# Bakers Dozen

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173>\
**Category:** Thread Games\
**Created:** [August 4, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173 "2010-08-04T17:56:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 2959

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**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2018, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/59167 "2018-05-23T14:49:43Z")

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> [@gkster](#):
>
> 1. Alaska - simultaneously the easternmost and westernmost US state, as the Aleutian Islands stretch across the 180º line of Longitude, into the Eastern Hemisphere.

Northernmost too!

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<div class="post-metadata">

**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 23, 2018, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/59168 "2018-05-23T15:14:35Z")

</div>

Geographical anomalies

1. West Fulton county Kentucky - cut off from the rest of Kentucky by the meandering Mississippi, only land border is with Tennessee, and almost entirely surrounded by Missouri
2. Northwest Angle, Minnesota - Northernmost point of the continental United States
3. The easternmost point on the continental USA is a place called West Quoddy Head, ME
4. Four Corners - the only place in the US where four states meet (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah)
5. Bir Tawil - an 800 square mile area along the border between Egypt and Sudan that neither country wants to lay claim to
6. Point Roberts, WA - a town on a peninsula that you can only access by land from the continental US by going into British Columbia.
7. Alaska - simultaneously the easternmost and westernmost US state, as the Aleutian Islands stretch across the 180º line of Longitude, into the Eastern Hemisphere.
8. A part of Delaware is east of the Delaware River, and you can step from Delaware into New Jersey on dry land.
9. Llanymynech - has a national border running down the middle of its main street. The eastern side of the road lies in England, and the western side of the road is in Wales
10. Bratislava, Slovakia: the only capital city in the world that is located at a country tripoint: the intersections of Slovakia, Hungary, and Austria (the tripoint is outside the urban area but the city’s administrative area extends out to the borders)
11. Four Corners, the only point where four U.S. states come together

> **[Four Corners Monument](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Corners_Monument)**
>
> The Four Corners Monument marks the quadripoint in the Southwestern United States where the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah meet. It is the only point in the United States shared by four states, leading to the area being named the Four Corners region. The monument also marks the boundary between two semi-autonomous Native American governments, the Navajo Nation, which maintains the monument as a tourist attraction, and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Reservation.
> The origins of t...

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2018, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/59169 "2018-05-23T15:14:55Z")

</div>

Geographical anomalies

1. West Fulton county Kentucky - cut off from the rest of Kentucky by the meandering Mississippi, only land border is with Tennessee, and almost entirely surrounded by Missouri
2. Northwest Angle, Minnesota - Northernmost point of the continental United States
3. The easternmost point on the continental USA is a place called West Quoddy Head, ME
4. Four Corners - the only place in the US where four states meet (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah)
5. Bir Tawil - an 800 square mile area along the border between Egypt and Sudan that neither country wants to lay claim to
6. Point Roberts, WA - a town on a peninsula that you can only access by land from the continental US by going into British Columbia.
7. Alaska - simultaneously the easternmost and westernmost US state, as the Aleutian Islands stretch across the 180º line of Longitude, into the Eastern Hemisphere.
8. A part of Delaware is east of the Delaware River, and you can step from Delaware into New Jersey on dry land.
9. Llanymynech - has a national border running down the middle of its main street. The eastern side of the road lies in England, and the western side of the road is in Wales
10. Bratislava, Slovakia: the only capital city in the world that is located at a country tripoint: the intersections of Slovakia, Hungary, and Austria (the tripoint is outside the urban area but the city’s administrative area extends out to the borders)
11. Four Corners, the only point where four U.S. states come together.
12. the island of Hendaye - For six months of the year, from February 1 to 31 July, it’s under Spanish rule - and for the following six months it’s French.

> **[The island that switches countries every six months](https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-42817859)**
>
> Why a sliver of the Basque country changes national allegiance twice a year.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2018, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/59170 "2018-05-23T15:43:11Z")

</div>

Geographical anomalies

1. West Fulton county Kentucky - cut off from the rest of Kentucky by the meandering Mississippi, only land border is with Tennessee, and almost entirely surrounded by Missouri
2. Northwest Angle, Minnesota - Northernmost point of the continental United States
3. The easternmost point on the continental USA is a place called West Quoddy Head, ME
4. Four Corners - the only place in the US where four states meet (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah)
5. Bir Tawil - an 800 square mile area along the border between Egypt and Sudan that neither country wants to lay claim to
6. Point Roberts, WA - a town on a peninsula that you can only access by land from the continental US by going into British Columbia.
7. Alaska - simultaneously the easternmost and westernmost US state, as the Aleutian Islands stretch across the 180º line of Longitude, into the Eastern Hemisphere.
8. A part of Delaware is east of the Delaware River, and you can step from Delaware into New Jersey on dry land.
9. Llanymynech - has a national border running down the middle of its main street. The eastern side of the road lies in England, and the western side of the road is in Wales
10. Bratislava, Slovakia: the only capital city in the world that is located at a country tripoint: the intersections of Slovakia, Hungary, and Austria (the tripoint is outside the urban area but the city’s administrative area extends out to the borders)
11. the island of Hendaye - For six months of the year, from February 1 to 31 July, it’s under Spanish rule - and for the following six months it’s French.

cleanup - Four Corners was already on the list

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<div class="post-metadata">

**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 23, 2018, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/59171 "2018-05-23T16:13:57Z")

</div>

Oops, sorry!

Geographical anomalies

1. West Fulton county Kentucky - cut off from the rest of Kentucky by the meandering Mississippi, only land border is with Tennessee, and almost entirely surrounded by Missouri
2. Northwest Angle, Minnesota - Northernmost point of the continental United States
3. The easternmost point on the continental USA is a place called West Quoddy Head, ME
4. Four Corners - the only place in the US where four states meet (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah)
5. Bir Tawil - an 800 square mile area along the border between Egypt and Sudan that neither country wants to lay claim to
6. Point Roberts, WA - a town on a peninsula that you can only access by land from the continental US by going into British Columbia.
7. Alaska - simultaneously the easternmost and westernmost US state, as the Aleutian Islands stretch across the 180º line of Longitude, into the Eastern Hemisphere.
8. A part of Delaware is east of the Delaware River, and you can step from Delaware into New Jersey on dry land.
9. Llanymynech - has a national border running down the middle of its main street. The eastern side of the road lies in England, and the western side of the road is in Wales
10. Bratislava, Slovakia: the only capital city in the world that is located at a country tripoint: the intersections of Slovakia, Hungary, and Austria (the tripoint is outside the urban area but the city’s administrative area extends out to the borders)
11. the island of Hendaye - For six months of the year, from February 1 to 31 July, it’s under Spanish rule - and for the following six months it’s French.
12. The Point of Beginning for western American surveys is now actually under the Ohio River

> **[Beginning Point of the U.S. Public Land Survey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beginning_Point_of_the_U.S._Public_Land_Survey)**
>
> The Beginning Point of the U.S. Public Land Survey is the point from which the United States in 1786 began the formal survey of the lands known then as the Northwest Territory, now making up all or part of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. The survey is claimed to be the first major cadastral survey undertaken by any nation. The point now lies underwater on the state line between Ohio and Pennsylvania. Because it is submerged, a monument commemorating the point is adjacent to t...

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Thin\_Ice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@Thin\_Ice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thin_Ice)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2018, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/59172 "2018-05-23T18:11:34Z")

</div>

There’s still more housekeeping to do:  
KO replaced IG’s no. 9 with his own post.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2018, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/59173 "2018-05-23T23:49:10Z")

</div>

Geographical anomalies

1. West Fulton county Kentucky - cut off from the rest of Kentucky by the meandering Mississippi, only land border is with Tennessee, and almost entirely surrounded by Missouri
2. Northwest Angle, Minnesota - Northernmost point of the continental United States
3. The easternmost point on the continental USA is a place called West Quoddy Head, ME
4. Four Corners - the only place in the US where four states meet (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah)
5. Bir Tawil - an 800 square mile area along the border between Egypt and Sudan that neither country wants to lay claim to
6. Point Roberts, WA - a town on a peninsula that you can only access by land from the continental US by going into British Columbia.
7. Alaska - simultaneously the easternmost and westernmost US state, as the Aleutian Islands stretch across the 180º line of Longitude, into the Eastern Hemisphere.
8. A part of Delaware is east of the Delaware River, and you can step from Delaware into New Jersey on dry land.
9. Llanymynech - has a national border running down the middle of its main street. The eastern side of the road lies in England, and the western side of the road is in Wales
10. Bratislava, Slovakia: the only capital city in the world that is located at a country tripoint: the intersections of Slovakia, Hungary, and Austria (the tripoint is outside the urban area but the city’s administrative area extends out to the borders)
11. the island of Hendaye - For six months of the year, from February 1 to 31 July, it’s under Spanish rule - and for the following six months it’s French.
12. The Point of Beginning for western American surveys is now actually under the Ohio River
13. The only US common 5-point, where five counties meet, is in the middle of Lake Okeechobee, Florida

Next:

Well-known sings that are unambiguously recognizable by their first three notes.

1. Moon River

(Note that the Star Spangled Banner and Dixie start with the same three notes, so would not qualify.)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/59174 "2018-05-24T00:04:12Z")

</div>

(Typo fix. I hope you don’t mind)

Well-known songs that are unambiguously recognizable by their first three notes.

1. Moon River
2. The Marine Corps Hymn

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/59175 "2018-05-24T00:05:02Z")

</div>

(Typo fix. I hope you don’t mind)

Well-known songs that are unambiguously recognizable by their first three notes.

1. Moon River
2. The Marine Corps Hymn
3. Smoke on the Water

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/59176 "2018-05-24T00:24:14Z")

</div>

Well-known songs that are unambiguously recognizable by their first three notes.

1. Moon River
2. The Marine Corps Hymn
3. Smoke on the Water
4. You Shook Me All Night Long

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/59177 "2018-05-24T00:53:55Z")

</div>

Well known SONGS, not arrangements. Recognizable lno matter whose version is it. 100000000000 rock songs start out with the first three notes of Smoke on the Water. Same for You Shook Me

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/59178 "2018-05-24T01:01:28Z")

</div>

Well you did not say “unambiguously recognizable by everybody on earth, as well as a music database that logs all notes”. My entries are unambiguously recognizable by me.

1st 3 notes of You Shook Me All Night Long, with the pacing, and the guitar, and it is unambiguous.

I stand by my play, jtur! 😃

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/59179 "2018-05-24T01:09:03Z")

</div>

> [@jtur88](#):
>
> 100000000000 rock songs start out with the first three notes of Smoke on the Water.

They do? Show me one.

Well-known songs that are unambiguously recognizable by their first three notes.

1. Moon River
2. The Marine Corps Hymn
3. Smoke on the Water
4. You Shook Me All Night Long
5. Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony (okay its really four notes, but otherwise we’ll be here all night…)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/59180 "2018-05-24T01:49:48Z")

</div>

Well-known songs that are unambiguously recognizable by their first three notes.

1. Moon River
2. The Marine Corps Hymn
3. Smoke on the Water
4. You Shook Me All Night Long
5. Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony (okay its really four notes, but otherwise we’ll be here all night…)
6. Johnnie Be Good

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/59181 "2018-05-24T02:08:55Z")

</div>

Well-known songs that are unambiguously recognizable by their first three notes.

1. Moon River
2. The Marine Corps Hymn
3. Smoke on the Water
4. You Shook Me All Night Long
5. Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony (okay its really four notes, but otherwise we’ll be here all night…)
6. Johnnie Be Good
7. Bach’s [Toccata and Fugue in D Minor](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho9rZjlsyYY)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/59182 "2018-05-24T02:19:42Z")

</div>

Well-known songs that are unambiguously recognizable by their first three notes.

1. Moon River
2. The Marine Corps Hymn
3. Smoke on the Water
4. You Shook Me All Night Long
5. Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony (okay its really four notes, but otherwise we’ll be here all night…)
6. Johnnie Be Good
7. Bach’s [Toccata and Fugue in D Minor](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho9rZjlsyYY)
8. The theme song for M_A_S\*H

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**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 24, 2018, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/59183 "2018-05-24T03:59:29Z")

</div>

Well-known songs that are unambiguously recognizable by their first three notes.

1. Moon River
2. The Marine Corps Hymn
3. Smoke on the Water
4. You Shook Me All Night Long
5. Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony (okay its really four notes, but otherwise we’ll be here all night…)
6. Johnnie Be Good
7. Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor
8. The theme song for M_A_S\*H
9. The Stars and Stripes Forever

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/59184 "2018-05-24T04:01:37Z")

</div>

Well-known songs that are unambiguously recognizable by their first three notes.

1. Moon River
2. The Marine Corps Hymn
3. Smoke on the Water
4. You Shook Me All Night Long
5. Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony (okay its really four notes, but otherwise we’ll be here all night…)
6. Johnnie Be Good
7. Bach’s [Toccata and Fugue in D Minor](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho9rZjlsyYY)
8. The theme song for M_A_S\*H
9. Richard Strauss’ [Also Sprach Zarathustra](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFPwm0e_K98)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/59185 "2018-05-24T04:10:50Z")

</div>

Well-known songs that are unambiguously recognizable by their first three notes.

1. Moon River
2. The Marine Corps Hymn
3. Smoke on the Water
4. You Shook Me All Night Long
5. Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony (okay its really four notes, but otherwise we’ll be here all night…)
6. Johnnie Be Good
7. Bach’s [Toccata and Fugue in D Minor](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho9rZjlsyYY)
8. The theme song for M_A_S\*H
9. The Stars and Stripes Forever
10. Richard Strauss’ [Also Sprach Zarathustra](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFPwm0e_K98)
11. Over the Rainbow

The “Somewhere over the rainbow” chorus, that is, and not the introductory verse that hardly anyone knows

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/59186 "2018-05-24T09:33:10Z")

</div>

> [@Bullitt](#):
>
> Well you did not say “unambiguously recognizable by everybody on earth, as well as a music database that logs all notes”. My entries are unambiguously recognizable by me.
> 
> 1st 3 notes of You Shook Me All Night Long, with the pacing, and the guitar, and it is unambiguous.
> 
> I stand by my play, jtur! 😃

Whistle the first three notes, and see how many people recognize it.

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