# A test poll - please ignore... **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [December 11, 2010, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-test-poll-please-ignore/563793 "2010-12-11T16:46:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2010, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-test-poll-please-ignore/563793/1 "2010-12-11T16:46:03Z")
I want to test an idea - is it possible to put a link in a poll option? While there may be other ways to find out, I thought I’d just try it and see. Which was the better swimmer - the Great Seal of England or the Spanish Armadillo? ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2010, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-test-poll-please-ignore/563793/2 "2010-12-11T17:26:01Z")
I think it was the Great Seal of England because in 1588, the Spanish Armadillo sunk to an all-time low… Interestingly, it will parse links in the poll itself - the trick is that the URL + text must be less than 100 characters. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2010, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-test-poll-please-ignore/563793/3 "2010-12-11T18:13:04Z")
Holy smokes, you guys, check out this poll! ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2010, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-test-poll-please-ignore/563793/4 "2010-12-11T18:24:40Z")
Wouldn’t the armadillo sink? ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2010, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-test-poll-please-ignore/563793/5 "2010-12-11T18:30:12Z")
I though it was the Spanish Amontillado? Nonetheless, note that the links in the Poll _DO_ work… Cool. Or Kewl. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2010, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-test-poll-please-ignore/563793/6 "2010-12-11T18:31:56Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > I though it was the Spanish Amontillado? > > Nonetheless, note that the links in the Poll _DO_ work… Cool. Or Kewl. I’ll drink to that! ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2010, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-test-poll-please-ignore/563793/7 "2010-12-11T22:56:17Z")
Back in West Texas, I never saw an armadillo swim. Dunno about Spanish ones. So I went for the seal. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-test-poll-please-ignore/563793/8 "2010-12-12T00:21:19Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > Wouldn’t the armadillo sink? Belly up, with a little sail in his paws; he’s like a tiny, speedy Galleon. Whether you can call that configuration ‘swimming’ is another question entirely. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-test-poll-please-ignore/563793/9 "2010-12-12T01:14:01Z")
> [@c k dexter haven](#): > > i though it was the spanish amontillado? > > Nonetheless, note that the links in the poll _do_ work… Cool. Or kewl. For the love of god, Montresor! ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-test-poll-please-ignore/563793/10 "2010-12-12T01:57:37Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > I though it was the Spanish Amontillado? > > Nonetheless, note that the links in the Poll _DO_ work… Cool. Or Kewl. By the last breath of the four winds that blow, I’ll have revenge upon… Aww, Shit, Dex… You ruined my revenge upon Fortunato… ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-test-poll-please-ignore/563793/11 "2010-12-12T08:51:52Z")
Am I right that you did it just by using the normal tags? I don’t want to make yet another faux poll to check it out. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-test-poll-please-ignore/563793/12 "2010-12-12T09:04:30Z")
Given the aim of the poll, I think you should have given us The Canadian Lynx as an option. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-test-poll-please-ignore/563793/13 "2010-12-12T11:57:09Z")
Yes - it coded like [URL=“[The Great Seal of England - Explore-Parliament.net](http://www.explore-parliament.net/nssMovies/08/0889/0889_.htm)”]The Great Seal of England[/URL] [URL=“[http://farm1.static.flickr.com/224/481658217\_01fe3d03bf.jpg](http://farm1.static.flickr.com/224/481658217_01fe3d03bf.jpg)”]The Spanish Armadillo[/URL] (The URL tags were broken by adding a space after the first square brackets.) The limiting factor is that the total number of characters must equal 100 or less - there were actually two other armadillo images that I tried whose URLs were too long. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-test-poll-please-ignore/563793/14 "2010-12-12T13:05:04Z")
So I might actually have a use for URL shorteners. (I don’t Twitter.) ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-test-poll-please-ignore/563793/15 "2010-12-12T14:41:53Z")
So in the end, I chickened out - I may well use this for other polls in future, but the risk of screwing it up caused me to go with Plan B in the Greatest Mystery Writer poll. With 79 entries, it just would have taken too long and had way too much potential for embarrassing disaster. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-test-poll-please-ignore/563793/16 "2010-12-12T15:28:26Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > So in the end, I chickened out - I may well use this for other polls in future, but the risk of screwing it up caused me to go with Plan B in the Greatest Mystery Writer poll. With 79 entries, it just would have taken too long and had way too much potential for embarrassing disaster. As if that ever stopped people around here… 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-test-poll-please-ignore/563793/17 "2010-12-12T15:53:39Z")
[The Canadian Lynx](http://artwest.homestead.com/files/kingsland-escarpment2.jpg) look like this - not much potential for swimming, there. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-test-poll-please-ignore/563793/18 "2010-12-12T16:00:27Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > [The Canadian Lynx](http://artwest.homestead.com/files/kingsland-escarpment2.jpg) look like this - not much potential for swimming, there. It could’a bin a condendah! ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-test-poll-please-ignore/563793/19 "2010-12-12T16:17:59Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Back in West Texas, I never saw an armadillo swim. Dunno about Spanish ones. So I went for the seal. How could you miss the seeing Spanish ones, they’re indigenous to Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-test-poll-please-ignore/563793/20 "2010-12-12T16:25:48Z")
I voted for the armadillo. Did you see that thing? The picture has it standing next to some dude on horseback, and the thing is HUGE! It’s easily 10 feet tall at the shoulder. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-test-poll-please-ignore/563793.md?page=2)