Dead pool

For other uses, see Dead pool (disambiguation).

A dead pool, also known as a death pool, is a game of prediction which involves guessing when someone will die. Sometimes it is a bet where money is involved.[1] (which brought national attention to The Old Blue Eyes Celebrity Death Watch) author Matt Sedensky writes, "Players scour newspapers and Web sites for news on celebrities' health; they rely on tips from insiders; and they consider a public figure's lifestyle, absence of recent appearances and rumors of illness"..

See also

References

  1. ↑ Matheson, Whitney (July 6, 2004). "Celebrity obsession extends beyond the grave". USA Today. Pop Candy (column). Retrieved August 19, 2014.</

    Modern application

    In the early 20th century, death pools were popular in dangerous sports such as motorsport, for example the first edition of the Indianapolis 500.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.indystar.com/article/20110527/SPORTS0107/105270322/Even-first-Indy-500-race-spectacle |title=Even the first Indy 500 race was a spectacle |publisher=Indianapolis Star |first=Phillip B |last=Wilson |date=May 26, 2011}}</ref>

    Variants

    A typical modern dead pool might have players pick out celebrities who they think will die within the year. Most games start on January 1, and run for 12 months although there are some variations on game length and timing. In 2000, website Fucked Company claimed to be a "dot-com dead pool" which invited users to predict the next Internet startups to fail during that era's dot com bust.<ref>{{cite news|last=Festa|first=Paul |url=http://news.cnet.com/2100-1023-955447.html?hhTest=1 |title=Dot-com dead pool brakes for Ford |work=CNet News |date=2002-08-26|accessdate=8 August 2012}}</ref> The site itself folded in 2007 after a long history as a target for strategic lawsuits against public participation by companies.<ref name="rowan">{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4064822,00.html|last=Rowan|first=David|title=The dead list|date=17 September 2000 |work=The Guardian |accessdate=8 August 2012}}</ref>

    Application in contemporary society

    The Rotten.com Dead Pool, the largest in the world,<ref>{{citation |url = http://www.macleans.ca/canada/features/article.jsp?content=20080201_143436_5540|title = Who's in your celebrity dead pool?|first = Kathleen|last = Kennedy|publisher = Maclean|date = February 1, 2008|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20140112063126/http://www.macleans.ca/canada/features/article.jsp?content=20080201_143436_5540|archivedate = 12 January 2014}}</ref> uses NNDB as its source of qualified celebrities, and as arbiter of their life status. The concept and success strategies are also detailed in a (previously) annual guide called The Dead Pool, written by KQRS-FM radio personality Mike Gelfand and author Mike Wilkinson. KQRS-FM in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota also does an annual on air dead pool contest, where show hosts and listeners will attempt to pick which celebrity will die in that calendar year. In his AP news article "Some say death pools are in poor taste",<ref>Sedensky, Matt (December 29, 2006). "Some say death pools are in poor taste". Herald Tribune.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, February 15, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.