# Anybody want to play 20 questions? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 8, 2009, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-want-to-play-20-questions/495757 "2009-05-08T16:02:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 33
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-want-to-play-20-questions/495757/641 "2009-05-28T15:39:01Z")
Does he appear in a humorous story? ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-want-to-play-20-questions/495757/642 "2009-05-28T15:58:23Z")
1. No ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-want-to-play-20-questions/495757/643 "2009-05-28T15:59:34Z")
Huckleberry Finn? ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-want-to-play-20-questions/495757/644 "2009-05-28T16:12:40Z")
1. No ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-want-to-play-20-questions/495757/645 "2009-05-28T16:58:45Z")
I thought it might be Starbuck, “Ishmael” or Capt. Ahab, but _Moby-Dick_ was published in 1851, per Wiki, so that’s out. Hmmm. Is most of the story in which this character appears, set east of the Mississippi River? ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-want-to-play-20-questions/495757/646 "2009-05-28T17:07:54Z")
1. No Arrrrghhh, reluctantly giving big hint, you are making a big assumption that is not necessarily true. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-want-to-play-20-questions/495757/647 "2009-05-28T17:14:09Z")
Um, all right, maybe the guy is in _Moby-Dick_, then, if by “created” you mean it was written before it was published. So… Is he a character in _Moby-Dick_? ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-want-to-play-20-questions/495757/648 "2009-05-28T17:15:17Z")
1. No ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-want-to-play-20-questions/495757/649 "2009-05-28T17:21:13Z")
Was the character an adult in all the stories written about him (or the story written about him)? ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-want-to-play-20-questions/495757/650 "2009-05-28T17:36:07Z")
Are the accounts of this character primarily set in what is now the USA? ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-want-to-play-20-questions/495757/651 "2009-05-28T17:36:08Z")
1. Yes Repeating the clue from post 646, with an added word: Arrrrghhh, reluctantly giving big hint, you all are making a big assumption that is not necessarily true. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-want-to-play-20-questions/495757/652 "2009-05-28T17:37:17Z")
> [@Sternvogel](#): > > Are the accounts of this character primarily set in what is now the USA? 1. Yes, in the USA ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-want-to-play-20-questions/495757/653 "2009-05-28T18:38:57Z")
Is this character a person? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-want-to-play-20-questions/495757/654 "2009-05-28T18:44:26Z")
Did he appear in a medium other than literature? ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-want-to-play-20-questions/495757/655 "2009-05-28T18:50:29Z")
> [@](#): > > Is this character a person? 1. Yes, it is a person > [@](#): > > Did he appear in a medium other than literature? 1. Yes ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-want-to-play-20-questions/495757/656 "2009-05-28T19:04:42Z")
What other form of fiction was there prior to 1900? Radio wasn’t really operational yet… ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-want-to-play-20-questions/495757/657 "2009-05-28T19:15:23Z")
I’m lost. Here’s a summary. - Fictional character - Male - Created between 1800 - 1850 - Created by an American - Does not appear in a humorous story - Not Huck Finn - Most of the story is not set east of the Mississippi (but there may be a false assumption here) - Not in Moby Dick - Accounts of this character are set in what is now the USA - The character is a person - The character appeared in a medium other than literature ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-want-to-play-20-questions/495757/658 "2009-05-28T19:17:41Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > What other form of fiction was there prior to 1900? Radio wasn’t really operational yet… The character could be someone like Dracula, who was created in 19th C literature but later appeared in another medium. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-want-to-play-20-questions/495757/659 "2009-05-28T19:24:28Z")
I’m thinking along the lines of Western US folklore, such as Paul Bunyan 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-want-to-play-20-questions/495757/660 "2009-05-28T19:35:09Z")
Is the character Caucasian? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-want-to-play-20-questions/495757.md?page=32) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-want-to-play-20-questions/495757.md?page=34)