TD 271: Numerology

[Vermonter]

Quicklink to reveals: Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 Q10 Q11 Q12

Game is closed. Total entries: 73

Spoiler

1. MollyQMurphy
2. MarkBarrett
3. Peggles
4. gamawire
5. ZachTheRiah
6. 9021amyers
7. Rackme32
8. caknuck
9. Dlinn83
10. MitchO
11. dinghammer
12. RichmondJ
13. geolawyerman
14. Blue Lion
15. Abraxas
16. quarterrican
17. mitchparov
18. immaf
19. clprez
20. mikeyb
21. ElendilPickle
22. MinnesotaMyron
23. BigDaddyMatty
24. Category 13
25. Lampy
26. Magna
27. BerneseMountainDogLover
28. CoachP
29. BennyBXB
30. Holocene Hero
31. tjconn728
32. dhkendall
33. Rusty's in the club
34. groovitude
35. cmp146
36. psgola
37. mennoknight
38. econgator
39. Caboom
40. dnbguy
41. chmmr
42. Ryno
43. patkav
44. Bamaman
45. nightlove1200
46. ouachiouat
47. RyanWillDestroySofia
48. Pickle
49. BobF
50. Peachbox
51. RandyG
52. Armandillo
53. dott888
54. jgamer
55. ihavejeoprosy
56. DadofTwins
57. cool_hand
58. kettledrum
59. Woppy T
60. goforthetie
61. EricaofTwins
62. KatieofTwins
63. Dick Butkus
64. Big Bear
65. naurae29
66. JonathanHenke
67. goatman
68. Deano
69. schoe
70. Ivoirians
71. yossarian
72. Steppenwolf
73. barandall800

Welcome to Think Different 271: Numerology! All of your answers will be whole numbers greater than zero.

Points will be tabulated in the normal manner: 1 point for each person (including yourself) who gave that response.

Well, except…

As usual for a Vermonter game, the scoring for this Think Different will probably cause you to reconsider your strategy. Or have an aneurysm. Whatever, I'm not responsible.

The SHEEP

Often in Think Different, we use the term SHEEP to designate the most-popular (and thus least-desirable) response. The SHEEP in this game will be particularly undesirable, however: it will be worth 1,000 points.

That's right – your primary goal is to have the fewest SHEEP answers.

Also important: There will be only one SHEEP per question. In case of a tie for the most submitted responses, the largest answer among those responses will be the SHEEP. For example, if it's there's a tie between (Nintendo) 64 and (Windows) 98, then 98 will be the SHEEP, because it is the larger number.

The SHEEP is a flat score; your total will go up by 1,000 regardless of how many people responded to the SHEEP. Wrong answers will receive 1,000 points plus one-tenth the number of entrants, rounded to the nearest whole number.

The FOX

You must answer every question, so to help you along your way, you will have the use of one FOX on a question of your choosing. If you answer that question either with a SHEEP or incorrectly, the FOX will "eat" the SHEEP, reducing your score on that question by 1,000. (There is no penalty for a mis-used FOX.)

Here's an example bringing all of these rules together:

Spoiler

(Nintendo) 64 and (Windows) 98 tie for the most with seven responses apiece. As explained above, 98 would be the SHEEP, so anyone who answered 98 receives 1,000 points – unless they used a FOX, in which case they get zero points.

Anyone who responded with 64 receives 7 points, whether they used a FOX or not.

Anyone providing an incorrect answer receives 1,000 points plus a penalty of 1/10 the number of entrants – unless they used a FOX, in which case they get just the penalty of 1/10 the number of entrants.

To be clear, you may not "drop" any questions; you use the FOX in addition to answering a question.

No cheating, yada yada yada. There's a special tiebreaker question for you to answer on the form, similar to my past TDs.

Special thanks to RandyG for providing feedback on my explanation of the rules.

Good luck!

[Vermonter]

There are 12 questions, each with 12 possible answers. You do not need to match your answer with a specific prompt. Let's get it on!

CORRECTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS:
#2: for poker hands, all distinct starting hands, taking into account rank and suit (thanks to several of you)
#2: for [Settlers of] Catan, I'm referring to the current base set (the Fourth and Fifth Editions are the same), not the original, which also had customizable sea hexes (thanks goforthetie)
#10: looking for regular-season home runs from Roger Maris (thanks RandyG)
#10: I'm asking about rugby union, not rugby league (thanks caknuck)
#10: to be clear, I"m looking for total players on the field at the start of a professional soccer game (thanks MarkBarrett)

Please enter using the Google form here.
You will have the option to receive a copy of your responses if you so desire.

1. POP MUSIC.
What group recorded your chosen songs? (Remember, I want only the number in the group's name.)

• "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)", "Joy to the World", "Black and White"
• "She Will Be Loved", "Makes Me Wonder", "Moves like Jagger"
• "Down", "Amber", "Sunset in July"
• "When Worlds Collide", "Free", "How To Be a Human"
• "What's the Matter Here?", "Trouble Me", "Because the Night" (on MTV Unplugged)
• "Because of You", "The Hardest Thing", "Thank God I Found You"
• "What Makes You Beautiful", "Little Things", "Best Song Ever"
• "King", "Red Red Wine", "(I Can't Help) Falling in Love With You"
• "Down in It", "The Hand That Feeds", "Came Back Haunted"
• "Blue (Da Ba Dee)", "Move Your Body", "Lucky (In My Life)"
• "Push", "Bent", "Unwell"
• "Dammit (Growing Up)", "What's My Age Again?", "All the Small Things"

2. GAMES.
Pick a number… any number. As long as it's an answer to the below, of course.

• tiles in English-language Scrabble, including blanks
• "Yo" in craps
• area code created in 1998 for parts of Nevada (hint: two less than what the state wanted)
• target total in blackjack
• points to win a full-length cribbage game
• spaces on a North American roulette wheel
• number of possible starting hands for a single player in Texas hold 'em, taking into account both rank and suit
• spaces on a Connect Four board
• terrain hexes in Settlers of Catan (original edition)
• cards in a Canasta deck
• possible distinct rolls with 3 dice (e.g., 1-2-3 and 3-2-1 count just once)
• number of improvable properties in Monopoly (i.e., properties on which you can build houses and hotels)

3. FILM.
In what film would you find one of these quotes? (Number in the title only, please)

• 2006: "Spartans! Ready your breakfast and eat hearty, for tonight, we dine in Hell!"
• 1971: "Cybernetics, genetics, lasers and all those things. I guess I'll never understand any of that stuff. Guess maybe holograms are not supposed to."
• 2009: "I wish I could tell you we could prevent the coming destruction. We cannot."
• 1984: "Wease, we've got seventy dollars and a pair of girl's underpants. We're safe as kittens."
• 1959: "Oh, I lie now and then, I suppose. Sometimes I'd tell them the truth and they still wouldn't believe me, so I prefer to lie."
• 2001: "I don't know what it is with those sideburns. I mean, I glued mine on. For you it's an actual lifestyle choice."
• 1968: "Open the pod bay doors, Hal."
• 1947: "Oh, Christmas isn't just a day, it's a frame of mind… and that's what's been changing."
• 2013 (remake of a 1941 film): "For the crime of disobedience, you should all be executed as common criminals, but you and your men follow the old ways of Bushido."
• 1961: "They are my only true love, dah-ling. I live for furs, I worship furs! After all, is there a woman in this wretched world who doesn't?"
• 1957: "This man has been standing alone against us. It's not easy to stand alone against the ridicule of others."
• 1999: "Hello, Katarina. Make anybody cry today?"

4. WAR.
Hooh! Give the year in which one of these events occurred.

• Battle of Stamford Bridge
• Battle of Saratoga
• Battle of Fort Sumter
• Battle of Agincourt
• Fall of Constantinople
• Battle of Baghdad ("Shock and Awe" campaign)
• Battle of the Milvian Bridge
• Sack of Rome by Vandals
• Battle of Britain (blitzkrieg)
• Battle of Waterloo
• Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
• The Tonkin Gulf Incident

5. CHEMISTRY.
What is the atomic number of your chosen element?

• oxygen
• helium
• silver
• krypton
• chlorine
• seaborgium
• iron
• boron
• argon
• carbon
• uranium
• sodium

6. BOOKS.
Each of these books has a number in the title. What is it? (Click image for larger version)
Note: 89 and 310 are not correct answers; the Doyle story is a novel.

Spoiler

7. MUSICALS.
What number is missing from your chosen lyric?

• ___ trombones led the big parade
• I dreamed that in the fields one day, the corn gave me sign; your ___ sheaves of corn all turned and bowed to mine
• Womb to tomb? Sperm to worm! I'll see you there about ___ [Toniiiight]
• Come and meet those dancing feet, on the avenue I'm taking you to: ___ Street
• It's something I've foreseen, now that I'm ___. I'll do something incredible – that blows God's freakin' mind!
• Want a thing-a-ma-bob? I've got ___! But who cares… No big deal…
• ___ minutes. How do you measure a year in the life?
• It sucks to be me – it sucks to be broke and unemployed and turning ___
• Yes, I'm the Arbiter, I know the score. From square one I'll be watching all ___
• He's got ___ golden camels [Don't they look lovely, June?]
• At the ___ Annual, we memorize the manual, about how to spell these words
• Pop. ___. Squish. Uh uh. Cicero. Lipschitz

8. AMERICAN POLITICS.
With 50% more pork than the average question!

• year in which the first woman was elected to Congress
• number of Senators in Class 3 (note: Classes 1 and 2 have the same amount)
• area code for Washington, D.C.
• current Cabinet-level departments
• year in which the Constitution took effect
• number of men who have served as Vice President
• electoral votes available in a presidential election
• first even-numbered year in which a president was inaugurated
• second (and most recent) even-numbered year in which a president was inaugurated
• states with a bicameral legislature
• current Justices of the Supreme Court
• the only Constitutional Amendment to be later nullified in full

9. INTERSTATE HIGHWAYS.
Name an interstate highway with the following endpoints. Note: I didn't pick any three-digit interstates. I'm including a map with the various interstates highlighted; you can find a higher-resolution version here.

• San Diego, CA – Casa Grande, AZ
• San Francisco, CA – Fort Lee, NJ
• Two with this number (TEAL): Portland, OR – Echo, UT; Scranton, PA – Sturbridge, MA
• Billings, MT – Port Huron, MI
• Hialeah, FL – Sault Ste. Marie, MI
• Bedford, PA – Painted Post, NY
• Miami, FL – Houlton, ME
• Laredo, TX – Duluth, MN
• San Ysidro, CA – Blaine, WA
• Scroggins Draw, TX – Florence, SC
• Tampa, FL – Daytona Beach, FL
• Two with this number (PURPLE): Denver, CO – Big Springs, NE; Westfield Center, OH – Camden, NJ

Spoiler

10. SPORTS.
What will the winning number be?

• length of Lou Gehrig's consecutive-games streak, broken by Cal Ripken Jr. in 1995
• Wilt Chamberlain's record for most points in a single game
• total players on the field at the start of a professional soccer game
• Jackie Robinson's uniform number
• Philadelphia's NBA team
• number of regular-season home runs hit by Roger Maris in 1961
• points for a try in rugby union (e.g., in the 2015 World Cup, won by New Zealand)
• when doubled, the name of a shorter version of cricket
• games played in the 2015 NCAA Men's Division 1 Basketball Tournament
• minutes in a regulation NHL game
• length of an NBA court, in feet
• San Francisco's NFL team

11. IDIOMS.
Will you score 100% on this one? Or a perfect ten? Remember, just give me the missing number, not the whole missing phrase.

• catch ___: to take a nap; to get some sleep
• ___ to the dozen: very rapidly or energetically
• ___ discount: to shoplift
• behind the ___: in an unfavorable or uncomfortable position
• batting ___: having made no mistakes; perfect (note: please give me the number that's actually said in this idiom)
• as phony as a ___: very false indeed; not remotely genuine
• ___ of a lamb's tail: an interval of time equal to 10 nanoseconds
• feel like ___: be in excellent health and spirits
• ___-___: to split evenly (same number in both blanks)
• on ___: a feeling of extreme happiness or euphoria
• ___ of one, half a dozen of the other: different terms for the same thing
• ___ decision: a decision made very late in a process, or at the last possible moment

12. RELIGION.
Choose wisely, for this is the final step in your attempt to reach TD Heaven. Unless you believe in predestination, of course.

• a "gift" to All Saints' Church in Wittenberg, 1517
• "take what's on these two tablets and call me in the morning" –Moses, allegedly
• traditional number of mitzvot in the Torah, first proposed in the 3rd century
• this final chapter of a Bible book begins: "Praise the Lord. / Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens"
• Shiva traditionally has this many arms
• A.D. year in which Muhammad fled to Medina (the Hijra)
• miraculously, they shared 2 fish and 5 loaves
• time, in days, that Jesus spent wandering in the desert
• number of books in the New Testament, according to almost all modern Christian sects
• among them are Hosea, Joel, Amos, and Obadiah
• Revelation 13:18, excerpted: "Let the person who has insight calculate" this number
• spokes on the dharma wheel, representing steps on the path to enlightenment

[caknuck]

[*]points for a try in rugby league (e.g., in the 2015 World Cup, won by New Zealand)

The 2015 Rugby World Cup is rugby union, not rugby league. This is a very important distinction to make.

[Vermonter]

[*]points for a try in rugby league (e.g., in the 2015 World Cup, won by New Zealand)

The 2015 Rugby World Cup is rugby union, not rugby league. This is a very important distinction to make.

Whoops - not sure how I made that mistake. Thanks for catching that.

If you've already submitted and want to change your answer, please PM me

[chmmr]

Seaborgium XD

[Dlinn83]

This is the first TD I've entered. I look forward to losing horribly!

[Vermonter]

One downside to this format is I can't tell what people intended with wrong answers. I guess I'll just have to wait until the reveal for them to pipe up. (Here's hoping I don't have any alternative correct answers to consider.)

[MollyQMurphy]

One downside to this format is I can't tell what people intended with wrong answers. I guess I'll just have to wait until the reveal for them to pipe up. (Here's hoping I don't have any alternative correct answers to consider.)

I wondered a little about that as I took the quiz, with dots instead of letters connecting your answer to what you selected. It might turn into a major honor court as points are revealed. But that might be part of the fun, too.

[dinghammer]

One downside to this format is I can't tell what people intended with wrong answers. I guess I'll just have to wait until the reveal for them to pipe up. (Here's hoping I don't have any alternative correct answers to consider.)

Thanks for waiting a couple hours after I submitted before posting that -- it makes it slightly less alarming. Slightly.

[Magna]

For question 12 do you just want a number as the answer? Or a phrase? Some clues look like they might call for something other than just a number.

[Vermonter]

For question 12 do you just want a number as the answer? Or a phrase? Some clues look like they might call for something other than just a number.

Just the number. The validation on the form will prevent you from putting anything additional

[Lampy]

So uh can we score like -998 on a question? If so why do we have to pick which question to FOX?

[Vermonter]

So uh can we score like -998 on a question? If so why do we have to pick which question to FOX?

No, from the rules (emphasis mine):

If you answer that question either with a SHEEP or incorrectly, the FOX will "eat" the SHEEP, reducing your score on that question by 1,000. (There is no penalty for a mis-used FOX.)

And from the example:

Anyone who responded with 64 receives 7 points, whether they used a FOX or not.

[MitchO]

I'm guessing you considered it, but I think we should get the number of points based on some formula of what number we selected and the number of selections. Would really play some Prisoners Dilemma mind games with deciding between 1 and 10,000 :p

[Vermonter]

I'm guessing you considered it, but I think we should get the number of points based on some formula of what number we selected and the number of selections. Would really play some Prisoners Dilemma mind games with deciding between 1 and 10,000 :p

I did, but I found no good way to work it with a wide variety of answers. In fact, the SHEEP tiebreaker came as a result of that thought process.

[Lampy]

So uh can we score like -998 on a question? If so why do we have to pick which question to FOX?

No, from the rules (emphasis mine):

If you answer that question either with a SHEEP or incorrectly, the FOX will "eat" the SHEEP, reducing your score on that question by 1,000. (There is no penalty for a mis-used FOX.)

And from the example:

Anyone who responded with 64 receives 7 points, whether they used a FOX or not.

I don't like, READ. Sorry about that, Keith.

[Vermonter]

For the Texas hold 'em question, I'm looking for distinct hands, taking suits into account. For example, there are six different pairs of aces (SD, DH, HC, CS, DC, HS) and 16 different ways you could have ace-king.

[Vermonter]

26 entries are in, and 26 answers remain unclaimed. Plenty of opportunities to avoid the SHEEP!

[Vermonter]

Bumping - you can mull over your responses while your drunk uncle reminisces about how great Reagan was

[BobF]

Bumping - you can mull over your responses while your drunk uncle reminisces about how great Reagan was

My drunk uncle reminisces about how great Art Fleming was. Definitely going to use a bit of my time off to unintentionally think up some sheepy answers.