QuikSand
06-22-2005, 12:54 PM
I’M WITH STUPID #112 – REVEALED!
I think the balance to strike in creating IWS questions is a delicate one… you don’t really want runaway single answers, but I think you do want the people who get the ‘right” response to be properly rewarded. For me, this has become the most interesting part of the puzzle - I like competing, but I really like thinking about the psychology of this game a lot.
Hey, whatever keeps you going, right?
On with the show…
1. At what temperature does it become “too hot” for you outside?
90 degrees – 19
100 degrees – 8
95 degrees – 3
85, 99, 80
Solid spread… maybe a bit tilted. Tough to contend if you didn’t say 90, though. Pretty much an eliminator question. But perhaps a justifiable one.
2. Name a song that makes you think of summertime.
Summertime – 20
Summertime Blues – 3
Surfin’ USA – 2
Kokomo
Dancing in the Streets
School’s Out
California Girls
I Get Around
Doin’ Time
In the Summertime
Dick Dale – anything
Ugh. My fault. My use of the word “Summertime” in the clue probably hurt this question severely, and my being unaware that the ever-unctious Will Smith had recoreded a song by this name fairly recently was a death knell. I don’t know if his is just a remake of the classic song that Sam Cooke perfected… but it doesn’t matter with Stupid. Eliminator question. My bad.
3. Name an amusement park not affiliated with Six Flags or Disney.
Busch Gardens – 9
Cedar Point – 6
Universal Studios – 5
King’s Island – 3
Coney island – 2
Dollywood
Astroland
King’s Dominion
Dorney Park
Wally World
Sea World
Legoland
Epcot
A couple ways to go here – you could try to think of the most widespread park system not excluded by the question (probably Busch Gardens, though Universal is worthy) or you could go for the single greatest park not excluded (probably Cedar Point). I guess the rest could have been failed tries along the same lines, but I am happy with this question, and the sort of IWS thinking it required.
And only Maple Leafs was completely disqualified from the entire contest by pointing out my misspelling. That was refreshing, I was prepared to mete out more discipline.
I am amused, however, that not a single soul mentioned anything else about the original thread’s wording…
4. What water temperature is perfect for a swim in the ocean?
80 degrees – 10
70 degrees – 9
75 degrees – 6
85 degrees – 2
65 degrees – 2
90, 78, 72
Proper IWS thinking recognized Stupid’s well documented fondness for round numbers, so otherwise ideal answers like 72 were in serious jeopardy right from the start.
5. Name a food that you would bring to the beach.
sandwiches – 14
chips – 8
hot dogs – 2
beer – 2
clams
turkey
brats
chicken
burgers
watermelon
apple
Not the spread I would have expected, honestly. This question would likely have been my downfall if I had entered. Tough to know exactly what instinct this one counted on – it’s a pretty clear consensus for the top two answers, though.
6. Name a non-food object that you would bring to the beach.
towel – 20
sunscreen – 3
frisbee – 3
beer – 2
blanket
umbrella
radio
beach ball
swimsuit
I though this was the question most in jeopardy of being an eliminator – and I probably should have followed my hunch and dumped it. I don’t like it when one answer gets 2/3 of the total responses like it did here.
And while I completely understand the thinking behind all the other answers… you have to admit that the sole answer of “swimsuit” does raise some questions about either (a) the power of semantics with my using a word like “bring,” or else (b) the sort of beaches most of you hang out at.
And one aside here – I am regularly surprised by the number of people who submit their responses with a note clearly indicating the one response they believe to be a loser. Probably one in five people send in a set with a note saying “Number five is going to kill me” or the like. And usually, they are right on target. I have done it myself, even. I wonder what it is that speaks loudly enough to us to tell us that a specific answer is no good, but fails to send us in a better direction? I think about these things.
Without further metaphysical musings, the results:
95-pound weaklings, getting sand kicked in face
ThunderingHERD 410,400
mhass 328,320
flere-imsaho 259,200
MIJB #19 239,400
Wolfpack 201,600
RadioFriendlyUnitShifter 201,600
Psmith 164,160
lighthousekeeper 143,640
rkmsuf 121,600
RPI-Fan 91,200
Pyser 47,880
albionmoonlight 44,800
KWhit 25,200
Chas in Cinti 18,240
weinstein7 8,208
Silver Owl 6,480
Shorty3281 4,800
kingfc22 3,192
vexroid 2,052
Archer219 1,920
TaxFTW 760
SelzShoes 180
st. cronin 40
Grape Smugglers
Klinglerware 840,000
Radii 820,800
TredWel 806,400
Solecismic 684,000
finkenst 576,000
panerd 478,800
TRO 478,800
Plum Smugglers
General Mike 957,600
TheLionKing 957,600
and your once and future IWS king…
Charles Atlas
Subby 2,304,000
So, with that, we presumably put IWS on hiatus for the summer. As we know, it will take weeks and weeks for Subby’s wheels to turn here, but in the tradition of the Car Talk Puzzler, it’s probably fair to give the IWS a little summer vacation.
Thanks for playing, everyone, and for the new powers you have vested in me heretofore!
I think the balance to strike in creating IWS questions is a delicate one… you don’t really want runaway single answers, but I think you do want the people who get the ‘right” response to be properly rewarded. For me, this has become the most interesting part of the puzzle - I like competing, but I really like thinking about the psychology of this game a lot.
Hey, whatever keeps you going, right?
On with the show…
1. At what temperature does it become “too hot” for you outside?
90 degrees – 19
100 degrees – 8
95 degrees – 3
85, 99, 80
Solid spread… maybe a bit tilted. Tough to contend if you didn’t say 90, though. Pretty much an eliminator question. But perhaps a justifiable one.
2. Name a song that makes you think of summertime.
Summertime – 20
Summertime Blues – 3
Surfin’ USA – 2
Kokomo
Dancing in the Streets
School’s Out
California Girls
I Get Around
Doin’ Time
In the Summertime
Dick Dale – anything
Ugh. My fault. My use of the word “Summertime” in the clue probably hurt this question severely, and my being unaware that the ever-unctious Will Smith had recoreded a song by this name fairly recently was a death knell. I don’t know if his is just a remake of the classic song that Sam Cooke perfected… but it doesn’t matter with Stupid. Eliminator question. My bad.
3. Name an amusement park not affiliated with Six Flags or Disney.
Busch Gardens – 9
Cedar Point – 6
Universal Studios – 5
King’s Island – 3
Coney island – 2
Dollywood
Astroland
King’s Dominion
Dorney Park
Wally World
Sea World
Legoland
Epcot
A couple ways to go here – you could try to think of the most widespread park system not excluded by the question (probably Busch Gardens, though Universal is worthy) or you could go for the single greatest park not excluded (probably Cedar Point). I guess the rest could have been failed tries along the same lines, but I am happy with this question, and the sort of IWS thinking it required.
And only Maple Leafs was completely disqualified from the entire contest by pointing out my misspelling. That was refreshing, I was prepared to mete out more discipline.
I am amused, however, that not a single soul mentioned anything else about the original thread’s wording…
4. What water temperature is perfect for a swim in the ocean?
80 degrees – 10
70 degrees – 9
75 degrees – 6
85 degrees – 2
65 degrees – 2
90, 78, 72
Proper IWS thinking recognized Stupid’s well documented fondness for round numbers, so otherwise ideal answers like 72 were in serious jeopardy right from the start.
5. Name a food that you would bring to the beach.
sandwiches – 14
chips – 8
hot dogs – 2
beer – 2
clams
turkey
brats
chicken
burgers
watermelon
apple
Not the spread I would have expected, honestly. This question would likely have been my downfall if I had entered. Tough to know exactly what instinct this one counted on – it’s a pretty clear consensus for the top two answers, though.
6. Name a non-food object that you would bring to the beach.
towel – 20
sunscreen – 3
frisbee – 3
beer – 2
blanket
umbrella
radio
beach ball
swimsuit
I though this was the question most in jeopardy of being an eliminator – and I probably should have followed my hunch and dumped it. I don’t like it when one answer gets 2/3 of the total responses like it did here.
And while I completely understand the thinking behind all the other answers… you have to admit that the sole answer of “swimsuit” does raise some questions about either (a) the power of semantics with my using a word like “bring,” or else (b) the sort of beaches most of you hang out at.
And one aside here – I am regularly surprised by the number of people who submit their responses with a note clearly indicating the one response they believe to be a loser. Probably one in five people send in a set with a note saying “Number five is going to kill me” or the like. And usually, they are right on target. I have done it myself, even. I wonder what it is that speaks loudly enough to us to tell us that a specific answer is no good, but fails to send us in a better direction? I think about these things.
Without further metaphysical musings, the results:
95-pound weaklings, getting sand kicked in face
ThunderingHERD 410,400
mhass 328,320
flere-imsaho 259,200
MIJB #19 239,400
Wolfpack 201,600
RadioFriendlyUnitShifter 201,600
Psmith 164,160
lighthousekeeper 143,640
rkmsuf 121,600
RPI-Fan 91,200
Pyser 47,880
albionmoonlight 44,800
KWhit 25,200
Chas in Cinti 18,240
weinstein7 8,208
Silver Owl 6,480
Shorty3281 4,800
kingfc22 3,192
vexroid 2,052
Archer219 1,920
TaxFTW 760
SelzShoes 180
st. cronin 40
Grape Smugglers
Klinglerware 840,000
Radii 820,800
TredWel 806,400
Solecismic 684,000
finkenst 576,000
panerd 478,800
TRO 478,800
Plum Smugglers
General Mike 957,600
TheLionKing 957,600
and your once and future IWS king…
Charles Atlas
Subby 2,304,000
So, with that, we presumably put IWS on hiatus for the summer. As we know, it will take weeks and weeks for Subby’s wheels to turn here, but in the tradition of the Car Talk Puzzler, it’s probably fair to give the IWS a little summer vacation.
Thanks for playing, everyone, and for the new powers you have vested in me heretofore!