Oolite Bulletins

Gary Seven is the correct character, but I think you forgot the bit about adding then subtracting, to give a number which can be used to explain the HHG equation...

I'll give the answer to this tomorrow evening if nobody gets it, and set something a little easier instead. But the answer is fairly well known and has appeared on T-shirts, badges, etc., I'm very surprised nobody knows it.

<swoops in> Thirteen? As in base 13?

Absolutely right! We have a winner! "what do you get if you multiply six by nine? " comes out at 42 (4x13+2) in base 13!

Over to you!

Apart from helping to solve the ultimate question, does base 13 have any practical use? Anyway...


What links Robert Heinlein to an uprising in what was then a British colony?

His politics, I'd imagine, extreme America-first right-wing. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress was fairly obviously inspired by the American War of Independence, which I'd guess may be what you're looking for.

Re the usefulness of base 13; possibly for calculations based on playing cards? And there are probably a few currencies in fantasy with 13 coins in one of the denominations.

ffutures wrote: ↑Mon Dec 23, 2019 10:03 pm

... which I'd guess may be what you're looking for.

Nope!

Clue the first: It's a musical link, and the former British colony is in Africa.

the former British colony is in Africa.

Doesn't narrow it down much...

<grins> Would the ear narrow it down a bit?

Clue the second: the musical link is a song title, which leads to an album, which in turn leads to one of Heinlein's classics.

OK... the only thing I can see related to Heinlein in the War of Jenkin's Ear is the Anson expedition - Anson MacDonald was one of Heinlein's aliases. Is this the answer, with the song "Old MacDonald Had a Farm?"

Perhaps I should capitalise the EAR - that should put you in the right part of Africa.

East Africa?

Is this the song you had in mind?
https://youtu.be/5Xx2Fo9vkjI

East Africa, yes. As for Hot Gossip, I saw them live once - and they were hot!

But that ain't the song I'm looking for. The key is the name of the uprising.

I'm drawing a complete blank unless you mean the East African Rift, where the fossil hominid Lucy was found.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_African_Rift

I'm not sure what uprising might be involved, apart from possibly something geological.

Also drew a complete blank on a list of African conflicts. And the only musical connection I can find is the band EAR who also seem to be missing any Heinlein connection

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EAR_(band)

Uprising as in rebellion (which in this case lasted eight years) - and the aforementioned album was nominated for a Hugo Award.

Ok, then it's the Mau-Mau rebellion in Kenya, which makes the album Jefferson Starship's Blows Against the Empire, which has a track by that name and was a Hugo nominee, and according to Wikipedia was based on concepts from Heinlein's stories. And if it isn't that, for the love of Cthulhu please tell us, because I obviously haven't a clue.