Those long-time veterans of the SDMB may remember the Bricker Challenge series of threads that ran about three years ago.
The rules were simple: I would post a list of… things. You, the contest participant, must identify them. If one item were: “Is the quality of mercy strained?” you might answer, “No. It falleth as gentle rains from the heavens,” which would show you recognize the classic speech from Portia in Merchant of Venice.
“What is NaCl?” Your answer might be, “The chemical symbols for sodium chloride, common table salt.”
I did about eight before I got distracted by the trivia game at Pyroto Mountain, where I ultimately became the trivia questions author. Alas, the game and its successor have been shut down, leaving me with plenty of little trivia facts and no one to stump.
So, though it’s been years, I return to the Straight Dope with the Bricker Challenge 2003 - Edition #1
Any answer that shows you get the reference is fine. I’m phrasing questions like that in an effort to cut down on the help that search engines can provide, although there’s no help for it… many will be answerable by search engine. There is no rule against using search engines (or any other reference) although I would appreciate if, just for curiousity’s sake, you note that you got the answer by search engine as opposed to simply knowing it.
If there’s a contest, there must be a prize.
I will award a six-pack of beer, winner’s choice as to brand (as long as it’s reasonable) to the winner. The winner is the person that answers the most questions correctly by post here dated on or before Thursday, June 12th, 2003, at 11:00 PM EST, or the first person to answer all questions correctly before that time. I reserve the right to substitute another prize of comparable value for any reason. My decisions are final as to the accuracy of all answers. I am also the sole judge of what’s reasonable in the beer department. If you’re under 21 or don’t drink, we’ll think of another good prize.
The next post has the questions. Good luck!
- Rick
