New Scaratings

You are correct. I've changed the answer to Judy instead of Jane.

Error in the Pyramid round from the Tuesday, Oct. 11 Showdown:

5th question, paraphrased, was "which metal has the same crystal structure as Gold"? This happens to be very-much in my lane. I precalled gold was ductile and an fcc metal (faced-centered cubic). Then the answers came, I was about 80% sure of Lead, but called a 2-way (with titanium, a bit of brain fart but hey, happens to all of us). After about 2 seconds, I was looking at the list and said, "I think Calcium is fcc as well".

After the game, a quick check showed that indeed, both Calcium and Lead are fcc metals (at room temperature/pressure - a detail that is unstated but presumed by the question), same as gold. Simple error on the buzzies part. I feel better with that off my chest...

You appear to be correct. Our apologies.

Main database:

"Which element is in the actinoid series"... Should read: Which element is in the actinide series?

The 5:30 EDT CD game tonight contained another now outdated geography question about Sudan being bordered to the north by Egypt and to the south by Uganda. (Don't recall which number; I think it was in the last third of the game.)

I know zero about chemistry but this is what Encyclopedia Brittanica says:

actinoid element, also called actinide element, any of a series of 15 consecutive chemical elements in the periodic table from actinium to lawrencium (atomic numbers 89–103). As a group they are significant largely because of their radioactivity. Although several members of the group, including uranium (the most familiar), occur naturally, most are man-made. Both uranium and plutonium have been used in atomic bombs for their explosive power and currently are being employed in nuclear plants for the production of electrical power. These elements are also called the actinide elements. However, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, the international body in charge of chemical nomenclature, prefers the term actinoid since the -ide ending is usually reserved for negatively charged ions.

That's amazing. There are times when I think these questions spontaneously generate. Hopefully, that's the last time you'll see it. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.

Thanks for this. I've never heard the term actinoid (or its cousin, lanthanoid). I work for the Seaborg Institute of Actinide Chemistry (really!), and in decades of papers, conferences, and discussions among hundreds of scientists, we've never once used the term actinoid. None-the-less, your reference is acceptable, and as a trivia question, the actinoid reference does have a certain appeal. Thanks!

When did Robert Duval say "hey Boo" in To kill a Mocking Bird? I think that is from immortal words last night.

_________________
"Truth Like Football. Gets kicked around much, before reaching goal." - Charlie Chan

" Don't look back, The bastards might be gaining on you." - Satchel Paige

Frank

Frank, the question read something about who had "Hey Boo" said to them in the movie. Scout said it to Duvall, who played Boo Radley.

I misread it and hit Gregory Peck (Atticus Finsch), then realized he always refered to Boo by his real first name.

Yes, it ws in IW.

Well then about 7 of us read it wrong. BT does not need to word questions that way. We all knew that Scout said "Hey Boo".

_________________
"Truth Like Football. Gets kicked around much, before reaching goal." - Charlie Chan

" Don't look back, The bastards might be gaining on you." - Satchel Paige

Frank

The question was phrased incorrectly. It said:

`HEY, BOO' IS A LINE
SPOKEN BY THIS ACTOR'S
CHARACTER IN THE MOVIE
`TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD.'

It should have been "spoken to" instead of "spoken by." Our apologies.

THANK YOU

_________________
"Truth Like Football. Gets kicked around much, before reaching goal." - Charlie Chan

" Don't look back, The bastards might be gaining on you." - Satchel Paige

Frank

Now I know why I misssed it.

There was a question today that asked me to find the plant among a list of national capitals.
One of the incorrect answer choices was "Goteborg".
It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to change that to an actual national capital just to help the kids.

It just said capital cities, not national, but that is still misleading. I've changed it. Thanks for reporting the error.

In the main database:

"Which part of an automobile contains a universal joint?

Correct answer was drivetrain.

One of the incorrect answers is steering column. Every steering column contains a universal joint.

Thanks.

I've seen that one a few times and cursed it, but never got around to reporting it. Thanks for doing so.

There's a question in the database about Patton.
It asks about which place his most impressive victories were fought.
The desired answer is France.
The only problem is that Italy is also a choice,
Given that Patton commanded in Sicily, a part of Italy, in 1943, the player is now required to make a choice as to which one he thinks is more impressive to the question writer.
Subjectivity once again rears its fiendish head...

It has been fixed.

You're right. It has been fixed.

Wow! Eight minutes!
Is that a new personal best, TD?

In Sci-Files last week there was a question along the lines of "Which of these awards is given for/in Science Fiction?"

The correct answer was Hugos, obviously.

It/s worth pointing out that answer 1 was Asimovs. Technically, there is an Isaac Asimov award given out for junior Sci-Fi writing.

I don't know how often the question would get re-used (outside of the fact that Sci-Files is clearly a repeat at least once a month now!) but that answer should probably get torched.

As I recall, the correct answer was "Nebulas". This is also correct, of course (though I think the award is known in the singular, as "nebula"). Hugo wasn't a choice.

Final question in Six on 11/3 about Twilight characters Bella Swan and Edward Cullen had an answer of "Stephenie Meyers". Usually a misspelled answer is a good indication to stay away from that answer, but not in this case.

Correct name and answer is "Stephenie Meyer". (The odd spelling of Stephenie was actually correct in this case)

Christina
HEELAX/COGNAC