Archive for the 'Headline Game' Category

Fact vs. Fiction

Shakespeare Teacher Special Feature

Thursday, March 15th, 2007

Well, I’m off to the Shakespeare Teacher conference. I’m very excited about attending, but it means that I may have to step away from the blog for a few days. I’ll post when I can, but I’ll probably be more interested in blogging about the conference than in keeping up with my regular features.

But what if I could leave behind just one post that combines all of my regular features for the week? Why, we’d just have to call that a Shakespeare Teacher Special Feature! Here’s how it breaks down:

  • I. Please find below eight brand-new riddles. This should more than satisfy fans of the Thursday Morning Riddle. Each answer will be one word. Please tell us which number you’re solving and your one-word answer.
  • II. Once the riddles have been solved, place the eight one-word answers in the Venn Diagram below, using the numbers as guides. This will be your Conundrum. Can you guess the rules? Venn diagram explanation and sample here.
  • III. The answer to Circle A (Riddles 1,3,5,7) will be a place. To stand in for the fact vs. fiction Headline Game, can you name three fictional television shows (of at least four seasons each) that are set in this real-life place?
  • IV. The answer to Circle B (Riddles 2,3,6,7) will be a question. This is the Question of the Week. Once the games are done, feel free to discuss this question in the comments below. I have already registered my opinion elsewhere on the blog.
  • V. The answer to Circle C (Riddles 7,4,6,5) will be a historical person. I was able to link this person to Sir Francis Bacon in four degrees, though that shouldn’t stop you from posting a longer response, or looking for a shorter one. Entries will be accepted until midnight on Thursday, March 22.

Use the comments section below to register any and all answers, discussion, and comments. I won’t be around much the next couple of days to moderate this, so please work together. If someone posts an answer you think is right, go ahead and say so and offer some words of encouragement. Also, feel free to pass this along to anyone you think may be interested. Here is the direct link.

If this is all too overwhelming or confusing, then just enjoy these eight riddles, and I’ll be back soon to talk about something simple, like Shakespeare.

The Riddles:

1. I act Maynard G. Krebs, and I Gilligan feign;
I’m the Mile High hub; leaving on a jet plane;
With the dinosaurs gone, I’m the last to remain;
And peppers, ham, onions, and eggs I contain.

2. I’m a weave, or the shirt type for which it is known;
I’m the college of Thatcher and William Gladstone;
I’m an unabridged lexicon, standing alone;
And I’m also the clay that preserves a fish bone.

3. I was first worn by Chaplin before his divorce;
I’m a race to be run by a three-year-old horse;
When in cars, I’m a wreck; when on skates, I use force;
And the kids on their soap boxes follow my course.

4. I’m the former first lady of all New York State;
A Nobel-winning chemist who won for a date;
A survivor on Lost with too sudden a fate;
And an ex-Cheney aide who is now an inmate.

5. A brigade made of Wolverines served my command,
When the Sioux and Cheyenne boldy tried to expand.
But the Little Big Horn didn’t go quite as planned,
When I stood up to Sitting Bull – that’s my last stand.

6. If you’re bringing me home, it can be quite a slog;
You can link me to Hoffman or to Skip the Dog;
I’m a fried strip of meat from the gut of a hog;
And a regular feature right here on the blog.

7. I am not Robert Browning, but captured his soul;
I am Stanton, and Hurley, and Taylor, and Dole;
Though I lost that which Shakespeare in Love from me stole;
It was won back by Helen for playing my role.

8. Both the lion and lamb are my two weather guides;
I’m the music of Sousa; the steps it provides;
When in basketball, madness; in history, strides;
In the middle, a novel; Beware of the Ides!

Who are we? 

UPDATE: Riddles 1-6 and 8 solved by Andrew.  Riddle 7 solved by DeLisa.  Circles B and C solved by Annalisa.  See comments for all answers. 

The Headline Game – 3/14/07

Wednesday, March 14th, 2007

Real life or parody? Sometimes, I can’t tell the difference anymore. That’s when it’s time for the Headline Game.

Below are two headlines from CNN.com and two headlines from The Onion. Can you spot which are the real headlines and which are the fakes?

1. Hard-bitten New Yorkers want mugger’s head
2. NHL signs broadcast deal with Food Network
3. Sharpton says he’s not jealous of Obama
4. White House adds eight inches to White House fence

Note: Capitalization on the Onion headlines changed to match the style of CNN.

Answers: Story 1, Story 2, Story 3, Story 4

How did you do?

The Headline Game – 3/7/07

Wednesday, March 7th, 2007

Once again, there’s nothing to work with today at The Onion. The fake headlines are all clearly fake headlines. So this week I invite you to play a different game.

Six of the twelve places below can be found in Earthsea, a fictional world in the works of fantasy writer Ursula K. Le Guin. The other six places are very real, and can be found within the human body. Can you tell the biological places from the fantastical?

  1. Bars of Uny
  2. Circle of Willis
  3. The Dragon’s Run
  4. Gate of Selidor
  5. The Isle of the Ear
  6. The Islets of Langerhans
  7. Loop of Henle
  8. Low Torning
  9. Luschka’s Crypts
  10. McBurney’s Point
  11. Outer Innran
  12. Space of Disse

Answers: Earthsea, The Human Body

How did you do?

The Headline Game – 2/28/07

Wednesday, February 28th, 2007

Real life or parody? Sometimes, I can’t tell the difference anymore. That’s when it’s time for the Headline Game.

Below are two headlines from CNN.com and two headlines from The Onion. Can you spot which are the real headlines and which are the fakes?

1. Bill Clinton waiting until after primaries to endorse candidate
2. Colorado governor vows to “arm-wrestle” for jobs
3. Oscars reveal widening gap between best, worst dressed
4. Study: Vanity on the rise among college students

Note: Capitalization on the Onion headlines changed to match the style of CNN.

Answers: Story 1, Story 2, Story 3, Story 4

How did you do?

The Headline Game – 2/21/07

Wednesday, February 21st, 2007

There’s absolutely nothing to work with today at The Onion. The fake headlines are all clearly fake headlines. So instead, this week I invite you to play a different game. Sorry for the last minute substitution.

Six of the twelve names below have been the Secretary General of the United Nations. The other six are characters from Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace. Can you tell the historical names from the fantastical?

  1. Padme Amidala
  2. Kofi Annan
  3. Jar Jar Binks
  4. Boutros-Boutros Gali
  5. Lord Gladwyn Jebb
  6. Qui-Gon Jinn
  7. Obi-Wan Kenobi
  8. Ban Ki-Moon
  9. Trygve Halvdan Lie
  10. U Thant
  11. Chancellor Finis Valorum
  12. Mace Windu

Bonus Question: Can you pick out the current UN Secretary General from the list?

Answers: Phantom Menace, United Nations

How did you do?

The Headline Game – 2/14/07

Wednesday, February 14th, 2007

Real life or parody? Sometimes, I can’t tell the difference anymore. That’s when it’s time for the Headline Game.

Below are two headlines from CNN.com and two headlines from The Onion. Can you spot which are the real headlines and which are the fakes?

1. Apple hard at work making iPhone obsolete
2. Group wants bus drivers to hang up their phones
3. Sharks kill four people in “dull” year
4. Westminster Dog Show finalists form elite Iditarod team

Note: CNN headlines taken from front page of CNN.com; headline of actual story may differ. Capitalization on the Onion headlines changed to match CNN.

Answers: Story 1, Story 2, Story 3, Story 4

How did you do?

The Headline Game – 2/7/07

Wednesday, February 7th, 2007

Real life or parody? Sometimes, I can’t tell the difference anymore. That’s when it’s time for the Headline Game.

Below are two headlines from CNN.com and two headlines from The Onion. Can you spot which are the real headlines and which are the fakes?

1. Ancient boy’s skeleton sparks evolution debate
2. Mysterious Congressman announces dark horse candidacy
3. Thousands lose jobs as Michigan unemployment offices close
4. World’s oldest newspaper now exists only online

Note: CNN Headlines taken from front page of CNN.com; headline of actual story may differ. Capitalization on the Onion headlines changed to match CNN.

Answers: Story 1, Story 2, Story 3, Story 4

How did you do?

The Headline Game – 1/31/07

Wednesday, January 31st, 2007

Real life or parody? Sometimes, I can’t tell the difference anymore. That’s when it’s time for the Headline Game.

Below are two headlines from CNN.com and two headlines from The Onion. Can you spot which are the real headlines and which are the fakes?

1. Ailing Castro begins 750,000 last words
2. Lasers and radars pack cars in robotic garage
3. Pentagon halts sales of F-14 parts
4. White House quietly retracts entire State of the Union address

Note: CNN Headlines taken from front page of CNN.com; headline of actual story may differ. Capitalization on the Onion headlines changed to match CNN.

Answers: Story 1, Story 2, Story 3, Story 4

How did you do?

The Headline Game – 1/24/07

Wednesday, January 24th, 2007

Real life or parody? Sometimes, I can’t tell the difference anymore.

Below are two headlines from CNN and two headlines from The Onion. Can you spot which are the real headlines and which are the fakes?

1. Bush rushing to get nation in order before Hu Jintao’s visit
2. Golfing parakeet gains fame on Web
3. Northeast stunned by freak January snowfall
4. Senator on more troops: ‘We better be damn sure’

Note: CNN Headlines taken from front page; headline of actual story may differ. Capitalization on the Onion headlines changed to match CNN.

Answers: Story 1, Story 2, Story 3, Story 4

How did you do?