Favorite questions and answers from the second quarter of 2014

Question

Please link to your favorite questions and answers which were either asked or answered from April 1st 2014 through June 30 2014.

Your answers will be compiled into a blog post like previous quarterly posts.

I will be using DavRob60's queries for a baseline, but I really appreciate people voicing the ones they really enjoyed. Maybe you feel like you answered one really well, even if it didn't receive a lot of votes. Let me know about it.

What was the best answer (IYHO) provided to a question that was closed?

• Questions with most Votes created within 3 month range
• Questions with most View created within 3 month range
• Questions with best answer created within 3 month range

Answer 1

Two of my personal favourites:

• I really liked the answers and discussion on SQB’s question How did Dumbledore, or anyone, know Lily had sacrificed herself for Harry?

  It’s a well-posed question that invites discussion, which is nice because I think a lot of the recent Harry Potter questions have focused more on trivia than discussion. There are several good answers with different, canon-supported theories.

• Richard’s answer to Does Batman use Linux?

  I remember this question getting a lot of flak when it was first asked, and was quickly closed as opinion-based. I was pleasantly surprised when Richard managed to find not one, but two canon references to Batman’s computer.

Answer 2

Questions:

• Which are the Two Towers in Lord of the Rings by @Ram G Athreya.

  Deceptively "D'uh" obvious upon first reading and quite interesting to research in depth. I love questions that make me learn new things.

• What's with Nimbus 2000/2001 naming?

  Another deceptively obvious question where the canon answer existed and was very unexpected.

• Can Avada Kedavra be used to kill more than one being?

  A great question.

  What makes it special is that it contains both the worst answer I saw this quarter (wrong logic, wrong facts, non-canon) - which managed to accrue 4 upvotes nonetheless :( - AND aside from that, the worst answer given this year to any question by @Slytherincess (making 2 IMHO incorrect assumptions).

• What was in the letter to the Dursleys Dumbledore left with baby Harry?

  Something I was wondering about for a while as well.

• How did Voldemort know about the magic of Lily's sacrifice?

• Victorian flower language by Snape question

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Questions: Honorable Mentions:

• If a death eater had sacrificed themselves for Voldemort - would that offer a protection to him similar to the one given by Lily for Harry?

  Made me cry "uncle" for lack of any canon answer I could find.

• Why doesn't the Order use unforgivable curses in case of life threatening situations?

  Allowed me to go all bullet-point-happy. My OCD thanks the OP.

• Why was Cardinal Richeleu one of the main antagonists in 1632?

  Because it covered both Armand-Jean du Plessis (aka Cardinal Richelieu) who was one of my most favorite statsmen in history, AND Eric Flint's 1632 which is one of my favorite SF works.

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Answers:

_{I mostly remember these because they were for the questions I asked, so there's a certain bias there}

• How do wizards prevent Accio-fueled robberies?

  The answer by @alexwlchan is wonderfully canon including sourcing a canon source I wasn't even aware of before!

• Would Severus Snape be classified with ASPD? by @Slytherincess - AND a competing answer by @alexwlchan. Amazing analysis

• Would it be possible to create a wand more powerful than the Elder Wand? by @Slytherincess.

• Why didn't Quirrell keep the flying key? by @alexwlchan

  Especially since it was posted right after I made a fool of myself by commenting that there's no canon answer :)

Answer 3

Here are some of mine

• I really liked DVK's How exactly is the Secret Fire similar to the Holy Spirit?, a short but precise question that unleashed Jimmy Shelter's excellently researched answer. There were also several other questions on the topic of cosmology and metaphysics in the Legendarium which I enjoyed, like The Valar and their power to create and Did the force-like magic exist within LOTR books?.
• I had another one but then I noticed that it predated the quarter by a few days.