Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2018 September 15

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September 15

Unknown lettering on penknife

I recently purchased this penknife and would be grateful if anyone is able to tell me the meaning of the lettering on the knife. Additionally I am puzzled by the curious shape of one of the blades, what might be the purpose of that? With anticipatory thanks. Richard Avery (talk) 06:54, 15 September 2018 (UTC)

The monogram near the hinge looks Cyrillic - a D and a V. DuncanHill (talk) 11:12, 15 September 2018 (UTC)

Odd Blade, either a crown bottle opener or for taking stones out of horses hooves.194.126.80.63 (talk) 13:17, 15 September 2018 (UTC)

I don't think it would work on crown caps. Could be a type of sheep's foot (a blade used to trim sheep's feet). DuncanHill (talk) 13:21, 15 September 2018 (UTC)

Agree on Cyrillic. The first character in what looks like a serial number is also Cyrillic. --Dweller (talk) Become old fashioned! 13:50, 17 September 2018 (UTC)

Thanks for your contributions, It was purchased from Latvia so Cyrillic lettering is not surprising.Richard Avery (talk) 07:11, 18 September 2018 (UTC)

Agreed, but just to note that Latvian has always been written using the Roman alphabet. 2A00:23C1:CD83:1F01:D536:2A6C:D8F2:9746 (talk) 09:41, 18 September 2018 (UTC)

Yes, but when Latvia was part of the Soviet Union, Russian would have been prevalent as well. See Languages of the Soviet Union, which also notes that after 1937, there was a concerted effort to both a) write all languages in the USSR in Cyrillic and b) spread Russian throughout the Soviet Union. --Jayron32 11:14, 18 September 2018 (UTC)

That lettering is price. (ц 1р60к)(1,60) -Yyy (talk) 09:22, 25 September 2018 (UTC)

The Russian word for price is цена, so I'm guessing the first letter is an abbreviation of it. The Cyrillic "r" looks like a "p", so "Price one rouble sixty kopeks". 92.31.140.53 (talk) 13:17, 25 September 2018 (UTC)

York sidewalk glass button

A glass button in York sidewalk.

What is the function of this glass button in York sidewalk? It is about 3 cms in diameter. It might have been used for some communication device, but now obsolete. Etan J. Tal^(talk) 11:01, 15 September 2018 (UTC)

They marked the old 'Breadcrumbs' trails. It was a scheme by the city to get people visiting the sights in an interactive way - see [1][2][3][4]. You can still buy the book on Amazon. Nanonic (talk) 11:18, 15 September 2018 (UTC)

Thank you! Etan J. Tal^(talk) 11:32, 15 September 2018 (UTC)

Where is the original Japanese copy of the WWII surrender?

In the article Japanese Instrument of Surrender, it says that a replica of the Japanese version of the surrender document is on display. Where is the original? RudolfRed (talk) 21:08, 15 September 2018 (UTC)

Diplomatic Record Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan) -- now called Diplomatic Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan; per file description: file:Japan Instrument of Surrender 2 September 1945.jpg 107.15.157.44 (talk) 23:01, 15 September 2018 (UTC)

Thanks! RudolfRed (talk) 02:22, 17 September 2018 (UTC)