6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon
A few years ago Blockbuster ran a series of commercials featuring Kevin Bacon. In these commercials, there would be several people in line at Blockbuster, and the person in front of the line would have forgotten their Blockbuster card (this seems to happen whenever the movie store is busy, and particularly when I’m in a big hurry.) Fortunately Kevin Bacon just happens to be there, and through sometimes convoluted means, he establishes a connecting link through four other people (who, incredibly, just happen to be in line as well) so he can vouch for the person trying to rent the movie.
Apparently these commercials were based on the idea that each of us are connected to everyone else on the earth by no more than 6 degrees of separation. What this means, then, is that you know someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows (insert celebrity name here, e.g. Kevin Bacon, Christopher Walken, Tom Cruise, Nate Kartchner, etc.).
The purpose of this blog is to tell you that this is absolutely true. You, my dear reader, are six degrees from Kevin Bacon. Allow me to explain. Kevin Bacon starred in a little film called “Footloose” which was filmed here in Utah, apparently. The movie used the home of (get ready for this…) my friend Allison’s mom’s parents. So here’s your six degrees. I know Allison, who knows her mom (the connections are fairly obvious), who knows her parents, who know Kevin Bacon because he was always at their house for the filming. Now here’s the kicker: you mathematicians out there would have caught that there are only five degrees separating me from Kevin Bacon. That’s right. If you know me, you are six degrees from Kevin Bacon. Congratulations.
October 24th, 2005 at 3:39 pm
That’s flippin’ incredible!!! I knew there was a connection between Mr. Bacon and myself. I could feel it from the first time I saw him on the tube. It’s a small world.
October 24th, 2005 at 5:26 pm
Nate, I believe you’re separated from Kevin Bacon by fewer than five degrees. First of all, I know my grandparents personally, so we don’t need to include my mother as a degree of separation between them and me. That brings you within four degrees. But let’s not forget the fact that you happen to have met my grandparents, so you can just wipe me right out of the picture. Basically, the path that leads from you to Mr. Bacon is this: you’ve met my grandparents, who met Kevin Bacon when he was filming Footloose at their house. Therefore, you are only two degrees from Kevin Bacon, and you act as the third degree for all those further down your chain. So everyone you know and everyone they know and everyone they know are all within six degrees of Kevin Bacon. Isn’t it exciting?
I should also clarify that my grandparents’ house wasn’t a major part of the film, and my grandparents aren’t exactly tight with Kevin Bacon. They probably wouldn’t even know who he is if he hadn’t filmed a movie at their house and racked up the long distance charges on their phone bill while he was there. Their house was used as the setting of a retirement home, and I believe the crew spent a total of two days filming there. Those two days of filming translated into about two seconds of face time in the movie. It would have been hard for even the biggest Footloose fan to have noticed their house, since a poorly-timed blink could eliminate one’s chances of ever having seen it. But it is there, and if anybody wants to stage a screening of this 80s classic, I would be more than happy to point it out.
October 27th, 2005 at 10:09 pm
just knowing me is a lot cooler than kevin… hahaha