Dead pool

{{Short description|Game which involves guessing when someone will die}} {{about|the game of chance|other uses}} {{confused|Tontine}}

A '''dead pool''', also known as a '''deadpool''' or '''death pool''', is a game of prediction which involves guessing when someone will die. Sometimes it is a bet where money is involved.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/columnist/popcandy/2004-07-06-pop-candy_x.htm |title=Celebrity obsession extends beyond the grave |work=USA Today |first=Whitney |last=Matheson |agency=Pop Candy (column) |date=July 6, 2004 |access-date=August 19, 2014}}</ref>

== Modern application == In the early 20th century, dead pools were popular in dangerous sports such as motorsport, for example the first edition of the Indianapolis 500.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Indy 500: Born Out Of 'Blood And Smoke' |url=https://www.npr.org/2011/05/29/136714920/the-indy-500-born-out-of-blood-and-smoke |access-date=11 April 2019 |work=NPR.org |agency=National Public Radio |date=28 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170612181001/https://www.npr.org/2011/05/29/136714920/the-indy-500-born-out-of-blood-and-smoke |archive-date=12 June 2017 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Variants === A modern dead pool typically has players choose celebrities they think will die within the year. Most begin on January 1 and run for 12 months, though variations exist.{{cn|date=January 2014}}

In 2000, the website Fucked Company described itself as a "dot-com dead pool," inviting users to predict which Internet startups would fail during the dot com bust.<ref>{{cite news|last=Festa|first=Paul |url=https://news.cnet.com/2100-1023-955447.html?hhTest=1 |title=Dot-com dead pool brakes for Ford |work=CNet News |date=2002-08-26|access-date=8 August 2012}}</ref> The site folded in 2007 after years of being targeted by strategic lawsuits against public participation.<ref name="rowan">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/Archive/Article/0,4273,4064822,00.html|last=Rowan|first=David|title=The dead list|date=17 September 2000 |work=The Guardian |access-date=8 August 2012}}</ref>

Because of the high body count in the first seven seasons of the popular fantasy television series ''Game of Thrones'', dead pools were launched for its final season.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Julianelle |first1=Mike |title=Genius Boss Creates Game of Thrones Season 8 Death Pool Contest [SPOILERS] |url=https://www.thedad.com/genius-boss-creates-game-of-thrones-death-pool-contest-spoilers/ |website=thedad.com |date=4 February 2019 |publisher=Some Spider Studios |access-date=12 April 2019}}</ref>

=== Modern dead pools === Websites including Derby Dead Pool<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dead celebs society |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/derby/content/articles/2005/01/31/derby_dead_pool_2005_feature.shtml |access-date=2020-08-12 |website=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> and Rotten.com have hosted celebrity dead pools.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.macleans.ca/canada/features/article.jsp?content=20080201_143436_5540|title =Who's in your celebrity dead pool?|first=Kathleen|last=Kennedy|publisher=Maclean|date = February 1, 2008|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140112063126/http://www.macleans.ca/canada/features/article.jsp?content=20080201_143436_5540|archive-date = 12 January 2014}}</ref> Matt Sedensky described the practice in an ''AP News'' article: "Players scour newspapers and Web sites for news on celebrities' health; they rely on tips from insiders; and they consider a public figure's lifestyle, absence of recent appearances and rumors of illness."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061229/NEWS/612290302 |title=Some say death pools are in poor taste |publisher=Herald Tribune |first=Matt |last=Sedensky |date=December 29, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090515034648/http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061229/NEWS/612290302 |archive-date=May 15, 2009}}</ref>

==In popular culture== A dead pool is a key plot element of the 1988 final installment of the ''Dirty Harry'' film series, ''The Dead Pool''. Harry investigates the players, when several people listed in a game of dead pool die in suspicious circumstances.

The Marvel Comics character Deadpool (first appearing in 1991) takes his name after escaping from Ajax and Dr. Killebrew, who formed their own dead pool based on which of their experimental subjects would die first.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Truffaut-Wong|first1=Olivia|title=How Did 'Deadpool' Get His Name? The Answer Is Way More Obvious Than You'd Think|url=http://www.bustle.com/articles/140676-how-did-deadpool-get-his-name-the-answer-is-way-more-obvious-than-youd-think|website=Bustle|date=9 February 2016 |access-date=27 May 2016}}</ref> In the 2016 film ''Deadpool'', the titular character takes his hero name from a dead pool of mercenaries, himself included, who are regular patrons at his favorite bar.

In the MTV show ''Teen Wolf'', the main plotline of Season 4 (2014) revolves around a dead pool specifically targeting the supernaturals of Beacon Hills, which is set up by a mysterious character named The Benefactor.

== References == {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dead Pool}} Category:Death Category:Gambling games Category:Prediction markets