# The World's Greatest \_\_\_\_\_\_ Is A Female. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 9, 2005, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-greatest-______-is-a-female/289208 "2005-02-09T15:51:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2005, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-greatest-______-is-a-female/289208/21 "2005-02-10T16:38:59Z")
[athlete](http://www.sacbee.com/static/archive/news/projects/people_of_century/sports/didrikson.html) ---
**Author:** ![owlstretchingtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/958977/32.png) [@owlstretchingtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlstretchingtime)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2005, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-greatest-______-is-a-female/289208/22 "2005-02-10T16:45:31Z")
The worlds greatest living Prime minister is Female (you know who). The worlds best Monarch is female ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2005, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-greatest-______-is-a-female/289208/23 "2005-02-10T21:06:10Z")
> [@Maxxxie](#): > > The greatest computer scientist is (was) a woman. Admiral Grace Hopper. > > [Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper](http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~history/Hopper.Danis.html) Ummmm, I would say that the greatest computer scientist was Alan Turing. Oh, and **Sonya Thomas** is DEFINITELY not the world’s greatest competitive eater, until such time as she wins the Coney Island hot dog eating competition. Granted, she beat MANY of the men there, who outweighed her by hilarious margins, but she did not win it. Anyhow, these are more individual accomplishments than lifetime achievements, but if my recollection of the Guinness book is correct: -The longest running play in history was by **Agatha Christie** -The best selling novel in history is (or was, for many years) **Valley of the Dolls** , by some woman with two first names -And of course, the biggest selling children’s book series in history is by **J K Rowling** ---
**Author:** ![mojave66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@mojave66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mojave66)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2005, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-greatest-______-is-a-female/289208/24 "2005-02-10T22:52:14Z")
The most innovative chef in America? Alice Waters. The greatest guerilla liberator ever? Harriet Tubman. The greatest abstract algebraist of the 20th Century? Emmy Noether. Plus I’d give the “Greatest Computer Scientist” award to Ada Byron Lovelace. ---
**Author:** ![Keapon\_Laffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e274bd/32.png) [@Keapon\_Laffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keapon_Laffin)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2005, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-greatest-______-is-a-female/289208/25 "2005-02-11T00:38:38Z")
Driver? … … … … bwahhaahahhahahahaha… ---
**Author:** ![uglybeech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/82dd89/32.png) [@uglybeech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uglybeech)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2005, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-greatest-______-is-a-female/289208/26 "2005-02-11T05:26:15Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Some regard **Ayn Rand** as the greatest philosophical mind of the 20th Century. Can’t we change that to Hannah Arendt or something? The worlds greatest monument designer is Maya Lin ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2005, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-greatest-______-is-a-female/289208/27 "2005-02-11T15:04:16Z")
The world’s greatest cold-water swimmer (swimming long distances in Antarctic waters) is female: Anne Cox. I don’t know if the best long-distance swimmer is a woman but it’s a distinct possibility. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2005, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-greatest-______-is-a-female/289208/28 "2005-02-11T16:22:21Z")
The world’s greatest person at trying to get her country out from under a bad government is [Aung San Suu Kyi](http://nobelprize.org/peace/laureates/1991/kyi-bio.html). ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2005, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-greatest-______-is-a-female/289208/29 "2005-02-11T16:30:59Z")
…active astronaut… [Lt. Col. Eileen Collins](http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/collins.html) will command the _Discovery_ on STS-114, the Return to Flight mission scheduled for this spring. She was the first female Shuttle pilot and the first female to command an American space mission: She commanded the _Columbia_ on STS-93 and deployed the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2005, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-greatest-______-is-a-female/289208/30 "2005-02-11T16:46:48Z")
The worlds greatest rock climber is (or at least was) a female. Lynn Hill was the first person to free climb El Capitan in Yosemite. ---
**Author:** ![LilyoftheValley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@LilyoftheValley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheValley)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2005, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-greatest-______-is-a-female/289208/31 "2005-02-11T18:01:34Z")
Others may disagree, but I think the world’s current greatest track star is female: Carolina Kluft. > [@AHunter3](#): > > The world’s greatest cold-water swimmer (swimming long distances in Antarctic waters) is female: Anne Cox. I believe you mean Lynne Cox, and I’d agree. ---
**Author:** ![Ocean\_City\_Maryland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@Ocean\_City\_Maryland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ocean_City_Maryland)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2005, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-greatest-______-is-a-female/289208/32 "2005-02-11T18:24:52Z")
The greatest **pool player** in the entire world is female, and her name is [Allison Fisher](http://www.allisonfisher.com/HomePage.htm). Oh yeah, and she’s hot too! ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-greatest-______-is-a-female/289208/33 "2005-02-12T00:09:20Z")
Soccer scorer - Mia Hamm, I believe. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-greatest-______-is-a-female/289208/34 "2005-02-12T00:34:55Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Soccer scorer - Mia Hamm, I believe. Pele scored 1280 goals in 1360 games, and he is second to Arthur Friedenreich, another Brazilian. Mia Hamm didn’t score more goals in college than either Thompson Usiyan (men, App State, 1977-1980 with 255) or Danielle Fotopoulos (SMU, 1994-1996 with 284). ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-greatest-______-is-a-female/289208/35 "2005-02-12T00:37:29Z")
> [@UncleBill](#): > > Pele scored 1280 goals in 1360 games, and he is second to Arthur Friedenreich, another Brazilian. > > Mia Hamm didn’t score more goals in college than either Thompson Usiyan (men, App State, 1977-1980 with 255) or Danielle Fotopoulos (SMU, 1994-1996 with 284). My apologies, the NCAA numbers are for points, not goals. Danielle had 118 goals, Mia had 103. ---
**Author:** ![LilyoftheValley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@LilyoftheValley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheValley)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-greatest-______-is-a-female/289208/36 "2005-02-12T01:33:27Z")
I guess it depends on your definition. Here’s [one link](http://www.soccertimes.com/usteams/roster/women/hamm.htm): > [@](#): > > The most recognized female soccer player in the world, [Hamm] broke the all-time international scoring record, for men and women, on May 16, 1999, against Brazil in Orlando, Fla. with her 108th career goal. And from the [US Soccer Hall of Fame](http://www.soccerhall.org/Monthly%20Column/MC.November.2004.htm): > [@](#): > > United States Women’s National Team forward Mia Hamm is far and away the leading scorer in the history of international soccer. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-greatest-______-is-a-female/289208/37 "2005-02-12T01:48:52Z")
> [@](#): > > The greatest Witch: Her name is Starhawk. She uses her Witch energy for peace action (helping people to deal with chaotic street protest areas safely) and for the environment, planting green growing plants all over. Not only that, but she turned me into a newt. > [@](#): > > The greatest pool player in the entire world is female, and her name is Allison Fisher. > > Oh yeah, and she’s hot too! Allison Fisher couldn’t crack the top 100 on the men’s tour. She tried to make it on the men’s snooker tour and couldn’t. The best women pool players in the world play about the level of decent collegiate male players. The highest recorded run by a woman in straight pool is around 86 balls. The highest recorded run by a man is 526. Men routinely score runs over 100. I have no idea why this is the case. ---
**Author:** ![ReBusEniGma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@ReBusEniGma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReBusEniGma)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-greatest-______-is-a-female/289208/38 "2005-02-12T02:05:24Z")
I"d have to say the greatest contributer to the blind, and overcomer of personal physical limitations was a woman. Helen Keller. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2005, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-greatest-______-is-a-female/289208/39 "2005-03-21T01:25:39Z")
I nominate, for best general aviation flight instructor, one Evelyn “Mama Bird” Johnson, based as Tennessee’s Moore-Burrell airport in Morristown. She has taught more than 3,000 people how to fly and as a designated examiner for the FAA has signed off on more than 9,000. As of this year, she has logged over 57,000 hours in the air and, at 95, is still flying. She’s a very nice lady. If you’re in Morristown drop into the airport and if she’s on the ground go ahead and say hi - loudly, she’s a bit hard of hearing what with 60 years of being around loud engines. I suspect she’s going to retire in the next year or two, which is understandable, but gosh darn it, there’s no one else with that sort of experience around. Even if you can’t get flight time with her, any advice she gives in regard to aviation is worth its weight in gold. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2005, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-greatest-______-is-a-female/289208/40 "2005-03-21T01:36:07Z")
> [@Sublight](#): > > The greatest dogsled racer in the entire world is a female. Susan Butcher. **Alaska - Where Men are Men… and Women Win the Iditarod!** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-greatest-______-is-a-female/289208.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-greatest-______-is-a-female/289208.md?page=3)