NOT an Animal, Vegetable or Mineral

[citkeane]

Hi Guys,

Hopefully, some of you are in a collaborative mood. The idea, in case you missed it on the 'New QUIZ Ideas' thread, is a clickable quiz called 

"NOT an Animal, Vegetable or Mineral"

where players are presented with a bunch of nouns and asked to select the answers that ARE NOT an animal, vegetable or mineral. It a pretty straightforward idea, so hopefully everyone can participate and get some words in the final quiz. So, I'm tasking you guys with coming up with a list of 50 nouns, ~25 of which ARE NOT an animal, vegetable or mineral and ~25 of which ARE animals, vegetables or minerals.

I know that in the actual game a very loose definition of animal/vegetable/mineral is employed. However, for the purposes of this game we'll be sticking to a pretty rigid definition of animal, mineral and vegetable. To clarify further here are three definitions that we can refer to:

• Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, insects and mammals (and others).
  
• Minerals are naturally occurring inorganic substances, which have a homogeneous chemical composition and characteristic crystalline structure, color, and hardness. (It might be worth reading up on this one before making suggestions as it is a little confusing - Mineral Wiki Page).
  
• Vegetables are cultivated plants, or more specifically their edible parts, such as their roots, leafs, stems etc.
  

The vegetable category in this quiz will exclude fruits (typically the ripened ovaries and surrounding tissue of plants). We might include one or two fruits, which players will have to select as NOT an Animal, Mineral or Vegetable but I don't want to focus too much on making players distinguish between vegetable-like fruits and fruits, as that idea was covered in a recently published quiz (Find the Fruits, Veto the Vegetables).

So, to clarify further on what type of answers/decoys we'll be wanting - I'll want animals, minerals and vegetables (the decoys in this quiz). The animals and vegetables shouldn't be too obvious. Any options that might brew up a little confusion in players or give them a reason to pause and think will be great. However, don't go digging through any dusty encyclopedias for inspiration, as chances are if you've never even heard of it then it might be TOO obscure. In the case of the minerals, we'll try to stick to ones that might be somewhat familiar to the average (or slightly-above-average) Sporcle user and avoid minerals with crazily complex names. The principal characteristic we'll want for the minerals is that they comply to the definition 'mineral' that we outline.

As for the correct answers (the NOT-animals, NOT-vegetables and NOT-minerals), this is where I'll be relying on your collective genius. I want words that COULD be animals, minerals or vegetables but DEFINITELY are not. Alternatively, if you can think of any words that might elicit a little confusion in our players and give them a reason to think, for whatever reason, that is also what I'm looking for.

I can't wait to see what you come up with. I'll also want a few words that will make players chuckle but these will only make up a small minority of the words, so don't focus too much on coming up with something funny. The first type of correct answer is mostly what we're looking for.

To being with, I'm going to limit everyone to 6 Words each. I'd like to get as many people participating as possible and give everyone, even latecomers, the chance to get a word in the final quiz. If interest levels are low I'll ask for a second batch of answers, but for settle on your best 6 and post them below. If you want to contribute 3 right answers and 3 wrong answer (including 1 animal, 1 vegetable and 1 mineral) that might also be a good idea.

So get posting! What are you waiting for?

citkeane

[Josh]

Coal (nonmineral), Water, Rocky, (haha i like that one), Human (as an animal), Tungsten (mineral), Kohlrabi (vegetable)

[citkeane]

Wow, you got in there quick, Josh. Just to clarify a couple of typos in my post - everyone can post 6 words to begin with and I'll make a post asking for a second batch of suggestions if we don't have enough words after everyone who wants to participate has had the chance. So settle on your best 6 and post them below (or above if your Josh).

[zalkon2004]

On the subject of decoys, would you prefer that the decoys be actual substances that aren't Ani/Veg/Min or would things that sound like they might be actual substances but which are actually words that mean something entirely different (Example would be something like - Escutcheon) be eligible?

[citkeane]

@zalkon, it could be either, though I think I'd prefer the majority of them to be actual physical things. Abstract words that sound like animals, vegetables or mineral will also work, although I'd be weary of including anything that the vast majority users are going to read and have literary no idea what it means. For me, escutcheon falls in that category but that might just be a personal blind spot (I have many trivia blind spots). Nevertheless, feel free to post it. If people want it in the quiz it'll be in the quiz.

I'd also like to clarify that the aim would be to include, at the absolute least, one word from everyone's list of suggestions in the final game. More likely it'll be more than one unless the number of people making suggestions really takes off. Hopefully, we'll have a nice number of words that can be whittled down to the perfect ~50. So, feel free to be as creative as you want with you 6 words. They might not all make the final quiz but at least this thread will make for interesting reading. :D

[zalkon2004]

Ok thanks cit, here are six I came up with

Real Animal - Vegetable -  Mineral , in that order

Caracal (fairly well known cat that has a name similar to charcoal, maybe confuse those unfamiliar)

Kurrat - vegetable related to garlic, might seem like a fake out on carrot getting people to think its not real and skip it.

Cinnabar - parallels to cinnamon, may make some think about spices also kinda sounds like it'd be a candy bar (to me)

Fake Animal - Vegetable - Mineral, in that order

Manitoban Tuck - it's a term from the sport of Curling, type of throw. Kinda sounds like it'd be a Canadian aquatic bird.

Billabong - a small lake, term popularly referenced in the well-known Australian folk song "Waltzing Matilda" (I learned it in elementary school even though I'm in the US.)

Obsidian - a form of volcanic glass. I have a piece sitting on a shelf which is why I thought of it. Didn't know it wasn't a true mineral myself!

[rer2121]

Oops! I though I've made a post already on this page, but I guess I didn't post it. Anyway...

Kiwi - Most people will automatically think "that's a fruit, so I can click it," but lo & behold, they forgot the species of bird

Aubergine - I thought I'd give a little love to the Brits by putting in the UK name for the eggplant

Onyx - A rock mineral that is also the name of the longest river in Antarctica (y'know, in case nobody knew what the mineral onyx was, but knew a lot about water sources in the South Pole, & clicked it, not knowing it was actually a mineral)

Correct Answers -

THE ALASKAN BULL WORM!!! - Fictional worm from an episode of "SpongeBob SquarePants"

Chu - One of the longest rivers in, where else, Kyrgyzstan

& something random like - Potato chip shaped like Nebraska

[BanjoZebra]

I'm pretty sure an eggplant is a fruit, if I'm not mistaken.

[rer2121]

Oops again! I got all caught up in the moment, making an answer especially for the Brits, but...

Anyway, my new vegetable is "Arracacha" It is a 'a root vegetable originally from the Andes, somewhat intermediate between the carrot and celery.'

[needapausebutton]

Real Animal (decoy) – Sloth

Real Mineral (decoy) – Asbestos

Real Vegetable (decoy) -  Rutabaga

 

Not-Animal – Jackalope (mythological creature)

Not-Mineral -  Minerite (made up word)

Not-Vegetable – Tofu (made using soybeans, but not itself a vegetable)

[citkeane]

Good work, guys, on the suggestions so far. Hopefully, there'll be a few more over the coming days/weeks or this'll be a pretty short quiz. :D

[NYYanks]

Real animal - dingo

Real vegetable - kohlrabi (turnip relative)

Real mineral - agate

Fake animal - amarillo (city in Texas, looks like armadillo)

Fake vegetable - sprout (just a small stem with leaves)

Fake mineral - bronze (alloy)

[mcomisky]

Real animal: Okapi (some people have heard of it, but it is not very well-known. It also happens to be my favorite animal)

Real vegetable: Bok Choy (also know as Chinese cabbage)

Real mineral: Zircon (people might confuse it for Zirconium, an element)

Fake animal: Dementor (from Harry Potter)

Fake vegetable: Peas (Wikipedia says they are "botanically a fruit", but "a vegetable in cooking", so I'm not sure if it should be included)

Fake mineral: Pearl (one of the birthstones, but not actually a mineral or stone)

[BanjoZebra]

Real Animal: Hagfish

Real Vegetable: Catsear

Real Mineral: Diamond (I feel like people will think it's a trick question and click it)

Fake Animal: Red-Footed Sun Macaw (randomness)

Fake Vegetable: Alfalfa (legume)

Fake Mineral: Epiziite (more randomness)

[vikZ]

Not any of the categories
- Golem (it's 'rocky' and is human shaped, but it's not any of the categories. Also it's mythical)
- Milk (not a veggie, comes from an animal but isn't one, and not a mineral)
- Cocoa bean (it's a seed, and a seed of a fruit so it is not a vegetable)

At least one of the categories
- Bat (could be mistaken for a baseball bat)
- Nickel (mineral)
- Galaxite (mineral. Maybe too obscure though?)

[purpleparrot72]

Hope I'm not too late! This sounds like a really fun idea, and I can't wait to see what the final product ends up looking like! As far as my contribution goes:

Real Animal- Dugong

Real Vegetable- Elephant Garlic

Real Mineral- Calcite

Impostor- Taiga (an ecological biome where animals live, but not an animal)

Impostor- Cuspid (a tooth that may be used to eat, but not a vegetable)

Impostor- Limestone (a rock made of minerals, but not a mineral itself)

[citkeane]

Guys, keep the suggestions coming. Chances are it'll be at least another couple of weeks before I'm ready to make any further moves on this quiz due to real life commitments. So, if anyone else is interested you've got time to brew up some good suggestion. Also, thanks to everyone who's participated so far.

[Fusty]

Tomato should definately be in the quiz. I'm not entirely sure if it's a fruit or veg, but I think it's a fruit, this will confuse players.

[needapausebutton]

Anybody who wants to make additional submissions,please feel free to. I just checked with citkeane, and they are most welcome.

Here's s'more from me:

NOT ANIMAL
Unicorn
Jayhawk (the school mascot is a fictitious bird crossing a jay and a hawk)

NOT VEGETABLE
Ketchup
Pepperoni

NOT MINERAL
Sugar
Glass
Amber

REAL ANIMAL
Wolverine (it's not just an X-Men character)
Sphynx (a real cat breed, easy to mix up with the Sphinx)

REAL VEGETABLE
Zucchini
Mizuna

[citkeane]

Here are all the viable suggestions so far (NOT the final list of words that will make the quiz). I haven't divided the NOT suggestions as some of them could double for more than one category.

NOT Animals Vegetables & Minerals

Manitoban Tuck, Alaskan Bull Worm, Jackalope, Armarillo, Dementor, Red-Footed Sun Macaw, Taiga, Coal, Rocky, Water, Billabong, Chu, Potato Chip Shaped Like Nebraska, Minerite, Tofu, Sprout, Bronze, Pea, Pearl, Alfalfa, Epiziite, Golem, Milk, Cocoa Bean, Cuspid, Tomato, Limestone, Unicorn, Jayhawk, Ketchup, Pepperoni, Sugar, Glass, Amber

Animals

Human, Caracal, Kiwi, Sloth, Dingo, Okapi, Hagfish, Bat, Dugong, Woverine, Sphynx

Vegetables

Kohlrabi, Kurray, Rutabaga, Bok Choy, Catsear, Elephant Garlic, Arracacha, Zucchini, Mizuna

Minerals

Cinnabar, Onyx, Asbestos, Agate, Zircon, Diamond, Nickel, Galaxite, Calcite

[citkeane]

Actually not sure about zucchini. Might be one of those vegetables that are technically a fruit. I'll have to look into that one.

[Josh Calianos]

I quote Wilkipedia: " In a culinary context, the zucchini is treated as a vegetable, which means it is usually cooked and presented as a savory dish or accompaniment. Botanically, however, the zucchini is an immature fruit, being the swollen ovary of the zucchini flower."

Maybe leave that one out?

Thoughtfully thumbed from the MyPhone

On Aug 3, 2013, at 8:54 AM, BanjoZebra <banjo...@gmail.com> wrote:

REAL VEGETABLE
Zucchini
Mizuna

If I'm not mistaken, Zucchini is a squash, and squashes are fruits.

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[Fusty]

I would just like to laugh at 'the zucchini is an immature fruit', it makes the zucchini sound like it pulls faces and is abusive.

[rer2121]

ANIMALS

Emperor Tamarin

Eric Burdon

VEGETABLES

Tat Soi

Spaghetti Squash

MINERALS

Olivine

Tufa

NOT AN ANIMAL

Hoya

The Woody Paskard

NOT A VEGETABLE

Italian Tappelini Onion

Oshkabaga

NOT A MINERAL

Shornitite

Rongandrite

RANDOM NOT A

Tambourine with a picture of Bruce Springsteen kissing a polka-dotted cat on it

[BanjoZebra]

This here says that a spaghetti squash is a winter squash, and winter squashes are "mature fruits" when they are eaten. So, I guess...

[needapausebutton]

rer,  so are people clicking on Rongandrite correct or incorrect?

[rer2121]

It depends on which side they click it...

[citkeane]

Hey, guys. This'll be a first - after a little deliberation and a not-so-successful first draft I've decided not to go ahead with this quiz. As the "owner" of the quiz it's my responsibility to shepherd the concept so as to produce a quiz that is up to the quality we should be expecting of this group. However, in this case there were a few issues with the concept that I believe make the quiz untenable and, as a result, I think best thing to do is probably to scrap the idea rather than push it out despite my reservations.

One of the main problems was finding concrete, comprehensible, concise and clear definitions of vegetable and, to a lesser extent, mineral. The definitions posted in my intro to this thread were a little thrown together and wouldn't stand up to much scrutiny and the potential for debate in comments regarding what is or isn't a vegetable (or mineral) was worrying to me. Also, after putting together a first draft I really didn't feel like the quiz was coming together to a standard that would provide a good representation of this bunchof(talented)curators.

I've confirmed with napb that the idea is probably dead in the water. Hopefully, those of you who made suggestions had some fun doing so and won't be too disappointed.

Thanks, 

citkeane

[NY Yanks]

Aw, I was looking forward to it.

Thanks for trying though,

Sent from my iPhone

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[needapausebutton]

Thanks, citkeane, and thanks for your work on this, and to those of you who chimed in with suggestions.

Folks, this is the nature of these group quizzes. Sometimes things move along smoothly for a long stretch (and the result is Famous Pigs and Horses and Bald People on TV -- of course if you didn't know those are the titles of published quizzes you might be wondering "what's good about those things?").....

....On the other hand, sometimes the result is nothing, for an even longer period.

The same thing is prevalent in the UnitedEditors collaborative account.  Some ideas made it out of the box and were well-received. Some made it only to the Discover section. And there are a lot of drafts "sitting there" which may never get completed.  Nothing has "happened" in several months there.

To me, this group  is much more about the "process of getting there", than the end-result or any goal of publication (or a well-received Discovery-section quiz).

If that sounds cliche, well, I really mean it.  The number of curators I've gotten to know and interact with since the formation of the group, and the quality of those relationships as has progressed from working collaboratively, IS what most attracts me to Sporcle.

I don't care if a quiz makes it out quickly from the genesis of an idea, or if a year passes with no apparent fruit. (or vegetable). (or .... ok I'll stop there  :)

Anyways, this door is always open.  If any of us become better quiz-makers by going through this process, then I'm delighted. If any of us become better curators because we've honed our skills and learned from our peers, that's going to be paid forward to all who benefit from your picks.

So, if this group remains dormant, or even if just two voices speak up and start to work on something, result or not, to me, something is gained, and nothing lost.

OK, sermon over :)

FYI, and I'm not the Boy who cried Wolf..... yes, the Sojourn quiz is still quietly simmering.  Will THAT quiz ever be completed and go live? I don't know. The engineering glitch has not been fixed, and I AM pursuing that actively. Keep your fingers crossed

Thanks everybody!

- paws