Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2014 February 19

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February 19

Cavalry has arrived?

In some of the action and animated films that I watched, there's a character (who is usually leading the metaphorical cavalry themselves) that would either yell "The cavalry has arrived!" or "Here comes the cavalry!".

Anyways, in what part of the history of war did the cavalry become an unstoppable force that earned this moniker? Are they good at relieving the pressure on other military units? Are they also hard to introduce into the battlefield since the "movie cavalry" usually only comes when the heroes are in big trouble.--Lenticel ^(talk) 01:37, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

The cavalry has arrived!

It's probably more related to the "history of cinema" rather than the "history of war"; but, especially during the post-civil-war period, there were a series of strategically spaced forts in the west with cavalry units that served as the equivalent of RDF and QRF units. They came in handy as a movie trope whenever the situation seemed hopeless for the protagonists in a perilous situation. See also: The Cavalry (TV Tropes). ~:71.20.250.51 (talk) 02:22, 19 February 2014 (UTC) Modified:  strikeout RDF
04:01, 19 February 2014 (UTC) Modified:  Added image:
21:28, 19 February 2014 (UTC) 

Ah, that makes sense. Perhaps this is indeed more film than war. --Lenticel ^(talk) 02:32, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

Well, the cavalry definitely existed, but it's arrival just in the nick of time is the TV trope, yes. And "the cavalry has arrived" also became a bit of an expression for anyone who arrives just when needed most, like when dinner is burnt and somebody arrives with pizza. StuRat (talk) 02:40, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

Cavalry are fast, so this may have something to do with it, more than them being unstoppable. Friday (talk) 04:09, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

No, IP 71 ic right, it's totally a movie thing. Just when everything is hopeless and the Indians are about to massacre everybody, you hear a bugle and then the cavalry comes charging in and saves the day. Looie496 (talk) 04:25, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

Not for the Indians. HiLo48 (talk) 09:21, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

I don't know much about 1940s movies, but a famous literary example of cavalry saving the day is when the Rohirrim show up at Minas Tirith. Tolkien was heavily influenced by ancient epic poetry, so I suspect there are similar scenes in e.g. Nibelungenlied. Finally, though the trope is heavily used in fiction, it's not clear to me that there is no historical precedent in real battles, when cavalry was able to outflank or break enemy lines and save the day. E.g. from Heavy Cavalry,

“ The city state of Thebes was particularly famous for its cavalry, with the famed Theban commander Epaminondas using his heavy horse to great effect both at Leuctra as well as Mantineia to rout the Spartan cavalry, and in the process disrupting the legendary Spartan phalanx as well, helping his own to win the day. ”

So, the phrase is more from fiction than history, but I don't think it's fair to say there is no historical precedent for cavalry showing up and saving one side of a battle. SemanticMantis (talk) 18:06, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

• There's also the role of calvary at the Battle of Waterloo. μηδείς (talk) 05:06, 20 February 2014 (UTC)

What? It could be argued that cavalry lost Waterloo for the French, because Ney squandered the flower of the French cavalry in repeated and fruitless assaults on the Allied squares; however, the tipping point of the battle was the repulse of Napoleon's Guard infantry by the allied infantry. Other key elements of the battle were the defence of Hougomont and La Haye Sainte, which were all infantry affairs too. The famous charge of the Scots Greys achieved little except the destruction of the Scots Greys by Polish lancers. Alansplodge (talk) 08:33, 20 February 2014 (UTC)

Well, the last thing I am going to do is get in an argument with a military afficionado--it's just not my area--although I have read Victor David Hanson. But reading the Waterloo article, it seems the British Cavalry charge allowed them to hang on until back-up arrived, no? μηδείς (talk) 19:07, 20 February 2014 (UTC)

The Charge of the British heavy cavalry was quite early on in the day and foiled Napoleon's opening gambit but crippled Wellington's cavalry in the process. Our article shows the event in a fairly positive light, others have been less generous. In the sense that Wellington only had to hold Napoleon at bay until Blücher and his Prussians arrived, then you have a point, but it wasn't really a last minute and unexpected deliverance; that happened later in the day. Apologies if my previous post was somewhat terse, it reflects the haste with which it was written rather than the intended tone. Alansplodge (talk) 18:15, 21 February 2014 (UTC)

In several WWII British war films, the day was saved by arrival of a squadron of Royal Navy warships, with the exclamation "The Navy's here!". This phrase originated from real life during the Altmark Incident of 1940. The appearance of an overwhelming friendly force to save the day is a useful plot device, which could be called a Deus ex machina from the custom in classical drama of resolving a seemingly hopeless situation by the arrival of a benign god through a trap door. Alansplodge (talk) 17:29, 20 February 2014 (UTC)

Or Cellar Door/Ensurance Trap. In that movie, he literally invokes it by saying "Deus ex machina". Whatever the significance in a military context, the military significance of a horse (or battleship or car) in an unarmed (or lightly armed), human-scale parallel situation is the highly reassuring kind. Those things are pretty intimidating. Just seeing them exist was the beginning of the end for the Aztecs. InedibleHulk (talk) 19:54, 20 February 2014 (UTC)

Wood

What is the cause of morning wood?--109.144.132.3 (talk) 02:15, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

We don't know. See Nocturnal penile tumescence, which says in part "The cause of NPT is not known with certainty". There's some speculation, but no definitive cause is known. --Jayron32 02:26, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

It probably has something to do with the fact that hormone secretion is modulated by circadian rhythm. (A scholarly article: "Circadian clocks: regulators of endocrine and metabolic rhythms")   ~:71.20.250.51 (talk) 02:46, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

That is an interesting idea but why some mornings and not others? And which hormones do you have in mind? Richard Avery (talk) 11:13, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

Well, "I'm not a doctor (but I play one on WP)".  It seems there are studies relating to menopausal woman, rats and sheep, <insert punchline here>  but I can't find much relating to men. But sex hormones (in general) do seem to be associated with circadian rhythm. And, of course, this is compounded in women with their monthly cycle. No studies that I could find, but one might speculate that men might have adapted compound modulation of hormone secretion to correspond with woman. Or (more likely?) men have random modulation of chaotic cycles in a desperate attempt to harmonize with female partners. ~Or something like that; or maybe not. ~:71.20.250.51 (talk) 18:13, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

From the viewpoint of evolutionary psychology, wouldn't it make sense for fertile adults waking up next to their mates to have a strong incentive to rub up against them? μηδείς (talk) 19:55, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

Except morning breath is a massive disincentive for many couples. Mints and sprays just don't take enough of the edge off. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 20:13, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

What, exactly, are you rubbing up against what, Jack? Hehehe. (Evolutionary psychology looks at human behavior in a wider context than just modern humans in a Western setting.) μηδείς (talk) 21:11, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

It's been so long, I've forgotten. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 21:38, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

Storing Coffee

This may be a stupid question, but I don't know the answer. I'm getting a gift for a friend, part of it is a package of Blue Mountain coffee (specifically this [1]). There are several other items, all of which I ordered at the same time from different sites, a few of the things happen to be delayed (possibly a few weeks, not sure) - supposing I leave the coffee unopened, will it become stale/lose flavour/etc.? Generally, I wouldn't really care, but since this is for a gift and the coffee is expensive, I'd like to retain as much quality to it as I can - if it matters, is there a preffered way to store it? Thank you for any suggestions and help:-)Phoenixia1177 (talk) 08:06, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

We have an article. Coffee#Storage 196.214.78.114 (talk) 08:17, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

Does it have an expiration date on the package? Is it available in stores? If you answered yes to both of those, I would think that storing it in similar conditions as those in the store while not going past the expiration date would be fine. Dismas|^(talk) 08:28, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

I ordered it online, but I haven't seen it in stores near where I am. I haven't received it yet, so I'm not sure about an exp date either. My plan is to stick it in a sealed container somewhere dark and room temp.; or, if it is going to be a while, to just give it to them early.Phoenixia1177 (talk) 09:00, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

Wallenfords' own page gives some suggestions. I'd suggest a moisture-proof sealed container in the fridge. You might also try asking them. Rojomoke (talk) 13:34, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

I've also frozen roasted coffee beans, but for longer term storage than just a few weeks. The freezing and thawing process might cause some damage, but not much, and while frozen this prevents any damage ("going stale") while in storage. So, if you need to store your coffee for a year, that's probably the way to go. As always, avoid using a frost free freezer, which causes freezer burn by constantly changing the temperature of the contents and driving water out. StuRat (talk) 17:36, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

One thing I didn't see mentioned in our coffee article: whole coffee beans have a longer shelf life than pre-ground beans. If you're ever in a similar situation in the future, I'd advise whole beans, ground on-demand at brew time. SemanticMantis (talk) 17:57, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

The National Coffee Assn. has advice here: How To Store Coffee.  ~:71.20.250.51 (talk) 18:33, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

They only say you can freeze coffee for a month, but I've kept it frozen much longer than that with no problem. I suspect they were using a frost-free freezer, if it was ruined after a month. StuRat (talk) 20:34, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

Tangential aside

This is interesting new information, Stu. Do you mean that you can go into a white goods store and ask to see fridges and freezers that specifically do freeze up over time? How would they market such dinosaurs? -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 21:01, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

They do sell them here, as chest freezers, typically. Of course they wouldn't market them using the negatives, that they eventually need to be manually defrosted (once a year perhaps, depending on ambient humidity and how often you open the door), they would sell them on the positive, that they don't ruin your food. (By comparison, have you ever seen a frost-free freezer marketed by saying it will destroy your food with freezer burn ?) Other positives are that they are a bit simpler, and thus less expensive and less prone to failure, and they also use less energy, as none is wasted on a defrost cycle (of course, if you never manually defrost them, the efficiency goes down).

I also have an idea of how to make a frost-free freezer that doesn't destroy food. If I could get it to work, it might be a big seller. It would be expensive, though, so the Sub-Zero market might be the ones it would be aimed at. StuRat (talk) 21:45, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

Something like Einstein's idea?  ~:71.20.250.51 (talk) 21:55, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

No, my design uses electricity. StuRat (talk) 15:49, 20 February 2014 (UTC)

Hm. I have a frost-free freezer but have never experienced, or even heard of, food being ruined in it, or the term 'freezer burn'. I'm not doubting what you say, but maybe I don't leave stuff in there long enough to encounter the problem. After how long does the problem manifest itself? -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 01:50, 20 February 2014 (UTC)

Freezer burn occurs when the water sublimates out of the surface of frozen food, then condenses as a rime on the outside of it. It's not a problem with very well-sealed food whose packaging has had as much air as possible removed. μηδείς (talk) 01:59, 20 February 2014 (UTC)

Sealing the food helps, but doesn't eliminate, freezer burn. Water can still migrate within the package, as in the case of bread that gets soggy on one side and stale on the other. StuRat (talk) 15:49, 20 February 2014 (UTC)

Thanks. I see that "Although undesirable, freezer burn does not make the food unsafe". So the idea of "ruining" or "destroying" the food seems to be an individual call. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 04:42, 20 February 2014 (UTC)

It makes the food, usually cuts of meat, highly unpalatable, as if they'd been left out in the sun to dry. Given you don't eat coffee beans, I suspect at worst it might make them less potent. But it basically turns the outside of meat to leather, and vegetables when cooked to stale mush. μηδείς (talk) 04:49, 20 February 2014 (UTC)

And bread becomes "stale" on one side and soggy on the other. Berries are still edible, though, as they are basically freeze-dried. Add them to oatmeal and give them time to absorb a bit of water, and they are OK, but not the same as fresh, plump berries, of course, any more than raisins plump back up into grapes. StuRat (talk) 15:51, 20 February 2014 (UTC)

I've noticed considerable variability in how quickly frost-free freezers destroy food. Some seem to use the minimal heating cycle, just enough to keep the frost in check, and those take a while to destroy the food, while others do so in short order. Also, the placement of the food in the freezer matters, with items directly in contact with freezer/heater coils suffering the most, due to the highest variation in temperature.

Do you happen to live in a dry part of Australia, Jack ? If so, perhaps the settings on your frost-free freezer are set appropriately for that climate, as minimal defrosting is needed under such conditions. StuRat (talk) 15:45, 20 February 2014 (UTC)

Australia is "a land of droughts and flooding rains". We've just had a 5-hour downpour here, the first rain of any significance since before Christmas, and have come through a record-breaking double heat wave (they just seem to get worse every year). But last year there was a lot of rain and the grass was green. So, it depends when you ask. My freezer settings have never been changed since we bought it in 2008. I don't remember whether we had a hand in deciding the settings or it just came that way. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 19:35, 20 February 2014 (UTC)

God, if you have double-heat waves in January, I'd hate to see what it's like there when you get around to Summer. μηδείς (talk) 20:38, 20 February 2014 (UTC)

For future reference to anyone who hasn't figured it out yet, Medeis flaunts Poe's law at every available opportunity. --Jayron32 04:13, 21 February 2014 (UTC)

Negro League Pitcher / Steve Forrest (Black Yankees 1935-1940)

Hello Reference Desk, I'm looking for some Information/Photo of a Pitcher named 'Steve Forrest' from the Negro League Black Yankees circa 1935-1940.

This was in New York City he also played with others teams afterwards. His 'Real Name' is Percy Forrest (But) I think the Black Yankees got him down as 'Steve Forrest'.

Cheers & Thanks for your Help -- Good Will Hunting*

Forrest Thinner. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.81.88.100 (talk) 17:04, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

No player under either name is listed under List of Negro league baseball players (E–L), which is an admittedly incomplete list at Wikipedia of Negro League players. If you really are interested in following up on this player, it may be best to contact someone at either SABR, who has a "Negro League Research Committee", contact information can be found at their website http://sabr.org/research/negro-leagues-research-committee or perhaps the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum may have someone who can aid you in your research. Their contact information can be found at http://www.nlbm.com/s/contact.cfm If you do find something out about him, he would make a good subject for a future Wikipedia article; consider contributing, it would be MUCH appreciated! The final person who may know something is User:Baseball Bugs, who is something of our expert Baseball researcher around here. Good luck!--Jayron32 00:58, 20 February 2014 (UTC)

Jayron flatters me too much. :) baseball-reference.com has a lot of names on it, including Percy Forrest, of the Black Yankees 1943-46; no Steve Forrest.[2] A few years ago there was an editor who was very active in the Negro Leagues subject, but I can't think of his username just now. I'll see if I can find him and whether he appears to be active. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 02:02, 20 February 2014 (UTC)

I was thinking of BRMo (talk · contribs), who appears to still be somewhat active, and I've asked him to come here and comment. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 02:06, 20 February 2014 (UTC)

Percy Forrest [3] seems to be the best match. Riley's Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues says that Percy Forrest was a pitcher active from 1938 through 1949, but didn't play for the Black Yankees until 1943. However, it gives his nickname as "Pete," so I'm not seeing any match for "Steve." Riley lists two other Negro league players named Forrest, a pitcher named "Joe Forrest" who played for the Black Yankees in 1949, and a catcher named Forrest (Riley didn't know his first name, but probably James Forrest [4]) who was active from 1919-25. BRMo (talk) 12:37, 20 February 2014 (UTC)

YOU GUYS WERE 'G.R.E.A.T.! How about what was the 'Number' of his jersey? (Percy Forrest)* — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.46.8.117 (talk) 01:01, 21 February 2014 (UTC)

Did he necessarily have a uniform number? Uniform numbers didn't enter baseball at all until the 1920s; I'm not sure they were universal for several decades later. --Jayron32 03:39, 21 February 2014 (UTC)

automotive spare parts

I am interested in setting up a automotive spare parts plant,I want to know how does the automotive companies give spare parts contract to the spare parts companies,on what basis and are any other qualifications required. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 103.4.222.2 (talk) 17:10, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

There are OEMs, which make parts used by the auto companies, but "spare parts" implies that you are talking about "aftermarket parts". Those are used to replace broken parts by the consumer or repair shop. There's no requirement to get a contract with the car company for that, and, you might find them unwilling to do so, as they already have a contract with the OEM's for those parts, and don't want you to compete with their supplier and possibly put it out of business. However, some insurance companies and dealerships will insist on OEM parts. The rest of the market is open to you.

Also beware that the manufacturer won't feel the need to tell you about an upcoming change that affects your part, so you could get stuck with excess inventory of a part that no longer fits. However, since it's typically several years before a new car needs replacement parts, you can check out each new model as it comes out (renting is probably the cheapest way), to see if they made any changes. StuRat (talk) 17:30, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

Do you want to just sell them, or make your own? For the former, just buy the them from the OEM or clone makers, such as Lucas, Bosch, etc. Most parts-sellers can look up the customer's registration number, get the car's make/model, and then look up the correct OEM part, or equivalent third-party. However, I don't know how to get access to the two databases required.

For the later, it's a matter of buying all the OEM parts that are commonalty replaced, and then reverse-engineering at least their dimensions. CS Miller (talk) 17:58, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

Car companies use just in time (JIT) to keep their component inventories low and need components supplied from multiple suppliers.
Sleigh (talk) 05:59, 20 February 2014 (UTC)

Suggestions

I would like to know if there is a suggestions page on Wikipedia and of so may I have the link of where to find it?CamberleyDanny (talk) 18:52, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

You need the Village pump. - Karenjc (talk) 19:07, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Requested articles.
Sleigh (talk) 05:41, 20 February 2014 (UTC)