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Mathematician Jon McLoone calculated the most difficult word to guess in the game of Hangman. It’s “jazz”. Here’s how he arrived at that result:
Jon McLoone built a computer game — with a series of algorithms — to figure out that exact question. It rests on a key assumption: the guesser will pick common letters (e.g. vowels) measurably and proportionally more often than exceptionally rare ones (Q, X, Z, J). McLoone then simulated fifty Hangman runs for every single word in the dictionary. That’s 90,000 words, totaling nearly 5 million games on Hangman.
Some words were easily guessed, typically requiring fewer than five incorrect letters offered. For example, the word “difficult” proved easy — in its 50 trials, the simulator guessed, on average, only 3.3 incorrect letters. Allowing for eight incorrect ones before our stick figure meets an untimely death, the word “difficult” only caused one stick-death. Allowing for ten? Mr. Stick had a 100% survival rate.
Having gathered all this data on 90,000 words, McLoone selected the 1,000 most promising, and then ran the game 3,000 times using just those thousand. All said and done, McLoone “played” nearly 8 million games of Hangman in order to determine that the hardest Hangman word to guess — regardless of whether the guesser has 8, 9, 10, or even up to 13 guesses, is “jazz.”
Link via reddit | Photo by Flickr user quinn.anya used under Creative Commons license
Designed by Ji-youn Kim, this hanging lamp can shed light in the darkness, but probably won’t make you feel any more secure. What a conversation piece! Link -via Coolest Gadgets
This would make for a truly disturbing but awesome addition to any home. Hanging Harry is a figurine with a hangman’s noose around his neck that can be used as a light pull.
You can’t help Harry to see the light, it’s too late. Harry is already dead! But Harry can help you to switch on your lights. Hangman’s noose and 2m of rope included so you don’t have to know how to tie your own knots! Just replace the whole cord of your light pull.
Link – via cooldesignideasblog
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