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August 16

Thing I just can't get

Latest comment: 6 days ago6 comments5 people in discussion

What does cardboard taste like? I've heard numerous people say that In-N-Out fries "taste like cardboard", and I'm having a hard time trying to imagine what they mean. TWOrantula^TM (enter the web) 01:36, 16 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

The obvious thing to do is bite into some cardboard yourself. You'll likely find that it's very bland. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 06:24, 16 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

If you have no discardable pieces of cardboard around, the taste is similar to chewing a wad of paper, although the adhesive used in corrugated cardboard (starch-based, latex-based), ink and any additives may make a difference. The texture, and therefore the organoleptic experience, is initially quite different, though.  ​‑‑Lambiam 07:02, 16 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

Phrases such as "tastes like cardboard" and "tastes like shit" are not intended to actually describe a taste; they simply indicate disapproval. Tastes are for the most part indescribable. Shantavira|^{feed me} 07:43, 16 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

Curiously, "has an indescribable taste" is used as a compliment.^[1][2][3]  ​‑‑Lambiam 22:32, 17 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

The word for eating cardboard is "xylophagia", and there is also coprophagy mentioned above. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 11:51, 23 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

Rumored trend....

Latest comment: 13 days ago4 comments3 people in discussion

....is the following true: Is it true that people will be required to use their personal data,like your driver's license to access the Internet? This is all over the place, and it is outraging the population. One concern is that scammers will really scam people, and a website claims that Wikipedia lost a lawsuit to prevent this from taking place. Just what in the hell is going on?216.247.72.142 (talk) 02:49, 16 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

The Online Safety Act 2023 is a British law, not yet in force (as I understand it), which is aimed at protecting children from illegal or harmful online content. There is a similar law in Australia, the Online Safety Amendment, and others in the US and elsewhere. See Category:Child online safety laws for a non-comprehensive list. Even if you live in one of these countries, if you are not accessing illegal content or content deemed harmful to children, you do not need to provide your identity to access the internet. The body which runs Wikipedia did recently lose a lawsuit against the possibility of being classified as harmful under the British law, but this doesn't necessarily mean it will be classified in this way. See Online Safety Act 2023#Wikipedia responses.-Gadfium (talk) 03:58, 16 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

I have seen things like this: "Why in the hell is the USA complying with British law at all?" - and worse. SOME people are even claiming that "This shit will kill the Internet!" and this is about controlling the sheeple - I mean the masses. Pick a site, any site, this is all over the place. Can any of this be used in a article at all? 216.247.72.142 (talk) 04:51, 16 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

Wikipedia content must be covered by reliable, published sources. Our own lying eyes will not do for writing on Wikipedia that some phenomenon is widespread. We first need to have a reliable source reporting this.  ​‑‑Lambiam 06:41, 16 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

Ford Cortina trim levels class system

Latest comment: 11 days ago5 comments4 people in discussion

In the episode of The Grand Tour on Amazon Prime with Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond, where they talked about the Ford Mondeo and Ford Cortina, Jeremy Clarkson mentioned that when it came to the trim levels of the Ford Cortina, he said that "they defined class system" of the UK, and he goes on with the example that whoever had 1600E, was in the upper class. I am wondering, was the Ford Cortina the only car that defined the class system with its trim levels? If not, which other cars did that and also, was it true that in France, Peugeot was driven by people in the lower class and Citroën and Renault were driven by the middle and upper class?--Donmust90-- Donmust90 (talk) 15:08, 16 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

Bear in mind that Clarkson, May and Hammond, in the specific context of Top Gear (1977 TV series), Top Gear (2002 TV series) and other shows like The Grand Tour that spun off from them, are essentially functioning as comedians, not sociologists. Anything they say about such matters may firstly resonate with audience perceptions to a degree and secondly contain grains of truth, but is not definitive or based on actual research, and is designed to amuse rather than to impart serious information.

(This is not the case with much of Clarkson's other journalism and documentary presentations, such as The Victoria Cross: For Valour, whose factuality can be relied on as much as any other journalist or presenter's work.) {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.210.150.115 (talk) 20:39, 16 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

While I agree with the poster above that there's an element of comedy in that statement, you might want to look at Carrozzeria_Ghia#The_Ghia_name which has a similar mythology. You don't get many upper class driving Fords, but they wouldn't have been driving any Ford that wasn't a Ghia. The Ford Escort that Prince Charles bought Princess Diana as an engagement present was a Ghia. She later went on to buy an RS Turbo. -- zzuuzz ^(talk) 21:08, 16 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

• Broadly no. There was much more correlation with car makers and especially with models. The trim levels of a model were less important socially.

Where this was evident, especially for Fords (and Ford capitalised on this) was with the widespread '70s and '80s idea of 'company cars' (this was toned down a lot by tax system changes in the '90s). Amongst a small population of company car drivers, the trim level of your Ford was crucial. Because Ford had a dominant position for fleet cars, and commercial insurers wouldn't let anyone (hardly anyone) have a car with increased performance. Even cars like Capris (two door) would be off the table for company cars. But a company fleet manager did have a free hand with trim levels, so this was a perk that staff could compete over. Hit your sales target, get a vinyl roof and a GXL badge. But if you then compared yourself to someone outside the lower management world, you were still driving a Cortina. Andy Dingley (talk) 18:40, 18 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

Also things were weird within the car industry. There were general practices that anyone working for the car maker could have a generous discount on their own product and that anyone parking in the main carpark had to have one of their own models. Even suppliers and subcontractors had to drive their customer's cars: I worked for a few who had both Rovers and Fords, depending on which factory they were visiting that day. Otherwise you'd be relegated to The Carpark Of Shame with my Fiats (I'd been to pick up my boss in his broken-down Rover. Again). There was some mixing between brands of the same group: so Triumph staff often drove nicer ('90s) Rovers, whilst the Rover people would spend their discount and shell out for an MG or Jag. Andy Dingley (talk) 19:08, 18 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

What is this rusted machine called?

Latest comment: 8 days ago16 comments6 people in discussion

Since July 2, I’ve been attending a camp at the Horse Therapy Centre of Canada, where I’ve enjoyed activities like water play, horseback riding, and setting up obstacle courses. On the farm, there are three types of animals—chickens, goats, and horses—each housed in its own pen or coop.

Just outside the chicken coop sits a rusted machine (File:Unconfirmed machine 01.jpg) that caught my interest; although I’d love to repair it, I’ve had difficulty finding it online since I don’t know what it’s called.

Pr0gr1pp3r (talk) 22:50, 16 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

I don't know, but isn't there someone at the Horse Therapy Centre you could ask about it? --142.112.140.137 (talk) 05:26, 17 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

I'm not attending the camp anymore, and when I asked, they didn't know either. 38.23.177.112 (talk) 16:21, 17 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

Retracted

It looks to be a fruit press. Its top plate (perhaps it was wooden) for pressing is missing and its basket is either missing entirely or perhaps it is the cylindrical cage that is still there., but has been turned upside down to make it easier to remove debris. Inverting it makes sense because then there would be additional clearance for barrels underneath to catch the fluid. There is a crank with a small handle along the post which would turn an internal worm screw lowering the upper lever bar which would have a counterweight attached to its end. The counterweight would help distribute the downward forces making them more even across the bar. A flowerpot is sitting in a holder. I don't know what the holder would have been used for. Modocc (talk) 16:22, 17 August 2025 (UTC) Reply PS. The basket(s) are missing. The cage wire is resting on fixed spokes and is attached to the rim, thus it is just a platform on which to set one or more baskets. If the assembly were to be inverted, the wire would lose its support, so I've scratched that. I would also expect the baskets and their cloth liners containing the fruit that are placed upon the platform to have finer mesh that retains the fruits' pulp with the press extracting its juice. Modocc (talk) 11:36, 18 August 2025 (UTC)Reply Progripper, as you can see, there are four sections of outer pipe. The uppermost pipe section and the inner pipe are joined together. Moreover, there is what I discern to be an old wire (it has an older type of insulation that has rough texture and colored off-white) protruding from a small round hole in the inner pipe next to the upper section. Having now spotted it, this machine would appear to have a motor in that upper section (and away from ground water and human hands). The external crank-operated jackscrew would then only be used when needed when the motor cannot provide enough torque from within. There is also a bolt just below the section which is attached to the upper portion of the jack, the bolt would engage/disengage the jack so it wouldn't interfere with the motor's operation. Modocc (talk) 16:28, 18 August 2025 (UTC)Reply It's also worth noting there are a couple remnants of a concrete block foundation that would have supported the weight of the machine: its platform, the baskets of fruit and the top plate(s), plus the force of the upper section when crushing the fruit. Modocc (talk) 17:15, 18 August 2025 (UTC)Reply I've been thinking too that large ring holding the flowerpot is welded there for a pretty good reason. That being the slip rings (the outer pipe sections) that are attached to the vertical bar were stabilized by a solid post, likely wood, that is no longer there. The missing post or pole might have also been tall enough for an electrical hook up to a nearby building. This pole would have had a grounded electrical box with switches and a fuse. Modocc (talk) 17:45, 18 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

Science progresses by falsifying hypotheses, so let me try to find things inconsistent with this thing being a fruit press.

The wheel on the right (which looks very much like a spoked wheel repurposed for something else) only rests on the lower horizontal bar. It's much easier and sturdier to give it its own foundation, so there must be a reason for it. It suggests that the lower arm can rotate around the metal post, powered by the crank. None of the fruit presses I've seen on commons have that feature. If the outer pipe can rotate around the inner pipe, then the inner pipe is presumably fixed. The upper horizontal beam may also be able to rotate around the inner pipe. There's no attachment point along the upper beam (to connect, for example, the top plate of a press), except a poorly aligned black thing at the very end, with a hook underneath. It looks like a slider. With a separate (missing) pulley under this hook, it's a crane. The wheel with the mesh on it has a spindle sticking out of it. That's not very convenient if you want to put something on it, except if that thing has a hole in its centre.

Wild guess: this is a device for shaping millstones. The crane can lift the stone from a cart and put it on the wheel. The wheel can swing sideways to the machinery used to shape the stone and it can spin the stone. PiusImpavidus (talk) 19:29, 18 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

Makes sense. Modocc (talk) 20:20, 18 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

Your last point about the inconvenient spindle is well-taken and has bothered me far too much as it is, thus I've retracted, since the platform could very well sit on bearings (instead of being threaded so it could be moved downward and upward) and be used as you suggest with the crane loading millstones instead of fruit. Anyway, I could easily have misidentified the "wire", whatever it is, it's stiff and not new. The crank's casing is constructed with two tubes that might or might not telescope. If not that leaves the partitioning of the separate outer pipe sections (and the bolt) unexplained. Also, the large ring holding the decorative planter, instead of securing the position of the vertical bar and the lower arm (which can efficiently transmit force over some distance, as well as have an effective integrated foundation with the ground) if it surrounds a pole, has no obvious purpose. Nevertheless, I shall, like I said, retract (primarily because of the spindle nut). Modocc (talk) 00:56, 19 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

Given the evidence presented, I believe the machine could have been used to cut and shape millstones. The dual-purpose pole which I believe is absent supports this hypothesis since the millstone can be turned and restrained to a fixed position. In other words, I'm skeptical that the lower arm was meant to be moved. When cutting large masses it is easier and safer to simply reposition the cutting implement. For example, I'd use a saw to cut a massive tree. If the objects(s) are lightweight that's different. The millstones can be massive and would resist such movement. Note too that the crane can reposition a pendulum that cuts its upper surface, and raising and lowering the rail can be automated. Modocc (talk) 14:20, 19 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

The crane is a component of a vice and there is a frame behind the platform for supporting a mechanical cutter—perhaps a lathe-like device with a hard steel or diamond bit. The lower arm of this vice is heavily encrusted from being buried in the concrete block foundation (mostly missing). Modocc (talk) 17:20, 21 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

Its operation would involve positioning clamping plates under and over the millstone, positioning the millstone by manually turning it, and clamping the stone in place by lowering the upper arm of the crane, then applying the cutting tool. I did ask AI if the image is fakery (it is likely not), to confirm the wire (it did) and whether or not the upper arm is positioned too high for it being used to clamp a plate, but it didn't think it was and thinks the screw inside the post can be long enough (FWTW). Thus far, I'm not seeing anything that would be inconsistent with this machine being used for shaping millstones or perhaps something else that might have been even larger. Modocc (talk) 19:11, 21 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

I believe its a type of drying machine. The bottom area with the grate is a guard for a fan blade that would be powered by a belt on that bottom flange. The fan can be raised or lowered by the jack on the main upright while the upper cross bar would hold the produce in a hanging sack. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.121.35.65 (talk) 16:03, 19 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

My knowledge of belt-driven driers is almost nil, but the jack that alters the fan's height doesn't need to be connected by the lower arm (which is able to transmit forces and maintains this system's stability) some distance away. It would be best situated near its stationary cage that would be kept from moving, thus the lower arm is essentially expendable with that kind of machine, but it would work. Modocc (talk) 17:41, 19 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

August 19

Kyan - wine? spirit?

Latest comment: 9 days ago4 comments3 people in discussion

 

"Kyan" bottle ticket

The image to the right shows a "bottle ticket" with the label reading "Kyan". A "bottle ticket", I've learned, is a small plaque hung around the neck of a decanter, which explains what wine or spirit has been decanted into said. This one was made by John Emes around the start of the 19th century. None of the articles listed at Kyan seems at all relevant. The name isn't unique to this label (I found this antique, for example). So my questions:

1. Do we have a relevant article for "bottle ticket" (there's a passing mention in wine label, which seems to be the same thing, but may be another name for the paper label)?
2. What kind of beverage is/was Kyan?

Thanks soberly -- Finlay McWalter··–·Talk 11:50, 19 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

With regard to question 2, these sites (and a couple of other such sites I found) say that the bottle ticket went on a cruet rather than a decanter and that KYAN means "cayenne". Whether it was in sauce form or in powdered form is unclear. Deor (talk) 13:48, 19 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

It would have been a sauce. The images here and here show cruets bearing the text KYAN that cannot have been intended for dispensing powdered cayenne. The following text, a quotation in a book review, is explicit about cruet frames having pepper casters separate from the cruets, including a kyan-ticketed cruet:

“At about this time began the half-century vogue of soy [sauce] as a relish with food. Soy was described in 1776 as ‘a sauce as thick as treacle, and of a clear black colour.’ It was prepared from the beans of the soja hispida and salt mixed with ground barley or wheat. This created a demand for special soy frames complete with silver-mounted cut-glass bottles hung by silver bottle tickets on chains. Such a cruet frame might contain six to ten sauce bottles and a pair of pepper casters. The bottle tickets might number many more than the bottles, each being named differently, such as soy, catsup, anchovy, lemon, tarragon, kyan, chili vin and so on.”^[4]

 ​‑‑Lambiam 09:18, 20 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

Thanks for the Kyan part (thinking out of the box, it didn't occur to me that it wouldn't be a drink). I've added a link to cayenne pepper from the Kyan dab, but I don't think I can edit the cayenne pepper article to give it as an alternate (or archaic) title, as these sources, while clear enough, probably don't quite cut the WP:RS mustard.sorry -- Finlay McWalter··–·Talk 09:56, 20 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

August 20

Face tattoo

Latest comment: 8 days ago3 comments3 people in discussion

[5] Is that a gang member thing, or does the guy think he's Darth Maul, or what? I mean the tattoo. Never mind the murder charge for now. The tattoo is bad enough by itself. 2601:644:8581:75B0:32D2:3FE3:F454:37FE (talk) 08:54, 20 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

I think a gang tattoo in the US would not include such uncool egghead-type eyeglasses. For the rest, there is no accounting for taste, and the First Amendment protects even this expression.  ​‑‑Lambiam 09:43, 20 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

The "BK" might be Blood (as in the gang) killer. Crossing it out adds to the disrespect. Laser tattoo removal is expensive and painful. Polygnotus (talk) 00:46, 21 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

August 21

drunk and obnoxious

Latest comment: 1 day ago4 comments4 people in discussion

[6] Leaving aside the assistant state attorney general news hook, the story is about some lady getting drunk and obnoxious in a restaurant, refusing to leave, and getting dragged out by the cops, creating a noisy temporary disturbance but no serious damage or violence etc.

Where does this land on the scale of things? Is it something every working bartender sees play out a dozen times a week? A dozen times a year? Once in a great while? I guess we don't have drunk tanks in the US any more, but I imagine them being a standard presence in the settings of cowboy movies, even if they didn't figure into the movie.

I was once present at a scene that might have ended like this (someone I was with got drunk and loud). I got the person to leave peacefully, but I got the impression that the waitstaff was well experienced with these situations. 2601:644:8581:75B0:427:5A43:69D2:AD22 (talk) 02:50, 21 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

Being obnoxious is not a crime. Public intoxication is prohibited by law in some US states (not in Rhode Island), but any judge or jury would almost certainly dismiss the charge if the defendant's disorderly behaviour remained confined to a booze-dispensing facility. This is a different issue. The arrestee refused to leave, which is criminal trespass, a rather more severe crime than being drunk in public. In RI, willful trespass is a misdemeanor that can be punished by up to one year of imprisonment, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.^[7] The case mainly drew attention because of the entitled behaviour, but a judge may find it more striking that a prosecutor should know better.  ​‑‑Lambiam 11:47, 21 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

Is it something every working bartender sees play out a dozen times a week? A dozen times a year? Once in a great while? That depends on where that bartender works. In some places, such a scenario would almost never happen. Polygnotus (talk) 13:48, 21 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

It's actually a fascinating question. When I worked in a bar in SF, it was pretty rare. The only time we ever had any kind of problem at all was during Fleet Week, when some members of the military would drink a bit too much and get aggressive. Otherwise, we rarely had any problems. This appears, on the other hand, to be out of character compared to other places, such as Sixth Street in Texas, where bar fights are so common and sensationalized that YouTubers have made a career out of filming them. Viriditas (talk) 01:32, 28 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

We have an article, Public intoxication, which describes the legal restrictions in various countries. In England, we have the wonderful charge of being "drunk and disorderly"; it is also an offence to sell alcohol to a drunken person, although the exact definition of "drunk" is a bit subjective. Alansplodge (talk)

August 23

Wild bird eggs as food

Latest comment: 5 days ago6 comments5 people in discussion

Historically, many human populations have consumed large numbers of wild bird eggs (see e.g. our article on gull eggs). My understanding is that, unlike chickens, wild birds generally lay fertilised eggs only. Does this mean that all eggs sourced from the wild contain embryonic chicks? If so, are the embryos eaten or discarded? Zacwill (talk) 06:04, 23 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

If the egg is collected for human consumption shortly after being laid, there would be no visible embryo. As for eating embryonic chicks, consuming duck embryos is popular in the Phillipines and several other Southeast Asian countries. See Balut (food) for details. Cullen328 (talk) 06:13, 23 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

Supposing I were foraging for seabird eggs on a cliffside, as St Kildans used to do, how would I know how old the eggs were? Zacwill (talk) 06:27, 23 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

You could weigh them; eggs lose mass as the embryo develops. The usual trick is to put the egg in water and see whether it floats or sinks. PiusImpavidus (talk) 08:35, 23 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

But if she weighs the same as a duck... she's made of wood. And therefore... a witch! --142.112.140.137 (talk) 09:22, 23 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

Fwiw, chickens kept on small farms rather than factory farms are typically kept with roosters in the mix (they help protect the flock, and are raised to be eaten as well). So until very recently, almost everyone who kept chickens would have had a rooster to fertilize the eggs. So most farmed eggs, too, would have had embryos in them. (Fertilized eggs do also sometimes occur in factory farmed eggs, since chick sexing is an inexact art, and occasionally a rooster makes it into the barn with the hens.)

As mentioned by others, the embryo is microscopic for the first few days after laying; and unless temperatures stay within a fairly narrow range, the embryo in an egg removed from the nest will quickly stop developing and die for lack of warmth or due to overheating. -- Avocado (talk) 02:20, 24 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

August 24

Week numbers

Latest comment: 4 days ago4 comments4 people in discussion

How common is it worldwide to base recurring events on ISO weeks? In Finland, for example, the autumn break of the school year is at week 42 in some areas and at week 43 in others, the spring break is at week 8, 9 or 10 depending on ___location, school year ends on Saturday of week 22 everywhere, and Helsinki region public transport switches to summer timetables on Monday of week 25 and to winter timetables on Monday of week 33. Is there any other country that does similar? --40bus (talk) 21:27, 24 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

I can speak with respect to Poland and Germany that week numbers are primarily used in commerce and industry to determine when certain goods are to be delivered or services rendered, with an example being a contractual obligation to deliver say in week 34 of 2025, with the specific day and time to be decided on when this week looms closer, or in project planning. Outside of that the week numbers go rather unnoticed. This was asked before. --Ouro (blah blah) 08:26, 25 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

On 15 February 2025 the user asked whether most English speakers know ISO week numbers, and on 20 July 2025 they asked whether any English-speaking country presents calendars with ISO week numbers. This question has a worldwide scope and, unlike the earlier ones, is specifically about their use for recurrent events.  ​‑‑Lambiam 10:48, 25 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

Week numbers are rarely used in Australia. HiLo48 (talk) 11:28, 25 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

Metric units in different countries

Latest comment: 23 hours ago14 comments9 people in discussion

1. Are following measured in metric units in UK:
   1. Floor area
   2. Elevation
   3. Heights of mountains
   4. Area of administrative divisions
   5. Water depth
   6. Length of things
   7. Depth of soil
   8. Size of sporting fields
   9. Train height, length and weight
2. Are depth of soil, size of sporting fields, crop area, height of statues and size of license plates measured in metric units in Canada?
3. Are floor area, elevation, area of administrative divisions, person's height and size of sporting fields measured in metric units in Philippines?
4. In which countries is aircraft and ship speed measured in km/h rather than knots?
5. In which countries are marine navigation distances more commonly measured in kilometers rather than nautical miles?
6. Is length of flights and long-distance ship routes usually measured in kilometers worldwide? --40bus (talk) 21:58, 24 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

   Size of license plates? Canada is a free country; you're allowed to measure anything you want in whatever units you want. Everything you listed would be described in metric (almost always with a US-ian conversion, like here) by most writers. In informal writing and speech, you're more likely to encounter US-ian units as the primary descriptor, especially among older Canadians. Sorry, I'm just boggled by this: do people in your country routinely measure license plates for some reason? In Canada, they're all standard size and provided by the government. Matt Deres (talk) 14:22, 25 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

   Do you routinely measure anything listed in questions 1 or 2? If Canadian license plates are a standard size, I imagine the standard is described somewhere using a specific metric. 207.11.240.2 (talk) 11:48, 26 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

   Do I measure areas and heights? Yes, of course I do, but the more important distinction is that heights and areas for different items are variable, so there is a basic desire to quantify them - if not every day, then at least sometimes. But nobody measures license plates precisely because they are inflexible. Their size is described (and prescribed ) in the article I linked. What I suppose was meant was something more like "Would you use metric units when measuring items small enough to hold in your hands, but not so tiny that you'd need a microscope to see them?" In English, the prototypical "breadbox" might be used, but I've heard that breadboxes are falling out of favour with the younger crowd. Matt Deres (talk) 17:25, 27 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

   1.3. Lists of mountains and hills in the British Isles is categorized mostly (but not exclusively) in Imperial units, so that's a 'sometimes'. -- Verbarson  ^talk_edits 17:56, 25 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

Regarding 4) and 5), this depends on ___location for Europe. On sea, velocities are generally measured in knots, distances in nautical miles. However, the signage on inland channels in Europe tends to be in km and km/h. So for 6), long distance shipping routes (which tend to go on sea) are generally measured in nautical miles. I suppose the IMO regulates how this is applied. For aerospace, that's also regulated, and I guess that it's all in nautical miles and kts. It helps that 60 nautical miles is one degree (in latitude, degrees in longitude change with latitude). Rmvandijk (talk) 08:15, 25 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

For 6 and long distance ship routes a resounding no, it's nautical miles, and by the by, speed in knots as the knot is based on the NM not the km. --Ouro (blah blah) 08:29, 25 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

Inland waterways on the European continent are metric. The UK is a mixed bag. The Canal and River Trust (the organisation managing most of the British inland waterways) tells me that the speed limit on the narrow canals is 4 mph, on the non-tidal River Thames 8 km/h and on the River Medway 5 knots (for comparison: the speed limit on most Dutch canals is 20 km/h).

Aviation on the European continent used to be fully metric (every country had metricated before aviation really took off), but after 1945 some British–American units were introduced: knots for speed (instead of km/h), feet for height (instead of metres), feet per minute for vertical speed (instead of m/s), nautical miles for horizontal distance (instead of km) (but visibility and airport dimensions are still metric; note that in American aviation visibility is expressed in statute miles, not nautical miles). Gliders, ultralights and the Soviet Union stayed metric. PiusImpavidus (talk) 12:01, 26 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

Interesting that the definitions of speeds in the inland waterways is so varied in the UK. I understand mph and kts as they are either the local or international standard.

For dutch canals, that 20 km/h speed limit suprises me, since I know that the local speed limit is mostly 12 km/h as indicated by signage (except in port areas where it is either 6 or 9). I guess I never paid that much attention since the boats I sail on are hard pressed to even reach those 12 km/h (on motor). Rmvandijk (talk) 10:02, 28 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

I suppose those posted limits are local speed limits. Where no local limit applies, the default is 20 km/h. From my experience riding a bike along the Maal-Waalkanaal (I used to live in the area), a bike is slightly faster than a ship – a 1500 tonne freighter, that is. PiusImpavidus (talk) 19:12, 28 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

I suppose there's a physics reason for this. Airy wave theory tells us that the angular frequency ${\displaystyle \omega }$  of a surface wave is related to the wave number ${\displaystyle k}$ , the gravity ${\displaystyle g}$  and the water depth ${\displaystyle h}$  as ${\displaystyle \omega ^{2}=gk\tanh kh}$ , which means that in the English narrow canals, which are only about 95 cm deep, the maximum phase speed for waves is only 11 km/h, so that a boat, even an infinitely long one, will reach its hull speed at most at that speed. Approaching the hull speed not only takes enormous power, but also produces waves that damage the banks. Dutch canals are much deeper. The hull speed ${\displaystyle v_{hull}}$  in deep water depends on the length at the waterline ${\displaystyle L}$  and gravity as ${\displaystyle v_{hull}={\sqrt {\frac {Lg}{2\pi }}}}$ , so that even in deep water the hull speed of a 7 metre long boat won't get above 12 km/h. For a 100 metre freighter, that's 45 km/h, so those get limited by water depth. The maximum phase speed of waves in a 4.5 metre deep canal (typical for commercially important canals) is 24 km/h. 20 km/h is perfect for them, just before the point were drags begins to increase much faster. PiusImpavidus (talk) 20:10, 28 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

1.4. All administrative areas in the UK are measured in hectares, as shown here. Mikenorton (talk) 09:47, 28 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

1.1. Floor areas are normally quoted in both metric and imperial units.

1.2. & 1.3. Elevations are in metric on anything derived from the ordnance survey, although imperial units are widely used unofficially.

1.5. Official water depths are metric.

1.6. The lengths of almost everything you buy in the UK are measured in metric units, although many people still use imperial units. Road distances and speed limits are, however, all in miles.

1.7. Soil depths are normally quoted in centimetres/metres, certainly in anything technical.

1.8. Sport fields are mostly in imperial units, e.g. the football association specifications, for football pitches are in yards.

1.9. Train specifications are in metric.

A caveat, it's difficult to get definitive answers to some of these, e.g. 1.1, this is just a result of looking at properties for sale/rent on popular websites. Mikenorton (talk) 10:46, 28 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

Note that the nautical mile is has been exactly 1,852 metres since 1929, rather than 6,080 feet used previously, so there is an element of metrication there.

As regards sports, Rugby Union pitches have been measured in metres since 1976. [8] Rugby league pitches are also metric. However, the dimensions of a cricket field remain Imperial, although there are metric equivalents. Running tracks in the UK have been 400 metres since the 1970s (previously 440 yards), but the mile run of 1,760 yards or 1,610 metres is still a thing and marked on many tracks.

Alansplodge (talk) 12:15, 28 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

August 28

The Martian (film)

Latest comment: 1 day ago5 comments2 people in discussion

I just rewatched The Martian for the first time in ten years. I had previously read the 2011 book. The copy I just watched appeared to be of a much higher quality than the previous one, and I noticed for the first time that botanist Mark Watney appeared to be suffering from the symptoms of scurvy in several scenes, something I had never noticed in my previous viewing, nor do I recall it in the book. Has this been mentioned by anyone? Viriditas (talk) 01:22, 28 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

@Viriditas Yes, googling "Mark Watney" +SCURVY returns several results. For example https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/104554/what-are-the-marks-lesions-on-mark-watneys-body Although potatoes contain decent amounts of vitamin C so it may be unrealistic/something other than scurvy. https://www.livescience.com/52438-the-martian-potatoes-health-effects.html Polygnotus (talk) 03:41, 28 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

Upon further examination of this problem, it appears that I viewed "The Martian Extended Cut" which contains 10 additional minutes, which explains why I don't remember this scene from the first time I saw the film. Other respondents indicate that the additional footage changes the film in a completely different way. I found that it was a vast improvement over the original. Viriditas (talk) 08:06, 28 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

@Viriditas If you enjoyed it I recommend Cody's lab, specifically the Chickenhole base series. Polygnotus (talk) 08:07, 28 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

Thank you. I've been mostly watching Veritasium these days. Viriditas (talk) 09:17, 28 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

August 29