# The Celebrity Death Pool 2009 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** death-pool\ **Created:** [December 1, 2008, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262 "2008-12-01T23:40:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 25
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2009, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/481 "2009-01-05T03:17:01Z")
> [@Seeker of Truth & Beauty](#): > > Veteran actor [Pat Hingle](http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iAFZTk0i0Y27UWFaHGHvZmq2lCYwD95GJACG0), who played Commissioner Gordon in the first four Batman movies, has died at the age of 84. I had the pleasure of seeing Pat Hingle on Broadway in 1776. He played Franklin. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2009, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/482 "2009-01-05T03:24:01Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I had the pleasure of seeing Pat Hingle on Broadway in 1776. He played Franklin. Well, if he was performing in 1776, then he wouldn’t have been worth any points. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2009, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/483 "2009-01-05T04:35:21Z")
> [@Seeker of Truth & Beauty](#): > > Veteran actor [Pat Hingle](http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iAFZTk0i0Y27UWFaHGHvZmq2lCYwD95GJACG0), who played Commissioner Gordon in the first four Batman movies, has died at the age of 84. It’s all my fault. I had him on my list but I bumped him to alternate and put Ed McMahon in his place. Had I kept Mr. Hingle on my list he surely would have lived for another year. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2009, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/484 "2009-01-05T16:33:38Z")
**Sublight** scores with Griffin Bell. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/485 "2009-01-06T00:29:44Z")
> [@42fish](#): > > World’s oldest living person Maria de Jesus stopped qualifying for the ‘living’ part of the title today, scoring a whopping zero points and (apparently) first blood\* in the death pool for me. > > Reuters report on her death: [http://uk.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUKTRE5012Q520090102](http://uk.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUKTRE5012Q520090102) > > \*ETA: OK, a tie with Cpt. Lance Murdoch You broke my spreadsheet - I must be allowed to impose some sort of penalty for that. I correctly avoided giving you minus points, but by converting negative numbers to zero, it no longer detects it as a winning pick. So from now, all centenarians score 0.01 points, displayed to the nearest whole number. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/486 "2009-01-06T00:36:06Z")
[Steve Jobs says dramatic weight loss was caused by hormone imbalance, not cancer relapse.](http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aujvU.wez3Sk&refer=news) ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/487 "2009-01-06T01:20:08Z")
> [@NurseCarmen](#): > > **Sublight** scores with Griffin Bell. [Link: Griffin Bell, who served as attorney general in the Carter administration, has died. He was 90](http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/05/griffin.bell/index.html) 10 points, and a new speed record for me. ---
**Author:** ![imthjckaz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/imthjckaz/32/3223_2.png) [@imthjckaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/imthjckaz)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/488 "2009-01-06T02:45:20Z")
Minnesota Twins Owner [Carl Pohlad](http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/al/twins/2009-01-05-pohlad-obit_N.htm) has died at age 93. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/489 "2009-01-06T18:00:41Z")
[Stooges guitarist Ron Ashton has died.](http://www.freep.com/article/20090106/ENT04/90106024/1039) ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/490 "2009-01-06T19:24:40Z")
[Adolf Merckle](http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/01/06/germany.billionaire/index.html?iref=mpstoryview), the German billionaire who had fallen from 44th on 2007’s _Forbes_ list of the world’s richest people to 94th in the latest rankings, has taken his own life. Merckle, 74, was hit by a train in the city of Ulm. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/491 "2009-01-06T19:44:49Z")
> [@Sternvogel](#): > > [Adolf Merckle](http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/01/06/germany.billionaire/index.html?iref=mpstoryview), the German billionaire who had fallen from 44th on 2007’s _Forbes_ list of the world’s richest people to 94th in the latest rankings, has taken his own life. Merckle, 74, was hit by a train in the city of Ulm. I guess when you are down to your last $9 billion, life just isn’t worth living anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/492 "2009-01-06T21:25:33Z")
Article on Death Pools in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune: [Dead Pools: Dead reckoning - Celebrity death pools mortify many outsiders, but players say they’re simply having fun.](http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/style/36997584.html?elr=KArks7PYDiaK7DUoaK7D_V_eDc87DUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiU) It includes a number of sites running death pools, but ours isn’t mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/493 "2009-01-06T21:42:10Z")
> [@Sublight](#): > > It includes a number of sites running death pools, but ours isn’t mentioned. Thank G-d, we’re safe. ---
**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:** [January 7, 2009, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/494 "2009-01-07T03:46:46Z")
> [@](#): > > It includes a number of sites running death pools, but ours isn’t mentioned. Considering the sites mentioned include [cash4cadavers.com](http://cash4cadavers.com), [flymetothetomb.com](http://flymetothetomb.com), [stiffs.com](http://stiffs.com), and [youbettheirlife.com](http://youbettheirlife.com), we may have looked too wholesome. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/495 "2009-01-07T03:59:31Z")
I found a rule we should adopt here. Siamese twins only count as one person, so long as they are still attached. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/496 "2009-01-07T04:16:29Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I found a rule we should adopt here. > > Siamese twins only count as one person, so long as they are still attached. What happens if as they’re being seperated, one of them dies on the table and the other one lives for a few months, and _then_ dies? Do we have to figure the months in the scoring for the twin that lived the longest? Or do we just round down and make them equal with their deceased sibling? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/497 "2009-01-07T04:22:12Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > What happens if as they’re being seperated, one of them dies on the table and the other one lives for a few months, and _then_ dies? We split the points in half. Duh! ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/498 "2009-01-07T04:28:20Z")
Dammit, we’re supposed to be morbid, not needlessly offensive. They’re cojoined twins. Not that needlessly reactionary and racist term. (pious smile) ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/499 "2009-01-07T12:19:06Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > What happens if as they’re being seperated, one of them dies on the table and the other one lives for a few months, and _then_ dies? Do we have to figure the months in the scoring for the twin that lived the longest? Or do we just round down and make them equal with their deceased sibling? Then you get NO points. Imagine you choose Kang&Kodos, who are separated into Kang AND Kodos. Kang dies, but NOT Kang&Kodos. Kodos eventually dies, but NOT Kang&Kodos. Kang&Kodos no longer exists, but hasn’t died. It’s the same as picking an immortal. 😛 Only if they both die during separation do you get points, and they count as one. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/500 "2009-01-07T12:22:37Z")
The matter of conjoined twins is moot. They’re only separated as infants or toddlers, making them invalid picks because they’re under 18 years old. **Boyo** , you’re evil. I like that in a person. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262.md?page=24) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262.md?page=26)