Competition to win a knife

[yog]

I’ve decided that I need to lighten my collection by a knife or two, so what’s more fun than a competition.



Having a certain pride in my Cornish history, the questions will have a definite Cornish bias. The competition will run for 10 days, ending midnight (GMT) of 12th January . The winner will be the first post that get all the questions right, or the first to get the most right by the closing date, and will have their choice of a NIB PE Gunting or a PE Howard Veil.

So start searching the internet, and good luck.



1)What Cornishman is credited with building the worlds first steam locomotive ?



2)What planet did the Cornish scientist John Couch discover ?



3)In 1788 what Cornish sea captain was set adrift in an open boat by his mutinous crew ?



4)What is the Cornish language word for “Cornwall” ?



5)In the annual game of Hurling played at St. Columb, how far apart are the opposing goals ?



6)In 1991 the Cornish Rugby team won the County Championship. 40,000 Cornish people made the 260 mile journey to see them play at Twickenham Nr. London. What percentage of the total Cornish population was this ? (nearest answer wins).



7)What pastry, vegetable and meat dish is considered a Cornishman’s favourite meal ? (note anyone who’s answer includes the word “Ginster’s” gets disqualified <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0> )



Note – in the event of a dispute, the judge’s word is final.





Walk softly, carry a big stick.

[philuk44]

Hi Yog
Great idea! Here's my shot:
1.Richard Trevithick
2.Neptune
3.Capt. Bligh
4.Kernow
5.2 miles
6.8.47%
7.Cornish Pasty

Here's hoping.

Phil

[dialex]

1. Richard Trevithick built the world's first steam locomotive in 1803.
2. Neptune was discovered on a mathematically basis, considering the irregularities in the motion of the planet Uranus.
3. In 1788, the infamous Bounty sailed to Tahiti on an expedition to collect breadfruit. While on Tahiti several of the crew fell in love with both the islands and the women on them. So while after departing the islands the crew led by Fletcher Christian mutinied and set the Captain William Bligh adrift in a small boat.
4. Kernow is the Cornish word for Cornwall which is a country to the Southwest of England. Many Cornish, consider it an independent nation, just like Wales.
5. At St Columb the football is a physical battle between &quot;Town and Country&quot; with the shops in the town barricading their windows and doors for the start of the scrum at 4.30 p.m. The ball is thrown to the crowd from the market square the objective to carry it into either the town or country goals set some two miles apart or if this is not possible the ball may be carried over the Parish boundary . At 8.00 p.m. a winner returns to declare a win for Town or Country. It is worth a mention for having the most blatantly pagan matchday ritual. A silver ball is dipped into jugs of beer to make 'silver beer' in what sounds very much like a lunar ceremony...
6. 11.7% (whew, that was a tough one!)
7. The Cornish Pasty was the traditional meal of the Cornish tin miner and still remains a firm favourite within the County. It has been described as the original fast-food and has carved out its own niche in the fast food market.

Congratulations Yog, this is a great idea. I enjoyed searching for the facts and figures and I learned some new things <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>

[dialex]

Oops, trigger happy, sorry <img src="wink.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>

Edited by - dialex on 1/2/2003 11:35:26 AM

[yog]

Well blow me down.
There was me worried the questions were too hard, and the very first person up gets it right on the nail <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>
The Cornwall County Council web site lists the population of Cornwall in the year 1991 as being 472,100 which means 8.473% of the county went to the rugby match final (far more claimed to be there <img src="wink.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0> ). And it also means that Philuk44 actually got it to 2 decimal places, not bad.

Phil has asked for the Gunting as his prize, which means that sometime next week there will be a competition for the Howard Viele, so keep tuned.
I'll try and make the next one harder, or at least more unusial.

Walk softly, carry a big stick.

[cmassicotte]

Yog - what a cool idea - and very generous of you to boot.

Guess I am going to have to get up early if I want to compete <img src="wink.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>

Chuck

There is no right way to do a wrong thing

[dialex]

Now I'm not the one to complain, but according to this &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.statistics.gov.uk/census2001/bicentenary/pdfs/cornwall.pdf+statistics+cornwall+england+total+pop ulation+people&amp;hl=ro&amp;ie=UTF-8&quot;&gt;(Click here for the topic)&lt;/a&gt; the population in 1991 was 468,425 people.
Even if we consider it to be 472,100 as you stated, 472,100 / 40,000 is 11.8%.
This is just for the record, I'm not trying to change the decision of the jury.
Congratulations Phil, enjoy your new knife <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>



Edited by - dialex on 1/3/2003 7:28:07 AM

[philuk44]

Hi Dialex
You need to check your math there. To calculate the percentage you need to divide 40,000 by 472,100 (or 468425 if using your figures) and multiply by 100 - giving 8.47% (or 8.53% using your figures) What you calculated is that 1 person in every 11.7 attended - not the same thing at all.
By the way I love your designs - keep them coming!

Phil

[philuk44]

Yog - many thanks for this. Extremely generous of you. Looking forward to receiving the Gunting and seeing why this design has made such an impact.
Cheers

Phil

[The Cool]

Hey Yog, you're a mighty fine man for doing this.

[dialex]

Doh! I just realised a few minutes ago my mistake. Stupid me! <img src="sad.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>

[yog]

Hi Dialex.
Yep I'm afraid what you calculated was the fraction of people that went (1/11.7)

The way I remember percentages is, 100 divided by the large number, then that answer times the small number.
Or (100/472100)x(40000)=8.47

Here's where I got my info http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/facts/fact60.htm
Typical, same government, two different answers <img src="sad.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>

Walk softly, carry a big stick.

[philuk44]

The Gunting which Yog put up for a prize arrived this morning - absolutely lovely!
I still can't believe the generosity of some of the people here. Many, many thanks Yog.

Phil

[dialex]

Stupid, stupid, stupid me! I'm not a sore loser, but calculating a percentage is such an elementary thing... And the most humiliating thing is that I quite oftenly work with figures! (I'm a licensed economist, for God's sake!)<img src="sad.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0> I feel so embarased and ashamed! <img src="sad.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0> Looks like my math teacher smashed my head on the blackboard too hard, or on the contrary, she didn't swing strong enough <img src="wink.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>
OTOH, I'm really glad for Phil, the Gunting is one fine knife and he earned it fair and square <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0> Yog, congrats again for your great idea.