heppm01 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 23, 2017 11:21 am
"Rudolf Abel & this American are most associated with Germany’s Glienicke Bridge on February 10, 1962"
Isn't this somewhat subjective? If, hypothetically, all three contestants responded "JFK" then across that population of three it could be considered correct. Or, across the population of people whose sole exposure to the topic is through the movie "Bridge of Spies", it is not unreasonable to respond "James Donovan" (the character played by Tom Hanks) since he had by far the most screen time - much more than Powers.
Obviously neither of these responses are what they are looking for and I am being a little facetious, but it seems like the clue could have been worded better.
Since I spent the entire :30 trying to remember Donovan's name, after pushing Powers out of my mind, I agree! Though clearly I would have more fruitfully spent it considering why Powers popped in in the first place...
Would it have been too much of a tip-off if the clue had referred to the two men as spies?
twelvefootboy wrote:
I think the FJ might poll well with this group, but otherwise it is a turd of a clue. No TOM whatsoever, and there should have been some anti-TOM to deflect desperate guesses of JFK. If they want the guy shot down over Russia and traded for another guy with a not-Russian sounding name then why bring up an unknown bridge in Germany and don't indicate their roles? I gather there has been a recent book/movie and that's fine for readers and movie buffs, but historians and current eventers should have had a path. And, as immaf demonstrated, just pulling the name is trivial enough (Why didn't he take that suicide pill?).
Until I started reading this thread, I had no knowledge of the book/movie that is being cited here. I was able to reason out the correct response about 20 seconds into the think music. I wasn't sure it was who they were asking for until Lisa's response was revealed. It seemed like a pretty obscure clue to me, so I was pretty proud to come up with it.
I used to work along side a retired Air Force chief master seargant (not the one on this board ) who's father was chief test pilot at Lockeed during the 1930s. He loved to talk military and politics so the Gary Powers incident was brought up a few times. It's been nearly twenty years since I worked with him though.
Great get, even with your considerable insider viewpoint.
I'm not ancient enough to know the story firsthand, but it is referenced countless times in the Cold War narrative and I've never heard the trivial details of the actual swap. Was it in the daytime? Was it raining? What were they wearing (flowers or scarves)? I know that after the maximum Propaganda value was extracted by Kruschev that we swapped one of their spies for Powers, but he wasn't noteworthy before or after. I've gotten the vibe that Powers was scorned for getting captured - our current President wouldn't like him at all .
All them that got it without the benefit of the book/movie - helluva get! No sour grapes here (if you TOM'd it to the movie/book), but it was such a juicy topic that a little non-movie TOM would have been nice. The clue only provided confusing context - what are two people doing on a damn bridge? I put JFK on it just in case it was near Berlin.
Disclaimer - repeated exposure to author's musings may cause befuddlement.
I started with JFK but thought "this American" was a rather vague description of a president. The name given in the answer meant nothing and I'd never heard of that bridge. Then Powers name came to me in the last part of the music. I knew he was shot down in 1960 but knew nothing of how he came to be released.
) who's father was chief test pilot at Lockeed during the 1930s. He loved to talk military and politics so the Gary Powers incident was brought up a few times. It's been nearly twenty years since I worked with him though.
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