Stumper

[Ecstatic]

How about a fun little game? It goes like this: One person makes up a question, and the first person to answer it correctly gets a point and gets to ask the next question. If no one answers it corretly, the person who asked the first question gets the point and gets to ask another question. When one person gets 25 points, the game is over.

First question: three guys named John, Paul and George were in a band once you might've heard of. Name three previous band names the same three mates played in before officially forming The Beatles.

[Xander maddoX]

who were: The Quarrymen, Johnny and The Moondogs, and The Silver Beetles?

[Ecstatic]

You got it, Xander! You get a point and get to ask the next stumper question. (You don't have to answer Jeopardy fashion, but why not?)

[Jordan]

WOOHOO Xander!! You go boy you better use GOOGLE lmao j/k

[Xander maddoX]

LOL, i honestly cant beleave i got it (with the help of my step dad of course ) any-who.......

Name this cartoon character.........

Isn't that from a Bugs Bunny cartoon?

[deepblue]

It's Walther, though he was also called Gossamer.

[Xander maddoX]

si, correcto! DeepBlue gets the square!............

so just how long though, before a question is decided "unanswerable"?

[Ecstatic]

Good question! How about this: if there's no correct answer within four hours, the person asking the question can claim the point?

So, deepblue, what's your question?

BTW, I was thinking of the Tasmanian Devil from Bugs Bunny, but it didn't quite look right!

[deepblue]

Okay, complete this jingle:

"Precious Roy, Precious Roy...."

[Xander maddoX]

making lots of suckers out of girls and boys????? we are talking about Precious Roy from the sifel & olly show???


4 hours is a good time frame but what if we do it by after 3 incorrect answers?just a suggestion, your game you make the rules. also why dont we limit the players to only those with actual profiles, guest can chime in and what not but cant answer(at least for points)

[deepblue]

making lots of suckers out of girls and boys????? we are talking about Precious Roy from the sifel & olly show???

SUCKERS!!!!!

Good job, Xander! Your turn.

Points? What do we do with the points?

[Xander maddoX]

im not gonna lie i only knew the name and what show it was from i had to google the rest :D does that still count??????

[Ecstatic]

I like the idea of the questioner getting the credit after three incorrect answers. As to what you can do with the points...well, I dunno, what kind of incentive could we have? I think just playing for fun, unless someone can come up with something.

I see nothing wrong with googling the answer (I did for Precious Roy but it still didn't make sense to me, so I let it slide). So what's your question, Xander? You're in the lead at 2 points, deepblue at 1....

[Xander maddoX]

what walks on four legs in the mornig, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs at night?

[roseofsapphire]

what walks on four legs in the mornig, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs at night?

A man, assuming this is the riddle that means child, adult, senior.

[Xander maddoX]

what walks on four legs in the mornig, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs at night?

A man, assuming this is the riddle that means child, adult, senior.

you are correct tis the riddle of the spinx

[Ecstatic]

OK, your turn to post a question, Rose!

[roseofsapphire]

What was the first game on the US launched Nintendo?

[Ecstatic]

Was it Donkey Kong?

[roseofsapphire]

Was it Donkey Kong?

Partially correct, try a bit more...

[Xander maddoX]

if it was the famicom it would be donky kong and mario bros.

if it was the NES it would be the duck hunt/maro double cart.

i think..........

[Ecstatic]

I yield to Xander; my knowledge of gaming is pretty limited (anybody up for Pong? PacMan?).

[roseofsapphire]

4 hours is up, that is the rule you set, right?

It was Donkey Kong Jr.

[Xander maddoX]

4 hours is up, that is the rule you set, right?

It was Donkey Kong Jr.

DAMN DAMN DAMN!!!!!!

so whats the score?
rose: 2
xander:2
deep blue:1
estatic:0

[roseofsapphire]

What is the *real* reason people say "Bless You" after someones sneazes?

(If you come up with a different answer but have something to back it, I'll accept)

[Xander maddoX]

beats me....... but the story i heard was sneezing was beleaved to be the soul trying to leave the body and saying "god bless you" was an incantation of sorts to keep the soul traped inside

[Ecstatic]

Damn! All I had to add was Jr?! My own game and here I am losing!

Well: saying "God bless you' when someone sneezes dates back to the 6th century and Pope Gregory. It was during the Plague, and the intercession was intended to invoke God's blessing to prevent someone from falling victim to the Plague. Although there was no knowledge of germs then, it's remarkable how today we know that sneezing can spread germs at up to 100 miles per hour!

There! I should finally score a point!

[roseofsapphire]

Damn! All I had to add was Jr?! My own game and here I am losing!

Well: saying "God bless you' when someone sneezes dates back to the 6th century and Pope Gregory. It was during the Plague, and the intercession was intended to invoke God's blessing to prevent someone from falling victim to the Plague. Although there was no knowledge of germs then, it's remarkable how today we know that sneezing can spread germs at up to 100 miles per hour!

There! I should finally score a point!

Correct!

[Ecstatic]

All righty then! Here's mine: Who said "You can't step in the same river twice"? (Talking the original here.)

[roseofsapphire]

All righty then! Here's mine: Who said "You can't step in the same river twice"? (Talking the original here.)

Herikleitos

[Xander maddoX]

i have no clue... my guess: Confucius. he said evrything.

[Ecstatic]

All righty then! Here's mine: Who said "You can't step in the same river twice"? (Talking the original here.)

Herikleitos
OK, I'll give it to Rose: usually transliterated as Heraclitus, but it's obvious that's who you mean. Good one! So chalk up another point for Rose, and Rose, ask another question!

[Xander maddoX]

DANG NABIT!!!!!!!!

[roseofsapphire]

In the lore of the Lord of the Rings, who is the mother of Shelob?

[Ecstatic]

Ungoliant

[roseofsapphire]

Ungoliant

Yep, wow, hadn't expected someone to get it.

[Ecstatic]

OK, I've got an LOTR question for you--and just like Rose's, seeing the movies won't cut it! Who were the two Glorfindels? Bonus point point if you can explain "the problem of the two Glorfindels" (their relationship to one another).

PS 4 hour rule suspended overnight--I'm going to bed!

[roseofsapphire]

OK, I've got an LOTR question for you--and just like Rose's, seeing the movies won't cut it! Who were the two Glorfindels? Bonus point point if you can explain "the problem of the two Glorfindels" (their relationship to one another).

PS 4 hour rule suspended overnight--I'm going to bed!

In my geekiness I actually make jokes about all the names of the elves in the Silmarillion.

Fiffananffafmafafamala might as well be what they are all called.

I will have to peruse my copy tonight, but I might just be to lazy and let you earn the points off of this one.

[Ecstatic]

In my geekiness I actually make jokes about all the names of the elves in the Silmarillion.

Fiffananffafmafafamala might as well be what they are all called.

I will have to peruse my copy tonight, but I might just be to lazy and let you earn the points off of this one.
Fiffananffafmafafamala! LOL!

Well, I guess you gave it up, Rose. There's Glorfindel of Rivendell, the High Elf Lord who rescued Frodo at the river crossing (and whose role was replaced in the movie by Arwen to allow more screen time to star Liv Taylor), and Glorfindel of Gondolin, who fled the fall of that city and did battle with a Balrog in the Encircling Mountains.

The "problem of the Glorfindels" is whether they are two or one and the same; at the time of writing, they were not conceived of as the same, but long after the books' publication, Tolkien apparently wanted to correct this and unit them in a singlar character. However, this only appears in notes assembled by his son after Tolkien died, so the issue is considered unresolved.

OK, I guess that was a little too obscure. How about this: who played organ on Bob Dylan's breakout song "Like A Rolling Stone"?

[Texxx]

al cooper

[Ecstatic]

oooh, Texxx...I've got to go to the judges on that.

OK, the judges say that they'll accept your answer since spelling was not part of the question. So score a point, Texxx: the answer is Al Kooper (who also founded the Blues Project and Blood, Sweat and Tears).

What's your question?

[Texxx]

on the simpsons, what is milhouse's middle name?

[Texxx]

on the simpsons, what is milhouse's middle name?

[Ecstatic]

Mussolini - Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten

[Texxx]

ding ding ding...we have a winner.

[roseofsapphire]

In my geekiness I actually make jokes about all the names of the elves in the Silmarillion.

Fiffananffafmafafamala might as well be what they are all called.

I will have to peruse my copy tonight, but I might just be to lazy and let you earn the points off of this one.
Fiffananffafmafafamala! LOL!

Well, I guess you gave it up, Rose. There's Glorfindel of Rivendell, the High Elf Lord who rescued Frodo at the river crossing (and whose role was replaced in the movie by Arwen to allow more screen time to star Liv Taylor), and Glorfindel of Gondolin, who fled the fall of that city and did battle with a Balrog in the Encircling Mountains.

The "problem of the Glorfindels" is whether they are two or one and the same; at the time of writing, they were not conceived of as the same, but long after the books' publication, Tolkien apparently wanted to correct this and unit them in a singlar character. However, this only appears in notes assembled by his son after Tolkien died, so the issue is considered unresolved.

OK, I guess that was a little too obscure. How about this: who played organ on Bob Dylan's breakout song "Like A Rolling Stone"?

That was way easier than I was looking into it. In truth, I never finished the Silmarillion, it bored and confused me. Any book that introduces 40 characters on a single page, all which play a part in the story, and many with similar names (hence the exagerated famalaflala), is way to much for me to handle.

[Ecstatic]

That was way easier than I was looking into it. In truth, I never finished the Silmarillion, it bored and confused me. Any book that introduces 40 characters on a single page, all which play a part in the story, and many with similar names (hence the exagerated famalaflala), is way to much for me to handle.
I figured anyone who'd come up with Ungoliant! To be honest, I had to google to find her name; the instant I saw it, I remembered it, but I'm not that much of a Rings geek (well, 30 years ago maybe I was--I am reading it again for the 6th or 7th time, but I know people who have read it 30, 40 times).

OK, next question. This is an easy one (at least for anyone into 60s music, lol): The Grateful Dead admonish you to "keep on truckin'" like who?

[Texxx]

doo dah man

[Ecstatic]

Keep on truckin' man! Chalk up another point. You anywhere near the soft machine? :wink:

So...you're up, what's your stumper?

[Texxx]

(assuming you believe in the moon landing) how many golfballs are on the moon?

[MoonAndStar]

im gonna go with 3

[Texxx]

and you would be correct-he shanked two and nailed the third for a "long long way"


you're up!

[MoonAndStar]

how long does the godfather triology run for..... in seconds..... :~)

[roseofsapphire]

how long does the godfather triology run for..... in seconds..... :~)

I've never even seen any of those movies :p

[Ecstatic]

31,440 seconds (depending on the version of Godfather III you're considering, which ia either 162 or 170 minutes; if you go with the 170 minute version, it's 31,920 seconds). (IOW, that's 175 minutes for I, 187 minutes for II, and 162-170 minutes for III.)

More or less. :shock:

[MoonAndStar]

31440 is correct.... (cinema running time) your question next Ecstatic

;~)

[Ecstatic]

Cool! OK: Who invented the first "true" automobile? That is, a gasoline-powered, internal combustion-driven horseless carriage. (There are two possible answers; one is a tad more accurate than the other, but I'll accept either one.)

[roseofsapphire]

Cool! OK: Who invented the first "true" automobile? That is, a gasoline-powered, internal combustion-driven horseless carriage. (There are two possible answers; one is a tad more accurate than the other, but I'll accept either one.)

Hmm, give me a bit, I know it was in Germany I think. Something with Mercedes.

[Ecstatic]

Hmmm, the girl is getting warm.... :twisted:

[roseofsapphire]

Hmmm, the girl is getting warm.... :twisted:

I fell asleep, I think the time limit is up. LOL

[Ecstatic]

Oh, c'mon, you're sooo close! Ah well....Far be it from me to give up my own point, lol.

The most correct answer: Karl Friedrich Benz (1844-1929) in 1885 patented the first true automobile (Germany Patent DRP No. 37435). Gasoline automobile powered by an internal combustion engine: three wheeled, Four cycle, engine and chassis form a single unit.

The other acceptable answer: Gottlieb Wilhelm Daimler (1834-1900) and Wilhelm Maybach (1846-1929) in 1886 invented the first four wheeled, four-stroke engine- known as the "Cannstatt-Daimler" in Germany, thus the direct precursor of the four wheeled car. Daimler-Benz merged 30 years later. In 1888 Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschat had produced a special car for Emil Jellinek. Jellinek named the car after his ten-year-old daughter Mercedes. Lighter and smaller, the new Mercedes had 35 hp and a top speed of 55 mph!

Steam-powered self-propelled cars were devised in the late 18th century. The first self-propelled car was built by Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot in 1769—it could attain speeds of up to 6 km/h. In 1771 he designed another steam-driven car, which ran so fast that it rammed into a wall, producing the world’s first car accident.

OK next stumper: which state has the longest coast line?

[Xander maddoX]

cali?

[roseofsapphire]

Alaska

[Ecstatic]

Rose, you've got it! Of course, the answer depends upon how you measure; without getting into fractal geometry, there are two main measures: coastline fronting the open sea (let's call it simple coastline), and indented tidal coastline. But Alaska always comes out first, way ahead of all contenders. In terms of simple coastline, Alaska has 6,640 miles of coastline. If shoreline (inland lakeshore) counts as coastline, Michigan is second with 3,288 miles. Also high ranking are Florida (1,350), California (840), and Hawaii (750). Maine has 228 miles of open sea facing coastline, but 3,478 miles of tidal coastline, making it fourth by tidal measure, as shown below:

Alaska 33,904
Florida 8,426
Louisiana 7,721
Maine 3,478
California 3,427
North Carolina 3,375
Texas 3,359
Virginia 3,315
Michigan 3,288

Incidentally, if (as the state government made official in state records back in the 1940s) lake surface over which a state has jurisdiction is counted as part of the state area, Michigan is the largest state east of the Mississippi, with 2 sq mi of lake for every 3 sq mi of land. Total area: 96,810 sq mi (56,809 land area), making it the 11th largest state. (The federal government, however, only includes that lake area which is entirely contained within a state as part of its total area, so the states bordering the Great Lakes get hugely different measurements based on which definition you use.)

Enough useless trivia. Rose, you're up!

[WillowQueen]

...I would've guesed Wyoming. Yeah, I've never been good with trivia.

[Ecstatic]

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[roseofsapphire]

Not sure how "true" this question is, whether it is from the actual text, apocrypha, or lost books, but here it is anyways. This might be to easy for Ecstatic, regardless.

Who was Adam's first wife?

[Texxx]

lilith

[Texxx]

it is notactually found in any ancient texts, but rather discussed as part of Jewish folklore.

there are primarily two takes on lilith
the modern feminist view where lilith represents women's freedom, as lilith refused to be subservient to Adam.
the traditonal view is that lilith represents sexual deviation and is even considered a demon and sometimes refered to as Satan's wife.

[Ecstatic]

Texxx. you beat me to the draw. Lilith is the right answer, and your two explanations are on the money. Good question, Rose!

One explanation of the appearance of Lilith in Jewish folklore is that Adam's first wife was conceived as an early rabbinical attempt to assimilate Belit-ili or Belili (a Sumerian/Babylonian Great Goddess figure) to Jewish mythology. The Canaanites revered Baalat as the Divine Lady, and she is equated to Lilith. As early as 2000 BCE, a table from the ancient city-state of Ur features Lillake, another Great Goddess.

Historically as well as mythologically and theologically it's a fascinating subject. The initial great revelation of the Hebrew faith was a break from the then-dominant Great or Mother Goddess tradition which held sway over the Mediterrean Basin (and much of the world beyond). Abraham broke from this tradition (remember that his people were surrounded by and often at war with or conquered by such people as the Babylonians who worshipped the Great Goddess), conceiving God (Yahweh) as male (a father figure) rather than female (fertile mother of the world). Thus, they had to account for the pressures of the surrounding religious beliefs, and Lilith was their means of explaining away Belit, Belili, Cybele, Isis, and so many other Goddess figures. (Get into Cybele and some others, and you also encounter early transgender issues, but that's a whole other subject.)

[Xander maddoX]

how did i start losing so badly and so quickly, lol

[Texxx]

2f no one objects, i will take my point and keep thsi going.

what university gave John McEnroe his only loss in his collegiate career?
bonus point if you can name what he said was the reason.

[Texxx]

2f no one objects, i will take my point and keep thsi going.

what university gave John McEnroe his only loss in his collegiate career?
bonus point if you can name what he said was the reason.

[Ecstatic]

Hey Texxx, no one has answered so I think you get the keep the point and ask another one!

[Texxx]

trinity university, san antonio is the answer.
students were shootring skeet off the top of a dormitory which John threw a trademark tantrum over.


next question:
name 5 division 1 football college teams whose mascot name does not end in an 's'

[roseofsapphire]

trinity university, san antonio is the answer.
students were shootring skeet off the top of a dormitory which John threw a trademark tantrum over.


next question:
name 5 division 1 football college teams whose mascot name does not end in an 's'

Sports is my Kryptonite :evil:

[eldebarge]

trinity university, san antonio is the answer.
students were shootring skeet off the top of a dormitory which John threw a trademark tantrum over.


next question:
name 5 division 1 football college teams whose mascot name does not end in an 's'

Tulane Green Wave
Marshall Thundering Herd
Stanford Cardinal
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Illinois Fighting Illini

[Texxx]

good job.
stanford is a hard one.
other acceptable answers:
navy midshipmen
syracuse orange
alabama crimson tide
and a couple others

your point/turn

[Ecstatic]

Tally thus far:

Ecstatic 6
Texxx 4
Rose 4
Xander 2
deepblue 1
MoonAndStar 1
eldebarge 1

eldebarge, you're up!

[eldebarge]

What happened in 1961 that will not happen again for over 4000 years?

[OrlandoTim]

It was the last "upside down" (when the year stays the same even if you flip the numbers) year, the next one wont be until 6009 and the one before that was 1881.

I love Mad magazine 8)

[eldebarge]

right orlando tim......i know it was an easy one for my first try....but anyway..you're up

[OrlandoTim]

Where are the 4 US flags located that are always flown at full mast?

[Ecstatic]

I think there's an urban legend at work here that the flag is never flown at half-mast at the Alamo, Pearl Harbor, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, or Betsy Ross's home, but this is in fact untrue. The only place to my knowledge where the US flag is always flown at full mast is on the moon (there's no one there to lower it).

[Xander maddoX]

Ecstatic, will you finish college for me? please??? at least take my test

[Ecstatic]

Depends...can I get some soup?

[OrlandoTim]

I think there's an urban legend at work here that the flag is never flown at half-mast at the Alamo, Pearl Harbor, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, or Betsy Ross's home, but this is in fact untrue. The only place to my knowledge where the US flag is always flown at full mast is on the moon (there's no one there to lower it).

Maybe some of that is an urban legend but he answer is:

1. Lincoln Memorial
2. Jefferson Memorial
3. Tomb of the Unknown Soldier/Arlington National Cemetary (yes, its true)
4. the Moon

This was an actual question asked of me when i was in the Army and going in front of the NCO board along with some other weird ones.

[OrlandoTim]

Ok next question, since no one got my last one right.

What are the two days (dont have to be dates) when there are no major (sorry, soccer isnt a major pro sport in the US, yet) professional (basketball, football, hockey or baseball) sports being played in the US?

[Ecstatic]

I think there's an urban legend at work here that the flag is never flown at half-mast at the Alamo, Pearl Harbor, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, or Betsy Ross's home, but this is in fact untrue. The only place to my knowledge where the US flag is always flown at full mast is on the moon (there's no one there to lower it).

Maybe some of that is an urban legend but he answer is:

1. Lincoln Memorial
2. Jefferson Memorial
3. Tomb of the Unknown Soldier/Arlington National Cemetary (yes, its true)
4. the Moon

This was an actual question asked of me when i was in the Army and going in front of the NCO board along with some other weird ones.
I won't dispute your point, Tim, but I think either you're remembering things wrong or the NCO board got it wrong. The US flag is actually always flown at half-staff at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (or Tomb of the Unknowns), Arlington Cemetery, at and the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. (BTW, "half-mast" is the British term and "half-staff" the American term.)

Also, the US flag is never flown at half-staff in battle.

[Xander maddoX]

Depends...can I get some soup? if thats whit it takes hellz yeah! you get life time soup!

[Xander maddoX]

Ok next question, since no one got my last one right.

What are the two days (dont have to be dates) when there are no major (sorry, soccer isnt a major pro sport in the US, yet) professional (basketball, football, hockey or baseball) sports being played in the US?

christmas and new years?

[OrlandoTim]

"christmas and new years?" - They play Basketball on Christmas and New Years day, sometimes football too if its on a sunday like they did this year.


Its the day before and the day after the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, which is always played during July.

Basketball - Season ends in june.
Hockey - Ditto.
Football - Not yet.


Since theres some debate over the Flags i will pass the baton here to the next person, but i still get the points :P

[Xander maddoX]

"christmas and new years?" - They play Basketball on Christmas and New Years day, sometimes football too if its on a sunday like they did this year.


Its the day before and the day after the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, which is always played during July.

Basketball - Season ends in june.
Hockey - Ditto.
Football - Not yet.


Since theres some debate over the Flags i will pass the baton here to the next person, but i still get the points :P

fuck it, i dunno, i dont watch sports, any of them

[Ecstatic]

So someone should ask a question! Tim, take it--I may have quibbled on the flag thing, but it was an interesting question and I don't think there's a simple answer, so why don't you go ahead and ask the next one?

[OrlandoTim]

Ok, heres an easy one.

Name the 4 actresses who have played the "Catwoman" in the live action Batman films/TV Show. And no Halle Berry doesnt count as that was a POS movie and not a Batman one :P

[roseofsapphire]

Tina Louise, Julie Newmar, Eartha Kitt, and Michelle Pfeiffer.

[OrlandoTim]

Tina Louise, Julie Newmar, Eartha Kitt, and Michelle Pfeiffer.

Sooooo close, Tina Louise was never Catwoman but the other 3 were.

[roseofsapphire]

"In 1966, Adam West starred as the Caped Crusader on Batman. One of the series' guest villains was Catwoman, played by Tina Louise"

http://www.vh1.com/movies/movie/15335/review.jhtml

[OrlandoTim]

Rose i am telling you that website does not know what its talking about. The original catwoman ws played by Julie Newmar (6 episodes) and then played by Eartha Kitt (3 episodes) the first Batman movie which starred Adam West as Batman had catwoman being played by Lee Meriweather and then later in Batman Returns by Michelle Pfieffer.

Tina Louise played Ginger Grant on Gilligans Island from 1964-1967 when the show ended, she has NEVER appeared in Batman as ANY villianess.

http://www.spiritone.com/~darren/feline.htm

1966 was the year that Julie made history by unsheathing her claws. “Batman” was the top TV program, a new twice-a-week series based on the comic book superhero. Batmania stormed the nation with its hip mixture of crazy comedy, wild adventure, and colorful foes gave a major POW! to the camp classic. The Catwoman was one of the earliest comic villainesses, modeled after actress Jean Harlow by comics creator Bob Kane. Her secret identity revealed as Selina Kyle years later, The Cat premiered in Batman #1 in 1940, a sultry jewel thief who Batman would “let” get away on several occasions, smitten by the purloining pussycat.

Producers originally considered Suzanne Pleshette for the Catwoman role. Newmar related to author James Van Hise: “I was in New York where I lived on Beekman Place. My brother was visiting on the weekend with some of his friends from Harvard. The phone rang and it was someone from Hollywood asking me to play this part in “Batman,” which I’d not heard of. My brother was sitting on the sofa when he heard “Batman,” he jumped up and said, ‘That’s our favorite show here!’ And I said, ‘John, do you think I should do it?’ and he said, ‘Yeah!’ (and) pushed me out the door.”

Three actresses played Catwoman: Julie, Lee Meriwether, and Eartha Kitt. Newmar remains the first and best remembered feline femme, despite the sex kitten’s departure prior to the third and last season to film MacKenna’s Gold, a movie notable for Julie swimming in the buff.


Also, here is the Flimography and Teleography for Tina Louise:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001481/

[Ecstatic]

Close, Rose. But the point goes to Tim (unless, at his option, he chooses to accept 3 out of 4).

[roseofsapphire]

Meh, lol, I just used the internet and happened to find it on VH1. No worries here :D

[Xander maddoX]

DAMNIT! a batman question, i probbly woulda got that one and i missed the WHOLE thing. lol. GRRRRRRRRR

[OrlandoTim]

Ok, now this one is going to be REALLY easy, i got the idea from the college mascots.

Who are the 8 teams in the major US mens pro leagues (basketball., hockey, baseball and football) thats name does not end in "s"?

[eldebarge]

Utah Jazz
Miami Heat
Orlando Magic
Minnesota Wild
Boston Red Sox
Chicago White Sox
Colorado Avalanche
Tampa Bay Lighting

[OrlandoTim]

Yay, i have been de-throned.

[eldebarge]

another easy one......finish the sequence.....

o,t,t,f,f,s,s, _ , _ , _

[Texxx]

e, n, t
or
8, 9, 10

[eldebarge]

right texxx......u up

[Texxx]

who is the highest paid professional athlete- not just limited to US hoockey, baseball, basketball, and football.

[OrlandoTim]

According to forbes the top 3 are:


Tiger Woods $80.3 Million
Michael Schumacher $80 Million
Peyton Manning $42 Million

[GrouchoM05]

That's actually from a 2004 report but looking at the celebrity 100 from 2005 it looks like it still is Tiger ... Mahalo

Matt

I'll give it to ya, but Michael Schumacher is the answer I was lookign for. I should have put, Highest salaried professional.

[Texxx]

that was me...

[OrlandoTim]

Ok heres one, although there is much debate over what the "5th card" was in Wild Bill Hickoks' "dead mans hand" the suit of the card is generally agreed on.

What is that suit?

[Ecstatic]

Spades?

[OrlandoTim]

Spades?

Nope, 1 down 3 to go.

[red.suede.sofa]

Ok heres one, although there is much debate over what the "5th card" was in Wild Bill Hickoks' "dead mans hand" the suit of the card is generally agreed on.

What is that suit?

T'would be diamonds, I believe? Depends on the source.

[OrlandoTim]

Diamonds it is, the most popular belief is that the 5th card was the Nine of Diamonds.

[Xander maddoX]

how long do we wait for a "forfit" of question and who gets to ask the new one?

[Ecstatic]

OK, since the ball was dropped, I'll ask a new question to get it rolling again. "The day the music died" from Don McLean's "American Pie" refers to what event, and who were the three main people involved?

[WillowQueen]

When the plane carrying Ritchie Vallens (sp), the Big Bopper, and Buddy Holly crashed.
EDIT: Um... Killing them.

[Ecstatic]

Point to Willow! On Feb 3, 1969, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and "The Big Bopper" (J P Richardson) were killed in a plane crash in the Midwest.

[WillowQueen]

Ok, so what are the 3 common names for Potassium Carbonate?

[Ecstatic]

Potash, pearl ash, and salts of tartar. It was used as a leavening agent in baking prior to the invention of baking powder.

Love your sexy new avatar, Willow!

[Xander maddoX]

Love your sexy new avatar, Willow!


i second that motion! WA WA WE WAH!

[WillowQueen]

Thanks, I aim to please. And you are correct Ecstatic. You answered it... and than some.

[Ecstatic]

How about a literary question? What well-known unfinished literary work begins with the lines:

Whan that Aprille with his shoures sote
The droughte of Marche hath perced to the rote
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which, vertu, engendred is the flour...

And what language is it written in?

damm willow nice new avatar..that looks good enuff to eat :wink: can i know was good with that :P j.p.

[Xander maddoX]

The Tales Of Caunterbury? and if the language isnt english then im defantly not sure about the launguage

[Ecstatic]

Hmm...so very very close, Xander. Tell you what: give me the author's name and the point is yours (then I'll clarify).

[Xander maddoX]

Hmm...so very very close, Xander. Tell you what: give me the author's name and the point is yours (then I'll clarify).

chauncer?

[Texxx]

the canterbury tales by geoffrey chaucer in middle english

[Ecstatic]

Xander, you're so very close--you obviously know the answer, but Texxx got the name right (no "n" in Chaucer), the title right (Canterbury Tales, not Tales of Canterbury), and identified the language (Middle English), so the point goes to Texxx.

[Texxx]

woohoo! go me!

okay, sticking with literature...
who is generally considered to have used the pen name Ragnar Redbeard to write "Might is Right"

[OrlandoTim]

Arthur Desmond?

[Texxx]

if no one else chimes in, i may give it to you as that is probably the second strongest theory.

[Jordan]

Jack London?

[Xander maddoX]

Xander, you're so very close--you obviously know the answer, but Texxx got the name right (no "n" in Chaucer), the title right (Canterbury Tales, not Tales of Canterbury), and identified the language (Middle English), so the point goes to Texxx.

GHAT DAMNIT!!!!!!!!!

[Ecstatic]

Texxx? You there? You've gotten the two most widely believed answers! So will it be Jordan or Tim? (Hmm, not so tough a choice, I think....)

[Texxx]

jordan gets it.

sorry, things got crazy yesterday.

[OrlandoTim]

Texxx? You there? You've gotten the two most widely believed answers! So will it be Jordan or Tim? (Hmm, not so tough a choice, I think....)

2 pairs will always beat 1. :lol:

[Ecstatic]

Jordan? I see you posting...but no stumper for us?

[WillowQueen]

Awww... I want to play again... where's Jordan's question?

[Texxx]

alright, in the interest in moving this aloong and since i asked the last question, i will go again. (no point for me though)

what is the name given to the musicc group consisting of elvis presley and johnny cash? who were the other two members?

[WillowQueen]

Well, I wasn't sure of the band name, I only know that Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and Elvis Presely recorded together and there was something about The Million Dollar Quartet. I probably got the band name wrong.

[Texxx]

no, you got it!
they were neveer actually a group, but one day they were all at the same place and a producer just flipped on a switch and recorded them jamming.

[WillowQueen]

Right on. I seem to know more than I thought about music.

Next: What is the name of the dot that you find on the top of the letter "i".
And I assume it's the same as the one you'd find a "j".

[Ecstatic]

It's called a tittie.

Er, sorry, I mean tittle. :D

[WillowQueen]

Aw, I thought that was going to be harder. Yeah, you got it.

[Ecstatic]

Oops, almost missed that! OK, here's one: we all know gas, liquid, and solid, but what's the fourth state of matter, and, for a bonus point (this is hot), at approximately what temperature does it form?

[Texxx]

plasma, but i have no idea what temperature...but it is VERY hot.

[Ecstatic]

You get the point, Texxx! As for the bonus point, too bad, but you're right about it being VERY HOT: the typical temperature of stellar plasma (which is actually the most common state of matter, though rare on the earth where it occurs naturally only in lightning) is one million degrees Celsius; at 10 million degrees Celsius nuclear fusion takes place.

[Texxx]

what is the highest honor in the US military that can be awarded outside of war/combat?

[Xander maddoX]

plasma, but i have no idea what temperature...but it is VERY hot.

DAMNIT i actully knew this one but was to late in responding :x

[Ecstatic]

Xander, you're right (from your other post)...you're a long time coming!! LOL!! :lol:

[Ecstatic]

what is the highest honor in the US military that can be awarded outside of war/combat?
In the Army I believe it is the Army Achievement Medal:

Awarded to members of the Armed Forces who, while serving in any capacity with the Army in a non-combat area on or after Aug. 1, 1981, distinguish themselves.

- http://www.medalofhonor.com/HeroismMedals.htm

The highest civilian honor is the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

[WillowQueen]

OUt of curiousity, I thought that Neon lights also contain plasma...

[Xander maddoX]

Xander, you're right (from your other post)...you're a long time coming!! LOL!! :lol:

OH HAHAHA! you think your sooooooo funny :wink:

[Ecstatic]

OUt of curiousity, I thought that Neon lights also contain plasma...
You're right, Willow, and that's much cooler than 1 million degrees. I was really referring to high energy plasma, which is what you find in stars and lightning. The flourescence of some lights strips electrons from the gas, thus making a form of low energy plasma.

[WillowQueen]

I know, most people think about the sun. The big ol' fusion reactor.

[Ecstatic]

Oops, thanks Willow Queen: I had accidentally typed "fission" above when I meant to type "fusion"--big difference. Fusion is the ultimate energy source, but the problem is that true "fourth state of matter" plasma capable of fusion exists at several--perhaps 10 million or more--degrees Kelvin. How do you contain that? Or even produce it in any controlled way? Lightning is the most common form of "hot" plasma on earth. That's why physicists were so excited by the concept of "cold fusion" several years ago, until the experiments could not be replicated, because that would mean we could produce a virtually unlimited amount of safe energy from...water!

Anyway, the exact definition of plasma is "a system of charged (ionized) particles large enough to act as a whole"; some call it a gas, but it's an ionized gas where electrons have been stripped. So technically a cold plasma (such as found in flourescent or neon lamps) may have less than 1% ionization but still be plasma (strongly reactive to magnetic fields, for instance). A "hot" plasma is fully or nearly fully ionized, and this is what's considered the fourth state of matter. Here's an excellent descriptin from Wikipedia:

The defining characteristic of a plasma is ionization. Although ionization can be caused by UV radiation, energetic particles, or strong electric fields, (processes that tend to result in a non-Maxwellian electron distribution function), it is more commonly caused by heating the electrons in such a way that they are close to thermal equilibrium so the electron temperature is relatively well-defined. Because the large mass of the ions relative to the electrons hinders energy transfer, it is possible for the ion temperature to be very different from (usually lower than) the electron temperature.

The degree of ionization is determined by the electron temperature relative to the ionization energy (and more weakly by the density) in accordance with the Saha equation. If only a small fraction of the gas molecules are ionized (for example 1%), then the plasma is said to be a cold plasma, even though the electron temperature is typically several thousand degrees. The ion temperature in a cold plasma is often near the ambient temperature. Because the plasmas utilized in plasma technology are typically cold, they are sometimes called technological plasmas. They are often created by using a very high electric field to accelerate electrons, which then ionize the atoms. The electric field is either capacitively or inductively coupled into the gas by means of a plasma source, e.g. microwaves. Common applications of cold plasmas include plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, plasma ion doping, and reactive ion etching.

A hot plasma, on the other hand, is nearly fully ionized. This is what would commonly be known as the "fourth-state of matter". The Sun is an example of a hot plasma. The electrons and ions are more likely to have equal temperatures in a hot plasma, but there can still be significant differences.

Also interesting (at least to a geek like me) is that 99.9% of the visible matter in the universe is plasma. In our solar system, most of the non-plasma state (gas, liquid or solid) of matter is in Jupiter, yet Jupiter is only 0.1% of the mass of the solar system. Plasmas are the most common phase of matter. Even the space between the stars is filled with a plasma, although a very sparse one. That means that, for all practical purposes, the entire volume of the universe is plasma.

-- Can you tell that my niece is a physicist?

[Texxx]

what is the highest honor in the US military that can be awarded outside of war/combat?
In the Army I believe it is the Army Achievement Medal:

Awarded to members of the Armed Forces who, while serving in any capacity with the Army in a non-combat area on or after Aug. 1, 1981, distinguish themselves.

- http://www.medalofhonor.com/HeroismMedals.htm

The highest civilian honor is the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Incorrect.

[Ecstatic]

Hey Texxx, it's your point since no one knows the answer, so ask another question! (and give with the answer already!)

[Texxx]

distinguished service medal CAN be given out in times of peace, but i don't think it has ever actually happened. legion of merit is the one usually cconsidered to be the highest award not involving "action".

next question:
what company designed the first microprocessor controlled prosthetic knee.

[Ecstatic]

England’s Blatchford & Sons (known stateside as Endolite) was first in 1993, followed in 1997 by Germany’s Otto Bock and Ossur.

[Texxx]

you got it!
very good

[Ecstatic]

My wife is going to need knee replacement surgery in the near future, so we're paying attention to these things!

One for geography buffs: 3 of the 10 largest islands in the world belong to one country. Name the country, the 3 islands, and list their ranking in the top 10. (Note: Australia is considered a continent, not an island.)

[Texxx]

canada-
baffin
victoria
ellesmere

5,9,10

[WillowQueen]

Australia is also known as a country. Just saying.

[Ecstatic]

You got it, Texxx! (Sorry I was out all day!)

Yeah, Willow, Australia is all three: country, continent, island.

[Texxx]

okay, sticking with geography, how many US states are named after sovereigns?

[Ecstatic]

Seven: six for British monarchs (Georgia (King George), North Carolina (King Charles I), South Carolina (King Charles II), Maryland* (Henrietta Maria, Queen Consort of Charles I), Virginia (Elizabeth, known as the Virgin Queen), and West Virginia**)) and one for a French monarch (Louisiana, for Louis XIV).

*A popular tradition holds that the state was named for the Virgin Mary.

**West Virgina could be disputed as it was only indirectly named for Queen Elizabeth, given that it broke away from Virginia in 1863 and took the name West Virginia as a result. However, it does share both the name and the origin of its "parent" state.

[Texxx]

cannot get more right than that.
correct.

[Ecstatic]

The Carolinas always through me because I can't think of a Queen Caroline, then I remember Charles I and II.

How about a little history? and science? The inventor of the positive/negative photographic process (called the father of modern photography) was also a mathematician, physicist, classicist, philologist, and transcriber of Syrian and Chaldean cuneiform texts. Who was he, and what did he name his photographic process?

[Texxx]

william henry fox talbot
i am not sure of the name...photogenic drawing?

[Ecstatic]

Half right, Texxx. Yes, it was William Henry Fox Talbot, who (accidentally, as with most great inventions) invented the positive/negative process the same year (1835) that Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre invented (also accidentally) the Dauguerrotype, a different photographic process.

Talbot named his process the calotype, from the Greek kalos meaning beautiful.

OK, since you were half right, how about you take the next stumper but no points? (As if it matters--I have no idea what the point spread is at this point, and who cares?)

[WillowQueen]

I believe it's calotype which is improved from the photogenic drawing.

[Ecstatic]

That's right, Willow, but since I already posted that part of the answer, the next question goes to Texxx (but no point).

[Texxx]

okay- here is a question onn gambling...should give our beautiful vegas friend willow an unfair advantage.

what is the only bet in table games where there is NO house edge?

[Xander maddoX]

betting it all?

[Texxx]

ummmmmmm...no

[Xander maddoX]

well shit im outta guesses then

[syntax]

okay- here is a question onn gambling...should give our beautiful vegas friend willow an unfair advantage.

what is the only bet in table games where there is NO house edge?

A fold

[WillowQueen]

No unfair advantage. You should know: no locals gamble... we live here long enough to know it's an unwise decision. But hey, tourists come and spend your money!

[Texxx]

well, thought you might be friends with people who work at one of the casinos.

anybody?
come on...

[eldebarge]

wild guess.......

BACCAHRAT?

[Texxx]

hmmmm...i thought there would be at least one other ggambler on this site. (no condom doesn't count)

the answer is the odds bet in craps. there is no house advantage- it pays true odds.

[Texxx]

okay, what is the world's oldest soft drink and where is the only plant still producing it in the original formula?

[WillowQueen]

Um... I was going say Dr. Pepper cause that is pretty old, but I was told it was Schweppes. I'd say the plant is probably where they first appaeared, Waco, Texas.

[Texxx]

very very close

[Ecstatic]

The oldest continually produced commercial soft drink is Moxie, which has been produced since 1884 and was created in 1876 in Lowell, Massachusetts as a patent medicine by Dr. Augustin Thompson. In fact, Moxie was marketed under the product name “Moxie Nerve Food”. It was once so popular that a common slang expression was "full of moxie" meaning spirit and energy. However, it is now hard to find Moxie outside of New England. It is actually a form of root beer, based on the gentian root.

This claim is disputed by Dr Pepper which has been manufactured continuously since 1885 when it was invented in Waco, TX. Dr Pepper being far more popular and common everywhere, stakes the claim that it is the oldest continually produced major soft drink: I guess they can get away with that distinction.

However, ginger ale and root beer both preceed these two brands, as they originated in the early 19th century. The first commercial trademark for a soft drink was granted to Lemon's Superior Sparkling Ginger Ale" in 1871. Soda water was invented in 1767 by an English scientist named Joseph Priestly who wanted to simulate naturally occuring sparkling spring water and identified carbon dioxide as the gas to introduce. Coca-cola was introduced as a tonic in 1894 and Pepsi in 1898.

[WillowQueen]

You know, I was thinking Moxie (having actually had it) but just didn't think to say it.

[Ecstatic]

I like Moxie, but it is an unusual flavor, unlike any other soft drink.

I just remembered another contestant for oldest soft drink: Dr Brown's Cel-Ray Soda, first made in 1869 and favored in Jewish delis in NYC and elsewhere. It is also known as Jewish Champagne. However, it has been in interstate commerce since 1886, two years later than Moxie, and earlier history is cloaked in mystery (though claimed on the label).

When googling Dr Brown's, I bumped into a brand I've never heard of, Belfast Sparkling Cider, a soft drink first made in 1849 in California, and popular mostly with the Chinese population in San Francisco.

Hires Root Beer stakes a claim for 1876, when Hires debuted at the Centennial in Philidelphia, and said to be in continuous production ever since.

So:

Belfast Sparkling Cider, 1849 - San Francisco, CA
Dr Brown's Cel-Ray, 1869 - Brooklyn, NY
Lemon's Ginger Ale, 1871 - unsure
Hires Root Beer, 1876 - Plano, TX
Moxie, created 1876, continuously produced since 1884 - now owned by the Monarch Bottling Company of Atlanta, Georgia and botted by Catawissa Bottling Company, Catawissa, PA
Dr Pepper, 1885 - Waco, TX

Take your pick, but obviously the idea took off--partly thanks to the Temperance Movement against alcohol (Hires was known as the Temperance Drink).

edited to add locations 3/18/06

[Texxx]

well, i learned something new...
i was going for dr. pepper where its original formula is still made in dublin texas- uses pure cane sugar instead of syrups.

[syntax]

wow I didn't know Dr Pepper was so old.

Its the O.G!

Its the Scarface of the soda world.

Flying over the superbowl, on the side of the Dr Pepper blimp it constantly reads The World is Mine.

[Xander maddoX]

Its the Scarface of the soda world.

LMAO!

[WillowQueen]

It's supposed to be a berry drink isn't it? I think I read that somewhere... sure doesn't taste like berries. I like it all the same.

[Ecstatic]

well, i learned something new...
i was going for dr. pepper where its original formula is still made in dublin texas- uses pure cane sugar instead of syrups.
Yep, that's why I gave a range of options--and I discovered Belfast and Lemon's while checking the deets on Moxie, Hires, Dr Pepper, and Dr Brown's Cel-Ray. Anyway, one can claim that Moxie and Dr Brown's aren't major brands (though they once were), but Hires certainly is, and it predates Dr Pepper (and also uses higher quality ingredients and cane sugar rather than corn syrups).

OK, we must have a net-savvy bunch of geeks here, so riddle me this: what was the Internet originally called and when was it launched*?

* By "launched" I mean the month and year that the original 4-node network was operational, networking remote computers for the first time. And to really impress everyone, tell us who the first four nodes were.

[syntax]

They pulled Dr Pepper off the shelf here.

:(

A friend of mine was seriously considering buying the LAST two bottles on the shelf at our local supermarket....for $20 each.

He approached the manager and everything.

They told him NO GO!

[Texxx]

arpanet - 1969
UCLA
SRI in stanford
UC santa barbara
university of utah

didn't know this off the top of my head...

[Ecstatic]

Excellent, Texxx. You missed the month, but that's cool. The first two-node connection was between SRI and UCLA on Oct 29, 1969 (I had to look that up!), and all four were networked as of Dec 1969.

Take it away!

[Texxx]

i had to look the whole thing up.
i am running out of useless trivia at this point...
who developed the first sit ski for paraplegics/amputees and where was it designed (the final product)

[Ecstatic]

Wow, I have no idea!

[Ecstatic]

i had to look the whole thing up.
i am running out of useless trivia at this point...
who developed the first sit ski for paraplegics/amputees and where was it designed (the final product)
Hey Texxx, no one got this one so let us know, take the point and ask another! I need my stumper fix! (hmm...that could be taken a couple of ways, couldn't it....)

[Texxx]

sorry , on travel right now in chicago.

i am drawing a blank on his name, but it was developed at the veteran affairs hospital in palo alto, CA.
its bad that i forgot his name...

new question: what are the criteria to be a leapfrog hospital...and what is leapfrog?

[Ecstatic]

The Leapfrog Group grew out of a 1999 study by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) which found that almost 100,000 Americans die every year from preventable medical errors in hospitals. Their goal is to reduce and prevent such incidents by improving the quality and safety of hospitals. They originally identified three quality and safety items or "leaps" to this end: Computer Physician Order Entry, ICU Physician Staffing, and Evidence-Based Hospital Referral. They say that implementing these "leaps" in non-rural hospitals could save more than 65,000 lives and prevent approximately 900,000 serious medication errors each year. They further identified 27 supplementary practices (which they refer to as the "fourth leap") and provide a quality and safety survey for hospitals, the Leapfrog Hospital Quality and Safety Survey.

According to the Leapfrog Group's website:

About The Leapfrog Group

"The Leapfrog Group (www.leapfroggroup.org) is an initiative driven by organizations that buy health care who are working to initiate breakthrough improvements in the safety, quality and affordability of healthcare for Americans. It is a voluntary program aimed at mobilizing employer purchasing power to alert America’s health industry that big leaps in health care safety, quality and customer value will be recognized and rewarded. The Leapfrog Group was founded by a small group of large employers, initially supported by the Business Roundtable (BRT) and launched in November 2000. Leapfrog is supported by the BRT, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Leapfrog members and others.

"The Leapfrog Group’s growing consortium of Fortune 500 companies and other large private and public healthcare purchasers provide health benefits to more than 37 million Americans in all 50 states; Leapfrog members and their employees spend tens of billions of dollars on health care annually. Leapfrog members have agreed to base their purchase of health care on principles that encourage provider quality improvement and consumer involvement. The Leapfrog Group’s initial three recommended quality and safety practices have the potential to save up to 65,341 lives and prevent up to 907,600 medication errors each year (Birkmeyer, 2004). Implementation could also save up to $41.5 billion annually (Conrad, 2005)."

[Texxx]

well...you cannot ask for more info than that!
good job E!

[Ecstatic]

In V for Vendetta, V says "People should not be afraid of their governments, governments should be afraid of their people." Who wrote the original statement, "When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty," from which V's quote is derived?

[WillowQueen]

Ok, no one answered... um, Thomas Jefferson.

[Ecstatic]

You got it, WillowQueen! Gee, I forgot I asked the question! Anyway, your point. Take it away!

[WillowQueen]

Well ok, this is a bit different... since it relates to a movie back in the eraly 90's. You'd probably have to see it again to understand it.
You remember Back To The Future 3? Yeah, the one where Marty goes back to 1885. Now, accepting that time travel is possible and other logistics there is one impossibility that occurs.
Let me expand for those who didn't watch the movie. Marty is stranded in 1955, and the Doc, due to a malfunction, was sent into the year 1885. Doc never comes back, but leaves the car in an abandoned cave for Marty to find 70 years later (1955) so he can get back to his own time, which is 1985. Instead of doing that he travels back to 1885 to rescue Doc. Hilarity ensues.
Ok. Now, that's the basic premise. Back to my riddle here. There is an impossibility that can be seen before Marty even goes back to 1885 (although you won't realize it until afterwards).

I know... I couldn't really think of stumper, that's all I could think of at the time.

[Ecstatic]

Time travel storylines are always rife with paradox, aren't they? (Have you caught the new Dr Who?) It's been a long time since I've seen the Back to the Future movies, let's see: could it be that, if Marty in 1885 actually got back to 1985 when Doc pushed the DeLorean to 88 mph with the train, then said DeLorean couldn't have been in the cave in 1955 for Marty to find and take back to 1885?

Personally, I always wished for a Back to the Future 4 featuring the time traveling locomotive, Doc, and Mary Steenbergen's character: they were getting awfully close to Dr Who territory by then!

[WillowQueen]

Nope, that's similiar to the grandfather paradox. But, when you think about going into the past you have to consider that you creating an alternate timeline (although it's a little disproved in Back to Future 2).
No. In fact it's not tied that closely with time. It's more like an event occured that shouldn't have occured until Marty went back in time.

[WillowQueen]

Right... I know unfair question. But I'll tell you what happened.
Ok. So Marty's going to uncover the Deloriean which has been sitting in a cave for 70 years. While doing that he finds the Doc's grave in the nearby graveyard. Here's the fatal mistake: at the bottom of the tombstone it says something about "beloved Clara". Ok... at that time we don't know anything about Clara so it's all good.
Anyway marty goes back in time to being Doc back. In doing so he;s altered time. They try to figure out how to get back to 1985 and that leads them to an unfinished bridge... and at the moment a runaway carrage is heading towards the ravine. Oh noes! Well, the Doc and Marty save her and what do you know? It's Clara! So she and Doc get it on like it 1899 or something. But therein lies the problem. Before Marty changed the timeline Clara woud have fallen in the ravine. I know what you might be saying... "well, someone still might've been able to save her". That would be true if Marty hadn't told Doc a little anitdote about him and his classmates taking about a women named Clara falling into a ravine 100 years ago (that was in 1985), thus naming it Clayton Ravine (her last name was Clayton). At least that's how I think it goes.
Yeah... so that was impossibility of my near impossible question.

[Ecstatic]

Good one! OK, ask another! And pardon me while I go dust off my TARDIS.

[syntax]

Good one! OK, ask another! And pardon me while I go dust off my TARDIS.

haha the new Dr Who was pretty crappy. The guy who played the DR was really good though.

Anyone seen Little Britain?

The best Dr Who is still kickin it, Tom Baker is funny as hell in the show.

[Ecstatic]

No I haven't seen Little Britain. I'll have to check it out. Tom Baker is my favorite Doctor, followed by Jon Pertwee and Sylvester McCoy (great Doctor whose run was terminated abruptly by the series cancellation after 26 years). David Tennant has already replaced Christopher Eccleston in the BBC series, so we should be seeing the 10th Doctor on this side of the Atlantic next season (Eccleston only signed on for one season). That leaves two more (11th and 12th--twelve regenerations for a Time Lord, unless the first life doesn't count as a regeneration, meaning there could be three more to come).

I like the new series. Eccleston is a fine Doctor, with the quirkiness of Troughton or McCoy and the physicality of Pertwee or Baker. While I don't accept the destruction of the Time Lords (or at least their absence in the universe: since they travel freely in time, even if their race at some point came to an end, there would still be any number of them traveling through time endlessly, plus there's always Romana living in E-space, the biggest dangling thread in the Doctor Who mythos), I think the series has captured the flavor of the old series and nicely bypassed the insipid TV movie of the late 90s (though sadly they do count McGann's Doctor as the official 8th Doctor despite his only appearing in the one shot movie).

[Ecstatic]

Hey WillowQueen--how about asking another stumper? You stumped us the last time around!

[WillowQueen]

Ok, soemthing a little broader and easier to find.

What do you call a type of speech where telling someone something by saying you shouldn't say it?

[Ecstatic]

Umm...the truth? Kidding. With an MA in English and having taught college English for 7 years, you'd think I would know this, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Sounds a bit like a litote (a deliberate understatement or denial of the contrary, as in "He's no fool" when of course you mean he is). But that's not it. Hmmm. Good one, Willow.

[WillowQueen]

Wow! No, you didn't get it, but you knew that already. It's hard for me to even find it when I knew what the word was (it wasn't in the Webster's dictionary. Mind you that was 10 year old version)... but I did find it online so it's real.
Keep in mind I purposely used my own words instead of the definition often given. It has the same meaning, but mine is in a less technical fashion. That might help.

[Ecstatic]

I'm working on it. All those figures of speech coming back to me: synecdoche, metonymy, oxymoron, hyperbole, apostrophe...just can't put me finger on the right one. Maybe I'll wake up with the answer tomorrow morning.

...wait, are you thinking euphemism? That's a lot closer, but still seems a little wide of the mark (saying something agreeable or not offensive when the harsh truth would be much more severe). No, you said it wasn't in your dictionary, so that's out.

Hmmph. Stump the English teacher. You're good, Willow.

[Texxx]

asteismus?

[WillowQueen]

Nope. Those aren't it... but I think you're getting closer. It not everyday I get to stump a genius, Ecstatic.

[Ecstatic]

I think I got it! Apophasis: raising a subject by denying that it should be raised. The most common English formation is "not to mention," as in "she is beautiful, not to mention filthy rich." Often used by politicians, as in "I shouldn't even mention my opponent's reputation for drinking and lewd behavior."

Closely related is Proslepsis, or pretending to pass over a subject while at the same time describing it fully: "I should not go into my opponent's reputation for lewd behavior or his arrests for solicitation, which really have no bearing on the issues at hand." Proslepsis is an extreme form of Paralipsis, where you draw attention to something by pretending to ignore it.

[WillowQueen]

Yeah... actually, paralipsis was the word I was referring to so you still got it. Good on you, mate. Ask your question.

[Ecstatic]

Wow, you almost had me there, Willow. I really had to work at that one, but I knew it had to be one of those three. Paralipsis is the umbrella term.

OK, another word game: what is the figure of speech called where the part is used for the whole, or the whole for the part?

[tglover]

Wow that's a toughy, I hope I'm correct on this. Because if I'm right it can be answered with two different words. Are they "Metonymy and Synecdoche".

[Ecstatic]

Wow that's a toughy, I hope I'm correct on this. Because if I'm right it can be answered with two different words. Are they "Metonymy and Synecdoche".
You got it, tglover! Well played. Actually, synecdoche is the correct term, whereby one substitutes a part for the whole or the whole for a part. Examples: head of cattle for cattle, farmhands for farm workers (in both cases a part--head or hands--referring to the whole), or police for a handful of policeofficers (as in "the police broke down the door": it was not all policemen and women, but a small group of them).

Synecdoche is usually considered a specific type of metonymy, which is more generally substituting one word for something commonly associated with it but not necessarily a part of it: "You can't fight city hall" for instance doesn't refer to taking arms against the building (unless you're a modern-day Don Quixote), but to the futility of fighting municipal regulations. Thus, Hollywood is a metonym for the American film industry and the White House for the President. (A metonym differs from a metaphor in that there is nothing "houselike" about the President; it's not a term of comparison but of continuity.)

Metonymy is also a basic principle of cognition, taking one easy-to-perceive aspect of something to represent that thing; it's why so many people see the Virgin Mary or Jesus in a piece of French toast or rust stain on a wall: the basic design is so deeply ingrained that the brain quickly fills in the gap to complete the picture. This is also a way in which human cognition to date outstrips computer processing, as computers are not capable of the same level of metonymy as humans.

[tglover]

I hope this question/riddle hasn't been askd yet. If it has I apologize. Here it is:
Whats greater than god...
More evil than the devil...
Rich people need it...
Poor people have it..,
and if you eat it you will die?

[WillowQueen]

It's a riddle. Nothing.

[tglover]

Yep you nailed it Willow, great job! Does anybody do movie quotes?

[WillowQueen]

Well, I tried to find a difficult one today.
What part of the body is dervied from a specific number in latin? And for a cookie what is a latin name of said part of body?

[tglover]

My answer is playing on word, so I'll try not to "deviate" to far, but isn't it the septum? Or in Latin the number 7

[WillowQueen]

Sorry no. Septum is latin but it means something that encloses. I think you were thinking of septua. Good guess though.

[Ecstatic]

As a pun, that would work, tglover, but it's not accurate: seven in Latin is septem (as in "September" or the seventh month); septum comes not from the Latin septem but the Latin saeptum or fence, wall, enclosure, and is not related to septem.

I don't know if this is the word Willow has in mind, but one which fits is duodenum (the first part of the small intestine, from the pylorus to the jejunum), which derives from the Latin duodeni (twelve each), which in turn derives from duodecim (twelve), so-called because the length of the duodenum is approximately equal to the breadth of twelve fingers.

[WillowQueen]

Darn. You got it. Thought it would take a little longer. I'll come up with something better next time. Like I said, I admire your wisdom/intelligence.

[Ecstatic]

Thanks, Willow. The feeling is mutual: you really get me thinking! Beauty and brains, there's no better combination. :)

OK, this is a trick question of sorts, because the answer seems so obvious: What is the tallest mountain on the earth? We all know Mount Everest (Chomolungma in Tibetan) at 29,028 feet or 8,848 meters above sea level is the highest mountain, correct? Not so fast! There are two other methods for determining the height of a mountain. One is from the base to the peak; by this method, the world's tallest mountain is 33,476 feet (10,203 meters), and as Willow might say, you get a cookie if you can correctly name this mountain.

But for the stumper: what is the third method of measuring the height of a mountain, and by this measure what is the tallest mountain in the world?

[WillowQueen]

I took geology completely by accident and I think that's were I learned that you can measure mountains by starting from the center of the earth to the peak. I'm not sure on the name but I'd estimate the location would be near the equater.
I think the tallest mountain by the second method you mentioned (I didn't know the name, I had to look it up, I just knew the location) is Mauna Kea in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii.
I want some cookies.

[Ecstatic]

Chocolate chip or Oreo?

(Wait, that question belongs in the "ask a question" thread, lol.)

You're right about the third method, and about the highest mountain by the second method. In fact, it's not near Hawaii, it is Hawaii--or one of the seven volcanoes which make up the Big Island. Mauna Kea is also the largest single object on the planet; as a shield volcano (so-called because in profile it resembles a shield lieing flat on the ground), about 85% of its mass is below sea level. It's actually larger than the entire Sierra Nevada range taken as a whole.

Yes, the highest mountain measured from the center of the earth to the summit is on the equator, where the earth bulges significantly (whereas the Himalayan plateau is well north of the Tropic of Cancer (the Himalaya and the Hindu Kush) and, while the 100 highest mountains on the earth measured the traditional above sea level method are found in Asia, they all fall short due to the curvature of the earth).

However....you do get the cookie, and you got the answer more than half right (the method and the general location): but if you don't know the mountain, should you get the stumper point? This has to go to the judges: What do you think, guys?

[WillowQueen]

Nah, I don't need it. I'd like to think of a question to ask before I'm supposed to. Besides, I'll give someone else the chance to play.

[Ecstatic]

OK, if no one else gets the name of the specific mountain and location in the next 12 hours, then you'll win it by default. Otherwise, I'll post the correct answer. And since you've gotten more than half of the question anyway, then go ahead and post yours whenever you think of one. If someone does get the right answer for the mountain, then we can have two stumpers! (why not? who needs rules? lol)

[bunzy]

I think it's probably Mauna Kea, one of five volcanic masses making up the "Big Island"of Hawaii. It is about 9,000 m (30,000 ft) tall, however only 4,245 m (13,796 ft) of that is above sea level."

[quirkymuse]

Could Mount Mei Aywanalaya?

Cause i heard a drunk woman talking about it once...

[Ecstatic]

I think it's probably Mauna Kea, one of five volcanic masses making up the "Big Island"of Hawaii. It is about 9,000 m (30,000 ft) tall, however only 4,245 m (13,796 ft) of that is above sea level."
Sorry, bunzy: a day late and an hour short. We've already talked about Mauna Kea, which is 33,476 feet (10,203 meters) measured from base to summit.

Answer coming soon....

[Ecstatic]

Could Mount Mei Aywanalaya?

Cause i heard a drunk woman talking about it once...
:lol: How about Mount Heranaycumtu?

[Ecstatic]

OK, since no one has come up with the correct answer naming the tallest mountain in the world (by the third method, measuring from the center of the Earth to the summit--which could also be seen as the thickest part of the planet), here it is: the Andean mountain Chimborazo in Ecuador. Though it is "only" 20,561 feet (6,267 meters or 3.9 miles) above sea level, yet its peak is the farthest from the Earth's center. Chimorazo gets a boost from the equatorial bulge caused by the spin of the Earth. This bulge makes the Earth's radius about 21,000 m (68,900 ft) greater at the equator than at the poles, and places the summit of Chimborazo 6,384,404 meters from the center of the Earth, whereas the peak of Mt Everest (Chomolungma) is "only" 6,381,670 meters from the center of the Earth (2734 meters or 8969 feet -- over 1.6 miles -- further from the center of the Earth).

And Willow gets the point for getting most of the answer right.

Where's AG for this geology lesson? :lol:

[WillowQueen]

Yeah. Cool. Well... I'm don't really have any questions thought up except....
Ok: What fabric is made of closely woven fabric usually used for the pockets of trousers and is named after the province where it's made?

[Ecstatic]

That's a good one. Hmmm. Denim is named after the French province Serge de Nimes, but I think of the jeans themselves and not the pockets. Can't think of another one offhand.