The Volokh Conspiracy
[Puzzleblogger Kevan Choset, October 31, 2005 at 11:03am] Trackbacks
Another Thing in Common:

What do Robespierre, Saddam Hussein, and Vladimir Lenin have in common?

UPDATE: Three hints below.

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mojo (mail):
Mass murderers?
10.31.2005 11:08am
David Hecht (mail):
I know that ol Vlad had a brother who was executed by the Tsarist government after being implicated in an assassination attempt. If the others did as well that might figure.

But...um...other than that, I concur with mojo that this seems more of a trick question! :-)
10.31.2005 11:10am
rbj:
They all have the letter "i" in their last name.
Was Robespierre buried? The other two are above ground, at least for the time being.
10.31.2005 11:13am
Anderson (mail) (www):
They were all FREEMASONS!

j/k
10.31.2005 11:22am
Marc Bides (mail):
They all have beards?
10.31.2005 11:22am
Texasyankee (mail):
All three were involved in the violent overthrow of monarchies. All three came to power as reformers trying to better the lot of the masses. All three failed.
10.31.2005 11:24am
zaoem (mail):
Toppled statues?
10.31.2005 11:25am
cirby (mail):
They all changed their last names at some point.
10.31.2005 11:37am
Kevan Choset (mail):
cirby:
Interesting. That's not what I was going for, although, coincidentally, the next person I was planning on providing as a hint also changed his last name.
10.31.2005 11:42am
Tom Cotter (mail):
They are all better known by names that are different in some respects from their original names. Robespierre's original surname was the aristocratic "de Robespierre." Saddam Hussein was "Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti." Lenin was Vladimir Ilych Ulyanov. Castro's full name, in accordance with the practice in some Spanish-speaking countries of incorporating both mother's and father's surnames into one's surname, is Fidel Casto Ruz.
10.31.2005 11:44am
D:
Each ordered the execution of people who were vital to his ascension?
10.31.2005 11:46am
crptbr (mail):
They all tried out for Major League baseball teams and only turned to revolutionary politics after failing to be drafted, or in Lenin's case, offered a mere pittance to play for Cleveland's AA franchise.
10.31.2005 11:47am
AK (mail):
We don't know if they would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, but if Bush nominated any of them to the Supreme Court, NARAL, People for the American Way, and Ted Kennedy would put out an apocolyptic press release claiming that women's lives were now in jeopardy.
10.31.2005 11:51am
Cheburashka (mail):
None of them have ever been in my kitchen.
10.31.2005 11:52am
D:
None of them have ever been in my kitchen.

Took us nearly an hour to get it right. We're slipping.
10.31.2005 11:56am
Jay Louis (mail):
They all went to law school (or studied law).
10.31.2005 12:03pm
Kevan Choset (mail):
Jay Louis has the one I was looking for. The next person I was going to provide was Bill Clinton, who shares the changed-his-last-name feature that a couple of you pointed out (and, I'm sure, would have given you all fodder for many more jokes).
10.31.2005 12:12pm
alex:
Aren't they all left-handed?
10.31.2005 12:12pm
Jay Louis (mail):
Let me add that I believe they also all practiced law (I know Robespierre, Lenin and Castro did; it's possible Saddam did not).
10.31.2005 12:12pm
Jay Louis (mail):
Definitely makes good fodder for jokes Kevan. :-) Thanks for the trivia quiz!
10.31.2005 12:13pm
Robert Schwartz (mail):
The first answer was the correct one.
10.31.2005 12:14pm
Arthur (mail):
Off topic for the puzzleblogger: As a professional crossword puzzle constructor, is the replacement of MIERS with ALITO in the category of Americans famous enough to be used in crossword puzzles a positive or a negative? Also, any truth to the rumor that the powerful crossword lobby has been pressuring the administration to nominate a justice with an unusual five letter name?
10.31.2005 12:35pm
Hebert Sampson (mail):
THEY ALL HAVE an "i" IN THEIR NAMES!
10.31.2005 12:43pm
jcg (mail):
All read Machiavelli.

List should include Mao.
10.31.2005 12:45pm
Kim (mail):
They all like a good cigar?
10.31.2005 12:50pm
Positive Dennis:
I still say that McCarthy was the better songwriter than Lenin.

Positive Dennis
10.31.2005 1:06pm
Evan (www):
They all shagged many mistresses?
10.31.2005 1:12pm
Kevan Choset (mail):
Arthur,
I would argue that Miers is still legit fodder for crosswords. Both are great, though, because they have very common letters in them. If I'm ever named to the Court, I'll have the double bonus of adding a good first name to the database as well.
10.31.2005 1:13pm
joseph henchman (mail):
They all are more qualified for the Supreme Court than Harriet Miers.
10.31.2005 1:17pm
Gordon (mail):
The left-handers guess was intriguing, but a little bit of googling tells me that only Clinton and Castro are known south-paws in the bunch.
10.31.2005 1:28pm
Eric:
All men duh. This puzzle is sloppy seconds. :P
10.31.2005 1:35pm
Riskable (mail) (www):
Alex got it right: They're all left-handed.

Alternatives:

They all slept with large numbers of women?
They're all men.
As their power increased, their popularity declined.
They all smoked pot?
They all have the letter "I" in their names.

...or my favorite: They all suffered from Atherosclerosis
10.31.2005 1:37pm
Bruce:
"They all tried out for Major League baseball teams and only turned to revolutionary politics after failing to be drafted, or in Lenin's case, offered a mere pittance to play for Cleveland's AA franchise." True, but Lenin to Trotsky to Bukharin is still legendary.
10.31.2005 2:57pm
Jam (mail):
They were all educated in Catholic schools.
11.1.2005 7:37am

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