wertperch's nodeshell challenge

printable version

N O D I N G    C H A L L E N G E

I have many nodeshells, created over nearly 6 years. Too many for me to fill, as you can clearly see from the list below. Since December 2004, I have decided to enlist help in filling them. I have, as you may see, made a small start, but the database does need your assistance.


  • The rules are simple - simply fill one of these (my current nodeshells) with something relevant. (You'd better check that it is still a nodeshell first, though - occasionally, someone does fill one without letting me know.)

  • Factuals should be well researched, well formatted and suitable for all readers (see Writing for a Wider Audience). Aim for completeness, but don't go over-the-top - 1500 words should top off most topics, and even the shorter topics could be 300-500 words long.

  • It's well known that I like a good, readable format, so lots of nice white space and subheadings (bold only, please - none of those dreaded <H> tags) will be smiled upon, especially in the longer writeups.

  • It goes without saying that I expect you to have spell-checked and proofread your work before letting me know. If I find gross errors of grammar or whatnot, you may lose out.

  • Other (non-factual) stuff may be creative, funny, quirky or what-have-you - use your imagination, I know you have one in there!

  • I've decided to extend the closing date indefinitely - feel free to let me know as and when you complete one!

  • Provided your work meets the basic criteria, you're guaranteed a C! from me, and maybe other blessings too - XP, votes or whatnot if you really strike a chord with me. Chings for you to spend, and possibly even a temporary homenode pic are not ruled out either, but obviously it's at my discretion.

  • When you have posted your work, let me know that you have done so, and that it is for this challenge. This applies long after the fact, so if you realise later that the 'shell was in the challenge, still let me know. Once I've checked it off, I'll credit you in the list here.

    If you have any questions or other comments, or think that any of the nodeshells are irrelevant, duplicated or just plain wrong, please /msg me (thanks to ariels for pointing some out already).

Sadly, since starting, I have added almost as many new ones as have been completed. When I began there were in excess of 670. As I write this, we're at 639, with 109 completed *sigh*.


Note that there's a list of OH GOD, I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS NOT NODED on jessicapierce's scratchpad, too.



Completed Quest Writeups

  1. HMS Revenge - floated by Palpz
  2. Farnborough - now flying, thanks to LSK
  3. cinnabar moth - noded by wertperch
  4. steam distillation - done by young Palpz
  5. Publius Sulpicius Quirinius - sorted by DylanDog
  6. human cannonball - launched by wertperch
  7. dry rot - moulded by RACECAR
  8. The Mekon - first alien bio by wertperch
  9. dog rose - planted by RACECAR
  10. bomb disposal - defused by Palpz
  11. spick and span - cleaned up by Junkill
  12. Poperinge - neatly placed by DylanDog
  13. sperm motility - movin' and shakin' thanks to Palpz
  14. Alain Bombard - wertperch runs out of plays on words
  15. Walsall - put in place by Redalien
  16. tannic acid - Redalien reacted nicely
  17. ducking stool - dropped in by Cairsten
  18. Maxwell's otter - Junkill's pet
  19. Coals to Newcastle - carried off by Junkill
  20. carrier wave - broadcast by redbaker
  21. Clovis point - sculpted by The Lush
  22. Weisses Fleisch - Redalien
  23. dormitory town - woken up by LSK
  24. Davy Lamp - gbulmer enlightens us
  25. harvest mouse - sown by RACECAR
  26. Marsh Arabs - settled by junkill
  27. MASM - assembled by Vimes
  28. University of Missouri - Columbia - thesis by The Lush
  29. Saint Leonard - sanctified by Junkill
  30. trypanosomiasis - put to bed by Junkill
  31. Saint Bruno - rescued by Junkill
  32. barley water - concoted by wertperch
  33. Fourteen Holy Helpers - assisted by Tlachtga
  34. Anita Roddick - a body of work by gyrozapose
  35. Milk Stout - brewed up by thatguy
  36. 1170 - a good year for gbulmer
  37. Abigail's Party - hosted by Helen4Morrisey
  38. magnetosphere - attracted Redalien's attention
  39. Haddon Hall - built by Helen4Morrissey
  40. Murder Most Horrid - mystery solved by shimmer
  41. Andy Fairweather-Low - Amen to Junkill
  42. 1893 - from young mauler
  43. petit fours - served up by lesha
  44. St Bartholomew's Hospital - healed by paraclete
  45. run the gauntlet - handed out by junkill
  46. Brian Clough - saved by hubris
  47. spider mite - in the wild thanks to Envy
  48. elkhound - bred and trained by nocodeforparanoia
  49. enterotoxin - paraclete served it up
  50. blue eyed soul - nocodeforparanoia done it
  51. bobbing and weaving - dance to lupus
  52. Holy Island - outlined by gbulmer
  53. Atanasoff-Berry Computer - worked out by 18thCandidate
  54. Daughters of the American Revolution - recruited by lesha
  55. electoral register - recorded by benya
  56. London Stock Exchange - catered by the.web.hermit
  57. Spiny Oakworm - nocodeforparanoia
  58. chromium sulfate - tanned by Grayscale
  59. phototoxic - exposed by Grayscale
  60. beware of geeks bearing gifs - presented by Rapscallion
  61. to coin a phrase - stamped out by twofourtysix
  62. Ford Model A - driven into view by Envy
  63. The Woman in Red - recorded by TerribleAspect
  64. Ragged School - tidied up by Paraclete
  65. every cloud has a silver lining - turned out nicely, by Hubris
  66. Maurice Saatchi - as advertised by Hubris
  67. Devil amongst the Tailors - knocked off by TerribleAspect
  68. 616 - beautifully timed by hapax
  69. Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly - tuned up by Tlachtga
  70. Bombay mix - spiced up by twofourtysix
  71. 1189 - mauler, timed beautifully.
  72. cricket pitch - rolled by __kk__
  73. poker dice - defined by Webster 1913 (and thrown by jclast)
  74. chrysophanic acid - released by Grayscale
  75. bee hummingbird - small, but perfectly formed by lesha
  76. Daring jumping spider - pounced on by wertperch
  77. tintinnabulum - rattled out by Webster 1913
  78. Lady Penelope - strung together by waverider37
  79. Lembit Öpik - closed by Redalien
  80. Inglenook - built by wertperch
  81. Neti Pot - done, indirectly by geneva
  82. Japanese etiquette - beautifully finished by crypulse
  83. Jane's Fighting Ships - launched by The Custodian
  84. California Singing Fish - noted by Bitriot
  85. robber crab - nipped by Bitriot
  86. prawn crackers - served up by twofourtysix
  87. autothrottle - opened by The Custodian
  88. Joy Adamson - released into the wild by skybluefusion
  89. Women in Love - web unravelled by ShadowSpinner
  90. Thomas Coke - brought in by niruena
  91. William Stukeley - conjured by Tlachtga
  92. chamber pot - filled by Excalibre
  93. sodium thiosulfate - developed by RPGeek
  94. Paper Lace - unfolded by XWiz
  95. babul - "rescued" by Webster 1913, still in need of some more lovin' though
  96. Roseanne Barr - bar raised *groans* by Azzer
  97. white tea - brewed by Oolong
  98. 1925 - worked out by Grey Knight
  99. Kim's Game - found by Grey Knight
  100. malky - done in by Grey Knight
  101. moonraking - fished out by npecom
  102. dandelion and burdock cordial - polished off by npecom
  103. double digging - forked over by npecom
  104. laughter lines - :) by Danneeness
  105. spoon and pusher - fed to you by wertperch
  106. club moss - bashed out by grundoon
  107. multigrade oil - changed by Mikebert
  108. intentional grounding - spiked by Mikebert
  109. Cooper's Hawk - saved from extinction by Mikebert
  110. Here's Lucy - broadcast by Timeshredder
  111. arrow loop - fired off by Mikebert
  112. hydraulic fluid - Mikebert put the squeeze on it
  113. offensive holding - flagged by Mikebert
  114. Mods and Rockers - kickstarted by Mikebert
  115. The London Gazette - published by Redalien
  116. Tequila Stuntman - performed by ReiToei (originally as "tequila suicide") and PureDoxyk
  117. cucumber beetle - unearthed by kanoodle
  118. A dying playground can be Eden - planted by graceness
  119. 1118 - timed nicely by kanoodle (shame it wasn't number 118 on the list)
  120. sparring partner - fought for by cameron101
  121. Dennis Weaver - smoked out by kanoodle
  122. Fröhlich's syndrome - described here by dwardu
  123. Dalwhinnie - distilled by meezzio
  124. Imperial Tobacco - smoked out by meezzio
  125. Saint Petroc - blessed by Nadine_2
  126. Blue rinse - hair by virtue of kanoodle
  127. National Command Authority - led by The Custodian
  128. glove puppet - nicely handled by e-lainey
  129. shaving horse - shaped and finished by kanoodle
  130. Dropkick Me Jesus, Through The Goalposts Of Life - confidently scored by myself
  131. Saint Peregrine - nodeshell cured by Augustine
  132. Ginger Nuts - slammed (and dunked) by Andrew Aguecheek
  133. TASM - shot into the nodegel by The Custodian
  134. BAC TSR.2 - flying thanks to The Custodian
  135. open-heart surgery - cracked by metabrain
  136. North Atlantic Conveyor - brought by RainDropUp
  137. Nanette Newman - cleaned up by XWiz
  138. A disaster of Biblical proportions - brought down by Augustine
  139. Blackle - energetically written by resiak
  140. moue - poutingly rescued by Tem42
  141. Bodmin Moor - explored by XWiz
  142. Igorot - populated by Heitah
  143. Dutch courage - bravely filled by Mikebert
  144. grotty - delightfully finished by Heitah
  145. Sea Buckthorn - unfrozen by Heitah
  146. One in Five - shot down by Venkman
  147. foliar feed - homegrown by npecom
  148. rags to riches - brought up by sangsoo

Still To Do

  1. 1124
  2. 1473
  3. 3 Mustaphas 3 - British band
  4. 6502A
  5. A Tourist Guide to SouthEast England
  6. Abbot Ale
  7. ABC Cinemas
  8. Abraham Holzel
  9. Accurist
  10. Age and treachery will overcome youth and skill
  11. air support
  12. Alan Bates - English actor
  13. Alan K. Simpson
  14. alcohol intolerance
  15. Alemanni
  16. Alex Cox - film director
  17. Alexei Shulgin
  18. Alfred Marks - British actor
  19. Alice Kahn
  20. Ali Hassan Salameh
  21. All Industrials index
  22. alpine meadow - 17 Dec 04 momomom
  23. Althingi
  24. Amy Prentice
  25. Andrew Strong
  26. Andy Ferguson
  27. Anne Fadiman
  28. Anthony McPartlin
  29. Anthony Newley
  30. Antiochene Rite
  31. Apostle spoon
  32. Arnold Alanen
  33. aromatic oil - 21 Dec 04 grundoon (/msg her if you want to do it, though)
  34. Arthur Askey
  35. Arthur Negus
  36. Artists Against Apartheid
  37. Augustin Fresnel
  38. Auteuil
  39. BAFSV
  40. Bailey Bridge
  41. Barbour
  42. Barefoot College
  43. Barry Sheen
  44. Basford
  45. Bass brewery
  46. bauernfruhstuck
  47. Bay Marchand
  48. beef stock
  49. Been Brown So Long, It Looked Like Green to Me: The Politics of Nature
  50. Bernard Lovell
  51. Berwick on Tweed
  52. Betty Bowers
  53. Beverly Allit
  54. Bewdley
  55. Bill Foggitt
  56. Bill Nighy
  57. Billy Butlin
  58. Biojewellery
  59. Blackshirts
  60. Blair Athol
  61. Blue Funnel Line
  62. Blue John Cavern
  63. Bob McAllister
  64. bomoh
  65. borehole
  66. bottle garden
  67. Brackenhill Tower
  68. Brandon Carter
  69. brass band
  70. Brian Rix
  71. Bridgwater
  72. British Film Institute
  73. British Israelites
  74. British National Corpus
  75. British Waterways
  76. Bruce Welch
  77. Butlins
  78. BUPA
  79. Call My Bluff
  80. Cambridge University Press - 28 Dec 04 RPGeek
  81. Campaign Against Racial Discrimination
  82. carer
  83. Carl Foreman
  84. carrier oil
  85. Carter Bar
  86. Castleton
  87. cattle cake
  88. Chaddesden
  89. chador - 21 Dec 04 grundoon (/msg her if you want to do it, though)
  90. Chalons
  91. Chapel of Elvis
  92. Cheapside
  93. chemo curls
  94. chernozem
  95. Children in Need
  96. Chiltern Hills
  97. Chorale - 21 Jan 05 paradoxmo
  98. Chris Denning
  99. Christening
  100. Christopher Trace
  101. Cirencester
  102. Clan Drummond
  103. Clevedon
  104. cloth cap
  105. coaching inn
  106. Coalbrookdale
  107. Colin Davis
  108. Columbia Basin
  109. Common Entrance Examination
  110. Concrete Island - novel by J. G. Ballard
  111. Coniston Water
  112. Coolgardie safe
  113. Coritani
  114. Cornish Rebellion
  115. courtroom
  116. Craig Breedlove
  117. Crary Lab
  118. Cripple Mr Onion - a Discworld card game
  119. Cromer
  120. Culpeper's Herbal
  121. curtsey
  122. Dagenham
  123. Darrieus turbine
  124. Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich
  125. Dave Swarbrick
  126. David Bailey
  127. Daz
  128. Debatable Lands
  129. Declan Donnelly
  130. Deddington
  131. Deep Heat
  132. Der Freischütz
  133. Derbyshire
  134. Devil's Punchbowl County Park
  135. Diana Dors
  136. Dixon of Dock Green
  137. Dodi Fayed
  138. drag hunt
  139. donkey's years
  140. drawing room
  141. Duncton Wood
  142. Dundee cake
  143. Dunster Castle
  144. DynoRod
  145. Early Spider Orchid
  146. East Dereham
  147. East Kilbride
  148. Eastbourne
  149. Economy Seven
  150. Eileen McGann
  151. Enclosure Act
  152. Epsom
  153. Eric Sykes
  154. Ernest Seton
  155. Estrelda
  156. EUFA
  157. Eugene Lang
  158. EverReady
  159. Everybody's Everything
  160. Everything is Illuminated
  161. eximia
  162. Exmoor
  163. Fairfield County, Ohio
  164. falling asleep
  165. Felix Dzerzhinsky
  166. Felix Klein
  167. Five Towns
  168. fly-half
  169. Folk Roots
  170. Folkestone
  171. For a list of all the ways technology has failed to improve the quality of life, please press three
  172. Ford Granada
  173. Forest of Bowland
  174. Fosse Way
  175. Francis Chichester
  176. Frankie Foursleeper
  177. Freda Lingstrom
  178. Friendly Society - a kind of mutual insurance company
  179. Gael Kathryns
  180. Gateshead
  181. Gay News
  182. GeekLog
  183. Gentlemen's Relish - Billy Connolly film about a Victorian pornographer
  184. Geoff Capes
  185. Geoff Hurst
  186. George Chisholm
  187. George Downing
  188. George Wald
  189. Georges Claude
  190. George Grossmith
  191. gin trap - a type of trap
  192. Giovanni Papini
  193. Goat and Compasses
  194. Going For A Song
  195. Golden Rose Of Montreux
  196. Goldendale, WA
  197. Gorbals
  198. Great Universal Stores
  199. Great Yarmouth - town in Norfolk, UK
  200. green beer
  201. Greenhalg
  202. Grosse & Blackwell
  203. Günther Prien
  204. Handley Page
  205. handout
  206. Hans Makart
  207. Harold Taylor Ricketts
  208. Harry Somers
  209. Harvey Fite
  210. Hat Creek Observatory
  211. Hattie Jacques - actress, star of the "Carry On" films
  212. he who pays the piper calls the tune
  213. Health and Safety at Work Act
  214. Heidelberg Tun - huge German cask
  215. Hellfighters
  216. Henri de Blois
  217. Henry N. Cobb
  218. Henry Cooper
  219. Henry Normal
  220. Hermitage Castle
  221. Hidcote Manor
  222. Hindenburg Line
  223. hip bath
  224. Hiraoka Kimitake
  225. HMS Royal Sovereign
  226. Hocking River
  227. hold your head up
  228. Holstein
  229. Honiton
  230. hospital radio
  231. Hosta
  232. hot trod - in pursuit of Border Reivers
  233. Howard W. Florey
  234. huckle-buff - a drink
  235. Humboldt Fog - it's a cheese, not a state of mind
  236. Hungerford
  237. Hyder Ali
  238. I have a Little Dreidel
  239. I hear in advance the criticism of The Elders 19 January redbaker
  240. Imperial Moth
  241. India Act
  242. Ingleborough
  243. Institute of Contemporary Arts
  244. Italia Irredenta
  245. IXTOC
  246. Jack Rosenthal
  247. Jack Sarfatti, physicist
  248. jian (a Chinese sword)
  249. James Bolam
  250. James Fox
  251. jamesway
  252. Jane Taylor
  253. Jeanne Cagney
  254. Jerome Rodale - champion of organic farming and food
  255. Jimmy Edwards
  256. Jodhpur - the place in India
  257. Johannine Comma
  258. John Barbirolli
  259. John C. Dvorak
  260. John Collet
  261. John Mills
  262. John Sainsbury
  263. John Stewart Collis
  264. John Surtees
  265. John Turtle Wood
  266. Johnny Dankworth
  267. Johnson & Johnson
  268. Joseph Grimaldi - British clown
  269. Josef Pieprzyk
  270. Josef Svoboda
  271. Joseph Rutherford
  272. Josiah Spode
  273. Josiah Wedgwood
  274. Juluka
  275. Karl Wilhelm Kastner
  276. Kathryn Roberts
  277. KBE
  278. keep cavey
  279. Kelso
  280. Kenilworth Castle
  281. Kenneth Horne
  282. Kevin Blahut
  283. Kilcoe Castle
  284. Kinloss
  285. Kirkwall
  286. kitchen sink drama - type of film
  287. knee surgery
  288. Knole
  289. Konya
  290. La Stampa
  291. Lachrimæ, or Seven Teares
  292. Lady Dai
  293. Lady Emma Hamilton
  294. Lady Margaret Beaufort - 18 Dec 04 Brontosaurus
  295. The Land Girls - film about the Women's Land Army
  296. Language Through the Looking Glass
  297. Laramie, Wyoming
  298. Large Binocular Telescope Observatory
  299. Lark Rise
  300. Laurel Canyon
  301. Lavengro
  302. leaf mould
  303. levain - a type of French sourdough
  304. Leicester Cathedral
  305. Leicester Tigers
  306. Leicestershire
  307. Leon Rosselson
  308. Leonard Shlain
  309. Lionel Jeffries
  310. Liskeard
  311. Listen with Mother
  312. Life Change Units
  313. Liverpool Polytechnic
  314. Lombardi Award
  315. London Palladium
  316. Lord Nuffield
  317. Lutterworth
  318. Macclesfield
  319. macroencephaly
  320. Mackeson
  321. Macuna Pruriens
  322. Mackem
  323. Madhya Pradesh
  324. madrass
  325. Malcolm Campbell
  326. Malcolm Sargent
  327. male infertility
  328. manbag
  329. Mansfield
  330. maqlubi
  331. Margaret MacDonald
  332. Marischal College
  333. Mark Shand
  334. Marke Edelman
  335. Mars Express
  336. Marsh Fritillary
  337. Martin Harris
  338. Martin Johnson
  339. Martin Niemoller
  340. Marty Wilde
  341. mass trespass
  342. Master of Foxhounds
  343. Mastercare
  344. Masterchef
  345. Matt Busby
  346. Matthew Parris
  347. Maulana Karenga
  348. Max Bygraves
  349. Maximian
  350. medicine bag
  351. Melvyn Bragg
  352. Mercator's projection - 21 Dec 04 grundoon (/msg her if you want to do it, though)
  353. Merry Wives of Windsor
  354. Met Office
  355. Methocarbamol
  356. Metuchen, New Jersey
  357. Middlesborough
  358. Mike Hammer - a Mickey Spillane character
  359. Mike Harding
  360. Milkybar
  361. Milnut
  362. mine disaster - 21 Dec 04 grundoon (/msg her if you want to do it, though)
  363. Minute Maid
  364. monkey picked tea
  365. Monreith
  366. Cuisiniere rods - used to teach new math
  367. Moors Murderers
  368. Moon Trees
  369. Mothercare
  370. Mount Graham
  371. MTRLI
  372. mucopolysaccharides
  373. mulled ale
  374. Multiple System Atrophy
  375. Murchison Meteorite
  376. Murrayfield
  377. Muscular Dystrophy Association
  378. Museum of Oceanography
  379. Myron Kinley
  380. Nain Singh
  381. Naked as the sky
  382. naming ceremony
  383. narrowboat
  384. National Blood Service
  385. National Guitar
  386. National Space Centre
  387. nautical terms
  388. Neighbourhood Watch
  389. netymology
  390. Newcastle Falcons
  391. Nicolas Courtois
  392. Nicholas Parsons
  393. nine nights
  394. North American Rockwell
  395. Norwich Cathedral
  396. Oakham
  397. Ode to a Skylark
  398. offshore oil exploration
  399. old lag
  400. Olympus C-2
  401. Operation Linebacker II
  402. OPG
  403. orphan negative
  404. Oran
  405. Oruvail
  406. Osias Beert
  407. osmanthus tea
  408. Oxford University Dramatic Society
  409. Pangbourne Naval College
  410. Patience Worth
  411. Patrick, Lord Litchfield
  412. Paul Foot
  413. paviour
  414. Pedot
  415. Peggy Seeger
  416. Penderyn
  417. Percy Hobart
  418. Puirt a beul - a form of Scots mouth music
  419. Peter Nichols
  420. Peter Osgood (Chelsea FC)
  421. Peter Shilton
  422. Peter Sutcliffe
  423. Philip Clayton
  424. Philip Massinger
  425. pictogram
  426. podsol soil type
  427. Pole of Inaccessibility - remotest part of a place, e.g. Antarctica)
  428. Polesden Lacey
  429. Port Talbot
  430. Porta Asinaria
  431. Porta Latina
  432. potato flour
  433. POW camp
  434. powerlift
  435. Preparatory school
  436. principles of navigation
  437. prisoner of the city
  438. Project Chatter
  439. publishing house
  440. Pulau Redang National Marine Park
  441. quarry tile
  442. Queenstown
  443. radio interferometry
  444. Radio Luxemburg
  445. Rae Beth
  446. Red Buttons
  447. Reg Varney
  448. Reichstaler
  449. Religious Science
  450. Renegade Software
  451. retroperitoneum
  452. Rhaetian Alps
  453. Riber Castle