Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2014 October 20

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.

October 20

Easter Island

Hi,

My name is Ed McGarrity. I'm doing some research on historical low temperatures on Easter Island. I've run into some data from other sources that conflicts with the numbers posted on Wikipedia.

Can anyone tell me what the source of those records was? If I can validate those numbers, it will be very helpful. Please refer any helpful information to: (Redacted)

Thanks,

Ed — Preceding unsigned comment added by 199.17.232.4 (talk) 00:14, 20 October 2014 (UTC)

There are three citations at the bottom of the climate chart at Easter Island. The only English language one is from here, and there are two more Spanish language sites used as references (this one and a PDF linked through this one. If your findings are substantially different, I'd suggest discussing at at the talk page for the article, located here. There seems to have been a similar claim made about the climate table last year, but I'd suggest starting a new section (after reading through the old one first). Matt Deres (talk) 01:18, 20 October 2014 (UTC)

Does this prank call to 911 in this youtube video look real?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlP0AGgHzDs He blogs about it here: http://laughyoura55off.blogspot.ca/2012/06/911-prank-call.html Venustar84 (talk) 04:28, 20 October 2014 (UTC)

What you're after is an opinion, but we're constitutionally incapable of providing opinions here. Our life blood is references. Please seek a more appropriate forum. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 05:56, 20 October 2014 (UTC)

The reference desk is for asking questions. It isn't a discussion forum.Whereismylunch (talk) 06:29, 20 October 2014 (UTC)

If only, if only! Richard Avery (talk) 07:41, 20 October 2014 (UTC)

It definitely looks like a real live recording, as opposed to a cartoon or CGI. Beyond that, it's anybody's guess. And keep in mind that blogs are not reliable sources here. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 11:37, 20 October 2014 (UTC)

One possibly telltale sign is that you don't actually see him dialing the number. So for all we know, he could have phoned a friend who was helping him set up this prank. And the footage of the police could have been made at a totally different time. In short, there is no way that I can see to determine the real story of this video. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 11:41, 20 October 2014 (UTC)

What was the first app ever released on Android?

What was the first app ever released on AndroidWhereismylunch (talk) 06:27, 20 October 2014 (UTC)

Android comes bundled with apps, so all of them would have been released together. Do you mean which app was first on the PlayStore? KägeTorä - (^影_虎) (Chin Wag) 09:42, 20 October 2014 (UTC)

Simchat Torah in Mir

I have heard that in Mir (Eastern Europe) before the Second World War, a person would walk before the Sifrei Torah during the hakafot of Simchat Torah holding some lighted candles. I would be grateful if a user could confirm this, and if possible, also add further details. Thank you Simonschaim (talk) 07:25, 20 October 2014 (UTC)

Those most likely to be able to answer your question can probably be found at the Otzar HaHochma forum (in Hebrew). I doubt anyone here can help you (except perhaps Rachack?). הסרפד (call me Hasirpad) 17:14, 20 October 2014 (UTC)

Thank you Hasirpad Simonschaim (talk) 04:38, 23 October 2014 (UTC)

Allergies

How allergic reactions happen

This is not a request for medical advice, as I have already solved the problem myself, and I am not going to book an appointment to waste my doctor's time just to ask this, when he has far more important cases to see to.

My question is, can people with no previous history of allergies actually suddenly develop them? I had a belt with a buckle made of nickle, and developed a rash on my tummy (really itchy one!). I had no idea what was causing it, but (out of the blue) my father suggested I change belts, and gave me one of his. It cleared up in a matter of days. Now, I wear prescription glasses made of titanium, and some of the paint has worn off on the inside of the arms of the glasses, and this has caused rashes both sides of my face (fixed by repainting). I am now thinking I am allergic to titanium as well. As far as I know, I was never allergic to anything when I was younger.

Does anyone know if someone can just develop allergies over time? Personal anecdotes are also welcome. KägeTorä - (^影_虎) (Chin Wag) 17:28, 20 October 2014 (UTC)

Yes. Marco polo (talk) 17:36, 20 October 2014 (UTC)

Perfect and succint answer, Marco. 謝謝！KägeTorä - (^影_虎) (Chin Wag) 17:49, 20 October 2014 (UTC)

Here's a personal anecdote. I've always loved cats and I had a succession of feline pets all through my earlier years. There was never the slightest problem with them or any other animals. That is, until the problem arose, in my early 30s. Since then, I have been strongly allergic to cats, dogs, horses, any land animals, and have to either keep my distance or be scrupulous in washing my hands if I do venture to touch them or let them lick me. Because if I do get my tainted hands anywhere near my face, eyes or mouth, I have hell to pay for a few hours. If this is the price of "growing up", I wanna be a little kid again. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 19:18, 20 October 2014 (UTC)

As someone who works with laboratory animals (rodents), this is a familiar story. Quite a few people will develop a rodent allergy after years of working with them. It's apparently a big enough problem that we're all supposed to have regular respiratory monitoring by occupational health. Fgf10 (talk) 07:07, 21 October 2014 (UTC)

Resolved

I believe there's also a condition where anything rubbing on the skin can cause a rash, regardless of the material. I'm not sure of the name of this condition. StuRat (talk) 17:47, 20 October 2014 (UTC)

• I have added a wonderfully succinct chart to the right. Just be aware B cells are normally present in the body. They have receptors with random shapes on the outside. They float around the body for about a month, and if the receptor is activated during that time the cell is deactivated--the idea is that any protein they meet during that first month is more likely to be a normal protein belonging to the subject organism. After a month or so they mature. At this point, if the receptor matches any protein (or appropriately shaped allergen) the B cell reproduces clones of itself and the process in the chart begins. It's hence possible to develop an allergy at any time, and an allergic reaction after the first priming incident. The articles Allergy and immunoglobulin-E are quite good, but this chart gives the essence. μηδείς (talk) 19:41, 20 October 2014 (UTC)

@ StuRat, are you thinking about dermographia? perhaps. Richard Avery (talk) 06:55, 21 October 2014 (UTC)

Or contact dermatitis. ZMBrak (talk) 15:04, 21 October 2014 (UTC)

Dermographia seems more like what I had in mind, where it's not specific to any irritant, just any friction on the skin that causes a problem. StuRat (talk) 16:23, 23 October 2014 (UTC)

Em, please can someone change the title of this question to an English font? I just get placeholder symbols on my screen, and I can't imagine I'm the only one. --TammyMoet (talk) 11:29, 21 October 2014 (UTC)

The title of the question is "Allergies", in normal plain English. Not sure what's going on your side... 131.251.254.81 (talk) 12:19, 21 October 2014 (UTC)

it was broke but i dond it ~Helicopter Llama~ 12:24, 21 October 2014 (UTC)

I'm glad I'm not the only one that saw that it was in a non-standard font. I took a quick look but couldn't figure out why it was appearing in that font. I'm glad to see it's back to normal though. Dismas|^(talk) 20:18, 21 October 2014 (UTC)

The section title was using the "fullwidth forms" of the ASCII characters. These symbols are used for typesetting Latin characters in an environment where you would otherwise use CJK characters. See Halfwidth and fullwidth forms. —Tobias Bergemann (talk) 11:16, 22 October 2014 (UTC)

Yes, sorry, everyone. I was taking a break from work, and my input method was sill set to Japanese. I changed it after the title. I thought it would still show up as normal, though. Thanks for changing it. KägeTorä - (^影_虎) (Chin Wag) 18:34, 22 October 2014 (UTC)

There could also be dietary explanations for skin rashes -- rashes which otherwise might seem to be allergic reactions to whatever is simply touching that skin, especially if you have worn the item (belt buckle, glasses) previously with no reaction. Your skin could change enough to have a reaction with the nickel or titanium, for instance. On a side note, alot of the "new" allergies people develop to wheat, soy, and corn could very well be due to GMO strains of those crops. El duderino ^(abides) 20:50, 27 October 2014 (UTC)