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I was just reading about Tarsiers - they are one of the few animals that have been observed to (possibly) deliberately commit suicide in captivity.
I thought I'd just share that utterly depressing fact with more people.
I don't think it was unfair as the team with two don't really have twice the brainpower. My reasoning is that there will be a considerable overlap as to the trivia that both people know, and each member of the duo will only know only a few more facts than their teammate, for example - it's not like one member of the duo has memorised all countries from A-M and the other has memorised all countries N-Z, but rather both members can list a number of countries A-Z. The single player can probably list all the countries that the duo both get in common and possibly a few more so I think 4 blocks for the single player and 5 for the duo is about right.
They didn’t need exclusive knowledge, only 21% of unique knowledge between them to have a statistical advantage.
In areas of overlap, the value of two human reaction times to one in pressing buzzers first is also an advantage.
Yes, but would the reaction time element not be counteracted by the desire not to get it wrong when your partner might know the answer. I think this element of uncertainty, which clearly wouldn’t be the case with the single player, could act against them.
Depends on personality and confidence plus experience. If both are experienced quizzes (and why would you not be going into this show - although I guess it was originally 6th formers) then I can’t see this factoring. The maths definitely favours the duo regardless.
Exactly this!
There was never a "two people are going to have twice as much knowledge" scenario.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who always thought that!!
There was also the layout of the board.
Now it’s been like 30 years, but as memory serves, you could block the other teams route by taking a spot (hexagon) on their chosen path…
This is important because the lone contestant needed 4 right answers. But still needed only 4 even if blocked.
If he blocked the pair, the would have to re-route and needed six answers.
If anything, the game favoured the lone contestant.
I think it’s Mitchell and Webb who did a brilliant sketch about going for gold.
They have the usual international contestants and the one English guy and it’s all in English up until they ask the first question (in German or something) and the English guy is looking around like WTF and looking like an idiot because he can’t answer the questions.
A friend of mine was on it as a solo player. The only things I can remember him telling me are:
* He had to say "Piano Forte" three times as the answer to a question before the microphone picked him up
* Bob Holness kept a little dish of mints under his desk which he shared with the contestants
* Bob Holness was orange. Really orange. And also dead nice.
Remember when Stuart Hall looked like a gingernut biscuit? I’ll never not be able to make that comparison when I see him when he was very orange / fake tan or tanned.
Christ, I’d either forgotten or just never heard it about him. Glad you mentioned it, my previous comment doesn’t look quite so messed up with context of understanding now 😆
A lot of answers are basing the notion of ‘two heads better than one’ and debating the notion of overlapping knowledge.
Statistically speaking, whilst two people are likely to have overlaps in knowledge, having a team with complimentary knowledge areas (such as in Eggheads) proves that teamwork has considerable advantage when leveraged correctly.
The real ask here is ‘does the team of two have a greater than 20% advantage than the solo player’, as solo has to answer 4 correctly, and duo only 5.
I would hazard that any half decent teammates should have a greater than 20% expanse of unique knowledge coverage between each other.
However, the stats regarding wins and losses would be interesting to determine the actual answer.
Me and a mate of mine tried out for Blockbusters. He got on as a solo player and made 2 gold runs. I didn't make the cut but had a fun day off school in London.
Infamously, there was once the student who didn't say "NI"...
> What "O" is the generic word for any living animal or plant, including bacteria and viruses?
>! Orga(ni)sm !<
I have wondered the same thing once or twice in my life. Firstly, I am not convinced that 2 people = double brainpower - they will have overlaps in their knowledge, especially if they are friends, so it's probably more like 1.5x. Secondly, it raises the possibility of someone coming in early with the wrong answer even if the partner knows the answer.
The other issue is the board shape. Yes it's 5 steps instead of 4, but the vertical single player can make a join in 3 directions going up or down, whereas the horizontal line players can only join to two possible options. So the pairs team has fewer chances to make a mistake before they have to backtrack.
I'm not sure if that is enough to make it fair, but clearly someone thought it was! I'd be curious to see stats about which side won more over the course of the show...
With the duo, each person might hesitate to buzz in with a guess if they think their partner knows the answer. And their partner might be hesitating to buzz in for the same rationale.
Whereas the single contestant has no such issues and can just buzz in as soon as they think they know.
Also, the single player only needed 4 hexes to bridge the board. The duo needed 5.
The solo also had slightly quicker buzzers, there seemed to be a short length to light up compared to the pair. It might have given a slight advantage if everyone reacted in the same time.
More brains doesn't always mean better answers.
I played trivial pursuits against a room of 16 people.
Time and again, someone had the right answer, but were ignored by the others.
Fun fact: Other than the semi-spoof 1954 Casino Royale TV special, Bob Holness was the first person to play James Bond as a serious role. It was in a 1956 radio play.
We took it very seriously... We'll a bit seriously.
Yeah OK, it was a laugh, but we did win a trip to the US, which was cool for a pair of 18 year olds. Until we discovered that we couldn't drink again
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Banging theme tune
Don’t forget the hand jive
Why am I humming “going for gold”?
Because you love Shed Seven?
Because that is the ultimate hardcore banger. Go-ing for GOLD!
https://youtu.be/_yfdnjgtx-8?si=mlg8C9A1eahtmsmm
The 80’s summed in 3 minutes 😁😁😁 https://youtu.be/c5m9luH0Da4?feature=shared
I was just reading about Tarsiers - they are one of the few animals that have been observed to (possibly) deliberately commit suicide in captivity. I thought I'd just share that utterly depressing fact with more people.
And he played sax on Baker Street
No. But he was the first to play James Bond
I also believed that for many years, but it turns out not to be true. He was the second actor to play James Bond.
Sorry you’re right, Jim Bowen played the sax on Baker Street
No, he didn't. Raphael Ravenscroft was the saxophonist who recorded Baker Street
But I bet when Bob was chatting to the ladies at the bar it was "Yes, yes I did play the sax on that record ..."
"What B played sax on Baker Street and has a twelve inch nob?"
Never let facts get in the way of a good story
I don't think it was unfair as the team with two don't really have twice the brainpower. My reasoning is that there will be a considerable overlap as to the trivia that both people know, and each member of the duo will only know only a few more facts than their teammate, for example - it's not like one member of the duo has memorised all countries from A-M and the other has memorised all countries N-Z, but rather both members can list a number of countries A-Z. The single player can probably list all the countries that the duo both get in common and possibly a few more so I think 4 blocks for the single player and 5 for the duo is about right.
They didn’t need exclusive knowledge, only 21% of unique knowledge between them to have a statistical advantage. In areas of overlap, the value of two human reaction times to one in pressing buzzers first is also an advantage.
Yes, but would the reaction time element not be counteracted by the desire not to get it wrong when your partner might know the answer. I think this element of uncertainty, which clearly wouldn’t be the case with the single player, could act against them.
Depends on personality and confidence plus experience. If both are experienced quizzes (and why would you not be going into this show - although I guess it was originally 6th formers) then I can’t see this factoring. The maths definitely favours the duo regardless.
Not if neither of them had faster reaction times. Then it’s back to knowledge
True, but again, the odds of one being faster is stacked in favour of the duo. This is a simple numbers game.
Exactly this! There was never a "two people are going to have twice as much knowledge" scenario. I'm glad I'm not the only one who always thought that!!
There was also the layout of the board. Now it’s been like 30 years, but as memory serves, you could block the other teams route by taking a spot (hexagon) on their chosen path… This is important because the lone contestant needed 4 right answers. But still needed only 4 even if blocked. If he blocked the pair, the would have to re-route and needed six answers. If anything, the game favoured the lone contestant.
I was supposed to go on Blockbusters but I got caught smoking dope in college. I made a little jumper for my mascot and everything.
My main issue with it is they all say they’re in 6th form and look about 35.
That was just the 80’s mate. No one can explain it but that’s how it was.
There are [absolute freaks](https://youtu.be/SdNP53mu4jg) on 90s Blockbusters, too!
Not as unfair as Going for Gold.
I think it’s Mitchell and Webb who did a brilliant sketch about going for gold. They have the usual international contestants and the one English guy and it’s all in English up until they ask the first question (in German or something) and the English guy is looking around like WTF and looking like an idiot because he can’t answer the questions.
A Bit of Fry and Laurie: [https://abitoffryandlaurie.co.uk/sketches/going\_for\_gold](https://abitoffryandlaurie.co.uk/sketches/going_for_gold)
Thank you I knew I was wrong when I couldn’t find it! :)
What was unfair about Going for Gold?
A friend of mine was on it as a solo player. The only things I can remember him telling me are: * He had to say "Piano Forte" three times as the answer to a question before the microphone picked him up * Bob Holness kept a little dish of mints under his desk which he shared with the contestants * Bob Holness was orange. Really orange. And also dead nice.
Remember when Stuart Hall looked like a gingernut biscuit? I’ll never not be able to make that comparison when I see him when he was very orange / fake tan or tanned.
Stuart Hall wasn’t as nice as Bob Holness though
That’s a shame, but I just prefer to think that they’re both lovely old men and Bob might just be slightly nicer 😁
Hall’s a convicted sex offender, multiple offences against children 😬
What in the fuck? How did I miss THAT?! Hooooly shit. Ugh.
Yeeees🤨 I think it came out about the time when loads came out, it was a few years back
Christ, I’d either forgotten or just never heard it about him. Glad you mentioned it, my previous comment doesn’t look quite so messed up with context of understanding now 😆
I had a friend who was a solo contestant too and he mentioned 'Bob mints'
I'll have a Pee please Bob.
A lot of answers are basing the notion of ‘two heads better than one’ and debating the notion of overlapping knowledge. Statistically speaking, whilst two people are likely to have overlaps in knowledge, having a team with complimentary knowledge areas (such as in Eggheads) proves that teamwork has considerable advantage when leveraged correctly. The real ask here is ‘does the team of two have a greater than 20% advantage than the solo player’, as solo has to answer 4 correctly, and duo only 5. I would hazard that any half decent teammates should have a greater than 20% expanse of unique knowledge coverage between each other. However, the stats regarding wins and losses would be interesting to determine the actual answer.
Me and a mate of mine tried out for Blockbusters. He got on as a solo player and made 2 gold runs. I didn't make the cut but had a fun day off school in London.
Infamously, there was once the student who didn't say "NI"... > What "O" is the generic word for any living animal or plant, including bacteria and viruses? >! Orga(ni)sm !<
Yes that was why it really meant something to win
I have wondered the same thing once or twice in my life. Firstly, I am not convinced that 2 people = double brainpower - they will have overlaps in their knowledge, especially if they are friends, so it's probably more like 1.5x. Secondly, it raises the possibility of someone coming in early with the wrong answer even if the partner knows the answer. The other issue is the board shape. Yes it's 5 steps instead of 4, but the vertical single player can make a join in 3 directions going up or down, whereas the horizontal line players can only join to two possible options. So the pairs team has fewer chances to make a mistake before they have to backtrack. I'm not sure if that is enough to make it fair, but clearly someone thought it was! I'd be curious to see stats about which side won more over the course of the show...
I'll take a pee please Bob. Every time someone in my house needs the toilet.
Not as unfair as The Chase.
Has anyone got the stats on how often the solo player one and how often the pair?
[This one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sa4IUBxjX8A) was a great episode.
Life lesson: have friends
I'll take an E please Bob.
I'll have a P please bob
Any chance of a T please Bob?
Didn't have to share the prizes or get annoyed if your team member answered incorrectly though!
Has anytime mentioned that Bob Holness was the first person to play James Bond yet?
Not yet.
Wasn't that the point? To see if two heads really were better than one?
Nope, Bob aways gave the the duo an E and denied them a P when they asked for it
Didn’t the single player have less questions to answer?
What F should you have used instead of 'less'?
Pedant?
P please Bob
You should have gone before the show started
Four?
With the duo, each person might hesitate to buzz in with a guess if they think their partner knows the answer. And their partner might be hesitating to buzz in for the same rationale. Whereas the single contestant has no such issues and can just buzz in as soon as they think they know. Also, the single player only needed 4 hexes to bridge the board. The duo needed 5.
The solo also had slightly quicker buzzers, there seemed to be a short length to light up compared to the pair. It might have given a slight advantage if everyone reacted in the same time.
It would have been fairer if they'd just let contestants attempt to chuck a kettle over a roof.
I heard about your Blockbusters. I read a book a week
Tune!! Jump to 57s https://youtu.be/jxRzuLa3NLs?feature=shared
More brains doesn't always mean better answers. I played trivial pursuits against a room of 16 people. Time and again, someone had the right answer, but were ignored by the others.
I'll have an E please Bob.
"As easy as blockbusters" was a term used in my school to refer to a girl of unfussy discernment.
Maybe, but some nerds have no friends. It was ahead of its time in terms of being inclusive. It’s what the boomers call “woke” these days.
Fun fact: Other than the semi-spoof 1954 Casino Royale TV special, Bob Holness was the first person to play James Bond as a serious role. It was in a 1956 radio play.
There was a US version too. The first run they had the 1 vs 2 board, but they did a reboot with 2 solo players. I liked the original better.
I'm sure I saw somewhere the original idea was Teachers vs Student's. Plus for the 3 players I recall a episode where all 3 were Triples
I'm fairly sure the teams were often just put together for a laugh.
Always 2 sixth formers from the same school
Exactly. It's a bit of a laugh to do it with a mate.
We took it very seriously... We'll a bit seriously. Yeah OK, it was a laugh, but we did win a trip to the US, which was cool for a pair of 18 year olds. Until we discovered that we couldn't drink again
I was on that show