Wikipedia:Wikifun/Round 8/Answers/Question 17

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Hint: the empress is Empress Eugenie. Eugene van der Pijll 12:34, 24 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Stumped[edit]

Well it's too cryptic for me - I have no idea how these solve the equation, but in case it helps anyone:

  • Moses Horwitz - birth name of Moe Howard, leader of the 3 stooges
  • James Parry - usenet celebrity, nicknamed Kibo
  • where the U.S. won 12 Olympic gold medals - Athens, Greece in the 1906 Summer Olympics
  • the author of a national anthem, from Antwerp - possibly Alexandre Dechet ak Jenneval, credited as writing The Brabançonne, national anthem of Belgium (could also be Philips van Marnix, lord of Sint-Aldegonde, who wrote the Dutch national anthem, and was burgemeester of Antwerp)
  • Empress of France - the last one was Maria Eugenia Ignacia Augustina Palafox de Guzmán Portocarrero y Kirkpatrick, 9th Countess de Teba, aka Eugénie de Montijo (what a name!)

-- Thejesterx 14:44, 25 Apr 2005 (UTC)

The equation is H - P - O - A - 100 = E, so:
  • H could be 3, 1897, 1975;
  • P could be 1967, 5895, 7, 4, 10;
  • O could be 1906, 12;
  • A could be 1538, 1598, 59, 1830;
  • E could be 9, 1826, 3, 94, 1920;
Apart from that, no idea. Alphax τεχ 16:20, 26 Apr 2005 (UTC)
I can confirm that Thejesterx has identified 3 answers correctly (not counting the author of the national anthem). Unfortunately, none of the numbers given by Alphax are correct. Eugene van der Pijll 16:51, 26 Apr 2005 (UTC)

I think: H = 30,439 P = 14,500 O = 582 E = 45 & that makes A=15,212

But I have a feeling I may be wrong somewhere. Any hints? Papable Prostate 09:27, 2 May 2005 (UTC)[reply]

You are indeed wrong; for example: A is not 15,212; A is 5002. Perhaps it also helps if I tell you the variables are in decreasing order? Eugene van der Pijll 10:08, 2 May 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Which means O=H-P-A-E-100=10,792 which on List_of_asteroids_(10001-11000) is Ecuador. Did the olympic team get lost or just me? Papable Prostate 11:55, 2 May 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Wow, good work, Papabile! FreplySpang (talk) 12:00, 2 May 2005 (UTC)[reply]
I think I can award at least part of the points to PP, but it would be nice if the correct answer is given too. Ecuador isn't correct, of course. The first (and only other guess) for O was Athens. But the total number of Olympic gold medals the United States won in Athens is much higher than 12... Eugene van der Pijll 12:19, 2 May 2005 (UTC)[reply]
I looked through the past medal tallies, winter and summer, and the only time I found that the US won 12 medals (small for them at Summer games) was in Athens in 1906 -- Thejesterx 12:25, 2 May 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Asteroids 582 & 1022 are named after Olympia and the Olympics but neither are correct. Other Olympic cities are 8837 London, 945 Barcelona, 10552 Stockholm, 1495 Helsinki, 787 Moskva, 1294 Antwerp, 4356 Marathon, 472 Roma, 301 Bavaria, 241 Germania. Papable Prostate 13:01, 2 May 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Yikes. I got most of the answers, but I never would have thought of the asteroid connection. Now let's see about O. Eugene gave what seems like a big hint...currently working on a theory... --Marnen Laibow-Koser (talk) 15:21, 2 May 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Solved![edit]

Thanks to everyone who nudged me in the right direction. O is 10379 Lake Placid, where the US won 6 gold medals in 1932 and 6 more in 1980, for a grand total of 12. Also, 100 does not equal 100, but rather 513 Centesima (or else the math doesn't come out right). Therefore: H - P - O - A - 100 = 30 439 - 14 500 - 10 379 - 5 002 - 513 = 45 Eugenie. Howzat? --Marnen Laibow-Koser (talk) 15:53, 2 May 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I neglected to mention that Meanings of asteroid names (501-1000) explains the name of 513 Centesima ("hundredth") as originating in the fact that was its discoverer's hundredth asteroid. --Marnen Laibow-Koser (talk) 15:57, 2 May 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Wow, very impressive! Congrats for solving it, and congrats to Eugene van der Pijll for devising it, it was a devillishly difficult one. -- Thejesterx 16:25, 2 May 2005 (UTC)[reply]
{applause) FreplySpang (talk) 16:45, 2 May 2005 (UTC)[reply]
I would never have thought there would be an asteroid named after Lake Placid. Well Done. Papable Prostate 11:45, 3 May 2005 (UTC)[reply]
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