Last Week's Snipe Hunt

The winner's patch for last week's E2MQ goes, once again, to San Francisco's bright star, Dorian Adams.  You might recall that Dorian also won the pre-blog Panchatantra quiz.

The first two photos in last week's E2MQ featured sex-therapist author and media star, Dr. Ruth Westheimer (aka Doctor Ruth), and USMC Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock, dubbed "White Feather" by his North Vietnamese enemies.

The skill linking these two was that they both received sniper training.

As a young girl Doctor Ruth joined the Haganah, a Jewish paramilitary organization, and received her training while serving with the precursor to Israel's IDF.

Unlike Westheimer who was singularly unsuccessful in her former job, Hathcock is a Marine Corps legend, remembered for 93 confirmed kills during the Vietnam War.

Last week's final two photos were of Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.  Current news suggests that Zuck wants to add Gibbs as a Facebook friend.  

To date there has been no announcement that Facebook will add the former politico to its ranks.  The only "For Sure" for Gibbs is that he will be part of President Obama's reelection team.

What's My Line? This week's E2MQ

We are forced to lower the bar for this week's E2MQ.
There has been a deluge of complaints that our questions are just too difficult.
In reply we quote last week's winner who suggests, "Early to bed. Early to rise. And you can out Google the other guys."


This week's E2MQ is offered in two parts with a total of six easy questions.

PART A

This woman...

...and this man...

...have a skill in common.
One could say they share a piece of working wisdom.

He was born in Arkansas in 1942 and died in 1999.

She was born in Germany in 1928 and is still alive.

Both are American citizens despite both being born outside the U.S.

(Okay, Arkansas's part of the Union again...) 

To my knowledge, the two have never met.

Part A questions are...

1. Who are these two people?  
2. What are their respective nicknames?  
3. What discipline do they both share?

PART B

These two gentlemen may have something in common.  

Questions of Part B are...

1. Who are they?
2. What do each of them do?  
3. What connects them?

The winner will be the first person to correctly answer all six questions.

As always one can respond by commenting below, click the button above, or send an email to e2mq@edisonet.org.

Good luck!

Answer Sheet for the Quick Quiz

Well, the results were distinctly poor regarding last Saturday's E2Q.

Even after getting a hint, no one ventured a 50/50 guess.

The answer to "Which doesn't belong," is the huge BUG:

It was the only non-hoax and showed a Rhino Beetle (also shown above), a popular pet in parts of Asia. For more information see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinoceros_beetle.

Sorry, piscatorial pals! The fish is a hoax, but what about that flying saucer?

In 1967 at the height of the cold war a massive UFO hoax was played out in the UK. A small armada of 6 flying saucers "landed" in Britain on the 4th of September 1967. It seems utterly extraordinary that anyone took this invasion seriously, but Ministry of Defence files recently released by National Archives confirm the extent of the UK government's concerns about a threat from outer space. This event and the stir that it caused is the subject of a book, How Big are Little Green Men? written by historian John Keeling from Essex England. Mr Keeling recounts, “At the time, we were in the middle of the Cold War, and there was real concern that the objects could be of Russian origin.”

The Chippenham saucer (shown above) was actually blown up by the British Army!

Now that's a hoax!

Absolutely Fabulous: Today's E2MQ

We are NOT referring to the long-running British sitcom (aka, Ab Fab), but a little Monday wisdom from Patsy and Edina never hurt anyone.

The "fabulist" of whom we speak today is none other than the world's most-famous, Aesop, a contemporary of Solon and Croesus in mid-6th century BC Greece.

Like the formerly-referenced Roman in last week's blog, tradition suggests that Aesop was a slave, but from the island of Samos, who also won his freedom due to his wit. However, Aesop's wit, unlike that of Publilius Syrus, may have cost him his life.

A legend developed in the 1st century AD that Aesop, recognized for his speaking and storytelling skills, was tasked by his master, Xanthus, to act as an emissary between the residents of Samos (a Greek island in the eastern Aegean) and Croesus (as in "Rich as..."), king of the Lydian Empire (much of today's western Turkey). Having successfully fulfilled his diplomatic mission, Aesop was said to have travelled to various courts in Babylon and Egypt and ended up in Apollo's sacred city of Delphi, site of the most important oracle in ancient Greece.

It seems that Aesop made himself distinctly unpopular with the citizens of Delphi. The technique that boosted the stature of Aesop's fables came from his artistic skill of endowing animals with human traits and skills. His stories, thereby, could simultaneously instruct and critique without giving personal offense to the listener.

Well, that's what Wikipedia says! But the Delphians weren't amused by the hare, tortoise, fox, grasshopper and others. They found Aesop's fables insulting, and so they trumped up a charge of theft, and sentenced Aesop to death. Just before they chucked the fabulist off a cliff, he cursed them by saying, "You may kill me, but my unjust death will bring you great misfortune."

Guess what happened to Delphi? They faced a protracted period, confirmed by none other than the Oracle of Apollo, of pestilence, famine, and warfare. And all because they "dissed" Aesop!

Now, about that quiz...


Scholars suggest that the animals found is Aesop's Fables are, by universal consent, representative of certain specific attributes. Some of these characteristics are: Cunning, Timidity, Boldness, Cruelty, Strength, Pride, and Patience. Can you name each animal used by Aesop to represent each specific trait?

Finally, in response to one reader's request that every blog should have a bit of shared wisdom, I offer the following video. You have a choice: To watch the pertinent section, push the slide to the first dot. about 5 minutes 28 seconds. Or, if you want a full dose of Moose & Squirrel wisdom, watch the whole shebang!

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