Talk:Mongrel

Hybrid vigor

The phrase 'hybrid vigor' was linked to 'hybrid'; I changed it to the more accurate 'heterosis' and expanded that stub. I realize that although heterosis is the correct term, (Webster's Collegiate still refers 'hybrid vigor' to 'heterosis') hybrid vigor is probbly the more familiar one. I bolded 'hybrid vigor' in the stub; is this sufficient to have it show up in the search engines? Anyone have another idea?

You forgot to sign again, Quill. :-) You'll get used to it. What you did is perfect so far; google *should* find that page (and the Mutt page) when you search for "hybrid vigor", although I tried it just now and it didn't seem to find the Mutt page, and it's had this text for quite a while. (There's definitely a delay of days to weeks.) I'd be inclined to also create an article titled "hybrid vigor" and make it a redirect to heterosis. To make an article into redirect, in case you hadn't already figured it out, type

#REDIRECT [[desired article name]] 

Elf | Talk 02:47, 16 Jun 2004 (UTC)

um...um...okay, well, maybe I can figure it out. I'll give it a go in a couple of days--I'll be out in the country tomorrow, far from the nearest computer. I think that's a good thing.... Quill 11:19, 16 Jun 2004 (UTC) (I signed it!!)

What the--?!

Is this what happens when an article gets nominated for 'feature article'? All kinds of unsubstantiated information gets thrown in? Interesting information gets tossed out?

This now needs a lot of help. Quill 00:13, 18 Aug 2004 (UTC)

I was pretty blown away, too. I did a bunch of work and also some bandaging on things I didn't get to--e.g., changed "most pet experts" to "some pet experts" but in fact there are a whole lot of issues involved in whether someone gets a mixed breed or purebred and I don't particularly like this statement at all. The whole dog sports thing got completely misconstrued somehow during someone's rewrite and I have my eye on that for later tonight. I've been trying to update it to correct the info, replace some stuff that was good that vanished, and add more info that's useful (& correct) but I don't have a lot of time right now. Elf | Talk 00:56, 18 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Understood. If I don't go out of town, I'll help as well--or when I get back. Quill 01:37, 18 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Heinz 57--Not just ketchup!

People have twice changed this article to say that the "57 varieties" slogan is about Heinz ketchup. It's not! (wasn't, actually, since I don't think they use it any more) And it was intended particularly to forestall people thinking that they had only one product, which seems to be what's going on here. In fact, which products it refers to isn't relevant to this article at all and I'd rather leave the text as "the slogan of the HJ Heinz company", which is accurate and relevant. But now I'll change it to "H. J. Heinz company's condiments and relishes," which makes it sound even LESS relevant but at least it's accurate. Argh. No, I'm not going to do it, I'm just going to remove ketchup again. Elf | Talk 01:35, 23 Aug 2004 (UTC)

No, I agree, just remove it. Will keep watching--ketchup out. Quill 01:48, 23 Aug 2004 (UTC)

After this has been modified yet again (latest removed "57"), I've linked it to a new disambig page and listed some external web sites and stuff like that. Maybe people will leave the company, the name, & the slogan alone--I am just overwhelmed with despair that so many people have never heard of the slogan! How could this be??? Elf | Talk 20:49, 28 Sep 2004 (UTC)

I explained why I removed the "57" in my comment after it had been put back in. The joke goes as follows:

Moe: What kind of dog is that?

Joe: He's a Heinz.

Moe: I never heard of that breed.

Joe: 57 varieties.

All laugh. Maybe this should be a quotation.

And, the slogan is a reference to 57 varieties of pickle, not relish, not condiments, just pickles. Heinz used to give out little pickle pins with a 57 on them. They had a lot of kinds of pickles and they thought "57" sounded like a good number, although the actual count varied. I am overwhelmed with despair that no one seems to know this, you know. Now I guess I have to go and fix the disambiguation page too. Busy busy busy. Ortolan88 00:24, 29 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Oops, I was wrong, it was relishes and condiments as well as pickles. Never hurts to look things up, even late. But I did understand the reference, FWIW Ortolan88 00:48, 29 Sep 2004 (UTC) PS Hope I didn't leave a sour dill taste in your mouth and that you will relish my mistake.

Don't worry, it just takes some people a little longer to ketchup than others. OK, if you have a straight man, you can run your routine as indicated above, but most people don't (including books & web sites), so they just use "Heinz 57" straight up. Elf | Talk 22:58, 29 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Feists

Yes, sometimes small mixed-breed dogs, but also a breed type, if I'm not mistaken. Quill 21:58, 28 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Yes, see UKC Curs and Feists page. I've been pondering what to do about that and not feeling ambitious. Elf | Talk 22:17, 28 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Well I never heard that, but it doesn't seem that Feists and Curs are breeds in the sense that, say, King Charles Spaniels or Bichon Frises are breeds. If I knew more about it, I might add to this article something like, "not all dog fanciers are obsessed with bloodlines. Breeds of hunting dogs in the South virtually boast of their mixed heritage and go by such names as Treeing Feists and Black Mouth Curs", but as I say, I don't know anything about it. The United Kennel Club looks pretty interesting too. Ortolan88 00:24, 29 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Request for references

Hi, I am working to encourage implementation of the goals of the Wikipedia:Verifiability policy. Part of that is to make sure articles cite their sources. This is particularly important for featured articles, since they are a prominent part of Wikipedia. The Fact and Reference Check Project has more information. Thank you, and please leave me a message when you have added a few references to the article. - Taxman 18:57, Apr 21, 2005 (UTC)