Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Ken Jennings Tuesday Trivia - July 8
THIS WEEK'S QUIZ
1. What's the common name for speakers of the Romany language? I would call them gypsies. Isn't that considered a slur nowadays?
2. What actress, who's had to deal with self-destruct computer countdowns in two different movies, now herself voices the self-destruct countdown computer in the film Wall-E? a guess - Ally Sheedy
3. Of the very few songs with three-letter titles ever to have topped the Billboard pop chart, who sang lead on three of them? an answer just came to me in the shower - Michael Jackson. I can think of Ben and ABC. Surely there is another three-letter #1 in his catalog. Addendum - yes, he does - Bad.
4. What British mathematician is today commemorated with a stained-glass window in his Cambridge college, depicting three overlapping circles? Venn
5. If you're "intestate," what, by definition, do you not have? a will
6. What's the only nation with two territorial claims on Antarctica, despite being further from Antarctica than almost any other country on earth? Norway?
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these sports and hobbies? Baseball, birdwatching, car racing, cricket, darts, golf, poker, and soccer.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. Whose was the only jersey number ever retired by the Arizona Cardinals, despite the fact that he never started a playoff game or played in a Pro Bowl? This is Pat Tillman, honored not for anything he did on the field, but for being killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan. correct
2. What Parisian slang word for "sparrow" did Edith Gassion adopt as her stange name in 1935? Edith Piaf means Edith Sparrow. Or so I gather from that biopic of last year. correct
3. What striking color is the big number 5 on the back of the new U.S. $5 bill? The $5 is now easily the most metrosexual piece of U.S. currency, with that big purple five on the back. correct
4. What future sitcom star co-wrote the theme songs to 1980s TV hits Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life? Alan Thicke, with his then-wife, soap star Gloria Loring. Thicke also wrote a bunch of game show music, including cues you might recognize from The Joker's Wild and Wheel of Fortune. correct!
5. In what country was the ubiquitous typeface Helvetica created in 1957? Switzerland: "Helvetica" is actually the Latin word for "Swiss." correct
6. What's the only Indiana Jones movie set entirely on a single continent? Temple of Doom opens in Shanghai and ends in India; it's all set in Asia. correct
7. Based on the unusual distinction shared by these U.S. Presidents and no others, which of the two presumptive major-party nominees could be added to this list if he wins in November, and why? Tyler, Fillmore, Benjamin Harrison, Theodore Roosevelt, Wilson, Reagan. These are all the presidents who've been married twice (all were widowed except for Reagan, who divorced). John McCain, also divorced, is the 2008 candidate who qualifies.
6 of 7 may be my best score yet.
1. What's the common name for speakers of the Romany language? I would call them gypsies. Isn't that considered a slur nowadays?
2. What actress, who's had to deal with self-destruct computer countdowns in two different movies, now herself voices the self-destruct countdown computer in the film Wall-E? a guess - Ally Sheedy
3. Of the very few songs with three-letter titles ever to have topped the Billboard pop chart, who sang lead on three of them? an answer just came to me in the shower - Michael Jackson. I can think of Ben and ABC. Surely there is another three-letter #1 in his catalog. Addendum - yes, he does - Bad.
4. What British mathematician is today commemorated with a stained-glass window in his Cambridge college, depicting three overlapping circles? Venn
5. If you're "intestate," what, by definition, do you not have? a will
6. What's the only nation with two territorial claims on Antarctica, despite being further from Antarctica than almost any other country on earth? Norway?
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these sports and hobbies? Baseball, birdwatching, car racing, cricket, darts, golf, poker, and soccer.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. Whose was the only jersey number ever retired by the Arizona Cardinals, despite the fact that he never started a playoff game or played in a Pro Bowl? This is Pat Tillman, honored not for anything he did on the field, but for being killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan. correct
2. What Parisian slang word for "sparrow" did Edith Gassion adopt as her stange name in 1935? Edith Piaf means Edith Sparrow. Or so I gather from that biopic of last year. correct
3. What striking color is the big number 5 on the back of the new U.S. $5 bill? The $5 is now easily the most metrosexual piece of U.S. currency, with that big purple five on the back. correct
4. What future sitcom star co-wrote the theme songs to 1980s TV hits Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life? Alan Thicke, with his then-wife, soap star Gloria Loring. Thicke also wrote a bunch of game show music, including cues you might recognize from The Joker's Wild and Wheel of Fortune. correct!
5. In what country was the ubiquitous typeface Helvetica created in 1957? Switzerland: "Helvetica" is actually the Latin word for "Swiss." correct
6. What's the only Indiana Jones movie set entirely on a single continent? Temple of Doom opens in Shanghai and ends in India; it's all set in Asia. correct
7. Based on the unusual distinction shared by these U.S. Presidents and no others, which of the two presumptive major-party nominees could be added to this list if he wins in November, and why? Tyler, Fillmore, Benjamin Harrison, Theodore Roosevelt, Wilson, Reagan. These are all the presidents who've been married twice (all were widowed except for Reagan, who divorced). John McCain, also divorced, is the 2008 candidate who qualifies.
6 of 7 may be my best score yet.
