Stumping AskMe

February 28, 2006 5:52 PM

AskMeFi stumped. It would be nice to see other examples, do you remember any?
posted by insomnus to MetaFilter-related at 5:52 PM (67 comments total)

My question about French Revolution poster child Suzanne Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau, a.k.a. "Mademoiselle Nation", confirmed that there is almost no information available about her, not counting the portrait of her that inspired the question. Quite odd, given her amazing story.
posted by Asparagirl at 6:04 PM on February 28, 2006

You shouldn't have brought that up, as now someone is going to post something to that thread and ruin the zen beauty of nothing but question.

That's a heavy cross to bear, my friend.
posted by qwip at 6:05 PM on February 28, 2006

I have heard that you're supposed to bring your own thread.

Seriously though, I'd wait it out. Who knows what experts of Mexican car upholstery may be lurking who'd read this only tomorrow? Or the day after?

Great topic though. Reminiscent of the guy who pulled that zero comments stunt in MeTa quite some time ago. Someone else will have enough of a functioning neocortex left to remind me who it was, again.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 6:07 PM on February 28, 2006

It happens.
posted by cribcage at 6:07 PM on February 28, 2006

I, personally, am waiting for the no MeTa post day. It has almost happened but, I have never seen it. Anyone know when the last was (if there was one, there must have been)?
posted by edgeways at 6:29 PM on February 28, 2006

This might win for shortest unanswerable question: How do I rename Point Sets in OSX's Grapher Application? (That's the whole thing.)
posted by smackfu at 6:35 PM on February 28, 2006

Really specifc stuff often ends up with < 3 comments and not answering it perfectly.br>
With that example, even if the question was about getting a car reupolstered, there'd be few comments, maybe less then 10 that have done that before, and if it was limited to say, the entire Southern California region, maybe there's a member that has done that somewhere. But making it just Tiajuana is way too specific.
posted by mathowie at 6:36 PM on February 28, 2006

This poor guy is never going to get his pickled sausages.
posted by CunningLinguist at 6:40 PM on February 28, 2006

I posted about obsolete technology and got no answer.

I also posted about newer technology and got one response but it was not conclusive.

I also posted this one regarding Usher and Hammer which got no definitive answer. My relationship almost ended over that.
posted by mzurer at 7:16 PM on February 28, 2006

Thanks to insomnus, I've just answered RikiTiki's AskMe.
posted by snsranch at 7:17 PM on February 28, 2006

BTW, if you really want to start cursing Apple and OS X, try to answer that one about the Grapher program.
posted by smackfu at 7:27 PM on February 28, 2006

reminiscent of the guy who pulled that zero comments stunt in MeTa quite some time ago. Someone else will have enough of a functioning neocortex left to remind me who it was, again.

tellurian
Dude, when my neocortex thingy is more intact than yours, it's time to admit you have a problem.
posted by If I Had An Anus at 7:51 PM on February 28, 2006

smackfu: I was going to have a poke around but my Grapher won't even open right now.
posted by cillit bang at 7:57 PM on February 28, 2006

I ruined this front page post that had zero comments out of sheer spite.
posted by Falconetti at 7:57 PM on February 28, 2006

Falconetti, where were you when I needed you?
posted by MLIS at 8:32 PM on February 28, 2006

I'm still wondering about this one.
posted by Jeanne at 8:48 PM on February 28, 2006

Nobody could tell me specifically how to dance the Popeye.
posted by Astro Zombie at 8:55 PM on February 28, 2006

I ruined this front page post that had zero comments out of sheer spite.

I just flagged the comment in question as noise.

HTH.
posted by dersins at 9:15 PM on February 28, 2006

Here are 4 AxMe questions that never received an answer:

Is there any way to successfully sync Entourage v.X with a Palm Zire 72? Microsoft's conduit doesn't support the "new" Palm apps. . .

XMB -> phpBB. A forum I'm on is trying to convert, but the available converter scripts aren't up to date. Anybody do this? Anybody know anyone who has?

Acrobat 6.0 help needed! Linking text to an outside file and mouseover text...

Does anyone know of a website that rates realtors in Manhattan?
posted by MLIS at 9:19 PM on February 28, 2006

&
posted by rob511 at 9:53 PM on February 28, 2006

I also posted this one regarding Usher and Hammer which got no definitive answer. My relationship almost ended over that.

Wow, I'd have to go with this one.

It's somewhere between John Titor and "Wyld Stallyns".

And yeah, Usher has sold more than Hammer (so far)...I'm curious though: how could someone's relationship possibly hinge on this sort of thing? (Usher hasn't done a cartoon yet, however, so "Hammerman" certainly trumps him there)
posted by First Post at 10:06 PM on February 28, 2006

I should clarify: 4 AxMe questions that no one ever posted any reply to.
posted by MLIS at 10:07 PM on February 28, 2006

.
posted by peacay at 10:39 PM on February 28, 2006

Falconetti, where were you when I needed you?
posted by MLIS
You were the last person to manage that unless Falconetti gets spiteful again in the next couple of days.
posted by tellurian at 10:39 PM on February 28, 2006

Another one, involving the "calendar print" function in MS Outlook 2003.
posted by the_bone at 11:06 PM on February 28, 2006

i'll still never figure out where that robot came from. :'(
posted by freudianslipper at 11:18 PM on February 28, 2006

Remember that Metatalk post that got no responses until it went off the page at which point the author posted comments of increasing hilarity? Why oh why did I not bookmark that post?
posted by onlyconnect at 11:53 PM on February 28, 2006

Jim Jones, onlyconnect.
posted by onalark at 12:45 AM on March 1, 2006

On post-view, don't forget to check out naxosaxur's callout thread.
posted by onalark at 12:47 AM on March 1, 2006

Just too boring
posted by Protocols of the Elders of Awesome at 12:50 AM on March 1, 2006

my first two had ask kinda stumped. I guess it might have been because I was asking for alternatives to Paypal that actually work worldwide (dream on), and alternatives to cafepress (which is spreadshop.com and .net I found later) also for european reasons. We pay customs on that cafepress stuff yaknow. :)
posted by dabitch at 4:12 AM on March 1, 2006

I got nothing on this one...
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 5:11 AM on March 1, 2006

i asked this lyric questions which i just knew was going to be too obscure, but i asked it anyway.

Because you never know who lurks in ask.mefi.
posted by quin at 6:21 AM on March 1, 2006

I always thought that question was about "Grand Theft Auto" songs.
posted by smackfu at 6:47 AM on March 1, 2006

AskMe has be very very good to me. I've asked over a hundred questions. Only these eight went unanswered:

When I was a kid in the late 70s and early 80s, I used to hear this strange, eerie tune on the radio late at night. What WAS it? (followup here, but answer is still just a guess.)

I have an old HP Printer (LaserJet4P) which works perfectly even though it's a decade old. But ever since upgrading to WinXP, it spits out a sheet of paper every time I boot up the computer.

I'm looking for web-based annotation software. Someone suggested a Wiki, but Wikis only allow one link per word. In an annotated doc, you may want the word "hello" to link to one note on page 4 and another note on page 17.


Does anyone know what that music is on the Bounty (paper towels) commercial with the billiard balls?

I get a pain in my jaw-hinge sometimes after drinking alcohol. .... If I have another few sips, it will become EXCRUCIATING. There were a few guesses, but nothing conclusive. To be fair, I've asked tons of doctors/dentists and they don't know what it is, either.

About five years ago, I found a game online, and I can't remember what it's called or where I found it. It was more of a logic puzzle than a game really -- a little like Mastermind and a little like Battleship. And it also involved primitive natural language processing. Zero responses!


"Poetry in Motion" is a program in which the MTA (Manhattan Transit Association) posts short poems in subway trains. A few years ago, they posted an ancient Chinese poem (translated, I think, by a modern American poet). The poem was about an office worker, loaded down with paperwork, looking out the window at distant mountains. I may have some of the details wrong, but the poem had a powerful effect on me. Any ideas of what poem it could be? (I did find the answer!, but not on AskMe.)

Foreign customs: In Fred Plotkin's excellect "Opera 101", he describes (but doesn't explain) how many Germans behave during an intermission. This American is mystified and wants to understand more: "At intermission, many of them stand quietly, while others may join a large group walking around the lobby. This is an odd sight for a newcomer. The audience members form a circle or an oval and all walk the same direction around the perimeter of the lobby." Sounds a bit like a prison yard to me. (A few theories, but nothing conclusive.)
posted by grumblebee at 6:58 AM on March 1, 2006

Can you name this song I hum?

What musical is this from? (I'm ultra sad I wasn't able to answer this one).
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:22 AM on March 1, 2006 [1 favorite]

I asked a question about a book I had read (or imagined) and received no reply. Not that big of a deal since I'm not sure now that it ever existed.
posted by dual_action at 7:33 AM on March 1, 2006

onalark, thank you!!!
posted by onlyconnect at 7:38 AM on March 1, 2006

ThePinkSuperhero, in the "musical" thread, you suggested Sondheim's "Assassins," but the original poster never responded. I think you might be right.

Assassins opened in 1990 -- that's 16 years ago. The poster said he saw a video of the musical 12 years ago.

He mentioned a song in which the cast sang about their regrets. Well, there's a number in the show called "Another National Anthem" (lyrics here) with lines like this:

[BALLADEER]
And it didn't mean a nickel,
You just shed a little blood,
And a lot of people shed a lot of tears.
Yes, you made a little moment
And you stirred a little mud-

But it didn't fix the stomach
And you've drunk you're drunk you're final bud,
And it didn't help the workers
And it didn't heal the country
And it didn't make them listen
And they never said, "We're Sorry"-

[BYCK]
Yeah, it's never gonna happen,
Is it?
No, sir-

[CZOLGOSZ]
Never.

[BYCK]
No, we're never gonna get the prize-

[FROMME]
No one listens...

[BYCK]
-Are we?

[ZANGARA]
Never.

[BYCK]
No, it doesn't make a bit of difference,
Does it?

[OTHERS (Variously)]
Didn't.
Ever.

[BYCK]
Fuck it!

[OTHERS]
Spread the word...

[ALL]
Where's my prize?...

The poster mentioned that there was an "oooh" chorus in the song, and that's exactly what I hear on my cast album.
posted by grumblebee at 7:52 AM on March 1, 2006

I was heartbroken when my most recent AskMe, Places to eat in Hong Kong got no useful answers. It seems like a pretty basic question. Maybe MeFi's audience is a little less international than I'd thought.
posted by rxrfrx at 7:52 AM on March 1, 2006

Exactly, grumblebee, exactly! I really want the poster to come back and say I'm right. :-X
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:53 AM on March 1, 2006 [1 favorite]

grumblebee writes "I've asked over a hundred questions."

Wow. What's the record for most questions?
posted by peacay at 8:18 AM on March 1, 2006

Here's my zero response one on alternatives to Bloglet.
posted by MeetMegan at 8:20 AM on March 1, 2006

Ball a deer, grumblebee? WTF?
posted by mr_crash_davis at 8:26 AM on March 1, 2006

That's a joke, right crash? (Anyway, what if I DO ball a deer? So what? Like you've never balled a wild animal!)
posted by grumblebee at 8:30 AM on March 1, 2006

He says he thinks I've blown a seal. I say, hey buddy, just fix the damn thing and leave my private life out of it.
posted by cortex at 8:42 AM on March 1, 2006

Oh ya. Twice. My first AskMe got nothing. On my fourth AskMe I was smart enough to include a [MI] so at least I got 1 in the comment count.

I got replies on my radio play question but no solution. I've been thinking about reposting it since all the new blood has signed up.
posted by Mitheral at 8:55 AM on March 1, 2006

I screwed up this MeTa thread after it scrolled off the front page.

I'm still wracked with guilt over it.
posted by dersins at 8:58 AM on March 1, 2006

Besides that Palm Zire 72 question MLIS listed, I've had one on Bluetooth go unanswered and a couple with responses that were in the "me too" class but no real answers. I just assume some problems are so unique or narrow in focus that I'm the only one with that issue.
posted by tommasz at 9:24 AM on March 1, 2006

I asked about a movie that I know is listed on the IMDB where a guy is annoyed because everyone seems to have a zine about themselves. The film was only released in a small theatrical run.
posted by drezdn at 9:32 AM on March 1, 2006

I ruined this front page post that had zero comments out of sheer spite.

Damn you, Falconetti! Damn you!!

I was thinking about creating an "Osama bin Laden" sockpuppet to post some disparaging comments. But it turns out somebody's already taken that name.
posted by russilwvong at 9:46 AM on March 1, 2006

Looks like this question on how to recover a lost Diary-X.com journal didn't get an answer.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 12:04 PM on March 1, 2006 [1 favorite]

i asked this lyric questions which i just knew was going to be too obscure, but i asked it anyway

GTA featured Ritch, ex of The Wildhearts. I asked The Wildhearts' mailing list if anyone knew the answer to your question (as I know a few people on there have the album) but didn't get a reply. I even dug out my copy of the album in:
a: the vague hope it would have a lyric sheet
b: I could work out the lyrics myself.

No joy on either front, I'm afraid. Just listening to the album again and it's still not clear what's being sung.
posted by TheDonF at 12:19 PM on March 1, 2006

Can we take bets on future stumpers?
posted by occhiblu at 12:40 PM on March 1, 2006

I'll take a piece of that action.
posted by stet at 12:55 PM on March 1, 2006

Damn! Though I'm glad he's finding some info.
posted by occhiblu at 1:44 PM on March 1, 2006

Thanks for the love TheDonF, i have the album and it doesn't have the lyrics (at least the American release doesn't) i used archive.org to track down their old site, and was able to reconstruct a few posts from their forums. It seems that one of the last posts before the site went away was someone wondering if 'they were ever going to post the lyrics'.

Based on the fact that their own site didn't ever have them, and even that is now gone, i'm guessing i will just always have to wonder.
posted by quin at 2:27 PM on March 1, 2006

I posted a question about a cable box problem I was having and no one had a clue. But the cable company never could figure it out either. I fixed it by upgrading to a box with dvr. I still wish I could figure out wtf was going on.
posted by vronsky at 3:47 PM on March 1, 2006

I just wanted to hear some more biwa music.
posted by Eothele at 7:12 PM on March 1, 2006

These 2 have been driving me nuts.

1991ish Alternative Video ID - 120 Minutes

Blurred Jazz Photography
posted by shoepal at 8:20 PM on March 1, 2006

stet just talked to himself in this one.
posted by librarina at 8:30 PM on March 1, 2006

So are you saying you recognize it, shoepal? Even somebody just saying "yeah, that sounds familiar" would make me feel better!
posted by Iamtherealme at 9:11 PM on March 1, 2006

snsranch, thank you!

mathowie I know, I know--I was probably expecting a bit much. But hey, a lot of people are or used to be in southern California, y'know? I wasn't expecting a flood of responses, but I was surprised at the big bagel.
posted by RikiTikiTavi at 9:35 PM on March 1, 2006

Less than half of my questions have been answered satisfactorily. Not to slight those who answered, because I appreciate the effort.
posted by Eideteker at 10:10 PM on March 1, 2006

http://waxy.org/mefi/

Wow, I should have bought some of that stock back in 2000!
posted by kindall at 10:48 AM on March 2, 2006

I was so intrigued by this one, I spent ages looking for the answer. Also I think someone asked about the freaking States List Puzzle which drew as much of a blank as ever.
posted by teleskiving at 11:41 AM on March 2, 2006

yup, after going on about the greatness of ask.me to a friend,
I posted a question for them and waited ... and waited ...

they were not impressed.
posted by milovoo at 9:56 AM on March 5, 2006