Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Ken Jennings Tuesday Trivia - September 25
THIS WEEK'S QUIZ
1. What's the only football team to have appeared in six BCS bowl games since the system's 1999 debut--though they've only won once? To have appeared in six BCS bowl games means playing in six of nine years. That's a lot of success. Let's go through the conferences. Not USC, not Oklahoma (beat WSU and Florida State). Not Texas. The SEC teams all beat up on each other. I don't think an SEC team from among Florida, LSU, Tennessee and Georgia would have played in six BCS bowl games. Not Ohio State. Michigan - ah, Michigan! They lost to USC (twice), Texas. But I don't think they played in the Rose Bowl from 1999 to 2004. Notre Dame. They have lost a bunch of bowl games in a row. But many of them were lesser games, not BCS. What about Florida State? A dominant team in the ACC before BC, Va Tech and Miami joined. Won a lot of conference championships. But they have lost a lot of bowl games. I think that's it - Florida State.
2. What man's catalog of work is indexed by "K-numbers"? sounds like Stephen King to me
3. What world nation is, according to its official name, a "Hashemite Kingdom"? Much be an middle eastern country. I also note the word "kingdom." Which countries have a king? Saudi Arabia? Jordan? Egypt did earlier in the 20th century.
4. Who invented the Thanatron and the Mercitron? sound fictional to me, like HG Wells or Jules Verne
5. Amethyst, jasper, onyx, chalcedony, and amethyst are all just varieties of what mineral? quartz
6. What actor has been Oscar-nominated for playing two different U.S. presidents? I can only think of one actor who has been nominated for playing a president - Anthony Hopkins. So I guess he would be my answer.
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these songs? "American Woman" by the Guess Who, "Glamorous" by Fergie, "Hollaback Girl" by Gwen Stefani, "I'm Back" by Eminem, "I'm Henry VIII I Am" by Herman's Hermits, "Lola" by the Kinks, "Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats, and "Turn On Me" by the Shins.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. What is divided into 114 chapters called "suras"? The Qur'an.
2. What band is named for a British government form for claiming unemployment benefits? Now you know what the UB stands for in "UB40." correct
3. What movie's tagline was "Five criminals. One lineup. No coincidences"? The Usual Suspects. correct
4. What kind of misfortune destroyed at least three of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World? An earthquake is said to have felled the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Colossus of Rhodes, and the Lighthouse at Alexandria. Well, three different earthquakes, obviously. correct
5. Whose famous 1999 shirt removal is remembered by the title of her book It's Not About the Bra? Women's soccer evangelist (and ecdysiast) Brandi Chastain. correct
6. What were the "Inverted Jenny" and the "Penny Black"? Historic (and valuable) postage stamps. very close. I thought misprinted coins, not postage stamps
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these famous people? Marc Bolan, Ray Bradbury, Jimmy Breslin, Albert Einstein, Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Imperioli, Quincy Jones, and Vladimir Nabokov. All were famous, at some point, for never having learned to drive a car. This had unhappy consequences in a few cases (Bolan's death, Breslin losing the part of Popeye Doyle in The French Connection, Michael Imperioli being made fun of by James Gandolfini a fair bit). I had no idea.
1. What's the only football team to have appeared in six BCS bowl games since the system's 1999 debut--though they've only won once? To have appeared in six BCS bowl games means playing in six of nine years. That's a lot of success. Let's go through the conferences. Not USC, not Oklahoma (beat WSU and Florida State). Not Texas. The SEC teams all beat up on each other. I don't think an SEC team from among Florida, LSU, Tennessee and Georgia would have played in six BCS bowl games. Not Ohio State. Michigan - ah, Michigan! They lost to USC (twice), Texas. But I don't think they played in the Rose Bowl from 1999 to 2004. Notre Dame. They have lost a bunch of bowl games in a row. But many of them were lesser games, not BCS. What about Florida State? A dominant team in the ACC before BC, Va Tech and Miami joined. Won a lot of conference championships. But they have lost a lot of bowl games. I think that's it - Florida State.
2. What man's catalog of work is indexed by "K-numbers"? sounds like Stephen King to me
3. What world nation is, according to its official name, a "Hashemite Kingdom"? Much be an middle eastern country. I also note the word "kingdom." Which countries have a king? Saudi Arabia? Jordan? Egypt did earlier in the 20th century.
4. Who invented the Thanatron and the Mercitron? sound fictional to me, like HG Wells or Jules Verne
5. Amethyst, jasper, onyx, chalcedony, and amethyst are all just varieties of what mineral? quartz
6. What actor has been Oscar-nominated for playing two different U.S. presidents? I can only think of one actor who has been nominated for playing a president - Anthony Hopkins. So I guess he would be my answer.
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these songs? "American Woman" by the Guess Who, "Glamorous" by Fergie, "Hollaback Girl" by Gwen Stefani, "I'm Back" by Eminem, "I'm Henry VIII I Am" by Herman's Hermits, "Lola" by the Kinks, "Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats, and "Turn On Me" by the Shins.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. What is divided into 114 chapters called "suras"? The Qur'an.
2. What band is named for a British government form for claiming unemployment benefits? Now you know what the UB stands for in "UB40." correct
3. What movie's tagline was "Five criminals. One lineup. No coincidences"? The Usual Suspects. correct
4. What kind of misfortune destroyed at least three of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World? An earthquake is said to have felled the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Colossus of Rhodes, and the Lighthouse at Alexandria. Well, three different earthquakes, obviously. correct
5. Whose famous 1999 shirt removal is remembered by the title of her book It's Not About the Bra? Women's soccer evangelist (and ecdysiast) Brandi Chastain. correct
6. What were the "Inverted Jenny" and the "Penny Black"? Historic (and valuable) postage stamps. very close. I thought misprinted coins, not postage stamps
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these famous people? Marc Bolan, Ray Bradbury, Jimmy Breslin, Albert Einstein, Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Imperioli, Quincy Jones, and Vladimir Nabokov. All were famous, at some point, for never having learned to drive a car. This had unhappy consequences in a few cases (Bolan's death, Breslin losing the part of Popeye Doyle in The French Connection, Michael Imperioli being made fun of by James Gandolfini a fair bit). I had no idea.
