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Re: Playground Squares XII: Where the fun never ends. EVER!
World War I, originally known as The Great War as it was believed that it would be the war to end all wars. Obviously this was not true. :smallsigh: The war started all because a Yugoslav assassin killed the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, Archduke Franz Ferdinand. This began a ping-pong effect of one country after another adhering to their treaties with other countries to defend one another from their allies enemies. And like a nightmarish game of dominoes, it seemed that all of Europe had fallen into the war, as well as eventually dragging in outside help from non-continental allies.
By the end of the war, the machines we officially know as tanks had been invented, the usefulness of air warfare had been proven, and trench-warfare was seen as so-last-century when it came to tactical advantage. The Central Axis powers loss their sovereignty, many of them losing borders and land as punishment for their part in the war. The German, Russian, Ottoman, and Austro-Hungarian Empires no longer existed. National boarders were redrawn, creating new or recreating old countries in their place. Germanys colonies were parceled off to other countries as reparations for their hand in the war. All of this had future repercussions that no one then foresaw coming. Well, except for maybe France, who built the useless Maginot Line in preparation for the next war. You know, the one that wasn't supposed to ever happen?
But there was one more important development of The Great War, the League of Nations. Much like today's United Nations (and it was the precursor of that institution), it was intended to prevent wars through arbitration and negotiation. To begin disarmament of all the world's militaries. And to watch for aggressors who threatened the peace. It wasn't much good at doing any of those things. Another comparison with the U.N. is that it was supposed to consist of Five Great Powers to provide the foundation and stability for the League. The United States senate rejected the idea of joining the International League, which Woodrow Wilson campaigned for, leaving it to just four Great Powers. Silent_Interim, aside from France and Great Britain, name one of the other two "Great Powers" to join as permanent members of the League of Nations.
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Re: Playground Squares XII: Where the fun never ends. EVER!
I'm a little disappointed that you left Woodrow Wilson out of the question, as that would have been two more w's.
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Re: Playground Squares XII: Where the fun never ends. EVER!
:smallconfused: I'm sure you missed it. Look again.
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Re: Playground Squares XII: Where the fun never ends. EVER!
Ah, yes. The League of Nations- like the U.N., but even less productive.
As Lex mentioned, the United States refused to join, which was part of what led to the organization being so unsuccessful. It fell apart in the following years without having achieved a great deal, partly because of U.S. absence. One of the major powers that did join, of course, was the Soviet Union.
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Re: Playground Squares XII: Where the fun never ends. EVER!
Ooh, I know this one I think!
The Soviet Union DID join the League, but not right away, it was originally Japan and Italy as the other two, and then Germany joined.
Then Germany left along with Japan and THEN the Soviets joined.
Not to be confused with the League of Nations in WWE, which was Ireland, Bulgaria, Mexico and England, but they're lame so forget them :smalltongue:
So, the only question for me is if the fact that they joined later counts.
I guess not, so I Disagree.
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Re: Playground Squares XII: Where the fun never ends. EVER!
Correct! Both in disagreeing and with who the other two permanent member-nations were.
BasketofPuppies, choose a Square and a Category.
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Re: Playground Squares XII: Where the fun never ends. EVER!
Hows it going, Disc Lorde?
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Re: Playground Squares XII: Where the fun never ends. EVER!
During World War II, Japan was invading all the Pacific rim countries that produce rubber, making it hard for other countries to buy the valuable substance that goes into important things like tires, gas masks, boots, rafts, and vehicles of many varieties. In order to circumvent this problem, the call was put out for inventors to find something, anything, that could be used as a substitute for rubber. I don't believe a proper substitute was ever discovered, but what was discovered was Silly Putty!
Two men have been sited as the possible inventors of the substance: Earl Warrick was a chemist who worked for Dow Corning, and James Wright was an inventor who worked at General Electric. Both claim basically the same story, that they were working with silicone in an attempt to recreate the same properties as rubber. Both claim that they mixed boric acid into the compound, and both claim that it was only after they had initially decided the creation was a failure, that they began to notice the unique properties of the substance.
What's interesting is that when you look up the patents, you'll see that Warrick, along with his patent partner Rob Roy McGregor, did indeed receive patent #US2431878 on 30Mar1943. Whereas Wright's patent #US2541851 was issued on 23Dec1944. So it does look as if Warrick was indeed the true inventor of Silly Putty, regardless of Crayola's official stance.
Regardless of who truly invented it, it has become a world-wide phenomena, giving joy to millions of kids, and adults, around the world since it was first put on the market in 1949. So the question I put to you, Disc_Lorde, who was the creative soul who first saw the potential in this bouncy, stretchy, viscoelastic, petroleum-based ink transferring, adhesive toy?
On second thought... that might make this too hard. So these days, the putty is sold in various colors and with various additional effects, such as being metallic, magnetic, and even glow-in-the-dark. Disc_Lorde, about how much putty, in ounces, can be found inside the plastic egg it's sold within?
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Re: Playground Squares XII: Where the fun never ends. EVER!
Gah, I completely forgot about this. :smalleek: Sorry about that. I really don't know, never bought one of those eggs. So I'm going to guess one ounce because that's a nice round number.
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Re: Playground Squares XII: Where the fun never ends. EVER!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Disc Lorde
Gah, I completely forgot about this. :smalleek: Sorry about that. I really don't know, never bought one of those eggs. So I'm going to guess one ounce because that's a nice round number.
It's actually rather square.
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Re: Playground Squares XII: Where the fun never ends. EVER!
Sorry that I didn't respond. I opened the thread and it didn't register for whatever reason.
I'll agree, since it lets me cover 2 types of measurements at once!
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Re: Playground Squares XII: Where the fun never ends. EVER!
Incorrect.BZZZZZZT!
Silly Putty used to be sold in 1 oz. portions, but sometime in it's history (my guess is after Crayola bought the rights to it), it began to be sold by .46 oz. (though I would have accepted .5 or half an ounce as acceptable answers) portions.
And in case anyone is curious as to the answer to the original question: In 1949, Ruth Fallgatter borrowed money to market the bouncing putty, along with Peter Hodgson.
But you can't win due to your opponent getting the answer wrong, so...
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Re: Playground Squares XII: Where the fun never ends. EVER!
X marks the spot, Disc Lorde.
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Re: Playground Squares XII: Where the fun never ends. EVER!
Pixies love Xylophones. It's true, though most humanoids don't know this, as the flute does a much better job of entrancing my people. We don't particularly care for the glockenspiel though. It's metallic resonance hurts our ears and we usually, but not always, flee from the noise. In fact, humans foolishly began giving their children toys they called pixiphone's in the 50s. To the uninformed, it was just a noisy toy that entertained young children for hours (or minutes, depending on how ADD the child was). But for those who hate and fear pixies, it was a weapon to protect their children from harm. But really people, what kind of harm could a nice pixie like me cause? Pixies love children. They play games, laugh, sing. Unlike mind-numbing adults who have, for the most part, forgotten what fun really is. :smallannoyed: Boo.
Now what was I... Oh right! Xylophones. The bars on a Xylophone, unlike glockenspiels, are made of wood. They have a rich tone that just soothes and... Damn it. Concentrate! There are many types of Xylophones, across the world. It is believed that the musical instrument originated in Southeast Asia, and spread eastward into Africa, and then North into Europe where some idiot lovely person got the wonderful idea of replacing the wooden bars with metal. :smallmad: Have I mentioned yet that we don't particularly like glockenspiels?
Anywho... There are many types... Oh. I already stated that fact. Okay, let's finish this. Disc Lorde, What orchestral piece, beloved during the Halloween season, was the first to incorporate an orchestral xylophone into the music?
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Re: Playground Squares XII: Where the fun never ends. EVER!
Oh, sorry. :smalleek: I saw this and even decided on a response and then it completely slipped my mind.
Uhhh, hm. I don't really know that much about orchestras, or uncommon musical instruments. An instrument with bars, hm. Piano's kind of have bars, and that's common in halloween music. So I'm going to go with piano.
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Re: Playground Squares XII: Where the fun never ends. EVER!
I, uh, think you misunderstood the question. Orchestral piece of music. Like... Mozart's 5th symphony? Beethoven's Emperor Concerto?
Don't answer whether you believe Disc Lorde or not. :smalleek: We seemed to have gotten our wires crossed.
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Re: Playground Squares XII: Where the fun never ends. EVER!
Oh, I see. Sorry! That's actually even harder. Ummm....
Uhhh...
Flight of the Bumblebee?
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Re: Playground Squares XII: Where the fun never ends. EVER!
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Re: Playground Squares XII: Where the fun never ends. EVER!
Incorrect.BZZZZZZT!
The answer is Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saëns in 1874. BasketOfPuppies gets the Square.
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Re: Playground Squares XII: Where the fun never ends. EVER!
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Re: Playground Squares XII: Where the fun never ends. EVER!
I know not, young hounds... I know not... I often ask myself the very same question, in fact.
(Also, sorry about the late reply. I don't have internet at home still. /grumbles )
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Re: Playground Squares XII: Where the fun never ends. EVER!
I'll agree, since I too don't know.
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Re: Playground Squares XII: Where the fun never ends. EVER!
Keeping with the musical theme of the previous question, the question "Y" brings to mind the YMCA. The Young Men's Christian Association, parodied in Monty Python, and with a beloved party song by the Village People.
The Village People are known for their songs "Macho Man," "YMCA," and "In the Navy." They are also known for their fantastic costumes, so much so that people who joined the group later were introduced as replacements for costumes, rather than instruments like in many bands. (In fact, the timeline is shown this way on Wikipedia) One member in particular stands out for his love of his costume. Not one of the original members, he joined in 1978, remaining a member until 1996. Rain Dragon, what is the name of the member of the Village People who was buried in his biker outfit in 2001?
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Re: Playground Squares XII: Where the fun never ends. EVER!
(I'm really sorry about the super long wait. X.x)
I'm not very good with names nor am I very familiar with the Village People. I don't even remember all of the costumes... I think aside from the biker there was a police person.
Um.
I think one of the members was named Glenn Hughes.
Maybe it was Glenn Hughes.
(Sorry about the lame answer too XP Trying to post from work)
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Re: Playground Squares XII: Where the fun never ends. EVER!
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Re: Playground Squares XII: Where the fun never ends. EVER!
Incorrect.
DUNG!
The world has spawned two musicians who go by Glenn Hughes, a fact which I did not know until I googled Glenn Hughes. Glenn Hughes is most known for his work with Trapeze, Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath. Glenn M. Hughes is best known for being the long-standing Biker in the Village People and being buried while wearing his iconic costume.
Nobody gets the square.
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Re: Playground Squares XII: Where the fun never ends. EVER!
Rain Dragon, shall we go to the end of the alphabet with a Z
