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

Hosni Mubarak is the President of Egypt. His name appears on the front page of the Egyptian newspapers every day. Apparently he leads such a busy life that there is always something to report about him.

So - do I get the next question jwf? Or is it really Orcus? Or was it a trick question and someone had a dog called Pharaoh. Sadat, maybe? Or Omar Sharif?

TC, you set the question. Pose it at a random time so that everybody gets a chance. Give us about 24 hours to answer before you announce who is right.

TC is as right as reign!

Like Orcus says, Julius Ceasar came after the last of the greek Ptolemys, namely Cleopatra et al, and he assumed the title of Pharaoh.
So John Romer (my source) was right (I thought so!).
I guess the other Romans, Mark Anthony, Octavius, et cetera/ad nauseum, did not assume the title of Paraoh because Egypt was by then included in the title Emperor of the Roman Empire.

But since the title does imply 'leader', then Mubarak is the latest.
I shoulda known that .

So yes, TC wins and hopefully will post another question here soon.

peace
jwf (hey at least it wasn't a trick maths question and we all learned something right...?)

PS note to TC:
This job is tougher than it looks, no wonder Greebo got sick of it.

Just a minor point

I believe the question was "Who was the last Pharoah of Egypt?" Not - who was the last leader of Egypt? Isn't suggesting Mubarak it a bit like asking who was the last Tsar of Russia and answering Gorbachev, Yelstin et al? I think that the correct answer would be Julius Caesar if he was the last to carry the title.

Well ... that's my 2c worth anyway

to be honest, im not tha bothered...
^. .^
= ' =

Well, I'll do one and then Orcus can do one. Watch this space.

To reiterate (being a silly old reiterator) the correct answer was as I had originally thought - Julius Ceasar.
But nobody got it, because it's a bit of trick about the 'title' having to be conferred by the people of Egypt (or at least the powers that be in Egypt).
Julius was given the title and no-one else since. All the other 'conquerors' from Mark Anthony to Napoleon and Victoria were Emperors of larger Empires.
Mubarak was at least given the leadership of the Egyptian people more or less by the people of Egypt. And that's as close as anyone got.
So we await TC's pleasure... And she can be as arbitrary as I have been in selecting her 'winner'. It's part of the job when there's no clear winner. Greebo knew.
jwf

Crumbs! I didn't even mean it seriously - but am flattered that you accepted my answer. Trust me to win when the points don't go on the board. New question already posted, folks. I hope not too hard for the weekend. And on Greebo's home page I posted a few lateral thinking ones: http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/F26254?thread=130062

Arrrgh! She started a new thread: http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/F51431?thread=138853

Answers to TC's questions
1. The man was playing monopoly
2. The scrabble champions weren't playing against each other
3. Pass
4. The fifth man was in a coffin

This is spinning out of control!

We now have three threads going including the link TC put above that actually goes to questions she posted to Grebo 5 weeks ago!

Her question for 'winning' this thread is at the link I posted above ..
and here is a cut and paste of a posting I just made at her home page:


Hi. (TC)
I wonder if Bagpuss has answered your Quiz question correctly with Michael Palin. If so, I think you should surrender the baton to him straightaway and let him ask the next question.

Y'see, my problems with the old quiz were that it was:
1.daily, not sequential
2.posted while I was still sleeping in North America
3.and usually a trick maths question.

I'm trying to get a more general knowledge thing going, and the next question is posted when someone answers correctly and wins.

peace
jwf

The only confusion left now is that Brown Furby has answered the four lateral thinking questions here. So I have joined all that lot together in one single thread here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/F51431?thread=138879&post=1276580#p1276580

LOL!
But what happened to Bagpuss who answered your Monty Python question correctly? He was the winner and should be posting the next question here.


Oh I give up on you lot! I really shoulda known that a bunch who favour tricky-maths-puzzles couldn't figger out how to take turns asking general interest questions.

peace
jwf (Move over Julius the world has forgotten us already.)

The way people answer questions round here that would mean a question every 5 minutes and we'd all be and unable to tear ourselves away from a Trivial Pursuit marathon. Give Bagpuss a break - he might not come back online till next Saturday!

Hmmph! Then I'll wait.

~jwf~

So, Ok...

Where are we now?

We're waiting for the results of the question about the tri-person duel. If I win it, I will post the next question here. Hopefully, everyone else will do the same.

Well TC said *I* could go next so there.

So...

A man is lying dead in a field. Next to him is an unopened package. If he had opened this package he would have survived.
What's in the Package?

A parachute