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15-October-2007, 01:51 PM
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Quiz questions you don't need to complete
Listening to the radio in the car this afternoon, I caught part of the Brain of Britain quiz. One question began, "Which poem by Edgar Allen Poe..."
"The Raven," quoth I. "...begins with the line, 'Once upon a midnight dreary'?" Well duh. I bet you all thought it was going to be "The City in the Sea", or "The Haunted Palace", because they're always mixing it up in these mainstream quiz shows. I've also noticed that if you're doing a crossword, and the clue is "Constellation", the answer is going to be "Orion". You don't even have to know how many letters it is - and when you see that it is 5 letters, you certainly don't have to check that it isn't Aries or Cetus or something. I'm curious how many of these questions that don't need completing to answer exist, and how many you can make up. For instance: "Which mime artist..." "Which king of England had..." "According to legend which Scotsman..." And which questions don't quite qualify. For instance: "Which planet has..." is probably going to be Saturn or Jupiter. "Which planet is..." - probably Mercury or Venus. "Which planet was once thought..." - definitely Mars! "Which object in the solar system is no longer..." - Pluto! Suggestions welcome. I think it would be cool to have an entire quiz that doesn't require complete questions. 
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15-October-2007, 03:25 PM
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Some might be more provincial than others, but still valid in their context:
In major league baseball, the longest.... .... Joe Dimaggio Every spring...... ...the swallows come back to Capistrano In 1957.... ...Sputnik
__________________
The Devil offered me power. I told him I preferred aperture.
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15-October-2007, 03:28 PM
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I'd just add that "The City in the Sea" is my personal Poe favorite, with that chilling couplet:
While from a proud tower in the town Death looks gigantically down.
__________________
The Devil offered me power. I told him I preferred aperture.
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15-October-2007, 04:23 PM
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There are also what I'll call cascade questions:
Which famous American.... ...President Which famous American President.... ...Lincoln Which famous American President wrote... The Gettysburg Address
__________________
The Devil offered me power. I told him I preferred aperture.
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15-October-2007, 08:40 PM
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Per your observation of "which constellation"; I do the online crossword daily (for the most part). I've never had a constellation question be "Orion". It's usually "Ursa", and sometimes "Taurus". Maybe once Aries...but I don't think so. And I'll admit that it's never been one that I haven't heard of, and I don't know the constellations.
"Which baseball hall-of-famer" is always (Mel) Ott, in my crosswords. Are You Smarter Than A Fifth-Grader had the question, "Which Shakespeare play" (Romeo and Juliet) "Begins with 'Two households, both alike in dignity'" Although, I think just as many Shakespeare questions are about "Othello" and "Hamlet"
__________________
I'm like one of those idiot savants...well, except for the savant part. "A long time ago, yet somehow in the future"
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15-October-2007, 08:48 PM
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and/or Macbeth.
How about: "Which Star Trek character..." ...Mr. Spock.
__________________
Bring back Firefly! "It is quite clear that Occam's razor does not sharpen in your pyramid." (Nicolas) "Still, a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest." (Paul Simon)
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15-October-2007, 08:51 PM
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Woops, forgot that one, but almost included "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Guess 'Ole Shakey isn't a great example, tho on "mainstream quiz shows" I'd still wager that 9-of-10 answers is R&J.
__________________
I'm like one of those idiot savants...well, except for the savant part. "A long time ago, yet somehow in the future"
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15-October-2007, 09:00 PM
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Quote:
Quote:
"Which Star Trek character was captain of the Enterprise prior to Kirk and ended up in a motorised bathchair with a light that beeped?" "Ooh, ooh, I know this one! It was Captain Pike!"
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15-October-2007, 09:04 PM
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Maybe British crossword puzzles are intentionally easier. I never saw anything that obvious in American crosswords. Besides, clues in American crosswords are NOT normally phrased as questions. More often as blanks inside short sentences, or as cryptic definitions.
__________________
Fiction has to be plausible. Reality is under no such constraint.
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15-October-2007, 09:08 PM
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Captain Pike's first-
"Christopher!" Was played- "Jeffrey Hunter!" And the doctor - "De For... WHAT?" "John Hoyt. Gotcha!"
__________________
The Devil offered me power. I told him I preferred aperture.
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15-October-2007, 09:26 PM
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Quote:
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15-October-2007, 09:50 PM
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Not all questions, some are just predictable sentences.
How did the Egyptians remove... The brain, through the nose, after poking around and getting it semi-liquid. Which Egyptian pharoah... Tutankhamen, Ramses or Khufu. Why explore? Well, as the English mountaineer... George Mallory, 1924, "Because it is there." Which planet is light... Enough to float in water, Saturn. Which superhero... Always a DC Justice Leager, unless it's Spider-Man. Marvel don't get no respect. :-( Which space probe(s)... Voyagers. The rover... Sojourner. In documentaries: To guide me around the pyramids, I'm meeting... Zahi Hawass
__________________
Rovers forever! - ToSeek "Carl Sagan sent a message to ET, Neil Armstrong walked in the Sea of Tranquility Steve Squyers built Spirit and Opportunity Dan Haylen upchucked in zero gravity." -Brent Simon, The Space Camp Song 'Evolution and science are one thing, but you don’t mess with Yoko Ono. Everybody knows that. ' - 386sx
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15-October-2007, 09:50 PM
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Quote:
__________________
[Dr. Horrible]___________________________[Penny] Listen close to everybody's heart________And you believe there's good in everybody's heart And hear that breaking sound_____________Keep it safe and sound Hopes and dreams are shattering apart____With hope you can do your part And crashing to the ground_______________To turn a life around
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15-October-2007, 10:32 PM
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Aw come on you guys...think! You are on a quiz
show, you are going to get a fee but the prizes are nicer. If it is not broadcast live it dang well will be sometime. Those cameramen cost money. And now you get questions you cannot answer. After a while some perspiration is running down your temple. You are getting the rabbit in the headlights look. You want the ground to open up. The quizmaster is showing increasing contempt! You are showing the World what a buffoon you are! A few easy ones keep people going hopefully. Or you could supply the questions in advance  Oh Gawd, have I given someone ideas for a really nasty program...
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15-October-2007, 10:38 PM
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Re: Quiz questions you don't need to complete
Quote:
Weakest Link.
__________________
A person's name, or a mark representing it, as signed personally or by deputy, as in subscribing a letter or other document.
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15-October-2007, 10:44 PM
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Damn...
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15-October-2007, 11:15 PM
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Are you really the weakest link? THAT is the $64,000 question.
__________________
The Devil offered me power. I told him I preferred aperture.
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15-October-2007, 11:15 PM
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In most of the examples y'all have given above but not finished and explained, I can't finish them myself. I guess they're not nearly as supposedly "obvious" to people who don't watch lots of game shows all the time.
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I am mean. I know this. I just can't seem to help myself...
