Search found 895 matches
- Sun Oct 25, 2020 1:51 pm
- Forum: Countdown - General
- Topic: Re: Ticket #5803: ZoomDown - evidence of potential cheating
- Replies: 72
- Views: 25069
Re: Re: Ticket #5803: ZoomDown - evidence of potential cheating
I'm with Graeme - unless there are special circumstances that necessitate them, external tools (other than pen and paper) shouldn't be allowed. They take away more or less the only concrete basis on which cheating investigations might be conducted. I sympathise with people who are used to the normal...
- Fri Jul 24, 2020 10:06 am
- Forum: Countdown - General
- Topic: You Are The Ref
- Replies: 355
- Views: 168967
Re: You Are The Ref
Rush over to their table in excitement and ask them to turn round slightly so you can get a video of the epic, historic crucial conundrum that's about to unfold. Also get all of the finished players to come and spectate, preferably while talking loudly to each other about how Cock and Dick are their...
- Tue Jul 21, 2020 10:30 pm
- Forum: Countdown - General
- Topic: Ask Graeme?
- Replies: 1741
- Views: 758844
Re: Ask Graeme?
On the contrary - as I recall, I posted the complete list just a couple of hours ago and I was second behind Harvey Freeman.
- Tue Jul 21, 2020 6:02 pm
- Forum: Countdown - General
- Topic: Ask Graeme?
- Replies: 1741
- Views: 758844
Re: Ask Graeme?
Wow, I am amazed at how comprehensively I managed to misremember that whole exchange. Remarkable.
- Tue Jul 21, 2020 2:49 pm
- Forum: Countdown - General
- Topic: Ask Graeme?
- Replies: 1741
- Views: 758844
Re: Ask Graeme?
Which octochamp has the smallest range of scores? Which has the smallest coefficient of variation ? Once upon a time I tried to calculate this in the hope that it might be me , but found that I was pipped by Tom Hargreaves . Very possible that I missed someone, though, or that a new winner has emer...
- Tue Jul 21, 2020 2:38 pm
- Forum: Countdown - General
- Topic: Ask Graeme?
- Replies: 1741
- Views: 758844
Re: Ask Graeme?
Edit - some further discussion . Enjoyed reliving that thread. Sadly I think I've lost the raw data I produced while masquerading as Dave. Well, this has led me to some shocking news. I remembered there was another poster on here who posted some numbers game stats but didn't post that often and I w...
- Sat Jul 18, 2020 1:33 pm
- Forum: Countdown - General
- Topic: Countdown Lookalikes?
- Replies: 390
- Views: 256413
Re: Countdown Lookalikes?
Graeme Cole delivers the definitive performance of Bruch's Scottish Fantasy: https://youtu.be/3aVET-CDRWk?t=1348
- Mon Mar 02, 2020 7:22 pm
- Forum: Off-topic
- Topic: Politics in General
- Replies: 1645
- Views: 1791110
Re: Politics in General
For the record, I'm comfortable with it being mentioned, but thank you Marc and Fiona for your consideration.
- Mon Mar 02, 2020 3:13 pm
- Forum: Off-topic
- Topic: Politics in General
- Replies: 1645
- Views: 1791110
Re: Politics in General
Ian Volante So right there, homos and heterosexuals should be respected equally, but LGBT seem to be getting priority at the min #justsaying #saynotosexism #gaypride #straightpride. In what sense? I can't think of any obvious examples, possibly apart from RuPaul's Drag Race. Such as Dancing On Ice ...
- Wed Feb 12, 2020 1:29 pm
- Forum: Countdown - General
- Topic: Internal monologue
- Replies: 19
- Views: 7882
Re: Internal monologue
I once did an evening class about the "psychology of language" in which it was argued that the near-universal "tip of the tongue" phenomenon, where one can't quite find the word they're looking for, more or less proves that thoughts aren't made up of language at their most basic...
- Sun Jan 26, 2020 10:59 pm
- Forum: Countdown - Events
- Topic: Countdown in Manchester (CoMan) 2020 - Saturday 15th February
- Replies: 6
- Views: 12677
Re: Countdown in Manchester (CoMan) 2020 - Saturday 15th February
Their recommendations are Victoria train station (which is very nearby) or the Q-Park parking garage on Chapel Street, just across the river.
- Tue Dec 17, 2019 9:21 pm
- Forum: Off-topic
- Topic: Who would you like to lead the labour Party
- Replies: 30
- Views: 14048
Re: Who would you like to lead the labour Party
Labour got more votes and more seats this GE than the 2015 GE so to call it their worst defeat since 1935 is a little misleading in a discussion about how they fared. This was the Brexit election. UKIP got 3.9m votes in 2015 and the Brexit party got 600k in 2019. Where did the other 3.3m votes go? ...
- Tue Dec 10, 2019 10:27 pm
- Forum: Off-topic
- Topic: Alex Rivers
- Replies: 21
- Views: 8583
Re: Alex Rivers
And I'm pretty sure he was a social media specialist, and I remember his face. Chilling.Conor wrote: ↑Tue Dec 10, 2019 9:23 pmAlmost certainly. His c4c profile shows his age to be 50 matching the 49 when the article was written, and Cheriton is a suburb of Folkestone.
- Sat Nov 09, 2019 12:41 am
- Forum: Other game shows
- Topic: Is Deal or No Deal an example of Monty Hall?
- Replies: 4
- Views: 6775
Re: Is Deal or No Deal an example of Monty Hall?
No, otherwise exactly the same reasoning could be applied to the other box, and you would reach the opposite conclusion. The Monty Hall effect only arises because, in the classic Monty Hall scenario, the rules of the game make a clear distinction between the grand prize door and the other doors (the...
- Sat Nov 02, 2019 4:03 pm
- Forum: Countdown - Events
- Topic: Countdown in Manchester (CoMan) 2020 - Saturday 15th February
- Replies: 6
- Views: 12677
Countdown in Manchester (CoMan) 2020 - Saturday 15th February
As most people on this forum know well, Manchester (/Salford) has, since 2009, been where brave wordsmiths and arithmeticians have ventured in order to test their mettle in the famous Countdown studios. This year, however, you'll have a chance to come here and juggle some letters and numbers in a ra...
- Sat May 11, 2019 11:07 am
- Forum: Off-topic
- Topic: REALLY obvious things you've just realised
- Replies: 644
- Views: 325573
Re: REALLY obvious things you've just realised
As you probably know zero degrees latitude ( not longitude surprisingly ) is the line that goes from the North Pole to the South Pole through the Greenwich Meridian and so on. ...no, that really is longitude. Zero degrees latitude is the equator . Is there a joke going over my head here? (though to...
- Fri May 03, 2019 2:13 pm
- Forum: Off-topic
- Topic: Was Jeanne Calment a fraud?
- Replies: 70
- Views: 30526
Re: Was Jeanne Calment a fraud?
Jeanne Calment (122 years, 164 days) is 2.67% older than Sarah Knauss (119 years, 97 days). For those claiming this to be "too much an outlier" - do you also believe that Mount Everest isn't actually 8848m? Mount Everest (8,848m) is 2.75% taller than K2 (8,611m). There's loads of sets of ...
- Wed May 01, 2019 7:17 pm
- Forum: Off-topic
- Topic: Was Jeanne Calment a fraud?
- Replies: 70
- Views: 30526
Re: Was Jeanne Calment a fraud?
It's a fascinating case and I've been disappointed by the lack of any real follow-up to the allegations. On forums where the identity swap theory has been discussed, people generally seem inclined to just dismiss it as 'unproven' or whatever without making much effort to actually counter the points ...
- Wed Apr 11, 2018 3:36 pm
- Forum: Other game shows
- Topic: University Challenge and Only Connect 2016/17
- Replies: 81
- Views: 90096
Re: University Challenge and Only Connect 2016/17
Thanks very much to all of you for the kind words about UC - quite possibly the most stressful thing I've ever put myself through (it's even harder than it looks, and I'm all the more in awe now of the teams who can post high scores time after time without breaking a sweat) but also among the most f...
- Wed Aug 09, 2017 9:38 pm
- Forum: Countdown - General
- Topic: Best 9 of all time
- Replies: 17
- Views: 16997
Re: Best 9 of all time
As much as it might be a bit unfair, I'm inherently less impressed by words which I know (or consider very likely) that the player had previously come across in the context of practice games or dedicated word study. The ones that come to mind as having impressed me the most are the aforementioned MY...
- Sat Jul 29, 2017 5:28 pm
- Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
- Topic: Spoilers for Thursday 27 July 2017 (Series 77, Prelim 186)
- Replies: 21
- Views: 17330
Re: Spoilers for Thursday 27 July 2017 (Series 77, Prelim 186)
Admittedly I haven't been watching, but going by the wikicaps, this doesn't really look like Hansfording to me. Why would he do it on some occasions but not others? Isn't it miraculously lucky that he decides not to Hansford every time he doesn't get the answer (or a very understandable guess) quic...
- Sat Jul 29, 2017 1:41 pm
- Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
- Topic: Spoilers for Thursday 27 July 2017 (Series 77, Prelim 186)
- Replies: 21
- Views: 17330
Re: Spoilers for Thursday 27 July 2017 (Series 77, Prelim 186)
Admittedly I haven't been watching, but going by the wikicaps, this doesn't really look like Hansfording to me. Why would he do it on some occasions but not others? Isn't it miraculously lucky that he decides not to Hansford every time he doesn't get the answer (or a very understandable guess) quick...
- Wed Apr 26, 2017 1:53 pm
- Forum: Off-topic
- Topic: (I Think I'm Going To) Snap General Election Poll
- Replies: 81
- Views: 84828
Re: (I Think I'm Going To) Snap General Election Poll
It's being reported that Corbyn won't be participating in TV debates if May doesn't. Why on earth? I'm struggling to think of any way to see how this isn't the stupidest tactical decision I've ever heard. Labour sorely needs a narrative-changer, and I'm in the perhaps overly-optimistic minority who ...
- Tue Mar 14, 2017 1:18 am
- Forum: Countdown - General
- Topic: What causes easy misses
- Replies: 3
- Views: 5716
Re: What causes easy misses
The more you practise, the less it happens. Does more practice make it take longer for your brain to get tired? Yes, primarily because with enough practice, the process of word-spotting gradually transitions from an active process of rearranging letters and searching for words (which requires some ...
- Fri Feb 24, 2017 10:47 am
- Forum: Countdown - General
- Topic: Best ways to improve your Countdowning skills...
- Replies: 23
- Views: 15723
Re: Best ways to improve your Countdowning skills...
One bit of advice I wouldn't agree with is avoiding variants other than Normal - obviously some variants like Duckdown and Spoilage are of no real use, but ones like Goatdown and Touchdown can be extremely useful, not only with learning new words but with conditioning your mind to think outside the ...
- Wed Feb 08, 2017 4:13 pm
- Forum: Other game shows
- Topic: University Challenge and Only Connect 2016/17
- Replies: 81
- Views: 90096
Re: University Challenge and Only Connect 2016/17
And I'll be on for Edinburgh. Wonder if there's ever been a apterite v apterite match before?Thomas Carey wrote: ↑Wed Feb 08, 2017 3:44 pm Joseph Krol is on next year's UC for Corpus, Cambridge
- Fri Dec 23, 2016 7:53 pm
- Forum: Countdown - Events
- Topic: Your preferred format for CO-events
- Replies: 74
- Views: 35717
Re: Your preferred format for CO-events
Even if no-one's actually done it on purpose, the fact is that someone can lose a game, and end up doing better as a result. I think people have said that Chris Wills won COLIN overall from the second table in the final round because he had easier games. That seems rather speculative. Who can say c...
- Fri Dec 23, 2016 5:51 pm
- Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
- Topic: Spoilers for Friday 23rd December 2016 (Grand Final)
- Replies: 11
- Views: 5840
Re: Spoilers for Friday 23rd December 2016 (Grand Final)
Nice conundrum.
Congratulations indeed Martin for a very solid and assured performance throughout the series, and for coming out on top amongst an impressive set of finalists.
Congratulations indeed Martin for a very solid and assured performance throughout the series, and for coming out on top amongst an impressive set of finalists.
- Thu Dec 22, 2016 6:16 pm
- Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
- Topic: Spoilers for Thursday 22nd December 2016 (2nd Semi-Final)
- Replies: 6
- Views: 2797
Re: Spoilers for Thursday 22nd December 2016 (2nd Semi-Final)
Not that it makes any difference, but should LUPINES have been allowed? I can only see LUPINE on ODO as an adjective and as a North American variant spelling of LUPIN. Was this an oversight, or is the American spelling rule not enforced these days? Very convincing performance by Andrew there. Bad l...
- Thu Dec 22, 2016 2:43 pm
- Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
- Topic: Spoilers for Thursday 22nd December 2016 (2nd Semi-Final)
- Replies: 6
- Views: 2797
Re: Spoilers for Thursday 22nd December 2016 (2nd Semi-Final)
Not that it makes any difference, but should LUPINES have been allowed? I can only see LUPINE on ODO as an adjective and as a North American variant spelling of LUPIN. Was this an oversight, or is the American spelling rule not enforced these days? Very convincing performance by Andrew there. Bad lu...
- Fri Dec 09, 2016 2:41 pm
- Forum: Countdown - General
- Topic: So, who will be the founding member of Countdown's "1000 CLUB"?
- Replies: 129
- Views: 92533
Re: So, who will be the founding member of Countdown's "1000 CLUB"?
I find it weird how this seems to have become accepted as a self-evident fact, having originally been (apparently) flippant and baseless speculation. Was it confirmed at any point?Zarte Siempre wrote:[Dale Levell] isn't a real person
- Mon Jul 25, 2016 2:09 pm
- Forum: Off-topic
- Topic: How many countries have you been to?
- Replies: 172
- Views: 97031
Re: How many countries have you been to?
8, and none very interesting: Scotland, England, Wales, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, USA.
- Mon Jun 27, 2016 10:18 am
- Forum: Off-topic
- Topic: EU Referendum
- Replies: 182
- Views: 55102
Re: EU Referendum
I'm guessing you mean the same Survation poll which found 54-46 in favour of independence? Which is actually the question that would be decided by a public vote? Think that's probably worth mentioning.Rhys Benjamin wrote:Survation Poll on whether Indy Ref 2 (the sequel) should occur:
Support 41%
Oppose 43%
- Sat Jun 25, 2016 1:28 pm
- Forum: Off-topic
- Topic: EU Referendum
- Replies: 182
- Views: 55102
Re: EU Referendum
In both Scotland and the EU, I am against the sequel referenda, as I think that to keep referendumming until you get the "right" result is undemocratic. If there's good reason to believe the opinion of the population will have changed on an issue, can you really say it's more 'democratic'...
- Sat Jun 25, 2016 11:40 am
- Forum: Off-topic
- Topic: EU Referendum
- Replies: 182
- Views: 55102
Re: EU Referendum
(Semi-unrelatedly - Scots, do you think the Tories' resurgence in Scotland is solely a Ruth Davidson effect, or is there just generally less animosity towards the Tory party than I thought there was in Scotland?) Ruth Davidson certainly has a considerable amount of personal appeal (and the Scottish...
- Thu Jun 16, 2016 2:01 pm
- Forum: Countdown - General
- Topic: Ask Graeme?
- Replies: 1741
- Views: 758844
Re: Ask Graeme?
Ian used every letter but one (Z) in his declarations, is that the record?Jon O'Neill wrote:Trivia: what record, which stands to this day, did Ian McMenzie set in this episode?
- Wed Jun 08, 2016 10:47 am
- Forum: Off-topic
- Topic: C4C/apto/Countdown Dreams
- Replies: 759
- Views: 473967
Re: C4C/apto/Countdown Dreams
Last night I dreamed that I came across the nine-letter word SPECABLE, which I thought would be an ideal word for a conundrum (as the letters were so similar to those in the fan-favourite BEDPLACE), but I was embarrassed that I'd never heard such a clearly everyday word before, and that I didn't kno...
- Fri Jun 03, 2016 6:20 pm
- Forum: Games and Puzzles
- Topic: A Letters Round Quandary
- Replies: 10
- Views: 8655
Re: A Letters Round Quandary
I'd be surprised if it was possible without a very unusual letters distribution. I vaguely remember a short list on the old Countdown Corral of 'perfect games' people had thought up which were specific sets of 11 letters rounds which all yielded nines while conforming to the standard distribution, a...
- Fri May 27, 2016 10:29 am
- Forum: Off-topic
- Topic: IMDB top 250
- Replies: 57
- Views: 19383
Re: IMDB top 250
I'll put a flag down for any fellow complete non-enthusiasts that may be lurking: 6, and for 4 of them my memory is too faint to make any meaningful comment on them.
- Wed Apr 27, 2016 9:15 am
- Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
- Topic: Spoilers for Wednesday March 30th 2016 (Series 74 Prelim 43)
- Replies: 14
- Views: 6383
Re: Spoilers for Wednesday March 30th 2016 (Series 74 Prelim 43)
I had SULFATES allowed on TV, for the reason Graeme mentioned. So SULFONE would presumably be allowed too.
- Tue Feb 23, 2016 4:25 pm
- Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
- Topic: Spoilers for Tuesday 23rd February
- Replies: 10
- Views: 6163
Re: Spoilers for Tuesday 23rd February
Says it all about Paul's run so far (and how much standards have risen in the last few years) that when I noticed on the wiki that he'd scored 113 today, my immediate thought was "oh, I wonder what went wrong?".
- Sat Feb 20, 2016 11:11 pm
- Forum: Off-topic
- Topic: EU Referendum
- Replies: 182
- Views: 55102
Re: EU Referendum
At the moment I think I'll probably end up casting the least enthusiastic vote of my life to stay in, but it's not inconceivable that that could change between now and the referendum. The enthusiasm factor could really prove a problem for the Stay campaign - the clear majority of people I've talked ...
- Sun Jan 24, 2016 9:26 am
- Forum: Countdown - General
- Topic: Did the ODO changes improve the CoC?
- Replies: 15
- Views: 6624
Re: Did the ODO changes improve the CoC?
For me personally it perhaps added an extra layer of interest to the CoC and allowed for some unexpected moments like METACONID, though for the average viewer who hadn't bothered to learn all the obscurities in the previous dictionary I doubt there would have been a noticeable difference in this reg...
- Fri Jan 22, 2016 6:05 pm
- Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
- Topic: CoC Grand Final Spoilers For Friday January 22nd 2016
- Replies: 69
- Views: 20649
Re: CoC Grand Final Spoilers For Friday January 22nd 2016
Great match, very exciting to watch. Like Bradley I thought after a few rounds that it was going to be a bit of an anticlimax, but METACONID was a superb spot which turned a fairly unremarkable game into an absolute classic. Very well done to both of you for great performances throughout the tournam...
- Sat Jan 02, 2016 8:03 pm
- Forum: Off-topic
- Topic: You Are The Judge
- Replies: 11
- Views: 3030
Re: You Are The Judge
Is there a point here we're missing?
- Thu Dec 24, 2015 1:59 am
- Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
- Topic: Grand Final Spoilers For Wednesday December 23rd 2015
- Replies: 44
- Views: 12118
Re: Grand Final Spoilers For Wednesday December 23rd 2015
I do remember talking with someone at the time about MARCASITE not being an ideal conundrum for the situation, as it was a high-probability 9 that the contestants (being seasoned apterites) were bound to spot very quickly, while also being a fairly obscure and non-guessable word which a typical view...
- Wed Dec 23, 2015 7:20 pm
- Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
- Topic: Grand Final Spoilers For Wednesday December 23rd 2015
- Replies: 44
- Views: 12118
Re: Grand Final Spoilers For Wednesday December 23rd 2015
Have to say I was also a bit taken aback by the conundrum - it's not a word you could really expect people to have heard of, and it's certainly not one you could expect anyone to guess without knowing the word. However, this could obviously have worked against either player, so it shouldn't take awa...
- Mon Dec 21, 2015 6:21 pm
- Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
- Topic: Spoilers For Monday December 21st 2015
- Replies: 30
- Views: 7983
Re: Spoilers For Monday December 21st 2015
Very exciting and high-standard contest, well done to both of you.
- Sat Nov 21, 2015 4:28 pm
- Forum: Countdown - General
- Topic: Ask Graeme?
- Replies: 1741
- Views: 758844
Re: Ask Graeme?
Actually, Graham Nash has already done so (as well as a 14-rounder).
- Mon Nov 09, 2015 2:35 pm
- Forum: Countdown - Current recaps
- Topic: Thursday 5th November 2015 ( Series 73 Prelim 87 )
- Replies: 3
- Views: 2259
Re: Thursday 5th November 2015 ( Series 73 Prelim 87 )
Heh, I hadn't noticed that, good spot. As clear an example of the lack of internal logic in this 'dictionary' (or more accurately, disjointed mash-up of two dictionaries) as I've seen.
- Mon Nov 09, 2015 12:07 pm
- Forum: Countdown - Current recaps
- Topic: Thursday 5th November 2015 ( Series 73 Prelim 87 )
- Replies: 3
- Views: 2259
Re: Thursday 5th November 2015 ( Series 73 Prelim 87 )
NOVATEURS is now valid for a nine in R5.
- Sat Oct 10, 2015 1:23 pm
- Forum: Off-topic
- Topic: Questions you've always wanted answered
- Replies: 1615
- Views: 723784
Re: Questions you've always wanted answered
Looks to me like 'hot' threads are simply those with at least 14 replies.
- Thu Oct 08, 2015 2:37 pm
- Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
- Topic: Spoilers for Thursday October 8th 2015 (S73 P68)
- Replies: 47
- Views: 14896
Re: Spoilers for Thursday October 8th 2015 (S73 P68)
Having seen your performances on apterous and co-events, James, I can't recall a stronger player (at the time) to have been beaten on their first game. Terribly unlucky - you'd have been an entirely plausible series champion. But there's no shame in losing to John there, he played brilliantly. As ot...
- Wed Oct 07, 2015 12:15 pm
- Forum: apterous.org
- Topic: aptoquirks
- Replies: 3
- Views: 5937
Re: aptoquirks
This did happen once before, and the threshold was lowered to 2 nominations (and even then, there was only one option).
- Sat Oct 03, 2015 4:35 pm
- Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
- Topic: Spoilers for Friday October 2nd 2015 (S73 P64)
- Replies: 27
- Views: 9082
- Thu Oct 01, 2015 1:58 pm
- Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
- Topic: Spoilers for Thursday October 1st 2015 (S73 P63)
- Replies: 4
- Views: 3130
Re: Spoilers for Thursday October 1st 2015 (S73 P63)
Another new-OED beater from Ray Wilding corner - RETRAXIT.
- Wed Sep 30, 2015 1:49 pm
- Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
- Topic: Spoilers for Wednesday September 30th 2015 (S73 P62)
- Replies: 7
- Views: 4032
Re: Spoilers for Wednesday September 30th 2015 (S73 P62)
HOTELISE for a new-ODO beater in R12. Ray Wilding also spotted OVERSLID (a likely 'common sense' derivative of the new OVERSLIDE) in an earlier round.
- Sat Sep 26, 2015 4:35 pm
- Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
- Topic: Spoilers for Wednesday September 23rd 2015 (S73 P58)
- Replies: 10
- Views: 4330
Re: Spoilers for Wednesday September 23rd 2015 (S73 P58)
It makes no sense to pluralise a modifier, surely that can't have been her thinking. Last time I heard, fabrics was still one of the listed categories of mass nouns that could be pluralised, so she'd have justification for allowing it on that basis, though that rule hasn't always been applied before .
- Mon Sep 14, 2015 11:25 am
- Forum: Countdown - General
- Topic: The red and white tiles story. Truth or sloblock?
- Replies: 30
- Views: 7381
Re: The red and white tiles story. Truth or sloblock?
I did always think the idea of refilming an entire series seemed rather strange, it'd surely have taken an unbelievable amount of effort and expenditure to get everyone back there again, and would it really have been worth it when you're going to have end up showing the red tiles some of the time an...
- Fri Sep 04, 2015 2:26 pm
- Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
- Topic: Spoilers for Friday September 4th 2015 (S73 P46)
- Replies: 18
- Views: 6205
Re: Spoilers for Friday September 4th 2015 (S73 P46)
'Not a word' - thought that abbreviation had spread from apterous to here by now but seemingly not. I'm presuming SURFMANS would never be allowed, even though ODO doesn't give us any reason not to.