# Botticelli, March 2012 edition. **URL:** \ **Category:** Thread Games\ **Created:** [March 5, 2012, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-march-2012-edition/614847 "2012-03-05T19:43:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [March 10, 2012, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-march-2012-edition/614847/21 "2012-03-10T01:59:14Z")
> [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](#): > > IQ1: Were you the first Bond Girl? > IQ2: Did Paul McCartney have a cameo in the video for your last US hit single? > IQ3: Are you Springfield’s most famous foreign exchange student? (Yes, that’s a Simpsons question) 1. No, I’m not Ursula Andress 2. No, I’m not Usher. (Blatant guess!) 3. No, I’m not Ute. (If he has a last name, I’ve never heard it.) And if I’m wrong, you know what to do… ---
**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:** [March 11, 2012, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-march-2012-edition/614847/22 "2012-03-11T18:03:11Z")
Just giving a bump to see if anyone has thought of any more people with a ‘U’ for an initial. ---
**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:** [March 12, 2012, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-march-2012-edition/614847/23 "2012-03-12T14:16:12Z")
The February thread: [Botticelli, Feb. 2012 - Thread Games - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=641487) Sorry, I missed this thread earlier. I loves me some Botticelli! IQs: You were first written about by someone famous; did someone equally famous write a sequel, of sorts, to your story? Did a fictional hero use this name as a pseudonym when he was on the run? Did Gabriel Byrne play you early in his career? ---
**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:** [March 12, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-march-2012-edition/614847/24 "2012-03-12T20:06:48Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Sorry, I missed this thread earlier. I loves me some Botticelli! I was wondering where you’d got to; I’ve missed your astonishing knack for disguising people and characters we all know with oblique references. > [@](#): > > IQs: > > You were first written about by someone famous; did someone equally famous write a sequel, of sorts, to your story? > Did a fictional hero use this name as a pseudonym when he was on the run? > Did Gabriel Byrne play you early in his career? Nos. 1 and 3 stump me, although I find myself saying ‘I should know that!’. I feel certain I must have seen the film referred to in IQ3, having been a fan of Gabriel Byrne early on… On editing, I’m going to take a wild guess on #1 and say ‘No, I’m not Ulysses’, on the basis that he was first written about by Homer, and Margaret Atwood has written ‘The Penelopiad’ as a sequel some ~2500 years later. Number 2 is surely a reference to ‘Mr. Underhill’, the name under which Frodo Baggins checks into the inn at Bree, ‘The Prancing Pony’, in ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’. No, I’m not Mr. Underhill. At least one DQ for you. ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-march-2012-edition/614847/25 "2012-03-13T06:30:39Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > 1. No, I’m not Usher. (Blatant guess!) > And if I’m wrong, you know what to do… #2 was Tracy Ullman, who had a brief musical career before her television/film one took off. Sir Paul appeared in the video for “They Don’t Know”. DQ: Known for any artistic achievements? IQ1: Are you the superhero alter-ego of Principal Krupp? IQ2: Did you unsuccessfully sue Nintendo for £60 million, claiming the Pokemon Kadabra was an unauthorized use of your likeness? IQ3: ---
**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:** [March 13, 2012, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-march-2012-edition/614847/26 "2012-03-13T13:52:32Z")
> [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](#): > > DQ: Known for any artistic achievements? No. > [@](#): > > IQ1: Are you the superhero alter-ego of Principal Krupp? > IQ2: Did you unsuccessfully sue Nintendo for £60 million, claiming the Pokemon Kadabra was an unauthorized use of your likeness? > IQ3: 1. No, I’m not Captain Underpants 2. Dagnabit, take a DQ. 3. I’m drawing a blank… \*\*Summary - U \*\* 1. Real person. 2. Dead. 3. Male. 4. Born before 1900. 5. Not a soldier. 6. Not a politician. 7. Not known for any artistic achievements. ---
**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:** [March 13, 2012, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-march-2012-edition/614847/27 "2012-03-13T14:27:20Z")
Thanks for your kind words, **Le Ministre**. I’m glad to be here. > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > IQs: > > You were first written about by someone famous; did someone equally famous write a sequel, of sorts, to your story? > Did a fictional hero use this name as a pseudonym when he was on the run? > Did Gabriel Byrne play you early in his career? Your answer to the first is accurate, so I’ll rephrase: You were first written about _after 1600_ by someone famous; did someone equally famous write a sequel, of sorts, to your story? Correct as to Mr. Underhill. The Gabriel Byrne role was Uther Pendragon, King Arthur’s father, in John Boorman’s _Excalibur_. Which… I now see was already asked earlier. Never mind. Two more IQs: Are you a famous actress who arguably peaked in the Seventies? An author, did you create a character who bore the name of a fictitious place from another famous work of literature? Boy, U is a tough letter! ---
**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:** [March 13, 2012, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-march-2012-edition/614847/28 "2012-03-13T19:56:09Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > You were first written about _after 1600_ by someone famous; did someone equally famous write a sequel, of sorts, to your story? I don’t know. > [@](#): > > Two more IQs: > > Are you a famous actress who arguably peaked in the Seventies? > An author, did you create a character who bore the name of a fictitious place from another famous work of literature? No, I’m not Liv Ullmann. I’m stumped over the author, though. That makes for two DQs. > [@](#): > > Boy, U is a tough letter! Yes, although I wrote out a list of everybody I could think of who had a ‘U’ for an initial. Not only do I have a few that still haven’t come up, I’ve been totally stumped by some of the ones you and ChockFull have come up with. ---
**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:** [March 13, 2012, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-march-2012-edition/614847/29 "2012-03-13T20:10:47Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > …You were first written about by someone famous; did someone equally famous write a sequel, of sorts, to your story? > … > Are you a famous actress who arguably peaked in the Seventies? > > An author, did you create a character who bore the name of a fictitious place from another famous work of literature? The first is Roderick (?) Usher, of Poe’s _The Fall of the House of Usher_. Many years later, Ray Bradbury wrote the semi-sequel sf short story “Usher II.” As to the famous actress, you got me there, so I’ll rephrase: Are you a famous American actress who arguably peaked in the Seventies? The last is Umberto Eco, who wrote in _In the Name of the Rose_ of William of Baskerville, an English monk whose description sounded a lot like Sherlock Holmes, clearly alluding to Conan Doyle’s _The Hound of the Baskervilles_. DQs: Last name begin with “U”? American? I need to think of some more IQs. Hmm… ---
**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:** [March 13, 2012, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-march-2012-edition/614847/30 "2012-03-13T20:32:57Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > DQs: > > Last name begin with “U”? > American? No, and No. \*\*Summary - U \*\* 1. Real person. 2. Dead. 3. Male. 4. Born before 1900. 5. Not a soldier. 6. Not a politician. 7. Not known for any artistic achievements. 8. Last name does not begin with a ‘U’. 9. Not American. I want to think for an hour or two about your American actress who peaked in the '70s… ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-march-2012-edition/614847/31 "2012-03-13T21:06:47Z")
> [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](#): > > IQ2: Did you unsuccessfully sue Nintendo for £60 million, claiming the Pokemon Kadabra was an unauthorized use of your likeness? > IQ3: > [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > 1. Dagnabit, take a DQ. > > 2. I’m drawing a blank… #2 is Uri Gellar. (Kadabra was a psychic-type pokemon that was always shown holding a spoon) #3 How about… the Unvisible Man, one of H.G. Wells’ lesser-known works. Yeah, that’s it. DQ: European? IQ: Did you found a company that sold millions of its now obsolete product? ---
**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:** [March 13, 2012, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-march-2012-edition/614847/32 "2012-03-13T21:34:13Z")
> [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](#): > > DQ: European? Yes. > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > As to the famous actress, you got me there, so I’ll rephrase: Are you a famous American actress who arguably peaked in the Seventies? > [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](#): > > IQ: Did you found a company that sold millions of its now obsolete product? Alright, I’m stuck. One DQ each for **ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness** and **Elendil’s Heir** **Summary - U** 1. Real person. 2. Dead. 3. Male. 4. Born before 1900. 5. Not a soldier. 6. Not a politician. 7. Not known for any artistic achievements. 8. Last name does not begin with a ‘U’. 9. Not American. 10. European. ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-march-2012-edition/614847/33 "2012-03-14T00:49:30Z")
> [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](#): > > IQ: Did you found a company that sold millions of its now obsolete product? One DQ each for **ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness** and **Elendil’s Heir** [/QUOTE] You are not John Underwood, founder of the Underwood Typewriter Company. DQ: Were you known as a scientist, researcher, or inventor of some sort? ---
**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:** [March 14, 2012, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-march-2012-edition/614847/34 "2012-03-14T01:05:36Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > …I want to think for an hour or two about your American actress who peaked in the '70s… Leslie Uggams. DQ: British? Now I need to think about more IQs. I think my mental archive of famous “U” people has already just about been exhausted by this thread. Ooo, here’s one: Did an actor better known for playing a villain play you early in his career? ---
**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:** [March 14, 2012, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-march-2012-edition/614847/35 "2012-03-14T13:49:09Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > DQ:British? No. > [@](#): > > Did an actor better known for playing a villain play you early in his career? I’m stuck - I can’t think of any roles that begin with ‘U’… Take a DQ. \*\*Summary - U \*\* 1. Real person. 2. Dead. 3. Male. 4. Born before 1900. 5. Not a soldier. 6. Not a politician. 7. Not known for any artistic achievements. 8. Last name does not begin with a ‘U’. 9. Not American. 10. European. 11. Not British. ---
**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:** [March 14, 2012, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-march-2012-edition/614847/36 "2012-03-14T16:42:22Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > …Did an actor better known for playing a villain play you early in his career? Heath Ledger, perhaps best known for playing the Joker, played a knight pretending to be Ulrich von Liechtenstein in _A Knight’s Tale_. DQ: German? IQs: Were you an ancient king best known for a dating reference? Did you play the hero in a postapocalyptic TV show? Although you played someone described as a Korean War veteran, were you a bit too young for that? ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-march-2012-edition/614847/37 "2012-03-14T18:49:57Z")
IQ1: Did you make Prime Minister from the Chief Whip’s office using skulduggery? IQ2: Were you poisoned by cyanide, despite Archie Goodwin watching you closely? IQ3: Do you haunt one of the North Barrow-Downs in Lord of the Rings Online? ---
**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:** [March 14, 2012, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-march-2012-edition/614847/38 "2012-03-14T20:27:55Z")
First, to catch up on the existing DQs… > [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](#): > > DQ: Were you known as a scientist, researcher, or inventor of some sort? No. (I’m sorry, I missed this one yesterday evening.) > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > DQ: German? No. **Summary - U** 1. Real person. 2. Dead. 3. Male. 4. Born before 1900. 5. Not a soldier. 6. Not a politician. 7. Not known for any artistic achievements. 8. Last name does not begin with a ‘U’. 9. Not American. 10. European. 11. Not British. 12. Not a scientist, researcher, or inventor of any sort. 13. Not German. I’ll return in about an hour to see if I can come up with some answers to the most recent IQs. ---
**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:** [March 14, 2012, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-march-2012-edition/614847/39 "2012-03-14T21:32:20Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > IQs: > Were you an ancient king best known for a dating reference? > Did you play the hero in a postapocalyptic TV show? > Although you played someone described as a Korean War veteran, were you a bit too young for that? No, I’m not King Uzziah. (A blatant guess; I only know of three kings with the initial ‘U’. I confess I have no idea about the ‘dating reference’, I’ve just decided that Uzziah is the most likely to have had something happen in his reign that other events are dated from. This is the Botticellic equivalent of ‘fouling one off in the hope of staying alive’.) I can’t even think of a post-apocalyptic TV show, let alone a ‘U’ actor in one. And the only Korean War vets I can think of are Maurice from Northern Exposure, who was played by Barry Corbin, and President Bartlett (Martin Sheen) and Leo ? (John Spencer) from the West Wing. So that’s at least two DQs for **Elendil’s Heir**. > [@glee](#): > > IQ1: Did you make Prime Minister from the Chief Whip’s office using skulduggery? > IQ2: Were you poisoned by cyanide, despite Archie Goodwin watching you closely? > IQ3: Do you haunt one of the North Barrow-Downs in Lord of the Rings Online? 1. Is that the guy from ‘Yes, Minister’? I can’t remember Sir Humphrey’s last name… 2. I have yet to read any of the Nero Wolfe mysteries. My loss, on so many levels… 3. No idea. And that’s three DQs for **glee**. I’m bombing here, folks!!! ---
**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:** [March 14, 2012, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-march-2012-edition/614847/40 "2012-03-14T22:01:14Z")
I know the answer to **glee** ’s first question, and I loved that show! First initial: F. > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > … > Were you an ancient king best known for a dating reference? > Did you play the hero in a postapocalyptic TV show? > Although you played someone described as a Korean War veteran, were you a bit too young for that? Yes, King Uzziah. I think it’s the Book of Isaiah which has a section beginning, “In the year King Uzziah died…” Skeet Ulrich was in _Jericho_. President Bartlet of _The West Wing_ wasn’t a Korean War vet; he never served in the military at all, which gave him some angst in dealing with Pentagon brass. And Leo was a USAF Vietnam War vet, IIRC. I was thinking of Robert Urich, who played the title role in _Spenser: For Hire_. Spenser was described in the early books as a Korean War vet, but Urich would’ve been too young. I’ll think a bit about my two DQs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-march-2012-edition/614847.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-march-2012-edition/614847.md?page=3)