# Greatest American elimination game (game thread) **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 10, 2010, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423 "2010-02-10T15:08:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 18
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/341 "2010-03-01T20:14:02Z")
Henry David Thoreau Walt Whitman Orville and Wilbur Wright - Time to go, their invention was timely but not a huge leap. Roger Williams Thomas Edison - far more important that the Wrights but such an ass of a person. I cannot call him greatest. ---
**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 1, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/342 "2010-03-01T20:24:13Z")
G.W. Carver T. Edison J.F. Enders T. Paine W. Whitman ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/343 "2010-03-01T20:25:32Z")
Are we eliminating only five names per round now? I think I missed that. Did it change at the same time the number of votes per player changed from 10 to 5? ---
**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 1, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/344 "2010-03-01T20:29:19Z")
I didn’t say that specifically, but **Tom Scud** correctly divined my intentions. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/345 "2010-03-01T20:48:59Z")
John Franklin Enders Oliver Wendell Holmes Daniel Webster John Marshall Harriet Tubman ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/346 "2010-03-01T21:40:37Z")
Dwight D. Eisenhower Thomas Paine Jonas Salk Daniel Webster Orville and Wilbur Wright I was planning on voting Ike and Truman this round but the consensus was a bit ahead of me on one count. I’ll weigh in against Salk in the Salk vs. Enders death match; I agree with whoever it was upthread who said it’s time for the Wrights to go. Edison was a jerk but he was also astonishingly productive; any one of his several major inventions would have justified carrying him this far. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/347 "2010-03-01T22:07:53Z")
Sticking with Salk, Warren, and Webster, who survived despite the fact I picked them last round, and begrudgingly adding two men whose middle names are prominent: George Washington Carver Jonas Salk Henry David Thoreau Earl Warren Daniel Webster ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/348 "2010-03-01T22:13:15Z")
I’ll throw down in the Enders v. Salk face-off as well. Jackie Robinson Roger Williams Frederick Douglass Jonas Salk Susan B. Anthony ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/349 "2010-03-01T22:51:45Z")
Orville and Wilbur Wright Walt Whitman George Washington Carver Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. Jonas Salk ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Skeezix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aca169/32.png) [@Red\_Skeezix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Skeezix)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/350 "2010-03-01T22:56:30Z")
Jonas Salk Theodore Roosevelt Henry David Thoreau Daniel Webster Walt Whitman. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/351 "2010-03-02T09:49:02Z")
Dwight D. Eisenhower John Franklin Enders Jonas Salk Daniel Webster James Madison ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/352 "2010-03-02T15:32:45Z")
Standings update: 1 Jonas Salk 6 2 Daniel Webster 5 2 Walt Whitman 5 4 Henry David Thoreau 4 5 George Washington Carver 3 5 Dwight D. Eisenhower 3 5 John Franklin Enders 3 5 Orville and Wilbur Wright 3 Thomas Edison 2 Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. 2 Thomas Paine 2 Earl Warren 2 Roger Williams 2 Susan B. Anthony Frederick Douglass James Madison George Marshall John Marshall Jackie Robinson Theodore Roosevelt Harriet Tubman ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/353 "2010-03-02T20:37:20Z")
George Washington Carver John Franklin Enders Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. Jonas Salk Walt Whitman ---
**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 2, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/354 "2010-03-02T21:03:36Z")
As an Ohioan who has often visited Kitty Hawk, I’ll put in a word in defense for the Wright Brothers. They were amazingly skilled inventors and practical engineers; they had no formal training in aviation and taught themselves. They found that most of the previous research on wing structure and lift was just flat-out wrong, and so devised their own flight tests. They designed and built their own wind tunnel, engine, wings and propellers. They succeeded where many better-funded research efforts failed in devising a controlled, self-powered aircraft, and transformed an entire field of human accomplishment and transportation. In short, they have a fair claim to be the Greatest Americans. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/355 "2010-03-02T22:17:45Z")
George Washington Carver Langston Hughes Jim Thorpe Walt Whitman Edgar Allan Poe ---
**Author:** ![Stowed\_Bob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stowed_bob/32/3312_2.png) [@Stowed\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stowed_Bob)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/356 "2010-03-02T22:28:07Z")
Orville and Wilbur Wright Henry David Thoreau Thomas Edison Dwight D. Eisenhower James Madison ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/357 "2010-03-02T22:53:23Z")
George Washington Carver John Franklin Enders Thomas Edison Susan B. Anthony Jackie Robinson I’ll admit to a little bit of strategy here. Salk appears doomed, so I no longer need to harp on him. I don’t particularly think Susan B. Anthony needs to leave the list at this point, but I would like to save the Wright Brothers, who spearheaded the conquest of vertical space that has utterly transformed how we travel in, study, and think about our world. I considered throwing a vote against Earl Warren instead, but after reading about the decisions of his court, I think he edges Susan out. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/358 "2010-03-02T23:18:40Z")
Frederick Douglass Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. John Marshall Henry David Thoreau Walt Whitman ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/360 "2010-03-03T01:18:55Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > As an Ohioan who has often visited Kitty Hawk, I’ll put in a word in defense for the Wright Brothers. They were amazingly skilled inventors and practical engineers; they had no formal training in aviation and taught themselves. They found that most of the previous research on wing structure and lift was just flat-out wrong, and so devised their own flight tests. They designed and built their own wind tunnel, engine, wings and propellers. They succeeded where many better-funded research efforts failed in devising a controlled, self-powered aircraft, and transformed an entire field of human accomplishment and transportation. In short, they have a fair claim to be the Greatest Americans. Seconded, in every respect. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/361 "2010-03-03T03:14:51Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > George Washington Carver > Langston Hughes > Jim Thorpe > Walt Whitman > Edgar Allan Poe You’re a round behind – Hughes, Thorpe, and Poe bit the dust yesterday. Here’s the complete list of the remaining contenders: Susan B. Anthony: Suffrage activist George Washington Carver: Agricultural botanist Frederick Douglass: Abolitionist, orator Thomas Edison: Inventor, workaholic Dwight D. Eisenhower: President, war hero John Franklin Enders: Modern vaccines pioneer Benjamin Franklin: Scientist, statesman, inventor Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.: Supreme Court Justice Martin Luther King Jr.: Preacher, orator, humanitarian Abraham Lincoln: President, emancipator, writer James Madison: President, Framer, statesman George Marshall: General, diplomat, statesman John Marshall: Fourth Chief Justice Thomas Paine: Political theorist, pamphleteer Jackie Robinson: Athlete, activist, inspiration Franklin D. Roosevelt: President, reformer, statesman Theodore Roosevelt: President, conservationist, statesman Jonas Salk: Polio vaccine inventor Henry David Thoreau: Poet, naturalist, philosopher Harriet Tubman: Civil rights advocate Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens): Humorist, “Huckleberry Finn” Earl Warren: Chief Justice, governor George Washington: President, general, statesman Daniel Webster: Orator, advocate, statesman Walt Whitman: Civil War poet Roger Williams: Statesman, religious leader Orville and Wilbur Wright: Aviation pioneers, inventors Interesting note: Enders is the list’s only name that my computer’s spell checker flags. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423.md?page=17) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423.md?page=19)