Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2006 August 2

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Are chickens able to swim?[edit]

Yes, are chickens able to swim? This question really bugs me. I have heard reports of chickens drowning in buckets, but that makes them stupid, not unable to swim. Do YOU now? Jobjörn (Talk ° contribs) 02:54, 2 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

There are reports of human beings drowning in a couple of inches of water. Does that make them stupider than chickens?--Anchoress 04:32, 2 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, I would say so, unless there was some sort of mitigating circumstance involved. --69.138.61.168 05:09, 2 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The mitigating circumstance is usually that they are toddlers. But to answer the original question, no, chickens are not designed to swim and will stay out of water if they can avoid it. If you put a chicken in water it will no doubt make a valiant effort to struggle out, but it will not naturally swim, and it will probably drown simply due to panic. In fact, out of all the animal kingdom, land birds are some of the worst equipped when it comes to going for a dip, as their feathers will quickly become waterlogged.--Shantavira 10:19, 2 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Budgerigars are definitely unable to swim. I saw a BBC documentary a few years ago where they showed one drowning after falling into a shallow stream. Sparrows don't seem to be able to either - I once had to rescue one from a bucket in my garden. --Kurt Shaped Box 12:18, 2 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I originally read this as Bulgarians and was distraught. --Darkfred ^{Talk to me} 20:21, 2 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

You can also drown in your own vomit. Being able to swim doesn't always help. DirkvdM 12:38, 2 August 2006 (UTC)Chickens are smarter than most people![reply]

I can't think of many situations where being able to swim in vomit would help. --Daduzi ^talk 13:02, 2 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Then you just haven't been going to the right parties. --Allen 20:26, 2 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Deaths in Friends[edit]

Hi,

I have read your artical on the TV sitcom FRIENDS and i noticed that you have made a section on all the births that have happened in the 10 series of FRIENDS. I was wondering if you have a list of the people that have died on FRIENDS.

Thank You

Mikey

I doubt if we do, but if you want to start it here's the only 2 I can think of: Mr Heckles and Ross & Monica's sweetex collecting Nanna. AllanHainey 15:28, 2 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Add Phoebe's grandmother. Dead people referred to but not seen: one of Phoebe's mothers, Monica&Ross's aunt Silvia (Monica inherits the doll house). Are we counting animals? Ross's dog (though that was earlier), Old Yeller and Bambi :-) How sad is it that I know this? Weregerbil 17:40, 2 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Joey's agent, too...what's her name? and i second Weregerbil's sadness and apply it to myself. --198.125.178.207 21:48, 2 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Bambi didn't die it was his mum that was shot. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 22:57, 2 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

And Rachel's boss, shortly after promoting her but not telling anyone. Skittle 19:35, 3 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

And that old Dutch lady whose apartment Ross wanted, and Fun Bobby's grandfather, and at least one of Phoebe's ex-boyfriends ("but that's OK; he was really old"), and that old lady who possessed Phoebe... wow... Friends was one morbid show! smurrayinchester^{(User), (Talk)} 20:19, 4 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

And Richard's parents, and his snow-shovelling friends and Phoebe during both World War I and the American Civil War... smurrayinchester^{(User), (Talk)} 20:21, 4 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Wrestlers taken off the road?[edit]

I was looking threw a few Wrestling websites and i found one that has a list of the complete WWE Roster (both Raw and Smackdown) and i found that they have listed quite a few wrestlers as "taken off teh road" when there has been no reason why i was wondering if you could help me. The list goes as

Jimmy Kordiris (ref) Joey Mercury Kid Kash Matt Hardy Paul Birchill Super Crazy Tatanka The Great Khali

Also Rob Van Dam got caught with drugs, Because he is famous is he being let off by the police.

Cricket Umpire[edit]

what should i do to become a cricket umpire?

Join an amateur club and offer to umpire occasionally? For professionals these guys might be able to help [1] --Darkfred ^{Talk to me} 15:07, 2 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

And here I didn't even know that crickets were into pro wrestling. Well, if they are, I suppose they need umpires/referees, don't they ? :-) StuRat 03:49, 3 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

In England and Wales, the ACU&S is in charge of umpiring. Sam Korn ^(smoddy) 10:38, 3 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Sawmill Gravy[edit]

While on vacation in Florida last week, I stopped to eat at Cracker a Barrell restaurant. I ordered breakfast and got a serving of biscuits and "sawmill gravy." I asked the staff why it was called "sawmill" and no one had an answer. I've checked a number of other places since and no one can link sawmill with gravy. Any thoughts?

Thank you,

Sammy Payne--15.235.153.107 17:27, 2 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I've wondered that too. It's definitely a southern thing (the name, that is) and is a very simple gravy to make (just flour, milk, and sausage grease). Maybe people who worked at sawmills made their own gravy? Hardly a satisfying explanation, but I did a bit of searching and couldn't find much. Hope someone else comes up with something. digfarenough (talk) 18:04, 2 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The closest thing to an explanation I could find, and it's by no means authoritative, was on this page: "The workers at the sawmills apparently ate the sausage the night before, or for breakfast, and took the grits and sawmill gravy with them to eat for lunch.". --LarryMac 18:49, 2 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I would have guessed it was called that because it resembled a mixture of sawdust and water, a common sight in a sawmill. StuRat 03:46, 3 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the help...that's pretty much what I'd found as well. To further complicate matters, I ran onto the reference to "cathead" biscuits as going with "sawmill gravy." That was new as well but had more luck finding a reference. Apparently, when they made biscuits in the South, it was considered bad form to actually cut the biscuits from the dough with a knife or the top of a glass etc. You were to pinch off the appropriate amount of dough. And how much is an appropriate amount you might ask. Well, you'd pinch off a amount equal to the size of a small "cat's head." I don't own a cat so now I've got to find one of them to gauge how much is appropriate should I ever be faced with such a dilemna! ha

A cat's head, at least the one I have, is bigger than my closed fist. That would be a mighty big biscuit. [Upon the request of my sister, I have edited my response and add that the cat is alive and it's head is indeed attached to it. I do not have a decapitated cat head laying around in a jar somewhere.] --69.138.61.168 07:57, 4 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I make my own gravy from scratch,i.e. water,flour and meat juices;it does indeed look like sawdust in water at first,and is pale and delicious and nothing like instant gravy.I have a tomcat with a huge head,the size of a fist,maybe the biscuit makers 'cats,full up with bread sopped in greasy gravy grow to be equally huge.

christian era[edit]

i am filling an application form and i dont know how to write date of birth in christian era could you please help me out.

Just write the year followed by CE or AD. For example: In ~~1215 AD~~ AD 1215, the Magna Carta was issued. For more information on the meaning of these abbreviations, see the CE page and the AD page. Hope this helps. Dar-Ape 18:39, 2 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Note, as in the AD article, that AD goes before the number, not after. --Jed Blue

I wouldn't think that there was really any need to put in either AD or CE. Most people will know what you mean for the year. Check the form to make sure that they don't ahve some special requirement as to the date format. Some will say (d=day, m=month and y=year) dd/mm/yy others mm/dd//yy and others yy/mm/dd. If the form does not say which to use then I suggest that you write the day using 1 or 2 digits, the year using 2 or 4 digits. And write the month using letters, either the full month or an abbreviated version such as Jan, Feb. That way there is no confusion to the reader as to what you mean/ CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 22:48, 2 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Are you used to a different calendar system, such as the Islamic calendar or the Juche calendar? If so, let us know which year you want converted and which calendar you want it converted from, and we might be able to help. Ziggurat 02:25, 3 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The current date in the Christian era is August 7, 2006 (in U.S. style) or 7 August 2006 (British style). Marco polo 22:59, 7 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

British Empire[edit]

Was the British Empire the biggest that ever there was, EVER!? - Thanks Joel

Please use a header, and yes (geographically), unless you are looking for the largest contiguous empire, which would by the Mongol Empire. Dar-Ape 21:50, 2 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I believe so. --Proficient 21:56, 2 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

You can ask new questions by clicking on the "ask question" link at the top. In answer, I don't know, but I would be willing to bet that the Russian empire controlled more landmass. Did you mean by population? Landmass? Naval control? There is a great list of empires at empire, if you're curious. Wait! At British Empire and at World's largest empires, it says that the British empire did indeed control the largest landmass. Second was the mongol empire, and third (alas, my bet was poorly placed) was the Russian empire. --198.125.178.207 21:54, 2 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

That's the British Empire in 1921, but the two biggest countries in it, Australia and Canada, were already independent by then. So that doesn't make sense. DirkvdM 09:03, 3 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Appearances can be deceptive. Exactly when Australia ceased to be part of the British Empire is not clear cut. We became a sovereign nation in 1901, but we were far from independent in any practical sense. We had our own Foreign Ministers from 1901, but Britain conducted all Australia's external diplomatic affairs on our behalf until, I think, after WW2. The choice of Australia's Governor-General was always made by the British government until James Scullin put his foot down in 1930 and demanded the right to directly advise the monarch on this matter. George V was extremely unhappy, and even let his feelings be known officially, but he had no choice but to accept the advice of his Australian Prime Minister. (Other Commonwealth countries soon followed suit.) When Britain declared war on Germany in 1939, the then Prime Minister Bob Menzies considered that this automatically and immediately meant that Australia was also at war with Germany. There was no formal proclamation, no parliamentary discussion, just Menzies telling the nation it was his "melancholy duty" to inform us we were now at war. Nobody really thought anything of that at the time, Britain being the "mother country" for the great majority of Australians at that time. Menzies was also notorious for saying "Australia is British to the bootstraps", and he didn't cease being PM until 1966 (!), by which time we had welcomed huge numbers of non-British migrants from Europe and other places. Until 1986 (!!), the UK Parliament had the power to unilaterally amend (or even abolish) the Australian Constitution. Bob Hawke put a stop to that, by ensuring the passage of the Australia Act 1986. By this time, the British Empire had long since evolved into the Commonwealth of Nations, but it's all part of a pattern. JackofOz 11:55, 3 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Well, if you count in all countries that blindly follow the example of a country then how big is the US empire now? DirkvdM 18:14, 3 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Not very, considering the US states rarely follow the example of the government. Fortunately. User:Zoe|(talk) 18:40, 3 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Canada was not fully independent in 1921. See Canada Act 1982. --ColourBurst 23:05, 3 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Moesha's final season[edit]

After Moesha's final season, I want Ciara, T.I., DMX, Countess Vaughn and all other rappers and actors to be in the series finale of Moesha.

Well, good for you. I hope get wish your wish. By the way, did you happen to have a question? JackofOz 22:56, 2 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Your patronizing him and you said "I hope get wish your wish"....wow.

No, I wasn't patronising him/her. I'm sorry if it appeared that way. Better a kindly response like that than the vitriolic abuse such non-questions often elicit. JackofOz 01:11, 3 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Moesha ended a number of years ago. Sadly, you won't be getting your wish. Mike H. I did "That's hot" first! 00:02, 3 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

This sounds more like something one would say to Santa, sitting on his knee, at the local mall. --69.138.61.168 07:44, 4 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Supercharging American Muscle[edit]

Can you Supercharge/Turbocharge traditional American Muscle car, such as the '70 Hemicuda or various Doge, Ford models? Most American Muscles appear to be stock while Japanese imports are stereotypically all supercharged--Jamesino 22:55, 2 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Yes. 30 seconds on Google returned [This picture]. Superchargers are commonly used on American muscle cars to develop very high horsepower.

Yes, sir. --Proficient 23:18, 3 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]