Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Ken Jennings Tuesday Trivia - January 27
THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. GM has been the top-selling automaker in the U.S. for 77 years, until it was surpassed last quarter by what company? Toyota
2. What phenomenon was the "Foucault pendulum" invented to demonstrate? doesn't it help to show the rotation of the earth. I think that Fionnula Flanagan was using a Foucault pendulum in last week's episode of Lost. That has nothing to do with the question or my answer, but I thought it was worth mentioning.
3. The final actor to play the street urchin Gavroche in Broadway's Les Miserables is now the youngest member of what band? a guess - the Jonas Brothers
4. What hit 2008 film was based on the Commonwealth Writers' Prize-nominated novel Q and A? Slumdog Millionaire
5. Who are the only two *consecutive* U.S. vice presidents to each serve full eight-year terms? the two most recent veeps - Gore and Cheney
6. What kitchen brand, patented in 1957, was named because it was originally the product of inventor Arthur Meyerhoff? was he from Austria, hence Osterizer?
7. What is the significance of the order of this list of world nations? Monaco, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Tuvalu, Jordan, Nauru, Congo (Kinshasa), Slovenia, Togo, Iraq, Belgium . . . that seems random. I checked the order of the parade of nations at the Olympics which was based on the Chinese characters in the names. Not that.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. Who returned to the screen for the first time in 21 years to star in the Milos Forman film Ragtime? James Cagney, see, who hadn't been seen on screen since 1961's One, Two, Three, see? Ragtime would be Cagney's last film. rats - I had the wrong ganster
2. In order to use it, what would you do to a joss stick? Light it on fire; joss sticks are a type of incense. you learn something everyday. I thought they were called incense sticks
3. What disease was the Georgia Warm Springs Foundation created to treat? The Georgia spa was turned into a hydrotherapy clinic for polio sufferers by no less than Franklin D. Roosevelt. correct
4. What country banned the latest Guns N' Roses album in late November 2008? The AP reports that the People's Republic of China didn't care much for the long-awaited album's title--Chinese Democracy--or its political lyrics. correct
5. What number is used in journalism to mark the end of a wire service story? The number is "-30-"...which was also, appropriately, the title for the last episode of HBO's The Wire. No, there's not going to be a weekly The Wire question from now on. amazingly, I guessed correctly
6. Which of the four major North American sports organizations currently includes the most teams? The NBA, NHL, and Major League Baseball each have 30 teams. The National Football League has 32 to choose from...and yet, somehow, Arizona's still going to the Super Bowl. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these television shows? The Andy Griffith Show, Arrested Development, Californication, Ed Edd and Eddy, It's Garry Shandling's Show, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Lassie, The Smurfs. Only the first two feature Ron Howard...but all eight have theme songs that feature whistling. Smurf along with me! correct. I consider 5 out of 7 to be pretty good.
1. GM has been the top-selling automaker in the U.S. for 77 years, until it was surpassed last quarter by what company? Toyota
2. What phenomenon was the "Foucault pendulum" invented to demonstrate? doesn't it help to show the rotation of the earth. I think that Fionnula Flanagan was using a Foucault pendulum in last week's episode of Lost. That has nothing to do with the question or my answer, but I thought it was worth mentioning.
3. The final actor to play the street urchin Gavroche in Broadway's Les Miserables is now the youngest member of what band? a guess - the Jonas Brothers
4. What hit 2008 film was based on the Commonwealth Writers' Prize-nominated novel Q and A? Slumdog Millionaire
5. Who are the only two *consecutive* U.S. vice presidents to each serve full eight-year terms? the two most recent veeps - Gore and Cheney
6. What kitchen brand, patented in 1957, was named because it was originally the product of inventor Arthur Meyerhoff? was he from Austria, hence Osterizer?
7. What is the significance of the order of this list of world nations? Monaco, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Tuvalu, Jordan, Nauru, Congo (Kinshasa), Slovenia, Togo, Iraq, Belgium . . . that seems random. I checked the order of the parade of nations at the Olympics which was based on the Chinese characters in the names. Not that.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. Who returned to the screen for the first time in 21 years to star in the Milos Forman film Ragtime? James Cagney, see, who hadn't been seen on screen since 1961's One, Two, Three, see? Ragtime would be Cagney's last film. rats - I had the wrong ganster
2. In order to use it, what would you do to a joss stick? Light it on fire; joss sticks are a type of incense. you learn something everyday. I thought they were called incense sticks
3. What disease was the Georgia Warm Springs Foundation created to treat? The Georgia spa was turned into a hydrotherapy clinic for polio sufferers by no less than Franklin D. Roosevelt. correct
4. What country banned the latest Guns N' Roses album in late November 2008? The AP reports that the People's Republic of China didn't care much for the long-awaited album's title--Chinese Democracy--or its political lyrics. correct
5. What number is used in journalism to mark the end of a wire service story? The number is "-30-"...which was also, appropriately, the title for the last episode of HBO's The Wire. No, there's not going to be a weekly The Wire question from now on. amazingly, I guessed correctly
6. Which of the four major North American sports organizations currently includes the most teams? The NBA, NHL, and Major League Baseball each have 30 teams. The National Football League has 32 to choose from...and yet, somehow, Arizona's still going to the Super Bowl. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these television shows? The Andy Griffith Show, Arrested Development, Californication, Ed Edd and Eddy, It's Garry Shandling's Show, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Lassie, The Smurfs. Only the first two feature Ron Howard...but all eight have theme songs that feature whistling. Smurf along with me! correct. I consider 5 out of 7 to be pretty good.
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#7 -- I got it, but if this was a pub quiz question I probably would have complained. He makes it seem like he's ordering all the world's nations, but he's not. There are a whole bunch that aren't on this particular list.
Anyhow, there are plenty of good clues on the list, and I'm sure you'll get the answer.
Anyhow, there are plenty of good clues on the list, and I'm sure you'll get the answer.
#7 - I just cannot figure this out. It is not population, size, density, economics, UN entry, GNP...simply no idea. The other six were a breeze but no. seven is just...I just cannot figure it out.
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