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September 20

Single phase, dual capacitor, external reversing

We have a 240v single phase motor. We have an external 4 lead feed to the motor junction box. It has start winding and capacitor, run winding and capacitor, plus an electronic starting relay. I can't find a diagram anywhere that shows how to reverse the run winding. I think the start winding is normally reversed unless there is a run capacitor. ~2026-50922-93 (talk) 17:32, 20 September 2026 (UTC)

I forgot to mention the reversing is done with two × three pole contactors. ~2026-50922-93 (talk) 18:08, 20 September 2026 (UTC)

September 22

Timestamps

Are timestamps ever used to show local time with the letter in the local time zone? For example, the current time here as a timestamp would be 2026-09-22T08:00:00C, since the time zone we are currently is UTC+3, which is indicated by the letter C. I have never seen any other letter than Z for UTC used in timestamps. --40bus (talk) 04:59, 22 September 2026 (UTC)

Where do you see that? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 05:29, 22 September 2026 (UTC)

In various machine-readable contexts, such as in APIs and synoptic weather observations, as well as METAR messages. There I see timestamps in UTC time, but do any timestamps ever use local time? --40bus (talk) 08:28, 22 September 2026 (UTC)

In Nautical/Military UTC time, J is optionally used for "local time". ~2026-38520-51 (talk) 13:02, 23 September 2026 (UTC)

The single letter is Nautical time. Except for Z/Zulu, I've never heard it used (but I'm not a sailor). Alien878 (talk) 10:40, 22 September 2026 (UTC)

Profiles of senior high schools in China

Hello, áre there different subject profiles of high schools in China? Where does it say, which particular schools are part of this kind of school? Kind regards Sarcelles (talk) 17:55, 22 September 2026 (UTC)

Can you explain what you mean by "subject profiles" of high schools? This is not as far as I know a term used by Wikipedia (as you will know given your long history here), and I cannot make sense of it in the context. Do you mean types of schools (as in, some being general, some specialising in particular areas like music or crafts, etc.)? {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} ~2026-41275-62 (talk) 00:42, 23 September 2026 (UTC)

In China's high school education system, students typically need to select specific academic tracks—such as the traditional division into liberal arts and sciences (called 文理分科) or the "subject combination" (選科組合) model under the new college entrance examination system—based on their personal interests and plans for university admission. Stanleykswong (talk) 07:36, 23 September 2026 (UTC)

In addition to the standard academic tracks, high schools in China also offer specialized classes for students with specific talents. One such category is the "Academic Competition Track" (focusing on subjects like mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, etc.) Students in this track delve into the advanced content of academic Olympiads alongside their regular high school curriculum, aiming for admission to top universities via the "Strong Foundation Plan" (強基計劃) or through direct recommendation. Another category is the "Arts and Sports Track" (the students are called 藝體特長生), focusing on areas such as fine arts, music, dance, broadcasting and hosting, and athletics. Students here must balance academic coursework—where requirements are typically lower than those for general students—with extremely intensive specialized skills training, seeking admission through specialized arts or sports entrance examinations. However, it needs to note that, in recent years, China's Ministry of Education has implemented sweeping reforms to the admissions policies for students with special talents in the arts and athletics; the previous policy allowing admission to prestigious universities with lower test scores (known as 降分上名校) has been significantly tightened. Stanleykswong (talk) 07:48, 23 September 2026 (UTC)

Thank you for your messages. I mean schools specialising in particular fields. One such category is the "Academic Competition Track" (focusing on subjects like mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, etc.) There are different kinds of final school-leaving exams. Sarcelles (talk) 18:31, 23 September 2026 (UTC)

High school students on the "Academic Competition Track" (競賽生) and "Strong Foundation Plan" must still participate in the final school-leaving exams (Gaokao, 高考), and they take the exact same exam papers as regular students in their respective provinces. Stanleykswong (talk) 09:14, 27 September 2026 (UTC)

Thank you for your answer. According to article Gaokao, students can choose the Natural Sciences track. Sarcelles (talk) 16:44, 28 September 2026 (UTC)

Origin of the Blue Raspberry flavour

Ever since about mid-2017, I discovered this flavour called blue raspberry after being handed a popsicle of said flavour, this has made me curious ever since–why are raspberry flavoured sweets produced specifically in the colour blue, and not in a shade of red, and what's the origin behind it? Goats 601 (talk) 22:59, 22 September 2026 (UTC)

We have an article Blue raspberry flavor which may help. DuncanHill (talk) 23:04, 22 September 2026 (UTC)

But what's the historical reason for the selection of the colour blue? Goats 601 (talk) 02:00, 23 September 2026 (UTC)

The blue color was used to differentiate raspberry-flavored foods from those for cherry, watermelon, and strawberry, each of which is typically red or pink. The use of blue dye is also partially due to the FDA's 1976 banning of Red Dye No. 2, which had previously been commonly used in raspberry-flavored products. Red was overexposed, so to speak, with too many flavors using that color; so when a new blue dye came along it got associated with raspberry which had been more marginal among the red/pink flavors. Eluchil404 (talk) 02:17, 23 September 2026 (UTC)

I guess differentiating raspberry from blueberry was considered unimportant? HierophantOfOmens (talk) 23:48, 25 September 2026 (UTC)

Who uses blueberry flavor? (I tried Trader Joe's blueberry juice once, and found it bitter.) —Antonissimo (talk) 02:50, 26 September 2026 (UTC)

In some of those old-fashioned diners where you get buttermilk pancakes (or some imitation thereof) it's standard to have two flavors of syrup on the table in jars with metal lids that you open by pressing a tab with your thumb. The flavors are usually brown corn syrup with a trace of maple flavor, and some sort of purple thing that I think they pretend is blueberry, though I suppose now that I think of it that they could be pretending it's blackberry or boysenberry. --Trovatore (talk) 03:18, 26 September 2026 (UTC)

September 24

Bridal practices

I'm reading a biography of Frances Partridge. In the section about the early years of her parents' married life, it says: As a bride, Mam had to make and receive endless calls and wear her bridal dress to dinner. ("Mam" was how Frances called her mother.)

This was referring not just to the evening of her wedding day but to a considerable period of time afterwards. But the period is left unspecified: days? weeks? months? How long does a newly-married woman remain a "bride"? I've never heard of the above-mentioned practice of wearing the bridal dress on numerous occasions after the wedding. The biographer just states this as an unremarkable detail that her readers would understand. But I don't understand it. What's the explanation? -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 20:14, 24 September 2026 (UTC)

Unlike 19th-century American bridal dresses, made as expensive and as heavy with rich and costly lace as the bride's family could afford, English bridal dresses were relatively simple, aiming more at elegance. Still, the bridal dress constituted a considerable part of the wardrobe a bride brought in. This together leads me to the theory that Mam wore her bridal dress as a matter of money-saving practicality, it being simple enough to be worn for these dinners and not really usable for other purposes.  ​‑‑Lambiam 20:57, 24 September 2026 (UTC)

Some traditional costumes for women display their status, for example in Japan married and single women wear different styles of kimono. Such societies would understandably disapprove of a bride reverting to her pre-marriage dress. Frances Partridge is quoted speaking of her mother Margaret Anna né Lloyd and family standing for "class distinctions courteously observed" - Gordon N. Bergquist (1982). "Essay: Love in Bloomsbury". Magill's Literary Annual. Salem Press. I find it understandable that Frances would have recorded her mother, an ardent sufragist, railing against social categorisation of women by their dress. ~2026-39925-22 (talk) 10:13, 26 September 2026 (UTC)

• The absence of any compelling explanation from my esteemed colleagues, combined with my frustratingly fruitless further forays into google and AI land, suggest to me that the practice to which the biographer alludes is unknown to history. Thanks for your contributions. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 11:51, 2 October 2026 (UTC)

Resolved

Only just noticed this. @Lambiam: "This together leads me to the theory that Mam wore her bridal dress as a matter of money-saving practicality" - but T. H. Marshall in our article William Marshall characterises the family as "intellectually and artistically cultured and financially well-endowed". That suggests to me that 1) the dress wasn't a matter of wearing what you could for economy's sake, and 2) they weren't noticeably eccentric, which cuts out some weird familial tradition. The giving and receiving of calls after marriage would have had a fairly-well defined period, perhaps something like an Enquire Within Upon Everything would tell you (as I recall, they have instructions for the distribution of cards after moving to a neighbourhood, periods of mourning, etc).

The dress is puzzling - was there a movement for practical wedding dress that could be adapted to evening wear? A wealthy and cultured family could indulge in that without attracting too much comment, and dress reform was a fad of the times. DuncanHill (talk) 12:51, 2 October 2026 (UTC)

This from the Bowes Museum talks of dresses being re-used for formal wear, altered for pregnancy, etc. DuncanHill (talk) 12:57, 2 October 2026 (UTC)

Oldest prisoner ever

Who is the oldest person to have ever been a prisoner (not necessarily while incarcerated)?

Can anyone beat this man?

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/21727/albert-house

106 years and almost 10 months.

Political prisoners and concentration camp victims might need to be excluded from this. ~2026-51245-33 (talk) 23:08, 24 September 2026 (UTC)

What have you in mind with the parenthesis? —Antonissimo (talk) 00:27, 25 September 2026 (UTC)

I mean that they were in prison while younger but then got released and lived to an extremely old age outside of prison, not in prison. ~2026-51245-33 (talk) 20:47, 25 September 2026 (UTC)

Probably that they also might have been briefly in prison once, like for a minor thing when they were young, and then died, after a long and productive life, at age 108, beating Bill Wallace. Obviously, the information that they had been in prison at all may not have been recorded in their obit.  ​‑‑Lambiam 06:53, 25 September 2026 (UTC)

A former prisoner living almost until age 108 is very impressive. ~2026-51245-33 (talk) 20:49, 25 September 2026 (UTC)

But he was surpassed by Brij Bihari Pandey.  ​‑‑Lambiam 06:00, 26 September 2026 (UTC)

Polska - (Reference desk „pl.wikipedia.org” jest zamknięty, SORY!) Która z tych 2 stron internetowych jest prawdziwą Fundacją Auxilium?

Dzień dobry, przepraszam bardzo, Reference desk polskiej Wikipedii (pl.wikipedia.org) został zamknięty, czy mogę napisać po polsku, aby zapytać, czy w sprawie numeru pomocy, którego naprawdę potrzebuję, a który został mi polecony przez stronę internetową, której[numer pomocy, a nie ta strona internetowa!] adres URL kończy się /kończył się na 1815.pl, a która obecnie przekierowuje na „auxilium.pl”, czy rzeczywiście była to strona, którą mi polecono, ponieważ Wikidata przypisuje tej fundacji adres URL „https://www.auxilium-fundacja.org.pl”, który należy do innej strony podającej się za Fundację Auxilium, więc zastanawiam się, która z tych dwóch stron podszywa się pod drugą? Nawet jeśli jedna z nich jest tą, do której zostaje się przekierowanym po wpisaniu „1815.pl”, nigdy nie wiadomo – nazwa domeny mogła zostać wykupiona...~2026-51580-89 (talk) 23:43, 24 September 2026 (UTC)

Machine translation: Good morning, sorry, Reference desk of Polish Wikipedia (pl.wikipedia.org) has been closed, can I write in Polish to ask if about the help number I really need and which was recommended to me by the website, whose [help number, not this website!] the URL ends / ended at 1815.pl, and which currently redirects to “auxilium.pl”, was it really a website that was recommended to me, because Wikidata assigns this foundation the URL address “https://www.auxilium-fundacja.org.pl”, which belongs to another website posing as the Auxilium Foundation, so I wonder which of these two pages is impersonating Even if one of them is the one to which you are redirected after entering “1815.pl”, you never know – the domain name may have been purchased... —Antonissimo (talk) 00:28, 25 September 2026 (UTC)

Odwiedzając stronę auxilium.pl, trafiamy na inną stronę internetową, prowadzoną przez inną organizację, niż w przypadku www.auxilium-fundacja.org.pl.

• Strona internetowa: auxilium.pl
  • Operator: Fundacja „AUXILIUM”, Tarnów, Polska (KRS 0000773804)
  • Cel działalności: pomoc osobom doświadczającym trudności lub kryzysów
• Strona internetowa: www.auxilium-fundacja.org.pl
  • Operator: Fundacja Pomocy Osobom Niepełnosprawnym oraz Dzieciom i Młodzieży „AUXILIUM”, Bochnia, Polska (KRS 0000410419)
  • Cel działalności: pomoc osobom ze szczególnymi potrzebami

 ​‑‑Lambiam 06:38, 25 September 2026 (UTC)

Machine translation: Visiting the auxilium.pl website leads to a different site, operated by a different organization than the one behind www.auxilium-fundacja.org.pl.

Website: auxilium.pl

Operator: "AUXILIUM" Foundation, Tarnów, Poland (KRS 0000773804)

Mission: assisting individuals facing difficulties or crises

Website: www.auxilium-fundacja.org.pl

Operator: "AUXILIUM" Foundation for Assisting People with Disabilities, Children, and Youth, Bochnia, Poland (KRS 0000410419)

Mission: assisting individuals with special needs ~2026-39925-22 (talk) 09:03, 26 September 2026 (UTC)

September 25

Looking for a DOS F1 quiz game

Hi everyone! A friend of mine told me that when he was a child, he had a very old 1980s computer. He had a 5.25-inch floppy disk containing a Formula 1 quiz game running in MS-DOS mode, which covered the years from 1974 up to 1988-1989, but he can't remember the title anymore. In some of the questions, the game also displayed national flags to help identify the drivers' nationalities. I haven't been able to find this game anywhere on the internet. Could you help me identify the name of this very rare DOS game? Thanks! DanielParoliere (talk) 19:56, 25 September 2026 (UTC)

There was a game that did come on 5.25 inch floppy called Gerhard Berger's Formula 1 Quiz. The problem is that it is an early 90s game and it was primarily for the Commodore 64, but there were certainly ports to MS-DOS. At that time, games tended to get ported all over. But, it clearly isn't an 80s quiz game. ~2026-46630-01 (talk) 13:07, 28 September 2026 (UTC)

If the quiz covered up to 1989, having the game released in the early 90s doesn't sound crazy to me. Matt Deres (talk) 02:02, 30 September 2026 (UTC)

October 1

Fun Facts About the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election

If John Kerry had won Ohio in 2004, he would have won the presidency—and here’s my point: is it possible that Minnesota’s mysterious “faithless” presidential elector, had Kerry won, would have correctly cast his electoral vote for Kerry? This is just my personal opinion, but the elector—probably influenced by the defeat in the November popular vote, where it was clear that Kerry had already lost the Electoral College—ended up filling out his ballot carelessly. Something he probably—who knows—wouldn’t have done had the Democratic candidate won. Could you share your thoughts on this? Thank you.

~2026-52702-80 (talk) 20:31, 1 October 2026 (UTC)

We don't do speculation, hypotheticals, counter-factuals and the like here.
(Now please welcome a bunch of people who make up their own rules as they go along.) -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 22:13, 1 October 2026 (UTC)

You rang? --Trovatore (talk) 00:46, 2 October 2026 (UTC)