Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Google has Houdini's Bacon number wrong

Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon is a game in which one tries to link actor Kevin Bacon to any other actor in six steps or less. Calculating Bacon numbers is an "easter egg" feature on Google. Just type in "Bacon number" plus an actor's name to get a result. Here's what currently comes up for Houdini:


This is incorrect. Lila Lee passed away in 1973, so she could not have been in the 1989 film Blood and Sand with Sharon Stone. Lee was in the original 1922 Blood and Sand with Rudolph Valentino, so it appears Google has the two movies confused.

However, there is a legitimate way to use Lila Lee to link to Houdini to Kevin Bacon in 4 steps:

1. Harry Houdini and Lila Lee appeared in Terror Island.
2. Lila Lee and John Carradine appeared in The Emperor's New Clothes.
3. John Carradine and Jack Nicholson appeared in The Last Tycoon.
4. Jack Nicholson and Kevin Bacon appeared in A Few Good Men.

Back in 2012, iTricks reported that Houdini's Bacon number was 4 using actor Arthur Hoyt as the link. Joe Notaro at HHCE showed how you could also link in 4 steps through actor Tully Marshall. But I like using Lila. Houdini seems to like it too.

Joined by Bacon.

I'm not sure how one goes about correcting a Bacon number on Google. But I'd still like to find a way to do the link in 3 steps. Anyone care to try?

Related:
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10 comments:

  1. John CoxJanuary 13, 2016 at 1:02 PM

    Sorry, Josphe P. I delated your extra comment right when you deleted your orginal. So both got zapped. Feel free to post again. But you pointed out that The Oracle of Bacon. site did it legitimately in 3:

    Harry Houdini
    was in
    The Grim Game (1919)
    with
    Tully Marshall
    was in
    Sergeant York (1941)
    with
    June Lockhart
    was in
    The Big Picture (1989)
    with
    Kevin Bacon

    Correct!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joseph P.January 13, 2016 at 1:02 PM

      I was wondering what happened to my post! Thanks.

      Delete
    2. Joseph P.January 13, 2016 at 1:13 PM

      Also saw this one:

      Harry Houdini
      was in
      The Man from Beyond (1922)
      with
      Luis Alberni
      was in
      When Willie Comes Marching Home (1950)
      with
      Kenneth Tobey
      was in
      Hero at Large (1980)
      with
      Kevin Bacon

      Delete
    3. John CoxJanuary 13, 2016 at 5:27 PM

      Another nice one.

      So it's not that Google has the number wrong, they just have the path wrong. BTW, they make the same mistake if you try to connect Nita Naldi to Bacon. They confuse the Valentino Blood and Sand with the Sharon Stone flick. But that Oracle of Bacon site is great.

      Delete
  2. Rick SchmidlinJanuary 13, 2016 at 4:38 PM

    Try this John

    We met the Willit brother's

    Their father directed the Grim Game

    only two degree's from th entire cast and crew!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John CoxJanuary 13, 2016 at 5:31 PM

      Nice!

      Delete
    2. John CoxJanuary 13, 2016 at 5:35 PM

      If being a writer counts, I'm only 3 degree from Bacon.

      I wrote
      Boot Camp
      with
      Mila Kunis
      was in
      Extract (2009)
      with
      Mike Judge (I)
      was in
      R.I.P.D. (2013)
      with
      Kevin Bacon

      Delete
  3. Bullet ValmontJanuary 14, 2016 at 5:25 PM

    Being a writer totally counts, John!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Bullet ValmontJanuary 14, 2016 at 5:28 PM

    Okay, i consulted the Oracle:

    Bullet Valmont
    was in
    The Mask (1994)
    with
    Meadow Williams
    was in
    Apollo 13 (1995)
    with
    Kevin Bacon

    This means i'm only two degrees from actually BEING Kevin Bacon.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Bullet ValmontJanuary 14, 2016 at 5:32 PM

    And one more from the Oracle:

    Patrick Culliton
    was in
    The Towering Inferno (1974)
    with
    Robert Wagner (I)
    was in
    Wild Things (1998)
    with
    Kevin Bacon

    ReplyDelete