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42-485: In the early 20th century, dead pools were popular in dangerous sports such as motorsport, for example the first edition of the Indianapolis 500 . 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

84-479: A "dot-com dead pool" which invited users to predict the next Internet startups to fail during that era's dot com bust . The site itself folded in 2007 after a long history as a target for strategic lawsuits against public participation by companies. Because of the high body count in the first seven seasons of the popular fantasy television series Game of Thrones , dead pools were launched for its final season. Britain's premier dead pool in recent years has been

126-539: A National Championship during the 1910 season, and did not declare a National Champion. The de facto National Champion as polled by the American automobile journal Motor Age , was Ray Harroun . Points were not awarded by the AAA Contest Board during the 1910 season. Harroun was named the champion by Chris G. Sinsabaugh, an editor at Motor Age , based upon merit and on track performance. A points table

168-605: A public figure's lifestyle, absence of recent appearances and rumors of illness." A dead pool is a key plot element of the 1988 final installment of the Dirty Harry film series, The Dead Pool . Harry investigates the players, when several people listed in a game of dead pool die in suspicious circumstances. The Marvel Comics character Deadpool (first appearing in 1991) takes his name after escaping from Ajax and Dr. Killebrew , who formed their own dead pool based on which of their experimental subjects would die first. In

210-456: A small advantage near the 340 mile (550 kilometer) mark, whereupon one of the Wasp's tires failed. Harroun's forced stop allowed Mulford to move to the front, before Mulford also pitted for new rubber. After Mulford came back onto the track, Harroun was scored in the lead with a 1-minute 48 second advantage, and victory. After the race, and collection of $ 10,000 for first place, Harroun returned to

252-507: A spectacular purse of $ 25,000; equivalent to 37.615 kg (82.93 lb) of pure gold, and more than high enough to attract global as well as national and regional competition. The endurance event was favored by several manufacturers, but debate soon proceeded as to what would be most beneficial to the spectators as well as the participants. While a 24-hour race would be possible on a technical level despite its extreme nature, all agreed that potential ticket-buyers would inevitably depart

294-508: The 1910 Wheeler-Schebler Trophy Race , as well as during test runs in May 1911, Harroun discovered that by merely running a constant 75 mph pace instead of an 80 mph (or faster) pace, he would substantially reduce his tire wear and increase tire life. Davidson contends that Mulford did not make serious claims to victory later in life, as some have suggested. And in fact the controversy itself did not begin to inflame until decades after

336-523: The 2016 film Deadpool , the titular character takes his hero name from a dead pool of mercenaries, himself included, who are regular patrons at his favorite bar. In the MTV show Teen Wolf , the main plotline of Season 4 (2014) revolves around a dead pool specifically targeting the supernaturals of Beacon Hills , which is set up by a mysterious character named The Benefactor. 1911 Indianapolis 500 The 1911 International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race

378-1128: The Derby Dead Pool, which has run for over 25 years and received an article detailing its players on the BBC website. The Rotten.com Dead Pool , formerly largest in the world, 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" (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

420-555: The Indianapolis 500. One of the front wheels came off the American Simplex car Greiner was driving, causing him to lose control and both men to be thrown from the car. While Greiner escaped with a broken arm, Dickson flew into a fence 20 feet (6.1 m) from the car. Reports state that Dickson was killed instantly, although the crowd evidently swarmed around the body, requiring the state militia who were acting as security at

462-528: The July 4 weekend races had come near to equaling the Memorial Day turnout. While potential explanations for the decline included the high heat of summer and the women of the city making family holiday plans that did not include automobile racing, one of the most likely, they reasoned, was an overabundance of the very events they exhibited: too many races had diluted turnout down to only those most interested in

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504-568: The Lozier crew to spend several minutes themselves changing a tire which stuck to the wheel hub; Mulford's protest was thus denied. According to track historian Donald Davidson , no protests were filed at the end of the race and Mulford offered congratulations to Harroun in the Detroit Free Press newspaper on June 4. Davidson has also pointed out that Mulford was reported by contemporary publications to have changed 14 tires during

546-474: The Speedway had scheduled numerous smaller races during a series of meets over the two years. In a departure from that policy, for 1911 the management decided to instead schedule a single, large-scale event attracting widespread attention from both American and European racing teams and manufacturers. It proved to be a successful event, immediately establishing itself as both the premier motorsports competition in

588-544: The Strang-driven Case entry being assigned #1 in the first starting position. The largest racing purse offered to date, $ 27,550, drew 46 entries from the United States and Europe , from which 40 qualified by sustaining 75 mph (121 km/h) along the quarter mile-long main straight. Grid positions were determined by date of filing of official entry forms, rather than speed, a difference from

630-494: The US and one of the most prestigious in the world. The 1910 racing season at Indianapolis Motor Speedway began well, with an estimated 60,000 spectators for the 200 mi (320 km) Wheeler-Schebler Trophy on Memorial Day , won by Ray Harroun . Throughout the remainder of the season, however, the crowds grew progressively smaller, and after seeing a second decline in attendance in as many days for Labor Day , September 5, 1910,

672-467: The beginning of a long tradition of the opening of the Speedway, on the first day of the month of the race, to free practice on the circuit during daylight hours by any and all participants. A policy originally established so as to allow teams unfamiliar with the 2.5-mile (4.0 km), recently brick-paved high-speed course as much time to acclimate as necessary, the "Month of May", as it came to be called in future years, ultimately proved most advantageous in

714-453: The city's East Washington Street by Frank Fox , who was not only the slated driver of one of the two cars but also the company's local agent. Ultimately, of the full forty-six entries originally submitted, only the two cars of the Falcar team from Moline , Illinois failed to appear, due to an inability to acquire critical chassis pieces. To further refine the entry list as the date of

756-503: The contemporary European practice of lottery. Entries were prescribed by rules to have a minimum weight of 2,300 lb (1,043 kg) and a maximum engine size of 600 cubic inches (9.83 litres) displacement . The 40 cars lined up five to a row, except for the first and last. In the first row, the Stoddard-Dayton pace car was situated on the inside (driven by IMS owner Carl Fisher ), with four competitors cars rounding out

798-514: The course of the race, including one from a blown tire in turn one. Changing tires at the time was a lengthy and painstaking process, as the wheels were typically not removable. Tires had to be pried off of the rims, remounted, and inflated - all using hand tools, and in the precarious confines of the primitive pit stalls. Mulford himself even understood and admitted that he lost at least 14 minutes of track position due to his numerous pit stops. "[Mulford] expressed himself as more than satisfied with

840-573: The event to use their guns as clubs to clear a path for the attending doctors. Nearing the halfway point, Ray Harroun , an engineer for the Marmon-Nordyke company and defending AAA national champion, and the only driver competing without a riding mechanic due to his first-ever-recorded use of a cowl-mounted rear-view mirror , passed Bruce-Brown for the lead in his self-designed, six- cylinder "Marmon Wasp" (so named for its distinctively sharp-pointed, wasp-like tail). Others faltered during

882-474: The final day of the concluding meet, Speedway co-founders Carl Fisher , James Allison , Arthur Newby and Frank Wheeler conferred to decide on a new course for the following year. While the appearance on Monday of some 18,000 was reasonable enough, given both the rain showers occurring early that morning and the large parade held downtown during the afternoon, neither the two days of the Labor Day meet nor

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924-404: The grounds well before its conclusion. Deciding on a "race window" extending from 10:00AM to late afternoon, local time, early estimates placed the planned race distance at 300 to 500 miles (480 to 800 km). The race winner, with purse estimates ranging toward $ 30,000, could expect to see as much as $ 12,000. In choices for a specific date to hold the race, Memorial Day, already the occasion of

966-604: The largely inconsequential claim that minus the stoppage time needed for pit stops (over 14 minutes), he likely completed the 500 miles (running time only) in less elapsed time than Harroun & Patschke. Entries were required to maintain an excess of 75 mph (121 km/h) over a quarter-mile distance to qualify. However, the starting grid determined by order of entry date. No qualification times or speeds were recorded, only pass or fail. Note : All drivers were  R  Indianapolis 500 Rookies Note : Relief drivers in parentheses Note : (*) Due to an accident at

1008-464: The largest attendance, was always foremost. As suggested to the Speedway owners by business associate Lem Trotter, the time coincided with the completion of a late-spring agricultural practice known as "haying," after which the farmers acquired an effective two-week break. While the intention, Trotter argued, would certainly be to draw from far more than just the local farming community, simple business sense called for as little interference as possible with

1050-409: The lead from the fourth starting spot on the extreme outside of the first row, and held it until lap 5 when Spencer Wishart took over in a Mercedes , himself soon overtaken by David Bruce-Brown 's Fiat which would go on to dominate the first half of the race. Sadly on lap 12 tragedy would strike as Sam Dickson (the riding mechanic for Arthur Greiner ) was the first person killed in history during

1092-603: The main straightaway, was considered to be within reason. Thus, all cars successfully completing an officially-timed run of the quarter-mile distance at or under 12 seconds would be accepted into the starting field; those that did not would be given two additional attempts before being rejected, a policy that began the tradition of three qualification attempts allotted to each entered car. In the years following these inaugural qualification sessions, which were held on May 27 and 28, 1911, anecdotes would occasionally arise, and thereafter be steadily embellished in their retelling, regarding

1134-484: The marathon event, 14 cars fell out of the race. Harroun, relieved by Cyrus Patschke for 35 laps (87.5 miles / 140.82 km), led 88 of the 200 laps, the most among the race's seven leaders, for a race-average speed of 74.602 mph (120.060 km/h) in a total time of 6:42:08 for the 500-mile (804.67 km) distance to win. During the midpoint of the second half the race, Harroun and Lozier driver Ralph Mulford had fought an intense duel, with Harroun holding

1176-415: The motorsport community. Newspaper and trade magazine articles used ever-new superlatives for the challenges expected to soon face both drivers and engineers, and continuing discussion throughout the spring and winter kept the race as the primary conversation piece of the average citizen. Everyone, it seemed, had something to say about it. Due to the publicity thus created, Speedway management, which had for

1218-501: The outcome of the race and gives full credit to Ray Harroun and Cyrus Patschke for their great victory." Detroit Free Press ; June 4, 1911 After blowing the tire on turn one, Mulford had to limp around the track for almost an entire lap, and subsequently bent the rim. That necessitated an even longer pit stop at that juncture to hammer out the damage. The accounts from the newspapers claim that Harroun changed only four tires all day during only three pit stops. Harroun's team changed

1260-533: The position he had taken at the end of the 1910 racing season: retirement. He would never race again. Upon Harroun's declared victory, second-place finisher Mulford supposedly protested, contending he had lapped Harroun when the Marmon limped in on the torn tire, an argument appearing plausible to some, due to an accident disrupting the official timing and scoring stand at nearly the same time. However, race officials were quick to note Mulford's subsequent pit stop forced

1302-468: The previous two seasons of meets charged the effectively nominal entry fee of one dollar per mile of scheduled race distances, took measures to ensure that the likely large entry list did not include any that were frivolous: at an accordingly heightened fee of $ 500 per car, participation became a nominally risky proposition to teams and manufacturers, since, although the high finishers were due to receive record purse money and accessory prizes, no money at all

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1344-480: The purported qualifying times and speeds of given competitors, and how they compared to one another. In reality, no records of the sessions were kept at all, let alone publicized, with the sole objective being the confirmation of each car's capability to achieve the minimum speed. Also in contrast to later eras, both the starting order and the car numbering of the participants were determined not by respective speeds or previous seasonal point totals, but by entry date, with

1386-428: The race approached, a qualification system was implemented whereby each car would be required to demonstrate a sufficiently competitive pace. With several of the top entries having already recorded, during the "unofficial" practice time of the month, complete laps at up to 88 mph (142 km/h), a minimum required speed of 75 mph (121 km/h), based on a flying start over a 0.25 miles (0.40 km) section of

1428-499: The race. Likewise, internet-based urban legends, and a book published in 2011, have fueled the controversy. It is also possible that Mulford's statements in the Detroit Free Press interview were misunderstood or purposely misconstrued. While giving full credit to Harroun for winning the race, Mulford did for himself claim the world record for 500 miles driven solo (Harroun had relief help from Cyrus Patschke). He also made

1470-491: The regional economy. That such an opportunity to avoid a conflict of interest fell on a major national holiday sealed the decision: within two days, formal announcement was made of a 500-mile (800 km), marathon-distance motor race, to be held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, May 30, 1911. As desired and expected, news of a contest of such distance evoked strong enthusiasm both within and without

1512-421: The right rear tire three times, and one other unspecified tire. Harroun's shorter elapsed time in the pits is alone considered sufficient to more than overcome any track position advantage Mulford might have been thought to have. But the undermining evidence to support Harroun as the rightful winner was the team strategy to run a constant 75 mph pace, regardless of position, in order to save tire wear. During

1554-479: The row. Rows 2-8 had five cars each, while the final row had only one car in it. Fisher's use of the Stoddard-Dayton is believed to constitute the first use of such a vehicle, for the first known mass rolling start of an automobile race. Amid roiling smoke, the roar of the 40 machines' engines, and the waving of a red flag which signalled 'clear course ahead', American Johnny Aitken , in a National , took

1596-671: The short-term to the locally based teams, given that many of the entries from abroad did not even set out for the city until well into the month. One such example, the double-entry Pope-Hartford team based in Springfield , Massachusetts , came by way of the team's actual racing cars themselves simply being driven cross-country, while loaded up with toolboxes and as many spare parts as they could hold, making overnight stops in New York City , Buffalo , Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio , before finally arriving, where they were duly met at

1638-431: The sport. By the next day, Tuesday, September 6, 1910, local newspapers had already heard rumors of the decision, and reported that the four partners would likely soon choose to concentrate on a singular, major event for 1911. Most strongly considered were either a 24-hour contest — anticipating the 24 Hours of Le Mans , itself inaugurated just a dozen years later — or a 1,000 mi (1,600 km) endurance race , with

1680-630: The timing and scoring stand, laps 138 through 176 were unofficially recorded.  R  Indianapolis 500 Rookie Race field average engine displacement : Race field average qualifying speed : Finishing entries average time and finishing speed : 1910 AAA Championship Car season The 1910 AAA Championship Car season consisted of 19 races, beginning in Atlanta, Georgia on May 5 and concluding in Long Island, New York on October 1. AAA did not award points towards

1722-575: Was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Tuesday, May 30, 1911. It was the inaugural running of the Indianapolis 500 , which is the most prestigious automobile race in the world. Ray Harroun , an engineer with the Marmon Motor Car Company , came out of retirement to drive, and won the inaugural event before re-retiring for good in the winner's circle. Over the previous two seasons ( 1909 and 1910 ),

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1764-456: Was offered to finishers below tenth place. Interest, however, was far from dampened, with entry blanks distributed over the course of the following month quickly returning filled, the first of which being an automobile built by the J. I. Case Threshing Machine Company of Racine, Wisconsin , to be driven by Lewis Strang . By May 1, 1911, the final day for entry filing, a high total of some 46 cars had been nominated to compete. May 1 also marked

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