Wikipedia:Reference desk/Miscellaneous

Ballot of Florida presidential Electors

Looking at this ballot and others from Florida's presidential Electors, such as those from 2008 and 2012, aided by the voting certificates (I managed to find the one from 2012), I am inclined to think that the form of the names on the winning ticket was always the same. So, “Barack Obama and Joe Biden” in 2008 and 2012 and “George W. Bush and Dick Cheney” in 2000 (as seen in the image) and also in the 2004 vote? Thanks. ~2026-14207-64 (talk) 15:17, 5 March 2026 (UTC)

I think that in all US states, for each presidential election, the ballots used by voters to cast their votes will show, for each ticket, the names of the candidates for the functions of president and vice-president, in that order. I am not sure what you mean by "the form of the names", and since the form designers cannot know which ticket will be the winning one, the form(s) chosen are not governed by whether a ticket will be winning. Are "Donald J. Trump / JD Vance" and "Kamala D. Harris / Tim Walz" the same forms as "Barack OBAMA / Joe BIDEN"? Why "Kamala D. Harris" and not "Joe R. Biden"?  ​‑‑Lambiam 08:05, 6 March 2026 (UTC)

Candidates often have at least some say in how their names are presented, especially if they're not entirely conventional. "Jimmy" Carter and "Bill" Clinton, for example. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 15:42, 6 March 2026 (UTC)

A disclaimer that really should accompany most ballot‑related questions: the rules governing ballots and election procedures are primarily set at the state level. Each state writes its own election laws, and those laws can differ quite a bit.

The Federal government’s role is limited. It determines how many electors each state receives, enforces certain civil‑rights protections, and sets some broad constitutional requirements. But the mechanics of elections — including ballots, candidate name formatting, filing rules, and how electors are chosen — are left to the states.

These issues only become “federal” when a dispute is appealed into the federal courts, and historically the Supreme Court has often emphasized that elections are largely a state matter unless a constitutional question is involved.

A lot of the questions people ask seem to assume that Congress or federal agencies design the detailed rules for ballots and election procedures. In reality, state law governs almost all of it, and that’s why answers often begin with: “It depends on the state.” ~2026-91009-6 (talk) 13:48, 11 March 2026 (UTC)

A lot of questions about the US that I see from posters who are not US citizens fall under this same sort of thing. Outsiders are really quite surprised how much the states matter in how the US functions. --User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 16:56, 11 March 2026 (UTC)

This question is specifically about Florida.  ​‑‑Lambiam 23:11, 11 March 2026 (UTC)

Baby Globe

With Wikipedia's 25th birthday, I was wondering if there was a comprehensive list of all the pages, or page themes, with baby globe appearing. I understand if not, since this is a pretty niche feature, but it would be nice to know Bluefus (talk) 07:44, 6 March 2026 (UTC)

Where have you seen a Wikipedia "baby globe"? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 15:43, 6 March 2026 (UTC)

Here. Long is the way (talk) 19:22, 6 March 2026 (UTC)

I'm an old fart still using a decade old skin, so the birthday feature isn't available for me (AFAIK), but could you not activate the birthday feature, click on the baby globe image, and then use the "What links here" tool? Matt Deres (talk) 19:29, 6 March 2026 (UTC)

Clicking on the image has no effect. It is a gif hosted on the website of the Wikimedia Foundation:

https://wikimediafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/WP25_BabyGlobe_CELEBRATION_NEUTRAL_LOOP_transparent.gif.

You'll find some webpages with this image here.  ​‑‑Lambiam 23:03, 6 March 2026 (UTC)

In discussions regarding whether to activate the baby globe on EnWP, I remember feeling some reticence on the part of WMF representatives to list exactly which pages would be affected. I think they wanted to retain the fun of keeping it a secret. ~2026-15228-45 (talk) 15:42, 10 March 2026 (UTC)

Opening that page made my browser asplode. Doubtless it would go down well in certain countries and among certain sectors of the populace, but for me it is utterly infantile and does WP a major disservice. Personally, if I had anything to do with it, I would tie myself into a sack and throw myself down a well at midnight. MinorProphet (talk) 18:08, 10 March 2026 (UTC)

I'm sorry to hear about your browser and hope it was not an expensive model. My condolences.  ​‑‑Lambiam 18:35, 10 March 2026 (UTC)

Well actually, some Dubai-based Tik-Tok influencers persuaded me to take out a second mortgage on my house to upgrade said Firefox-fork browser running on Win XP, and then basically forced me to invest in what I now realize is a dark web AI-type crypto-Ponzi-style scam: I have since lost my job, my partner, and my home. I am now living under a hedge trying to fend off my creditors. I wish I had had the guts to try Librewolf. MinorProphet (talk) 23:04, 10 March 2026 (UTC)

NB This why your head a splode MinorProphet (talk) 04:26, 11 March 2026 (UTC)

Something to cheer you up. fiveby(zero) 03:28, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

Does this help? -- Avocado (talk) 12:02, 11 March 2026 (UTC)

No. I could use a vast and varied vocabulary to describe my innermost thoughts, but the use of the wholly scurrilous epithets which spring to mind would instantly void my continued existence here. MinorProphet (talk) 16:49, 11 March 2026 (UTC)

come on, it's so cute!! ltbdl (jump) 03:19, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

I absolutely agree, but Wikipedia/Wikimedia/Foundation in its majestic entirety is absolutely NOT CUTE. Have you hung around WP:ANI for a while, or found out about the exalted panoply of WP:Bureaucrats etc.? Some people just want to be mini-bosses here, and I bet that a number of them have never contributed a useful single paragraph with fully-formed refs to a current article that expands the sum of current human knowledge. Changing a WP:Category does not count, in my opinion, although it increases your number of edits. There is now a huge layer of what I would call gnomes on steroids whose sole purpose is to control what we, as contributing editors, can actually do. The further up you go, the more likely you are to come into contact with horrendously unsympathetic managerial types with unacknowledged parental issues whose funerals I shall not be attending. At least there's WP:NOTDEMOCRACY, but it looks more and more like an autocracy or a kakistocracy every day. I look forward to WP:NOTCUTE, eh? MinorProphet (talk) 15:01, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

...what? ltbdl (operate) 01:55, 14 March 2026 (UTC)

To sum up: the image is cute, but Wikpedia is not. MinorProphet (talk) 17:24, 14 March 2026 (UTC)

Question for Americans, Europeans and Canadians

This is not a discussion forum. DOR (ex-HK) (talk) 18:03, 14 March 2026 (UTC)

Is your city, town facing problems of fuel shortage, petrol, diesel, LPG gas, cooking gas shortage right now, due to recent Iran war? ~2026-15717-12 (talk) 06:23, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

In America we're seeing some price increases. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 08:51, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

There are no reports in the mainstream media of actual shortages. Assuming the news is not censored, the answer is therefore no. This may change if the unprovoked wars keep going on for a year or so.  ​‑‑Lambiam 08:58, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

Europe: Price increases, but no actual shortage, and that wasn't expected anyway. The last tankers that passed the Straight of Hormuz before the war started haven't reached Europe yet. They need about a month, going around the Cape of Good Hope. There is a slight effect of tankers changing destination while already underway. Furthermore, there are strategic reserves and other sources of oil, like the US, Canada and Venezuela.

You see: by first taking over Venezuela, then starting a war in the Persian Gulf, then annexing Canada, Trump tries to monopolise the world oil supply. PiusImpavidus (talk) 10:25, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

32 countries have agreed to release stocks from their emergency oil reserves to help offset disruption. Alansplodge (talk) 14:07, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

I filled up with gas yesterday. No gas shortage. All pumps full. My total cost was $45 instead of the usual $40. So, I didn't go by McDonalds on the way into work and it all evened out. I'm sure that somewhere, someone is suffering. The news can always find someone, somewhere to push whatever narrative they require. ~2026-91009-6 (talk) 16:08, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

Helppp

My friend who has never contributed to Wikipedia and only reads Wikipedia thinks editing wikipedia is a extremely long and tedious and hard thing and she thinks she has to be "approved" to be a writer on Wikipedia or something. How do I explain to her its actually not that hard? Wordsonwordsonpagesonwordshello (talk) 19:54, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

Why do you want to do that? It doesn't seem like your friend wants to contribute, which I would have thought was a prerequisite for being useful here. AndyTheGrump (talk) 19:56, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

no she really does want to contribute but she just thinks it's what I said above Wordsonwordsonpagesonwordshello (talk) 20:00, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

Don't tell her, show her. Find out what she wants to do. Show her how to do it. The 'really not that hard' things shouldn't be difficult to demonstrate, and you really shouldn't be encouraging anyone to do the hard things (e.g. starting a new article) until she has more experience, and has the commitment. AndyTheGrump (talk) 20:05, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

Okay thank you so much! Wordsonwordsonpagesonwordshello (talk) 20:08, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

Please tell your friend that there's ways of doing Wikipedia, and then there's not. It would be futile to pretend that editing here in a meaningful way is anything other than a massive learning curve, tending towards the perpendicular. All of us are always learning, because nothing is fixed, neither 'knowledge', nor the underpinning software that allows us to express ourselves here and in editing articles. Depending on her choice of subjects, perhaps 50% of her efforts may well be taken up with battling against genuine assholes, barrack-room lawyers who will invoke WP:WANKY_RULES in their sleep, experienced WikiShits™, and various other assorted trolls (IPs or registered editors,) who may seek to do her down at every opportunity. Many of her initial efforts will likely be reverted by editors who have been here for many years, should be more forgiving but aren't, and generally don't treat noobs kindly. Do not give up. Everyone who's been here for a year or two will agree.
I suggest she should begin at the very beginning, choosing subjects she's in interested in, fixing spellos, grammar, sorting Dab pages in eg alpha order, adding Wikilinks, etc. She will need to have complete confidence that any actual statements she makes are (essentially) incontrovertibly true (hah!) (eg you know how to spell, how to look up 'facts', are aware of Reliable Sources and how to cite them,) eg {{cite web}}, {{cite book}}, and knows how to refute moronic assertions without resorting to aggressive invective or personal attacks. Be nice in your edit summaries. Almost anything can be achieved in one or two clicks, not all of them necessarily useful. Beware. As the carpenter said, "measure twice, cut once." Show Preview is your friend. Plus, Don't blank the Main Page. NB I am guilty of most of the above infractions, except the last.
And yes, there is indeed 'approval' to be gained, but it comes silently from the community: and although it may take a very long time, it is well worth the effort. Ars longa, vita brevis. MinorProphet (talk) 19:06, 14 March 2026 (UTC)

THANK YOU!!!!!!! Wordsonwordsonpagesonwordshello (talk) 19:30, 14 March 2026 (UTC)

Looking for a Wikipedia article about a woman

These are the things I remember:

1. Black woman born in West Africa but educated in the United States Northeastern area.
2. No longer alive, she flourished during 1800s or 1900s.
3. Doctor or nurse or something similar.
4. Possibly "first" something (for example first African woman who went to Hardvard med school etc).
5. She returned to Africa to practise medicine.
6. The article is quite short.
7. The article pageview count is very low.
8. The article has a black and white image of her in medical attire with a white hat looking away from the camera to the viewer's left. In the image she is youngish and her legs are not visible.

Forgive me for being too vague. There might even be mistakes! It's the photo that stuck with me. I'd call it epic. Aloysius Jr (talk) 23:40, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

Edit: It was silly of me to ask this. It was out of desperation. Barely anyone knows that the article even exists. I don't know how I stumbled upon it. I did a ridiculous amount of searches and found nothing. Don't waste your time with this. Aloysius Jr (talk) 13:29, 14 March 2026 (UTC)

I found Anna DeCosta Banks, the photo and some other aspects of your description match but other aspects don't (she wasn't born in Africa or returned there). You could try looking through the linked articles at List of African-American women in medicine, although the list is quite long. --Viennese Waltz 09:02, 13 March 2026 (UTC)

Thank you. I checked all the names but I did not come across her. Aloysius Jr (talk) 11:23, 14 March 2026 (UTC)

Alice Woodby McKane? She wasn't born in West Africa, but was the "only black female physician in Georgia in 1892". She graduated from the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, which is sorta northeastish. She and her husband (also a physician) opened a hospital and "a nurse training school" in Monrovia, Liberia. (She did not go to Hardvard, or even Easyvard.) Clarityfiend (talk) 11:59, 13 March 2026 (UTC)

Also, it seems highly unlikely that a woman would have come from West Africa to study at an institution of higher learning in the United States in the 1800s and early 1900s. It was very difficult for native-born American women to do so at that time, much less foreigners. Clarityfiend (talk) 01:18, 14 March 2026 (UTC)

No luck. I might be imagining some parts but I'm certain this article exists with that image. I will update this post if I find her. Aloysius Jr (talk) 11:23, 14 March 2026 (UTC)

Among firsts, we have Mary Eliza Mahoney (May 7, 1845 – January 4, 1926), the first African American to study and work as a professionally trained nurse in the United States. She was US-born, though, and did not work in Africa.  ​‑‑Lambiam 20:38, 15 March 2026 (UTC)

Not her unfortunately but thank you. Aloysius Jr (talk) 23:38, 15 March 2026 (UTC)

Avram Grant date of birth (2)

To be precise, the first two sources, those relating to personal information, both in the template and in the biography, where the real name and place of birth (which are certainly accurate) are listed, however, give inaccurate dates. The first is May 4, 1955, and the second is May 6, 1955... ~2026-15905-96 (talk) 18:58, 13 March 2026 (UTC)

Is there a question hiding in here?  ​‑‑Lambiam 09:12, 14 March 2026 (UTC)

No, I didn't actually ask a question. I just wanted to point out that the dates are incorrect. — Preceding unsigned comment added by ~2026-16200-74 (talk) 12:54, 14 March 2026 (UTC)

Where are you seeing that? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 18:11, 14 March 2026 (UTC)

Source number 1 :https://www.bdfutbol.com/en/l/l95067.html

Source number 2: https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news/avram-grant-out-of-the-blue-820382.html -- ~2026-16219-17

Those turn out to be incorrect sources for birth date, but may be useful otherwise. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 00:17, 15 March 2026 (UTC)

Humans eating cat food

I just saw an episode of the Swedish version of the original British TV show Taskmaster. The competitors had to eat a delicacy of their choosing. The options included, among others, chocolate, durian and cat food.

One of the competitors chose cat food. She smothered the food with whipped cream and fruits, and still had to fight to keep from gagging at the end.

Now I've obviously never eaten cat food. What makes it so difficult for humans to eat it?

I'm just asking out of curiosity. I'm not going to try this out for myself. JIP | Talk 23:53, 13 March 2026 (UTC)

Not having dined on cat cuisine either, I think it's just the idea of eating pet food that made her gag. People can eat cat food, just not for prolonged periods. Similar reaction for me to the prospect of eating haggis (the gagging part, not the safe part). Clarityfiend (talk) 01:09, 14 March 2026 (UTC)

Also, whipped cream and fruits with meat and gravy??? Maybe that's the reason. Clarityfiend (talk) 01:11, 14 March 2026 (UTC)

Agreed. That combo sounds like it would be nearly as foul if it were filet mignon in the place of the cat food. Very weird choice.

Well, that and also cat food in the first place. Why choose cat food when you could choose chocolate?

As an aside, there are stories -- don't know how true they are -- of elderly people in poverty on fixed incomes eating cat food (usually the nicer brands, at least) because they can't afford meat intended for humans. -- Avocado (talk) 02:00, 14 March 2026 (UTC)

PKD famously said that he was so poor as a science fiction writer starting out that he could only afford to eat horse meat. Viriditas (talk) 02:05, 14 March 2026 (UTC)

Keep in mind there are different grades of cat food. I used to buy human grade cat food for my pet from a company in Canada until they changed their recipe. It was basically edible and looked and smelled good. Now, the average kind of cat food you buy in the store is not that. It uses rendered meat and the smell is incredibly bad, enough to make people vomit. Being curious, I once put a can of both side by side to see which they preferred over a period of a week. It seemed to vary depending on their mood, but the sense I got was that the cat preferred fast food over heathy food. Viriditas (talk) 02:03, 14 March 2026 (UTC)

In the EU, wet cat food is generally safe for (occasional) human consumption, due to strict and strictly enforced regulations. I don't know if the same can be said about North-American cat food (but if it was allowed to be imported to the EU, it should be safe). Whether it is also palatable to humans is a different issue; this will depend on the consumer's taste. Some people gag at the smell of liver while others' mouths start watering. Chicken-based cat food is the most likely not to be offending to human palates. Did the episode of the TV show give some information about the specific cat food formula?  ​‑‑Lambiam 09:09, 14 March 2026 (UTC)

I'm fairly certain it is completely different in the US, hence why I had to import human grade cat food from Canada. It really is night and day. I think the reality is that most pet food in the US does not meat human safety standards. For what it is worth, the reason I started doing this was to bypass the melamine pet food contamination scandal that occurred in 2007, which killed thousands of pets in North America. The first recalls occurred in March 2007, but I knew something was very wrong before that and tried to alert my local vet to no avail. As it turns out, all of the food my local vet was selling to their customers was contaminated. My cat was on the verge of death at the time, but I nursed him back to health by throwing out all of his food before the recall was ever announced and feeding him only nutrients and supplements from an eyedropper, combined with fresh chicken, fish, and baby food. It worked, and he lived another 14 years, eventually dying at the age of 21. Viriditas (talk) 23:57, 14 March 2026 (UTC)

@Lambiam: No, the episode didn't give any further information about the cat food. There were at least four delicacies: cat food, durian, chocolate and extra-strong chili pepper. Each delicacy was tried by at least one contestant. JIP | Talk 22:36, 15 March 2026 (UTC)