# The Celebrity Death Pool 2011 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** death-pool\ **Created:** [December 1, 2010, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523 "2010-12-01T09:16:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 62
**Author:** ![critter42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ba0ec/32.png) [@critter42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/critter42)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/1222 "2011-05-02T16:53:27Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Again? :smack: You skip ONE PAGE of this thread and… /facepalm :smack: ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/1223 "2011-05-02T21:50:46Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Again? Third time. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/1224 "2011-05-02T22:51:47Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > Incidentally, do we have a “Most Valuable Corpse” award for the person whose death scored the most points for Death Pool players? No, but the results since I have been doing this are: 2010: Elizabeth Edwards, 936 points 2009: Patrick Swayze, 4,128 2008: Tony Snow, 752 2007: Tammy Faye Messner, 1,750 ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/1225 "2011-05-02T22:59:11Z")
Could Zsa Zsa become least valuable living person? that is: Oldest person picked by the most people who refuses to die? ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/1226 "2011-05-02T23:21:35Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > Could Zsa Zsa become least valuable living person? that is: Oldest person picked by the most people who refuses to die? This is the million dollar question, ainit? ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/1227 "2011-05-02T23:41:19Z")
Upon hearing the big news of the day, Zsa Zsa wasn’t so much angry that she still hasn’t “taken her turn” as she was that it’s tough to dance on the devil’s grave with only one leg. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/1228 "2011-05-02T23:55:17Z")
> [@anyrose](#): > > Upon hearing the big news of the day, Zsa Zsa wasn’t so much angry that she still hasn’t “taken her turn” as she was that it’s tough to dance on the devil’s grave with only one leg. If she wanted to dance on bin Laden’s grave, she’d have to change her name to Bob. ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/1229 "2011-05-03T00:13:09Z")
😃 😃 😃 where’s the gawdamned “like” button in this forum? 😃 😃 😃 ---
**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:** [May 3, 2011, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/1230 "2011-05-03T00:38:28Z")
> [@anyrose](#): > > 😃 😃 😃 where’s the gawdamned “like” button in this forum? 😃 😃 😃 You cry out, very cutely, “Thread Winner!” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/1231 "2011-05-03T01:44:50Z")
In December I asked myself, “what Al-Qaeda S.O.B. will get it in the next 12 months?” And I answered, Abdelbaset al-Megrah. Oh well, it’s still only May. ---
**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:** [May 3, 2011, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/1232 "2011-05-03T04:15:25Z")
Dang it! The one person I didn’t put on my hopeful list was Bin Laden! I think that was because last year or so someone said I wouldn’t get points because Bin Laden was thought to be dead or something. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Goat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Uncle\_Goat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Goat)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/1233 "2011-05-03T11:24:41Z")
[Yvette Vickers](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/obituaries/la-me-yvette-vickers-20110503,0,385265.story) body has been discovered, she’s been dead for about a year. Attack of the 50 Foot Woman star was/would have been(?) 82. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/1234 "2011-05-03T13:18:29Z")
> [@Uncle\_Goat](#): > > [Yvette Vickers](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/obituaries/la-me-yvette-vickers-20110503,0,385265.story) body has been discovered, she’s been dead for about a year. Attack of the 50 Foot Woman star was/would have been(?) 82. > [@](#): > > When Savage noticed that **Vickers’ mailbox was filled with old letters** , she pushed open a barricaded gate to reach the house and found the body in a room with a space heater still on. Good to know that if I die alone in my house, my mail carrier will keep delivering my mail for a year and not think to say anything to anybody. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/1235 "2011-05-03T13:58:52Z")
since the space heater was running, I guess she had had automatic payment on her electric bills ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/1236 "2011-05-03T14:17:05Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > Incidentally, do we have a “Most Valuable Corpse” award for the person whose death scored the most points for Death Pool players? I’m a lurker rather than a player, but isn’t there a certain tension between value and scoring the most points overall? Take JPII per **appleciders** : if most people had him, he scores a lot of points, total, but if you had him that year, you gained zero points over most of the other players, and a measly 12 over those that didn’t pick him. So picking him had value, but not very much of it really. One possible metric, using logic borrowed from the binomial distribution, is: corpse value = (points)(fraction of players who had that corpse)(fraction of players that didn’t). The product of the last two factors is an accurate measure of what proportion of players gained an advantage over how many other players by picking that corpse. And the first factor is, of course, how big an advantage was gained. Anyhow, now that your friendly local math geek has finished his digression, I return you to your regularly scheduled programming. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/1237 "2011-05-03T15:09:49Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > corpse value = (points)(fraction of players who had that corpse)(fraction of players that didn’t). Theoretically, you want a 50%/50% split of picked vs not picked, no matter what the age. CV for a various ages and various percentages. ```auto Percentage of Players picking a player 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 20 7.2 12.8 16.8 19.2 20.0 19.2 16.8 12.8 7.2 0.0 30 6.3 11.2 14.7 16.8 17.5 16.8 14.7 11.2 6.3 0.0 A 40 5.4 9.6 12.6 14.4 15.0 14.4 12.6 9.6 5.4 0.0 50 4.5 8.0 10.5 12.0 12.5 12.0 10.5 8.0 4.5 0.0 G 60 3.6 6.4 8.4 9.6 10.0 9.6 8.4 6.4 3.6 0.0 70 2.7 4.8 6.3 7.2 7.5 7.2 6.3 4.8 2.7 0.0 E 80 1.8 3.2 4.2 4.8 5.0 4.8 4.2 3.2 1.8 0.0 90 0.9 1.6 2.1 2.4 2.5 2.4 2.1 1.6 0.9 0.0 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 ``` ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/1238 "2011-05-03T15:50:18Z")
> [@amarone](#): > > No, but the results since I have been doing this are: > > 2010: Elizabeth Edwards, 936 points > 2009: Patrick Swayze, 4,128 > 2008: Tony Snow, 752 > 2007: Tammy Faye Messner, 1,750 Micheal Jackson had to be number one in points scored ,didn’t he? ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/1239 "2011-05-03T16:00:14Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Micheal Jackson had to be number one in points scored ,didn’t he? [45 people](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11299389&postcount=1153) picked MJ, worth a total of 2250 points. Far short of Swayze. ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/1240 "2011-05-03T16:28:58Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > Theoretically, you want a 50%/50% split of picked vs not picked, no matter what the age. > > CV for a various ages and various percentages. > > ```auto > > Percentage of Players picking a player > 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% > 20 7.2 12.8 16.8 19.2 20.0 19.2 16.8 12.8 7.2 0.0 > 30 6.3 11.2 14.7 16.8 17.5 16.8 14.7 11.2 6.3 0.0 > A 40 5.4 9.6 12.6 14.4 15.0 14.4 12.6 9.6 5.4 0.0 > 50 4.5 8.0 10.5 12.0 12.5 12.0 10.5 8.0 4.5 0.0 > G 60 3.6 6.4 8.4 9.6 10.0 9.6 8.4 6.4 3.6 0.0 > 70 2.7 4.8 6.3 7.2 7.5 7.2 6.3 4.8 2.7 0.0 > E 80 1.8 3.2 4.2 4.8 5.0 4.8 4.2 3.2 1.8 0.0 > 90 0.9 1.6 2.1 2.4 2.5 2.4 2.1 1.6 0.9 0.0 > 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 > > ``` Oh great! Now the death pool involves math. Sheesh! ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/1241 "2011-05-03T16:41:32Z")
> [@swampbear](#): > > Oh great! Now the death pool involves math. Sheesh! Its my goal to get this game down to a science. If that requires string theory or quantum mechanics, so be it. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523.md?page=61) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523.md?page=63)