This cache is placed in honour of daedulus’s 1000th find.
We've never met daedulus, but we have a special connection to this
milestone. Like many cachers, daedulus wanted a unique cache for
#1000, and managed to log a FTF on the Alberta Alphanumeric Hiders
Challenge (GC26KAJ), which is nearby. Unfortunately, we
were the poor saps who completed the challenge less than 24 hours
later and logged a somewhat less impressive Second-to-Find.
We’re happy for daedulus – it was a tough challenge
and it’s a fantastic achievement, especially for a big
milestone. It got us thinking, though. Turns out that we
aren’t the only second-place finishers who have been lost to
history. Think of…
- Buzz Aldrin, the second person to set foot on the moon, 18
minutes after Neil Armstrong, with his somewhat less historic first
words, “Beautiful view!”
- Larry Doby, the second person to break baseball’s colour
barrier (a couple of months after Jackie Robinson)
- Twice a Prince, who placed second in the 1973 Belmont Stakes, a
mere 31 lengths behind Secretariat (practically a photo
finish!)
- Andres Urdaneta, the second man to circumnavigate the globe, 6
years after Magellan
- John Landy, the second man to run a sub-four-minute mile
– just 46 days after Roger Bannister
- Captain Robert Falcon Scott, the second man to reach the South
Pole, 35 days late – and who subsequently froze to death with
his entire party
The list goes on…. K2, the second-tallest mountain on
Earth, but ascended 10 times less often than Everest… Sony
Betamax, the second-most popular videocassette format of the
1980s… the Buffalo Bills, who made the Super Bowl four years
in a row, and lost every time.
Above: Robert Stanfield, who led the Tories to 3 consecutive
second-place finishes, earning him the title “the greatest
Prime Minister Canada never had”.
And most heartbreaking of all, Elisha Gray, the second person to
file for a patent for the telephone -- beaten by Alexander Graham
Bell that same day.
To all the runners-up, the silver medallists, the red-ribbon
winners… this one’s for you.
For FTF, a heartfelt congratulations. The glory of being #1 is a
wonderful thing, and we honour this fine achievement. Prize for
Second-to-Find is an American dollar bill, to commemorate the
illustrious second-place finish for the US men’s hockey team
at the Vancouver Olympics.