h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I can't believe you did this whole threaqd in 12 hours. I only saw it after the fact.
Oh and by the way your article mentions
The great Russian geneticist Nikolai Vavilov led expeditions in the early 20th century to the Andes and the names given at that time reflected the great variety of potatoes that they found.
In recent years the Russians have been using their icebreakers during summer months to ferry tourists to Antarctica.
I myself took a ride on the "Academik Sergey Vavilov. I wonder if he was related to the geneticist?

I just looked it up and apparently it was his younger brother.

"I can't believe you did this whole thread in 12 hours. I only saw it after the fact."

Well I figured after all the upset and opportunity that the news of the BBC letting us go had caused a little light relief was deserving - and a story about 600 names for the potato sounded like just the thing.



I've another QI on the back burner - still trying to finagle all the clues and misdirections I can muster.

Any other elves out there can jump in any time, 2011 has been a slow start for QI...

Shame it came after the close, explanation and points becuase otherwise that'd have been Quiet Interesting +6

>>Bel knows her limit and keeps well within the legal limit a practically sober +1<<

Not really. I'm
a) a slow thinker
b)I wasn't sober. In fact, I managed to accidentally delete the Front Page of a former issue of the Post last night, so had to try and reconstruct it.

I look forward to your next QI, Clive. Yours often the only ones I attempt at participating in.

I greatly appreciate the vote of confidence in my quiz master abilities Bel
In another life I'd have linked to be a Crossword Compiler, I think or employed by Trivial Pursuit or QI itself but I encourage you to try other people's I can't hog all the glory...

>>I wasn't sober. In fact, I managed to accidentally delete the Front Page of a former issue of the Post last night<<

Whoops!

Linked? Liked! - How'd that happen?

600 synonyms for potatoes!!
If you think I'm being over-enthusiastic, wait till I tell my potato-loving Mum!!!

Glad you enjoyed it SF.

come join us over in my new QI "Happily Violence"

Oh, I will, Clive.

Let's not forget that Guinness is an Irish firm.
The promotion of potatoes is in their interests.
Their claim is to be taken with a pinch of salt.
And perhaps a bit of vinegar. And obviously, they
don't want you to think about water, ever.

~jwf~

These days I suspect Guinness is about as genuinely Irish as most New York cops...

guiness was brewed first because it was a popular drink at the time

like going into the lager business today

it was originaly called a porter, because it was drunk by the porters at the various london markets

I'm not sure that this question was entirely fair. The linked article seems to be referring to taxonomic terms (ie Latin) for potato but there was no Latin word for potato so, technically, there is no synonymity. Otherwise, the question would have to allow for a noun that has the most synonyms in all known languages (including Welsh) That isn't to say that the answer wouldn't still be "potato" but, like I said, I'm not sure it was an entirely fair question.

Your objection is noted; all future correspondence please forward to

The Linnean Society of London
Burlington House
Piccadilly
London
W1J 0BF
United Kingdom

Just my opinion but for me questions don't have to be fair just as answers don't have to be correct, they just have to be interesting and fun

Besides I think the question was fair (as well as fun!) does the nhm article not say 600 synonyms for 'potato' or not?

But regardless - the point is it brought a little levity to h2g2 which is in a severe case of bi-polar with the news from The Towers that we are being cast adrift from the beeb.

On the one hand - opportunity - and on the other - scary.

Hopefully these prove a timely distraction and we can continue QI (and preserve our four-year archvie of questions and answer forums) wherever we end up.....

Baked
boiled
french fried
scalloped
crisps
poutine
home fries
hash browns
Julienne
mashed...

Uhm... just 590 more to go eh!


~jwf~

I rather liked van's post 94.
I reckon he did a nice camouflage job there with
>>...taxonomic terms (ie Latin) for potato but there was no Latin word for potato so...<<

(do tell, van)

I guess that's because Raleigh brought them to Europe, from America, long after Latin died out as a spoken language, and so any Latin word for potato would have to be a retrospectively made up one.


Geggs