Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2016 July 25

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July 25

International civil codes - regulations on at-cost and free-of-cost cooperation agreements

Hi, I know this borders on a legal topic, but I am just wondering on if I can find a database on global civil cooperation agreements, and am not seeking advice of any sort. Is such a repository available? 27.115.113.102 (talk) 01:35, 25 July 2016 (UTC)

An article about access to information is at Free Access to Law Movement. One of the websites with US focus Worldlii is at http://www.worldlii.org/ , see if that has what you want. Lists of databases with Australian focus at http://canberra.libguides.com/law and http://libguides.anu.edu.au/c.php?g=464979&p=3180103. EU stuff at http://ec.europa.eu/world/agreements/default.home.do , and for UN https://treaties.un.org/ . I am probably totally missing what you want though! Graeme Bartlett (talk) 00:39, 26 July 2016 (UTC)

Dating birthday card

Hello:

I'm trying to date this birthday card, likely printed sometime between the mid 1980s and the early 1990s in the UK. Apart from the maker's mark and the art (neither of which I am expert in and which I have no clue how to even begin to research) there are no contextual clues that are immediately tipping me off. Long shot, maybe, but I would be very grateful if someone could narrow it down to a year or two. Thanks! Evan ^{(talk|contribs)} 10:56, 25 July 2016 (UTC)

One of "Sharpe's Classic Greeting Cards", with the artwork signed by "Robin", printed in England. I have no idea where to go from there. Is that company still in existence? Someguy1221 (talk) 11:06, 25 July 2016 (UTC)

WHAG here but it looks to date from the very early days of supermarkets in the UK, so maybe sometime before 1980? --TammyMoet (talk) 12:28, 25 July 2016 (UTC)

The cartooning style to me looks more like 1950s. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 15:12, 25 July 2016 (UTC)

One can search Victoria and Albert Museum -- Sharpe's Classic Greeting Card collection online, but your card isn't there:[1] --2606:A000:4C0C:E200:58E2:3708:C2A3:B874 (talk) 16:42, 25 July 2016 (UTC)

I agree that the style is late 50s ~ early 60s -- not mid 80s ~ early 90s. --2606:A000:4C0C:E200:58E2:3708:C2A3:B874 (talk) 17:26, 25 July 2016 (UTC)

Thanks for the help, guys! I received the image from a friend who was born in the late 1970s, so he can't have received the card earlier than the early 1980s, but I agree the art style suggests it's a bit older. It is possible, I guess, that it was given to him by someone who had blank cards stockpiled from decades past. I have relatives who do the same. Evan ^{(talk|contribs)} 17:45, 25 July 2016 (UTC)

In my experience, it's not uncommon for modern greetings cards to use older images and artwork; sometimes with added captions, sometimes not. On the other hand, that particular artist, whose style though not name I recognise, might well have still been active in the 1980s – his 'dated' style was part of the charm, and the typography of the greeting strikes me as more modern that the apparent era of the cartoon. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 2.123.26.60 (talk) 18:13, 25 July 2016 (UTC)

Yes, presumably the "Classic" could mean "retro" style. --2606:A000:4C0C:E200:58E2:3708:C2A3:B874 (talk) 18:23, 25 July 2016 (UTC)

Or it could mean that they were reprinting older cards. --69.159.9.219 (talk) 22:12, 28 July 2016 (UTC)

Sharpe's were bought by Hallmark in 1984 for £21m.[2][3][4] I notice this card has no barcode but does have the price code at the bottom left of the back page. Perhaps if anyone could research which ones were in use in a particular era, we could narrow it down. Nanonic (talk) 18:38, 25 July 2016 (UTC)

That's a good clue, but we can't assume they stopped selling under the name Sharpe's as soon as they were bought by Hallmark. They might have continued operating under the old name for some time after, and/or they might have stocks with the old name on them. StuRat (talk) 03:03, 26 July 2016 (UTC)

What does WHAG mean? Robinh (talk) 21:58, 25 July 2016 (UTC)

Wild half-assed guess. Nanonic (talk) 22:17, 25 July 2016 (UTC)

You could try asking The Cartoon Museum, The Cartoonists Club of GB or the Professional Cartoonists Organisation. CambridgeBayWeather, Uqaqtuq (talk), Sunasuttuq 01:23, 26 July 2016 (UTC)

Automobile oil consumption mystery

How is it that a vehicle can consume motor oil (oil is not leaking out) and then sometime later the vehicle maintains its oil level and stops consuming?? 199.19.248.107 (talk) 22:52, 25 July 2016 (UTC)

Wild-assed guess 1) is an intermittent fault in the Crankcase ventilation system and 2) is you changed the oil to a more viscous sort which is less inclined to leak past the piston rings. --Tagishsimon (talk) 23:09, 25 July 2016 (UTC)

WAed guess 3) carbon build-up and/or sludge around the piston rings, that burned off (or became dislodged and ejected). 4) Piston oil-control ring(s) not seated properly, which subsequently become seated ("engine break-in"). 2606:A000:4C0C:E200:807B:66FA:B5EC:A602 (talk) 23:32, 25 July 2016 (UTC)

Possibility 5) improved driving skills. Better driving puts less strain on the engine. Wymspen (talk) 07:30, 26 July 2016 (UTC)

5.1) Decreased torque load: not driving uphill as much, or no longer towing trailer, or removing gold bars from trunk. --2606:A000:4C0C:E200:807B:66FA:B5EC:A602 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 08:14, 26 July 2016 (UTC)

A little oil consumtion is nothing to be worried about. Thats pretty normal, especially for engines that are in use for a few years. But if suddenly an engine that consumed oil "stops" doing it, this could also mean that there is water or gasoline leaking into the oil-system, which is something to be very much worried about. Check the smell and look of the oil. If the oil smells like gasoline, it drips not like honey but water or worst case: it looks like milk-coffee, you should take it to a mechanic asap. Realwackel (talk) 12:41, 26 July 2016 (UTC)

A dipstick gives only a crude indication of too much or too little oil inside a 4-stroke car engine.

Vehicle combustion engines always consume some oil, see Internal combustion engine#Lubrication. The dipstick takes no account of oil that may be resting in the Oil filter and oilways that takes time to drain back to the sump (oil pan). If you had no oil consumption problems when your engine was new and now you have since it’s old then have your engine checked for worn seals and gaskets. Two-stroke engines (rare in vehicles) consume immediately all the oil for lubrication that is mixed with their fuel and causes smokey blue exhaust. Such exhaust coming from a 4-stroke engine indicates an engine fault such as broken piston ring or oil seal. Another rare serious fault is when a faulty head gasket lets coolant leak into the crankcase, so the engine appears to "make" extra oil. AllBestFaith (talk) 12:58, 26 July 2016 (UTC)

Oil leaks lead to blue smoke, coolant leaks lead to white smoke[5]. If the exhaust is clear, it may be neither of those. --Jayron32 17:56, 26 July 2016 (UTC)

The oil huge consumption beginns once the oil service interval expired or the oil aged in another way. Valve fittings or piston rings wear off and cause the oil consumption. Overheat or failed cooling kills oil and engine. Anyway, check for leakage or wet engine. Some horrible engines made for saving fuel also eat their low visosity oil instead. --Hans Haase (有问题吗) 08:07, 30 July 2016 (UTC)