Tournament of Genius
(1) Leonardo Da Vinci vs. (16) Burt Reynolds
by Tournament of Genius - March 21, 2009 - 11:00 AM

reynolds.jpg

(1) Leonardo Da Vinci

Even if he hadn’t diversified his brain so thoroughly, Leonardo might still be on this list for his achievements in any single field. His Mona Lisa and Last Supper make him a titan among artists. His engineering plans for flying machines and bridges show his technical mind was ahead of his time. His journals full of scientific observations show a keen grasp of everything from architecture to botany. Nobody wants to draw this #1 seed.

(16) Burt Reynolds

Don’t laugh. Reynolds has quite the resume. Played a mean tailback at Florida State until he got hurt. Made CB radios cool with his role in Smokey and the Bandit. Showed us that cross-country races are always a good idea in The Cannonball Run. Married Loni Anderson. Provided the lead voice for All Dogs Go to Heaven. Managed to keep his palatial Florida estate even after filing for bankruptcy. Has a mustache that is, at the very least, among humanity’s top 15 achievements.

The Breakdown

Da Vinci may be the bigger genius, but who would you rather be for a day, Leonardo or Burt? Okay, probably Leonardo. But you had to think about it for a second, didn’t you? See, Reynolds really is a genius.

Update:

Voter Fraud Charges Force Leonardo/Reynolds Run-Off
1-3pm Eastern Time, Monday, March 23rd

[poll=37]

[See the whole bracket here.]

« Previous Post   -   Next Post »
Click here to get a Risk-Free issue of mental_floss magazine
Comments (36)

  1. I couldn’t believe this when I saw it on the bracket. Burt Reynolds? LOL. Where’s Mel Blanc?

    posted by Johnny Cat on 3-22-2009 at 8:47 pm

  2. I voted for Burt Reynolds, I appreciated his intellect in Mr. Baseball. Anyone who can play a character that deep, that flawlessly, is a genius.

    Don’t worry Leo, I loved your movie the Da Vinci Code, Tom Hanks played you perfectly. Although Burt would have done a superb job himself.

    posted by Robot "Robby" Ninekay on 3-22-2009 at 8:51 pm

  3. Reynolds is winning this one??!!! But this is a tournament of Genius… I call shenanigans

    posted by dangermouse on 3-22-2009 at 9:06 pm

  4. Shenanigans! *sharpens pitchfork*

    posted by Johnny Cat on 3-22-2009 at 9:25 pm

  5. Oh…so people aren’t taking this relatively seriously anymore (or shenanigans of some sort like dangermouse said). Ah well. Leo should have made the final four at the very least! If Reynolds actually wins, I’m totally voting for the worst from here on out.

    posted by Kirk on 3-22-2009 at 9:33 pm

  6. How could you not mention one of Reynolds’ greatest achievements: being one of the first men to pose nude in Cosmopolitan in 1972? Btw, that is part of the Cosmos picture above.

    posted by pjkwik on 3-22-2009 at 9:40 pm

  7. Um, just so I am understanding this . . .DaVinci is losing to the man who gave us Cannonball Run, Smokey and the Bandit, and Stroker Ace?
    Shenanigans! This is formally under protest. I’ve tried to be objective and serious in my previous votes. I’ve actually had done some “extra” research on a few individuals before making a choice. I know this is just a completely made up bracket, but I was hoping for more intelligent participation from my fellow co-readers. Geez, you’d think this was American Idol or something.

    posted by Lori on 3-22-2009 at 9:42 pm

  8. I agree with dangermouse. This is the TOURNAMENT OF GENIUSES not TOURNAMENT OF WHOEVER YOU WOULD LIKE TO PICK ON RANDOM TELEVISION SHOWS THAT DO NOTHING TO CONTRIBUTE MANKIND. I demand protest. I mean, Stephen Colbert is a comedian in a random television show but he gave America genuine satire that would rival that of Swift’s & The Onion’s. But Burt Reynolds????? I don’t even know him. This is not a popularity contest. I doubt that Burt would lose easily. metal_floss, why the heck did you put Burt in the Tournament, anyway????

    posted by Karl on 3-22-2009 at 9:59 pm

  9. Thank you for calling him Leonardo, and not “DaVinci.” For that I will still continue voting. The whole Burt Reynolds winning so far made it a tough decision.

    posted by natalie k on 3-22-2009 at 10:01 pm

  10. The minute I saw the vote totals I thought “shenanigans.” I think some one has tampered with the vote.

    posted by Rob on 3-22-2009 at 10:01 pm

  11. >>but I was hoping for more intelligent participation from my fellow co-readers

    Hahahaha, oh wow

    posted by cinnamonroffles on 3-22-2009 at 10:13 pm

  12. SHENANIGANS!!!!!!!!!!!!! If Burt Reynolds wins, I will renounce this farce of a competition to all corners of the globe.SHENANIGANS I SAY!!!!!!!!!!!

    posted by rob on 3-22-2009 at 10:44 pm

  13. I can’t believe that Burt Reynolds won over Leonardo Da Vinci. Paris Hilton was bad enough but at least she didn’t win. Tournament of Genius, hah! Tournament of Tom-Foolery, more like.

    posted by Catherine on 3-22-2009 at 10:51 pm

  14. FAIL.

    posted by Johnny Cat on 3-22-2009 at 11:12 pm

  15. i have to agree with everyone else on here and formally call upon the council of SHENANIGANS. i do not take pleasure in doing this, but it has to be done. i also call SHENANIGANS on Thomas Edison losing to the guy who invented the slinky.

    posted by Ben on 3-22-2009 at 11:14 pm

  16. Unless an inordinate number of people were thinking this was a contest between Leonardo DiCaprio and Burt Reynolds.

    Can someone get Burt on the phone and have him correct this?

    posted by Johnny Cat on 3-22-2009 at 11:17 pm

  17. It comes down to this folks: only one of these guys has a Ninja Turtle named after him.

    posted by Wilson on 3-22-2009 at 11:50 pm

  18. As I lay me down to sleep
    Burt leads Leo, and that is deep.
    If I wake to more shenanigans
    I pray Leonardo enjoys some banana-gans.

    4000 votes, and Burt leads 57% to 43%. Anyone know any exorcism rites?

    posted by Johnny Cat on 3-23-2009 at 1:27 am

  19. It’s about time I get some recognition. I did some research and it turns out that this Leonardo guy is no more than a procrastinator. If you want to see some real genius then check out The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing, not that you simians will be able to understand it.

    posted by Burt Reynolds on 3-23-2009 at 2:51 am

  20. Burt Reynolds? Really?

    My faithn in humanity is lost.

    I love so mustachioed machismo as much as the next gal, but great googly moogly people get a grip.

    posted by Dana on 3-23-2009 at 9:02 am

  21. I feel like they should change the name of this site to “Feel smart-alecky again.”

    posted by Diana on 3-23-2009 at 9:04 am

  22. Shenanigans and fail.

    posted by Chelsea on 3-23-2009 at 9:26 am

  23. What?! Epic FAIL. Way not cool.

    posted by -J- on 3-23-2009 at 10:09 am

  24. This is too bad. I was really enjoying this tournament and visiting the website regularly to vote. But if either Da Vinci or Edison is knocked out to joke contestants then I’m done with it. No point when two who should be in the final eight or out early due to people voting just to be silly. I was really learning about the participants and thinking about their contributions to humanity.

    Fail.

    posted by C on 3-23-2009 at 10:33 am

  25. I’m with you, C. I’ll not be involved with the tournament any longer. Mega-Fail.

    posted by Maureen on 3-23-2009 at 10:53 am

  26. Can we hold a Tournament of Incredibly Annoying Phrases next year? My money’s on “Fail.”

    posted by Curt on 3-23-2009 at 10:59 am

  27. I have a scars and a mustache because of my influence from Burt Reynolds. Additionally, he didn’t get the Oscar he deserved for “Boogie Nights” so I say we give him this one.

    posted by Don on 3-23-2009 at 11:09 am

  28. I agree to those who think Leonardo da Vinci should win. Like I said, THIS IS NOT A POPULARITY CONTEST. It’s about determening who has the greatest contribution to mankind. I also think that someone meddled with the last tournament between Edison & the guy who invented the Slinky. Good thing mental_floss is bringing a re-election between Leonardo & Burt. Too bad I’m not be able to vote for Leonardo because it would be 2-4 am here in the Philippines when the rematch occurs & I would still be sleeping at that time. And too bad there wasn’t a rematch between Edison & Slinky maker guy thingy who invented the Slinky.

    posted by Karl on 3-23-2009 at 11:11 am

  29. Shenanigans indeed.
    And I thought this was a place for people of intellect.
    My bad.

    posted by MelWTF on 3-23-2009 at 11:29 am

  30. burt reynolds wasn’t in the movie “mr. baseball”. it was tom sellack. you’re voting for the wrong mustache!

    posted by matt on 3-23-2009 at 11:52 am

  31. I’m glad M_F is doing a recall, but really, why is Burt Reynolds in here in the first place? Why not have the lower seeds be obscure people who made REAL CONTRIBUTIONS to society, science, the arts, etc? It warms my heart to see so many people call shenanigans on this game – I feel like everytime I complain about M_F becoming too snarky I am told to lighten up and get a sense of humor.

    posted by Diana on 3-23-2009 at 12:08 pm

  32. Wow. This is stupid. I have Leonardo in my Final Four.

    I could understand some other upsets, but Burt Reynolds?! He shouldn’t even be in this contest.

    People are obviously no longer taking this seriously. Too bad. It was a clever idea.

    posted by Mike on 3-23-2009 at 12:27 pm

  33. Wasn’t Tom Seleck Mr. Baseball?

    posted by D Hue on 3-23-2009 at 1:11 pm

  34. Reynolds all the way! i mean Burt Reynolds even has his voice on GPS. i got the real Reynolds from a site called Navtones that do celebrity voices for GPS and Reynolds is one of them. It is really funny! this Navtones company have some awesome stars. Mr. T, Dennis Hopper, Kim Cattrall…

    Anyway, till Leonardo Da Vinci puts his voice on my GPS I’m going with Burt!

    posted by Pemooba on 3-23-2009 at 1:43 pm

  35. I know I’m WAAAY Late, but Edison should have lost – he was a creep! He stole all his crap from Tesla and other inventors, giving them slight twists or outright blocking others from getting ahead. He might’ve been a genius, but only as a shrewd hack. The fellas at Tank Riot can take you through the whole dirty history.

    posted by Gamer18548 on 3-31-2009 at 6:18 pm

  36. As the president of an OFFICIAL Burt Reynolds Fan Club, I can tell you that we are not surprised by the score so far.
    This is actually a lot closer than I expected, I forsee Dr. Reynolds pulling even farther ahead soon.
    Plus, you ever seen DaVinci drive? He sucked.

    posted by Hal Needham on 4-2-2009 at 3:48 pm

Comment

commenting policy