# Find the common theme **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 19, 2007, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/find-the-common-theme/408598 "2007-06-19T16:04:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2007, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/find-the-common-theme/408598/41 "2007-06-20T21:48:45Z")
[QUOTE=Robot Arm] This must be a tougher question than I thought. [/QUOTE] Either that or it has multiple solutions. ---
**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:** [June 20, 2007, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/find-the-common-theme/408598/42 "2007-06-20T22:00:38Z")
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord] The problem is I can think of many ways to exclude one of the person’s and I don’t know which one you’re looking for. I left this question alone for a while, because of that. [/QUOTE] Yeah, but it’s hard to get around that. Maybe only one of the four is left-handed, but right-handedness is a pretty tenuous connection among the other three. For these questions to be any good at all, the answer will have to be something really specific to the people in the question. When someone does post the answer (oh, please), hopefully you’ll agree that it fits the question well. It should be one of those things that once you’ve got it, you know you’ve got it, not just a guess. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2007, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/find-the-common-theme/408598/43 "2007-06-20T22:14:20Z")
[QUOTE=Robot Arm] Remembered another one. Who’s the odd-man-out of Ferdinand Magellan Phileas Fogg Amelia Earhart John Glenn [/QUOTE] It can’t be as easy as P. Fogg is the only fictional person in the bunch. Can it? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2007, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/find-the-common-theme/408598/44 "2007-06-20T22:19:57Z")
[QUOTE=5-4-Fighting] It can’t be as easy as P. Fogg is the only fictional person in the bunch. Can it? [/QUOTE] It could be that John Glenn is still alive, too. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2007, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/find-the-common-theme/408598/45 "2007-06-20T22:22:14Z")
[QUOTE=Robot Arm] When someone does post the answer (oh, please), hopefully you’ll agree that it fits the question well. It should be one of those things that once you’ve got it, you know you’ve got it, not just a guess. [/QUOTE] Is this it? Fogg and Earhart traveled west to east during their (attempted) circumnavigations. Since Magellan went east to west, I’m guessing he’s the odd person out, and that Glenn must have seen the lights of Perth after flying over the rest of Australia. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2007, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/find-the-common-theme/408598/46 "2007-06-20T22:22:30Z")
One of these things is not like the others: Nampa, Idaho Tupelo, Mississippi Bakersfield, California New Berlin, Wisconsin Which one and why? ---
**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:** [June 20, 2007, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/find-the-common-theme/408598/47 "2007-06-20T22:26:06Z")
**Sternvogel** ’s got it. Thank you, **Sternvogel**. Fogg, Earhart and Glenn all travelled west-to-east on their circumnavigations. Magellan was the only one who travelled east-to-west. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2007, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/find-the-common-theme/408598/48 "2007-06-20T22:51:59Z")
[QUOTE=5-4-Fighting] One of these things is not like the others: Nampa, Idaho Tupelo, Mississippi Bakersfield, California New Berlin, Wisconsin Which one and why? [/QUOTE] They all have a mass murderer associated with them. Dahmer didn’t shoot his victims. Is that what you wanted? ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2007, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/find-the-common-theme/408598/49 "2007-06-20T23:04:07Z")
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord] They all have a mass murderer associated with them. Dahmer didn’t shoot his victims. Is that what you wanted? [/QUOTE] Not the answer I was looking for. Hint: the ones with commonality have one famous person’s name as the association. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2007, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/find-the-common-theme/408598/50 "2007-06-21T04:33:31Z")
[QUOTE=Robot Arm] Amelia Earhart did not finish her circumnavigation, either. [/QUOTE] She didn’t finish her final circumnavigation, the one along the equator, but I was thinking she had circumnavigated before, just farther north of the equator. Looking her up, I see that’s not true, though. Rats! ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/find-the-common-theme/408598/51 "2007-06-22T03:05:11Z")
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord] They all have a mass murderer associated with them. Dahmer didn’t shoot his victims. Is that what you wanted? [/QUOTE] Give up? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/find-the-common-theme/408598/52 "2007-06-28T13:29:35Z")
Here’s another “what do they have in common?” group that all have a 6-letter word as an answer. Ice Skater Ballerina Shakespearean Actor Band of Merry Men Trapeze Artist ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/find-the-common-theme/408598/53 "2007-06-28T17:51:54Z")
[QUOTE=Zeldar] Here’s another “what do they have in common?” group that all have a 6-letter word as an answer. Ice Skater Ballerina Shakespearean Actor Band of Merry Men Trapeze Artist [/QUOTE] They all wear tights! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/find-the-common-theme/408598/54 "2007-06-28T17:53:30Z")
[QUOTE=anyrose] They all wear tights! 😃 [/QUOTE] Don’t grin like that. That’s the right answer. You should have a stern “I told you so” expression and a scowl. Just kidding. Thanks for the answer. ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/find-the-common-theme/408598/55 "2007-06-28T18:06:51Z")
[QUOTE=Zeldar] Don’t grin like that. That’s the right answer. You should have a stern “I told you so” expression and a scowl. Just kidding. Thanks for the answer. [/QUOTE] I smiled because I was thinking about Mel Brooks’ \*\*Men In Tights \*\* movie ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/find-the-common-theme/408598/56 "2007-06-28T18:18:34Z")
[QUOTE=anyrose] I smiled because I was thinking about Mel Brooks’ \*\*Men In Tights \*\* movie [/QUOTE] Believe it or not, I was trying to make BROOKS be the answer before I finally had TIGHTS smack me in the head. Well, not the tights themselves, you know… ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/find-the-common-theme/408598/57 "2007-07-16T14:18:30Z")
Okay. This one’s answer is two words, a 4-letter and a 5-letter. The clues: Root System Vase Fishbowl Peat Moss Reservoir Solid Theory Well ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/find-the-common-theme/408598/58 "2007-07-16T15:48:55Z")
Hold water? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/find-the-common-theme/408598/59 "2007-07-16T15:52:15Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] Hold water? [/QUOTE] Bingo! Not as obvious as it might be, huh? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/find-the-common-theme/408598/60 "2007-08-16T13:32:57Z")
Okay. Here’s one I had to Google to find out. Answer is a 9-letter word. Clues: Junction Straps Squash Western Sauce If you can get the answer, please explain to me how you knew it. I had never heard of at least three of these expressions or phrases. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/find-the-common-theme/408598.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/find-the-common-theme/408598.md?page=4)