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

Who is the youngest of the Monty Python crew?

Michael Palin

the lighting guy ..no no wait ..the continuity assistant.

why doesn't anyone ask questions which i know the answer to?

^. .^
= ' =

It's a conspiracy!

But damn, I knew it and didn't get here on time... *sigh*

¦M¦

Never even second! always third or lated

Hi Ming Mang, how are you?


Dancer

Same here...

Hey Dancer! I'm fine, if rather bored... how are you?

¦M¦

Aw, nuts! I was going to try and enter this thing, but I missed the first question because I was talking to Ming.

I'm fine, but sadly at work


Dancer

^. .^
= ' =

Silly ole work...

¦M¦

i don't *do* work
^. .^
= ' =

I'm not surprised, I don't blame you, etc etc...
I don't w*rk either.

¦M¦

Bagpuss is right. As I always miss the related information in such cases, I shall tell you all of them. Then we can send them birthday cards!

Michael Palin, 5 May 1943
Terry Jones, 1 Feb 1942
Terry Gilliam, 22 Nov 1940
John Cleese, 27 October 1939
Graham Chapman, 8 January 1941
Eric Idle, 29 March 1943

A web search (my book dates from 1983) gives Graham Chapman's date of death as 4 October 1989.

Oh - and the "birth" of Monty Python (date of first broadcast) is: 5 October 1969

So the question is now with Bagpuss.

If I understand jwf's right, he suggests continuing in one thread, so Bagpuss should, in that case, just post his question as a reply to this posting.

Hey, wow, I was right (or, more honestly, my housemate was right).

Anyway, here goes:

Albert, Brian and Clarence (aka A, B and C) agree to fight a truel (like a duel, but with three people). Now A is a crack shot and will be able to shoot whoever he aims at, whereas B will hit 2/3 of the time and poor C only 1/3. To make things a bit fairer it is agreed that C gets first shot, followed by B (if he's still alive) and then A and then back to C again (you get the idea). What should C do to have the best chance of survival?

Run away?
What a terrible start for me.

My intuitive feeling is that C should shoot in the air until one of the others kills the other, then C should aim at the survivor. If C kills B at the start, he will be certainly by killed by A. If C kills A at the start, he will likely be killed by B. So his only chance is get one of the others killed with him getting the next go.

A will probably shoot and kill B the first thing he does, thereby getting rid of his worst competition. For the same reason, B will probably try to kill A first. So if C shoots at A the first thing he does, A -will- die during the first round, statistically speaking. (1/3 + 2/3 = 1) Probably from B's bullet. Problem is that B will now probably kill A...

Uh, I mean C. A is dead already.