Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2013 June 23

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June 23

Triangle thingy by the escalator

I can't help but wonder whenever I take a ride on the escalator: What's that transparent triangle plate thing that's hanging by the escalator? ☯ Bonkers The Clown \(^_^)/ Nonsensical Babble ☯ 01:48, 23 June 2013 (UTC)

Probably a safety device. Can you find an illustration? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 02:00, 23 June 2013 (UTC)

I have no idea what it's known as, so it's quite difficult to find one. Nearly every escalator in Singapore (as well as other countries) has this dangling triangular plate... ☯ Bonkers The Clown \(^_^)/ Nonsensical Babble ☯ 02:14, 23 June 2013 (UTC)

On escalators in the US, typically there's a solid plexiglass triangular plate, wedged into the space where the escalator approaches the wall of the escalator that's going in the opposite direction. I've never asked, but I always assumed that triangular piece was to prevent some idiot from getting his hand wedged into that V. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 02:23, 23 June 2013 (UTC)

I've seen some solid ones, but most of them in SG are dangling. ☯ Bonkers The Clown \(^_^)/ Nonsensical Babble ☯ 02:54, 23 June 2013 (UTC)

(ec) Is this what you are talking about?    → Michael J Ⓣ Ⓒ Ⓜ 02:32, 23 June 2013 (UTC)

Yes!! ☯ Bonkers The Clown \(^_^)/ Nonsensical Babble ☯ 02:55, 23 June 2013 (UTC)

It looks like that thing is likewise intended to be a safety feature. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 03:27, 23 June 2013 (UTC)

Why in the world do you hang biohazard bags on the corners of your stairsteps? μηδείς (talk) 04:01, 23 June 2013 (UTC)

Something that could tear your arm off might qualify as a biohazard. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 04:54, 23 June 2013 (UTC)

Singapore is prepared for zombies? Clarityfiend (talk) 11:57, 23 June 2013 (UTC)

I thought I might find a term for this in our article escalator, but it's not listed in escalator#Key safety features. --ColinFine (talk) 08:25, 23 June 2013 (UTC)

I found another illustration [1], showing the clear plastic triangles hanging just in front of pillars going both up and down, so they appear to be guard plates, presumably to prevent outstretched arms coming into contact with the pillars in this case, confirmed (I think) on page 22 of this pdf [2]. They're hanging in this example to give a person warning without actually hurting them. Mikenorton (talk) 11:58, 23 June 2013 (UTC)

Looking for foreclosed homes, but sites listing them offer a "7 day free trial." Are they SCAMS?

If they are, what are some legit sites that list foreclosed homes? Especially for homes within a 5-mile radius of Concordia, Kansas?

Or if those that'll offer 7-day free trials and start charging you, do offer foreclosed homes, then why do they feel compelled to charge? Why can't a site exist that'll list foreclosed homes without charging us for the privilege to view said listings?

Thanks kindly. --70.179.161.230 (talk) 10:58, 23 June 2013 (UTC)

It takes effort to collect that data and to keep it up to date - more effort to maintain the website. People don't do things like that for nothing. So the question is one of how they'd make money doing that. Evidently, they've chosen to do it by charging a subscription fee - and they offer you the 7 day free trial as an advertising gimmick. That doesn't mean that it's a scam. SteveBaker (talk) 13:44, 23 June 2013 (UTC)

You can also try and collect the information yourself. For example, here is Bank of America's site for foreclosed homes in Kansas: [3]. Other banks might have something similar. RudolfRed (talk) 21:09, 23 June 2013 (UTC)

• We cannot advise whether some commercial offer amounts to fraud. Seek legal counsel. μηδείς (talk) 22:05, 24 June 2013 (UTC)

  That was not in fact the question. Nothing was mentioned about legalities at all. The question is whether they are "scams", not a legal term. --Trovatore (talk) 22:07, 24 June 2013 (UTC)

|} We cannot offer legal advice: fraud is a crime, and accusations of fraud are libel per se. scam: 1.a confidence game or other fraudulent scheme, especially for making a quick profit; swindle. -Random House at http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/scam μηδείς (talk) 22:44, 24 June 2013 (UTC)

Drudge Report Formatting

So there are 3 columns on the main page of this news aggregation site. It appears that once a link is set to the top of one of the columns, it is pushed down and eventually off the page as newer links/stories appear. My questions: Is this premise correct? ; What determines which of the 3 columns that a link (or set of links) will be assigned to? 220.255.23.166 (talk) 12:12, 23 June 2013 (UTC)

It's really impossible to tell. He probably has a program that sets up the page for him, but we have no access to it. The page itself is very simple HTML code, giving no clue about the logic underlying its structure. Looie496 (talk) 16:23, 23 June 2013 (UTC)

Which Latin font script is this?

In which font script were the Serments de Strasbourg written?

(Samples) --66.190.69.246 (talk) 21:52, 23 June 2013 (UTC)

That's not a font, it's handwritten. As for the script style, my best guess would be Carolingian minuscule, but I'm no expert. --Nicknack009 (talk) 22:32, 23 June 2013 (UTC)

This website confirms it's a form of Carolingian (or Caroline) minuscule, specifically a 10th century French book hand. --Nicknack009 (talk) 22:43, 23 June 2013 (UTC)

Thank you. Though I am a little confused why this is a script and not a font. Isn't it written in the Latin script? --66.190.69.246 (talk) 22:56, 23 June 2013 (UTC)

A script (in this case) is hand-written, while a font is typeset and printed by a machine. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 23:12, 23 June 2013 (UTC)

Indeed. The Latin alphabet has been written in a variety of scripts (or hands) over the years, some of which are hard to read today unless you're used to them, but still represent the same set of letters. --Nicknack009 (talk) 23:16, 23 June 2013 (UTC)

Was this ever the dominant script of Iberia? If not, which script was the most common there in the mediaeval era? --66.190.69.246 (talk) 01:27, 24 June 2013 (UTC)

Our articles suggest Visigothic script may have been more popular there. Rmhermen (talk) 02:50, 24 June 2013 (UTC)

Yeah, Visigothic at first. They also used Carolingian minuscule and the various kinds of Gothic script. Adam Bishop (talk) 21:22, 24 June 2013 (UTC)

It varied over time. You (OP) should have a look at the Medieval Writing site - it has maps of Europe with the prevalence of different scripts century by century (start with "What is Paleography" and follow the links to "History of scripts"). Roughly, Iberia started out in the 7th/8th centuries using Roman square capitals, new Roman cursive, uncial and half uncial, and Visigothic minuscule. Visigothic minuscule predominated in the 9th century, and in the 10th, 11th and 12th century Visigothic and Carolingian minuscule were both used. In the 13th century Spanish round hand and Gothic textura were used, and in the 14th century court, charter and diploma hands were added to those. Gothic textura stopped being used in the 15th century, and in the 16th century the Spanish round hand predominated. --Nicknack009 (talk) 08:19, 25 June 2013 (UTC)