Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Ken Jennings Tuesday Trivia - May 13
THIS WEEK'S QUIZ
1. If you are "balling the queen," where are you? sounds like a cricket term. I will guess on a cricket pitch.
2. What 1838 novel was heavily revised by its author late in life, after he had befriended the Jewish couple that had bought his London home? Definitely sounds like Dickens. Which of his novels had the character Fagin whom I think was Jewish? Great Expectations? Oliver Twist?
3. Which event of tennis's Grand Slam is played on the slowest surface? the clay of Roland Garros. The French Open
4. How many lengthwise chocolate "fingers" is a regular Kit Kat bar divided into? four, I believe
5. What actor founded Happy Madison Productions to produce his movies? has to be Adam Sandler for Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison
6. What former world leader's full name ended with "Tikriti," for his hometown? Saddam Hussein
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these TV shows? All My Children, China Beach, The Drew Carey Show, Gimme a Break, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Laurie Hill, The Real Ghost Busters, and Strangers with Candy. I did some research (that is allowed for Q7, isn't it?) and learned that each of these shows starred someone who went on to host a talk show. China Beach - Ricki Lake. Drew Carey - Craig Ferguson. Strangers With Candy - Stephen Colbert. Laurie Hill - Ellen Degeneres. Gimme A Break - Rose O'Donnell. Real Ghost Busters - Arsenio Hall. That's enough to convince me of the answer.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. What was the only Billboard #1 single for the Beatles not written by Lennon-McCartney? "Something," off Abbey Road, was the first of four George Harrison songs to hit #1 in the U.S. during his long career. correct
2. A bear, a dragon, a rabbit, and a tiger have appeared in the titles of the last three novels by what best-selling author? The Bear and the Dragon, Red Rabbit, and The Teeth of the Tiger are the last three books by Tom Clancy...who actually hasn't published a novel since 2003. why ask a question about a writer who has been off everyone's radar screen for five years?
3. 96-year-old Milvina Dean, of (appropriately) Southampton, England, is the last living person to have done what? She survived the sinking of the Titanic--at the age of just two months old. correct
4. What sports legend defeated his own uncle in a November 1938 showdown billed as "the Match of the Century"? Seabiscuit...War Admiral was actually his uncle. Is that factoid in the movie? Probably, but I didn't remember it. I never knew that the two were related.
5. Movie fans shouldn't be surprised to find that the "C." in George C. Scott's name stands for what? Leading man Campbell Scott is named for his dad, George C(ampbell) Scott. Campbell Scott is George C's son? Never knew that either. I really don't see the resemblance. Campbell does not look like he is related to Seabiscuit either.
6. What English phrase meaning "to do everything possible" is a metaphor from the world of pipe organ playing? Organ players would literally "pull out all the stops" to play at top volume.
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these countries, and no others? Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, East Timor, Egypt, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, the U.S., and the USSR? These nations have all been led by (past, present, or future) winners of the Nobel Peace Prize. The full list of nations that have produced Peace Prize winners would be a lot longer--notably missing here is Mother Teresa's Albania, for example, or the Dalai Lama's India or China. I said "all winners of the Nobel Peace prize are from these countries." That is pretty close in my book.
1. If you are "balling the queen," where are you? sounds like a cricket term. I will guess on a cricket pitch.
2. What 1838 novel was heavily revised by its author late in life, after he had befriended the Jewish couple that had bought his London home? Definitely sounds like Dickens. Which of his novels had the character Fagin whom I think was Jewish? Great Expectations? Oliver Twist?
3. Which event of tennis's Grand Slam is played on the slowest surface? the clay of Roland Garros. The French Open
4. How many lengthwise chocolate "fingers" is a regular Kit Kat bar divided into? four, I believe
5. What actor founded Happy Madison Productions to produce his movies? has to be Adam Sandler for Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison
6. What former world leader's full name ended with "Tikriti," for his hometown? Saddam Hussein
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these TV shows? All My Children, China Beach, The Drew Carey Show, Gimme a Break, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Laurie Hill, The Real Ghost Busters, and Strangers with Candy. I did some research (that is allowed for Q7, isn't it?) and learned that each of these shows starred someone who went on to host a talk show. China Beach - Ricki Lake. Drew Carey - Craig Ferguson. Strangers With Candy - Stephen Colbert. Laurie Hill - Ellen Degeneres. Gimme A Break - Rose O'Donnell. Real Ghost Busters - Arsenio Hall. That's enough to convince me of the answer.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. What was the only Billboard #1 single for the Beatles not written by Lennon-McCartney? "Something," off Abbey Road, was the first of four George Harrison songs to hit #1 in the U.S. during his long career. correct
2. A bear, a dragon, a rabbit, and a tiger have appeared in the titles of the last three novels by what best-selling author? The Bear and the Dragon, Red Rabbit, and The Teeth of the Tiger are the last three books by Tom Clancy...who actually hasn't published a novel since 2003. why ask a question about a writer who has been off everyone's radar screen for five years?
3. 96-year-old Milvina Dean, of (appropriately) Southampton, England, is the last living person to have done what? She survived the sinking of the Titanic--at the age of just two months old. correct
4. What sports legend defeated his own uncle in a November 1938 showdown billed as "the Match of the Century"? Seabiscuit...War Admiral was actually his uncle. Is that factoid in the movie? Probably, but I didn't remember it. I never knew that the two were related.
5. Movie fans shouldn't be surprised to find that the "C." in George C. Scott's name stands for what? Leading man Campbell Scott is named for his dad, George C(ampbell) Scott. Campbell Scott is George C's son? Never knew that either. I really don't see the resemblance. Campbell does not look like he is related to Seabiscuit either.
6. What English phrase meaning "to do everything possible" is a metaphor from the world of pipe organ playing? Organ players would literally "pull out all the stops" to play at top volume.
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these countries, and no others? Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, East Timor, Egypt, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, the U.S., and the USSR? These nations have all been led by (past, present, or future) winners of the Nobel Peace Prize. The full list of nations that have produced Peace Prize winners would be a lot longer--notably missing here is Mother Teresa's Albania, for example, or the Dalai Lama's India or China. I said "all winners of the Nobel Peace prize are from these countries." That is pretty close in my book.
