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July 27

Art style

I was re-watching my Looney Tunes DVD this evening and was struck by the different styles of background illustration they used. There's a style in particular I found striking, the one used for the exterior shots (and, to a lesser extent, the interior ones) in Deduce, You Say!. You can get a sense of it here. Limited pallet, but unusual colours, and a surprising amount of line detail. More atmospheric than most other examples of Chuck Jones's style, but he did do similar stuff in Transylvania 6-5000 and a few other places. Almost - but not quite - film noir. Is there a particular name for this style of illustration? Matt Deres (talk) 02:22, 27 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Looks rather sloppy to me, in that the lines that should be parallel aren't drawn parallel and the perspective lines are a bit off. When I think sloppy, rather basic animation, and a limited color palette, I think The Pink Panther Show or anything by Seven Arts. StuRat (talk) 03:49, 27 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

It's probably worth mentioning that the backgrounds in most Jones cartoons were designed (and usually executed) by Maurice Noble, not by Jones himself. Noble used a variety of styles, depending on the situations to be depicted, as can be seen in the various "scenes" of What's Opera, Doc?, for instance. As our article says, "The graphic look of his backgrounds could vary widely from film to film; he tried to make the backdrop fit the mood of the film." Deor (talk) 10:31, 27 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I would associate that style particularly with UPA. According to our article, limited animation seems to be the technical term for it. Tevildo (talk) 12:10, 27 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Chuck Jones's Warner Brothers cartoons weren't examples of limited animation (the term refers to the animation of the characters, not to the backgrounds). Occasionally, the design work, as in The Dover Boys, is somewhat suggestive of the UPA style, though. Deor (talk) 18:11, 27 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

July 28

Looking for name of a type of store

For context, I'm from the US. There is a type of store that I don't know the name for. They tend to be somewhat small and have a strange and constantly changing mix of merchandise. They tend to carry things like low-end electronics, bikes, camping gear and cookware. They seem to sell whatever non-perishable items they can get a good deal on at the time. For example, I bought a Power Wheels car for my son that had clearly been a display model at a different store, and when they have a large stock of something it is often because the whole lot has damaged packaging. My local one has a furniture section at the back that I think is mainly returns from a local furniture store that aren't good enough to sell in their showroom.

Does anyone know the general term for this sort of store? Do we have an article on it? Katie R (talk) 18:12, 28 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

We'd call them "pound shops" in the UK - this term redirects to Variety store, as does "five-and-dime", which I assume is the standard US term. See also Retail#Types of retail outlets. Tevildo (talk) 18:31, 28 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I think that term has become obsolete in the US, as you can't buy much of anything for 5 or 10 cents anymore. We do have lots of dollar stores, though. In the news, Dollar Tree (which really is a dollar store in that everything is a dollar or less) just bought out Family Dollar (which was a fake dollar store, where things were multiples of a dollar). Both specialize in low priced odd lots. A large portion of the goods sold there are made in China, by companies that don't quite get how to sell in the US, such as not knowing English. For example, Dollar Tree had a universal remote for $1, as long as you didn't mind the MUTE button saying METE (a button to allow you to mete out justice to the person on the screen ?). :-) StuRat (talk) 20:29, 28 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

They are close-out or "odd lot" stores -- including such ones as Big Lots and the like. For Back to the Future fans, this was the company which ended up with a hundred DeLorean DMC-12s. Collect (talk) 18:37, 28 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

That sounds pretty close to what I'm thinking of - Big Lots is sort of the large-scale version of it. Big Lots has much larger stores and seems to have a more consistent inventory, but they clearly work in a similar way. The stores I'm thinking of seem to focus on the $20-$200 price range, unlike the stores that variety store seems to focus on. "Odd lot" store certainly seems like a good fit, but the links/categories in the Big Lots article make me think we don't have much on that sort of store. Katie R (talk) 18:47, 28 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I used to work at a surplus store that seems to fit your description. 71.20.250.51 (talk) 21:27, 28 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Sounds like a liquidator to me. In my hometown there are few such shops called XS ("Excess") Cargo, Liquidation World, stuff like that. There's even a low-budget reality show. Mingmingla (talk) 23:49, 28 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I don't have a name for them specifically but if pressed I'd probably go with surplus store. Although, in the US, that often conjures an images of a military surplus store. Dismas|^(talk) 10:43, 29 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Caterpillar found in Nuneaton Warwickshire that should belong in Florida

Can anyone advise what to do with a caterpillar that looks like a Xylophanes Tersa (large, 3 inches long hairless brown six black spots three either side of head, small white tail found in a back garden in Nuneaton Warwickshire 28/7/2014. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.35.90.187 (talk) 19:10, 28 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Science Desk would be the best place to ask. But, to clarify, are you trying to keep the Xylophanes tersa and want to know what to feed it and how to house it ? StuRat (talk) 20:20, 28 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

...or, are you concerned that it might be an invasive species, and that you should report it somewhere? —71.20.250.51 (talk) 21:04, 28 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The caterpillar you linked to is green, but you say you found a brown one, so it's probably something else. I would contact Warwickshire Wildlife Trust as they have a resident butterfly expert who can advise. --TammyMoet (talk) 21:07, 28 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

It might just be a Hyles gallii (Bedstraw Hawk-Moth) larva which is similar to what you describe, the larva turns brownish before pupation which might explain the colour difference - and it has a very wide distribution. Richard Avery (talk) 07:39, 29 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Hentai

Is there a specific name for the fetish often seen in Japanese Hentai of insects laying their eggs inside a human womans uterus and then her birthing the hatchings? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.77.145.198 (talk) 22:56, 28 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Oviposition fetish is the usual term - it's listed in Index of human sexuality articles, but the current article doesn't contain anything on the fetish (presumably due to lack of reliable sources). There may be something in the article history. Tevildo (talk) 23:08, 28 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

For general reference: insects laying their eggs in another animal is very common in the animal world, see parasitoid. So, "parasitoid fetish" would also be a fairly descriptive term. On this topic, Darwin said "I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created the Ichneumonidae" -- SemanticMantis (talk) 18:54, 30 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

A couple of observations: (1) The insertion method of that critter looks remarkably similar to how a bacteriophage virus injects its DNA. (2) Living things consume other living things. As Woody Allen put it in Love and Death, "Nature... is basically a gigantic restaurant." ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 16:59, 31 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

July 29

Laptop giving sustained electric shocks/vibrations

I recently moved to a new, basement apartment and noticed that whenever my aluminum-bodied laptop (non-macbook) is plugged int the AC outlet, I can feel electric vibrations whenever I gently slide my hand over the aluminum palmrest. Occasionally, I also feel sustained sharp electric shocks.

Looking online, it seems like this phenomenon happens when plugging the computer into a ungrounded outlet. However, the outlet in this basement is three-pronged and does appear to be grounded.

What could be causing this? Could it mean that the AC outlet in the wall is, in fact, NOT grounded properly?

Are there any long-term dangers to myself or my equipment?

Thanks. Acceptable (talk) 01:45, 29 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

It's certainly possible. One of the outlets in my house had a disconnected ground wire - it was spotted during the survey we had done when we bought the place. It's somewhat dangerous for it to be disconnected...for appliances that are not faulty, it generally doesn't do anything - but, as you've discovered, if you have a short inside the metal case of an appliance, the earth connection protects you from a potentially lethal electric shock. So you should certainly get the laptop fixed - and have someone check out that outlet. There is a gizmo on sale at most DIY stores that you can plug into an electrical outlet that has a bunch of LED's on it to show whether the outlet is mis-wired and how. I checked through the entire house and found two more bad ones! I fixed them myself - it's not that difficult - but for chrissakes, make sure you turn off the power to the entire house before you try it...where there is one wiring error, there could be many more - so trust nothing! SteveBaker (talk) 04:55, 29 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Call your apartment's maintenance department and report the issue, adding that you suspect the outlet isn't properly grounded. They likely have the tester Steve mentioned, or know how to check it with a multimeter, and should be able to fix it easily unless it is a larger-scale problem with the unit. I would also be concerned that there is an internal fault in your laptop. The ground is a precaution in case a fault starts leaking current to the metal body, but in normal operation it shouldn't be leaking at all and the neutral line should handle the entire return current. Katie R (talk) 12:51, 29 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Heh, shows what I get for skimming the previous response - Steve already mentioned the fault in your laptop. Katie R (talk) 13:00, 29 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

(edit conflict) It could also be a problem with that entire circuit - the grounds are all connected together, but not actually grounded. Or possibly the building's grounding rod has failed, or many other potential ground issues. In those cases it could be something else that shares the ungrounded ground connection leaking current, and you're picking it up through the non-faulty laptop. In any case, the management of your apartment should be able to track down the issue. If it turns out that the problem affects more than just that outlet, you may need to figure out which device on the circuit has the fault. A simple, but not foolproof, method of testing small things is to plug them into the GFCI outlet in your bathroom and see if it trips. Katie R (talk) 13:13, 29 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

You can add your own ground until the electrician arrives. Connect a wire from the ground plug to something grounded, like a water pipe where it comes into the house. They sell adapters specifically made for this, that have a place to attach a grounding wire.

As for the vibration, it might be picking up that from something nearby, like a running washing machine. I have a metal goose neck lamp that picks up vibrations from the big screen TV and seems very much like what you described in your laptop. Apparently humans aren't good at distinguishing small vibrations from small electrical shocks. So, you may only feel vibrations, not a shock. Being made of metal seems to make vibrations worse, as other materials tend to absorb vibrational energy and convert it into heat, while metal just transmits it on. StuRat (talk) 13:07, 29 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Stu, your suggestion to run a new ground wire to a water pipe is not a good idea. It violates electrical safety codes. One problem is that the impedance of a faulted circuit would be higher if the return path for fault current followed a different route than the supply current, since there is less impedance when the phase and ground conductors are adjacent than when the ground goes in a different direction. I wonder if the ground prong even enters into the problem, since on my laptop the AC adapter only has 2 prongs, phase and neutral. I know the phenomenon of AC leakage giving an appliance case a certain feeling when you run your finger along it. If you were better grounded you might get a serious shock. There is generally good isolation between the mains and the wires to the appliance within the adapter, so it might be faulted, with a stray connection between the mains side and the appliance side. The outlet might have the hot (phase) and neutral leads switched from what they are supposed to be, although as I said the mains should be isolated in the adapter from the wires going to the computer. Edison (talk) 13:45, 29 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Your laptop is likely in a plastic chassis. UL requires devices with a conductive case to be double-insulated or have a ground connection. In the smaller/thinner/lighter is better world of laptops that means a ground connection is the best option. Katie R (talk) 14:20, 29 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I am almost certain that these vibrations are the result of the aforementioned electric problem and not mechanical vibrations from nearby. When I switch to a different AC outlet in the apartment, this problem goes away.

This is happening on two of my aluminum bodied PC laptops and on my friend's aluminum bodies Macbook, so I'm not sure if it's faulty wiring inside the laptops. Acceptable (talk) 18:51, 29 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

That's good to know, now stop touching it. :-P Your apartment management should be able to have someone check it out for you, it is certainly a big safety risk. There is a good chance that the only reason you haven't been shocked worse is because you weren't in direct contact with a good ground yourself. Katie R (talk) 19:51, 29 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

What you have detected is almost certainly not a fault, but a normal leakage current of a few micro-amps which is very common and is not at all dangerous. I've been detecting this for over 50 years, and was puzzled by it until I read the Wikipedia article on Electrovibration. Of course, you should check that the current is not in the milliamp range (or even hundreds of micro-amps) because this would indicate a possible fault developing in the power supply to the laptop. Dbfirs 20:55, 29 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The bad ground on the outlet is dangerous. If a fault develops in something plugged into it then the entire chassis will be live. I'm skeptical on the electrovibration idea because it requires an insulating layer, but even if that is what the OP felt it shouldn't happen with a proper ground. Katie R (talk) 13:23, 30 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Doe the plug-in adapter in question actually have a third (ground) plug, or does it just have the two prongs? Has the one offending outlet been checked to see if the phase and neutral holes are switched? Edison (talk) 15:38, 30 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The plug-in adapter (the power brick of my laptop right?) does have 3-prongs. It's a fairly normal looking Dell AC adapter. The AC outlet in the wall also has 3-prongs. Acceptable (talk) 16:07, 30 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Most laptop bricks are double-insulated, not earthed, here in the UK. Katie is sceptical about electrovibration, but I've observed it on many unearthed appliances, and it is especially noticeable in a damp atmosphere. The Wikipedia article is misleading: the sensation is felt when dragging a finger over conducting surfaces where the leakage current is too small to be detected by nerve cells (and therefore not dangerous). Research on the exact mechanism is on-going, but I think the capacitative explanation that requires an insulating layer has been discounted. It's certainly worth checking the earth connection on the outlet, or getting an electrician to check it, just for your peace of mind (and Katie's), but if your power brick is the same as ~~those~~ some in the UK, then there is no ground connection, so the problem cannot lie there. If you happen to know anyone who could check the size of the leakage current, then this would determine whether or not there is a real fault. The "sharp electric shocks" are certainly not electrovibration, and possibly indicate that the circuitry inside the power brick is breaking down. If you are getting these, then I suggest that you stop using both the equipment and the outlet until you get things checked. Dbfirs 16:43, 30 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

My understanding is that with a conductive laptop body UL requires the laptop itself to be grounded, which will happen through the power supply. Otherwise an internal fault inside the (normally isolated) brick could lead to a live voltage on the surface of the laptop. The laptop itself would have to be double-insulated to meet UL requirements without a ground connection. I just found this post [1] which explains the source of the voltage behind the tingly sensation pretty well. This is likely harmless, but it still indicates a problem with the outlet's ground connection which should be fixed. Katie R (talk) 17:27, 30 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, I think you are correct that a laptop with a conductive body requires one pole of the output from the brick to be grounded. Thus both the electrovibration and the more serious "tingly sensation" must be caused by either using the wrong (unearthed) power supply or by a faulty earth at the outlet or in the connection to the brick. I agree that it should be fixed. Dbfirs 18:04, 30 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Black Kettle Argument ?

I just read an argument written by a politician. He is criticizing an opponent. His critique against the opponent is this: They are criticizing their opponent.

This reminds me of "calling the kettle black".

I tried to categorize this argument with the help of List_of_fallacies but did not manage to find a good fit.

I do not want to force the argument into any category. It has to be a perfect fit, or it would not seem valid to me. I am not in the habit of doing original research anymore, but I am attracted to the idea of inventing the term "black kettle" argument.

Perhaps I have misjudged it, and it is not an argument fallacy after all? Star Lord - 星王 (talk) 10:09, 29 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Could it categorized as a special form of reflective ad hominem argument? Star Lord - 星王 (talk) 10:29, 29 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Or one could call it a boomerang argument :) Star Lord - 星王 (talk) 10:31, 29 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia has an article titled The pot calling the kettle black. --Jayron32 12:34, 29 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Yes. The article does not actually state that it is a logical fallacy, even if the article has Tu quoque under the "see also" section. Is "calling the kettle black" in itself an argument fallacy?Star Lord - 星王 (talk) 23:04, 29 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Tu quoque or the "appeal to hypocrisy" is the standard name for this fallacy. Tevildo (talk) 12:42, 29 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I thought of Tu quoque, but was worried that it was not a good enough fit. In the argument above, the first party accuses the other party of something that the first party is inadvertently guilty of. In Tu quoque, the first party explicitly accuses the other party of making the same mistake as the first party is being accused of. Star Lord - 星王 (talk) 23:04, 29 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

As for whether it's actually a valid argument, that depends on the situation. In an election with only two serious contenders, if one candidate can show that even though he has a poor record in some regard, if his opponent has a worse record in that respect, then the lesser of two evils argument applies. StuRat (talk) 13:19, 29 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

You are right. Agreed. Mostly wondering of "calling the kettle black" is in itself is a argument fallacy. Star Lord - 星王 (talk) 23:04, 29 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

This is a statement, an observation, an assertion. It is not an argument. (If the speaker means to say that "He is engaging in personal attacks against his opponent", he/she is not expressing his/herself well.) John Champagne (talk) 14:27, 31 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Renovation project of the United Nations headquarters "Capital Master Plan"

Is it really true, that the "Capital Master Plan" is the biggest renovation project since the early 1950s, the opening of the UN headquarters, or do the media only obliterate facts and in fact there were such renovations already in the 1980s, too, but, just to sound spectacular, mention only the ongoing renovation project? --112.198.90.138 (talk) 10:46, 29 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

You probably won't get much of an answer to that other than what is in the official UN website on the project here. In answer to a related question, the FAQ says "The UN spends approximately $19 million a year on maintenance, plus almost $6 million on maintenance staff. However, the building systems have been running approximately 30 years longer than their expected life-cycle." You are welcome to trawl through the masses of GA documents on the project to see if there is anything in them related to your question. --Viennese Waltz 12:19, 29 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

decoded rechargeable battery

What is a "decoded" rechargeable battery (for a digital camera)? I've seen this description on generic batteries. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 18:32, 29 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Quite a few batteries have a chip on them to monitor the number of charge cycles, etc, and, importantly for this application, to prevent (or, at least, make it more difficult) the use of unauthorized generic batteries. See Smart battery. Using such a generic battery is likely to invalidate the guarantee on your camera, and I'm sure the manufacturers will say there's a safety risk, as well. Tevildo (talk) 19:08, 29 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

One safety risk being that it could impact their sales figures? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 19:37, 30 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Resolved

Thanks - I got burned (not literally) on one of those generic camera batteries once. The specs said that it was better than a genuine one. I could get hundreds of shots with the maker's battery but only about 50 with the generic one. It went into the recycle bin. ... And on a laptop battery. It has twice as many cells, and was supposed to last 4 hours instead of 2, but it would only last about 20 minutes. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 02:32, 31 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

July 30

How much protection do the "Press" armored vests provide?

Can't find specifics online. What level of ballistic protection do those iconic, blue, flak jackets/bulletproof vests with the word "PRESS" worn by reporters in war zones provide? Acceptable (talk) 16:10, 30 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

According to their website, Reporters Without Borders "lend journalists bulletproof jackets and helmets for free. The category 3 jackets, donated by the French defence ministry have “Press” marked on the front and back, come in three sizes and weigh about 15 kg"[2]. The corresponding French page ([3]), describes these jackets as gilets pare-balles de catégorie 3 which might help finding specifics of protection at the Ministère de la Défense or elsewhere. ---Sluzzelin talk 16:25, 30 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Is that "Press" label to let the snipers know who to shoot at? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 19:39, 30 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The article on ballistic vests has a section on performance standards. Assuming the standards are similar in France (which they probably are, considering the French are members of NATO), the class III vest should give protection against 'normal' full calibre rifles.

That is when they were new, at least... to the best of my knowledge ballistic vests has to be maintained. WegianWarrior (talk) 20:30, 30 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

(ec) The article Ballistic vest contains a table with details of the protection level of NIJ Type III bullet resistant vests used by law enforcement. In the European Union, vest protection above NIJ 4 is restricted to military use. 84.209.89.214 (talk) 00:35, 31 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

July 31

river water level reaching basement floor

We have a home on the river, this year the water table was very high and the water seep through the floor in the basement. How can I prevent this from happening again. I have no weeping system around the house, or any sump pump. What is the solution to my problem. The water table was very high water seep through the basement floor. the house exterior is sand. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.95.242.8 (talk) 00:46, 31 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The solution is to install a sump pump. That you don't have one doesn't mean you don't need one. --Jayron32 01:08, 31 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Agreed. Perhaps the OP was considering sealing the basement so the water can't get it. This won't work. The pressure exerted by that amount of water is enormous, and it will find it's way in. (I suppose you could make a waterproof basement, but it would basically look like a boat hull, and the house might float upwards when the water level was high.)

Also, in addition to the sump pump, you need a way to keep anything that will be damaged by water up off the floor. Some type of raised flooring should get the job done, but that's expensive. The cheap solution is to get a bunch of scrap 2x4's (warped ones, etc.) from a local lumber yard and use those as rails to keep all your boxes, etc., off the floor. However, be sure to place them so you don't impeded the flow of water to the sump pump. StuRat (talk) 03:50, 31 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Depending on the construction of the basement (pier footings / strip footings / slab footing), even a pump may be damaging to the structure of the building. Even 10cm / 4" of water in the basement adds an "anchor" of a few tons to the stability of the building. Lacking this additional mass / weight the entire box (assuming it is somewhat "watertight") will tilt or "pop up". Assuming that the substrate is sand (which implies a slab footing) this may not be a trivial problem. --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 14:58, 31 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I think that problem would occur only in houses of a modern light construction (my house weighs many hundreds of tons), but I agree that in a few circumstances it might be better just to allow the basement to flood, or to install the pump outside the house. A modern approach to building houses on flood planes is to design the house to float above the flood (and to re-settle without tilting). Dbfirs 18:37, 31 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Chat services

can anyone tell if chat sites like loverroulette are free or not because it is displayed every where as free but actually hides the messages you send and receive. is it depends on geographical locations(country).anyone with an answer please do reply182.18.179.2 (talk) 18:34, 31 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

You could check websites' reputation with tools such as Webutation or Web of Trust —71.20.250.51 (talk) 07:17, 1 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]

August 1

Card trick: how did he do it?

I was at work the other day and a young man came up to me and did a card trick: he fanned a deck, told me to pick a card, memorize it, and put it back. He then had me shuffle it. I did it 4 times, and he then picked a card and put it back. He took a card out, set it aside and told me to pick the one he picked (I had no idea and guessed at it), and I set it aside. He then named my card, flipped it over, then named his card and flipped it over. They were both correct. Now, I might have the order of events wrong, but I don't think so. Either way, how the heck did he do it? Mingmingla (talk) 02:58, 1 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Is this your card→ 3 ♣? 71.20.250.51 (talk) 04:29, 1 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I do card tricks all the time. The easiest way to know what card has been picked, is to get the person to show the card to others in the group (distracting him/herself from your actions), whilst you pretend to straighten up half of the pack by knocking it on the table - taking notice of the card in the pack that it will be placed next to, when you ask him/her to place the card back into the pack. You can shuffle, or ask the person to shuffle. The chances that those two cards will be separated are next to none. You then find them both. Simple trick. KägeTorä - (^影_虎) (Chin Wag) 04:36, 1 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]

But how do you take notice of the card that it will be placed next to? I could understand it if you cut the pack in half, so you could glance at the card at the top of the half. But how do you do it if you ask the person to slide the card back into the pack, without being able to see which card they've placed it next to? --Viennese Waltz 05:23, 1 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]

You know that on the back side of each card, there is a pattern? Mostly made up of dots or something or other. You can actually fill in the dots with the same colour felt-tip pen, in a method of your choice, to help you know what the card is, even without seeing it. They are so small, hardly anyone notices. Good luck in your next poker game! KägeTorä - (^影_虎) (Chin Wag) 09:17, 1 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]

You forgot to link to card marking. --50.100.189.29 (talk) 09:49, 1 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]

It's hard to say because there are so many variations on this trick. They may have used a sleight of hand to move the card to the top or bottom of the deck after you inserted it - by being careful about the way they hold the deck and allow you to insert your card, your card may stick out just enough they can feel the edge and work with it. Although an experienced person can do this with a standard deck, a simple way to make it easier is to trim one edge of the deck very slightly at a diagonal. It is visually impercetible, but if they make sure they turn the deck around so your card goes in backwards then the edge sticks out enough to feel. Katie R (talk) 12:01, 1 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]