# 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:** 17\ **Page:** 33
**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:** [April 1, 2010, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/642 "2010-04-01T12:42:34Z")
> [@Justin\_Credible](#): > > Looks like Abe and Ben would have had to duel for the win. With [cavalry sabers of the largest size, in a pit divided by a wide plank which neither participant was allowed to cross](http://www.failedsuccess.com/index.php?/weblog/comments/abraham_lincoln_duel/). ---
**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:** [April 1, 2010, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/643 "2010-04-01T13:21:06Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > With [cavalry sabers of the largest size, in a pit divided by a wide plank which neither participant was allowed to cross](http://www.failedsuccess.com/index.php?/weblog/comments/abraham_lincoln_duel/). I was thinking more of a [cage fight](http://www.brandonbird.com/kingofcage.html). As you can see, Lincoln clearly has the edge. ---
**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:** [April 1, 2010, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/644 "2010-04-01T14:02:09Z")
Maybe for the next elimination game, I’ll do Greatest National Leaders or Greatest Military Leaders. In a few weeks, maybe. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/645 "2010-04-01T14:10:43Z")
Greatest scientists or greatest artists might be a fun one, considering that those guys (and girls) tended to get thrown out pretty early on in this game. ---
**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:** [April 1, 2010, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/646 "2010-04-01T15:28:15Z")
Well, I would have voted against Ben Franklin, I’m a huge Lincoln goob. But I didn’t know there was a deadline yet for this round. ---
**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:** [April 1, 2010, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/647 "2010-04-01T15:57:27Z")
The deadlines have been Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays up to now, so it would’ve followed the same schedule. Sorry. ---
**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:** [April 1, 2010, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/648 "2010-04-01T17:17:20Z")
How about a bracket game, with artists on one side and scientists on another, and have them show down at the end for Greatest Artist v Greatest Scientist? I think I might start that up, do you need permission to start a new game here? ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Credible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a8b319/32.png) [@Justin\_Credible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Credible)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/649 "2010-04-01T17:25:15Z")
> [@Red\_Skeezix](#): > > How about a bracket game, with artists on one side and scientists on another, and have them show down at the end for Greatest Artist v Greatest Scientist? I think I might start that up, do you need permission to start a new game here? I give you my permission. ---
**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:** [April 1, 2010, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/650 "2010-04-01T18:40:40Z")
Yeah for Ben! Fun game, thank you for hosting it **Elendil’s Heir** ---
**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:** [April 1, 2010, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/651 "2010-04-01T20:33:00Z")
> [@Red\_Skeezix](#): > > …do you need permission to start a new game here? Nope. Knock yourself out! And thanks, **What Exit?** ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/652 "2010-04-02T01:38:13Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Maybe for the next elimination game, I’ll do Greatest National Leaders or Greatest Military Leaders. In a few weeks, maybe. I would like to start an Elimination Game for the 100 most influential people (as determined by Michael Hart’s book) with perhaps additions.. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/653 "2010-04-02T06:38:39Z")
Thanks for the game, **Elendil’s Heir**! I see no one’s posted the final list; here’s my unofficial list of the Greatest Americans in order: 1. Benjamin Franklin: Scientist, statesman, inventor 2. Theodore Roosevelt: President, conservationist, statesman 3. Abraham Lincoln: President, emancipator, writer 4. Martin Luther King Jr.: Preacher, orator, humanitarian 5. Susan B. Anthony: Suffrage activist 6. George Washington: President, general, statesman 7. Franklin D. Roosevelt: President, reformer, statesman 8. Frederick Douglass: Abolitionist, orator 9. Thomas Edison: Inventor, workaholic 10. Orville and Wilbur Wright: Aviation pioneers, inventors 11. James Madison: President, Framer, statesman 12. John Marshall: Fourth Chief Justice 13. Earl Warren: Chief Justice, governor 14. Roger Williams: Statesman, religious leader 15. Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens): Humorist, “Huckleberry Finn” 16. George Marshall: General, diplomat, statesman 17. Thomas Paine: Political theorist, pamphleteer 18. Harriet Tubman: Civil rights advocate 19. Dwight D. Eisenhower: President, war hero 20. Jackie Robinson: Athlete, activist, inspiration 21. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.: Supreme Court Justice 22. Henry David Thoreau: Poet, naturalist, philosopher 23. Daniel Webster: Orator, advocate, statesman 24. George Washington Carver: Agricultural botanist 25. John Franklin Enders: Modern vaccines pioneer 26. Jonas Salk: Polio vaccine inventor 27. Walt Whitman: Civil War poet 28. William Lloyd Garrison: Abolitionist, writer 29. Edgar Allan Poe: Poet, writer, critic 30. William Seward: Diplomat; bought Alaska 31. Upton Sinclair: Author, muckraker 32. Harry Truman: President, statesman 33. Langston Hughes: Harlem Renaissance poet 34. Jim Thorpe: Native American athlete 35. Chief Joseph (Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt): Leader, peacemaker, tactician 36. Will Rogers: Humorist, social commentator 37. Sitting Bull: Indian leader, warrior 38. George Gershwin: Prolific, versatile composer 39. Helen Keller: Redefined language, mind 40. John J. Pershing: Top WWI general 41. Eleanor Roosevelt: Reformer, writer, advocate 42. Robert Frost: Greatest American poet 43. Lewis and Clark (Meriwether and William, resp.): Louisiana Purchase explorers 44. Ralph Waldo Emerson: Philosopher, writer 45. Henry Bergh: Saved children, animals 46. John Adams: President, writer, statesman 47. Alexander Hamilton: Financier, economist, statesman 48. Edward R Murrow: Broadcaster 49. Thomas Nast: Editorial cartoonist, muckraker 50. Jesse Owens: Famed Olympic athlete 51. Eli Whitney: Inventor, cotton gin 52. John von Neumann: Mathematician, scientist, polymath 53. Albert Einstein: Scientist, activist 54. Thomas Jefferson: President, Declaration writer 55. Aaron Copland: Composer, musician 56. Joshua Chamberlain: Civil War hero 57. Tecumseh: Indian leader, uniter 58. Leonard Bernstein: Composer, conductor, educator 59. J.P. Morgan: Financial giant, tycoon 60. Audie Murphy: Decorated soldier, actor 61. Philo Farnsworth: TV piorneer, inventor 62. Andrew Carnegie: Industrialist, philanthropist 63. John Brown: Righteous, inspirational abolitionist 64. James K. Polk: President, statesman 65. George S. Patton: WWII general, orator 66. Willis Carrier: Air conditioning pioneer 67. Carrie Chapman Catt: Women’s rights suffragist 68. Richard Feynman: Physicist, Renaissance man 69. John F. Kennedy: President, “New Frontier” 70. Cesar Chavez: Civil rights activist 71. Bruce Catton: Civil War historian 72. Kurt Godel: Mathematician, incompleteness theorem 73. Elvis Presley: Rock and Roller 74. Carl Sagan: Astronomer, science popularizer 75. Douglas MacArthur: WWII general 76. Babe Ruth: Legendary baseball icon 77. Orson Welles: Writer, director, actor 78. John Coltrane: Musician, composer 79. Margaret Sanger: Birth-control pioneer 80. Nikola Tesla: Inventor, engineer 81. Daniel Bliss: Educator, AUB founder 82. Jim Henson: Beloved children’s programmer 83. Frank Lloyd Wright: Prairie School architect 84. Walt Disney: Animator, entrepreneur, icon 85. Walt Kelly: “Pogo” creator, humorist 86. John D. Rockefeller: Billionaire, philanthropist 87. P.T. Barnum: World’s greatest showman 88. Andrew Jackson: President, general, populist 89. Richard Nixon: President, lawyer, author 90. Ambrose Bierce: Author, journalist, satirist, critic 91. Robert Heinlein: Science fiction author 92. Jimi Hendrix: Influential musician, activist 93. Babe Zaharias: Greatest female athlete 94. Jack Kirby: Comics pioneer 95. H.P. Lovecraft: Horror writer 96. Shel Silverstein: Author, humorist 97. James Branch Cabell: Author, marriage proponent 98. Lucille Ball: Actress, comedian, redhead 99. Charles Lindbergh: Aviator, American hero 100. Henry Ford: Inventor, industrialist, philanthropist 101. Marilyn Monroe: Legendary film star 102. Malcolm X: Civil rights leader ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/654 "2010-04-02T06:47:34Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > I would like to start an Elimination Game for the 100 most influential people (as determined by Michael Hart’s book) with perhaps additions. Let me recommend again that the Game use Hart’s criteria with little or no change. It might seem good to replace “influence” with “positive influence” to get rid of Hitler, but where would one draw the line? The voting on Muhammed would no longer reflect his influence, but rather a comparison of Islamic Golden Age “goodness” versus modern jihadist “badness.” The question of Constantine’s influence is interesting, but disappears if the debate focusses on whether Christianization was good or bad. The vote on James Watt would be affected by quasi-Ludditism. These all might be interesting debates, but if one were to let them dominate the _Hart’s List Elimination Game_ one wonders why bother to start with Hart’s List in the first place? ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/655 "2010-04-02T14:45:47Z")
If you’re basing this on voting, you should juxtapose Lincoln and TR. > [@septimus](#): > > Thanks for the game, **Elendil’s Heir**! > I see no one’s posted the final list; here’s my unofficial list of the Greatest Americans in order: > > 1. Benjamin Franklin: Scientist, statesman, inventor > 2. Theodore Roosevelt: President, conservationist, statesman > 3. Abraham Lincoln: President, emancipator, writer > 4. Martin Luther King Jr.: Preacher, orator, humanitarian > 5. Susan B. Anthony: Suffrage activist > 6. George Washington: President, general, statesman > 7. Franklin D. Roosevelt: President, reformer, statesman > 8. Frederick Douglass: Abolitionist, orator > 9. Thomas Edison: Inventor, workaholic > 10. Orville and Wilbur Wright: Aviation pioneers, inventors > 11. James Madison: President, Framer, statesman > 12. John Marshall: Fourth Chief Justice > 13. Earl Warren: Chief Justice, governor > 14. Roger Williams: Statesman, religious leader > 15. Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens): Humorist, “Huckleberry Finn” > 16. George Marshall: General, diplomat, statesman > 17. Thomas Paine: Political theorist, pamphleteer > 18. Harriet Tubman: Civil rights advocate > 19. Dwight D. Eisenhower: President, war hero > 20. Jackie Robinson: Athlete, activist, inspiration > 21. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.: Supreme Court Justice > 22. Henry David Thoreau: Poet, naturalist, philosopher > 23. Daniel Webster: Orator, advocate, statesman > 24. George Washington Carver: Agricultural botanist > 25. John Franklin Enders: Modern vaccines pioneer > 26. Jonas Salk: Polio vaccine inventor > 27. Walt Whitman: Civil War poet > 28. William Lloyd Garrison: Abolitionist, writer > 29. Edgar Allan Poe: Poet, writer, critic > 30. William Seward: Diplomat; bought Alaska > 31. Upton Sinclair: Author, muckraker > 32. Harry Truman: President, statesman > 33. Langston Hughes: Harlem Renaissance poet > 34. Jim Thorpe: Native American athlete > 35. Chief Joseph (Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt): Leader, peacemaker, tactician > 36. Will Rogers: Humorist, social commentator > 37. Sitting Bull: Indian leader, warrior > 38. George Gershwin: Prolific, versatile composer > 39. Helen Keller: Redefined language, mind > 40. John J. Pershing: Top WWI general > 41. Eleanor Roosevelt: Reformer, writer, advocate > 42. Robert Frost: Greatest American poet > 43. Lewis and Clark (Meriwether and William, resp.): Louisiana Purchase explorers > 44. Ralph Waldo Emerson: Philosopher, writer > 45. Henry Bergh: Saved children, animals > 46. John Adams: President, writer, statesman > 47. Alexander Hamilton: Financier, economist, statesman > 48. Edward R Murrow: Broadcaster > 49. Thomas Nast: Editorial cartoonist, muckraker > 50. Jesse Owens: Famed Olympic athlete > 51. Eli Whitney: Inventor, cotton gin > 52. John von Neumann: Mathematician, scientist, polymath > 53. Albert Einstein: Scientist, activist > 54. Thomas Jefferson: President, Declaration writer > 55. Aaron Copland: Composer, musician > 56. Joshua Chamberlain: Civil War hero > 57. Tecumseh: Indian leader, uniter > 58. Leonard Bernstein: Composer, conductor, educator > 59. J.P. Morgan: Financial giant, tycoon > 60. Audie Murphy: Decorated soldier, actor > 61. Philo Farnsworth: TV piorneer, inventor > 62. Andrew Carnegie: Industrialist, philanthropist > 63. John Brown: Righteous, inspirational abolitionist > 64. James K. Polk: President, statesman > 65. George S. Patton: WWII general, orator > 66. Willis Carrier: Air conditioning pioneer > 67. Carrie Chapman Catt: Women’s rights suffragist > 68. Richard Feynman: Physicist, Renaissance man > 69. John F. Kennedy: President, “New Frontier” > 70. Cesar Chavez: Civil rights activist > 71. Bruce Catton: Civil War historian > 72. Kurt Godel: Mathematician, incompleteness theorem > 73. Elvis Presley: Rock and Roller > 74. Carl Sagan: Astronomer, science popularizer > 75. Douglas MacArthur: WWII general > 76. Babe Ruth: Legendary baseball icon > 77. Orson Welles: Writer, director, actor > 78. John Coltrane: Musician, composer > 79. Margaret Sanger: Birth-control pioneer > 80. Nikola Tesla: Inventor, engineer > 81. Daniel Bliss: Educator, AUB founder > 82. Jim Henson: Beloved children’s programmer > 83. Frank Lloyd Wright: Prairie School architect > 84. Walt Disney: Animator, entrepreneur, icon > 85. Walt Kelly: “Pogo” creator, humorist > 86. John D. Rockefeller: Billionaire, philanthropist > 87. P.T. Barnum: World’s greatest showman > 88. Andrew Jackson: President, general, populist > 89. Richard Nixon: President, lawyer, author > 90. Ambrose Bierce: Author, journalist, satirist, critic > 91. Robert Heinlein: Science fiction author > 92. Jimi Hendrix: Influential musician, activist > 93. Babe Zaharias: Greatest female athlete > 94. Jack Kirby: Comics pioneer > 95. H.P. Lovecraft: Horror writer > 96. Shel Silverstein: Author, humorist > 97. James Branch Cabell: Author, marriage proponent > 98. Lucille Ball: Actress, comedian, redhead > 99. Charles Lindbergh: Aviator, American hero > 100. Henry Ford: Inventor, industrialist, philanthropist > 101. Marilyn Monroe: Legendary film star > 102. Malcolm X: Civil rights leader ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/656 "2010-04-02T17:17:01Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > If you’re basing this on voting, you should juxtapose Lincoln and TR. Oops! Of course it was based on the voting but somehow the top places were harder for me to double-check than the rest. 😕 I’d repost the list with that correction, but perhaps someone else will want to triple-check the whole list. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/657 "2010-04-03T16:24:37Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Let me recommend again that the Game use Hart’s criteria with little or no change. It might seem good to replace “influence” with “positive influence” to get rid of Hitler, but where would one draw the line? The voting on Muhammed would no longer reflect his influence, but rather a comparison of Islamic Golden Age “goodness” versus modern jihadist “badness.” The question of Constantine’s influence is interesting, but disappears if the debate focusses on whether Christianization was good or bad. The vote on James Watt would be affected by quasi-Ludditism. These all might be interesting debates, but if one were to let them dominate the _Hart’s List Elimination Game_ one wonders why bother to start with Hart’s List in the first place? Because for the most part I agree with his listing and ranking. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/658 "2010-04-03T21:37:14Z")
> [@Justin\_Credible](#): > > Actually, if you had voted that way and closed the game at noon, it would have been tied. **notfrommensa** voted about a half hour after noon. Looks like Abe and Ben would have had to duel for the win. Was my late vote a deciding vote? Didn’t mean to vote late. but I am happy about the results. FTR, Ben Franklin has always been my favorite historical American. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423.md?page=32)