The Official TPH Education Thread (POTENTIAL GAME DAY SPOILERS)

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Volante
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Re: The Official TPH Education Thread (POTENTIAL GAME DAY SPOILERS)

Post by Volante »

TenPoundHammer wrote: Mon Oct 16, 2017 7:31 pm How do I stop myself from blanking on things so often? It seems I'm only getting worse at lt. I've seen those Alexa ads all the time, and three of my friends own an Echo, but I just could not pull the name.
I think you need to just start answering. You've stayed clam for so long, now you've forgotten how to respond at all. Retrain the brain!
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Re: The Official TPH Education Thread (POTENTIAL GAME DAY SPOILERS)

Post by Anachronism »

I'm surprised Iowa was BMSed to the city. Especially since the clue said nothing about the city. Also, "Iowa City" is only like the 20th most popular city in Iowa.
The clue read "Population about 70,000, it's where to go to see the Hawkeyes play in Kinnick Stadium." Iowa has more than 70,000 residents. I was also surprised it was BMSed, but not in the same way you were.

Also, Iowa City is the fifth largest city in the state (and home of the University of Iowa, which is an internationally known AAU university and a member of the Big Ten). This is not a tough clue for someone familiar with the Midwest. BTW, Ottumwa, fictional home of Radar on M*A*S*H, is the 20th-largest city in Iowa, at about 25k.
Weird Al is a "rock" satirist? That almost seems like it should be tagged as erratum. Most of the songs he parodies seem to fall under Top 40/pop.
Rock has dozens of sub-genres, including soft rock and just about everything else you'd find in the top 40 except maybe rap. It's just a generic term.
I bit on the "itis" negbait. That was a nasty clue.
Yep, a tough one. I started that way, too, then realized "appenditis" is not a word. I think they should have reworded the clue to include the word "operation."
That phone clue had a lot of guesses. I would've thought payphone.
The payphone (if there still are any) is about 100 years old.
I saw no way to even guess on this FJ!
With geography, it's often a matter of knowing the 15 or so major seas and oceans in the world and an idea of what countries might be in those coastal areas. It was a visual clue for me. I went immediately to Iran, but was only about 80% sure I had it.
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Volante
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Re: The Official TPH Education Thread (POTENTIAL GAME DAY SPOILERS)

Post by Volante »

I saw no way to even guess on this FJ!
Yeah...if you don't know any Asian countries, you're completely sunk rather than 98% sunk.
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Re: The Official TPH Education Thread (POTENTIAL GAME DAY SPOILERS)

Post by TenPoundHammer »

Anachronism wrote: Tue Oct 17, 2017 10:28 pm Also, Iowa City is the fifth largest city in the state (and home of the University of Iowa, which is an internationally known AAU university and a member of the Big Ten). This is not a tough clue for someone familiar with the Midwest.
I'm from the Midwest and I had no idea which of the major cities in Iowa to pick.
Anachronism wrote: Tue Oct 17, 2017 10:28 pm
Weird Al is a "rock" satirist? That almost seems like it should be tagged as erratum. Most of the songs he parodies seem to fall under Top 40/pop.
Rock has dozens of sub-genres, including soft rock and just about everything else you'd find in the top 40 except maybe rap. It's just a generic term.
Still, very few of his songs would qualify as rock simply because the original un-parodied forms don't. For instance, there's nothing "rock" about "Blurred Lines", and therefore nothing rock about "Word Crimes". Same thing with "Ridin'", "Happy", "Like a Virgin", "MacArthur Park", etc. -- none of those songs are rock, so "White & Nerdy", "Tacky", "Like a Surgeon", "Jurassic Park", etc. aren't either. Likewise with original content: "Dare to Be Stupid" is a style-parody of Devo, who is new wave; "One More Minute" is 50's doo-wop and not even any artist in particular; and of course, all his polka medleys. Not that he hasn't done his share of rock parodies, but I never thought of it as his primary genre.
Anachronism wrote: Tue Oct 17, 2017 10:28 pm With geography, it's often a matter of knowing the 15 or so major seas and oceans in the world and an idea of what countries might be in those coastal areas. It was a visual clue for me. I went immediately to Iran, but was only about 80% sure I had it.
Every sea just blends together for me and I can never pinpoint which is where, no matter how hard I stare at the map. Given my affinity for maps, you'd think I'd be great at geography, but nope.
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Re: The Official TPH Education Thread (POTENTIAL GAME DAY SPOILERS)

Post by This Is Kirk! »

TenPoundHammer wrote: Wed Oct 18, 2017 12:01 am Still, very few of his songs would qualify as rock simply because the original un-parodied forms don't. For instance, there's nothing "rock" about "Blurred Lines", and therefore nothing rock about "Word Crimes". Same thing with "Ridin'", "Happy", "Like a Virgin", "MacArthur Park", etc. -- none of those songs are rock, so "White & Nerdy", "Tacky", "Like a Surgeon", "Jurassic Park", etc. aren't either. Likewise with original content: "Dare to Be Stupid" is a style-parody of Devo, who is new wave; "One More Minute" is 50's doo-wop and not even any artist in particular; and of course, all his polka medleys. Not that he hasn't done his share of rock parodies, but I never thought of it as his primary genre.
Just take a look at the list of bands/artists in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and you'll see the term "rock music" is often used quite liberally.
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Re: The Official TPH Education Thread (POTENTIAL GAME DAY SPOILERS)

Post by OrangeSAM »

TenPoundHammer wrote: Wed Oct 18, 2017 12:01 am
Every sea just blends together for me and I can never pinpoint which is where, no matter how hard I stare at the map. Given my affinity for maps, you'd think I'd be great at geography, but nope.
Water, water everywhere....
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Re: The Official TPH Education Thread (POTENTIAL GAME DAY SPOILERS)

Post by TenPoundHammer »

Why I Don't Guess, Volume XVIII:

====
TenPoundHammer wrote: Wed Oct 18, 2017 12:45 pm
Elijah Baley wrote: Wed Oct 18, 2017 12:42 pm
TenPoundHammer wrote: Wed Oct 18, 2017 12:35 pm
Elijah Baley wrote: Wed Oct 18, 2017 12:34 pm I hadn't considered the fact that there were car phones much earlier, but for $800 (if that was the value), it's probably a clue where the first thing that came to mind would typically be correct.
Which, in my case, was payphone.
Except that wouldn't account for all of those payphones in movies going back to at least the 30s. Not to mention Superman used to do his quick change in an always conveniently located phonebooth.
I still had nothing else that fit. It's like last week, I never would've guessed that fax machines are older than telephones.
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Re: The Official TPH Education Thread (POTENTIAL GAME DAY SPOILERS)

Post by Woppy T »

This Is Kirk! wrote: Wed Oct 18, 2017 12:05 am
TenPoundHammer wrote: Wed Oct 18, 2017 12:01 am Still, very few of his songs would qualify as rock simply because the original un-parodied forms don't. For instance, there's nothing "rock" about "Blurred Lines", and therefore nothing rock about "Word Crimes". Same thing with "Ridin'", "Happy", "Like a Virgin", "MacArthur Park", etc. -- none of those songs are rock, so "White & Nerdy", "Tacky", "Like a Surgeon", "Jurassic Park", etc. aren't either. Likewise with original content: "Dare to Be Stupid" is a style-parody of Devo, who is new wave; "One More Minute" is 50's doo-wop and not even any artist in particular; and of course, all his polka medleys. Not that he hasn't done his share of rock parodies, but I never thought of it as his primary genre.
Just take a look at the list of bands/artists in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and you'll see the term "rock music" is often used quite liberally.
Absolutely -- but this is really just evidence of how completely lame the Rock and Roll HOF is.
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Re: The Official TPH Education Thread (POTENTIAL GAME DAY SPOILERS)

Post by This Is Kirk! »

Woppy T wrote: Wed Oct 18, 2017 1:30 pm
This Is Kirk! wrote: Wed Oct 18, 2017 12:05 am
TenPoundHammer wrote: Wed Oct 18, 2017 12:01 am Still, very few of his songs would qualify as rock simply because the original un-parodied forms don't. For instance, there's nothing "rock" about "Blurred Lines", and therefore nothing rock about "Word Crimes". Same thing with "Ridin'", "Happy", "Like a Virgin", "MacArthur Park", etc. -- none of those songs are rock, so "White & Nerdy", "Tacky", "Like a Surgeon", "Jurassic Park", etc. aren't either. Likewise with original content: "Dare to Be Stupid" is a style-parody of Devo, who is new wave; "One More Minute" is 50's doo-wop and not even any artist in particular; and of course, all his polka medleys. Not that he hasn't done his share of rock parodies, but I never thought of it as his primary genre.
Just take a look at the list of bands/artists in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and you'll see the term "rock music" is often used quite liberally.
Absolutely -- but this is really just evidence of how completely lame the Rock and Roll HOF is.
Agreed.
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Re: The Official TPH Education Thread (POTENTIAL GAME DAY SPOILERS)

Post by TenPoundHammer »

Yet another "why I don't guess" moment:
A 1796 medical experiment with an English farm girl ultimately led to this breakthrough announced in Geneva May 8, 1980
Okay, category of "Historic Connections" is of no use here. Experiment could be anything. English farm girl? No help. Breakthrough? No idea. Geneva? May 1980? Yeah, everything is totally meaningless here. I give up.
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Re: The Official TPH Education Thread (POTENTIAL GAME DAY SPOILERS)

Post by Wheatley »

TenPoundHammer wrote: Thu Oct 19, 2017 1:20 am I saw no way to "Be more specific" on "E". That was a tough clue.
They gave you an example (cub to cube), and E is such a versatile letter that a 3-minute song can only cover one function.
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Re: The Official TPH Education Thread (POTENTIAL GAME DAY SPOILERS)

Post by TenPoundHammer »

Wheatley wrote: Thu Oct 19, 2017 8:06 am
TenPoundHammer wrote: Thu Oct 19, 2017 1:20 am I saw no way to "Be more specific" on "E". That was a tough clue.
They gave you an example (cub to cube), and E is such a versatile letter that a 3-minute song can only cover one function.
And yet we got the umpteen billionth "Deer in the headlights after a BMS followed by triple-stumper" moment. I say undervalued and/or poorly pinned.
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Re: The Official TPH Education Thread (POTENTIAL GAME DAY SPOILERS)

Post by hbomb1947 »

TenPoundHammer wrote: Thu Oct 19, 2017 10:09 am
Wheatley wrote: Thu Oct 19, 2017 8:06 am
TenPoundHammer wrote: Thu Oct 19, 2017 1:20 am I saw no way to "Be more specific" on "E". That was a tough clue.
They gave you an example (cub to cube), and E is such a versatile letter that a 3-minute song can only cover one function.
And yet we got the umpteen billionth "Deer in the headlights after a BMS followed by triple-stumper" moment. I say undervalued and/or poorly pinned.
I actually have to agree with TPH to the extent that the clue was vague and undervalued (It was obviously pinned to a segment on the show, albeit a show that many of us hadn't seen in several decades.) The clue was vague because it didn't advert to a "function" of the letter at issue. The clue simply read, "Tom Lehrer wrote songs for the show, like one about this letter that likes to 'turn a can into a cane.'" (emphasis added). A silent "e" is not simply a letter, but a letter performing a particular function -- which goes beyond the wording of the clue.
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Re: The Official TPH Education Thread (POTENTIAL GAME DAY SPOILERS)

Post by TenPoundHammer »

He’s the only actor to win 3 Best Actor Oscars, the most recent for his portrayal of a U.S. President
There have been tons and tons of actors who have portrayed presidents. It's 100% possible that a famous one played a president in a recent movie that I've never heard of, since I pay no attention to movies or actors. There is a remote chance that it could be the only actor I can name off the top of my head who recently played a President. But the odds are far, far, far, FAR greater that it's gonna be a NHOI for me. Therefore, I'm going with the odds.
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Re: The Official TPH Education Thread (POTENTIAL GAME DAY SPOILERS)

Post by opusthepenguin »

TenPoundHammer wrote: Thu Oct 19, 2017 8:00 pm
He’s the only actor to win 3 Best Actor Oscars, the most recent for his portrayal of a U.S. President
There have been tons and tons of actors who have portrayed presidents. It's 100% possible that a famous one played a president in a recent movie that I've never heard of, since I pay no attention to movies or actors. There is a remote chance that it could be the only actor I can name off the top of my head who recently played a President. But the odds are far, far, far, FAR greater that it's gonna be a NHOI for me. Therefore, I'm going with the odds.
Good for you! How did it feel to get this one right?

Odds of getting FJ right by leaving it blank: 0%
Odds of getting FJ right with a guess you have no confidence in: Infinitely greater

Always go with the odds. Always.
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Re: The Official TPH Education Thread (POTENTIAL GAME DAY SPOILERS)

Post by TenPoundHammer »

I meant "going with the odds" in terms of "the odds are far greater that it will be a NHOI than someone I have heard of. Because I know exactly one actor who has played a President, but he is literally one of hundreds of people who have portrayed a president. Therefore, the odds are far greater that the correct response will be someone I've NHO, than the one that I HAVE heard of.
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Re: The Official TPH Education Thread (POTENTIAL GAME DAY SPOILERS)

Post by seaborgium »

The odds against the answer being an empty space are maximally worse than the odds against the one name you can give.
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Re: The Official TPH Education Thread (POTENTIAL GAME DAY SPOILERS)

Post by TenPoundHammer »

seaborgium wrote: Thu Oct 19, 2017 10:43 pm The odds against the answer being an empty space are maximally worse than the odds against the one name you can give.
Still. I was infinitely certain that it was NOT going to be the one name I could give.

That's why I clam on FJ! so much. I'm so used to it being something I don't know, that I'm mentally preparing myself for that. Every part of me is expecting to get Liederkranz'd every time. It's happened before, so it'll happen again.
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Re: The Official TPH Education Thread (POTENTIAL GAME DAY SPOILERS)

Post by Ironhorse »

Like you, I'm not a movie person at all. I haven't even set foot inside a movie theater in the last five years. Nonetheless, I was helped on this one by remembering a very similar FJ question last season where some of the wrong guesses were Daniel Day-Lewis, thinking of the Lincoln biopic. That led me to guess him for tonight's FJ.
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Re: The Official TPH Education Thread (POTENTIAL GAME DAY SPOILERS)

Post by seaborgium »

TenPoundHammer wrote: Thu Oct 19, 2017 11:03 pm Still. I was infinitely certain that it was NOT going to be the one name I could give.
How can you be so sure? In your own words:
TenPoundHammer wrote: Thu Oct 19, 2017 8:00 pmI pay no attention to movies or actors.
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