Problem: Eratosthenes of Cyrene (; Greek: Eratosthenes o Kurenaios, IPA:

Eratosthenes was described by the Suda Lexicon as a Pentathlos (Pentathlos) which can be translated as "All-Rounder", for he was skilled in a variety of things: He was a true polymath. He was nicknamed Beta because he was great at many things and tried to get his hands on every bit of information but never achieved the highest rank in anything; Strabo accounts Eratosthenes as a mathematician among geographers and a geographer among mathematicians.  Eusebius of Caesarea in his Preparatio Evangelica includes a brief chapter of three sentences on celestial distances (Book XV, Chapter 53). He states simply that Eratosthenes found the distance to the Sun to be "stadion muriadas tetrakosias kai oktokismurias" (literally "of stadia myriads 400 and 80,000") and the distance to the Moon to be 780,000 stadia. The expression for the distance to the Sun has been translated either as 4,080,000 stadia (1903 translation by E. H. Gifford), or as 804,000,000 stadia (edition of Edouard des Places, dated 1974-1991). The meaning depends on whether Eusebius meant 400 myriad plus 80,000 or "400 and 80,000" myriad. With a stade of 185 m, 804,000,000 stadia is 149,000,000 km, approximately the distance from the Earth to the Sun.  Eratosthenes also calculated the Sun's diameter. According to Macrobious, Eratosthenes made the diameter of the Sun to be about 27 times that of the Earth. The actual figure is approximately 109 times.  During his time at the Library of Alexandria, Eratosthenes devised a calendar using his predictions about the ecliptic of the Earth. He calculated that there are 365 days in a year and that every fourth year there would be 366 days.  He was also very proud of his solution for Doubling the Cube. His motivation was that he wanted to produce catapults. Eratosthenes constructed a mechanical line drawing device to calculate the cube, called the mesolabio. He dedicated his solution to King Ptolemy, presenting a model in bronze with it a letter and an epigram. Archimedes was Eratosthenes' friend and he, too, worked on the war instrument with mathematics. Archimedes dedicated his book The Method to Eratosthenes, knowing his love for learning and mathematics.

Did he write books?

Answer with quotes: (Book XV, Chapter 53).


Problem: Screeching Weasel is an American punk rock band originally from the Chicago suburb of Prospect Heights, Illinois. The band was formed in 1986 by Ben Weasel and John Jughead. Since their formation, Screeching Weasel have broken up and reformed numerous times with numerous line-up changes. Ben Weasel has been the only constant member, though Jughead was present in every incarnation of the band until 2009.

The band originally called themselves All Night Garage Sale but changed their name to Screeching Weasel, a variation of a name a friend had suggested, Screaming Otter, which was a reference to a T-shirt that read, "I'VE GOT A SCREAMING OTTER IN MY PANTS!". Shortly after their formation, Weasel decided that it was too difficult to play bass and sing at the same time, so Vince Vogel, who took the stage name "Vinnie Bovine" joined as the band's bassist. The band recorded their debut album, Screeching Weasel, in one night for $200 and released it on Chicago label Underdog Records in 1987.  In 1988, Bovine was fired from the band and was replaced with Warren Fischer, better known as Fish, and former member of the band Ozzfish. The band recorded their second studio album, Boogadaboogadaboogada!, which featured Weasel playing second guitar (he would later state that he only played on about a quarter of the songs) and made a name for themselves by opening a show for Operation Ivy at 924 Gilman Street. Steve Cheese was fired from the band shortly after the recording due to his unwillingness to tour outside of Chicago. He was replaced by Aaron Cometbus for two shows who then was replaced by Brian Vermin. Boogadaboogadaboogada! was released in late 1988 on Roadkill Records, a label formed by investor David Best and managed by Ben Weasel following an introduction of the two by producer Mass Giorgini.  After what Weasel described as a "disastrous" tour, Fish left the group and was replaced by Dan Schafer, originally nicknamed "Sewercap" and later renamed Danny Vapid. The new band members recorded an extended play entitled Punkhouse for Limited Potential Records soon after that. The band ended up recording four more songs in 1989 that were featured on compilations, featuring a second guitarist Doug Ward, who also joined the band for several live performances. Screeching Weasel disbanded when Vermin and Vapid stated that they wanted to leave the band to concentrate on their side project, Sludgeworth.

Did anyone else leave?

Answer with quotes:
Steve Cheese was fired from the band shortly after the recording due to his unwillingness to tour outside of Chicago.