# Bakers Dozen **URL:** \ **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:** 3171
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2018, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/63408 "2018-12-18T14:36:48Z")
Creative people who died before achieving fame 1. Vincent Van Gogh 2. Henry David Thoreau 3. Jonathan Larson 4. Franz Kafka ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2018, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/63409 "2018-12-18T15:01:07Z")
Creative people who died before achieving fame 1. Vincent Van Gogh 2. Henry David Thoreau 3. Jonathan Larson 4. Franz Kafka 5. Emily Dickinson ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2018, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/63410 "2018-12-18T15:02:41Z")
Creative people who died before achieving fame 1. Vincent Van Gogh 2. Henry David Thoreau 3. Jonathan Larson 4. Franz Kafka 5. Emily Dickinson 6. Stig Larson ---
**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2018, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/63411 "2018-12-18T15:11:38Z")
Creative people who died before achieving fame 1. Vincent Van Gogh 2. Henry David Thoreau 3. Jonathan Larson 4. Franz Kafka 5. Emily Dickinson 6. Stig Larson 7. John Kennedy Toole ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2018, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/63412 "2018-12-18T15:13:21Z")
Creative people who died before achieving fame 1. Vincent Van Gogh 2. Henry David Thoreau 3. Jonathan Larson 4. Franz Kafka 5. Emily Dickinson 6. Stig Larson 7. John Kennedy Toole 8. Galileo Galilei ---
**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:** [December 18, 2018, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/63413 "2018-12-18T15:47:29Z")
Creative people who died before achieving fame 1. Vincent Van Gogh 2. Henry David Thoreau 3. Jonathan Larson 4. Franz Kafka 5. Emily Dickinson 6. Stig Larson 7. John Kennedy Toole 8. Galileo Galilei 9. Ernest Scribbler [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/q9XJeL2MNpw/hqdefault.jpg "Monty Python- The Funniest Joke in the World") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9XJeL2MNpw) ---
**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:** [December 18, 2018, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/63414 "2018-12-18T16:03:42Z")
Creative people who died before achieving fame 1. Vincent Van Gogh 2. Henry David Thoreau 3. Jonathan Larson 4. Franz Kafka 5. Emily Dickinson 6. Stig Larson 7. John Kennedy Toole 8. Galileo Galilei 9. Ernest Scribbler 10. Edgar Allan Poe ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2018, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/63415 "2018-12-18T19:51:43Z")
Creative people who died before achieving fame 1. Vincent Van Gogh 2. Henry David Thoreau 3. Jonathan Larson 4. Franz Kafka 5. Emily Dickinson 6. Stig Larson 7. John Kennedy Toole 8. Galileo Galilei 9. Ernest Scribbler 10. Edgar Allan Poe 11. Franz Schubert ---
**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:** [December 18, 2018, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/63416 "2018-12-18T19:53:25Z")
Creative people who died before achieving fame 1. Vincent Van Gogh 2. Henry David Thoreau 3. Jonathan Larson 4. Franz Kafka 5. Emily Dickinson 6. Stig Larson 7. John Kennedy Toole 8. Galileo Galilei 9. Ernest Scribbler 10. Edgar Allan Poe 11. Franz Schubert 12. Emily Brontë She died less than a year after the publication of _Wuthering Heights_, and before it was recognized as a masterpiece ---
**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:** [December 18, 2018, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/63417 "2018-12-18T20:13:01Z")
Poe was pretty famous (especially for “The Raven”), although not nearly as financially successful as he wanted to be, by the time he died. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2018, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/63418 "2018-12-18T20:42:38Z")
Creative people who died before achieving fame 1. Vincent Van Gogh 2. Henry David Thoreau 3. Jonathan Larson 4. Franz Kafka 5. Emily Dickinson 6. Stig Larson 7. John Kennedy Toole 8. Galileo Galilei 9. Ernest Scribbler 10. Edgar Allan Poe 11. Franz Schubert 12. Emily Brontë 13. John Kennedy Toole A Confederacy of Dunces was published 11 years after his death, Next: Christmas traditions with Pagan origins 1. Holly - used to drive evil spirits away from trees during winter so they could resume growing ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2018, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/63419 "2018-12-18T21:11:10Z")
Hey Bullitt, All these cities are not “the furthest from your home.” There are no formal rules here, but in fairness to other posters, could you please give others a chance to post before dominating every thread? Thank you, Leaffan - On behalf of the OP since he no longer posts here > [@Bullitt](#): > > Major city furthest from your home you have visited > > 1. Syndey, Australia > [@Bullitt](#): > > Major city furthest from your home you have visited > > 1. Shanghai, China > [@Bullitt](#): > > Major city furthest from your home you have visited > > 1. Tokyo, Japan > [@Bullitt](#): > > Major city furthest from your home you have visited > > 1. Vaduz. Liechtenstein > [@Bullitt](#): > > Major city furthest from your home you have visited > > 1. Tromsø, Norway ---
**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2018, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/63420 "2018-12-18T21:20:41Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > Creative people who died before achieving fame > > 1. Vincent Van Gogh > 2. Henry David Thoreau > 3. Jonathan Larson > 4. Franz Kafka > 5. Emily Dickinson > 6. Stig Larson > 7. John Kennedy Toole > 8. Galileo Galilei > 9. Ernest Scribbler > 10. Edgar Allan Poe > 11. Franz Schubert > 12. Emily Brontë > 13. John Kennedy Toole > > A Confederacy of Dunces was published 11 years after his death, > > Next: Christmas traditions with Pagan origins > > 1. Holly - used to drive evil spirits away from trees during winter so they could resume growing Psst … see #7. ---
**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:** [December 18, 2018, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/63421 "2018-12-18T21:36:32Z")
Creative people who died before achieving fame 1. Vincent Van Gogh 2. Henry David Thoreau 3. Jonathan Larson 4. Franz Kafka 5. Emily Dickinson 6. Stig Larson 7. John Kennedy Toole 8. Galileo Galilei 9. Ernest Scribbler 10. Edgar Allan Poe 11. Franz Schubert 12. Emily Brontë 13. Edouard Manet Next: Christmas traditions with Pagan origins 1. Holly - used to drive evil spirits away from trees during winter so they could resume growing 2. Mistletoe - Pre-Christian cultures regarded the white berries as symbols of male fertility, with the seeds resembling semen. The Celts, particularly, saw mistletoe as the semen of Taranis, while the Ancient Greeks referred to mistletoe as “oak sperm.” [quoting from der Wiki] ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2018, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/63422 "2018-12-18T21:48:08Z")
Christmas traditions with Pagan origins 1. Holly - used to drive evil spirits away from trees during winter so they could resume growing 2. Mistletoe - Pre-Christian cultures regarded the white berries as symbols of male fertility, with the seeds resembling semen. The Celts, particularly, saw mistletoe as the semen of Taranis, while the Ancient Greeks referred to mistletoe as “oak sperm.” [quoting from der Wiki] 3. Christmas Tree - Tree worship was common among the pagans as well as Vikings and Saxons. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2018, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/63423 "2018-12-18T21:56:07Z")
Christmas traditions with Pagan origins 1. Holly - used to drive evil spirits away from trees during winter so they could resume growing 2. Mistletoe - Pre-Christian cultures regarded the white berries as symbols of male fertility, with the seeds resembling semen. The Celts, particularly, saw mistletoe as the semen of Taranis, while the Ancient Greeks referred to mistletoe as “oak sperm.” [quoting from der Wiki] 3. Christmas Tree - Tree worship was common among the pagans as well as Vikings and Saxons. 4. Yule log - common practice among Nordic and Germanic peoples at the winter solstice ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/63424 "2018-12-19T00:38:49Z")
Christmas traditions with Pagan origins 1. Holly - used to drive evil spirits away from trees during winter so they could resume growing 2. Mistletoe - Pre-Christian cultures regarded the white berries as symbols of male fertility, with the seeds resembling semen. The Celts, particularly, saw mistletoe as the semen of Taranis, while the Ancient Greeks referred to mistletoe as “oak sperm.” [quoting from der Wiki] 3. Christmas Tree - Tree worship was common among the pagans as well as Vikings and Saxons. 4. Yule log - common practice among Nordic and Germanic peoples at the winter solstice 5. Gift giving - The Romans exchanged gifts for Saturnalia. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/63425 "2018-12-19T14:17:02Z")
Christmas traditions with Pagan origins 1. Holly - used to drive evil spirits away from trees during winter so they could resume growing 2. Mistletoe - Pre-Christian cultures regarded the white berries as symbols of male fertility, with the seeds resembling semen. The Celts, particularly, saw mistletoe as the semen of Taranis, while the Ancient Greeks referred to mistletoe as “oak sperm.” [quoting from der Wiki] 3. Christmas Tree - Tree worship was common among the pagans as well as Vikings and Saxons. 4. Yule log - common practice among Nordic and Germanic peoples at the winter solstice 5. Gift giving - The Romans exchanged gifts for Saturnalia. 6. The December 25th date itself - A nod to the pagan celebration of the winter solstice. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/63426 "2018-12-19T14:32:59Z")
Christmas traditions with Pagan origins 1. Holly - used to drive evil spirits away from trees during winter so they could resume growing 2. Mistletoe - Pre-Christian cultures regarded the white berries as symbols of male fertility, with the seeds resembling semen. The Celts, particularly, saw mistletoe as the semen of Taranis, while the Ancient Greeks referred to mistletoe as “oak sperm.” [quoting from der Wiki] 3. Christmas Tree - Tree worship was common among the pagans as well as Vikings and Saxons. 4. Yule log - common practice among Nordic and Germanic peoples at the winter solstice 5. Gift giving - The Romans exchanged gifts for Saturnalia. 6. December 25 - date chosen to appropriate many pagan holidays. ---
**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:** [December 19, 2018, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173/63427 "2018-12-19T16:41:32Z")
Christmas traditions with Pagan origins 1. Holly - used to drive evil spirits away from trees during winter so they could resume growing 2. Mistletoe - Pre-Christian cultures regarded the white berries as symbols of male fertility, with the seeds resembling semen. The Celts, particularly, saw mistletoe as the semen of Taranis, while the Ancient Greeks referred to mistletoe as “oak sperm.” [quoting from der Wiki] 3. Christmas Tree - Tree worship was common among the pagans as well as Vikings and Saxons. 4. Yule log - common practice among Nordic and Germanic peoples at the winter solstice 5. Gift giving - The Romans exchanged gifts for Saturnalia. 6. December 25 - date chosen to appropriate many pagan holidays. 7. St. Lucy’s Day - candles carried by girls in Nordic countries, maybe rooted in Germanic pagan mid-winter ceremonies > **[Saint Lucy's Day](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Lucy%27s_Day)** > > Saint Lucy's Day, also called the Feast of Saint Lucy, is a Christian feast day observed on 13 December. The observance commemorates Lucia of Syracuse, an early-fourth-century virgin martyr under the Diocletianic Persecution, who according to legend brought food and aid to Christians hiding in the Roman catacombs, wearing a candle lit wreath on her head to light her way and leave her hands free to carry as much food as possible. Her feast day, which coincided with the shortest day of th Saint ... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173.md?page=3170) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen/549173.md?page=3172)