Learned League 73 - Official Thread

[econgator]

I found myself in a dilemma today. I was blanking on the "Lost Kingdom" question last night but believed I was capable of getting it right, so I left it alone and didn't submit, in hopes that something good would come to me in the next twenty hours or so. Then, as I listened to the radio on my drive to work today, the morning show people were talking about the show "Animal Kingdom," and mentioned Ellen Barkin's character, "Smurf." I suddenly realized that was the answer to Q5, and wondered for the rest of today whether it's kosher to give an answer which you have lucked into being externally reminded into getting. I decided to give Smurfs as my answer, but email Thorsten before doing so. So far I have credit for it, and I still win my public match without it, but my private match would have been a tie without it.

Sounds to me like you did your due diligence. I would have no issue with Thorsten allowing it.

[This Is Kirk!]

"Quiz bowly" art is usually a good category for me, but I had never heard of that artist in my life! I was not surprised at all by the low get rate.

That one was tough and cost me the match yesterday since my opponent got it.

[badgerfellow]

MD8 sure had a lot of coin flips. NATO vs UN, stamen vs pistil, Denali vs Aconcagua. Went 2 for 3 on the flips, missing Aconcagua.

All 3 flips came up wrong for me.

I was impressed with stamen: it was a complete coin flip with pistil for me, however 68% of the league got it right. Either the coins are unfair, or lots of people remember which is which.

In what must have been a biology class in high school, we were taught about the pistil and the anther instead of the pistil and the stamen. Since the question mentioned the anther, I could rule out the pistil for my anther—er, answer.

I found myself in a dilemma today. I was blanking on the "Lost Kingdom" question last night but believed I was capable of getting it right, so I left it alone and didn't submit, in hopes that something good would come to me in the next twenty hours or so. Then, as I listened to the radio on my drive to work today, the morning show people were talking about the show "Animal Kingdom," and mentioned Ellen Barkin's character, "Smurf." I suddenly realized that was the answer to Q5, and wondered for the rest of today whether it's kosher to give an answer which you have lucked into being externally reminded into getting. I decided to give Smurfs as my answer, but email Thorsten before doing so. So far I have credit for it, and I still win my public match without it, but my private match would have been a tie without it.

You're probably good. Last season, do you remember the Family Guy question regarding Quahog? Quahog was a correct response to a clue on Jeopardy that night. Same situation.

[SBurrus]

In a MD10 thriller, I outlasted my opponent 6(4)-5(4); the difference was me being awarded 3 points for Poliomyelitis. My opponent got "The Longest Day" which I missed...I got polio correct (she missed it), we both missed Q3 and got all the others correct. I am now 5-1 against this opponent in my LL career, and have improved to 5-3-2 in LL73 and sit just two points outside the promotion zone. I've been in this situation before and was never able to make the top 4 (my best finish was 5th in my sophomore season) so I am being cautiously optimistic.

[seaborgium]

I got three right and my opponent did too. Under those circumstances, it helps when one of the three you get right is in your worst subject. I know some unpredictable odd facts about sports, and a famous golfer from a Pacific island nation is one of them. (That reminds me: I rattled off Midori Ito, Sergey Bubka, and Evonne Goolagong as correct responses several years ago in another online trivia match; and you can ask mrbungle about my pull of Hicham El Guerrouj at pub quiz.)

[alietr]

Arms and the ____. Crud, they couldn't have aired that episode a day or two earlier?

Yesterday was one of those days when I insta-got the first 5 and then looked at the sixth and said "Whaaa?" (Though those 5 were good enough for both wins.)

[Woof]

Rarely have I seen as many 9(5)s in my Rundle including one for me as I did today. I gave my opponent 0 for the polio question and he missed it (so much for my DE) and he gave me a 0 for Bieber and that was my only miss. Spinoffs played much easier than I expected, but I should have known that any TV question that I can get is perforce easy.

[StevenH]

Another abysmal day for me, with only 2 right. But at least I won! I was lucky that the two that I knew were in two categories that are only middle of the pack for me. "Spinoffs" was easy, and for some reason I used to like golf, so I knew Vijay Singh/Fiji right away.

[clprez]

My defense bites me again. I got 5 right, my partner 3, and we tied. I think I've gotten 5 correct one other time, so it was disheartening.

On the polio question, I was marked correct with Infantile Paralysis.

[sarisson]

I reached 600 career TCA yesterday, and my record moved to 6-2-2. All I do is win win win no matter what this season, but I've had the second-easiest schedule in my rundle.
Anyone else play Protobowl last night? That was a lot of fun.

[This Is Kirk!]

The head-scratcher for me yesterday was that 45% knew Rothschild. I went with Disraeli thinking Thorsten left out any mention of Benjamin because that would make it too easy. Rothschild rang no bells whatsoever.

[MarkBarrett]

The head-scratcher for me yesterday was that 45% knew Rothschild. I went with Disraeli thinking Thorsten left out any mention of Benjamin because that would make it too easy. Rothschild rang no bells whatsoever.

I went for a Suez Canal name I knew:

#4723, aired 2005-03-02 GIVE ME "LESS" $1600: His company went bankrupt trying to build the Panama Canal
#4459, aired 2004-01-15 ALL "DE" PEOPLE $1600: While assistant vice-consul in Egypt, this French diplomat began planning the construction of the Suez Canal
#9, aired 1990-08-11 ODDS & ENDS $1000: After digging about 76 million cubic yards of earth to build a Panama canal, his firm went bankrupt in 1889
#725, aired 1987-10-30 WORLD HISTORY $1000: This Frenchman failed to build a canal across Panama after succeeding at Suez
#508, aired 1986-11-19 EGYPT $100: While the pharaohs built ancient wonders, Ferdinand de Lesseps built this "modern" one

Rothschild makes me think of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tb3jAtSzSrs

[Woof]

The Rothschilds are Pavlovian for funding the Suez canal. It helps that my grandparents were their next door neighbors and banking rivals.

Fun fact: their summer home in Königstein I'm Taunus, now a Kemplinski hotel, still bears the image of a Wyvern on the side, representing the seven sons of Meyer Amschel who he sent to seven different countries to diversify their fortune.

[This Is Kirk!]

The Rothschilds are Pavlovian for funding the Suez canal.

Thanks. I'll try to keep that one in my back pocket.

[econgator]

The Rothschilds are Pavlovian for funding the Suez canal. It helps that my grandparents were their next door neighbors and banking rivals.

I wasn't aware of that part, but with "loaned" and "financially backed" and "economically important", they seemed to be the most likely choice.

[jfrumkin]

The Rothschilds are Pavlovian for funding the Suez canal. It helps that my grandparents were their next door neighbors and banking rivals.

Fun fact: their summer home in Königstein I'm Taunus, now a Kemplinski hotel, still bears the image of a Wyvern on the side, representing the seven sons of Meyer Amschel who he sent to seven different countries to diversify their fortune.

Another fun fact: it's my wife's maiden name. We both enjoyed that question greatly. She ain't from the rich side though.

[boson]

I really don't want to start the vague and overt accusations of cheating that are all over the LL message boards. I have my suspicions about some people I've played against, but I'd rather keep them private.

In many ways, I think the live prelims and championship are accomplishing their goal: people who cheat enough to win an A rundle are exposed as frauds to Llamadom, and many don't return. I just wish it wasn't because of the aggressive and passive aggressive shaming which is likely to be directed to those who are innocent as it is to those who cheat.

[econgator]

I really don't want to start the vague and overt accusations of cheating that are all over the LL message boards. I have my suspicions about some people I've played against, but I'd rather keep them private.

In many ways, I think the live prelims and championship are accomplishing their goal: people who cheat enough to win an A rundle are exposed as frauds to Llamadom, and many don't return. I just wish it wasn't because of the aggressive and passive aggressive shaming which is likely to be directed to those who are innocent as it is to those who cheat.

I get that some people don't do as well with the pressure of time added on, but by just glancing at the questions and trying to answer them, I went 3-4-3-2-5, so career .800+ people getting 4 or 5 total? Hmmm.

[Woof]

Yes, I know if one person whose bona fides I am confident about that hates the times format and doesn't do well in it. Not everyone oerforms well in a time-limited quiz, and I say this as someone who writes tests for a living. Having said that, my performance as a career .800 LLama (who's never come close to winning a Rundle) was 4-4-5-3-4, with about 5 questions that I might have got in a time-unlimited format. Yes, some of those numbers do make me go Hmmmm.

[jeff6286]

Yes, I know if one person whose bona fides I am confident about that hates the times format and doesn't do well in it. Not everyone oerforms well in a time-limited quiz, and I say this as someone who writes tests for a living. Having said that, my performance as a career .800 LLama (who's never come close to winning a Rundle) was 4-3-4-5-5-4, with about 5 questions that I might have got in a time-unlimited format. Yes, some of those numbers do make me go Hmmmm.

I'm afraid I'm going to have to report you with the rest of the cheaters, there were only five matches yet you somehow managed to play six, definitely illegal.