This week I’m doing something a little different, but first the answer to last week’s Mystery Question:
A man was wanted as a serial killer. He was arrested but after parents of a teenage victim refused to allow her to testify, he was sentenced to only seventeen months for assault. Three of the following statements are true, and one is made up. Can you tell which one I made up?
- He was found guilty in two separate trials and sentenced to death, but on appeal, the first sentence was overturned and the second nullified.
- While police were looking for him, he appeared on the Dating Game and won the date with the “bachelorette”.
- In his third trial, he acted as his own attorney and played the role of both interrogator and witness, lowering his voice when he asked the witness questions.
- The third trial ended in a mistrial because he was tried for five separate murders at the same time, and the jurors couldn’t decide his guilt in one of the murders.
And the answer is #4! A lot of you got it. Do want to tell you what was false about it: He was tried for five separate murders at the same time, but he was found guilty on all five! His name is Rodney Alcala. Click on his name and read all about him. Congrats to all who guessed correctly.
Now for a video. Watch it and tell me how many times the white team passes the ball. Pause the video and answer the question in the comment before watching the rest of the video. And answer the other questions the narrator asks at the end. 🙂
[tweet_box design=”default” float=”none”]Can you count how many times the white team passes the ball? Leave your answer in the comments and I’ll enter you in a drawing for a copy of Justice Betrayed![/tweet_box]
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Comments 67
I counted 13
I counted 16 the next time I watched it. There had been a glitch the first time with it starting and stopping. I’m not trying to make an excuse. That’s really true. 🙂
Author
But did you see the gorilla??? or the other changes? I was so focused on counting the passes the white team made that I missed everything else! I read somewhere that most of those who counted 13-16 passes missed the gorilla because they were so focused on the white team.
16 passes
Author
I wonder if you saw the gorilla, Sonnetta? Thanks for stopping by.
I counted 11 but did see the extra character. Interesting.
Author
Do you mean you saw the gorilla? If you did that would make me believe the research in the first comment is true. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by.
16 passes
Author
Linda, I only got 14 the first time, and didn’t see the gorilla. lol. Thanks for stopping by.
16, and I did see the extra character.
Author
Oh, wow, Linda, that means the research is probably flawed. lol Thanks for stopping by.
I was so focused on the white shirts that I missed the gorilla and curtain. And I only counted 15 — missed one.
Author
Me, too, Christine! Thanks for stopping by and taking the test!
I counted 15 and missed the other things. Interesting.
Author
Beth, I found this very interesting. Until I took the test again, I didn’t believe there was a gorilla! But then I’ve always said I was the least observant writer I knew. lol
16 passes. I did see the gorilla but missed the chsnging curtain colors and the exit of the player in black. I had to replay more than once.
Author
Perrianne, that’s interesting. I still don’t know how I missed the gorilla the first time around. lol
16!!!
Author
Very good, Jackie. Did you see the gorilla?
16 passes. I didn’t notice the gorilla or the curtain changing color.
Author
I’m glad to have company, Vickie! Thanks for stopping by.
16
Author
Hi Debbie, and did you see any of the changes? Thanks for stopping by!
I counted only 15, and missed the extra character!
Author
How wild is that, Linda??? This was such an interesting exercise for me. Thanks for stopping by.
14. I did see the gorilla but missed the curtain.
Author
Paula, I don’t quite know what to make of me missing the gorilla. It’s blown my mind, I tell you. Thanks for stopping by.
I counted 16 and saw the gorilla but missed the player leaving and the curtains changing color..lol. I already have Justice Betrayed, and enjoyed seeing how observant I am 🙂
Author
Betti, it just amazed me how unobservant I am! Thanks for stopping by!
Lol! 16, but I was so focused on “white shirt” that I totally missed the gorilla and curtain!
Author
I know, Regina! Still can’t believe I missed the gorilla or the curtain change or the player leaving the game!
I counted 16 passes, but I didn’t notice the gorilla or player leaving and only half-noticed the curtain changing color. I guess I should should work on being more observant! 🙂
Author
That’s exactly what I need to do, Elizabeth–work on being more observant. But not quite sure how to do that…lol Thanks for stopping by!
My answers are skewed because I read some of the other peoples’ answers! I did count 16, saw the gorilla and the curtain change color. I didn’t notice the player in black leave though.
Author
I’ve cautioned my daughter to not read the comments before she watches the video, Anne. 🙂 She does that, too. I thought this was a very interesting exercise. Thanks for stopping by.
16 passes. At first I watched until they all left the stage. I kept my eye on the ball (that’s what every good coach tells a player to do) and counted the passes. Then I started again from the beginning to verify my count. The gorilla caught my eye that time. I did not see the player in the black shirt leave but I saw the gorilla leave. I noticed when the players left the stage that there were only five and had a fleeting question about the third player in black. When they did the rewind, I saw the player in black leave as the gorilla came on. Very interesting. I’m sure what ever name you call this, the same thing has a lot of bearing on why witnesses to a crime report seeing different things. Quite interesting!
Author
I found this really interesting, Edward, and I’m sure it’ll show up in a book sometime. Thanks for stopping by!
I’d love to be on the street team for that book. By the way, I was just scanning back through other comments and realized I had missed the curtain change. So I returned to the video to look for that. After noticing the change, I had to back up to find where it changed. Wondering what else I would see if I kept watching. It seems to all depend on focus. It would be interesting to see how many things would be noticed the first time through if the viewer was not instructed to respond to the question about the number of passes.
Author
Probably a lot of the things we missed would be seen if we weren’t told to focus on the white team, Edward. This was such a fascinating exercise for me. Thanks for stopping by!
16 times didn’t see gorilla
watched it again and saw gorilla and curtain change
Author
Yeah, Shelia, I had to watch it again, too. That’s when I saw the gorilla and the curtain. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.
Started the video and watched a bit to see what I was supposed to be seeing. (Stopped it about when the passing was almost done. ) Wasn’t counting but did see the gorilla. Missed the player leaving and the color change. Then went back and counted and DIDN’T see the gorilla! Stroll didn’t note the player leaving nor the color change.
Fascinating experiment.
Author
I think so, too, Kimberly. I didn’t see any of the other stuff and counted 14 passes. But I was so focused on the white team. lol Thanks for stopping by.
16 passes
Author
Carole, did you see the gorilla??? lol. Or the other stuff? Thanks for stopping by. 😉
I counted 16 passes but missed the other events.
Author
Me, too, Gloria! It was a fun experiment. Thanks for stopping by.
I counted 13 and saw a gorilla / missed the other stuff 🙁
Author
You did good, Elisa! Isn’t it amazing how the mind works? Now I understand why eyewitnesses have different versions of what happened.
15 passes, and yes I saw the gorilla. I noticed something off about 1/3 of the way through but didn’t want to miss a pass. Thought it was just the lighting.
Author
Congrats, Deena! You saw more than I did. lol Thanks for commetning!
I got 14
I got 14 the first time, 16 the 2nd time. I did not see the gorilla, notice the color change, or see a player exit the game either time because I was focused on the white shirts.
Author
It’s amazing, isn’t it Elizabeth! Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment!
I counted 16, saw the gorilla but completely missed the curtain changing colors and the player exiting. It’s not hard to miss little details when a lot of things are going on at the same time and you’re told to focus on one thing. 🙂
I have a copy of Justice Betrayed so no need to enter my name in the contest. I wonder how many other videos there are like this out there…lol! The mind is a fasinating thing, isn’t it?
Author
Yes, the mind is a fascinating thing, Trixi! Never fear if you already have a copy of Justice Betrayed…if your name is drawn, you can choose a book from my library! Thanks for stopping by.
16 – But, I missed the gorilla, & missed the curtain changing colors, and missed the player wearing black leaving the floor! oh.
Author
It’s quite the shock, isn’t it, MS Barb! Thanks for stopping by!
I counted 16 passes but didn’t see the gorilla
Author
Seems we might be related, Ann. 😀 Thanks for stopping by!
I counted 16. Since I was so focused on the white team, I completely missed the gorilla, the black team member walking off, and the curtain changing colors!
Author
I missed it all, too, Jeanna! Thanks for stopping by.
I counted 14 passes. I saw the gorilla, but missed the curtain change completely. I saw the player leave, but didn’t realize that was what I saw; I thought it was just the motion of the gorilla entering. Interesting video and concept!!
Author
Diane, I thought it was very interesting. And I didn’t see anything other than the white players. lol Thanks for dropping by.
I counted 15 passes and saw the gorilla.
Wow! you are very observant, Caryl! Thanks for stopping by.