Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2019 February 20

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February 20

childrens game: ashurbanipal??

Hi, when I was in school, in French class, we played some game that I think was called Ashurbanipal. I can't remember how it was played, but it was something like, each kid had a number from 1 to whatever, and that was like his phone number. Then one kid would call another kid, and that kid would call someone, and so on. There were some extra rules that I can't remember. Has anyone else played this, and what are the rules? IBE (talk) 00:21, 20 February 2019 (UTC)

Are you talking about Chinese whispers? --Viennese Waltz 09:38, 20 February 2019 (UTC)

No, it's all out loud. I can't remember how you get eliminated, but I think if you don't realise it's your number (it was all in French, and we were in our second year, 3 lessons per week, easy to miss under pressure). Not sure how else you got eliminated, perhaps by calling someone who was already out. So it would go like this: "This is number 2 calling number 39" "This is number 39 calling Ashurbanipal." (Ashurbanipal was number 1, so you couldn't call number 1 directly). But if 39 was already out, 2 would also be out for calling a wrong number. But one thinks there ought to be another rule, although I'm not sure what. IBE (talk) 07:28, 21 February 2019 (UTC)

I can't see it at List of traditional children's games, but I know there are scholarly studies. Where was this school located? Presumably neither France nor Iraq. --Carbon Caryatid (talk) 20:40, 23 February 2019 (UTC)

I believe Australia. Nil Einne (talk) 17:12, 25 February 2019 (UTC)

This is no longer just a drill

In case anyone was actually interested in this question that I asked earlier this month, I thought I'd mention that by chance I've just come across another instance. According to a Reuters article datelined April 23, 1961, in Bakewell, England (and printed in the Globe and Mail), the local cave rescue squad asked a heavy man (196 pounds) to pretend to be trapped in a certain abandoned mine 200 feet deep. When they got to him, they found that he actually was now trapped. Four hours later he was brought to the surface on a stretcher. --76.69.46.228 (talk) 05:11, 20 February 2019 (UTC)

Was he ok? 2602:24A:DE47:BA60:84C:1317:7ADA:B4FE (talk) 12:55, 20 February 2019 (UTC)

Then there was the famous film actor recording a scene in which he escapes from a sinking car. The shouting was realistic enough - he couldn't get out and needed rescue. An amateur dramatics actor regularly performed in a play in which, at the end, he jumped and was suspended above the stage with a noose around his neck. This was prevented from being an actual hanging by having a wooden board on his back with a hook to which the rope was secured. On his last performance the rope detached. His gyrations were applauded by the audience, but by the time the remaining cast realised something was wrong it was too late. 2A00:23C5:318D:5200:5813:75AF:A7A3:BCF (talk) 17:02, 20 February 2019 (UTC)

There are many similar stories. Redd Foxx and Brandon Lee both died while the people around them thought they were faking it. 209.149.113.5 (talk) 17:28, 20 February 2019 (UTC)

There's a scene in The Lord of the Rings where Viggo Mortensen's character Aragorn is supposed to kick a helmet and scream in frustration of the loss of some of his companions. His screams were realistic, as Mortensen broke his foot when he kicked the helmet, and his screams were genuine screams of shock and pain. They kept the scene in the movie. --Jayron32 16:55, 21 February 2019 (UTC)

One of the really tragic incidents is the Gillingham Fair fire disaster of 1929. Sam Blacketer (talk) 00:02, 24 February 2019 (UTC)

Umm... I just learned that I'm "heavy". I mean, I know I could afford to lose a couple pounds but at 5'11" I don't think I'm "heavy"... †dismas†|^(talk) 19:44, 20 February 2019 (UTC)

Maybe you're like Garfield the cat. You're not overweight, you're undertall. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 19:51, 20 February 2019 (UTC)

Okay, the original article did not use the word "heavy"; but it mentioned that his weight would make him "a difficult type... to save". I daresay that I, at least, would be more difficult. By the way, I am suspicious that the number 196 is false precision and the original report gave a rounded weight as 14 stone. --76.69.46.228 (talk) 04:28, 21 February 2019 (UTC)