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February 8

Trump's sanctions on the ICC

While I understand US sanctions against some countries, I wonder is it even legal to sanction International Criminal Court and enforce such sanctioning orders? What framework in the US formally allows to sanction the global institutions of such magnitude? 212.180.235.46 (talk) 18:55, 8 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The executive order signed by Trump cites the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) (NEA), section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (8 U.S.C. 1182(f)), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, as the legal basis of his authority.^[1] An appeal to the National Emergencies Act requires that the President declares a national emergency with respect to the "unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States" posed by actions of the ICC targeting America and Israel. (As far as I'm aware, the court has only targeted Israeli individuals.) In the executive order, the President has actually declared such a national emergency. Whether the actions of the ICC truly pose an unusual and extraordinary threat cannot be objectively decided. Although there is at least an effort to create the appearance of legality, something tells me that legality is not a prime consideration of this administration. The Trump administration is perhaps not that exceptional in this respect; countless wars have been initiated by presidential order,^[2] circumventing the War Powers Clause simply by not calling the war a "war". The US is also not exceptional in this respect; many other countries have used a fancy name like "special police action" for waging war on foreign soil.

Apart from legality within the legal framework of the US, there is also the question of the legality of sanctions in the framework of international law, for which I refer to this article. ‑‑Lambiam 20:06, 8 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

(ec)Trump taking any kind of action against anything is not guaranteed to stand up in the US court system. As to the ICC, one thing he could try to do is stop any US funding of that court. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:08, 8 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Still, I hope the Wikimedia Foundation has a plan in place for the contingency that all Wikimedia operations (including the servers) in the US are ~~seized~~ ceased, in addition to relying on the US court system. ‑‑Lambiam 07:56, 9 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Might have to resort to smoke signals. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 08:26, 9 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

We would have to persuade the native Americans to teach them to the immigrants first. Shantavira|^{feed me} 10:17, 9 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Somber thanks. 212.180.235.46 (talk) 10:57, 9 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The United States has never recognized the ICC and does not fund the ICC. So, how would it be a threat to stop funding that does not exist? Further, how is a santion to refuse entry to the United States to an organization that has never been recognized as an authority by the United States suddenly a threat to Wikipedia? This is supposed to be an intelligent reference desk, not a Facebook echo chamber. 68.187.174.155 (talk) 21:08, 9 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I have no Facebook account and am not aware of discussions there, but cannot shake off the feeling that recent developments have some obvious precedents, like the methods used by the Orbán administration, much of which aimed to achieve Gleichschaltung. ‑‑Lambiam 21:53, 9 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Your answer was a good attempt to answer the question. That wasn't the issue. After your answer, there is a claim that Trump will block US funding for the ICC, but the US does not and never has funded the ICC. So, would the author have the guts to step up and correct the answer? Of course not. Then, there is the claim that refusing to allow the ICC to arrest the Prime Minister of Israel on U.S. soil is somehow going to shut down Wikipedia. That makes no sense. Would that author be willing to correct that answer? Of course not. Then, when called out on such blatant nonsense, there is a rush to Godwin's law. I find it very disappointing. Perhaps we need to change the header on the Reference Desk. We do not make predictions except we will answer every question, regardless of the topic, with the claim that it will somehow result in Trump shutting down Wikipedia because Hitler. 68.187.174.155 (talk) 11:35, 10 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The threat of denying entry to family members of people with a connection to an ICC court case – even if only in the capacity of being heard as a witness – can have a chilling effect. Imagine your child is doing their PhD at Stanford, or your spouse regularly gives professional presentations at international conferences, many of which are held on US soil. You might think twice before testifying.

As to the lack of love of the Trusk/Mump administration for Wikipedia, this article is of some interest. What is hardly conceivable today may be the reality of tomorrow. ‑‑Lambiam 18:27, 10 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

You need to work on your reading comprehension. No one said that Trump was going to block US funding for the ICC. Baseball Bugs said "As to the ICC, one thing he could try to do is stop any US funding of that court." Such a statement does not imply that such funding exists and does not make the prediction that Trump will stop said funding. --User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 12:44, 12 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

February 9

Is displaying phase information on an audio spectrum analyzer useful?

Like this and this where phase information is displayed as different colors. 2001:448A:3070:E573:5D44:3301:1481:FE0F (talk) 14:56, 9 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

There is audio phase modulation to consider; see OOPS (stereo) for example. --136.56.165.118 (talk) 15:59, 9 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Yep but it is not related to phase part of FFT algorithm, which is necessary for reconstruction of audio signals from spectrogram but I'm curious about displaying the phase part of FFT spectrum. 2001:448A:3070:E573:5D44:3301:1481:FE0F (talk) 18:31, 9 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

That FFT article mentions its inverse (IDFT), presumably its inverse phase. —136.56.165.118 (talk) 19:01, 9 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

That's true but what I meant is visualizing the phase information actually useful and not give you a photosensitive epilepsy? As the inverse FFT is only used on audio processing in terms of spectral processing not analysis. 2001:448A:3070:E573:5D44:3301:1481:FE0F (talk) 07:31, 10 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Let's say you mixed two or more audio signals and it doesn't sound right; you might want to analyze the phase relationships. Phase information also helps identify time-domain issues like misaligned crossovers or reflections that cannot be corrected with EQ alone. It can be useful for aligning loudspeakers or optimizing PA systems. See also: Sine waves, phase and interference. Also see also: Bode phase plot. --136.56.165.118 (talk) 08:48, 10 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The phase information obtained by DFT or FFT analysis of sound is essential information for modelling an audio band communication channel or for analyzing room acoustics. Without phase information one cannot distinguish between amplitude-frequency nonlinearity caused by a time-invariant transfer function or caused by time delayed reflection(s) that are a subject for audio time delay reflectometry. Important requirements for the recording hardware that collects data for these analyses later are adequate dynamic range shown by input amplification/attenuation and the effective number of bits analog-to-digital conversion, adequate sampling rate and adequate time sequence memory. There may be no more need for real-time display than a minimum display to show when recording is in progress. However the OP who may not be interested in objective analysis asks about usefulness of phase in a real-time spectrogram display. There is subjective "educational" value in a phase visualisation because our hearing responds with well known characteristic to sound amplitude but is almost "blind" to phase in isolation. Smoothness or roughness of phase variation with frequency serves a qualitative hint at the kind of distortion occurring; this might prove helpful when positioning a microphone in a hall. We cannot speculate on this desk about usefulness of spectrograms as entertainment in video games, nor advise about deliberate or accidental triggering of epileptic seizure (PSE). Philvoids (talk) 12:18, 10 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

West Indies Policing

After fourteen seasons, it has just emerged that Selwyn Patterson, the Commissioner of Police on the fictional island of Ste Marie, in the series Death in Paradise, has a superior, a Chief Commissoner, who is based in Jamaica. I see that Jamaica has its own police force, as do British dependencies such as Royal Cayman Islands Police Service. So is there in reality a pan-British West Indies police administration, that can order the appointment or dismissal of local police personnel?- Rojomoke (talk) 22:05, 9 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The country Jamaica consists of a main island, also named "Jamaica", and several small islands and islets, such as Pigeon Island, Salt Island, Dolphin Island, Long Island, Great Goat Island, Little Goat Island, Lime Cay, Morant Cays, Pedro Cays, and Port Royal Cays. (Some of these are actually themselves an island group.) Of these, Lime Cay has a popular beach; the islet is said to be a regular hotspot for post-party-goers and often swarmed with boats, music and socialites during holiday season (Summer and Christmas) weekends. Perhaps Ste Marie is a similar island in the Jamaica island group. ‑‑Lambiam 11:22, 10 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, good try, but Saint Marie is identified as a British Overseas Territory near Guadeloupe and Martinique, nowhere near Jamaica. Rojomoke (talk) 19:15, 10 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

So the Brits managed to insinuate themselves into the French Antilles! ‑‑Lambiam 07:06, 11 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Irrelevant to my question, but British and French possessions are intermingled across the region. Dominica (former British territory and current Commonwealth member) lies between Guadeloupe and Martinique. Saint Marie is depicted as being a former French possession that was transferred to the UK in the 1970s. Rojomoke (talk) 07:46, 11 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

In this interview, the Commissioner of the Royal Anguilla Police Force (Anguilla being a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean), says that he is suuported by the National Police Coordination Centre, a branch of the UK National Police Chiefs' Council and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. So I imagine that the Jamaican police Commissioner having jurisdiction over a BOT is just a fictional plot device. BTW, unlike the TV series, Anguila's Police Commissioners have been recruited from British police forces, the current one is from the Police Service of Northern Ireland, his predecessor was from Sussex Police. Alansplodge (talk) 17:56, 12 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

February 10

Pseudophedrine packaging

Question is about pill packaging, not medical per se. OTC seasonal allergy med. Does anyone know whether this stuff is sold as loose pills in a bottle? I've been getting it in those foil packs where each pill is sealed in plastic and it's a nuisance to do that, especially since I like to have a few pills on hand wherever, just in case. If the pills are sold in bottles then I guess it is safe to take them out of the foil packs, if I can't find a place to buy the bottles. Thanks. 2601:644:8581:75B0:0:0:0:2D6 (talk) 04:54, 10 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Have you asked your pharmacist? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 06:06, 10 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I see this. (They state they are "licensed to ship nationwide", but forgot to state which nation.) ‑‑Lambiam 09:36, 10 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

If purchasing without a prescription in the United States, the maximum quantity you can legally purchase is so low that it is not viable to use bottle-based packaging. (This describes why it isn't available.) If you have a prescription, you can get a 30-day supply at higher dose. However, none of the NDC codes currently in use for pseudophedrine that I examined indicate bottle-based packaging. All that I examined are box-based, which would include the foil-sided sheet of pills. I did find two liquid forms that do come in a bottle, but it appears you want pills, not liquid. There are 475 NDC listings and I did not examine all of them. Further, having an NDC code does not mean that the pill, in that packaging, is available without a prescription. You can search all available legal United States packagings here. 68.187.174.155 (talk) 13:17, 10 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The question is not if it is sold OTC as bottle-packaged tablets, but whether it sold at all in this form. I also found this. ‑‑Lambiam 18:09, 10 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

That is a sample image. If you were to order it, it would likely be in a box. Amazon pharmacy doesn't list the distributor, packager, or medication source. Of course, I am limiting this to the United States. In the U.S., if you make a legal purchase, it will be tied to an NDC code. That is why I provided a link to the current list of every NDC code for every form of pseudophedrine you can purchase. It is true that someone could illegally sell pseudophedrine in a bottle or a baggie or a sock. I assumed the person wasn't asking about that situation. I also included a link to the reason why you can't purchase pseudophedrine in large enough quantities to warrant a bottle unless you have a prescription, which excludes OTC purchases. The link you supplied to Amazon Pharmacy is a prescription-required purchase, not OTC. One final note: I saw that the question mentioned buying the foil packs, but placing them in a pill bottle if you had one. Pill bottles are cheap and available from many sources, including Amazon. If you are concerned with the safety of the packaging, don't un-foil all of the pills imemediately. Only open how many you expect to use per allergy incident. You probably want a pill extractor to do that. It makes it much easier to get pills out of the foil sheets. 68.187.174.155 (talk) 18:31, 10 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

You ignore the aspect that OTC-hood is not a factor. I also think the OP does not care whether pseudophedrine tablets are sold in bottles specifically in the United States. Images such as seen here show that at least one distributor has at some time sold them in bottle packaging. ‑‑Lambiam 06:56, 11 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I filtered the NDC list for only products from Major and they are all in box form now. I thought I made it clear that I have no intention of checking nearly 500 entries, but all that I have checked are in box form for good reason. Bottles are more effective packaging for large quantities of pills. Boxes are more effective for small quantities of pills. 68.187.174.155 (talk) 17:23, 12 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

My pill extractor came with six little bottles so after I pop all the pills out with the extractor, they fall right into the bottle. Then, I remove the bottle and put a lid on it. 12.116.29.106 (talk) 17:19, 11 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

February 11

Referee notebook

When a match director has to referee a final (soccer), where any extra time is also scheduled, does he or she have a special notebook? I mean, does the notebook also contain the space reserved for any goals in extra time? Thank you. 93.150.82.178 (talk) 15:17, 11 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I don't know the answer, which may depend on the organizer of the competition (FIFA, UEFA, USSF, ...). If the organizer requires the scoresheets to be in a particular form, it is their responsibility to ensure sheets in that form are available to the referee. Almost everyone has a digital printshop around the corner, and organizers can create a pdf file to be printed out. Otherwise, there is enough room on a typical sheet to record overtime goals. ‑‑Lambiam 09:37, 12 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Further of relevance, from Referee (association football), a referee

". . . keeps a record of the match and provides the appropriate authorities with a match report, including information on disciplinary action and any other incidents that occurred before, during or after the match"

and

"[carries] . . . a data wallet with pen and paper . . . ."

{The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 94.8.123.129 (talk) 07:17, 13 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

FIFA's Laws of the Game include, for the "compulsory equipment" of referees, "Notebook (or other means of keeping a record of the match)".^[3] (The rules forbid the referee of wearing electronic equipment on the field, so the embodiment of any such "other means" cannot be digital.) While the form is not prescribed at this level, the organizers of national and international competitions will surely have further requirements, such as that the record be signed by the referee and the assistant referees. ‑‑Lambiam 10:29, 13 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

February 14

Paul Jaccard published in French

Paul Jaccard is famous for his paper, "Étude comparative de la distribution florale dans une portion des Alpes et des Jura. Bulletin de la Société Vaudoise des Sciences Naturelles." I am certain that is in French as is the entire paper, which is available from many sources. However, Jaccard was Swiss and taught in Zurich. I've been trying to figure out why the paper is in French and now Swiss. I know Switzerland has four langauges, but it appears that Zurich is well into the German region, not the French region. I figure the reason to publish in French is very obvious, so it isn't noted anywhere I've found, but I don't readily see a reason. 68.187.174.155 (talk) 17:30, 14 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Paul Jaccard may have taught in Zurich for a period, but he was born in the French-speaking canton of Vaud, studied at the University of Lausanne in the capital of Vaud, an institution that seems predominently use French, and published other papers in French: it seems most likely that his mother tongue was French. Doubtless, like many (most?) Swiss, Jaccard had at least some grasp of Switzerland's other languages, but why would he not have written this particular paper in French as well?

In Europe, it is usual for people to be taught second, and sometimes third, languages at school, and not unusual for academics to travel, study and teach in institutions outside their native language region. Moreover, in Switzerland precisely because of the multiple official languages, as well as in other parts of Europe (such as Scandinavia) and in World Academia, English is frequently used as a lingua franca, which serves when speakers have different first languages: in Jaccard's day, French was often used similarly, more widely so than now, a century later. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 94.8.123.129 (talk) 17:56, 14 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you. As I assumed, it makes perfect sense. 68.187.174.155 (talk) 18:01, 14 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Also, the journal in which he published the study, the Bulletin de la Société vaudoise des Sciences naturelles, was the journal of a Francophone scientific society (Société vaudoise des Sciences naturelles), of which he was then a member,^[4] later member emeritus.^[5] ‑‑Lambiam 09:07, 15 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

And finally, our Lingua franca article notes that:

French is sometimes regarded as the first global lingua franca, having supplanted Latin as the prestige language of politics, trade, education, diplomacy, and military in early modern Europe and later spreading around the world with the establishment of the French colonial empire... French became the main language of diplomacy and international relations up until World War II.

Alansplodge (talk) 10:53, 15 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

February 15

Week numbers

Do most English speakers know ISO 8601 week numbers? In some other Wikipedias, there is a weekly contest every week, like e.g. Finnish Wikipedia's Viikon kilpailu. In this contest, weeks are numbered according to ISO 8601, and they start on Monday and end on Sunday. Would similar contest in English Wikipedia work? Would all users know that current week is "Week 7" and it starts on 10 February and ends on 16 February? --40bus (talk) 21:38, 15 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

No. --142.112.222.162 (talk) 21:54, 15 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

i don't know why you return so frequently and happily to this place (where destiny is made) to pose these questions,

or whether you really are under the impression that those accustomed to use calendars with systems of years - months - weeks - days (i.e., virtually (?) all of them) would know independently which week in the year it is when this information is never of any consequence 130.74.58.24 (talk) 21:54, 15 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

That system is not used in the United States, to my knowledge. And starting weeks on Mondays would seem very odd to Americans, as well. --User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 21:56, 15 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

In the UK, although informally people often think of the week as starting on Monday, officially it starts on Sunday, and most (though not all) calendars and diaries conform to this.

Week numbers exist, and some diaries (such as my current pocket diary) show them, although others (such as my current A5 day-per-page diary) do not. They are not much used, except in some business and financial contexts, and if a random person were asked, they would be unlikely to know the current week number. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 94.8.123.129 (talk) 22:14, 15 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

"In the UK, although informally people often think of the week as starting on Monday, officially it starts on Sunday, and most (though not all) calendars and diaries conform to this." Source, please. I'm in the UK and I have never heard this. Proteus (Talk) 17:54, 18 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Would a similar weeky contest work in English Wikipedia? Do Australia and UK ever use ISO 8601 week numbers? --40bus (talk) 22:26, 15 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

It's not an Australian custom. HiLo48 (talk) 22:39, 15 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I vaguely recall seeing week numbers used in some old desk calendars, but the week number itself seldom if ever came up in conversation. Where we hear it most often is usages such as "NFL Week 17" or whatever, which is the NFL's own system. In business, we're more apt to hear about fractions of the year such as "Fourth Quarter" or whatever. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 04:30, 16 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

ISO week date, in case anyone else is interested.

There are many weekly competitions in the UK or elsewhere, notably those that appear in weekly newspapers, magazines and journals, and many lotteries operate on a weekly basis. As far as I'm aware, each of these will be numbered (if at all, they may instead use forms like ". . . for week starting/ending Xday yth Septober" and the like) according to the organisers' individual needs, and ISO week numbers are unlikely to figure. I expect some official uses of week numbers take the week beginning with or containing 6th April as their 'Week 1', as this is the start of the UK's Tax year. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 94.8.123.129 (talk) 09:48, 16 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

In Poland, week numbers do tend to be printed on and in calendars (just peeked into my pocket blood donor calendar - it also has them) but to expect anyone in private to offhand know the current week number would be a hopeless exercise. Far as I know, outside of logistics and purchasing (like, where orders would be expected to be delivered say in week 34 of the year), and perhaps other specialist fields I may not be aware of, people don't care about the week number. --Ouro (blah blah) 12:05, 17 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Why bother with these week numbers? Why not simply say that a contest runs (for example) from 6 June to 12 June? --User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 18:40, 17 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The Finnish Wikipedia's contest has run continuously from 26 November 2012, following ISO 8601 weeks. Every Monday, a new contest starts and runs until following Sunday. Could English Wikipedia manage to do that? --40bus (talk) 22:41, 17 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

You're missing the point. That same contest could have run that same period without mentioning ISO weeks. My employer pays 1000s of paychecks every week without using ISO week numbers. Lots and lots of things happen weekly witout ISO numbers. What purpose do these numbers fulfill?--User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 11:41, 18 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

February 17

FIFA

Why does FIFA not have an official English-language full name? Many other organizations with names and abbreviations originally from French, such as UEFA, FIBA, as well as SI system, have official English-language full names, so why does FIFA not have too? And if football was invented in England, why was FIFA not founded there too? Why so few international sports organizations were founded in the UK, despite having many sports founded there? --40bus (talk) 21:49, 17 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Because they don't have to. Nanonic (talk) 08:07, 18 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

None of the founding members of FIFA were from Anglophone countries. Founding it in a non-member country would have been a strange choice. Also today, the vast majority of its members is not Anglophone. FIFA is internationally known by its acronym. It is not obvious that people would understand that "the International Federation of Association Football" is the same as FIFA. ‑‑Lambiam 08:53, 18 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The English/British indeed invented many sports, but we generally pursued them for fun, on an amateur basis. The impulse to make them controlled and professional on an international scale often arose elsewhere. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 94.8.123.129 (talk) 14:08, 18 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

UIAA (Union internationale des associations d'alpinisme) is also known by it's French initials. Although the Wikipedia article uses an English translation, International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation, I've never heard it called that. Alansplodge (talk) 23:18, 18 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

February 18

Nose unscrewed from shell

The Columbo episode "By Dawn's Early Light" is based on the ceremonial firing of a blank shell from a decades-old cannon, made to cause a fatal explosion instead. At the start, the villain modifies the shell (about 3 inches in diameter) by unscrewing its nose cone. He pours out a black powder, which he later says is mostly sodium nitrate, and discards it; then he inserts a quantity of high explosive (later stated to be C-4) and screws the cone back on. He also blocks the barrel of the cannon with a rag to make sure the breech will explode. Okay, fine.

My question is this. When the victim is about to insert the shell in the cannon, the nose cone is again unscrewed and set aside. The cannon is then fired by pulling a cord emerging from the breech end (and duly explodes fatally). I'm talking about a work of fiction, but it's shown in sufficient detail that I assume it must be based on reality. Why, when, would a shell be made to be taken apart in that manner before firing? Is this only because it's supposed to be a blank? Also, how does pulling the cord ignite it? --142.112.222.162 (talk) 09:15, 18 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Lots of artillery pieces are still fired with a pull cord (lanyard). The firing mechanism is a bit like that of a revolver - a springloaded hammer is cocked, and when released (by the lanyard) it springs down, strikes a percussion cap, which triggers the propellant (I think it varies by mechanism whether the lanyard also cocks the gun first). In practice the lanyard often isn't very long, but it's nice for the artilleryman to not to have to actually be touching the gun while it discharges. Here is a video of an M198 howitzer being fired. Modern self-propelled systems (self-propelled guns and tanks, for example) have an electrical or electromechanical firing mechanism (so they're push-button-to-shoot). But it's common practice for a unit receiving a new gun (or a new barrel) to fire the self-propelled gun with a (long) lanyard anyway, to prove to themselves that the gun is safe. All of this is rather archaic, but artillery is a pretty old-fashioned business that's stayed relevant regardless. -- Finlay McWalter··–·Talk 13:18, 18 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

That sounds like a plausible way of firing a ceremonial shot. If the shell remained sealed, the explosive force would burst from its rear (as originally designed) and propel the shell from the cannon, dangerously; by removing the shell's nose, the force of the explosion (not very strong in the case of black powder) alone – carrying smoke and small unburned particles only – will emerge from the barrel, while the shell case will be pressed back into it and hopefully will not emerge. Whether this is a method actually used for some ceremonial cannon shots, however, I cannot confirm. In the case of Edinburgh's famous One O'clock Gun, the artillery piece currently employed, a L118 light gun, is designed for Separate loading cased charge ammunition where the projectile and propellant are separate items, so for firing such 'blanks', only the propellant is loaded. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 94.8.123.129 (talk) 14:25, 18 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

(edit conflict: uncannily similar...) As to firing a ceremonial gun: I don't see any reason why a blank round for ceremonial use would have an ogive aeroshell (you actively don't want anything flying out of the muzzle with aerodynamic efficiency). Here is a video of the firing of the Edinburgh Castle § One O'Clock Gun; the soldier loads a brass case with nothing on the end. You'll also notice that he first sights the barrel with the breach open, to verify that it is not obstructed. Incidentally, that that gun, the L118 light gun, is fired by pulling a handle (not with a lanyard) - cf this video. -- Finlay McWalter··–·Talk 14:34, 18 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

As to the premise of this (as you, say, fictional) story, I think that's fanciful too. For the investigation of a fatal artillery mishap, the authorities would surely consult an expert (a serving or retired artillery officer). That officer would know what a burst gun (from ordinary use) would look like, and would know what one destroyed with a high explosive would look like (because learning to destroy a gun or barrel with explosives is part of an artillery officer's training). Enough, at least, to order an analysis of the residue, which would be very different with a plastic HE. -- Finlay McWalter··–·Talk 14:34, 18 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Here is a blank 105 mm round for firing salutes. As you can see, it is just a shortened propellent case with no actual shell. I used to work near the Tower of London and often watched the gun salutes there; you could see bits of the wadding which closed the top of the catridge case fly out when the guns were fired. If there had been any sort of projectile, expoding or not, the office buildings on the other side of the Thames would have been demolished. Alansplodge (talk) 23:06, 18 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The King might think this would not be a bad idea.^[6] ‑‑Lambiam 09:10, 19 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

What did Ibn Bassal feed his stallions?

The book Fifty Plants that Changed the Course of History (2010) discusses the method of Ibn Bassal for feeding stallions "corn" instead of hay to produce a certain kind of manure.[7] Of course, this was the 11th century, and "corn" wouldn't be introduced from the "New World" to Spain until the late 15th century. Is this an example of the word "corn" being used for "wheat" or some other grain? The book is written in British English. In other words, what did Bassal feed stallions instead of hay? Viriditas (talk) 22:22, 18 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

"Corn" in British English means any kind of cereal grain (wheat, barley, oats, rye, etc). New World corn is called maize (if fed to animals) or sweetcorn (if fed to humans). I think the use of "corn" here for cereals is now obsolescent to avoid confusion with the American usage. Alansplodge (talk) 22:47, 18 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you. If I paraphrase the stallion diet, can I say "Bassal fed his stallions cereal grain"? It would be nice to specify the type of grain. Viriditas (talk) 22:51, 18 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

My best Google search techniques failed to find anything (others may have more success). It may be that the original source did not specify. Alansplodge (talk) 22:57, 18 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

It's in the Dīwān al-filāha, but it's in Arabic. Viriditas (talk) 23:00, 18 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

ChatGPT insists the answer is barley, but I don't trust anything it says. With that said, would feeding stallions barley to produce heat-generating manure to keep plants warm from the bottom have any measurable difference between feeding stallions other types of grains? In other words, does the barley make a difference with the aerobic bacteria generating heat through decomposition? Do you generate more or less heat with barley than with other grains? ChatGPT says it is due to the high nutrient content of barley, which leads to more heat produced for the plants. Viriditas (talk) 23:07, 18 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Interestingly, this article says that barley is a major crop in Spain and was traditionally grown there for animal feed. Alansplodge (talk) 23:12, 18 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Oats are a more typical feed for horses than barley (at least in the English-speaking world), but that doesn't strictly mean that's what's being referenced. I'm not aware of any reason horses couldn't safely eat other grains. Even in the 19th century, IIRC, it was common to use "corn" to refer to cereal grains in general. I seem to recall an episode in Black Beauty where the same feed is referred to as "corn" and "oats" at different points in the same chapter. -- Avocado (talk) 23:17, 18 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Unless Ibn Bassal is taxonomically quite specific, his horse feed may have been any mixture of available cereals, the choice also being governed by market prices. Note also that corn can refer to the whole plant, and not necessarily just the grains, and a purely grain-based horse diet is probably not optimal, whether for the animal itself or for the fertilizing quality of its dung. ‑‑Lambiam 09:00, 19 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Even in the 19th century, IIRC, it was common to use "corn" to refer to cereal grains in general. I think that was the case even in the 20th Century, in the UK. Iapetus (talk) 10:17, 19 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

And even in the 21st. DuncanHill (talk) 11:20, 19 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Do Americans think the Corn Laws were about maize? DuncanHill (talk) 11:21, 19 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

February 19