# What do the following have in common? (game) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 15, 2005, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-following-have-in-common-game/303927 "2005-05-15T12:31:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-following-have-in-common-game/303927/121 "2005-05-18T23:46:25Z")
Here’s another: Switzerland, Thailand, Belgium, Romania. Bonus: same list, with the addition of Ireland ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-following-have-in-common-game/303927/122 "2005-05-19T00:03:05Z")
As far as the Sammy Davis Jr, Sandy Duncan, Moshe Dayan, etc thread I believe the correct wording should be they have only one functioning eye. Sammy Davis Jr did have a glass eye, Moshe Dayan I believe was missng an eye. Sandy Duncan has both of her eyes but she is blind in one. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-following-have-in-common-game/303927/123 "2005-05-19T00:46:02Z")
Funny. I was so sure she had a glass eye that I googled “Sandy Duncan Glass Eye”. This text was in the first result: > [@](#): > > To people who come here via googling “Sandy Duncan Glass Eye” (and people do) I’m sorry but my past post aside about her was wrong. No glass eye. Also I read she is not a President Bush fan (seriously). [http://www.dirtynerdluv.org/2004/07/sandy\_duncan.html](http://www.dirtynerdluv.org/2004/07/sandy_duncan.html) I feel so predictable. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-following-have-in-common-game/303927/124 "2005-05-19T01:29:28Z")
> [@Random](#): > > All had true first names other than the one they are known for. Yes, and their “official” first names were actually middle names. Besides Thomas Woodrow Wilson, the presidents were Stephen Grover Cleveland, John Calvin Coolidge, and Hiram Ulysses Grant (who didn’t like the fact that his initials were HUG, and became Ulysses Simpson Grant both to honor his mother’s maiden name\* and because he’d then be U.S. Grant). Maybe not what you’re looking for, but the four countries in your recent post all have capital cities beginning with **B** – Bern, Switzerland; Bangkok, Thailand; Brussels, Belgium; and Bucharest, Romania. Ireland also fits the pattern if the native name for Dublin, _Baile Atha Cleath_, is used. \*or, as the _World Almanac_ claims, his name was erroneously transcribed as “Ulysses Simpson Grant” when he enrolled at West Point ---
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-following-have-in-common-game/303927/125 "2005-05-19T02:27:05Z")
> [@Sternvogel](#): > > Maybe not what you’re looking for, but the four countries in your recent post all have capital cities beginning with **B** – Bern, Switzerland; Bangkok, Thailand; Brussels, Belgium; and Bucharest, Romania. Ireland also fits the pattern if the native name for Dublin, _Baile Atha Cleath_, is used. > > \*or, as the _World Almanac_ claims, his name was erroneously transcribed as “Ulysses Simpson Grant” when he enrolled at West Point Correct and correct! Nice job on the Ireland part. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-following-have-in-common-game/303927/126 "2005-05-19T02:34:48Z")
**golf clap for sternvogel** ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-following-have-in-common-game/303927/127 "2005-05-19T02:51:17Z")
Nobody has answered mine yet: H.G. Wells, Vasco da Gama, Chaucer, Plato, Marco Polo. I’ll add another: Julius Caesar. ---
**Author:** ![Trillionaire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@Trillionaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trillionaire)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-following-have-in-common-game/303927/128 "2005-05-19T06:17:52Z")
> [@Priceguy](#): > > They all have airports named after them? > > I’ll repost mine too: Elvis Presley, Vin Diesel, Linda Hamilton, Philip K Dick. Apologies for my tardy reply… you’re correct of course; Kennedy, Lennon, da Vinci and de Gaulle all have airports named after them. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-following-have-in-common-game/303927/129 "2005-05-19T06:20:52Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Nobody has answered mine yet: > > H.G. Wells, Vasco da Gama, Chaucer, Plato, Marco Polo. > > I’ll add another: Julius Caesar. They all wrote about travelling? H.G. Wells wrote _The Time Machine_ among others, Vasco da Gama wrote his journals, Chaucer wrote _Canterbury Tales_, Plato wrote about travels to Atlantis, Marco Polo wrote about his journeys to China, and Julius Caesar wrote his war diaries from Germany. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-following-have-in-common-game/303927/130 "2005-05-19T19:08:00Z")
> [@Priceguy](#): > > They all wrote about travelling? H.G. Wells wrote _The Time Machine_ among others, Vasco da Gama wrote his journals, Chaucer wrote _Canterbury Tales_, Plato wrote about travels to Atlantis, Marco Polo wrote about his journeys to China, and Julius Caesar wrote his war diaries from Germany. Great, but not what I had in mind. Maybe we should start a thread, “What \*\*two \*\*things do the following have in common?” Ok, I’ll add another: H.G. Wells, Vasco da Gama, Chaucer, Plato, Marco Polo, Julius Caesar, Schrödinger. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-following-have-in-common-game/303927/131 "2005-05-19T19:11:07Z")
They all had cats? Really, I’m just reaching now. I can’t for the life of me figure out what Schrödinger would have to do with the rest of them. ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2005, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-following-have-in-common-game/303927/132 "2005-05-20T01:06:06Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > There are two answers to this one, one… “literary”: > > JFK, C.S. Lewis, Aldous Huxley They all wrote about pacifism. Kennedy in his 1943 effort _Why England Slept_ blames pacifists and supporters of unilateral disarmament for Britain’s delay in preparing for war with Germany. Lewis gave an address at Oxford in 1940 (later reproduced as an essay) entitled ‘Why I am Not a Pacifist’. And, of course, all his life (when he wasn’t spaced out on LSD or spreading his seed about), Huxley crusaded for pacifism, a theme which influenced many of his writings. What have the following in common? Alan Ayckbourn, Stirling Moss, John McCarthy, Clement Attlee, Martin Webb-Bowen ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2005, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-following-have-in-common-game/303927/133 "2005-05-20T03:37:07Z")
I think I’ll move away from the “people” thing. What do the following _songs_ have in common? \*\* 1. “How Can I be Sure?” - The Rascals 2. “Go Now” - The Moody Blues 3. “Kiss From A Rose” - Seal 4. “Green” - Edie Brickell \*\* ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2005, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-following-have-in-common-game/303927/134 "2005-05-21T06:02:37Z")
So is this thread going to die with all these unanswered questions? ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2005, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-following-have-in-common-game/303927/135 "2005-05-21T09:40:20Z")
No answers, but a couple more questions: Millipedes, tidal waves, radiators and _cors anglaises_. Sodium, gold, antimony and mercury (other than all being metals). ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2005, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-following-have-in-common-game/303927/136 "2005-05-21T11:18:00Z")
[sings]“One of these things is not like the others; one of these things just isn’t the same…”[/sings] ---
**Author:** ![dbygawdcapn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dbygawdcapn/32/3995_2.png) [@dbygawdcapn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dbygawdcapn)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2005, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-following-have-in-common-game/303927/137 "2005-05-21T16:33:07Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > No answers, but a couple more questions: > > Sodium, gold, antimony and mercury (other than all being metals). Their atomic symbols contain letters that are not contained in their name. Sodium = Na , Gold = Au, Antimony = Sb, Mercury = Hg ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2005, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-following-have-in-common-game/303927/138 "2005-05-21T17:07:39Z")
**Malacandra** Those elements were discovered in early historic times. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2005, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-following-have-in-common-game/303927/139 "2005-05-21T17:42:46Z")
**George Lazenby** , **Benjamin Harrison** and **Hugh Downs** [spoiler]All had jobs where the person they replaced wound up replacing them. George Lazenby did one James Bond film, then Sean connery returned to the role. Benjamin Harrison was U.S. president in between Grover Cleveland’s two terms. Hugh Downs became host of the _Tonight Show_ when Jack Parr walked out in protest of the censorship of a joke he wanted to tell. Parr came back after about a month.[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2005, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-following-have-in-common-game/303927/140 "2005-05-22T20:38:08Z")
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