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58
votes
5 answers
Why wasn't Bilbo famous, by the time of LOTR?
(Note: I'm trying to avoid spoilers, as much as possible.)
Toward the end of LOTR, we are told that bards have already begun singing the tale of
"Frodo of the nine fingers."
It took the bards roughly a week or two.
So, why wasn't Bilbo the…
dmm
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58
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1 answer
A short story where criminals are sent back in time as punishment?
I've already searched Wikipedia's list of time travel stories in hopes of finding it, but no such luck.
This is the basic plot of the story:
In the future, criminals are sent back to the Renaissance as this is considered a humane form of punishment.…
awalmartbag
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58
votes
12 answers
How could Harry have become an Auror?
From the top answer on this question: What are Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione's professions?
Harry became an Auror under the new Minister of magic Kingsley Shacklebolt and Ginny became a professional Quidditch player for the Holyhead Harpies.
Harry…
JohnP
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58
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5 answers
Which Side Did the Slytherins Ultimately Fight For at the Battle of Hogwarts?
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a bit murky regarding the Slytherin students and their role in the final Battle of Hogwarts. We know the following:
Professor McGonagall advises Professor Slughorn that she expects the Slytherins in the Great…
Slytherincess
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58
votes
9 answers
Do any clones refuse Order 66?
When the clones are issued Order 66
telling them to turn on the Jedi,
do any of them refuse to carry out the order?
Daft
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58
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1 answer
Short story about an endless space ship
I read it online few years ago. It is a short story about exploring a spacecraft/ship/station that seems to be infinite inside.
It is written like a log, and each entry starts with a measure, like Day 1 "1 km", Day 2 "10 km", Day 3 "100 km" (not…
user31373
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58
votes
6 answers
What is the symbolism of the colors assigned to Istari wizards?
The 5 known Istari wizards all had different colors (Saruman the White, Gandalf the Gray, Radagast the Brown and two blue ones, with the later changes of Gandalf to white and Saruman to 'many colors').
Is there a (preferably in-universe) explanation…
DVK-on-Ahch-To
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58
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5 answers
Why are R2-D2 and C-3PO spelled phonetically in outside media?
Does anyone know why R2-D2 is spelled Artoo-Detoo and C-3PO is spelled See-Threepio in the script and in other media outside the movies?
I've always found this very annoying and it took away from the artificial-ness of the characters trying to make…
OghmaOsiris
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58
votes
2 answers
Why did Dumbledore say that Dudley had been mistreated by the Dursleys?
In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, when Dumbledore visits Privet Drive to pick up Harry, he tells the Dursleys:
You did not do as I asked. You have never treated Harry as a
son. He has known nothing but neglect and often cruelty at your
…
Sumit
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58
votes
1 answer
Let There Be Light Story Identification
I am looking to identify a story that I read around 2001 (it is probably much older). Someone showed me the story on pages printed from the internet, and it was attributed to Isaac Asimov (although I cannot state that is the true author).
The…
SethMMorton
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58
votes
3 answers
Is "Lord of the Rings" a trilogy of books in Tolkien's opinion?
Is "Lord of the Rings" a trilogy of books?
It was published as 3 separate books, but can it be called a trilogy? Was it intended to be a trilogy by Tolkien himself?
The question arose in comment discussions here, so I figured it's information not…
DVK-on-Ahch-To
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58
votes
3 answers
Are there any female characters in the Hobbit?
I believe Bilbo's mother, Belladonna Took, is mentioned briefly in the beginning, but are there any female characters who actually appear in the novel, rather than being merely referenced?
Even background characters who aren't explicitly named, but…
Beofett
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58
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2 answers
In "The Lord of the Rings," what important background information is contained in the poems?
From Jeff's answer to a separate Lord Of The Rings question:
... the songs and poems give some relatively important background information
I don't recall any information that seemed important (as opposed to setting the tone).
So I'm interested in…
DVK-on-Ahch-To
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58
votes
18 answers
Why aren't there any main Federation battleships in the Star Trek universe?
All of the ships seem to have offensive/defensive capabilities as secondary considerations. The galaxy seems to be loaded with fearsome enemies and the promise of even more powerful adversaries yet to be encountered.
When a single Borg ship can wipe…
Morgan
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58
votes
2 answers
Roughly how large is the population of Sandworms on Dune?
I read online that a Sandworm can grow to 450 meters long, and there are legends of worms up to 1000 meters long. The same article also stated that Sandworms are territorial and so will claim an area of desert as their own.
That got me to thinking,…
Richard C
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