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Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2014 October 13

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October 13

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Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof

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Where in Warszaw has he lived? Is the subburb or the street known, where he spent his life? Is his House where he was born today still preserved? --Poker chip (talk) 03:59, 13 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]

According the book The Life of Zamenhof, he lived on Dzika Street in Warsaw.
Wavelength (talk) 04:40, 13 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Dzika Street was later renamed Zamenhof Street, and there is a plaque at his house now. The house where he was born in Bialystok no longer exists, but there are lots of commemorative monuments there too. Adam Bishop (talk) 10:33, 13 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Could you show me this monuments? :) And does one of you know, why this street has been renamed? I can find till today a "Dzicka" and also "ul. Zamenhofa" --Poker chip (talk) 18:26, 17 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Distances in Orange County

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How far is Knott's Berry Farm from John Wayne Airport?74.66.90.189 (talk) 11:29, 13 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]

For most any two points, go to Google and say something like "knott's berry farm to john wayne airport". ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots05:33, 13 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Or go to Google Maps, or Bing Maps, and enter "from:John Wayne Airport to:Knott's Berry Farm" in the search box (it's 162½ furlongs) by public road. If you want as-the-crow-flies, go to Google Maps, click on the small "Maps Labs" link at the bottom of the sidebar, enable "Distance Measurement Tool", click on the ruler in the bottom-left of the map, and then click near the two points of interest. It's 103¼ furlongs. CS Miller (talk) 12:03, 13 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]
That last figure is as the horse flies. Clarityfiend (talk) 19:30, 13 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]
I once had a pet horse-fly named Pegasus. :) -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 20:06, 13 October 2014 (UTC) [reply]

Stock Market Investment class

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Is there a legal sort of process in the United States that allows for the following scenario:

A class of students (all under 18) put real money into a shared account managed by a person over the age of 18. That person invests the money based on the direction of the students. At the end of the school year, the accounts are all sold and the cash, with all profits or losses, are returned to the students.

This is obviously an idea for an economics class at high school level. The idea is that the kids will take more interest if they invest real money. Over the last five years, they've done make-believe investing, but all they get is a sticker if they do well. They don't get real profits. So, I'm trying to figure out a legal way that the kids can invest and turn a profit (or suffer a loss) since they won't be over 18 and they won't be handing over their SSN to report profits to the IRS. I know that investment clubs are common - but they are normally all adults and they all report their profits/losses on their taxes (at least they are supposed to do that). 209.149.115.99 (talk) 16:24, 13 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Your idea raises multiple issues.
With respect to the consent of the minors, which seems to be your main question: That's a request for legal advice, which we don't give, and it's going to be dependent on local law anyway. However, if the source of the funds is not the kids themselves (e.g., it's coming from their parents), you might be able to use Uniform Gifts to Minors Act or Uniform Transfers to Minors Act accounts. (Most states have adopted one or the other.)
You will need to limit the number of investors to 100 at most to avoid regulation under the Investment Company Act of 1940. In addition, you will need to make sure that the adult manager is not subject to regulation as an investment adviser under the applicable blue sky law. Again, you will need legal advice.
Taxes will be an issue. The investment club will be a partnership for tax purposes and will have some fairly complicated filing requirements. Better have an accountant on hand. And the kids will indeed be handing over their SSNs to report profits to the IRS. John M Baker (talk) 19:03, 13 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Would it be possible for the income to be filed under the parents tax return or is that not possible in an investment club case [1]? Also, it's possible some links here [2] would provide background info on how others do it. Our investment club article also mentions some real world examples although I can't help thinking that in those cases the students may already be dealing with tax stuff even before the club. Nil Einne (talk) 13:11, 14 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Some nice links there, Nil. While the parents could choose to report the income on their own returns, that is a decision that is made by them and will not have any effect on the investment club, which will still need to file its own return and provide a Schedule K-1 to each kid. John M Baker (talk) 13:46, 14 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks. I have time to do a lot of reading, so I will read up on the relevant laws and paperwork you both mentioned. I want to cover as many hurdles as possible before I take anything as a proposal to the school board. Everyone wastes time with a "wouldn't this be great" idea, but they don't do the research. I just needed a starting point because I know nothing about stocks and taxes. 209.149.115.99 (talk) 14:10, 14 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]
For clarity, you mean even if any income made from the investment is filed under the parents tax return, the children will still need to provide their own SSN to the investment club, rather than the parents? (Hopefully it's obvious this isn't a request for legal advice, I don't live in the US and have no interest in starting an investment club there. Actually one of the reasons I'm asking is because I always find US tax law fairly confusing what with the need to always file a tax return combined with one of the reasons probably being that there seem to be so many different exceptions, rebates, special conditions etc.) Nil Einne (talk) 15:03, 16 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, the investment club will need a Social Security number (or other tax identification number) from each U.S. investor. If the investor is the kid, or a custodian for the kid using a Uniform Gifts/Transfers to Minors Act account, the number will be the kid's SSN. The kid's parents, if they so choose, can then report the kid's income on their own return, making it unnecessary for the kid to file a separate return, although this usually results in more tax. John M Baker (talk) 15:40, 16 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Is the name "Citizen Four" a reference to anything?

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The film Citizenfour is named after the pseudonym, Citizen Four, that Edward Snowden used in his first email to Laura Poitras[3]. Is this name a reference to anything in particular? WinterWall (talk) 16:25, 13 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]

[4] 76.88.167.15 (talk) 02:00, 14 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]
That seems to be a random hit for the phrase "citizen four" with no apparent connection to Snowden. I did some online searching but couldn't find anything. Maybe the documentary explains it. -- BenRG (talk) 20:44, 14 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Random connection? Sheep are sacrificed for Passover. There are four fours in that holiday: Four Sons, Four Cups of Wine, Four Questions and Four Expressions of Redemption. The thing the Lamb of God was sacrificed on something like the old Brahmin symbol for four, and Brahmin is the fourth caste, above Kshatriya, which do the things Snowden did before becoming a liberation teacher.
Seems rational to me, but I'm crazy. InedibleHulk (talk) 03:19, 16 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Kwaggaberg

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I have been told that in South Africa exists a town named 'Kwaggaberg', but there are no articles about this supposed town. I would have thought that virtually every medium size town in South Africa has an article here. So here are my 'questions' as such:

  • 1. Where is Kwaggaberg within South Africa? (i.e what province)
  • 2. How would one pronounce Kwaggaberg?
  • 3. If Kwaggaberg does not exist, am I confusing it with another town/area name?

Thanks guys. --Staatsmende (talk) 17:43, 13 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Kwaggaberg appears to be a city made up for the TV show Trompie (source). It appears to be about as real as Arlen, Texas or Mayberry, North Carolina. Ian.thomson (talk) 17:48, 13 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]
The name might be a reference/pun on the Quagga, an extinct type of zebra that used to live in SA. SemanticMantis (talk) 18:03, 13 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]
See http://www.mbendi.com/attraction/kwaggaberge-1713682.
Wavelength (talk) 21:45, 13 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Ah, it exists with an e. Photos here. Are those bad photos, or is that what a medium sized town looks like? Ian.thomson (talk) 22:11, 13 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Those photos are taken in the general area, such as the towns of Carnarvon and Williston (hover your cursor over the individual pictures), not on the Kwaggaberge hill, which appears to be fairly barren—certainly of a town. Deor (talk) 02:56, 14 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Painting seen in a TV episode

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The backstory of episode 4 of the TV series Forever, involves a picture painted (apparently about 1950) by a "then-unknown Argentinian artist" named Fernando Costa who was a lover of one of the characters in the episode. I presume this would be a fictional artist; the only real artist by that name I've found mentioned on the Internet is French and was born in 1970. But now I'm curious about the painting used as a prop in the episode, because I rather liked it. Was it painted just for the episode? Is it actually a museum piece? Or what? Is the artist anyone we might have heard of? I didn't see anything in the TV credits to say, but of course they go by in a flash these days.

I'm posting here rather than on the Entertainment desk because it's possible someone who knows about art saw the episode and recognized the painting. Any luck there? --174.88.135.88 (talk) 21:19, 13 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]