Playground Squares XII: Where the fun never ends. EVER!

[Zar Peter]

Fill me up as square please.

[Cuthalion]

Square, if you please.

[Disc Lorde]

Square me.

[Duck999]

I'll be a square!

[BasketOfPuppies]

I've never been a contestant. May I?

[Silent_Interim]

I'll square up on this one, if you would.

[Penguinator]

Maybe I'll get a better square this time...

[Thematthew]

I'll be a square.

[Rain Dragon]

Is there a square for me too?

[Lex-Kat]

Maybe I'll get a better square this time...

I don't see how you could have gotten a better square. It's not the square's fault the contestants all went to the top row first.

[Penguinator]

I don't see how you could have gotten a better square. It's not the square's fault the contestants all went to the top row first.

Easy. People naturally gravitate towards the corners. The plus sign formation is less likely for picks within the first two or three rounds.

[GAAD]

I'll be a square, Folded. Riddles are the forte of TRUE Fae.
Also it gives me a reason to slack off at work. Not that I needed one before. Narrators are kind of expected to.

[Disc Lorde]

That's 9 squares, are we going to start?

[Lex-Kat]

Game on! Someone choose a Square and a Category.


Categories

1. M
2. N
3. P
4. R

Felandria	vs.	BasketofPuppies
F		B

__PLAY__	GROUND	SQUARES
Rain Dragon	Silent_Interim	Zar Peter
Cuthalion	Penguinator	Duck999
Thematthew	Disc Lorde	GAAD

[Cuthalion]

I choose myself with P!

...oh you probably meant a contestant? how're we supposed to tell?

[BasketOfPuppies]

I'll choose Cuthalion with P, for his sake.

[Fawkes]

Silent Interim really needs an avatar that doesn't look like someone already took his square.

[Penguinator]

I'll choose Cuthalion with P, for his sake.

*doesn't get chosen in previous game*

*is in the middle box*
*username starts with P*

Welp, I give up.

[Lex-Kat]

In honor of Penguinator not being chosen, we shall ask a question about.... Penguins! Penguins are funny lil' creatures. I say little, but Emperor Penguins can reach heights of 122 cm, and they have found remains that suggests that an extinct variation could reach the heights of the average male. My personal favorite is the Fairy Penguin, also known officially as the Little (Blue) Penguin of Australia and New Zealand. These little cuties only average about 33 cm in height.

For most people, myself included, when they think of penguins their minds almost immediately think of Antarctica. But actually, most species (apparently) are tropical. In fact, one silly penguin dares to live North of the equator. So, Cuthalion, any idea what the name of this particular variation of penguin is?

[Cuthalion]

Oh, thanks for asking this question, Lex. You see, I do have a certain.... fondness for penguins, as well as many other living things, and have duly read and learned about them quite a bit. So I think I'm pretty qualified to answer this. The penguin we're talking about is the Humboldt Penguin, named after the cold Humboldt Current it swims in, which is, again, named after the explorer Alexander von Humboldt. Most of its range is below the equator, along the coast of Southern America down in Chile and such, but if I remember correctly a small portion of its range overlaps the equator, giving it the dubious honor of Farthest North Penguin.

The little blue penguin, however, is still the best penguin.

[BasketOfPuppies]

I'm going to agree, not only to the Humbolt penguin point, but also that the little blues are the best.

[Penguinator]

I'm going to agree, not only to the Humbolt penguin point, but also that the little blues are the best.

Crack-a-Thoom!!

Sorry, mate. Not only is the most northern penguin the Galapagos penguin, but Chile does not cross over the equator.

Felandria waddles into the square.

Categories

1. M
2. N
3. R
4. S

Felandria	vs.	BasketofPuppies
F		B

__PLAY__	GROUND	SQUARES
Rain Dragon	Silent_Interim	Zar Peter
F
Cuthalion	Penguinator	Duck999
Thematthew	Disc Lorde	GAAD

I don't know why the F won't get bigger.

Felandria, choose a square and category.

We will now return to your usual hostess.

[Zar Peter]

I got a bigger F

Categories

1. M
2. N
3. R
4. S

Felandria	vs.	BasketofPuppies
F		B

__PLAY__	GROUND	SQUARES
Rain Dragon	Silent_Interim	Zar Peter
F
Cuthalion	Penguinator	Duck999
Thematthew	Disc Lorde	GAAD

[Lex-Kat]

Okay. Felandria, choose a Square and a Category from either of the two boards above this post.

[Felandria]

Thanks for finding the appropriate sized F for me

Penguinator, considering your avvie, it seems only appropriate I go with R

[Penguinator]

Thanks for finding the appropriate sized F for me

Penguinator, considering your avvie, it seems only appropriate I go with R

Clevaarrrr lass. (lass? Yes? Maybe?)

[Lex-Kat]

Since we arrrr going pirate, let's start by talking about Rigging. Rigging is the apparatus on sailing ships and boats that allow the vessel to move via the wind. In general, the rigging is made up of three things: Cordage (ropes, cords, and yarns), the sails (the cloth sheets), and the spars (masts and other solid objects the sails are attached to).

The cordage is a very important part of the rigging. You see it all the time in pirate and other movies that involve a sail boat, but most people (I think) pretty much ignore it's beauty and importance for the obvious magnificence of the sails. Those blasted aerofoils always steal the show with their billowing and sometimes pretty designs. But the cordage is intricate. Each rope or line has a specific job to do in raising and lowering, turning and manipulating of those sails. And this is where the expressions 'Learning/Knowing the ropes' comes from.

This brings us to Anne Jane Thornton. At the age of fifteen, she followed her heart across the sea for a Captain named Alexander Burke. Since she was without her father's permission to leave, she had to travel incognito, a cabin boy, and away she went to New York, likely 'learning the ropes' as she sailed. Unfortunately, she learned upon her arrival the her captain had died two days previous. With her new looks, and having no where else she needed to be, she joined the crew of The Adelaide, and began her life as a professional sailor, mostly as a cook.

It wasn't until her fifth ship that she was accidently discovered as she bathed in her berth, by a sailor who caught sight of her bosom and threatened to expose her if she refused him sex. She refused, and was taken to the captain. For the rest of the trip to London, she was mistreated by the crew. Though from what I have read (limited, since I can't get ahold of her book), it is never mentioned that she is raped, only physically and verbally abused. Which is of course, bad enough.

Happy ending though. It looks as though she was paid by Captain McIntyre, who seems to have felt bad about putting her to work with the rest of the crew, in hindsight. She also is given faire to return home by the Lord Mayor of London (William Taylor Copeland, MP), the use of a nearby farm, rent-free, by a Mr. Andrew Murray, and a pension of £10 a year by the King himself, William IV. She married a good friend who saved her from a group of would-be forceful suitors, had a son with him, and lead what seems to be a good life to the age of 60.

The question I give to you, Penguinator, what was the name of the ship that 'Jim' Thornton was to be discovered as Anne Thornton?

[Penguinator]

Intarrestingly enough, the ship on which Anne Thornton was so admonished for being a woman was itself named after a woman. Not quite as fancy as The Adelaide, Thornton was exposed on a ship known simply as The Sarah.

[Felandria]

Wow, I don't have the slightest clue.

But, I really like the name Sarah.

So I'll Agree.

[BasketOfPuppies]

Wow, I don't have the slightest clue.

But, I really like the name Sarah.

So I'll Agree.

Good to know that my opponent and I are equally skilled at this game