Ben day 6

2/6. No idea how to defend today.

1 :( harlequins. Agony. I spent several minutes remembering the name paggliaci and had it written in there until after I assigned D, then decided it was (a) a single guy's name and (b) a lot of syllables for a profession aimed at children. I knew harlequin was a character from Italian theatre so went with that.

2 :( wingback. I don't know what a wingback chair is, but I assumed there was some aviation connection because of SAS.

3 :( Underground Railroad. I figured it was something to do with civil war. I don't know if pony express fits that bill.

4 :( Hawkeye. Was hoping for some sort of mash spin off.

5 :) Michael Jackson. I knew MJ died in 2009 and thought there was a musical about him (I think Alex Nolan was involved)

6 :) helium. Wasn't sure how to separate helium and argon but went helium because it had such a low atomic number that I could imagine it had the more extreme properties.

brad day6

disaster of a day yesterday where i hadnt seen the new top gun (guess harley quinn) and put frankenstein instead of dracula

3/6 today vs taylorz

1) le clown d1/1

no idea

2) swivel d2/1

nope

3) pony express d1/2

didnt know the company but was able to logic this out

4) cheers d3/2

knew this was wrong but had no remotely good guess

5) michael jackson d2/0

had heard of the musical 

6) helium d0/3

pleasantly suprised to get this, a guess but thought it fit

Kim Day 6

Vs. Dave M LLL

I thought I got 0, and I got 0. And I had no idea where to hide points. I knew this start would only last so long!

1 :( Bozos. Best thought I had. D21
2 :( Bean. Close? D11
3 :( Underground Railroad. Nope. D00
4 :( Gilligan. Seemed unlikely. D13
5 :( Aretha Franklin. I was certain Michael Jackson had died sooner and Aretha Franklin died later. They were my only ideas and I went the wrong way. D22
6 :( Methane. I wrote the only colorless odorless gas I am familiar with. D32

Will likely be the only time I am in first place in Rundle E. Will feel good about it for a few more hours!

David S Day 6

The problem with posting first is that I thought my 4/6 yesterday was pretty good until I saw how everyone else did. 

On that note, 2/6 today. I found these hard and none of my guesses were right. But maybe everyone else will get 1/6. Who knows?

1. Bozo :(, D32. No idea. Couldn’t imagine this was right and never had any chance. 
2. Iron throne :(, D21. Lol. I was nowhere close. 
3. Pony Express :), D10. Love this question. My favorite of the season so far. I really wonder how hard it will play. I knew it right away. 
4. Matlock :(, D02. Nope!
5. Stephen Sondheim :(, D11. No idea again. 
6. Helium :), D23. Many paths to getting this one for me. 

Re: Debbie Day 5

Social (almost) - 5/6. And yes, this is the first time I answered in like 5 min and felt decent about my chances. Feels like easiest day I've seen in LL.

1) Top Gun: Maverick.  :) Also haven't seen it but Rooster made me think of Goose / Anthony Edwards per the 1st one.  

2) caffeine :) worried this might be somethinig else but first (and only) thing I thought of in terms of stimulant in food and drink

3) snowboarding :(  wasn't sure it would be right but didn't take time to think of anything else (love the Marty McFly reference)

4) Dracula :) I mean, who else? Count Chocula?

5) Kwanzaa :) feel like this gets discussed a lot these days, at least in my circles!

6) Chemistry :) this book also gets discussed a lot in my circles! top of my to-read list

Ben Day 5 v my Aussie cousin and Seif

5/6

1 :) Maverick Top Gun. Saw it.

2 :) Caffeine. If this wasn't right, then Thorsten would have been deliberately tricksy with the cluing, and that would be very unusual.

3 :( Snowboarding. Those events did not fit the current winter olympic menu, and the early year would have surprised me, but I figured it was a winter sport from Minnesota, so after briefly contemplating skateboard and roller-skating (California games anyone?) fixated on snowy icy stuff and submitted this bad guess.

4 :) Dracula. I did not know your dad was a vampire, Jesse.

5 :) Kwanzaa. Jumped into my head immediately and didn't have another good guess. Momentarily toyed with something Hindu/Buddhist/Islamic, but this just felt right.

6 :) Chemistry. Not sure if I've heard of this, but the guess just seemed logical. nytimes is going to delete its archives of acrostics, and on the train this morning I solved one from 5 Jan 2020 that had a quote about an aspiring female chemist. Not the same woman's quote, but I bet this helped me stumble down the right path for this question immediately!

Jesse Day 5

4/6

1. Hangman, Phoenix, Payback, Fanboy, Rooster, Coyote, and Bob are characters in what 2022 film?
Correct Answer: TOP GUN: MAVERICK
Your Answer: Top Gun: Maverick
Points Assigned: 1

I haven't seen the film, but after thinking about the big films of 2022 those sounded a lot like call signs. 

2. C₈H₁₀N₄O₂ is the chemical formula for a bitter, white substance, present in numerous beverages and foods, that can act as a mild stimulant, and, in excessive doses, may cause insomnia and delirium. What is the common name of the substance?
Correct Answer: CAFFEINE
Your Answer: Caffeine
Points Assigned: 1

Feels like a gimmie.

3. Slalom, jump, and trick, are the three events in competitions in what sport, invented in 1922 by Ralph Samuelson in Lake City, Minnesota?
Correct Answer: WATER SKIING
Your Answer: Water skiing
Points Assigned: 2

I didn't think it could be snowboarding, which I figured was invented later and in a more mountainous area. Lake City led me to water skiing as the logical answer.

4. The 15th-century voivode of pre-Romanian Wallachia named Vlad III, also known commonly as Vlad the Impaler, had what patronymic last name? It was used for an iconic character of literature, introduced in 1897, whose creation is said to have been inspired by Vlad.
Correct Answer: DRACULA
Your Answer: Dracula
Points Assigned: 0

This also feel like a gimmie. My father was actually born and raised in Transylvania. 

5. Unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith are the seven principles celebrated on what holiday?
Correct Answer: KWANZAA
Your Answer: Juneteenth
Points Assigned: 2

Shoot, I didn't think of Kwanzaa because Juneteenth felt like a reasonably good answer.

6. American author Bonnie Garmus's bestselling and critically acclaimed 2022 debut novel presents Lessons in what subject (per the title), as the revenge story's pioneering heroine confronts casual and systemic misogyny as a former research scientist and host of a television cooking show?
Correct Answer: CHEMISTRY
Your Answer: a test kitchen
Points Assigned: 3

Nope