Björns Knock-out dates

[Björn Lundin]

As a participant in Erland's knock-out competition
last year, I though I'd like to host one myself.

This time, it is all about dates.

I will give an event, that I hope most of you have heard of,
and instead asking for what year it took place, I'll ask for what _date_
it took place.
And with date I mean May 15th. Not May 15th 2012

The participant answering the date furthest away will be knocked out.
In case of several knock-out candidates, the one posted last will be
knocked out.

In the case the year was a leap year (where it actually makes sense) I
will take that into account,
when counting date differences. And I will use the Gregorian calendar.

The year will wrap around, so that if the correct date is Dec 29th
and an answer is Jan 6th the date difference will be
'2012-01-06' - '2011-12-29' = 8 days, instead of '2011-12-29' -
'2011-01-06' = 357 days
where I will use some relevant years

Since this is my first hosting, you may have opinions on the rules,
I may have forgotten to mention some vital condition : feel free to
point such flaws out.

My ambition is to post answers after one or two days after final answer
comes in.
I will close competitions for new entries 5th of February around 20:00 CET.

Since I'm European, I'm used to see dates in certain formats and to me
9/11 looks like November 9th.
Therefore I want dates to be unambiguous, preferably
in the form 'Sep 11'



Since it is knock-out we start with Boxing

What date did Mike Tyson win his first WBC belt ?


Happy guessing, because I would think guessing is involved in some of
the questions


--
Björn

[Erland Sommarskog]

Björn Lundin (b.f.l...@gmail.com) writes:
> Since it is knock-out we start with Boxing
>
> What date did Mike Tyson win his first WBC belt ?
>

Not a stinking idea!

April 12th


--
Erland Sommarskog, Stockholm, esq...@sommarskog.se

[Dan Blum]

Bj?rn Lundin <b.f.l...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Since it is knock-out we start with Boxing

> What date did Mike Tyson win his first WBC belt ?

July 2nd

--
_______________________________________________________________________
Dan Blum to...@panix.com
"I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't just made it up."

[Peter Smyth]

Björn Lundin wrote:

>
> As a participant in Erland's knock-out competition
> last year, I though I'd like to host one myself.
>
> This time, it is all about dates.
>
> I will give an event, that I hope most of you have heard of,

> and instead asking for what year it took place, I'll ask for what date

October 6 (1987?)

Peter Smyth

[Mark Brader]

Björn Lundin:

> Since it is knock-out we start with Boxing

And there I go.

> What date did Mike Tyson win his first WBC belt ?

I'll guess Apr 30.


Could I suggest using your last name instead of your first in the
Subject line for future rounds of the contest? Subject lines
containing non-ASCII characters still don't work well on Usenet,
as they split into different versions according to how the
characters get treated on different followups.
--
Mark Brader "After many years of teaching, you get to learn
Toronto quite a lot about how to design a better idiot."
m...@vex.net --Peter Moylan

My text in this article is in the public domain.

[Calvin]

On Sunday, February 1, 2015 at 3:28:54 AM UTC+10, björn lundin wrote:
> As a participant in Erland's knock-out competition
> last year, I though I'd like to host one myself.

Excellent.

You might consider, for future questions, giving the year.

> Since it is knock-out we start with Boxing
>
> What date did Mike Tyson win his first WBC belt ?

10 Oct

cheers,
calvin

[Russ]

November 20th, against Trevor Berbick, 2nd round KO.

Russ

[Rob Parker]

> What date did Mike Tyson win his first WBC belt ?

May 23


Rob

[swp]

On Saturday, January 31, 2015 at 12:28:54 PM UTC-5, björn lundin wrote:
> Since it is knock-out we start with Boxing
>
> What date did Mike Tyson win his first WBC belt ?

november 22nd

swp

[Mark Brader]

Björn Lundin:

>> As a participant in Erland's knock-out competition
>> last year, I though I'd like to host one myself.

"Calvin":

> Excellent.
> You might consider, for future questions, giving the year.

But that would break the cyclicity of dates. If the true answer was
December 17 and someone said January 17, they'd be 334 or 335 days
off instead of 31 as under the present rules.
--
Mark Brader "I'm not good in groups. It's difficult to
Toronto work in a group when you're omnipotent."
m...@vex.net "Deja Q", ST:TNG, Richard Danus

[Pete]

=?UTF-8?B?QmrDtnJuIEx1bmRpbg==?= <b.f.l...@gmail.com> wrote in
news:maj3bk$a26$1...@dont-email.me:

July 4

Pete

[Dan Tilque]

Björn Lundin wrote:
>
> What date did Mike Tyson win his first WBC belt ?

Apr 6

--
Dan Tilque

[Joshua Kreitzer]

=?UTF-8?B?QmrDtnJuIEx1bmRpbg==?= <b.f.l...@gmail.com> wrote in
news:maj3bk$a26$1...@dont-email.me:

> Since it is knock-out we start with Boxing
>
> What date did Mike Tyson win his first WBC belt ?

I will just give a guess in order to get started:

June 1

--
Joshua Kreitzer
grom...@hotmail.com

[Björn Lundin]

On 2015-02-01 06:22, Mark Brader wrote:
> Björn Lundin:
>>> As a participant in Erland's knock-out competition
>>> last year, I though I'd like to host one myself.
>
> "Calvin":
>> Excellent.
>> You might consider, for future questions, giving the year.
>
> But that would break the cyclicity of dates. If the true answer was
> December 17 and someone said January 17, they'd be 334 or 335 days
> off instead of 31 as under the present rules.
>

Hmm, I find Calvin idea pretty good.

However I feel that my intentions about cyclicity was not
clear enough.

Say that correct date is Dec 17 2011
Someone answers Jan 17

As you say Dec 12 2011 - Jan 17 2011 = 334 days
but
as you also say Jan 17 2012 - Dec 12 2011 = 17 days

in this case I'd say that the guess was off by 17 days.

So each guess for a date will be two guesses of that date,
so that the 2 guesses surrounds the correct date.
And only the best guess of the two will be considered.

It will also take care of leap years.
In the example, say that the guess was Mar 17 instead.

The guess counting days from Mar 17 2012 down to Dec 12 2011 will
include Feb 29.

I think that the cyclicity is preserved.
At least, this was my intention.

--
Björn

[David B]

20th June


--
David

[Björn Lundin]

On 2015-01-31 18:28, Björn Lundin wrote:

> Since it is knock-out we start with Boxing
>
> What date did Mike Tyson win his first WBC belt ?
>

Correct date was 22-Nov-1986
So, by setting a year to your dates,
making the guess to be on either side of the correct date,
I have calculated the diffs like below.
The best of the two diffs are counted as days off.

Two people knew the game, and swp was alone being spot on.
Unfortunately, Rob Parker guessed on the date that is exactly opposite
on the year.

Q1:
Contender Entered Date First Date Second Date Diff1 Diff2 Best
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Erland Sommarskog Apr-12 12-Apr-1986 12-Apr-1987 224 141 141
Dan Blum Jul-02 02-Jul-1986 02-Jul-1987 143 222 143
Peter Smyth Oct-06 06-Oct-1986 06-Oct-1987 47 318 47
Mark Brader Apr-30 30-Apr-1986 30-Apr-1987 206 159 159
Calvin Oct-10 10-Oct-1986 10-Oct-1987 43 322 43
Russ Nov-20 20-Nov-1986 20-Nov-1987 2 363 2
Rob Parker May-23 23-May-1986 23-May-1987 183 182 182
swp Nov-22 22-Nov-1986 22-Nov-1987 0 365 0
Pete Jul-04 04-Jul-1986 04-Jul-1987 141 224 141
Dan Tilque Apr-06 06-Apr-1986 06-Apr-1987 230 135 135
Joshua Kreitzer Jun-01 01-Jun-1986 01-Jun-1987 174 191 174
David B Jun 20 20-Jun-1986 20-Jun-1987 155 210 155
Correct date : 22-Nov-1986
Worst guess off by: 182


more to read on <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mike_Tyson>

So Rob Parker is eliminated.

Next round is open only to the others on above list.

On to the next
Q2:

What date was the first (manned) landing on the moon
The year is 1969

This I expect many of you to know,
so the last entry rule may come into play.


When I have all the answers, I'll post the next shortly after.

--
Björn

[Dan Blum]

Bj?rn Lundin <b.f.l...@gmail.com> wrote:

> On to the next
> Q2:

> What date was the first (manned) landing on the moon
> The year is 1969

> This I expect many of you to know,
> so the last entry rule may come into play.

July 20

[Björn Lundin]

On 2015-02-05 21:04, Björn Lundin wrote:

>
> What date was the first (manned) landing on the moon
> The year is 1969
>

Just to clearify . The event took of course place on the
moon, and I do not know what date it was there.
The question asks what date it was in the US, since
it is of course related to the event.


--
--
Björn

[Peter Smyth]

Björn Lundin wrote:

> On to the next
> Q2:
>
> What date was the first (manned) landing on the moon
> The year is 1969
>
> This I expect many of you to know,
> so the last entry rule may come into play.

June 12

Peter Smyth

[Russ]

July 20th

Russ

[Mark Brader]

Björn Lundin:

> What date was the first (manned) landing on the moon
> The year is 1969

My mother-in-law's 50th birthday -- Jul 20.

It is unclear if you by giving the year you are intending to change the
scoring rule to work within that year (so the worst answer is Jan 1)
or cyclically as before (so the worst answer is around Jan 19).
I think the cyclic method makes more sense since the other way it is
always known that either Jan 1 or Dec 31 will be the worst answer.
--
Mark Brader, Toronto "Neither a follower nor a leader be."
m...@vex.net --Steve Summit (after Shakespeare)

[Dan Tilque]

Björn Lundin wrote:

> On to the next
> Q2:
>
> What date was the first (manned) landing on the moon
> The year is 1969
>
> This I expect many of you to know,
> so the last entry rule may come into play.

July 20

--
Dan Tilque

[Calvin]

On Friday, February 6, 2015 at 6:04:58 AM UTC+10, björn lundin wrote:

> Q2:
>
> What date was the first (manned) landing on the moon
> The year is 1969

19 July

Presumably there are two valid answers???

cheers,
calvin

[Erland Sommarskog]

Björn Lundin (b.f.l...@gmail.com) writes:
> What date was the first (manned) landing on the moon
> The year is 1969
>

21 June

[Björn Lundin]

On 2015-02-06 00:18, Mark Brader wrote:
> Björn Lundin:
>> What date was the first (manned) landing on the moon
>> The year is 1969
>
> My mother-in-law's 50th birthday -- Jul 20.
>
> It is unclear if you by giving the year you are intending to change the
> scoring rule to work within that year (so the worst answer is Jan 1)
> or cyclically as before (so the worst answer is around Jan 19).
> I think the cyclic method makes more sense since the other way it is
> always known that either Jan 1 or Dec 31 will be the worst answer.
>

The cyclic still applies. Saying what year it was does not
change anything, at least not in my understanding.

If correct date is March 12 2012 then
Dec 30 2011 is closer than Nov 5 2012


That is I count the days from dec 30 2011 to March 12 2012
AND the days from March 12 2012 to Nov 5 2012 and use the
best (minimal) diff for scoring.

The worst guess is off by 183/182 days. The guess is then on the
opposite side of the year.



--
Björn

[Erland Sommarskog]

Björn Lundin (b.f.l...@gmail.com) writes:
>
> The cyclic still applies. Saying what year it was does not
> change anything, at least not in my understanding.
>
> If correct date is March 12 2012 then
> Dec 30 2011 is closer than Nov 5 2012
>

Yeah, but since you have given the year, an answer of Dec 30, would
imply an answer of 2012-12-30, which is further away.

Personally, I think not giving the year is perfectly OK. Also, I don't
know about your set of questions, but it is of course possible to ask
year-independent question like "On which days falls Christmas Eve?".

[Mark Brader]

Björn Lundin:

> > The cyclic still applies. Saying what year it was does not
> > change anything, at least not in my understanding.
> >
> > If correct date is March 12 2012 then
> > Dec 30 2011 is closer than Nov 5 2012

Erland Sommarskog:

> Yeah, but since you have given the year, an answer of Dec 30, would
> imply an answer of 2012-12-30, which is further away.

No, he's saying that if the correct date was 2012-03-12 then an answer
of Dec 30 will be taken as 2011-12-30 *even though* we know that the
year is 2012.
--
Mark Brader | "Fortunately, we have anti-terrorist laws
Toronto | to prevent people having privacy."
m...@vex.net | --Robert Bannister

[Björn Lundin]

On 2015-02-06 12:30, Mark Brader wrote:
> Björn Lundin:
>>> The cyclic still applies. Saying what year it was does not
>>> change anything, at least not in my understanding.
>>>
>>> If correct date is March 12 2012 then
>>> Dec 30 2011 is closer than Nov 5 2012
>
> Erland Sommarskog:
>> Yeah, but since you have given the year, an answer of Dec 30, would
>> imply an answer of 2012-12-30, which is further away.
>
> No, he's saying that if the correct date was 2012-03-12 then an answer
> of Dec 30 will be taken as 2011-12-30 *even though* we know that the
> year is 2012.

Yes, because it is closer in time of the event.

I do not care about the year, just the num days off.
(with the exception of counting feb 29 or not)

So, no guess can be off by more than 183 days (366/2)

Dec30 Mar12 Dec30

---- T1 ---- Tc -----T2----

-2011---|-----2012------|----2013---


It is supposed to be timelines above,
proportional font is needed to see correctly.

Tc=Correct date=Mar 12, 2012

I give year 2012

someone answers Dec 30.
Then T1 is taken as the first occurrence of
a yearless date with the answer (as date), that occurs _earlier_
than the correct date, going from the correct date to earlier dates.

That is, Dec 30, 2011

T2 is the first occurrence of a yearless date
with the answer (as date) that occurs _later_
than the correct date, going from the correct date to later dates.

That is, Dec 30, 2012

T1 and T2 is on each side in time of Tc


Tc-T1 = Mar 12, 2012 - Dec 30,2011 = 73 days
T2-Tc = Dec 30,2012 - Mar 12, 2012 = 293 days

Eventhough 2012 is given, a yearless answer of Dec 30
yields 73 off - NOT 293 days.

Given year has no impact on answers, nor on days off.


However, as Erland said, it might _imply_ one year or another,
but it really does not imply anything.
Or should at least not be interpreted as important in this knock out

--
Björn

[Joshua Kreitzer]

I'm withdrawing from this round because I inadvertently saw another entrant's answer.

--
Joshua Kreitzer
grom...@hotmail.com

[Pete]

=?UTF-8?B?QmrDtnJuIEx1bmRpbg==?= <b.f.l...@gmail.com> wrote in
news:mb0ic6$knm$1...@dont-email.me:

July 20

Pete

[David B]

> "Joshua Kreitzer" wrote in message news:7969c1b6-2d41-4e2c-8a42-
> fd2b23...@googlegroups.com...

>
> I'm withdrawing from this round because I inadvertently saw another
> entrant's
> answer.

Moi assui.

--
David

[Mark Brader]

David B.:
> Moi assui.

When you assui, you make an ass out of U and I?
--
Mark Brader, Toronto "... pure English is de rigueur"
m...@vex.net -- Guardian Weekly

[swp]

and that makes 3 of us who saw others answers before posting.

july 20th is the correct answer, of course.

swp

[Mark Brader]

Stephen Perry:

> and that makes 3 of us who saw others answers before posting.
> july 20th is the correct answer, of course.

And almost everyone knew that. Björn, I suggest canceling this round
-- that is, let everyone survive. Entrants, I suggest being more
careful as to which messages you read in these threads.
--
Mark Brader, Toronto "Just because it's correct doesn't
m...@vex.net make it right!" -- Jonas Schlein

[Björn Lundin]

On 2015-02-05 21:04, Björn Lundin wrote:

> What date was the first (manned) landing on the moon
> The year is 1969
>
> This I expect many of you to know,
> so the last entry rule may come into play.
>
>

Strange round this one. Three early peeks, and
good guesses from the rest.

The official date is 20th July 1969 giving this result

Q2:

Contender Entered Date First Date Second Date Diff1 Diff2 Best
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Dan Blum Jul-20 20-Jul-1969 20-Jul-1970 0 365 0
Peter Smyth Jun-12 12-Jun-1969 12-Jun-1970 38 327 38
Russ Jul-20 20-Jul-1969 20-Jul-1970 0 365 0
Mark Brader Jul-20 20-Jul-1969 20-Jul-1970 0 365 0
Dan Tilque Jul-20 20-Jul-1969 20-Jul-1970 0 365 0
Calvin Jul-19 19-Jul-1969 19-Jul-1970 1 364 1
Erland Sommarskog Jun-21 21-Jun-1969 21-Jun-1970 29 336 29
Pete Jul-20 20-Jul-1969 20-Jul-1970 0 365 0
Correct date : 20-Jul-1969
Worst guess off by: 38

official info:
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/apollo11_40th.html#.VNsVIy6Oh5F>


the wikipedia states

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11>

Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that landed the first humans on the Moon,
Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, on July 20, 1969, at 20:18
UTC. Armstrong became the first to step onto the lunar surface six hours
later on July 21 at 02:56 UTC.

so the landing is on the 20th in most part of the world.


I am following the advice of Mark Brader, and everyone is surviving.

I forgot to set a deadline for Q2, which I will remember for the rest of
the questions (I hope)

So, everyone that survived Q1 are welcome to answer

Q3:
First day of Reykavijk summit (Reagan - Gorbatjov) in 1986


I will close this one 3 days from now, Saturday 14 Feb at around 20:00 CET


--
--
Björn

[Erland Sommarskog]

Björn Lundin (b.f.l...@gmail.com) writes:
> Q3:
> First day of Reykavijk summit (Reagan - Gorbatjov) in 1986

April 24th

[Russ]

On Wed, 11 Feb 2015 09:46:05 +0100, Björn Lundin
<b.f.l...@gmail.com> wrote:


>
>Q3:
>First day of Reykavijk summit (Reagan - Gorbatjov) in 1986
>
>
>I will close this one 3 days from now, Saturday 14 Feb at around 20:00 CET
>
>

October 1st?

Russ

[Pete]

=?UTF-8?B?QmrDtnJuIEx1bmRpbg==?= <b.f.l...@gmail.com> wrote in
news:mbf4r9$b6s$1...@dont-email.me:

>
> Q3:
> First day of Reykavijk summit (Reagan - Gorbatjov) in 1986
>
>
> I will close this one 3 days from now, Saturday 14 Feb at around 20:00
> CET
>
>

February 1

Pete

[Mark Brader]

Björn Lundin:

> Q3:
> First day of Reykavijk summit (Reagan - Gorbatjov) in 1986

I'll go with 1 Aug.
--
Mark Brader | "The nice thing about standards is
Toronto | that you have so many to choose from..."
m...@vex.net | --Andrew Tanenbaum

[Mark Brader]

Pete Gayde:
> February 1

Hmm. Looks like one of us is going to be eliminated.
--
Mark Brader | "People tend to assume that things they don't know
Toronto | about are either safe or dangerous or useless,
m...@vex.net | depending on their prejudices." -- Tim Freeman

[Dan Blum]

Bj?rn Lundin <b.f.l...@gmail.com> wrote:
> So, everyone that survived Q1 are welcome to answer

> Q3:
> First day of Reykavijk summit (Reagan - Gorbatjov) in 1986

March 1

[Peter Smyth]

Björn Lundin wrote:


> I am following the advice of Mark Brader, and everyone is surviving.
>
> I forgot to set a deadline for Q2, which I will remember for the rest
> of the questions (I hope)
>
> So, everyone that survived Q1 are welcome to answer
>
> Q3:
> First day of Reykavijk summit (Reagan - Gorbatjov) in 1986

May 29.

Peter Smyth

[Calvin]

On Wednesday, February 11, 2015 at 6:46:07 PM UTC+10, björn lundin wrote:

> Q3:
> First day of Reykavijk summit (Reagan - Gorbatjov) in 1986

1 August

cheers,
calvin

[Dan Tilque]

Björn Lundin wrote:
>
> Q3:
> First day of Reykavijk summit (Reagan - Gorbatjov) in 1986

Sep 29


--
Dan Tilque

[David B]

1st September.


--
David

[swp]

On Wednesday, February 11, 2015 at 3:46:07 AM UTC-5, björn lundin wrote:
> On 2015-02-05 21:04, Björn Lundin wrote:
>
> Strange round this one. Three early peeks, and
> good guesses from the rest.
>
> The official date is 20th July 1969 giving this result

...

>
> I am following the advice of Mark Brader, and everyone is surviving.

...

> So, everyone that survived Q1 are welcome to answer
>
> Q3:
> First day of Reykavijk summit (Reagan - Gorbatjov) in 1986

june 30th

swp

[Björn Lundin]

Correct date : 11-Oct-1986

more of it at <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reykjav%C3%ADk_Summit>


This one was hard, and I would have been surprised if not so


Q3:

Contender Entered Date First Date Second Date Diff1 Diff2 Best
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Erland Sommarskog Apr-24 24-Apr-1986 24-Apr-1987 170 195 170
Russ Oct-01 01-Oct-1986 01-Oct-1987 10 355 10
Pete Feb-01 01-Feb-1986 01-Feb-1987 252 113 113
Mark Brader Aug-01 01-Aug-1986 01-Aug-1987 71 294 71
Dan Blum Mar-01 01-Mar-1986 01-Mar-1987 224 141 141
Peter Smyth May-29 29-May-1986 29-May-1987 135 230 135
Calvin Aug-01 01-Aug-1986 01-Aug-1987 71 294 71
Dan Tilque Sep-29 29-Sep-1986 29-Sep-1987 12 353 12
David B Sep 01 01-Sep-1986 01-Sep-1987 40 325 40
swp Jun-30 30-Jun-1986 30-Jun-1987 103 262 103
Correct date : 11-Oct-1986
Worst guess off by: 170

So Erland, has the worst guess, but he survives
because Joshua Kreitzer did not reply in time

Joshua Kreitzer is eliminated.


Question 4:
A bit related to cold war ending

Was date was the Berlin wall opened?

I will close this round Tuesday Feb 17 2015 20:00 CET


--
--
Björn

[Björn Lundin]

On 2015-02-14 20:29, Björn Lundin wrote:

>
> Was date was the Berlin wall opened?
>

The year is 1989

--
--
Björn

[Erland Sommarskog]

Björn Lundin (b.f.l...@gmail.com) writes:
>
> Question 4:
> A bit related to cold war ending
>
> Was date was the Berlin wall opened?
>

1989-11-09

[Dan Blum]

Bj?rn Lundin <b.f.l...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Question 4:
> A bit related to cold war ending

> Was date was the Berlin wall opened?

September 1

[Mark Brader]

Björn Lundin:

> Q3:
> Contender Entered Date First Date Second Date Diff1 Diff2 Best
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Erland Sommarskog Apr-24 24-Apr-1986 24-Apr-1987 170 195 170
> Russ Oct-01 01-Oct-1986 01-Oct-1987 10 355 10
> Pete Feb-01 01-Feb-1986 01-Feb-1987 252 113 113

> ...

I suggest that the useful way to present this table is sorted by
the last column.

> Question 4:
> A bit related to cold war ending
>
> Was date was the Berlin wall opened?

01 Nov.
--
Mark Brader | A computer[']s view of the world is analogous [to]
Toronto | a flashlight in the dark. What they can see, they
m...@vex.net | see well. What they can't see, they see not at all.
| -- M. Valvo

[Calvin]

10 November

cheers,
calvin

[Pete]

=?UTF-8?B?QmrDtnJuIEx1bmRpbg==?= <b.f.l...@gmail.com> wrote in
news:mbo7l9$2qk$1...@dont-email.me:

November 15

Pete

[Joshua Kreitzer]

=?UTF-8?B?QmrDtnJuIEx1bmRpbg==?= <b.f.l...@gmail.com> wrote in
news:mbo7l9$2qk$1...@dont-email.me:

> So Erland, has the worst guess, but he survives
> because Joshua Kreitzer did not reply in time
>
> Joshua Kreitzer is eliminated.

I actually had dropped out a week ago because I saw another entrant's
answer in Q2.

--
Joshua Kreitzer
grom...@hotmail.com

[Mark Brader]

Joshua Kreitzer:

> I actually had dropped out a week ago because I saw another entrant's
> answer in Q2.

You were reprieved.
--
Mark Brader, Toronto, m...@vex.net
"History tells us that the Boston 'T' Party was succeeded
the next day by the Boston 'U' Party, where American rebels
yanked all the extraneous U's out of words like 'colour'
and threw them into Boston Harbour. Harbor. Whatever."
--Adam Beneschan

[Dan Tilque]

Björn Lundin wrote:

>
> Question 4:
> A bit related to cold war ending
>
> Was date was the Berlin wall opened?

Nov 15


--
Dan Tilque

[swp]

On Saturday, February 14, 2015 at 2:29:20 PM UTC-5, björn lundin wrote:
> Question 4:
> A bit related to cold war ending
>
> Was date was the Berlin wall opened?
>
> I will close this round Tuesday Feb 17 2015 20:00 CET

november 9th

thank you for the follow up with the year, otherwise I would have answered with the august 1961 date.

swp

[Björn Lundin]

On 2015-02-15 02:57, Joshua Kreitzer wrote:
> =?UTF-8?B?QmrDtnJuIEx1bmRpbg==?= <b.f.l...@gmail.com> wrote in
> news:mbo7l9$2qk$1...@dont-email.me:
>
>> So Erland, has the worst guess, but he survives
>> because Joshua Kreitzer did not reply in time
>>
>> Joshua Kreitzer is eliminated.
>
> I actually had dropped out a week ago because I saw another entrant's
> answer in Q2.

That round 3 entrants happened to peek. So
the round was cancelled.


--
Björn

[Björn Lundin]

That of course is one way if interpret 'open' when it comes to a wall.


--
Björn

[Mark Brader]

Björn Lundin:

>>> Was date was the Berlin wall opened?

Stephen Perry:

>> thank you for the follow up with the year, otherwise I would have
>> answered with the august 1961 date.

Björn Lundin:

> That of course is one way if interpret 'open' when it comes to a wall.

No, it isn't.

But when the questions aren't written in the person's native language
and use an unusual wording, it's possible that we'll guess wrong as to
what was intended. I don't imagine the error at the start of the
sentence fooled anyone, but for the event in 1989, most people would
refer to the "fall" of the Berlin Wall, or the Wall "coming down".

(What really happened on the critical date, of course, was that the
border between East and West Germany was declared open. The removal
of the physical wall came later, both by official and unofficial means.)
--
Mark Brader, Toronto | "To err is human, but to error requires a computer."
m...@vex.net | -- Harry Lethall

[Björn Lundin]

On 2015-02-15 12:16, Mark Brader wrote:
> but for the event in 1989, most people would
> refer to the "fall" of the Berlin Wall, or the Wall "coming down".

Yes, of course. I had the opening of the border,
at one of the check points, in mind while writing.

But swp's reply made me think of it as opening night, or premier, as you
have in Broadway shows, which would point to some date in 1961.

--
Björn

[Peter Smyth]

Björn Lundin wrote:

> Question 4:
> A bit related to cold war ending
>
> Was date was the Berlin wall opened?
>
> I will close this round Tuesday Feb 17 2015 20:00 CET

29 May

Peter Smyth

[@sayplease.com Russ]

November 9. (Now that you clarified the year!)


Russ

[David B]

9th November


--
David

[Björn Lundin]

On 2015-02-14 20:29, Björn Lundin wrote:
>

> Was date was the Berlin wall opened?
>
> I will close this round Tuesday Feb 17 2015 20:00 CET
>

As all has answered I will close this round now.

On request, the table is presented order by days off.
Before, it was order by entry. First answer first.

Correct date was Nov 9th, 1989.
While four got the date right, eight got it within eight days. Impressive.

more details can be found for example at
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Wall#.22Ich_bin_ein_Berliner.22_and_.22Mr._Gorbachev.2C_tear_down_this_wall..22>

and

<http://history1900s.about.com/od/coldwa1/a/berlinwall_2.htm>

Q4:

Contender Entered Date First Date Second Date Diff1 Diff2 Best
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Russ Nov-09 09-Nov-1989 09-Nov-1990 0 365 0
Erland Sommarskog Nov-09 09-Nov-1989 09-Nov-1990 0 365 0
David B Nov-09 09-Nov-1989 09-Nov-1990 0 365 0
swp Nov-09 09-Nov-1989 09-Nov-1990 0 365 0
Calvin Nov-10 10-Nov-1988 10-Nov-1989 364 1 1
Pete Nov-15 15-Nov-1988 15-Nov-1989 359 6 6
Dan Tilque Nov-15 15-Nov-1988 15-Nov-1989 359 6 6
Mark Brader Nov-01 01-Nov-1989 01-Nov-1990 8 357 8
Dan Blum Sep-01 01-Sep-1989 01-Sep-1990 69 296 69
Peter Smyth May-29 29-May-1989 29-May-1990 164 201 164
Correct date : 09-Nov-1989
Worst guess off by: 164

Peter Smyth is eliminated.

Q5:
What date did Princess Diana die in a car crash in Paris, France 1997

This round is open until Thu 19th of Feb 20:00 CET or until all has
entered an answer.

The round is open for everyone in above table, except Peter Smyth

--
--
Björn

[Dan Blum]

Bj?rn Lundin <b.f.l...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Q5:
> What date did Princess Diana die in a car crash in Paris, France 1997

August 20

[Dan Tilque]

Björn Lundin wrote:

> Q5:
> What date did Princess Diana die in a car crash in Paris, France 1997

June 20


--
Dan Tilque

[swp]

On Monday, February 16, 2015 at 12:22:14 PM UTC-5, björn lundin wrote:
> Q5:
> What date did Princess Diana die in a car crash in Paris, France 1997
>
> This round is open until Thu 19th of Feb 20:00 CET or until all has
> entered an answer.
>
> The round is open for everyone in above table, except Peter Smyth
>
> --
> --
> Björn

august 31st

swp

[Mark Brader]

> Q5:
> What date did Princess Diana die in a car crash in Paris, France 1997

31 Aug.
--
Mark Brader "How can we believe that?"
Toronto "Because this time it's true!"
m...@vex.net -- Lynn & Jay: YES, PRIME MINISTER

[@sayplease.com Russ]

On Mon, 16 Feb 2015 18:22:16 +0100, Björn Lundin
<b.f.l...@gmail.com> wrote:


>
>Q5:
>What date did Princess Diana die in a car crash in Paris, France 1997
>
>This round is open until Thu 19th of Feb 20:00 CET or until all has
>entered an answer.
>
>The round is open for everyone in above table, except Peter Smyth
>
>--

August 31st


Russ

[Erland Sommarskog]

Björn Lundin (b.f.l...@gmail.com) writes:
> Q5:
> What date did Princess Diana die in a car crash in Paris, France 1997
>

July 27th

[David B]

1st August

--
David

[Calvin]

On Tuesday, February 17, 2015 at 3:22:14 AM UTC+10, björn lundin wrote:

> Q5:
> What date did Princess Diana die in a car crash in Paris, France 1997

August 10

cheers,
calvin

[Pete]

=?UTF-8?B?QmrDtnJuIEx1bmRpbg==?= <b.f.l...@gmail.com> wrote in
news:mbt8uv$lum$1...@dont-email.me:

> On 2015-02-14 20:29, Björn Lundin wrote:
>>
>> Was date was the Berlin wall opened?
>>
>> I will close this round Tuesday Feb 17 2015 20:00 CET
>>
> As all has answered I will close this round now.
>

>

> Q5:
> What date did Princess Diana die in a car crash in Paris, France 1997
>
> This round is open until Thu 19th of Feb 20:00 CET or until all has
> entered an answer.
>
> The round is open for everyone in above table, except Peter Smyth
>

August 15

Pete

[Björn Lundin]

On 2015-02-16 18:22, Björn Lundin wrote:

> Q5:
> What date did Princess Diana die in a car crash in Paris, France 1997
>

Since I got all answers, I close this round now.

Correct date is 31-Aug-1997

more of this tragic accident is at
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Diana,_Princess_of_Wales>


Q5:

Contender Entered Date First Date Second Date Diff1 Diff2 Best
---------------------------------------------------------------------

swp Aug-31 31-Aug-1997 31-Aug-1998 0 365 0
Mark Brader Aug-31 31-Aug-1997 31-Aug-1998 0 365 0
Russ Aug-31 31-Aug-1997 31-Aug-1998 0 365 0
Dan Blum Aug-20 20-Aug-1997 20-Aug-1998 11 354 11
Pete Aug-15 15-Aug-1997 15-Aug-1998 16 349 16
Calvin Aug-10 10-Aug-1997 10-Aug-1998 21 344 21
David B Aug-01 01-Aug-1997 01-Aug-1998 30 335 30
Erland Sommarskog Jul-27 27-Jul-1997 27-Jul-1998 35 330 35
Dan Tilque Jun-20 20-Jun-1997 20-Jun-1998 72 293 72
Correct date : 31-Aug-1997
Worst guess off by: 72

Three correct guesses and quite a few in the correct vicinity. Very well
done.

I also notice that both Russ and swp has three rounds each with correct
answers. Very impressive.



Dan Tilque is the unlucky one to be eliminated this time.


The next round is set to close when all answers are in, or at the latest
Sat Feb 21, 20115 20:00 CET.

We stick to the theme of British royalty.

Q6:
What date was the coronation of Elisabeth II ?
The year is 1953.

The round is open for everyone in above table, except Dan Tilque.

--
--
Björn

[Dan Blum]

Bj?rn Lundin <b.f.l...@gmail.com> wrote:

> We stick to the theme of British royalty.

> Q6:
> What date was the coronation of Elisabeth II ?
> The year is 1953.

May 1

[Erland Sommarskog]

Björn Lundin (b.f.l...@gmail.com) writes:
> Q6:
> What date was the coronation of Elisabeth II ?
> The year is 1953.
>

Oct 12th

[@sayplease.com Russ]

May 27th (she just had her 60th anniversary last year)


Russ

[Mark Brader]

Björn Lundin:

> The next round is set to close when all answers are in, or at the latest
> Sat Feb 21, 20115 20:00 CET.

February 21 will be a Thursday, unless the Gregorian calendar (or the
present cycle of weekdays) is superseded during the next 18,100 years.

(Grin)

> Q6:
> What date was the coronation of Elisabeth II ?
> The year is 1953.

02 Jun.
--
Mark Brader, Toronto "Neither a follower nor a leader be."
m...@vex.net --Steve Summit (after Shakespeare)

[Calvin]

On Thursday, February 19, 2015 at 7:02:51 AM UTC+10, björn lundin wrote:

> Q6:
> What date was the coronation of Elisabeth II ?
> The year is 1953.

June 27

cheers,
calvin

[David B]

Well I'm fairly sure it was June so I'll take a stab.....

1st June

--
David

[swp]

On Wednesday, February 18, 2015 at 4:02:51 PM UTC-5, björn lundin wrote:
> On 2015-02-16 18:22, Björn Lundin wrote:
>

...

> The next round is set to close when all answers are in, or at the latest
> Sat Feb 21, 20115 20:00 CET.
>
> We stick to the theme of British royalty.
>
> Q6:
> What date was the coronation of Elisabeth II ?
> The year is 1953.
>
> The round is open for everyone in above table, except Dan Tilque.
>
> --
> --
> Björn

june 2nd

swp

[Björn Lundin]

On 2015-02-18 22:02, Björn Lundin wrote:

> Q6:
> What date was the coronation of Elisabeth II ?
> The year is 1953.
>

This round is now closed

Correct date : 02-Jun-1953

more details at
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronation_of_Queen_Elizabeth_II>

She has been the queen for a long time.

Q6:

Contender Entered Date First Date Second Date Diff1 Diff2 Best
---------------------------------------------------------------------

swp Jun-02 02-Jun-1953 02-Jun-1954 0 365 0
Mark Brader Jun-02 02-Jun-1953 02-Jun-1954 0 365 0
Russ May-27 27-May-1953 27-May-1954 6 359 6
David B Jun-01 01-Jun-1953 01-Jun-1954 1 364 1
Calvin Jun-27 27-Jun-1952 27-Jun-1953 340 25 25
Dan Blum May-01 01-May-1953 01-May-1954 32 333 32
Erland Sommarskog Oct-12 12-Oct-1952 12-Oct-1953 233 132 132
Correct date : 02-Jun-1953
Worst guess off by: 132

Once again, Erland gets lucky NOT to be eliminated.
Pete is eliminated, due to not answering in time.

And once again, very good answers.

Now onto something slightly newer.

Ceausescu - leader/dictator of Romania was executed on what date
in 1989 ?

This round is open until Feb 24, 2015 20:00 CET

The round is open for everyone in above table.

--
Björn

[Erland Sommarskog]

Björn Lundin (b.f.l...@gmail.com) writes:
> Once again, Erland gets lucky NOT to be eliminated.

Phew!

> Ceausescu - leader/dictator of Romania was executed on what date
> in 1989 ?
>

He was eliminated on Dec 25th.

[Mark Brader]

Björn Lundin:

> Ceausescu - leader/dictator of Romania was executed on what date
> in 1989 ?

15 Dec.
--
Mark Brader "`char **' parameters are packaged in GREEN
Toronto envelopes and placed on the FIFTH shelf."
m...@vex.net -- Chris Torek

[swp]

On Saturday, February 21, 2015 at 2:28:21 PM UTC-5, björn lundin wrote:
> On 2015-02-18 22:02, Björn Lundin wrote:

...

> Now onto something slightly newer.
>
> Ceausescu - leader/dictator of Romania was executed on what date
> in 1989 ?
>
> This round is open until Feb 24, 2015 20:00 CET
>
> The round is open for everyone in above table.
>
> --
> Björn

december 25th (a Christmas present to the world)

swp

[@sayplease.com Russ]

On Sat, 21 Feb 2015 20:28:21 +0100, Björn Lundin
<b.f.l...@gmail.com> wrote:


>
>Ceausescu - leader/dictator of Romania was executed on what date
>in 1989 ?
>
>This round is open until Feb 24, 2015 20:00 CET
>
>The round is open for everyone in above table.

Firing squad, with his wife killed as well

Christmas Day (12/25)

Russ

[Calvin]

On Sunday, February 22, 2015 at 5:28:21 AM UTC+10, björn lundin wrote:

> Ceausescu - leader/dictator of Romania was executed on what date
> in 1989 ?

1 November

cheers,
calvin

[Pete]

=?UTF-8?B?QmrDtnJuIEx1bmRpbg==?= <b.f.l...@gmail.com> wrote in
news:mc2ukj$hqi$1...@dont-email.me:

> On 2015-02-16 18:22, Björn Lundin wrote:
>
>> Q5:
>> What date did Princess Diana die in a car crash in Paris, France 1997
>>
>
> Since I got all answers, I close this round now.
>
> Correct date is 31-Aug-1997
>
> more of this tragic accident is at
> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Diana,_Princess_of_Wales>
>
>

>
>

> The next round is set to close when all answers are in, or at the latest
> Sat Feb 21, 20115 20:00 CET.
>
> We stick to the theme of British royalty.
>
> Q6:
> What date was the coronation of Elisabeth II ?
> The year is 1953.
>
> The round is open for everyone in above table, except Dan Tilque.
>

(If I'm not too late)

June 1

Pete

[Erland Sommarskog]

Pete (pag...@wowway.com) writes:
> (If I'm not too late)
>
> June 1

Thankfully for me, you were!

[Björn Lundin]

On 2015-02-22 05:13, Pete wrote:

>
> (If I'm not too late)
>
> June 1
>
> Pete
>

I'm sorry, but luckily enough for Erland, you were too late.


--
Björn

[Dan Blum]

Bj?rn Lundin <b.f.l...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Ceausescu - leader/dictator of Romania was executed on what date
> in 1989 ?

November 15

[David B]

Ceausescu - leader/dictator of Romania was executed on what date
in 1989 ?

1st January

--
David

[Björn Lundin]

On 2015-02-21 20:28, Björn Lundin wrote:

> Ceausescu - leader/dictator of Romania was executed on what date
> in 1989 ?

This round is now closed, since all answers have arrived.

Correct date : 25-Dec-1989

Again many with correct date, and good answers overall.

more to read at <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolae_Ceau%C8%99escu>


Q7:

Contender Entered Date First Date Second Date Diff1 Diff2 Best
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Erland Sommarskog Dec-25 25-Dec-1989 25-Dec-1990 0 365 0
swp Dec-25 25-Dec-1989 25-Dec-1990 0 365 0
Russ Dec-25 25-Dec-1989 25-Dec-1990 0 365 0
David B Jan-01 01-Jan-1989 01-Jan-1990 358 7 7
Mark Brader Dec-15 15-Dec-1989 15-Dec-1990 10 355 10
Dan Blum Nov-15 15-Nov-1989 15-Nov-1990 40 325 40
Calvin Nov-01 01-Nov-1989 01-Nov-1990 54 311 54
Correct date : 25-Dec-1989
Worst guess off by: 54


Calvin is eliminated

This round is open until Feb 27, 2015 20:00 CET

The round is open for everyone in above table, but for Calvin.


Let us stay in eastern Europe - or in western Asia, I'm not quite sure here.

What date was the opening ceremony of the Olympic games in Sotji, 2014?


--
Björn

[Mark Brader]

Björn Lundin:

> What date was the opening ceremony of the Olympic games in Sotji, 2014?

Uh-oh. I'll go with 20 Feb.
--
Mark Brader | "While President Obama isn't from Kenya, he is a Keynesian--
Toronto | so you can see where the confusion arises."
m...@vex.net | --Supreme Court brief by Cato Inst. & P.J. O'Rourke

[Erland Sommarskog]

Björn Lundin (b.f.l...@gmail.com) writes:
> What date was the opening ceremony of the Olympic games in Sotji, 2014?
>

Feb 8th

[swp]

On Monday, February 23, 2015 at 5:02:47 PM UTC-5, björn lundin wrote:
> On 2015-02-21 20:28, Björn Lundin wrote:

...

> This round is open until Feb 27, 2015 20:00 CET
>

...

>
> Let us stay in eastern Europe - or in western Asia, I'm not quite sure here.
>
> What date was the opening ceremony of the Olympic games in Sotji, 2014?
>
>
> --
> Björn

february 6th, 2014

swp

[Dan Blum]

Bj?rn Lundin <b.f.l...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Let us stay in eastern Europe - or in western Asia, I'm not quite sure here.

> What date was the opening ceremony of the Olympic games in Sotji, 2014?

February 10

[David B]

1st Feb

--
David

[@sayplease.com Russ]

February 8th?


Russ