Weekend QoD: Sunday, October 19

[wintergreen48]

The usual, please read the wordy clues then give your answers in spoiler form.

I have a migraine and I'm not sure how much sense this one makes. Let's hope for the best.

This will remain open until Tuesday at noon, if I am still alive, if not, well, it well never close.

Also Rans, Close But No Cigar

1. The Englishman who first developed modern calculus (he started from differentiation) was a bit peculiar (although he was one of the most brilliant scientists who ever lived, he was also an alchemist; some of the chemicals he used in his alchemy studies may have addled his brain). He kept his discovery secret for awhile, secretly using calculus to dazzle people with his ability to solve complex mathematical problems very quickly, and he only published his work when a German rival (who began with integration) published HIS work, at which time the Englishman guy claimed that the German stole his work from his private notes (that he had shared with a few friends). This led to a lot of international disputes, but it is now generally agreed that the two made their discoveries independently, that the Englishman was in fact first, but that the German’s system of notation is much superior.

2. On Valentine’s Day, 1876, two different guys filed documents with the U.S. Patent Office for what was to become the telephone. The more famous guy actually filed later than the less well-known guy, but the lawyers for the more famous guy managed to get their application processed earlier, so he won. There was and still remains a lot of controversy about all this, and there is a lot of evidence that the guy who ultimately got the patent based his patent on work done by the guy who ultimately did not get the patent.

3. A U.S. Army officer placed fifth in the first modern Olympic pentathlon. Although a crack shot, he lost a lot of points because the judges ruled that one of his shots missed the target entirely, even though all his other shots were tightly grouped (the tightest of all the contestants); he suggested that the ‘missing’ shot was actually a case of two shots passing through the same hole, but the judges ruled against him, and he accepted it with good grace, and did not demand a recount. During World War II, he was the most successful combat general of the U.S. Army, but not only did he never win the highest available rank, but during his most successful campaigns he was actually subordinate to another general officer who, just a couple years earlier, had been his own subordinate (this last part was my Final Jeopardy! Question on my first day).

4. Not only did he just barely miss being the first man to reach the South Pole (someone else beat him by five weeks), but the final camp in which he and his companions died was just ten miles short of their supply depot (that final camp was actually more than twenty miles past the point where that depot was supposed to be located).

5. Two guys came up with the basics of the theory of the evolution of species, both after going on long voyages of discovery in which they were observed the diversity of species around the world. The first theorist was a very shy man, who, among other things, was concerned about the theological implications (for some people) of his theory, and he held off on publishing his ideas for over twenty years, until he learned that the second guy had reached the same conclusions, which prompted him to publish his own ideas (there was no real rivalry here: they actually published some of their work jointly). Although the second guy was the first to present scientific papers on evolution, it is the first guy who gets most of the attention (positive and negative). A sort of interesting coincidence: a man who was born on the exact same date as the first evolutionist was himself elected President of the United States the year after the first evolutionist’s first book on evolution was published (he probably never read the book).



1. The Englishman who first developed modern calculus was:

The German also ran who developed modern calculus was:

2. The guy who actually got the telephone patent was:

The guy who actually filed first but ultimately lost the patent hunt was:

3. The U.S. Army officer who almost won the pentathlon was:

The guy who actually did win that pentathlon was:

The general who was the U.S. Army Officer’s subordinate before he was his
superior officer was:

4. The first runner up in the race to the South Pole was:

The guy who actually made it to the South Pole first was

5. The first guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was:

The second guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was:

The U.S. President who was born the same day as the first guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was:

[frogman042]

1. The Englishman who first developed modern calculus was:

Spoiler

Isaac Newton

The German also ran who developed modern calculus was:

Spoiler

Liebniz

2. The guy who actually got the telephone patent was:

Spoiler

Alexander Graham Bell

The guy who actually filed first but ultimately lost the patent hunt was:

3. The U.S. Army officer who almost won the pentathlon was:

Spoiler

George Patton

The guy who actually did win that pentathlon was:

Spoiler

Jim Thorpe

The general who was the U.S. Army Officer’s subordinate before he was his
superior officer was:

Spoiler

Omar Bradley

4. The first runner up in the race to the South Pole was:

Spoiler

Byrd

The guy who actually made it to the South Pole first was

Spoiler

Roald Ammuldson

5. The first guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was:

Spoiler

Charles Darwin

The second guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was:

Spoiler

(Alfred?) Wallace

The U.S. President who was born the same day as the first guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was:

Spoiler

Abraham Lincoln

---Jay

[jsuchard]

Spoiler

1. The Englishman who first developed modern calculus was: Newton

The German also ran who developed modern calculus was: Leibniz

2. The guy who actually got the telephone patent was: Bell

The guy who actually filed first but ultimately lost the patent hunt was: Jones [Always a good guess]

3. The U.S. Army officer who almost won the pentathlon was: Patton

The guy who actually did win that pentathlon was: Smith

The general who was the U.S. Army Officer’s subordinate before he was his
superior officer was: Bradley?

4. The first runner up in the race to the South Pole was: Scott

The guy who actually made it to the South Pole first was: Amundsen

5. The first guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was: Darwin; Charles, not Erasmus

The second guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was: Argh! Can't recall it. Um... Johnson?!

The U.S. President who was born the same day as the first guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was: Lincoln

[a1mamacat]

Spoiler

1. The Englishman who first developed modern calculus was: nope

The German also ran who developed modern calculus was: nope

2. The guy who actually got the telephone patent was:Alexander Bell

The guy who actually filed first but ultimately lost the patent hunt was: nope

3. The U.S. Army officer who almost won the pentathlon was: McCarthur?

The guy who actually did win that pentathlon was: nope

The general who was the U.S. Army Officer’s subordinate before he was his
superior officer was: nope

4. The first runner up in the race to the South Pole was: nope

The guy who actually made it to the South Pole first was Admiral Byrd

5. The first guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was: Charles Darwin

The second guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was: nope

The U.S. President who was born the same day as the first guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was: Lincoln?

[VAdame]

Spoiler

1. The Englishman who first developed modern calculus was:
Isaac Newton

The German also ran who developed modern calculus was:
Leibnitz (sp?)

2. The guy who actually got the telephone patent was:
Alexander Graham Bell

The guy who actually filed first but ultimately lost the patent hunt was:
Thomas Edison

3. The U.S. Army officer who almost won the pentathlon was:
George Patton

The guy who actually did win that pentathlon was:
Nope

The general who was the U.S. Army Officer’s subordinate before he was his
superior officer was:
Dwight D. (Ike) Eisenhower: a fellow with the same nickname as my Dad! Only he was a little older. And instead of 4 stripes, he had 4 stars! (From a War Letter my Dad wrote to his parents, describing the first of his 2 encounters w/ General Eisenhower.)

4. The first runner up in the race to the South Pole was:
Robert Falcon Scott

The guy who actually made it to the South Pole first was:
Roald Amundsen

5. The first guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was:
Charles Darwin

The second guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was:
Charles Lyell

The U.S. President who was born the same day as the first guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was:
Abraham Lincoln (Darwin's Birthday-Buddy!)

[kroxquo]

Spoiler

1. The Englishman who first developed modern calculus was: Newton

The German also ran who developed modern calculus was: Leibniz

2. The guy who actually got the telephone patent was: Bell

The guy who actually filed first but ultimately lost the patent hunt was: Marconi?

3. The U.S. Army officer who almost won the pentathlon was: Patton

The guy who actually did win that pentathlon was: NAC

The general who was the U.S. Army Officer’s subordinate before he was his
superior officer was: Either Eisenhower or Bradley. Let's go with Eisenhower

4. The first runner up in the race to the South Pole was: Robert Falcon Scott

The guy who actually made it to the South Pole first was Roald Amundson

5. The first guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was: Darwin

The second guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was: Shoot I just watched a PBS special on this a couple months ago and can't remember

The U.S. President who was born the same day as the first guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was: Grant?

[NellyLunatic1980]

1. The Englishman who first developed modern calculus was:

Spoiler

Isaac Newton

The German also ran who developed modern calculus was:

Spoiler

Gottfried Leibniz

2. The guy who actually got the telephone patent was:

Spoiler

Alexander Graham Bell

The guy who actually filed first but ultimately lost the patent hunt was:

Spoiler

Antonio Meucci

3. The U.S. Army officer who almost won the pentathlon was:

Spoiler

George Patton?

The guy who actually did win that pentathlon was:

Spoiler

Jim Thorpe?

The general who was the U.S. Army Officer’s subordinate before he was his superior officer was:

Spoiler

Douglas MacArthur?

4. The first runner up in the race to the South Pole was:

Spoiler

Robert Scott

The guy who actually made it to the South Pole first was:

Spoiler

Roald Amundson

5. The first guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was:

Spoiler

Charles Darwin

The second guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was:

Spoiler

probably Alfred Wallace, whose name we saw on a recent episode of "Millionaire"

The U.S. President who was born the same day as the first guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was:

Spoiler

Abraham Lincoln

[jarnon]

Spoiler

1. The Englishman who first developed modern calculus was: Newton
The German also ran who developed modern calculus was: Leibniz

2. The guy who actually got the telephone patent was: Bell

4. The first runner up in the race to the South Pole was: Amundsen
The guy who actually made it to the South Pole first was: Byrd

5. The first guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was: Darwin
The second guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was: Wallace

[LynPayne]

Spoiler

1) Newton, Leibnitz, 2) Alexander Graham Bell, Horace Greeley, 3) Omar Bradley, Jim Thorpe, George S. Patton, 4) Robert Falcon Scott, Roald Amundsen, 5) Charles Darwin, Alfred Russell Wallace, Abraham Lincoln

#3 is such a guess...

[Weyoun]

Spoiler

1. The Englishman who first developed modern calculus was: Newton

The German also ran who developed modern calculus was: Liebniz

2. The guy who actually got the telephone patent was: Bell

The guy who actually filed first but ultimately lost the patent hunt was: Gray

3. The U.S. Army officer who almost won the pentathlon was: Patton

The guy who actually did win that pentathlon was: I haven't the foggiest

The general who was the U.S. Army Officer’s subordinate before he was his
superior officer was: Eisenhower

4. The first runner up in the race to the South Pole was: Scott

The guy who actually made it to the South Pole first was: Amundsen

5. The first guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was: Darwin

The second guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was: Wallace

The U.S. President who was born the same day as the first guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was: Lincoln

[TheConfessor]

Spoiler

1. The Englishman who first developed modern calculus was: Newton

The German also ran who developed modern calculus was: Liebnitz
2. The guy who actually got the telephone patent was: Al G. Bell

The guy who actually filed first but ultimately lost the patent hunt was: Tesla

3. The U.S. Army officer who almost won the pentathlon was: Patton

The guy who actually did win that pentathlon was: Marshall

The general who was the U.S. Army Officer’s subordinate before he was his
superior officer was: Eisenhower

4. The first runner up in the race to the South Pole was: Scott

The guy who actually made it to the South Pole first was Amundsen

5. The first guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was: Wallace

The second guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was: Darwin

The U.S. President who was born the same day as the first guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was: Lincoln

[MarleysGh0st]

Spoiler

1. The Englishman who first developed modern calculus was: Newton

The German also ran who developed modern calculus was: Leibnitz

2. The guy who actually got the telephone patent was: Bell

The guy who actually filed first but ultimately lost the patent hunt was: Some Italian gentleman. Starts with an N, ends with a vowel?

3. The U.S. Army officer who almost won the pentathlon was: George Patton. (I had a reference to this event in August's QoD!)

The guy who actually did win that pentathlon was: Someone else.

The general who was the U.S. Army Officer’s subordinate before he was his
superior officer was: Omar Bradley

4. The first runner up in the race to the South Pole was: Robert Scott

The guy who actually made it to the South Pole first was Roald Amundsen

5. The first guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was: Charles Darwin

The second guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was: (name blank)

The U.S. President who was born the same day as the first guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was: Abraham Lincoln

[andrewjackson]

1. The Englishman who first developed modern calculus was:

Spoiler

Isaac Newton

The German also ran who developed modern calculus was:

Spoiler

Liebnitz

2. The guy who actually got the telephone patent was:

Spoiler

Alexander Graham Bell

The guy who actually filed first but ultimately lost the patent hunt was:

Spoiler

Elisha Gray

3. The U.S. Army officer who almost won the pentathlon was:

Spoiler

George Patton

The guy who actually did win that pentathlon was:

Spoiler

NFC

The general who was the U.S. Army Officer’s subordinate before he was his
superior officer was:

Spoiler

Omar Bradley

4. The first runner up in the race to the South Pole was:

Spoiler

Robert Falcon Scott

The guy who actually made it to the South Pole first was:

Spoiler

Roald Amundson

5. The first guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was:

Spoiler

Charles Darwin

The second guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was:

Spoiler

Wallace

The U.S. President who was born the same day as the first guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was:

Spoiler

Abraham Lincoln

[tanstaafl2]

The usual, please read the wordy clues then give your answers in spoiler form.

I have a migraine and I'm not sure how much sense this one makes. Let's hope for the best.

This will remain open until Tuesday at noon, if I am still alive, if not, well, it well never close.

Also Rans, Close But No Cigar

Spoiler

1. The Englishman who first developed modern calculus was: Sir Isaac Newton

The German also ran who developed modern calculus was: Liebnitz?

2. The guy who actually got the telephone patent was: Alexander Graham Bell

The guy who actually filed first but ultimately lost the patent hunt was: I once knew but I dun forgited.

3. The U.S. Army officer who almost won the pentathlon was: George S. Patton, I believe this came up recently in another QOD thread.

The guy who actually did win that pentathlon was: Ahhhh, no.

The general who was the U.S. Army Officer’s subordinate before he was his
superior officer was: Dwight D. Eisenhower

4. The first runner up in the race to the South Pole was: Scott

The guy who actually made it to the South Pole first was: Amundsen

5. The first guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was: Charles Darwin

The second guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was: Alfred Russell Wallace

The U.S. President who was born the same day as the first guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was: I dunno but my best guess based on the date Darwin published his book is Abraham Lincoln.

[KillerTomato]

I loved both movies discussed below, although the first is not as good as the ones before it in that series.

1. The Englishman who first developed modern calculus was: Contrary to popular opinion, I don't learn EVERYTHING from the movies. I actuallly learned about this rivalry from Neal Stephenson's book "Quicksilver". The answer to this one is Isaac Newton.

The German also ran who developed modern calculus was: And the answer to this one is Leibniz.

2. The guy who actually got the telephone patent was: Alexander Graham Bell

The guy who actually filed first but ultimately lost the patent hunt was: OK, this one I DID learn from the movies. I don't remember his first name, but his last was Meucci (the namesake of the award Michael Corleone receives from Joe Mantegna's Joey Zaza in "The Godfather Part III").

3. The U.S. Army officer who almost won the pentathlon was: And THIS one, I also know from the movies. I'm up to the Ps in my DVD collection, so I just watched the film and supplementary material which mentioned the fact that this guy finished 5th in the pentathlon. George Patton.

The guy who actually did win that pentathlon was: This wasn't in the bonus materials to "Patton". I'm thinking this was about the same time that Jim Thorpe won the decathlon, so I'll guess him.

The general who was the U.S. Army Officer’s subordinate before he was his
superior officer was: Omar Bradley (played by Karl Malden in the movie....)

4. The first runner up in the race to the South Pole was: Ummm....Byrd?

The guy who actually made it to the South Pole first was Amundsen.

5. The first guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was: No idea. Um....

The second guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was: Charles Darwin

The U.S. President who was born the same day as the first guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was: Um....US Grant?

[KillerTomato]

Spoiler

I will admit to being confused about Q5. I thought Darwin (based on the wording of the first guy/second guy in the first part of the question) was the first to publish, but the second to come up with the theory. Then the question seemed to shift to Darwin being the "shy guy"....I dunno, but I just thought I'd mention this confusion as to why I put Darwin as the second and someotherguywhosenameIforgot as the first.

[JBillyGirl]

More questions I can no longer avoid. I didn't realize exactly how much info I'd forgotten.

Spoiler

1. The Englishman who first developed modern calculus was: Isaac Newton

The German also ran who developed modern calculus was: not coming to me

2. The guy who actually got the telephone patent was: Alexander Graham Bell

The guy who actually filed first but ultimately lost the patent hunt was: can't remember

3. The U.S. Army officer who almost won the pentathlon was: George Patton

The guy who actually did win that pentathlon was: ?

The general who was the U.S. Army Officer’s subordinate before he was his superior officer was: Omar Bradley?

4. The first runner up in the race to the South Pole was: Scott (not 100% sure of his first name)

The guy who actually made it to the South Pole first was: Roald Amundsen

5. The first guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was: Charles Darwin

The second guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was: I know this but I can't remember!!! Argh!!!

The U.S. President who was born the same day as the first guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was: Lincoln

[plasticene]

Spoiler

1. The Englishman who first developed modern calculus was: Newton

The German also ran who developed modern calculus was: Leibniz

2. The guy who actually got the telephone patent was: Bell

The guy who actually filed first but ultimately lost the patent hunt was:

3. The U.S. Army officer who almost won the pentathlon was: Patton

The guy who actually did win that pentathlon was:

The general who was the U.S. Army Officer’s subordinate before he was his
superior officer was: Eisenhower

4. The first runner up in the race to the South Pole was: This I should know. It won't come to me.

The guy who actually made it to the South Pole first was: Amundsen? I've always had a trivial blind spot when it comes to polar exploration.

5. The first guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was:

The second guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was: Darwin

The U.S. President who was born the same day as the first guy to come up with the theory of natural selection was: Grant?