I had a random thought earlier that might be an interesting one for you to ponder, perhaps pose the question to your readers: Is there a pair of people who share the same name who are as collectively awesome as James Brown (the Godfather Of Soul) and James “Jim” Brown (the NFL Hall of Famer)? I was brainstorming and couldn’t think of a better example. Do George Washington and George Washington Carver count? I don’t think they do. Michael Douglas and Michael Keaton (born Michael Douglas) don’t measure up, nor do Kenny Rogers the musician and Kenny Rogers the pitcher. Albert Einstein and Albert Brooks (born Albert Einstein)?

– Josh, via email.

Here’s the thing: Even if The Hardest Working Man in Show Business, Mr. Please Please himself, the Star of the Show James Brown didn’t share his name with perhaps the best player in NFL history, it’s a common enough name that there are plenty of people he could be paired with. And in any possible case, even if the other James Brown were pretty damn lame, it’d still be the greatest pair of people ever in terms of collective awesomeness. It’s like how Hank and Tommie Aaron hold the Major League record for most home runs by a set of brothers even though Tommie only hit 13.

The Albert Einsteins are nice, I mean, people really like Al Brooks and Albert Einstein came up with a lot of smart stuff. But as far as I know neither ever recorded The Payback.

A suggestion via my man and near-homonym Ted Burke, perhaps for a distant second place: Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy’s and Dave Thomas, not-Rick-Moranis-guy in Strange Brew. Anyone else?