Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2007 July 30

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July 30

Garlic good for health?

I've heard people say that eating garlic (either raw or cooked, im unsure) helps boost your immune system. Is this true or is it perhaps one of the Old Wive's Tales? Thanks. Acceptable 00:43, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Mom used to make me take pills with ground up garlic in them to get rid of a reoccurring rash I get on my lips, so in theory they have some medicinal benefit if they're sold at GNC. Plus they keep the vampires away. Kuronue 02:12, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

"medicinal benefit if they're sold at GNC". Uh, not quite. -Wooty [Woot?] [Spam! Spam! Wonderful spam!] 03:07, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

"In theory" being the keywords. If they're sold for medicinal benefit there must be a good deal of people who believe there to be such. Guess I shoulda been clearer. Kuronue 04:15, 3 August 2007 (UTC)

There is significant content (and references) at Garlic#Medicinal use and health benefits. Rockpocket 02:21, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

BBC copyright enforcers

Does the BBC pursue lawsuits in America to protect peer-to-peer downloading of BBC-owned content?

Sounds like you want legal advice. Sorry we can't give you any. Jon513 17:07, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

I don't think the "no legal advice" prohibition means "we can't answer any question which has something to do with legal things." --24.147.86.187 23:33, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

No no not legal advice.. just common knowledge like if I asked who protects music in america its the RIAA and yes, dozens of news sources have verified that they're vicious about pursuing lawsuits. Is the BBC like the RIAA or do they generally not care? This is something I'd expect to find in a newspaper not a book of law.

I would expect that all owners of copyright content will do at least something to try prevent misuse of their intellectua property. See (http://www.bbc.co.uk/guidelines/editorialguidelines/onguide/thelaw/intellectualpro.shtml) for more details on BBC copyright law. ny156uk 18:24, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

heys

what causes cancer.i heard that most americans get it coz their food is genetically modified and all their stuff have chemicals in them.is their any truths in this?

See Cancer#Causes. There is no proven link between genetically modified food and cancer. Certain chemicals can can cancer at high enough doses, but one of the reasons more people get cancer in developed nations is to do with the fact that they are less likely to die of other diseases (such as cholera, malaria or AIDS), so cancer gets them in the end. Rockpocket 06:49, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

The biggest causes of cancer deaths for both men and women is cigarettes. Lung cancers dwarf other sites for cancer, and smoking dwarfs any other causes for lung cancer (and in fact is often complicit in lung cancers caused by things other than smoking, such as radon gas. The amount of radon considered dangerous for a non-smoker is much less than that for a smoker). --24.147.86.187 23:42, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

river resectioning.

What famous rivers have been resectioned before? Please tell us the answer because we have a project to finish. --116.14.93.214 06:59, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

See the top of the page-- Wikipedia will not do your homework for you --L^ie! 07:03, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

• Okay, can you just tell us what rivers have been resectioned before?*

Wasn't this just asked the other day?? Dismas|^(talk) 07:13, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Ah, yes. It's on the 28th and unanswered. Dismas|^(talk) 07:14, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Your question is unclear. Resectioned before what? And what exactly do you mean by resection? According to the article, "Resectioning involves enlarging the cross-section of a river channel by deepening or widening the river to increase its hydraulic efficiency." This must surely apply to a large number of major navigable rivers. If you mean diversion, see for example the Snowy Mountains Scheme.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 07:44, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

We won't do your homework for you, but we will give some hints on how to find the answers. Try a Google search on river resectioning, or for even better results, resectioned rivers, then do some reading from the results. --jjron 08:34, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Travel insurance

Does anyone know of a company which will sell you travel insurance cover AFTER you've already left your home country for the trip abroad?

Presumably most of them. Call them and ask for cover. They won't cover the past (obviously) but they will cover the rest of your holiday i'm sure. You may pay a higher premium for the speed-to-issue but that's not really all that likely. ny156uk 17:21, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

I agree. Insurance companies always seem to be extremely happy to do business, unless you're a really bad risk. And it can all be done online so you don't even need to phone home. I can't recommend any particular company as we don't know where you are.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 18:43, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

So as re to the above, this is assuming you may need to prove that you have not already been kidnapped by the Taliban. Vespine 05:09, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

NBC Studios in New York

Do you know the adress of the NBC Studios in New York City --Writer Cartoonist 13:41, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Um...you already asked this question three days ago, and the article linked in an answer should have given you the answer you wanted.... See the NBC Studios article. –Pakman044 14:27, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

30 rock?Gzuckier 18:00, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Transpacific flight questions

To forestall questions: No, I'm not looking to shoot down any aircraft. Rather, I'm trying to think of a good place for a midair collision. And yes, this is for fiction.

Thinking of s JAL flight from Narita to San Francisco colliding with an Air China flight from Beijing to either SFO or LAX. I am a very research-based writer, but have no idea where to even look for this.

Questions:

1. Where could I find a map of the high-altitude flight corridors used by transpacific flights heading from Asia to North America? This is the big question I can't find an answer to.

2. What aircraft do these carriers typically use on their transpacific flights?

3. I know that transpacific air traffic control is divided between Tokyo and Anchorage. Where does the handoff occur?

--Penta 14:49, 30 July 2007 (UTC) (For some reason, my name didn't attach earlier...)

From this link [1] we can see that air traffic control in mid-ocean is incomplete and routes are variable, not set corridors. Rmhermen 16:28, 30 July 2007 (UTC)::

Look at new Google Earth pages which show, in more or less real time, flightpaths with co-ordinates into LAX, JFK and some others.--88.110.177.141 17:25, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

"Thinking of s JAL flight from Narita to San Francisco colliding with an Air China flight from Beijing to either SFO or LAX." - this would also be a very, very nice setup for some sort of international incident, because of Japan and China's mutual enmity. -Wooty [Woot?] [Spam! Spam! Wonderful spam!] 20:31, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

By far, the most likely place for a mid-air collision is near an airport. anonymous6494 06:06, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

It is basically impossible with the current TCAS technology and the fact that one of the planes must be going much faster than the other to have any appreciable relative speed between each other to even catch up to each other means it's quite improbable to happen even if TCAS is not available. For transpacific flights usually the aircraft gets hand off around 100-200nm from the control and fly without ATC until it reaches Anchorage, and they don't have ATC coverage for the whole journey. --antilived^{T | C | G} 06:06, 1 August 2007 (UTC)

Celebrity Alien Abduction!

Has anyone famous ever claimed to have been abducted by aliens? Recury 14:33, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Not that I can think of. Jimmy Carter claimed to have seen a UFO once. Let us assume for a moment that aliens do exist and are studying us. They presumably would want to keep it quiet, so why would they abduct a high-profile celebrity? (They'd probably be more likely to take someone who asks unwanted questions...like you for example.) Or suppose someone famous was kidnapped and then returned. Would he or she really want to make it known? Finally, I suppose some Z-list person might want to claim it happened just for the publicity. Clarityfiend 14:54, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Yes: author Whitley Streiber is somewhat famous, mostly due to his abduction claims. --TotoBaggins 15:39, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

If aliens wanted to study us and keep it quiet - why the heck would they let the abductees go at the end? Someone simply vanishes - it makes the news - but no alien presence is revealed. Someone vanishes for an hour or two - then comes back and starts telling everyone about aliens - details of their 'probing' methods and innards of their spacecraft...OK - well, nobody believes them - so still no alien presence is revealed...but you get my point! SteveBaker 16:11, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Catch and release fishing, why else? Gzuckier 18:01, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

I say that for aliens who are capable of traveling through deep space, keeping people quiet is probably child's play. Unless they forgot to pack the brainwashing machine. --Willworkforicecream 18:11, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Homer Simpson is probably the most famous, unless you count Jesus. See also Abduction phenomenon#Notable figures.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 20:17, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Whoever said that Jesus was abducted by aliens?? --74.211.8.100 22:12, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Whoever said that Homer Simpson was a real person?? SteveBaker 04:27, 1 August 2007 (UTC)

Elijah? Corvus cornix 23:15, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Well, I have to wonder if some famous people's minds have been abducted. They say the oddest things. 152.16.188.107 10:38, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

Paper recycling

Our local council tells us not to put envelopes into our paper recycling bins. Some people tell me this is to keep the plastic windows out of the process. Others say it is the glue that is not wanted. I am prepared to take out the plastic windows but can do nothing about glue.

Can someone please tell me why envelopes might not be welcome in the recycling process.

MidmarMidmar 15:56, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Of course you could keep the glue out of the process. All it would take would be a pair of scissors and lots of time. (Of which you doubtless have plenty!) Seriously, where do they get the people who dream up these regulations, and how do they survive ?86.209.152.75 16:52, 30 July 2007 (UTC)DT.

Used to be we were cautioned not to put glossy print paper like magazines in with the newsprint, because the clay coating that made them glossy would clog up the brew. Maybe something similar. Gzuckier 18:02, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Many apparently-paper envelopes are actually coated with plastic. If you moisten your thumb and forefinger and rub the paper away, you'll be left with a very thin film of clear plastic. These sorts of laminates are difficult/impossible to recycle cost-effectively. --TotoBaggins 18:43, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

flange coupling

If you were given a task of calculating the maximum torque that a flange coupling can teansmit, where will you start your calculations? you are only given the dimesions of the coupling.

Surely this will also depend upon the shear strength of the material. For instance, if you made the coupling out of cheese, I dont think it would transmit much torque!--SpectrumAnalyser 20:52, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

That plus the radius of the points where the flanges were fastened to gether from the center of the axis; plus the diameter (I think?) of the fasteners. Gzuckier 14:38, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

Legal question

I would like to inform you that a lawyer in london is saying that a Mr. Mark that works for you in nigeria has been killed in a car crash. Also his wife and children. They say I can inherit his money. Do you know any thing about this? contact me at (email address removed)

Do Not respond to this email! This is a classic example of spam - someone is trying to get your personal information so that they can access your bank account. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Shuttlebug 20:49, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

See 419 scam. --HughCharlesParker (talk - contribs) 23:39, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Let's put it this way: If your emails say you just got a big heap of money, or have anything to do with Nigeria, get rid of them. I'm amazed scammers don't at least claim to be from China or something already. --Longing.... 06:37, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

Oh, they claim to be from lots of places, although Nigeria may still be the most common. --Anon, July 31, 2007, 07:48 (UTC).

People have been killed who got involved in these, then tried to get their money back. Gzuckier 14:39, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

Go and buy a book called "In The Name Of Jesus", it is the story of one man's attempts to humiliate and thwart these Nigerian scallwags. It is a funny but instructive read and demonstrates how evil and unscrupulous these men are. HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE E-MAIL. Richard Avery 15:43, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

Yep - I'm with everyone else on this one - these emails (often written in deliberately broken English, sometimes in all CAPITALS, invariably offering you something that sounds only very slightly illegal and not immoral at all, often with long rambling parts about them being government officers in 3rd world countries - or related to assasinated royalty or government leaders in those places)...they are ALL scams - every last one of them. The goal of the poster is to get you to reveal enough details of your bank account that he/she can drain it empty. They do this in small stages (mostly) - and an enormous number of people have lost their entire life savings through the greed that leads them to believe they can make a quick million bucks for no effort. These people are often so devastated that they could be taken for a ride so easily - and so concerned that they may have actually have been doing something illegal themselves - that they may never report it. So we don't really have a clear idea of how many people are taken in - but it's a lot. Tell your friends, tell your co-workers - spread the word. There truly is no such thing as a free lunch...especially on the Internet. SteveBaker 20:49, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

Poison Dart Frogs & Communication

Since poison dart frogs will cause death by other animals, how is this fact communicated to their potential predetors. How does an entire species learn what to eat and and what food if going to harm? 64.231.247.169 20:31, 30 July 2007 (UTC) Geoff[

The way you put your question, it sounds like as if animals know what would hurt them or not. Curious animals don't really know the difference about what to eat and not, for example, dogs are tempted by antifreeze, although its poisonous. However, when hunting other animals, they may have a physical defense, like Poison Dart Frogs being designed with bright colours, they ward predators off. Or a behavioural one, (like biting in self defense). --JDitto 21:36, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

"You might eat me, but your children won't be born to tell the tale (or eat my tadpoles)"

As JD said, many poisonous things are brightly colored so that potential predators will know whom they're dealing with. An entire species doesn't "learn" not to eat brightly-colored frogs, but rather all the individuals in that species who happen to have a gene that tells them that a brightly-colored frog looks tasty don't make it to breeding age, so that gene doesn't get passed on to the next generation. That's the general idea, at least. See natural selection. --TotoBaggins 21:56, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

I've always thought we find the smell and taste of rotten food repulsive because our ancestors that found it delicious suffered the consequences. --Taraborn 22:28, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

A lot of it is evolved behaviour, sure, as Toto says. I don't think JDitto's quite right, though: we're not the only animal to learn - Ivan Pavlov's work with dogs showed that they can learn. If you let a dog actually drink the antifreeze, I'm pretty sure it'll only do it once (if it survives). --HughCharlesParker (talk - contribs) 23:38, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Rats are particularly good at learning what foods make them sick, from what I read. Also, note that "culture" exists to some degree in other species much more than we once believed; in monkeys and apes, certainly, but even in less intelligent species, where young animals are taught by older ones what is "food" and what is not. Gzuckier 14:41, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

You also have the fact that once one poisonous animal becomes identified with a given bright color, you can then end up with that color becoming itself a warning for "danger". Hence bees and wasps and poisonous toads and heaps of other things are colored black-and-yellow, sending the clear message "don't eat me, don't mess with me." You also invite mimicry, which proves the evolutionary point even more so. --24.147.86.187 23:45, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Just for the record - antifreeze both smells and tastes sweet - you can't tell you're drinking something nasty until it comes close to killing you! There was a case about 20 years ago when a French vinyard put small quantities of antifreeze into its wine to boost the sweetness cheaply (YIKES!)...needless to say they go into a world of hurt when this was discovered. SteveBaker 20:41, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

Maybe I used the wrong wording, but I never said animals couldn't learn! I have several pets myself, many of them I'm trying to teach. So far the fish knows when it's time to eat and the dog knows how to shake hands (sometimes). What I meant was that animals don't always know "What to eat and and what food if going to harm?" by giving the antifreeze example above. A gene that automatically tells them what's dangerous? If it really is the "general idea" I'd be humbled to know where you found it. And, User:24.147.86.187 I've responded to your talk page about your comment. --JDitto 21:56, 1 August 2007 (UTC)

To further the evolutionary point ;-), antifreeze is an extremely modern product. A dog's senses are not evolved to know that its sweetness conceals toxic metals — how would they possibly know? (Even a dog trained not to drink antifreeze has no idea why it is dangerous. They wouldn't even know it was dangerous — they would just know that they weren't supposed to drink it and leave it at that.) Had there been pool of antifreeze lying about the world over the course of the evolution of the canine, the species would likely have learned (and here I use "learned" entirely metaphorically—a species does not literally "learn") to avoid it in the same way they avoid eating all sorts of other things that are bad for them. (That being said, I've often thought my dog was might undiscerning in her palette.) --24.147.86.187 23:25, 1 August 2007 (UTC)

Just a little nit here -- antifreeze toxicity is not, or at least not mainly, due to metals. The main ingredient in most antifreeze is ethylene glycol, which oxidizes in the body to oxalic acid. Oxalic acid forms crystals in the kidneys and destroys them. A safer, but more expensive, antifreeze is made from propylene glycol, which, off the top of my head, should oxidize either to lactic acid or pyruvic acid, both of which occur naturally in the body. I don't know whether propylene glycol is toxic for other reasons, though (I certainly wouldn't drink it). --Trovatore 23:04, 5 August 2007 (UTC)

Igniting fighter jet

How are most fighter jets (F-16's, F-22's, etc..) started? Does one use a key like in a car? Acceptable 20:43, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

There is a start up sequence involving some switches and buttons, I don't believe there are any keys involved. Mind you, access to the vehicle would be highly restricted, making a key pretty redundant. The cockpit might be locked with some sort of device, not sure, maybe a keypad or something, don't think keys are used there either. Vespine 01:39, 31 July 2007 (UTC)