Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Ken Jennings Tuesday Trivia - April 15
THIS WEEK'S QUIZ
1. According to the title card at the beginning of Martin Scorsese's concert film The Last Waltz, "This film should be played" how? a guess - "in stereo." I love the soundtrack from this movie but I don't recall what was written on a single title card that appeared for a second or two at the start of a movie that was released in 1979.
2. What delicious item did Iranian bakeries rename as "Roses of the Prophet Muhammad" in 2006?
3. What late American newspaper fixture had his work collected in books like The Second and Third Letters of the Alphabet Revisited? My guess - Johnny Hart, the cartoon artist who created BC (the 2nd and 3rd letters of the alphabet)
4. Before the rollout of the euro, what scientist appeared both on a 500-franc note and a 20,000-zloty note? Marie Curie
5. What popular TV show shared its title with the English name for the "Dalits" of India? I had to look up what dalit means. They are untouchables in the Indian caste system. The Untouchables.
6. "501" and "Cricket" are two of the most popular varieties of what game?
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these biblical figures? Abraham, Daniel, Esther, Jacob, Jethro, Peter, Paul, and Sarah.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. The Road to Cana is the second part of vampire novelist Anne Rice's four-book biography of whom? Jesus Christ. That's right, Anne Rice thinks that her success writing Gothic vampire fables and pseudonymous erotica qualifies her to write a vast fictional biography of Jesus. Sure it does, Anne. close enough
2. Who sometimes signs autographs by writing the notation "Cy 7" beneath his own name? Roger Clemens, who (unlike you and me) has seven Cy Youngs. For the moment... correct
3. What two modern-day nations were joined together as the "United Arab Republic" until 1961? Egypt and Syria, despite pesky countries like Jordan, Israel, and Lebanon sitting in the way of their unification. correct
4. Since 2006, what characters have odd couple Justin Long and John Hodgman been portraying on TV? "I'm a Mac." "I'm a PC." correct
5. What waxy, aromatic substance from an Asian evergreen tree is used in Vicks VapoRub, moth repellent, and embalming fluid? Camphor.
6. What hit film of last year features two protagonists who are only called "Guy" and "Girl"? The main characters of the indie hit Once actually have no names. No wonder that relationship didn't work out. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these songs? "Eight Days a Week" by the Beatles, "Man Out of Time" by Elvis Costello, "More Than a Feeling" by Boston, "New Slang" by the Shins, "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, "Turn to Stone" by ELO, "Vasoline" by Stone Temple Pilots, "Where the Streets Have No Name" by U2. Fade-outs are common in pop music, but all those songs begin with fade-ins: they begin with silence, and the volume slides up gradually.
1. According to the title card at the beginning of Martin Scorsese's concert film The Last Waltz, "This film should be played" how? a guess - "in stereo." I love the soundtrack from this movie but I don't recall what was written on a single title card that appeared for a second or two at the start of a movie that was released in 1979.
2. What delicious item did Iranian bakeries rename as "Roses of the Prophet Muhammad" in 2006?
3. What late American newspaper fixture had his work collected in books like The Second and Third Letters of the Alphabet Revisited? My guess - Johnny Hart, the cartoon artist who created BC (the 2nd and 3rd letters of the alphabet)
4. Before the rollout of the euro, what scientist appeared both on a 500-franc note and a 20,000-zloty note? Marie Curie
5. What popular TV show shared its title with the English name for the "Dalits" of India? I had to look up what dalit means. They are untouchables in the Indian caste system. The Untouchables.
6. "501" and "Cricket" are two of the most popular varieties of what game?
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these biblical figures? Abraham, Daniel, Esther, Jacob, Jethro, Peter, Paul, and Sarah.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. The Road to Cana is the second part of vampire novelist Anne Rice's four-book biography of whom? Jesus Christ. That's right, Anne Rice thinks that her success writing Gothic vampire fables and pseudonymous erotica qualifies her to write a vast fictional biography of Jesus. Sure it does, Anne. close enough
2. Who sometimes signs autographs by writing the notation "Cy 7" beneath his own name? Roger Clemens, who (unlike you and me) has seven Cy Youngs. For the moment... correct
3. What two modern-day nations were joined together as the "United Arab Republic" until 1961? Egypt and Syria, despite pesky countries like Jordan, Israel, and Lebanon sitting in the way of their unification. correct
4. Since 2006, what characters have odd couple Justin Long and John Hodgman been portraying on TV? "I'm a Mac." "I'm a PC." correct
5. What waxy, aromatic substance from an Asian evergreen tree is used in Vicks VapoRub, moth repellent, and embalming fluid? Camphor.
6. What hit film of last year features two protagonists who are only called "Guy" and "Girl"? The main characters of the indie hit Once actually have no names. No wonder that relationship didn't work out. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these songs? "Eight Days a Week" by the Beatles, "Man Out of Time" by Elvis Costello, "More Than a Feeling" by Boston, "New Slang" by the Shins, "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, "Turn to Stone" by ELO, "Vasoline" by Stone Temple Pilots, "Where the Streets Have No Name" by U2. Fade-outs are common in pop music, but all those songs begin with fade-ins: they begin with silence, and the volume slides up gradually.
