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Dan Tilque
Apr 4, 2015, 3:29:33 AM4/4/15
to
Welcome to RQ #176. Usual rules, blah blah blah. Two points for each
item except as indicated.
Quiz runs 6 days until 9-APR-2015 sometime in the evening my time.
First, a puzzle.
1. Give the next item in this list:
water, sun, rock, beryl, borax
It's possible you solved the puzzle, but still don't know the next item.
If that's the case, then you can get one point for which Wikipedia
subject you'd look at to find the answer.
Then a few astronomy questions. Note: ly = light year; proper motion is
the motion of a star across the sky, perpendicular to our line of sight.
2. A couple years ago, Kevin Luhman, an astronomer at Penn State,
discovered the closest known brown dwarf to the sun. Actually, two brown
dwarfs orbiting each other were discovered in the data from the WISE
(Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) space-bourne observatory. The
system is called either WISE 1049−5319 or Luhman 16, with the latter
being favored because it's easier to remember. How far away is Luhman
16? (2 points if within .5 ly, 1 point if within 1 ly)
3. About 100 years ago, someone discovered a star that has the highest
proper motion of any star. It's the second closest system to the Sun and
was named after the discoverer. What is its name?
4. Also a couple years ago, someone discovered a fairly nearby star
(about 20 ly away) that has an unusually low proper motion for a star
that close. Someone else did some research and calculations, the results
of which were that the star had passed the Sun some 70,000 years ago at
a distance of about 0.8 ly. The star is so dim that even at that close
range, it still would have been invisible to the naked eye. These
results were reported in February of this year. The star is also named
after its discoverer. What is its name?
Miscellany:
5. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was the first person to declare their 2016
candidacy for US President. But he wasn't actually born in the US. Where
was he born? (Give the city name for full credit; state/province or
country will get partial credit.)
6. There've been two other presidential candidates in prior years that
were not born in a US state. One was candidate about 50-60 years ago. He
was born in a territory before it became a state. The other was a
candidate in fairly recent years and was born in the Panama Canal Zone.
Both represented the same state in the US Senate. Name them for one
point each.
7. What do these people all have in common:
a. Albert Einstein
b. Rupert Murdoch
c. Guy Lombardo
d. Madeleine Albright
e. Wayne Gretzky
f. Pamela Anderson
g. Arnold Schwarzenegger
8. And speaking of Guy Lombardo, he was most famous for being conductor
of the Royal Canadians and playing Auld Lang Syne on New Years Eve. But
he was also a top-level competitor in a sport. Which sport?
9. There've been two monarchs whose images have been on US coins. One
was on one of the first commemoratives, a quarter dollar minted for the
Columbian Exposition in 1893. The other was a much more recent coinage,
also a quarter. Name them for one point each.
10. What spin-off TV show has a name that's an anagram of the show
spun-off from? The spin-off aired from 2006 to 2011. The other show is a
long-running SF show still in production. One point for naming it if you
don't know the other answer.
Have fun.
--
Dan Tilque
item except as indicated.
Quiz runs 6 days until 9-APR-2015 sometime in the evening my time.
First, a puzzle.
1. Give the next item in this list:
water, sun, rock, beryl, borax
It's possible you solved the puzzle, but still don't know the next item.
If that's the case, then you can get one point for which Wikipedia
subject you'd look at to find the answer.
Then a few astronomy questions. Note: ly = light year; proper motion is
the motion of a star across the sky, perpendicular to our line of sight.
2. A couple years ago, Kevin Luhman, an astronomer at Penn State,
discovered the closest known brown dwarf to the sun. Actually, two brown
dwarfs orbiting each other were discovered in the data from the WISE
(Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) space-bourne observatory. The
system is called either WISE 1049−5319 or Luhman 16, with the latter
being favored because it's easier to remember. How far away is Luhman
16? (2 points if within .5 ly, 1 point if within 1 ly)
3. About 100 years ago, someone discovered a star that has the highest
proper motion of any star. It's the second closest system to the Sun and
was named after the discoverer. What is its name?
4. Also a couple years ago, someone discovered a fairly nearby star
(about 20 ly away) that has an unusually low proper motion for a star
that close. Someone else did some research and calculations, the results
of which were that the star had passed the Sun some 70,000 years ago at
a distance of about 0.8 ly. The star is so dim that even at that close
range, it still would have been invisible to the naked eye. These
results were reported in February of this year. The star is also named
after its discoverer. What is its name?
Miscellany:
5. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was the first person to declare their 2016
candidacy for US President. But he wasn't actually born in the US. Where
was he born? (Give the city name for full credit; state/province or
country will get partial credit.)
6. There've been two other presidential candidates in prior years that
were not born in a US state. One was candidate about 50-60 years ago. He
was born in a territory before it became a state. The other was a
candidate in fairly recent years and was born in the Panama Canal Zone.
Both represented the same state in the US Senate. Name them for one
point each.
7. What do these people all have in common:
a. Albert Einstein
b. Rupert Murdoch
c. Guy Lombardo
d. Madeleine Albright
e. Wayne Gretzky
f. Pamela Anderson
g. Arnold Schwarzenegger
8. And speaking of Guy Lombardo, he was most famous for being conductor
of the Royal Canadians and playing Auld Lang Syne on New Years Eve. But
he was also a top-level competitor in a sport. Which sport?
9. There've been two monarchs whose images have been on US coins. One
was on one of the first commemoratives, a quarter dollar minted for the
Columbian Exposition in 1893. The other was a much more recent coinage,
also a quarter. Name them for one point each.
10. What spin-off TV show has a name that's an anagram of the show
spun-off from? The spin-off aired from 2006 to 2011. The other show is a
long-running SF show still in production. One point for naming it if you
don't know the other answer.
Have fun.
--
Dan Tilque
Erland Sommarskog
Apr 4, 2015, 5:11:55 AM4/4/15
to
Dan Tilque (dti...@frontier.com) writes:
> 1. Give the next item in this list:
>
> water, sun, rock, beryl, borax
>
Diamond
> 1. Give the next item in this list:
>
> water, sun, rock, beryl, borax
>
> 2. A couple years ago, Kevin Luhman, an astronomer at Penn State,
> discovered the closest known brown dwarf to the sun. Actually, two brown
> dwarfs orbiting each other were discovered in the data from the WISE
> (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) space-bourne observatory. The
> being favored because it's easier to remember. How far away is Luhman
> 16? (2 points if within .5 ly, 1 point if within 1 ly)
42
> 16? (2 points if within .5 ly, 1 point if within 1 ly)
> 3. About 100 years ago, someone discovered a star that has the highest
> proper motion of any star. It's the second closest system to the Sun and
> was named after the discoverer. What is its name?
It only goes to show how little I know...
> 5. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was the first person to declare their 2016
> candidacy for US President. But he wasn't actually born in the US. Where
> was he born? (Give the city name for full credit; state/province or
> country will get partial credit.)
--
Erland Sommarskog, Stockholm, esq...@sommarskog.se
Peter Smyth
Apr 4, 2015, 5:42:02 AM4/4/15
to
Dan Tilque wrote:
> Welcome to RQ #176. Usual rules, blah blah blah. Two points for each
> item except as indicated.
>
> Quiz runs 6 days until 9-APR-2015 sometime in the evening my time.
>
>
> First, a puzzle.
>
> 1. Give the next item in this list:
>
> water, sun, rock, beryl, borax
Carbon
> Welcome to RQ #176. Usual rules, blah blah blah. Two points for each
> item except as indicated.
>
> Quiz runs 6 days until 9-APR-2015 sometime in the evening my time.
>
>
> First, a puzzle.
>
> 1. Give the next item in this list:
>
> water, sun, rock, beryl, borax
> It's possible you solved the puzzle, but still don't know the next
> item. If that's the case, then you can get one point for which
> Wikipedia subject you'd look at to find the answer.
>
>
> Then a few astronomy questions. Note: ly = light year; proper motion
> is the motion of a star across the sky, perpendicular to our line of
> sight.
>
> 2. A couple years ago, Kevin Luhman, an astronomer at Penn State,
> discovered the closest known brown dwarf to the sun. Actually, two
> brown dwarfs orbiting each other were discovered in the data from the
> WISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) space-bourne observatory.
> The system is called either WISE 1049−5319 or Luhman 16, with the
> latter being favored because it's easier to remember. How far away is
> Luhman 16? (2 points if within .5 ly, 1 point if within 1 ly)
8 ly
> item. If that's the case, then you can get one point for which
> Wikipedia subject you'd look at to find the answer.
>
>
> Then a few astronomy questions. Note: ly = light year; proper motion
> is the motion of a star across the sky, perpendicular to our line of
> sight.
>
> 2. A couple years ago, Kevin Luhman, an astronomer at Penn State,
> discovered the closest known brown dwarf to the sun. Actually, two
> brown dwarfs orbiting each other were discovered in the data from the
> WISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) space-bourne observatory.
> The system is called either WISE 1049−5319 or Luhman 16, with the
> latter being favored because it's easier to remember. How far away is
> Luhman 16? (2 points if within .5 ly, 1 point if within 1 ly)
>
> 3. About 100 years ago, someone discovered a star that has the
> highest proper motion of any star. It's the second closest system to
> the Sun and was named after the discoverer. What is its name?
>
>
> 4. Also a couple years ago, someone discovered a fairly nearby star
> (about 20 ly away) that has an unusually low proper motion for a star
> that close. Someone else did some research and calculations, the
> results of which were that the star had passed the Sun some 70,000
> years ago at a distance of about 0.8 ly. The star is so dim that even
> at that close range, it still would have been invisible to the naked
> eye. These results were reported in February of this year. The star
> is also named after its discoverer. What is its name?
>
>
> Miscellany:
>
> 5. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was the first person to declare their
> 2016 candidacy for US President. But he wasn't actually born in the
> US. Where was he born? (Give the city name for full credit;
> state/province or country will get partial credit.)
Canada
> 3. About 100 years ago, someone discovered a star that has the
> highest proper motion of any star. It's the second closest system to
> the Sun and was named after the discoverer. What is its name?
>
>
> 4. Also a couple years ago, someone discovered a fairly nearby star
> (about 20 ly away) that has an unusually low proper motion for a star
> that close. Someone else did some research and calculations, the
> results of which were that the star had passed the Sun some 70,000
> years ago at a distance of about 0.8 ly. The star is so dim that even
> at that close range, it still would have been invisible to the naked
> eye. These results were reported in February of this year. The star
> is also named after its discoverer. What is its name?
>
>
> Miscellany:
>
> 5. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was the first person to declare their
> 2016 candidacy for US President. But he wasn't actually born in the
> US. Where was he born? (Give the city name for full credit;
> state/province or country will get partial credit.)
>
> 6. There've been two other presidential candidates in prior years
> that were not born in a US state. One was candidate about 50-60 years
> ago. He was born in a territory before it became a state. The other
> was a candidate in fairly recent years and was born in the Panama
> Canal Zone. Both represented the same state in the US Senate. Name
> them for one point each.
John McCain, Barry Goldwater
> 6. There've been two other presidential candidates in prior years
> that were not born in a US state. One was candidate about 50-60 years
> ago. He was born in a territory before it became a state. The other
> was a candidate in fairly recent years and was born in the Panama
> Canal Zone. Both represented the same state in the US Senate. Name
> them for one point each.
>
> 7. What do these people all have in common:
>
> a. Albert Einstein
> b. Rupert Murdoch
> c. Guy Lombardo
> d. Madeleine Albright
> e. Wayne Gretzky
> f. Pamela Anderson
> g. Arnold Schwarzenegger
>
>
>
> 8. And speaking of Guy Lombardo, he was most famous for being
> conductor of the Royal Canadians and playing Auld Lang Syne on New
> Years Eve. But he was also a top-level competitor in a sport. Which
> sport?
Curling
> 7. What do these people all have in common:
>
> a. Albert Einstein
> b. Rupert Murdoch
> c. Guy Lombardo
> d. Madeleine Albright
> e. Wayne Gretzky
> f. Pamela Anderson
> g. Arnold Schwarzenegger
>
>
>
> 8. And speaking of Guy Lombardo, he was most famous for being
> conductor of the Royal Canadians and playing Auld Lang Syne on New
> Years Eve. But he was also a top-level competitor in a sport. Which
> sport?
>
> 9. There've been two monarchs whose images have been on US coins. One
> was on one of the first commemoratives, a quarter dollar minted for
> the Columbian Exposition in 1893. The other was a much more recent
> coinage, also a quarter. Name them for one point each.
>
>
> 10. What spin-off TV show has a name that's an anagram of the show
> spun-off from? The spin-off aired from 2006 to 2011. The other show
> is a long-running SF show still in production. One point for naming
> it if you don't know the other answer.
Torchwood
> 9. There've been two monarchs whose images have been on US coins. One
> was on one of the first commemoratives, a quarter dollar minted for
> the Columbian Exposition in 1893. The other was a much more recent
> coinage, also a quarter. Name them for one point each.
>
>
> 10. What spin-off TV show has a name that's an anagram of the show
> spun-off from? The spin-off aired from 2006 to 2011. The other show
> is a long-running SF show still in production. One point for naming
> it if you don't know the other answer.
Peter Smyth
Mark Brader
Apr 4, 2015, 7:05:12 AM4/4/15
to
Dan Tilque:
> 2. A couple years ago, Kevin Luhman, an astronomer at Penn State,
> discovered the closest known brown dwarf to the sun.... How far
> 3. About 100 years ago, someone discovered a star that has the highest
> proper motion of any star. It's the second closest system to the Sun and
> was named after the discoverer. What is its name?
Barnard's runaway star, also called just Barnard's star.
> 4. Also a couple years ago, someone discovered a fairly nearby star
> (about 20 ly away) that has an unusually low proper motion for a star
> that close. Someone else did some research and calculations, the results
> of which were that the star had passed the Sun some 70,000 years ago at
> a distance of about 0.8 ly. The star is so dim that even at that close
> range, it still would have been invisible to the naked eye. These
> results were reported in February of this year. The star is also named
> after its discoverer. What is its name?
Johnson.
> 5. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was the first person to declare their 2016
> candidacy for US President. But he wasn't actually born in the US. Where
> was he born? (Give the city name for full credit; state/province or
> country will get partial credit.)
5. Calgary (Canada).
> 6. There've been two other presidential candidates in prior years that
> were not born in a US state. One was candidate about 50-60 years ago. He
> was born in a territory before it became a state. The other was a
> candidate in fairly recent years and was born in the Panama Canal Zone.
> Both represented the same state in the US Senate. Name them for one
> point each.
Goldwater, McCain.
> 7. What do these people all have in common:
>
> a. Albert Einstein
> b. Rupert Murdoch
> c. Guy Lombardo
> d. Madeleine Albright
> e. Wayne Gretzky
> f. Pamela Anderson
> g. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Well, I know 5 or 6 out of 7 were immigrants to the US, so I'm guessing
they all were.
> 8. And speaking of Guy Lombardo, he was most famous for being conductor
> of the Royal Canadians and playing Auld Lang Syne on New Years Eve. But
> he was also a top-level competitor in a sport. Which sport?
I'll try curling.
> 9. There've been two monarchs whose images have been on US coins. One
> was on one of the first commemoratives, a quarter dollar minted for the
> Columbian Exposition in 1893. The other was a much more recent coinage,
> also a quarter. Name them for one point each.
The first one must be Ferdinand or Isabella, but which? I'll go with
Ferdinand. And I suppose the other is Kamehameha.
> 10. What spin-off TV show has a name that's an anagram of the show
> spun-off from? The spin-off aired from 2006 to 2011. The other show is a
> long-running SF show still in production. One point for naming it if you
> don't know the other answer.
"Torchwood".
--
Mark Brader | "A private business wants to make a profit, so they
Toronto | aren't going to do things to hurt their customers.
m...@vex.net | Therefore, this must have been a good thing for you...
| you owe them a thank-you note." --Alan Hamilton
My text in this article is in the public domain.
> 1. Give the next item in this list:
>
> water, sun, rock, beryl, borax
We want the etymological origin of "carbon". Is it "coal"?
>
> water, sun, rock, beryl, borax
> 2. A couple years ago, Kevin Luhman, an astronomer at Penn State,
> away is Luhman 16? (2 points if within .5 ly, 1 point if within 1 ly)
I missed that one. I'll try 16 ly.
> 3. About 100 years ago, someone discovered a star that has the highest
> proper motion of any star. It's the second closest system to the Sun and
> was named after the discoverer. What is its name?
> 4. Also a couple years ago, someone discovered a fairly nearby star
> (about 20 ly away) that has an unusually low proper motion for a star
> that close. Someone else did some research and calculations, the results
> of which were that the star had passed the Sun some 70,000 years ago at
> a distance of about 0.8 ly. The star is so dim that even at that close
> range, it still would have been invisible to the naked eye. These
> results were reported in February of this year. The star is also named
> after its discoverer. What is its name?
> 5. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was the first person to declare their 2016
> candidacy for US President. But he wasn't actually born in the US. Where
> was he born? (Give the city name for full credit; state/province or
> country will get partial credit.)
> 6. There've been two other presidential candidates in prior years that
> were not born in a US state. One was candidate about 50-60 years ago. He
> was born in a territory before it became a state. The other was a
> candidate in fairly recent years and was born in the Panama Canal Zone.
> Both represented the same state in the US Senate. Name them for one
> point each.
> 7. What do these people all have in common:
>
> a. Albert Einstein
> b. Rupert Murdoch
> c. Guy Lombardo
> d. Madeleine Albright
> e. Wayne Gretzky
> f. Pamela Anderson
> g. Arnold Schwarzenegger
they all were.
> 8. And speaking of Guy Lombardo, he was most famous for being conductor
> of the Royal Canadians and playing Auld Lang Syne on New Years Eve. But
> he was also a top-level competitor in a sport. Which sport?
> 9. There've been two monarchs whose images have been on US coins. One
> was on one of the first commemoratives, a quarter dollar minted for the
> Columbian Exposition in 1893. The other was a much more recent coinage,
> also a quarter. Name them for one point each.
Ferdinand. And I suppose the other is Kamehameha.
> 10. What spin-off TV show has a name that's an anagram of the show
> spun-off from? The spin-off aired from 2006 to 2011. The other show is a
> long-running SF show still in production. One point for naming it if you
> don't know the other answer.
--
Mark Brader | "A private business wants to make a profit, so they
Toronto | aren't going to do things to hurt their customers.
m...@vex.net | Therefore, this must have been a good thing for you...
| you owe them a thank-you note." --Alan Hamilton
My text in this article is in the public domain.
Dan Blum
Apr 4, 2015, 10:52:23 AM4/4/15
to
Dan Tilque <dti...@frontier.com> wrote:
In the unlikely event I win this, I will not be able to set the next
RQ as I will be on vacation without regular Internet access for a
while.
> First, a puzzle.
> 1. Give the next item in this list:
> water, sun, rock, beryl, borax
> It's possible you solved the puzzle, but still don't know the next item.
> If that's the case, then you can get one point for which Wikipedia
> subject you'd look at to find the answer.
Periodic Table of Elements
> 2. A couple years ago, Kevin Luhman, an astronomer at Penn State,
> discovered the closest known brown dwarf to the sun. Actually, two brown
> dwarfs orbiting each other were discovered in the data from the WISE
> (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) space-bourne observatory. The
> system is called either WISE 1049?5319 or Luhman 16, with the latter
> 3. About 100 years ago, someone discovered a star that has the highest
> proper motion of any star. It's the second closest system to the Sun and
> was named after the discoverer. What is its name?
Barnard's Star
> Miscellany:
> 5. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was the first person to declare their 2016
> candidacy for US President. But he wasn't actually born in the US. Where
> was he born? (Give the city name for full credit; state/province or
> country will get partial credit.)
Canada
> 6. There've been two other presidential candidates in prior years that
> were not born in a US state. One was candidate about 50-60 years ago. He
> was born in a territory before it became a state. The other was a
> candidate in fairly recent years and was born in the Panama Canal Zone.
> Both represented the same state in the US Senate. Name them for one
> point each.
Barry Goldwater and John McCain
> 7. What do these people all have in common:
> a. Albert Einstein
> b. Rupert Murdoch
> c. Guy Lombardo
> d. Madeleine Albright
> e. Wayne Gretzky
> f. Pamela Anderson
> g. Arnold Schwarzenegger
They are all naturalized US citizens
> 8. And speaking of Guy Lombardo, he was most famous for being conductor
> of the Royal Canadians and playing Auld Lang Syne on New Years Eve. But
> he was also a top-level competitor in a sport. Which sport?
fencing
> 9. There've been two monarchs whose images have been on US coins. One
> was on one of the first commemoratives, a quarter dollar minted for the
> Columbian Exposition in 1893. The other was a much more recent coinage,
> also a quarter. Name them for one point each.
Isabella and Kamehameha
> 10. What spin-off TV show has a name that's an anagram of the show
> spun-off from? The spin-off aired from 2006 to 2011. The other show is a
> long-running SF show still in production. One point for naming it if you
> don't know the other answer.
Torchwood
--
_______________________________________________________________________
Dan Blum to...@panix.com
"I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't just made it up."
In the unlikely event I win this, I will not be able to set the next
RQ as I will be on vacation without regular Internet access for a
while.
> First, a puzzle.
> 1. Give the next item in this list:
> water, sun, rock, beryl, borax
> It's possible you solved the puzzle, but still don't know the next item.
> If that's the case, then you can get one point for which Wikipedia
> subject you'd look at to find the answer.
> 2. A couple years ago, Kevin Luhman, an astronomer at Penn State,
> discovered the closest known brown dwarf to the sun. Actually, two brown
> dwarfs orbiting each other were discovered in the data from the WISE
> (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) space-bourne observatory. The
> being favored because it's easier to remember. How far away is Luhman
> 16? (2 points if within .5 ly, 1 point if within 1 ly)
10 ly
> 16? (2 points if within .5 ly, 1 point if within 1 ly)
> 3. About 100 years ago, someone discovered a star that has the highest
> proper motion of any star. It's the second closest system to the Sun and
> was named after the discoverer. What is its name?
> Miscellany:
> 5. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was the first person to declare their 2016
> candidacy for US President. But he wasn't actually born in the US. Where
> was he born? (Give the city name for full credit; state/province or
> country will get partial credit.)
> 6. There've been two other presidential candidates in prior years that
> were not born in a US state. One was candidate about 50-60 years ago. He
> was born in a territory before it became a state. The other was a
> candidate in fairly recent years and was born in the Panama Canal Zone.
> Both represented the same state in the US Senate. Name them for one
> point each.
> 7. What do these people all have in common:
> a. Albert Einstein
> b. Rupert Murdoch
> c. Guy Lombardo
> d. Madeleine Albright
> e. Wayne Gretzky
> f. Pamela Anderson
> g. Arnold Schwarzenegger
> 8. And speaking of Guy Lombardo, he was most famous for being conductor
> of the Royal Canadians and playing Auld Lang Syne on New Years Eve. But
> he was also a top-level competitor in a sport. Which sport?
> 9. There've been two monarchs whose images have been on US coins. One
> was on one of the first commemoratives, a quarter dollar minted for the
> Columbian Exposition in 1893. The other was a much more recent coinage,
> also a quarter. Name them for one point each.
> 10. What spin-off TV show has a name that's an anagram of the show
> spun-off from? The spin-off aired from 2006 to 2011. The other show is a
> long-running SF show still in production. One point for naming it if you
> don't know the other answer.
--
_______________________________________________________________________
Dan Blum to...@panix.com
"I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't just made it up."
Dan Blum
Apr 4, 2015, 10:54:52 AM4/4/15
to
Mark Brader <m...@vex.net> wrote:
> Dan Tilque:
> > 1. Give the next item in this list:
> >
> > water, sun, rock, beryl, borax
> We want the etymological origin of "carbon". Is it "coal"?
Ah, nice. I didn't quite get the idea. Close - references I find
> Dan Tilque:
> > 1. Give the next item in this list:
> >
> > water, sun, rock, beryl, borax
> We want the etymological origin of "carbon". Is it "coal"?
say "charcoal."
swp
Apr 4, 2015, 12:58:30 PM4/4/15
to
On Saturday, April 4, 2015 at 3:29:33 AM UTC-4, Dan Tilque wrote:
> Welcome to RQ #176. Usual rules, blah blah blah. Two points for each
> item except as indicated.
>
> Quiz runs 6 days until 9-APR-2015 sometime in the evening my time.
>
>
> First, a puzzle.
>
> 1. Give the next item in this list:
>
> water, sun, rock, beryl, borax
charcoal
> Welcome to RQ #176. Usual rules, blah blah blah. Two points for each
> item except as indicated.
>
> Quiz runs 6 days until 9-APR-2015 sometime in the evening my time.
>
>
> First, a puzzle.
>
> 1. Give the next item in this list:
>
> water, sun, rock, beryl, borax
> It's possible you solved the puzzle, but still don't know the next item.
> If that's the case, then you can get one point for which Wikipedia
> subject you'd look at to find the answer.
>
> Then a few astronomy questions. Note: ly = light year; proper motion is
> the motion of a star across the sky, perpendicular to our line of sight.
>
> 2. A couple years ago, Kevin Luhman, an astronomer at Penn State,
> discovered the closest known brown dwarf to the sun. Actually, two brown
> dwarfs orbiting each other were discovered in the data from the WISE
> (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) space-bourne observatory. The
> being favored because it's easier to remember. How far away is Luhman
> 16? (2 points if within .5 ly, 1 point if within 1 ly)
2 parsecs
> 16? (2 points if within .5 ly, 1 point if within 1 ly)
> 3. About 100 years ago, someone discovered a star that has the highest
> proper motion of any star. It's the second closest system to the Sun and
> was named after the discoverer. What is its name?
> 4. Also a couple years ago, someone discovered a fairly nearby star
> (about 20 ly away) that has an unusually low proper motion for a star
> that close. Someone else did some research and calculations, the results
> of which were that the star had passed the Sun some 70,000 years ago at
> a distance of about 0.8 ly. The star is so dim that even at that close
> range, it still would have been invisible to the naked eye. These
> results were reported in February of this year. The star is also named
> after its discoverer. What is its name?
> Miscellany:
>
> 5. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was the first person to declare their 2016
> candidacy for US President. But he wasn't actually born in the US. Where
> was he born? (Give the city name for full credit; state/province or
> country will get partial credit.)
> 6. There've been two other presidential candidates in prior years that
> were not born in a US state. One was candidate about 50-60 years ago. He
> was born in a territory before it became a state. The other was a
> candidate in fairly recent years and was born in the Panama Canal Zone.
> Both represented the same state in the US Senate. Name them for one
> point each.
> 7. What do these people all have in common:
>
> a. Albert Einstein
> b. Rupert Murdoch
> c. Guy Lombardo
> d. Madeleine Albright
> e. Wayne Gretzky
> f. Pamela Anderson
> g. Arnold Schwarzenegger
> 8. And speaking of Guy Lombardo, he was most famous for being conductor
> of the Royal Canadians and playing Auld Lang Syne on New Years Eve. But
> he was also a top-level competitor in a sport. Which sport?
> 9. There've been two monarchs whose images have been on US coins. One
> was on one of the first commemoratives, a quarter dollar minted for the
> Columbian Exposition in 1893. The other was a much more recent coinage,
> also a quarter. Name them for one point each.
> 10. What spin-off TV show has a name that's an anagram of the show
> spun-off from? The spin-off aired from 2006 to 2011. The other show is a
> long-running SF show still in production. One point for naming it if you
> don't know the other answer.
swp
Marc Dashevsky
Apr 5, 2015, 2:52:05 AM4/5/15
to
In article <mfo3r6$agu$1...@dont-email.me>, dti...@frontier.com says...
--
Replace "usenet" with "marc" in the e-mail address.
>
> Welcome to RQ #176. Usual rules, blah blah blah. Two points for each
> item except as indicated.
>
> Quiz runs 6 days until 9-APR-2015 sometime in the evening my time.
>
>
> Welcome to RQ #176. Usual rules, blah blah blah. Two points for each
> item except as indicated.
>
> Quiz runs 6 days until 9-APR-2015 sometime in the evening my time.
>
>
> 9. There've been two monarchs whose images have been on US coins. One
> was on one of the first commemoratives, a quarter dollar minted for the
> Columbian Exposition in 1893. The other was a much more recent coinage,
> also a quarter. Name them for one point each.
King of Hawaii
> was on one of the first commemoratives, a quarter dollar minted for the
> Columbian Exposition in 1893. The other was a much more recent coinage,
> also a quarter. Name them for one point each.
--
Replace "usenet" with "marc" in the e-mail address.
Pete
Apr 5, 2015, 2:17:54 PM4/5/15
to
Dan Tilque <dti...@frontier.com> wrote in news:mfo3r6$agu$1@dont-
email.me:
Canada
>
>
> 6. There've been two other presidential candidates in prior years that
> were not born in a US state. One was candidate about 50-60 years ago.
He
> was born in a territory before it became a state. The other was a
> candidate in fairly recent years and was born in the Panama Canal
Zone.
> Both represented the same state in the US Senate. Name them for one
> point each.
George Romney and John McCain
>
>
> 7. What do these people all have in common:
>
> a. Albert Einstein
> b. Rupert Murdoch
> c. Guy Lombardo
> d. Madeleine Albright
> e. Wayne Gretzky
> f. Pamela Anderson
> g. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Naturalized US citizens
>
>
>
> 8. And speaking of Guy Lombardo, he was most famous for being
conductor
> of the Royal Canadians and playing Auld Lang Syne on New Years Eve.
But
> he was also a top-level competitor in a sport. Which sport?
Curling
>
>
> 9. There've been two monarchs whose images have been on US coins. One
> was on one of the first commemoratives, a quarter dollar minted for
the
> Columbian Exposition in 1893. The other was a much more recent
coinage,
> also a quarter. Name them for one point each.
Ferdinand
>
>
> 10. What spin-off TV show has a name that's an anagram of the show
> spun-off from? The spin-off aired from 2006 to 2011. The other show is
a
> long-running SF show still in production. One point for naming it if
you
> don't know the other answer.
Torchwood
>
>
> Have fun.
>
Pete
email.me:
>
>
> 6. There've been two other presidential candidates in prior years that
> were not born in a US state. One was candidate about 50-60 years ago.
He
> was born in a territory before it became a state. The other was a
> candidate in fairly recent years and was born in the Panama Canal
Zone.
> Both represented the same state in the US Senate. Name them for one
> point each.
>
>
> 7. What do these people all have in common:
>
> a. Albert Einstein
> b. Rupert Murdoch
> c. Guy Lombardo
> d. Madeleine Albright
> e. Wayne Gretzky
> f. Pamela Anderson
> g. Arnold Schwarzenegger
>
>
>
> 8. And speaking of Guy Lombardo, he was most famous for being
conductor
> of the Royal Canadians and playing Auld Lang Syne on New Years Eve.
But
> he was also a top-level competitor in a sport. Which sport?
>
>
> 9. There've been two monarchs whose images have been on US coins. One
> was on one of the first commemoratives, a quarter dollar minted for
the
> Columbian Exposition in 1893. The other was a much more recent
coinage,
> also a quarter. Name them for one point each.
>
>
> 10. What spin-off TV show has a name that's an anagram of the show
> spun-off from? The spin-off aired from 2006 to 2011. The other show is
a
> long-running SF show still in production. One point for naming it if
you
> don't know the other answer.
>
>
> Have fun.
>
Pete
Calvin
Apr 6, 2015, 9:37:18 PM4/6/15
to
On Saturday, April 4, 2015 at 5:29:33 PM UTC+10, Dan Tilque wrote:
> Welcome to RQ #176. Usual rules, blah blah blah. Two points for each
> item except as indicated.
>
> Quiz runs 6 days until 9-APR-2015 sometime in the evening my time.
>
>
> First, a puzzle.
>
> 1. Give the next item in this list:
>
> water, sun, rock, beryl, borax
>
> It's possible you solved the puzzle, but still don't know the next item.
> If that's the case, then you can get one point for which Wikipedia
> subject you'd look at to find the answer.
>
>
> Then a few astronomy questions. Note: ly = light year; proper motion is
> the motion of a star across the sky, perpendicular to our line of sight.
>
> 2. A couple years ago, Kevin Luhman, an astronomer at Penn State,
> discovered the closest known brown dwarf to the sun. Actually, two brown
> dwarfs orbiting each other were discovered in the data from the WISE
> (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) space-bourne observatory. The
> system is called either WISE 1049-5319 or Luhman 16, with the latter
> Welcome to RQ #176. Usual rules, blah blah blah. Two points for each
> item except as indicated.
>
> Quiz runs 6 days until 9-APR-2015 sometime in the evening my time.
>
>
> First, a puzzle.
>
> 1. Give the next item in this list:
>
> water, sun, rock, beryl, borax
>
> It's possible you solved the puzzle, but still don't know the next item.
> If that's the case, then you can get one point for which Wikipedia
> subject you'd look at to find the answer.
>
>
> Then a few astronomy questions. Note: ly = light year; proper motion is
> the motion of a star across the sky, perpendicular to our line of sight.
>
> 2. A couple years ago, Kevin Luhman, an astronomer at Penn State,
> discovered the closest known brown dwarf to the sun. Actually, two brown
> dwarfs orbiting each other were discovered in the data from the WISE
> (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) space-bourne observatory. The
> being favored because it's easier to remember. How far away is Luhman
> 16? (2 points if within .5 ly, 1 point if within 1 ly)
11 ly
> 16? (2 points if within .5 ly, 1 point if within 1 ly)
> 3. About 100 years ago, someone discovered a star that has the highest
> proper motion of any star. It's the second closest system to the Sun and
> was named after the discoverer. What is its name?
> 4. Also a couple years ago, someone discovered a fairly nearby star
> (about 20 ly away) that has an unusually low proper motion for a star
> that close. Someone else did some research and calculations, the results
> of which were that the star had passed the Sun some 70,000 years ago at
> a distance of about 0.8 ly. The star is so dim that even at that close
> range, it still would have been invisible to the naked eye. These
> results were reported in February of this year. The star is also named
> after its discoverer. What is its name?
>
>
> Miscellany:
>
> 5. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was the first person to declare their 2016
> candidacy for US President. But he wasn't actually born in the US. Where
> was he born? (Give the city name for full credit; state/province or
> country will get partial credit.)
> 6. There've been two other presidential candidates in prior years that
> were not born in a US state. One was candidate about 50-60 years ago. He
> was born in a territory before it became a state. The other was a
> candidate in fairly recent years and was born in the Panama Canal Zone.
> Both represented the same state in the US Senate. Name them for one
> point each.
>
>
> 7. What do these people all have in common:
>
> a. Albert Einstein
> b. Rupert Murdoch
> c. Guy Lombardo
> d. Madeleine Albright
> e. Wayne Gretzky
> f. Pamela Anderson
> g. Arnold Schwarzenegger
> 8. And speaking of Guy Lombardo, he was most famous for being conductor
> of the Royal Canadians and playing Auld Lang Syne on New Years Eve. But
> he was also a top-level competitor in a sport. Which sport?
> 9. There've been two monarchs whose images have been on US coins. One
> was on one of the first commemoratives, a quarter dollar minted for the
> Columbian Exposition in 1893. The other was a much more recent coinage,
> also a quarter. Name them for one point each.
> 10. What spin-off TV show has a name that's an anagram of the show
> spun-off from? The spin-off aired from 2006 to 2011. The other show is a
> long-running SF show still in production. One point for naming it if you
> don't know the other answer.
cheers,
calvin
Dan Tilque
Apr 10, 2015, 2:26:03 AM4/10/15
to
Dan Tilque wrote:
RQ #176 is over and the winner is Mark Brader. Congratulations.
>
> First, a puzzle.
>
> 1. Give the next item in this list:
>
> water, sun, rock, beryl, borax
As some of you figured out, the sequence is the etymology of the
chemical elements. The next element is carbon, which derives from the
Latin word "carbo". My Latin-English dictionary defines that as "burning
or burnt wood". I decided to give full credit for either "charcoal" or
"coal".
>
> It's possible you solved the puzzle, but still don't know the next item.
> If that's the case, then you can get one point for which Wikipedia
> subject you'd look at to find the answer.
"Carbon" received a full point here. "Periodic table of the elements" is
not a Wikipage I'd expect to find such detail on individual elements,
but since it showed they'd solved the puzzle, I gave a half point for it.
>
>
> Then a few astronomy questions. Note: ly = light year; proper motion is
> the motion of a star across the sky, perpendicular to our line of sight.
>
> 2. A couple years ago, Kevin Luhman, an astronomer at Penn State,
> discovered the closest known brown dwarf to the sun. Actually, two brown
> dwarfs orbiting each other were discovered in the data from the WISE
> (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) space-bourne observatory. The
> system is called either WISE 1049-5319 or Luhman 16, with the latter
In retrospect, I should have given a hint for this one and I had a good
one. It seems this system is actually closer to Alpha Centauri than the
Sun is. This would have put an upper bound of about 8 ly to the answer,
at least to those who got the hint. (Alpha C-Luhman 16 distance is 3.6 ly.)
BTW, last year Luhman also discovered another nearby cool object, WISE
0855-0714, which is only 7.2 ly away. It has an estimated mass between 3
and 10 M_jupiter, meaning it's too small to be a brown dwarf. Instead
it's either a sub-brown dwarf or a rogue planet, depending on your
preference. Its (top-of-clouds) temperature is below 0 C.
>
>
> 3. About 100 years ago, someone discovered a star that has the highest
> proper motion of any star. It's the second closest system to the Sun and
> was named after the discoverer. What is its name?
Barnard's Star
>
>
> 4. Also a couple years ago, someone discovered a fairly nearby star
> (about 20 ly away) that has an unusually low proper motion for a star
> that close. Someone else did some research and calculations, the results
> of which were that the star had passed the Sun some 70,000 years ago at
> a distance of about 0.8 ly. The star is so dim that even at that close
> range, it still would have been invisible to the naked eye. These
> results were reported in February of this year. The star is also named
> after its discoverer. What is its name?
Scholz's Star
>
>
> Miscellany:
>
> 5. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was the first person to declare their 2016
> candidacy for US President. But he wasn't actually born in the US. Where
> was he born? (Give the city name for full credit; state/province or
> country will get partial credit.)
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
>
>
> 6. There've been two other presidential candidates in prior years that
> were not born in a US state. One was candidate about 50-60 years ago. He
> was born in a territory before it became a state. The other was a
> candidate in fairly recent years and was born in the Panama Canal Zone.
> Both represented the same state in the US Senate. Name them for one
> point each.
immigration is a requirement for naturalization and I didn't give any
counterexamples of people who immigrated but didn't naturalize, I gave
full credit for "immigrant to the US".
>
>
>
> 8. And speaking of Guy Lombardo, he was most famous for being conductor
> of the Royal Canadians and playing Auld Lang Syne on New Years Eve. But
> he was also a top-level competitor in a sport. Which sport?
hydroplane speedboat racing
According to Wikipedia, he retired from racing in 1959. I have memories
of watching such races as a young boy and hearing Lombardo's name spoken
by the announcer, but I'm not 100% sure these memories are accurate. I'd
have been 5 when he retired.
>
>
> 9. There've been two monarchs whose images have been on US coins. One
> was on one of the first commemoratives, a quarter dollar minted for the
> Columbian Exposition in 1893. The other was a much more recent coinage,
> also a quarter. Name them for one point each.
Isabella I of Castile and Kamehameha I of Hawaii
Isabelle/Isabella and Kamehameha were sufficient for full credit. I gave
a half point for Ferdinand, since it showed the responder got the hint.
"King of Hawaii" was good for a half point; "Duke Kahanamoku" received
no points.
>
>
> 10. What spin-off TV show has a name that's an anagram of the show
> spun-off from? The spin-off aired from 2006 to 2011. The other show is a
> long-running SF show still in production. One point for naming it if you
> don't know the other answer.
Torchwood, spin-off from Doctor Who
I was surprised at how many got this one.
Scores:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 T
Mark Brader 2 0 2 0 2 2 2 0 1.5 2 13.5
Dan Blum 0.5 0 2 0 1 2 2 0 2 2 11.5
Stephen Perry 2 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 1 2 11
Pete 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0.5 2 6.5
Peter Smyth 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 2 6
Calvin 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4
Marc Dashevsky 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.5 0 0.5
Erland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Thanks for playing everyone. Now over to Mark for RQ #177...
--
Dan Tilque
RQ #176 is over and the winner is Mark Brader. Congratulations.
>
> First, a puzzle.
>
> 1. Give the next item in this list:
>
> water, sun, rock, beryl, borax
chemical elements. The next element is carbon, which derives from the
Latin word "carbo". My Latin-English dictionary defines that as "burning
or burnt wood". I decided to give full credit for either "charcoal" or
"coal".
>
> It's possible you solved the puzzle, but still don't know the next item.
> If that's the case, then you can get one point for which Wikipedia
> subject you'd look at to find the answer.
not a Wikipage I'd expect to find such detail on individual elements,
but since it showed they'd solved the puzzle, I gave a half point for it.
>
>
> Then a few astronomy questions. Note: ly = light year; proper motion is
> the motion of a star across the sky, perpendicular to our line of sight.
>
> 2. A couple years ago, Kevin Luhman, an astronomer at Penn State,
> discovered the closest known brown dwarf to the sun. Actually, two brown
> dwarfs orbiting each other were discovered in the data from the WISE
> (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) space-bourne observatory. The
> being favored because it's easier to remember. How far away is Luhman
> 16? (2 points if within .5 ly, 1 point if within 1 ly)
6.6 ly
> 16? (2 points if within .5 ly, 1 point if within 1 ly)
In retrospect, I should have given a hint for this one and I had a good
one. It seems this system is actually closer to Alpha Centauri than the
Sun is. This would have put an upper bound of about 8 ly to the answer,
at least to those who got the hint. (Alpha C-Luhman 16 distance is 3.6 ly.)
BTW, last year Luhman also discovered another nearby cool object, WISE
0855-0714, which is only 7.2 ly away. It has an estimated mass between 3
and 10 M_jupiter, meaning it's too small to be a brown dwarf. Instead
it's either a sub-brown dwarf or a rogue planet, depending on your
preference. Its (top-of-clouds) temperature is below 0 C.
>
>
> 3. About 100 years ago, someone discovered a star that has the highest
> proper motion of any star. It's the second closest system to the Sun and
> was named after the discoverer. What is its name?
>
>
> 4. Also a couple years ago, someone discovered a fairly nearby star
> (about 20 ly away) that has an unusually low proper motion for a star
> that close. Someone else did some research and calculations, the results
> of which were that the star had passed the Sun some 70,000 years ago at
> a distance of about 0.8 ly. The star is so dim that even at that close
> range, it still would have been invisible to the naked eye. These
> results were reported in February of this year. The star is also named
> after its discoverer. What is its name?
>
>
> Miscellany:
>
> 5. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was the first person to declare their 2016
> candidacy for US President. But he wasn't actually born in the US. Where
> was he born? (Give the city name for full credit; state/province or
> country will get partial credit.)
>
>
> 6. There've been two other presidential candidates in prior years that
> were not born in a US state. One was candidate about 50-60 years ago. He
> was born in a territory before it became a state. The other was a
> candidate in fairly recent years and was born in the Panama Canal Zone.
> Both represented the same state in the US Senate. Name them for one
> point each.
Barry Goldwater and John McCain
>
>
>
>
> 7. What do these people all have in common:
>
> a. Albert Einstein
> b. Rupert Murdoch
> c. Guy Lombardo
> d. Madeleine Albright
> e. Wayne Gretzky
> f. Pamela Anderson
> g. Arnold Schwarzenegger
"Naturalized US citizens" was the expected answer. However, since
>
> a. Albert Einstein
> b. Rupert Murdoch
> c. Guy Lombardo
> d. Madeleine Albright
> e. Wayne Gretzky
> f. Pamela Anderson
> g. Arnold Schwarzenegger
immigration is a requirement for naturalization and I didn't give any
counterexamples of people who immigrated but didn't naturalize, I gave
full credit for "immigrant to the US".
>
>
>
> 8. And speaking of Guy Lombardo, he was most famous for being conductor
> of the Royal Canadians and playing Auld Lang Syne on New Years Eve. But
> he was also a top-level competitor in a sport. Which sport?
According to Wikipedia, he retired from racing in 1959. I have memories
of watching such races as a young boy and hearing Lombardo's name spoken
by the announcer, but I'm not 100% sure these memories are accurate. I'd
have been 5 when he retired.
>
>
> 9. There've been two monarchs whose images have been on US coins. One
> was on one of the first commemoratives, a quarter dollar minted for the
> Columbian Exposition in 1893. The other was a much more recent coinage,
> also a quarter. Name them for one point each.
Isabelle/Isabella and Kamehameha were sufficient for full credit. I gave
a half point for Ferdinand, since it showed the responder got the hint.
"King of Hawaii" was good for a half point; "Duke Kahanamoku" received
no points.
>
>
> 10. What spin-off TV show has a name that's an anagram of the show
> spun-off from? The spin-off aired from 2006 to 2011. The other show is a
> long-running SF show still in production. One point for naming it if you
> don't know the other answer.
I was surprised at how many got this one.
Scores:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 T
Mark Brader 2 0 2 0 2 2 2 0 1.5 2 13.5
Dan Blum 0.5 0 2 0 1 2 2 0 2 2 11.5
Stephen Perry 2 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 1 2 11
Pete 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0.5 2 6.5
Peter Smyth 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 2 6
Calvin 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4
Marc Dashevsky 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.5 0 0.5
Erland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Thanks for playing everyone. Now over to Mark for RQ #177...
--
Dan Tilque
Mark Brader
Apr 10, 2015, 12:19:28 PM4/10/15
to
Dan Tilque:
> Now over to Mark for RQ #177...
I'll get onto it.
--
Mark Brader, Toronto "Constrain your data early and often."
m...@vex.net -- C. M. Sperberg-McQueen
> RQ #176 is over and the winner is Mark Brader. Congratulations.
Oh, I wasn't expecting that! Thanks!
> Now over to Mark for RQ #177...
--
Mark Brader, Toronto "Constrain your data early and often."
m...@vex.net -- C. M. Sperberg-McQueen
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