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Internet Scavenger Hunt #4 Answers
Here are the answers to the fourth Internet Treasure Hunt, brought to you by WebLens Search Portal. For this and other Internet Scavenger Hunt questions, see the Hunt Index.
What planet in our solar system is the farthest from the sun and what is the name of its moon? Pluto is the planet farthest from the sun. It's moon is called Charon. Most people found this by searching on the words "solar system." A couple of people pointed out that Neptune is actually farther away from the sun for 20 of its 249-year orbit. It's not the right answer, however - Neptune has eight moons.
Who said to err is human, to forgive divine? This one was a giveaway. Alexander Pope said "to err is human, to forgive divine," in his Essay on Criticism. Most people got this answer by searching on "quotes" or "quotations". Some searched on the actual phrase or the keywords contained within it.
What does ISDN stand for? Another giveaway. ISDN stands for Integrated Services Digital Network, although one person pointed out that it could also be interpreted as the International Stamp Dealers Network! Most people found it by searching on "ISDN." Very few used a glossary or acronym server, (which would have saved considerable time).
What is the 47th Ferengi Rule of Acquisition? Any Ferengi worth his gold-plated latinum knows that the 47th Rule of Acquisition states "never trust anyone whose suit is nicer than your own." Different web sites produced slight variations on the theme, but that's the gist of it. Most people found it by searching on the words "Ferengi" and "47th Rule of Acquisition." A freebie.
By what number must you multiply to convert inches to centimetres? Most respondents reported that you must multiply by 2.54 to convert inches to centimetres. They determined this by searching on "metric conversion" or "conversion table."
What pepper tops out the Dremann Hotness Scale at 50,000 (Jalapeno is a mere 400)? Believe it or not, Tepín pepper tops out the Dremann Hotness Scale at 50,000 (Jalapeño is a mere 400). Most people found this by searching on the words "Dremann Hotness Scale." In case you're curious, this scale - created by Craig Dremann - indicates the number of ounces of salsa required for one ounce of a specific type of pepper pod to produce detectable hotness. Another gift.
Who were the Texas Patriots and in which war did they fight? No argument. This one was the toughest, necessitating visits to several search engines for many people. Twelve people correctly reported that the Texas Patriots were, in fact, Company B of the 7th Texas Infantry, a unit that fought in the American Civil War, 1861 to 1865. Others erroneously concluded that this designation applied to the 189 people who lost their lives defending the Alamo during the Mexican-American War in 1836. These differing results are directly attributable to how the search term was constructed, and it demonstrates the importance of understanding search language syntax. With most search engines, Texas Patriots should have been typed with double quotation marks surrounding the two words (i.e. "Texas Patriots") in order to indicate that this term is a phrase, as opposed to merely two words. With most search engines, simply typing Texas Patriots will result in any page which contains either (or both) of these words, not necessarily side by side. The result? Hits that talk about "the patriots of Texas" - not the same as "Texas Patriots," which is a proper name. It also helps to type your search term in proper case (first letter of each word capitalized). In most cases, this will force an exact case match. Typing the entire search term in lower case will usually produce both upper and lowercase results. Subtle distinctions that can be critical to your success.
What is soccer's most coveted prize and what country won it in 1990? Soccer's most coveted prize is, of course, the World Cup. It was won by Germany in 1990, on a penalty kick five minutes before the end of the game. Most people got this question correct, although a few indicated that it was won by Italy, which was where the game was played.
What is a dodecahedron? As anyone who attended my Effective Search Techniques session at the Computer Show will know, a dodecahedron is "a solid having twelve plane faces," according to the Hypertext Webster Dictionary. Most people submitted variations on this definition, some in considerable detail. A couple of people sent images of this complex geometrical shape. One person maintained that a dodecahedron is a piece of origami. A few people consulted a specialized tool like an online dictionary or virtual reference desk; most wasted more time than necessary with unproductive search engine queries.
What is the main ingredient (besides rice and seaweed) of unagi sushi? "YUK!" noted one woman, in submitting her (correct) answer that unagi sushi is made from freshwater eel, grilled or broiled and delicately flavoured. Most of you found this by searching on the name of this delicacy itself. (She's mistaken, though - it's delicious.)