IN: Hippolytus of Rome (170 - 235 AD) was one of the most important 3rd-century theologians in the Christian Church in Rome, where he was probably born. Photios I of Constantinople describes him in his Bibliotheca (cod. 121) as a disciple of Irenaeus, who was said to be a disciple of Polycarp, and from the context of this passage it is supposed that he suggested that Hippolytus so styled himself. However, this assertion is doubtful.

The facts of his life as well as his writing were soon forgotten in the West, perhaps by reason of his criticism of the bishops of Rome and because he wrote in Greek. Pope Damasus I dedicated to him one of his famous epigrams, making him, however, a priest of the Novatianist schism, a view later accepted by Prudentius in the 5th century in his "Passion of St Hippolytus". In the Passionals of the 7th and 8th centuries he is represented as a soldier converted by Saint Lawrence, a legend that long survived in the Roman Breviary. He was also confused with a martyr of the same name who was buried in Portus, of which city he was believed to have been a bishop, who was put to death by drowning in a deep well.  According to Prudentius' account, Hippolytus was dragged to death by wild horses, a striking parallel to the story of the mythological Hippolytus, who was dragged to death by wild horses at Athens. He described the subterranean tomb of the saint and states that he saw there a picture representing Hippolytus' execution. He also confirms August 13 as the date on which a Hippolytus was celebrated but this again refers to the convert of Lawrence, as preserved in the Menaion of the Eastern Orthodox Church.  The latter account led to Hippolytus being considered the patron saint of horses. During the Middle Ages, sick horses were brought to St Ippolyts, Hertfordshire, England, where a church is dedicated to him.

Who was a Legend?

OUT: According to Prudentius' account, Hippolytus was dragged to death by wild horses, a striking parallel to the story of the mythological Hippolytus,


IN: Silver was born in East Lansing, Michigan, the son of Sally (nee Thrun), a community activist, and Brian David Silver, a former chair of the political science department at Michigan State University. Silver's mother's family, of English and German descent, includes several distinguished men and women, including his maternal great-grandfather, Harmon Lewis, who was president of the Alcoa Steamship Company, Inc. Silver has described himself as "half-Jewish". Silver showed a proficiency in math from a young age.

On November 1, 2007, while still employed by Baseball Prospectus, Silver began publishing a diary under the pseudonym "Poblano" on the progressive political blog Daily Kos. Silver set out to analyze quantitative aspects of the political game to enlighten a broader audience. Silver reports that "he was stranded in a New Orleans airport when the idea of FiveThirtyEight.com came to him. 'I was just frustrated with the analysis. ... I saw a lot of discussion about strategy that was not all that sophisticated, especially when it came to quantitative things like polls and demographics'". His forecasts of the 2008 United States presidential primary elections drew a lot of attention, including being cited by The New York Times Op-Ed columnist William Kristol.  On March 7, 2008, while still writing as "Poblano," Silver established his own blog, FiveThirtyEight.com. Often colloquially referred to as just 538, the website takes its name from the number of electors in the United States electoral college.  On May 30, 2008, Poblano revealed his identity to FiveThirtyEight.com readers. On June 1, 2008, Silver published a two-page Op-Ed article in the New York Post outlining the rationale underlying his focus on the statistical aspects of politics. He first appeared on national television on CNN's American Morning on June 13, 2008.  Silver described his partisan orientation as follows in the FAQ on his website: "My state [Illinois] has non-partisan registration, so I am not registered as anything. I vote for Democratic candidates the majority of the time (though by no means always). This year, I have been a supporter of Barack Obama". With respect to the impartiality of his electoral projections, Silver stated, "Are [my] results biased toward [my] preferred candidates? I hope not, but that is for you to decide. I have tried to disclose as much about my methodology as possible".

Did the website gain people or media attention ?

OUT: He first appeared on national television on CNN's American Morning on June 13, 2008.


IN: Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 - June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, and dancer. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he was one of the most popular entertainers in the world, and was the best-selling music artist during the year of his death. Jackson's contributions to music, dance, and fashion along with his publicized personal life made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. The eighth child of the Jackson family, Michael made his professional debut in 1964 with his elder brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon as a member of the Jackson 5.

Beginning in May 2002, Jackson allowed a documentary film crew, led by British TV personality Martin Bashir, to follow him around nearly everywhere he went. On November 20 of that year, Jackson brought his infant son Prince onto the balcony of his room at the Hotel Adlon in Berlin as fans stood below, holding him in his right arm with a cloth loosely draped over Prince's face. Prince was briefly extended over a railing, four stories above ground level, prompting widespread criticism in the media. Jackson later apologized for the incident, calling it "a terrible mistake". Bashir's crew was with Jackson during this incident; the program was broadcast in March 2003 as Living with Michael Jackson. In a particularly controversial scene, Jackson was seen holding hands and discussing sleeping arrangements with a young boy.  As soon as the documentary aired, the Santa Barbara county attorney's office began a criminal investigation. After an initial probe from the LAPD and DCFS was conducted in February 2003, they had initially concluded that molestation allegations were "unfounded" at the time. After the young boy involved in the documentary and his mother had told investigators that Jackson had behaved improperly, Jackson was arrested in November 2003 and charged with seven counts of child molestation and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent in relation to the 13-year-old boy shown in the film. Jackson denied the allegations, saying the sleepovers were not sexual in nature. The People v. Jackson trial began on January 31, 2005, in Santa Maria, California, and lasted until the end of May. On June 13, 2005, Jackson was acquitted on all counts. After the trial, in a highly publicized relocation, he moved to the Persian Gulf island of Bahrain as a guest of Sheikh Abdullah. Unknown to Jackson, Bahrain was also where the family had intended to send Jackson if he had been convicted, according to a statement by Jermaine Jackson printed in The Times of London in September 2011.  On November 17, 2003, three days before Jackson's arrest, Sony released Number Ones, a compilation of Jackson's hits on CD and DVD. In the U.S., the album was certified triple platinum by the RIAA; in the UK it was certified six times platinum for shipments of at least 1.2 million units.

Who was his wife ?

OUT:
After the young boy involved in the documentary and his mother had told investigators that Jackson had behaved improperly,