# Common denominators **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [December 17, 2008, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-denominators/477486 "2008-12-17T00:33:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-denominators/477486/121 "2008-12-20T23:49:34Z")
Sigmund Freud Edgar Allan Poe Sonny Liston I guess I have to add a few more people who fit the same theme: Marlon Brando Sir Robert Peel Tom Mix Oliver Hardy Stu Sutcliffe ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-denominators/477486/122 "2008-12-20T23:52:46Z")
Here’s a brand new theme: 1. Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry 2. “Willy Wonka” author Roald Dahl 3. U.S. Senator/Presidential candidate George McGovern 4. “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry 5. Movie star Jimmy Stewart ---
**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 20, 2008, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-denominators/477486/123 "2008-12-20T23:53:52Z")
> [@](#): > > Sigmund Freud > Edgar Allan Poe > Sonny Liston > > I guess I have to add a few more people who fit the same theme: > > Marlon Brando > Sir Robert Peel > Tom Mix > Oliver Hardy > Stu Sutcliffe People on the Sgt Pepper’s album cover? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-denominators/477486/124 "2008-12-21T00:19:19Z")
How about a couple more: Lewis Barker Owens Or: _Charlotte’s Web_, by EB White _Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets_, by JK Rowling _Anansi Boys_, by Neil Gaiman (One common denominator is obvious. They’re all fantasies to one extent or another. But what else do they have in common?) ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-denominators/477486/125 "2008-12-21T02:17:38Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > People on the Sgt Pepper’s album cover? Ah. Nice. I even saw that mentioned while poking around for Liston info but didn’t process it properly. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-denominators/477486/126 "2008-12-21T05:51:12Z")
1. Actor Matt Damon 2. Software mogul Bill Gates 3. Poet Robert Frost ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-denominators/477486/127 "2008-12-21T06:05:45Z")
1. Cy Young Award winner Jim Lonborg 2. Western gunfighter Doc Holliday 3. Edgar Buchanan, who played Uncle Joe on “Petticoat Junction.” ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-denominators/477486/128 "2008-12-21T06:09:25Z")
1. Ugandan dictator Idi Amin 2. British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli 3. Chemist Louis Pasteur ---
**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 21, 2008, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-denominators/477486/129 "2008-12-21T06:17:34Z")
All of these have stumped me! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-denominators/477486/130 "2008-12-21T06:24:28Z")
1. Movie director Steven Spielberg 2. President Gerald Ford 3. Sex researcher Alfred Kinsey ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-denominators/477486/131 "2008-12-21T06:56:09Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Sorry to be dense, but I’m totally not getting the joke. Could someone spoil the answer to Arcaro/Cessna/Edsel for me? Thanks. Citation. (The name of a racehorse ridden by Eddie Arcaro, an executive jet built by Cessna, and a model of Edsel automobile) The answer was right in front of you. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-denominators/477486/132 "2008-12-21T14:30:49Z")
1. [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) founder Jeff Bezos 2. England’s Queen Elizabeth II 3. New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-denominators/477486/133 "2008-12-21T14:32:09Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Citation. (The name of a racehorse ridden by Eddie Arcaro, an executive jet built by Cessna, and a model of Edsel automobile) > > The answer was right in front of you. You know how sometimes when someone explains a joke to you, you feel really dumb for not having gotten it? This is not such a time. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-denominators/477486/134 "2008-12-21T14:32:14Z")
1. Comedian Ernie Kovacs 2. Oscar-winning actor Jose Ferrer 3. Home run hitter/Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-denominators/477486/135 "2008-12-21T14:40:40Z")
So, **astorian** , you gonna do some guessing, also? We still have several pending: > [@twickster](#): > > Julia Child > Sylvia Plath > Nancy Reagan > [@jsgoddess](#): > > _Great Expectations_–novel > _A Clockwork Orange_–novel > “Blade Runner”–movie > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Lily Tomlin > Rocky Marciano > Gloria Estefan > [@astorian](#): > > 1. Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry > 2. “Willy Wonka” author Roald Dahl > 3. U.S. Senator/Presidential candidate George McGovern > 4. “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry > 5. Movie star Jimmy Stewart > [@jsgoddess](#): > > How about a couple more: > Lewis > Barker > Owens > > Or: > > _Charlotte’s Web_, by EB White > _Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets_, by JK Rowling > _Anansi Boys_, by Neil Gaiman > > (One common denominator is obvious. They’re all fantasies to one extent or another. But what else do they have in common?) ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-denominators/477486/136 "2008-12-21T14:58:55Z")
Originally Posted by jsgoddess Great Expectations–novel A Clockwork Orange–novel “Blade Runner”–movie They all had alternative endings. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-denominators/477486/137 "2008-12-21T17:02:00Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Originally Posted by jsgoddess > > Great Expectations–novel > A Clockwork Orange–novel > “Blade Runner”–movie > They all had alternative endings. Yes! ---
**Author:** ![Randy\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee7513/32.png) [@Randy\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randy_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-denominators/477486/138 "2008-12-21T23:49:50Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > 1. Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry > 2. “Willy Wonka” author Roald Dahl > 3. U.S. Senator/Presidential candidate George McGovern > 4. “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry > 5. Movie star Jimmy Stewart They’re all really tall (6’1"+) WWII pilots. EDIT: Full disclosure - I only knew about Dahl, McGovern and Stewart. I had to google the other two. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-denominators/477486/139 "2008-12-22T02:04:23Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Lily Tomlin > Rocky Marciano > Gloria Estefan Another shared birthday: September 1st. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-denominators/477486/140 "2008-12-22T05:05:13Z")
Originally Posted by twickster: Julia Child Sylvia Plath Nancy Reagan They were all Smithies… that is, they went to Smith College. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-denominators/477486.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-denominators/477486.md?page=8)