Miscellaneous desk
< July 24	<< Jun \| July \| Aug >>	Current desk >

Welcome to the Wikipedia Miscellaneous Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is a transcluded archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

July 25[edit]

No. 10 filigree doodads[edit]

What are those cast-iron filigree doodads on either side of the door at Number 10 Downing Street? 2606:A000:1126:28D:8DD4:CFE9:7561:C95 (talk) 06:50, 25 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I believe they're boot scrapers. Fancy ones. Very similar to this antique.

If you want a less fancy modern set, Amazon has a whole category[1].

ApLundell (talk) 07:07, 25 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hmmm... wonder if they've been there since the Great horse manure crisis of 1894 (an actual article). 2606:A000:1126:28D:8DD4:CFE9:7561:C95 (talk) 07:23, 25 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I'm sure they have. That is exactly why they used to install these on downtown buildings.

(This seems to be a common, if expensive, style. A google search for regency iron boot scraper turns up a bunch of antiques in this exact style. )

Looking closely, it looks like the left one is damaged. It's missing some of the decorative bits. Must be a common fault, this one in Ireland has almost identical damage. I'll bet people kick them.

ApLundell (talk) 07:56, 25 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I would guess people trip on them. Looks unsafe to me. Something like Astroturf, epoxied down, but in an appropriate color, would be more practical and safer. SinisterLefty (talk) 13:18, 25 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

You mean a welcome mat? It would probably depend on the amount of... stuff you needed to remove and how much usage it will be getting. On a rainy, muddy, day (in London?!) 10 Downing might end up with more sludge than a mat could accommodate (after the first user it progressively gets less and less effective). Matt Deres (talk) 14:53, 25 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Not quite a welcome mat. I'd leave it on the sides, so people can avoid them when not needed. And welcome mats aren't normally epoxied down. The texture should also be that of rough bristles, which most mats lack. SinisterLefty (talk) 17:20, 25 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Modern boot-scrapers (see Amazon link above) usually have a tough-bristled brush, in addition to a scraping bar. These have probably been installed for well over a century, though. They might not have had brushes that could withstand the elements back then.

Automobiles don't leave the streets as messy as horses do, I suppose they're probably mostly decorative these days. ApLundell (talk) 18:09, 25 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

They are decorative here in Charleston, SC. They are very common. Ours is shaped like a hedgehog with steel bristles for spines. Many homes in the pretigious areas also have stepping blocks at the street. In old days, it was a bit of a drop to leave a carriage. So, fancy homes had permanent blocks to stop down on. So, if you have boot scrapers and a stepping block, your home is considered very fancy. 199.164.8.1 (talk) 11:42, 26 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

And is the height of fanciness to have an outhouse, complete with authentic stench ? SinisterLefty (talk) 17:25, 26 July 2019 (UTC) [reply]

As to kicking them, sadly the general public hasn't been allowed onto Downing St. for nearly 30 years now. People who do have permission do to be there are probably not so likely to misbehave. --69.159.11.113 (talk) 06:17, 26 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

"Doodad" is actually an appropriate name for these.

doo — (childish) feces

dad — etymology 2.2: A blow; act of striking something.

2606:A000:1126:28D:8DD4:CFE9:7561:C95 (talk) 08:53, 25 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

That sounds more like a monkey's 2nd favorite hobby, tossing their poo at people. :-) SinisterLefty (talk) 20:16, 25 July 2019 (UTC) [reply]

UPDATE: Finest Hour (Spring 1987), the magazine of the International Churchill Society, has on its front cover a ceramic statuette of Winston next to the No. 10 bootscraper, which the description inside (p. 3 bottom left} says was damaged by being "kicked by a horse in 1926". Alansplodge (talk) 20:21, 25 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

And they haven't replaced it or fixed it in 95 years ? Wow, and I thought I was cheap. :-) SinisterLefty (talk) 05:12, 26 July 2019 (UTC) [reply]

Asset Forfeiture Unit sales[edit]

In South Africa, assets seized as part of criminal investigations can be sold by the South African Asset Forfeiture Unit. I am please looking for a website where such items are sold, specifically property. I was also hoping there is such a thing in the UK and any available links. Google has proved to be useless. Thanks Anton 81.131.40.58 (talk) 15:11, 25 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

You might add the word "auction" to your search, as that's a common way to sell such property. SinisterLefty (talk) 17:17, 25 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

For small items in the UK, there is BumbleBee Auctions and some forces have their own eBay presence now. (see [2] [3] [4] [5] etc) Large items (cars, houses etc) will be sent to a formal auction house for disposal. Each force and department chooses where to list them, there is no central place. See also Government auctions and Police auction. Nanonic (talk) 21:33, 25 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

History of local daylights time observance in the US[edit]

I feel that our article Daylight saving time in the United States is very lacking regarding the period of 1918-1942 and 1946-1972, partly even up to 1986. Is there a complete list of what states and other US territorries or areas where locally observing DST during the period of 1918-1986, and particularly during what years (as many of them seem to have alternatingly dropped, re-adopted, and re-dropped it recurringly during that timeframe)? --2003:EF:13C1:6862:FC70:30DB:3E3F:7D0F (talk) 16:09, 25 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The tz database attempts to record all historical time zone changes since 1970. It has older data, but incomplete. For the US it might be fairly good though. That solves at least part of your problem. Jahoe (talk) 09:44, 26 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

You need a book called Time Changes in the United States by Doris Chase Doane. It's very comprehensive--Shantavira|^{feed me} 09:51, 26 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]