Ready for a game?
The original American Gladiators TV show (1989-1996) featured 32 American Gladiators and 31 mostly-tough-sounding Gladiator names. (Why 31? Because “Lace” was used twice.) Here are the 31 names:
- Atlas
- Blaze
- Bronco
- Cyclone
- Dallas
- Diamond
- Elektra
- Gemini
- Gold
- Havoc
- Hawk
- Ice
- Jade
- Jazz
- Lace
- Laser
- Malibu
- Nitro
- Rebel
- Sabre
- Siren
- Sky
- Storm
- Sunny
- Tank
- Thunder
- Titan
- Tower
- Turbo
- Viper
- Zap
The short-lived American Gladiators remake (2008) featured 20 new gladiators and 18 new tough-sounding gladiator names. (Why 18? Because Siren and Titan were recycled from the original.) Here are the 18 new names:
- Beast
- Crush
- Fury
- Hellga
- Hurricane
- Jet
- Justice
- Mayhem
- Militia
- Panther
- Phoenix
- Rocket
- Stealth
- Steel
- Toa
- Venom
- Wolf
- Zen
So here’s the game: Try to guess what percentage of the 31 original Gladiator names and what percentage of the 18 new Gladiator names have appeared on at least one of the SSA’s annual baby name lists. (To appear on a list, a name has to be given to at least 5 U.S. babies in a single year.)
Come up with your guesses before reading on!
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Ok, here are the answers.
Of the 31 original American Gladiator names, 23 have appeared on an SSA list: Atlas, Blaze, Bronco, Dallas, Diamond, Elektra, Gemini, Gold, Havoc, Hawk, Jade, Jazz, Lace, Malibu, Rebel, Sabre, Siren, Sky, Storm, Sunny, Tank, Thunder and Titan. That’s 74%.
Of the 18 remake American Gladiator names, 9 have appeared on an SSA list: Fury, Jet, Justice, Phoenix, Rocket, Steel, Toa, Wolf and Zen. That’s exactly 50%.
How close did you get to 74% and 50%?
