Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Ken Jennings Tuesday Trivia - September 30
THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. When police practice the science of dactyloscopy, what are they doing? studying fingerprints
2. Other than (duh) Australia, what's the only continent with no land-locked countries? North America
3. What common beverage did Julius Freed begin selling above a New York pool hall in 1926? Orange Julius
4. Name one of the three Division I college football teams that are exempted from NCAA rules limiting the number of full scholarships athletes can receive. Army (I would guess the other two are Navy and Air Force)
5. Who originally held the jobs now filled by Ben Lyons and Ben Manciewicz? Siskel and Ebert (maybe he is looking for Ebert and Roeper but Jennings should spell Ben M's name correctly - Mankiewicz)
6. What shape is each cell in a honeybees' comb? octagon
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these famous folks? Mathew Brady, Al Capp, Antoni Gaudi, Samuel Gompers, Frida Kahlo, Theodore Roosevelt, Edward Teller, Kurt Waldheim
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. What author gave his second middle name, Balfour, to one of his most famous protagonists, David Balfour? David Balfour is the protagonist of Kidnapped (and the title character of its sequel), written by Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson. who knew RLS had another middle name? I did not
2. On Earth, what is always 2.9 miles away from the average observer? The true horizon...assuming you're average height and have an unobstructed view. correct
3. What country's society was reformed in the Meiji Restoration? 19th-century Japan. that was my first instinct
4. What Disney animated feature was released on DVD alongside an ESPN documentary on famous underdog sports teams? Those are "Cinderella teams," and this ESPN doc is found on the Cinderella DVD, as I discovered last week when my daughter was watching it. Either one of the most ingenious or the most evil acts of corporate synergy in history. I think of Cinderella teams only with respect to NCAA basketball. Or golf, thanks to Carl Spackler.
5. The name of what company--until 2006 the U.S.'s second largest newspaper publisher--can be produced by taking the name of a 1980s TV hit and doubling one letter? Could it be Knotts-Landing? Familly-Ties? Caggney-Lacey? So close. It's Knight-Ridder. correct
6. What pair of cousins were governors of New York in 1900 and 1930, respectively? It gets a little easier if you realize they were both president as well: Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt, fifth cousins. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these record albums? Miles Davis's Star People, Bob Dylan's Self Portrait, Eminem's The Re-Up, The Flaming Lips' Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Joni Mitchell's Court and Spark, Nirvana's Incesticide, The Stone Roses, The Who by Numbers. All these albums feature cover art (drawings or paintings) by the artists themselves. I added Dylan's Self-Portrait because I thought this was a toughie, but it turns out lots of players guessed the answer, so maybe no hint was needed after all. correct. Even I thought it was not that hard.
1. When police practice the science of dactyloscopy, what are they doing? studying fingerprints
2. Other than (duh) Australia, what's the only continent with no land-locked countries? North America
3. What common beverage did Julius Freed begin selling above a New York pool hall in 1926? Orange Julius
4. Name one of the three Division I college football teams that are exempted from NCAA rules limiting the number of full scholarships athletes can receive. Army (I would guess the other two are Navy and Air Force)
5. Who originally held the jobs now filled by Ben Lyons and Ben Manciewicz? Siskel and Ebert (maybe he is looking for Ebert and Roeper but Jennings should spell Ben M's name correctly - Mankiewicz)
6. What shape is each cell in a honeybees' comb? octagon
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these famous folks? Mathew Brady, Al Capp, Antoni Gaudi, Samuel Gompers, Frida Kahlo, Theodore Roosevelt, Edward Teller, Kurt Waldheim
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. What author gave his second middle name, Balfour, to one of his most famous protagonists, David Balfour? David Balfour is the protagonist of Kidnapped (and the title character of its sequel), written by Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson. who knew RLS had another middle name? I did not
2. On Earth, what is always 2.9 miles away from the average observer? The true horizon...assuming you're average height and have an unobstructed view. correct
3. What country's society was reformed in the Meiji Restoration? 19th-century Japan. that was my first instinct
4. What Disney animated feature was released on DVD alongside an ESPN documentary on famous underdog sports teams? Those are "Cinderella teams," and this ESPN doc is found on the Cinderella DVD, as I discovered last week when my daughter was watching it. Either one of the most ingenious or the most evil acts of corporate synergy in history. I think of Cinderella teams only with respect to NCAA basketball. Or golf, thanks to Carl Spackler.
5. The name of what company--until 2006 the U.S.'s second largest newspaper publisher--can be produced by taking the name of a 1980s TV hit and doubling one letter? Could it be Knotts-Landing? Familly-Ties? Caggney-Lacey? So close. It's Knight-Ridder. correct
6. What pair of cousins were governors of New York in 1900 and 1930, respectively? It gets a little easier if you realize they were both president as well: Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt, fifth cousins. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these record albums? Miles Davis's Star People, Bob Dylan's Self Portrait, Eminem's The Re-Up, The Flaming Lips' Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Joni Mitchell's Court and Spark, Nirvana's Incesticide, The Stone Roses, The Who by Numbers. All these albums feature cover art (drawings or paintings) by the artists themselves. I added Dylan's Self-Portrait because I thought this was a toughie, but it turns out lots of players guessed the answer, so maybe no hint was needed after all. correct. Even I thought it was not that hard.
