have more of a problem than a question, i am trying to mark out a circle around a tree but the tre has a y split below the ground so there it looks like two trees above the ground if that is understood also they both grow slanted, so it makes it hard to use a string and the tree as the centre post.

the circle has to be around 4 foot in diameter

does anyone have a method to mark out the circle? thanks

Get sufficient string to be able to wrap all the way around the tree and have four-feet spare. Create a loop (tie a loop-like knot) wrap it round the tree and thread the string through. It should now allow you to rotate around the tree at your specified 4-foot distance without much trouble. Alternatively mark a square 4 feet in diameter which contains the tree and then 'round off the edges' enough to make it a circle. You should be able to hand-score a circle without too much effort (though it all depends on how perfect the circle needs to be). 17:13, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

Tape a bunch of old newspapers together to form a 4'x4' square. Draw your circle on the square. Cut out a smaller circle in the middle and make a cut from the middle to the outside. Place the square around your tree. Since your tree is irregular, the "exact center" is a matter of aesthetics, not mathematics, but if you make the center circle (the hole in the paper) just a small amount larger in diameter than the largest "diameter" of the tree, you will probably be fairly close. -Arch dude 22:54, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

Biggest Pinecone

Hello. How big is the biggest pinecone? I unsuccessfully tried searching on the Guiness World Records website. Thanks in advance. --Mayfare 18:27, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

I have no idea what the largest individual pine cone is, but the species of pine with the largest (or at least longest) cone is probably the Sugar Pine (Pinus lambertiana) that is native to western United States. According to the Jepson Manual, their cones can be up to 63cm long (25 inches). The pine with the heaviest cone is probably the Coulter Pine (Pinus coulteri), also native to western United States.--Eriastrum 20:27, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

Sweden and Switzerland?

Which country has better skiers in your opinion? --Twheel11 18:28, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

"The reference desk is not a chatroom, nor is it a soapbox for promoting individual opinions." Please see our Reference desk guidelines. Thank you. --Mayfare 18:39, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

how dare you snap at me! --Twheel11 18:44, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

Ignoring the sticklers, have a look at Alpine Skiing World Cup. Over the past 8 years there have been 10 champions from Austria 2 from Norway and 2 from Sweden. Maybe you could say Austria? Of course you could look at the Winter Olympics records also as that will indicate too. I expect Austria plus the Nordic Countries as well as the Usa are probably the nations with the strongest competitors. Russia/eastern Europe should fare well too. Infact nations with natural ski-weather will fare best! ny156uk 19:19, 29 July 2007 (UTC) Oh and a little further down it shows Nations Cup standings which have Austria as either winners or second every year since 1967 (total standings). Austria look like they produce the best in this competition at least. ny156uk 19:23, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

Mayfare wasn't snapping at you, Twheel11. They were just informing you on the rules of the reference desk. --PolarWolf 19:22, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

They're actually just some advice, not rules. A.Z. 21:14, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

On Wikipedia, such things fall between advice and rules. Since it is 'advice' agreed on through concensus, it isn't 'just some advice'; it has more weight than that. They are defacto rules, and being informed of them helps people get the best out of the desks without negative experiences. Skittle 22:38, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

Where is Roger Federer in atp standings?

--Twheel11 18:45, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

http://www.atptennis.com/1/en/home/ ny156uk 19:29, 29 July 2007 (UTC) (1st)

A little clarification: There are actually two sets of ATP Singles standings: the ATP Entry Ranking (what people generally consider to be the rankings, which more or less take into account results from the last 365 days), and the ATP Race (which only looks at results from the current year, and is used to qualify for the Tennis Masters Cup). Right now, Mr. Federer has a substantial lead in the entry system rankings (he'll be number 1 assuming he continues along as he's been going), but interestingly enough, Federer is number 2 in the ATP Race rankings (see ATP Rankings site). This is partially due to the "less successful" year Federer has had (you know, winning two Grand Slams and making the final of a third isn't such a successful year after all ;-)). –Pakman044 20:26, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

baby's umbilical cord

is it true that the father gets to cut off the umbilical cord off the newborn baby as a tradition? That's what my father told me, that it's a tradition for the father to cut off the umbilical cord off the baby.

Tktamiami7559 20:58, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

Country? Religion?? Culture??? Legality???? Indemnity????? Mother complying??????

It appears to be more common in the U.S. recently. Fathers now even attend C-section deliveries. For my first son's, they didn't even put up a screen. A generation or two ago fathers stereotypically got no closer than pacing in the waiting room. Rmhermen 00:03, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Happens in Australia. Doesn't seem to be tied to any religion, just a fashion I suppose (I've done it). Interesting variant for a friends birth, it was more of an emergency, the doctor cut the cord in a hurry, and then offered a section to the father to cut. He was puzzled. Polypipe Wrangler 00:34, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

What?!? I was cheated! (No - it's not a tradition in the UK, that's for sure). I also got to see my wife/son's C-section - from the 'nicer' side of the big green screen. Since my wife was conscious throughout - she kinda needed some handholding! The most disturbing part for me was 'suiting up' for the delivery - they made me put on these big white wellington boots..."Just how deep do you expect the blood to get?" I asked. SteveBaker 16:13, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

It's not really a tradition but it's not unheard of. Probably some sort of bonding experience from early birth. Kinda sweet, if you ask me --Bearbear 18:26, 2 August 2007 (UTC)

Interesting Question Requiring Very Diverse opinions

How would one go about changing their domestic situation without doing anything illegal? high-schooler is the person doing the changing, and please post your opinions

this is not for me, i am writing a novel, and i can't find a scenario User:Temp

Please, sign your post. That will encourage people to reply. A.Z. 21:13, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

Well if the adults in question are abusive, turning them in gets you into the adoption system. Otherwise, you can "emancipate" yourself (at least in california) by getting your own apartment and job and showing legally to the court that you are not in any way supported by your parents; you then become an "emancipated teenager", which still has less rights than an adult but you can sign your own permission forms and so forth. Kuronue 21:21, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

I didn't know that the question was about that. Money and the courts seem to be the best solution to me as well. A.Z. 21:24, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

People, I mean is their any creative way a person could do this without making it known or public, and by doing something completely behind the scenes and secretive. Sort of like a cause and effect sort of thing maybe. People, be creative, I can't just have the kid call a lawyer, this is a novel. User:Temp

Well what are you looking for? Is this kid still intending to live with their parents? How about a brief synopsis of the scinario? Don't worry, I won't steal your idea Kuronue 22:16, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

Running away with the circus is the traditional method. I'm sure you can imagine "Running away with X" with a more modern and up to date 'X' than that! SteveBaker 03:12, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Good ideas, kids, but I mean him doing something that will cause something like divorce or change, sort of like an evil, caniving little emotion twisting and thought influencing plan. User:Temp

Sounds like The Blessing by Nancy Mitford. Evil, conniving child tries to keep his parents apart for the benefits it brings him. Skittle 16:03, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

First successful cesarian section

In what year was the first ceasarian section where the mother actually lived thru the procedure first performed?

The article caesarian seems to suggest 1500 was the first recorded case of a mother living through a c-section (it happened in Switzerland). ny156uk 22:03, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

Pliny the Elder claims that an ancestor of Julius Caesar was born via caesarian section (thus the name "Caesar"). Corvus cornix 03:42, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

i.e., Pliny took Caesar to be derived from the verb caedere, caesum, whose meanings include 'cut' (as in English incise), as well as 'strike' (English incident) and 'kill' (-cide). See the link for competing hypotheses about the etymology of Caesar. —Tamfang 08:03, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

We have a source for an 11th century caesarian - Macduff (thane), according to Shakespeare. However, that carries no OR guarantees! Re Caesar, regardless of the etymologies and truth of the matter for JC himself, Pliny's story reveals to us knowledge of the procedure in his own time. --Dweller 11:59, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

There is no indication about MacDuff or Caesar that the mother lived through it, is there? Rmhermen 16:41, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Oops. Sorry. Didn't read the question carefully enough. My apologies. --Dweller 18:32, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

From what I have found the first recorded where the mother lived is the one I noted. As the article shows the ceasarian has existed a very long time, it is the question of the mother surviving that makes it much more recent an occurance. The article also has details on the etymology. ny156uk 17:23, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Unknown wasp!!

I am looking for anyone who can help me to identifiy a wasp that I have recently seen in my garden!! This wasp was huge in size and it had a head like a bee (yellow) it's butt was pure black and it's legs and wings were a bright orange!! It was digging a hole in my garden. It almost looks like one of those killer wasps but the butt colour isn't the same! If anyone could help me find out what type of wasp it is would be helpful for 2 reasons, so I'm able to get ride of it and I have a young son who plays in that area so I don't want him 2 get hurt! thank you!

Sounds like some sort of Mud dauber. Where do you live? We don't need anything specific but country or state would help. Dismas|^(talk) 23:47, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

Boarding pass online check in

I have 5 members of my family going on a trip via southwest airlines. We are eligible for online check in. What i am wondering is if i can print out the boarding pass issued to me, and the other members of my family can just get their boarding passes from the Ticket agent without checking in online. If i were to print my own boarding pass woould everyone else be checked in. I am hoping that i can print mine and the family members can do their's at the airport.--logger 23:39, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

Southwest's website is unclear on your question. If you're really curious, you may try calling them at 1-800-435-9792. In my experience on other airlines, even if you print your boarding pass at home (or just check in online without printing out the boarding pass!), you can still get your boarding pass at the ticket counter or airport kiosk. If you only have one confirmation number, they might give you an option to only checkin some of the people and not others. Honestly, though, one way or the other, you shouldn't have a problem with the others checking in at the airport if they want that. –Pakman044 00:42, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Yeah i had already looked at SWA's website to try to get an answer but nothing great i could find.--logger 01:17, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

You should be able to check in one person and not the others, then check in the rest at the counter. -Wooty [Woot?] [Spam! Spam! Wonderful spam!] 03:07, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Yeah that might be okay but then they will have a different boarding group.--68.54.131.156 08:12, 30 July 2007 (UTC)