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July 14

[edit]

GPS Coordinate source for mountain

[edit]

I was made aware of Om Parvat. Its article has a coordinate which differs from the coordinate provided at Kalapani territory. Both differ from the locations provided on Google Maps, OpenStreetMaps, and Bing Maps (all three of which use a different location). The article's coordinates seem the worst off, as all three map services show it within Kalapani. I'm looking for one+ RS that can be used to determine its actual location in order to update both articles. Jerod Lycett (talk) 19:56, 14 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

I am also interested in the outcome of this discussion as this is a problem I run into all the time. I just end up choosing a GPS coordinate that is tied to a sourced place name instead. Viriditas (talk) 21:28, 14 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
For that example, the info was added in early 2010. You could review that and see if whoever added it (and later changed it) is still active. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots21:47, 14 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
It may just be my idiosyncracy, but I tend to rely on OpenStreetMaps for the location of mountain peaks. I've made a slight tweak in the Om Parvat article so that the coordinates match OSM to the nearest second of latitude and longitude (which is our usual precision for such things). The coordinates for Om Parvat in the infobox map in Kalapani territory look fine to me. Deor (talk) 12:12, 15 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

July 15

[edit]

Second option of WP:DICTS

[edit]

Hopefully, this is a good place to ask; I looking for a second opinion regarding a source at Talk: Driving range#1929 first use. This might be a silly question. (I also left a note at the WikiProject). According to Merriam-Webster and the Oxford English Dictionary, the first known written use of the term "driving range" dates to 1929. However, I haven't been able to locate a proper source for the dating. The reason for my concern is due to WP:DICTS and WP:NOR. Issac I Navarro (talk) 23:37, 15 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

I know the Pico Fairway was from 1929 and unique in that it was not connected to a golf course. It was, therefore, called.a driving range as opposed to the previously common practice fairway many golf courses had. ~2026-39968-68 (talk) 00:36, 16 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
When I was finding sources and writing the the driving range article, I did come across that claim. However, that seems to be more hearsay, I was unable to find any credible source that backed up that claim besides word of mouth. Issac I Navarro (talk) 00:46, 16 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
https://www.golfhistoricalsociety.org/ghswordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Pico-Fairway-1929-Driving-Range.pdf This is all I found backing up the Pico Fairway was from 1929. When I went to that organization's website I was unable to find where they got that information. Issac I Navarro (talk) 00:49, 16 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
There is also https://waterandpower.org/museum/Early_City_Views%20(1925%20+)_2_of_8.html, however, their source is a Facebook post. Issac I Navarro (talk) 00:53, 16 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Are you looking for the source the OED uses? It's the Los Angeles Times, 17 April 1929. According to this search Page 47 "The Sunset Fields public golf course company has about decided to install a driving range on its property." DuncanHill (talk) 01:04, 16 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
@DuncanHill, I feel a tad silly, I must of missed that. Thank you. Issac I Navarro (talk) 01:07, 16 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
It sounds like they are using the term rather casually, as if it is already well-known. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots02:34, 16 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
It may well have been. It's just the first known use of it. If you can find an earlier, then write, with the details, to The Editor, The OED, Oxford, UK. DuncanHill (talk) 02:40, 16 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Or fill in this form. I do it all the time. --Antiquary (talk) 08:39, 16 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
I think that has been a bit of the headache that I have had when writing the page. Most of it's kinda of common knowledge to golf, an example is that before dedicated driving ranges golfer used fairways. The tricky part is that most information on the web is just not there. I have a number of golf books that I will have to take a look at over the coming days. However, the notion of the early days of driving ranges is not really all documented in most golf books. As it's kinda of a niche subject. Issac I Navarro (talk) 03:43, 16 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Checking Newspapers.com (pay site), the first reference to "golf driving range" I'm seeing is in Lancaster, PA, on October 1, 1924. Also, in the L.A. Herald Examiner for April 16, 1929, p.19, a day before the L.A. Times item cited above, is this blurb: "Golf driving ranges are becoming more and more popular. There is one, doing an excellent business, located on West Pico boulevard. Earl Neitzel has opened such a range on Manchester avenue not far from Western. There are many other ranges located in and around Los Angeles. Ralph Heath now passes on the information that Sunset Fields will probably install a practice range in connection with its public golf layout. Many players [like] to step out and hit a bucketful of practice balls before [playing] around the course. The idea is a sound one and there is every reason for it to succeed." The editorial comment at the end could be read as implying it's at least a relatively recent phenomenon. [The bracketed items failed to print for whatever reason.] ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots03:58, 16 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Thank you, I appreciate the help, in tracking it down. As stated above, I agree that it seems that driving ranges where more newer in the 20s. In the driving range article I was able to find sources and added: "In 1913, golf course architect Donald Ross converted three holes of the No. 1 course at Pinehurst Resort into a dedicated practice area known as "Maniac Hill."" I suppose the idea of haveing a dedicated golf practice area doesn't seem all that novel today. That might be a contributing reason to why there is not many sources from 21st century that document this subject clear. Issac I Navarro (talk) 04:42, 16 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

July 17

[edit]

Testosterone screening

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This is regarding Pete Hegseth's scheme to run testosterone tests on military males over 30. Is that already done as part of routine medical checkups? Wondering if his proposal is redundant. Also I'd expect levels normally vary with mood and so on. So I'm puzzled. Not seeking medical advice but if I was, Secretary Hegseth doesn't sound like a good source of it. Thanks. ~2026-40273-93 (talk) 21:58, 17 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

You are 100% correct: Hegseth is a terrible source of useful thought. DOR (ex-HK) (talk) 01:24, 18 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Next thing will be a phallometric test.  ​‑‑Lambiam 04:36, 18 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
On Hegseth? HiLo48 (talk) 05:00, 18 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Now I'm wondering if Hegseth is getting TRT and also whether TRT is something like anabolic steroids, i.e. with the potential of causing various mental health issues if done improperly. ~2026-40555-75 (talk) 21:29, 18 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Which raises the question: do men with smaller penises tend to join the military in larger numbers to compensate for their insecurity? Viriditas (talk) 01:00, 25 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
No, they run for political office. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots03:28, 25 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
He probably ran the idea past Robert Kennedy Jr first. You can certainly trust his medical and scientific credentials. </irony> -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 21:36, 18 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
RFK Jr's brain isn't even in as good a shape as his uncle John's is. --User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 18:44, 22 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
This is in reference to American military. I served 8 years and I had a medical screening before I began boot camp. That was it. The only medical I saw after that was getting shots to go to other countries. There was no such thing as a routine medical checkup. ~2026-35239-54 (talk) 11:37, 20 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

July 18

[edit]

On which Swiss road are the 30 km/h minimum speed limit traffic signs actually installed?

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Hi everyone! In which area of Switzerland can you find the road signs for both the beginning () and the end () of the minimum speed limit of 30 km/h, because up until now I haven't been able to find even one? Thanks! DanielParoliere (talk) 13:32, 18 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

@DanielParoliere First of all, what makes you think any minimum speed limits are applied in Switzerland? Shantavira|feed me 08:14, 19 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Well, at any rate our article on Road signs in Switzerland and Liechtenstein agrees with him. --Antiquary (talk) 08:27, 19 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Fair enough, although of course a sign being described as mandatory doesn't mean that sign must be used somewhere. Minimum speeds are not mentioned in Speed limits in Switzerland or Motorways of Switzerland. From my holidays in Switzerland I recall it being a bit hilly and traffic speeds consequently quite leisurely. Shantavira|feed me 09:06, 19 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Those minimum speed signs are almost non-existent in the UK. There isn't an official minimum speed limit on motorways per se, but I guess its something like 45mph (yes, UK roads are still (mostly) imperial, equal to 64km) before you could be charged with careless or even dangerous driving. Keep in mind that HGVs are hard limited to 55mph (90km) due to a requirement for speed limiters. This is why I normally do about 62 mph as a comfortable speed, not to mention its also at 100km. The only one I could find in the UK, is on the approach to the Blackwall Tunnel in London, which is 10mph (I had to use the full link due to the backlist) JuniperChill (talk) 12:03, 27 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
The category commons:Category:2.31 (road sign, Switzerland) shows some images of signs for a 50 km/h minimum speed. That doesn't mean that a 30 km/h minimum speed sign actually exists, nor that Swiss traffic law specifically defines a sign for a minimum speed of 30 km/h. It's just that a round blue sign with a white number means that the number gives the minimum speed in km/h. Federal, cantonal and municipal authorities can use that sign with any number they like. PiusImpavidus (talk) 10:20, 19 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
So you will be removing the '30 minimum' and '30 minimum ends' signs from the article Antiquary links?
Swiss regulations regarding road signs must comply with the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, which Switzerland has ratified. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} ~2026-36805-68 (talk) 13:44, 19 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
?? Maybe we misunderstand each other. Anyway, it doesn't matter. PiusImpavidus (talk) 09:37, 20 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
A blue disk with a white number indicating a mandatory minimum speed (in km/h unless ststed otherwise) is also present in the articles Road signs in Austria, Road signs in Bulgaria, Road signs in Croatia, Road signs in Denmark, Road signs in Estonia, Road signs in Finland, Road signs in France, Road signs in Germany, Road signs in Greece, Road signs in Hungary, Road signs in Italy, Road signs in Latvia, Road signs in Lithuania, Road signs in Malta, Road signs in Moldova, Road signs in Montenegro, Road signs in North Macedonia, Road signs in Poland, Road signs in Portugal, Road signs in Romania, Road signs in Russia, Road signs in Serbia, Road signs in Slovakia, Road signs in Slovenia, Road signs in Spain, Road signs in the United Kingdom (in mph), Road signs in Turkey, and Road signs in Wales (in mph).
The mere fact that Road signs in Greece includes sign K-42α (just to pick one) does, of course, not imply that this sign is currently in actual use somewhere. In fact, I don't think I have ever seen it, but that could also be because it was too foggy. On the other hand, even if it is not used today, authorities might install it somewhere tomorrow.  ​‑‑Lambiam 20:36, 19 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

July 19

[edit]

Unbalanced 5-handed rock paper scissors

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Has anyone ever put forth a rock paper scissors variation where an Item X beats all three traditional hands, and an Item Y beats Item X but is beaten by all three traditional hands? And if so, what's known about the game theory of it? ~2026-40293-60 (talk) 09:27, 19 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

A player's selecting their next move can be viewed as a possibly two-step process:
  1. The player chooses T (tradional), X, or Y.
  2. If X or Y was chosen, this is the move to be played. Otherwise, T was chosen, and now the player chooses between rock, paper, and scissors.
Clearly, considering the symmetry in the pay-outs, the three T choices are equivalent. An opponent such as an AI can detect subtle non-randomness in the choices and use these to their advantage. But, however strong the opponent, no strategy of theirs can beat a player's using purely random choice in Step 2, with all three alternatives having a probability of being selected of 13.
Now let us rename T, X and Y to meta-rock, meta-paper and meta-scissors. Then meta-scissors beats meta-paper beats meta-rock beats meta-scissors. Sounds familiar? From a game-theoretic perspective, the meta-choice making in Step 1 is equivalent to the choice making in the traditional game.
Combining this, the following gives optimal play against an arbitrarily strong opponent: Choose at random between:
  • rock with probability 19;
  • paper with probability 19;
  • scissors with probability 19;
  • X with probability 13;
  • Y with probability 13.
 ​‑‑Lambiam 19:06, 19 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
A perverted version of rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock! Stone Rock the blasphemer! Clarityfiend (talk) 13:36, 22 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
One wonders what the hand shapes are. The variant of the OP is actually isomorphic to Rock-paper-scissors-fire-water.  ​‑‑Lambiam 05:22, 23 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

July 20

[edit]

Transcontinental countries

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I ask it again after having asked this already in March 2025.

The article Transcontinental country does not mention Armenia and Cyprus at all. Unlike Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan, which, acording to the most common definition, are mostly in Asia with some of them in Europe, Armenia and Cyprus are entirely in Asia. All the five countries mentioned can be considered to be entirely in Europe or entirely in Asia, but only Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan can be considered to be partially in Europe and partially in Asia. So, can a term "transcontinental country" be used for a country than can be considered to be entirely part of one continent or entirely part of the other, but not partially of one and partially of the other at the same time?

And why of the lines depicted in this picture, the line B is the most commonly used for the east-west separation, and the line F for the north-south separation, and not the line D for the east-west separation, and the line J for the north-south separation, which are the definitions that I use? And does there exist a definition that places all of Turkey and Cyprus in Europe (which do not appear in that map)? --40bus (talk) 20:26, 20 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

What about Russia? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots21:54, 20 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Duly mentioned in the article in question. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} ~2026-36805-68 (talk) 03:14, 21 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Armenia is mentioned: "Other conventions separating Asia and Europe put different portions of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and the Russian area of the Caucasus in either continent."
Given that there are ten different dividing lines shown in the picture, why are you surprised that the two you happen to like do not have universal support. Each of them will have (or once had) arguments in their favour: clearly there is no single obvious answer. A great many things in the world are not clear cut, and or depend on the nature or context of the question being asked. Have you read The City & the City by China Miéville? ~2026-36805-68 (talk) 03:27, 21 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
If I say that Cyprus is European and everybody who claims it's Asian is wrong, then it isn't transcontinental, right? People being wrong doesn't change the nature of Cyprus. You could only say it's disputed-continental. Georgia, Azerbaijan etc. could be disputed-transcontinental.
What makes the whole thing terribly confusing is that the noun continent has several meanings, in particular 1, 2 and 3. My native language has separate words for all three, making the English usage even more confusing to me. Cyprus isn't on any continent (3), is a little continent (1) of its own and is part of a larger continent (2), which according to some is Asia (it's closer), according to others Europe (cultural reasons).
Defining a border between Europe and Asia is tricky. All suggestions seem to come down to segments of thalweg, segments of watershed and segments of political borders. Where using a thalweg or watershed, one may have to define a point that's on the border or a pair of points on opposite sides of the border to force it along a particular way. For example, the lowest path from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea gives border A, the additional condition that the border passes through the Surami Pass forces border H. Wherever the border changes from one type of segment to another, one has to define the arbitrary point where this happens. So, to put the border on the Caucasus watershed, one has to define two arbitrary points where the watershed reaches the Black and Caspian Seas, or a pair of rivers flowing into those seas. Which tells us why A is such a nice definition (it takes no arbitrary points), H is only a little worse (it's the lowest path when forcing it south of the Caucasus) and F, one of the more popular ones today, is more problematic as it relies on two arbitrary points. F seems to define the points as the westernmost point on the eastern shore of the Kerch Strait and the easternmost point of the Absheron Peninsula.
I'll leave to problems with the border along the Ural mountains as an exercise for OP. PiusImpavidus (talk) 20:23, 22 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
I think that the border running along the crest of Urals would be the best, since then all the land where the water flows into Caspian Sea via Volga would be part of Europe, and all the land where the water flows into Arctic Ocean via Ob would be part of Asia. And why aren't Europe and Asia always considered a one continent, Eurasia and never two continents? --40bus (talk) 20:46, 23 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Cyprus is a bit complicated. As noted in Geography of Cyprus, it's geographically closest to Asia, but politically it's part of Europe. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots02:34, 23 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
That's an artefact of the fact that most islands are not part of any continent. The land mass of the world does not completely consist of continents. So, any attempt to categorise the entire world by continents will necessarily include some arbitrary decisions, which will never have universal agreement. The Europe/Asia split is the classic case. Another is Australia: when I was in primary school the received wisdom was that we were geographically part of South-East Asia, hence Asia. But with our post-1788 history of white dominance and chromatic exclusion and our lingering adherence to Mother Britain, that notion never went any further than the textbooks. We're "wiser" now: we're our own continent. I wonder what the next generation will be taught. -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 21:50, 23 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Humans tend to paint themselves into a corner when they try a nice and neat definition that doesn't quite conform to reality. Kind of like when certain eggheads decided Pluto was no longer a planet. Pluto didn't change, only the artificial definition changed. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots23:29, 23 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
The 'decision' was actually a vote at a sizable international meeting, and the definition wasn't so much 'changed' as 'formulated'; previously there had been no formal definition of what a planet was, just a mutating 'tradition'.
Originally the Sun and Moon were considered (by the ancient Greeks, etc.) to be planets ("wanderers" – in the sky against the 'fixed' stars), and the Earth not.
In the early 19th century the 8 then-recognised planets were joined first by Ceres and then by a growing number of similar bodies, until it became obvious that there were likely hundreds if not thousands of similar bodies, so they were reclassified 'minor planets' or 'asteroids'
When "Planet X' was still being searched for on the basis of (erroneous) theories of its gravitational pull on Neptune, it was estimated as having 7 times Earth's mass. At Pluto's discovery this dropped, due to its appearance, to about the same mass: we now know it has 0.002 Earth masses; if its true dimensions had been known from the outset, it would never have been recognised as a 'planet' in the first place.
As increasingly more such bodies beyond Neptune were discovered, some a little bigger than Pluto, it became obvious that we had another 'asteroid' problem, so they were re-designated Trans Neptunian or Kuiper Belt Objects, and the class of similar small round(ish) bodies generally were classified as 'dwarf planets'.
The actual parameters of what currently constitutes a 'planet', hastily adopted, are less than wholly satisfactory, and include a criterion that is both dependent on the Solar System's particular state at this point of its long evolution, and is subject to subjective interpretation: they also, rather unfortunately, restrict the term to bodies in our Solar System – those round other stars are, strictly, currently 'exoplanets'. I expect these parameters to be modified in due course.
My personal interests in astronomy lean more towards planetology than orbital dynamics: I am happy to accept anything as a planet that is big enough to be roughly round under its own gravity, which includes several asteroids, KBOs, and moons, though if the latter are less than half as large in diameter as the planet they accompany, by me they can retain their lunar status as well: this incidentally makes Pluto–Charon a double planet. [/rant] {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} ~2026-41275-62 (talk) 01:44, 24 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Yup. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots01:52, 24 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

July 25

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Scary Story

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Hi! I'm looking for a scary story i read somewhere. It was about a boy who was contacted (via e-mail?) by twins (both girls) who tell him that they lived in his house before him and were murdered. At the end, they tell him to look in the closet if he doesn't believe them... ~2026-41268-79 (talk) 02:52, 25 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

It's The Smith Sisters, found here. Matt Deres (talk) 14:48, 25 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
This version is different. There is another version: John's parents were murdered and skinned, but he survived. Which version is the original? Stanleykswong (talk) 17:19, 25 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Here is a version with skinned parents. Many versions of this urban legend have been circulated on the Internet, starting in 2005; see "Did the Ghosts of Two Teens Return to Kill and Skin Their Parents?" on Snopes. The origin may have gotten lost in the mists of history.  ​‑‑Lambiam 13:34, 26 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Go here https://www.scaryforkids.com/smith-sisters-murdered-anonymously/ if you want to read the story the way it was meant to. ~2026-35599-34 (talk) 19:47, 26 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
The story is set in Plainfield, Wisconsin, which was Ed Gein's bailiwick. That might be more than a coincidence. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots21:00, 26 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

Numbers vs. dates

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Do any people, or at least commonly, associate some three-and four digit numbers with date numbers formed by the day and month in either order, such as the number 257 to today (25/7) or 725 to 7/25 where it is the month first? --40bus (talk) 20:51, 25 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

Never. —scs (talk) 23:44, 25 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Hardly ever. —Antonissimo (talk) 01:32, 26 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Insane idea. DOR (ex-HK) (talk) 15:44, 27 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
The number 420 is associated with 4:20 pm as well as 4/20 (April 20). And some people have wondered if there is a connection between 911, the North-American emergency telephone number, and 9/11 (the date of the September 11 attacks).[1][2][3]  ​‑‑Lambiam 04:37, 26 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Why 4:20 pm instead of 4:20 am? Stanleykswong (talk) 22:39, 26 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Probably because most reasonable people aren’t awake at that hour. (Unlike, I suspect, a lot of us here at the reference desk, myself included.) Cheers, 𝔰𝔥𝔞𝔡𝔢𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔯 (𝔱𝔞𝔩𝔨) (any/all) In solidarity. 03:17, 28 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Also Star Wars Day, "May the Fourth Be With You". Didn't you already ask this just a couple of weeks ago? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots06:05, 26 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
When I think the number 257, I think the date 25/7. When I think the number 267, I think the date 26/7. When I think the number 277, I think the date 27/7. Do any people think so? --40bus (talk) 06:24, 26 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Just you. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots07:30, 26 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
So when you think 269, you think 26 September, which is also the 269'th day of a normal (non-leap) year.  ​‑‑Lambiam 13:20, 26 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
You obviously turn 257 into twenty-five seven. Someone else might say two fifty-seven. I'm a veteran. To avoid confusion, I was trained to never combine numbers. I say two five seven. There is far less chance of that becoming a date in my head. ~2026-35239-54 (talk) 11:35, 27 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
There's an old nurd joke: "Why can't computer programmers tell the difference between Halloween and Christmas? Because OCT 31 = DEC 25." —scs (talk) 10:48, 26 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
I myself celebrate June 10 as "Steve's height day", because I'm 6'10". —scs (talk) 10:49, 26 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
So the bottom line is, no, it's not just you; people do this all the time! —scs (talk) 10:51, 26 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
According to your notation, does 121 represent 1/21 or 12/2? Stanleykswong (talk) 22:37, 26 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
The EU emergency number 112 comes into mind, as it represents 11 February, which represents the date format used there (and most of the world). JuniperChill (talk) 11:32, 27 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

July 26

[edit]

Can daily word puzzles be more effective than reading Wikipedia for vocabulary?

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I know reading Wikipedia articles is often recommended for improving vocabulary and general knowledge. However, I've been spending time on daily word games like Spelling Bee and Waffle and wonder whether they can be just as effective or perhaps even better for learning new words. Has anyone come across research or personal experience comparing these approaches? Johnsmithwaff (talk) 10:51, 26 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

Suppose Spelling Bee serves up A•B•I•O•L•N•R, with the O being central. Being an expert on anthraquinones, you enter BARBALOIN, an existing word, useful to know and a pangram to boot. It is rejected – bummer. Another pangram using these seven letters is BARONIAL. Now assume this is a word of whose existence you weren't aware. You'll find it the next day on yesterday's answers, but without a clue as to what it means and how it is used. Just knowing that some word exists, without knowing how it is used, is not very helpful (except for Scrabble players – but this one is a very low scoring word). On Wikipedia you'll find information on AZIMUTH, BRAHMIN, CELADON, ..., ZYMOGEN, embedded in a context showing how the word is used and relating it to more general knowledge. See also Wiki rabbit hole and some user's lists: User:Gobonobo/rabbit holes and User:EF5/Rabbit holes on Wikipedia. To get going, there is always Random page, linked to from the side bar when using a browser.  ​‑‑Lambiam 12:47, 26 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Beware of Wiki rabbit holes. You can easily get stuck in one for hours. Shantavira|feed me 07:54, 27 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

July 27

[edit]

High schools in China focussing on natural sciences

[edit]

Hello,

I would like to know, where it says whether a specific Chinese high school focusses on natural sciences. Asfar as I know, in higher secondary School most students focus on either social sciences or natural sciences. Kind regards Sarcelles (talk) 16:23, 27 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

Education in China is a good source for learning about education in China. ~2026-41824-87 (talk) 16:40, 27 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Do you mean schools like Chengdu Wenjiang Science and Technology Innovation High School (成都文江区科技创新中学)? Stanleykswong (talk) 21:31, 27 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
In China, some provincial key or demonstrative high schools include terms such as "scientific and technological innovation" or "experimental" in their official names. These labels are regulated and typically indicate that the school operates specialized programs, often with a strong emphasis on natural sciences, technology, and curriculum innovation. Stanleykswong (talk) 21:41, 27 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Thank you for your messsages. Not only schools with such names focus on sciences in their final examination.
Kind regards Sarcelles (talk) 06:57, 28 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

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