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Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2016 June 19

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June 19

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The dustbin inside the ladie's restroom...

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  • Is there a possibility to open the disposable sanitary dustbin near the bowl I'm talking about the garbage cans with removal fuse made of ABC plastic (which is indestructible!), if your mobile phone has fallen inside this dustbin? the cover with the removal lock is not removable all the garbage can is made from one piece. (it seems so to me).
  • Why is it made of ABC plastic if the dustbin is only one-way and when it is full, the owner of the toilets have to buy a new one? (cost eerie) --Einwegmuelltonne (talk) 14:33, 19 June 2016 (UTC)[reply]
ABS plastic, incidentally. If it is one solid piece (and many such receptacles are), it'll have to be cut open - you'll need to contact the owner of the facilities to arrange this if you have dropped your phone in it. Tevildo (talk) 18:23, 19 June 2016 (UTC)[reply]
To give a likely answer to the second question (based on my experience in Facilities Management work) . . . Typically, such receptacles are serviced by a sanitation company (who will likely empty other waste receptacles and replenish any automatic air fresheners) with whom the proprietors have a contract. Often the full bin will be replaced by an empty one, and the full one taken back to the depot where it will be emptied and cleaned for re-use. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 185.74.232.130 (talk) 14:02, 20 June 2016 (UTC)[reply]
The ones we have at work appear sealed but are opened with a plastic key by the lady or man who comes around every so often to change the polythene liner inside. It is possible to extract items through the lid with a lot of perseverance, rather like getting coins out of a piggy bank, except that you need disposable gloves and a strong-ish stomach. Alansplodge (talk) 21:23, 20 June 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Just be careful. Sometimes people use those for sharps disposal as well. Dealing with a needle stick will suck a lot. Just talk to the facilities people or find a janitor. I doubt you're the first person to drop a phone in there. —/Mendaliv//Δ's/ 01:22, 21 June 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Question regarding a quote

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Who said the famous quote- Nothing is impossible, the word itself says i'm possible ? This is not a homework question so someone please answer my question.sahil shrestha 15:19, 19 June 2016 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sahil shrestha (talkcontribs)

I have heard this is from napoleon--Einwegmuelltonne (talk) 15:35, 19 June 2016 (UTC)[reply]
That would be surprising as the pun only really works in English (though Napoléon apparently did start learning English in exile, see napoleon.org, so I guess nothing's impossible). Most quote books and self-help books ascribe it to Audrey Hepburn, but Wikiquote, for example, has moved it from her entry for the lack of a reliable, precise and verifiable source, see the corresponding talk page at Wikiquote. ---Sluzzelin talk 15:47, 19 June 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Teleport your body 60 miles using only the power of your mind. Prove that something is impossible. Learn Portuguese in a brain dead coma. Run so fast that no one can see you. Make a rock so big you can't lift it and then lift it. Read a library in one second. Prove that 90% of all Nigerian prince offers are real. Make Microsoft have never existed and then make it exist just for the heck of it. Knock out the strongest gorilla with bare hands (with one slap). Win every Mega Millions lottery of the 21st century while being born in 2016. Sleep with Cleopatra. Release a kraken. Transmute gold (alchemy only, no particle accelerators). Prove the maximum number of angels that can fit on a pin then turn yourself into angels to demonstrate. Build the first steam engine. Beat Julius Caesar in a gladiator match. All challenges have the plain meaning of the English language of right now. In the event of ambiguity the meaning in the American dialect controls. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 23:40, 19 June 2016 (UTC)[reply]

An early version of this appears in Lifetime Speaker's Encyclopedia, by Jacob Braude (1962): "Impossible! Accept that, and you will never attempt to win through. Spell the word "I'm possible," and you will find that what others thought impossible is only more difficult." This is from the brief excerpt available in Google Books, so I can't tell if it is original with Mr. Braude. John M Baker (talk) 00:25, 20 June 2016 (UTC)[reply]
It should be noted that many aphorisms like this, as well as other forms of "folk wisdom" don't necessarily have traceable origins to a specific author; at best we can find the earliest recorded use of the phrase, it doesn't mean that the phrase was created by that person. --Jayron32 02:51, 20 June 2016 (UTC)[reply]