Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Ken Jennings Tuesday Trivia - February 17
THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. What two South American nations begin with the same letters as their respective capital cities? Brasil and Brasilia. The other one does not come as easily. Not Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay or Bolivia. Must be one of the three countries in the northeast that no one pays attention to. What are they - Guyana, French Guyana, Suriname? A guess has 1/3 chance of being right, but that is better than cheating and using an atlas. I seem to recall that Cayenne is a city in Suriname. That gets me to 50-50. I'll guess Guyana.
2. What hit 1994 documentary features cameo appearances by John Thompson, Mike Krzyzewski, and Rick Pitino, among others? A classic. Hoop Dreams.
3. What do you tend to do in bright light if you have "Autosomal-dominant Compelling Helio-Ophthalmic Outburst syndrome"? is this something as simple as "shade your eyes"?
4. What modern holiday is believed to be descended from the Roman festival of Lupercalia? since this is around the time of Valentine's Day, I'll guess that. I know from Final Jeopardy two weeks ago (which everyone missed!) that Valentine's Day is based on a Roman celebration.
5. On TV, what "middle ground" "lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge"? sounds like that might be The Twilight Zone. I can hear Rod Serling saying something like that.
6. Dan Simmons' new book Drood is based on the troubled last years of what writer? Drood --> Edwin Drood --> Charles Dickens
7. Based on the unusual distinction they all share, what baseball player could be added to this list of performers, and why? Benjamin Bratt, John Derek, Richard Gere, Peter Sellers, Charlie Sheen, Ringo Starr, and Robert Wagner. First, I have to identify the unusual distinction that they all share. Nothing is really evident. How many of them have taken performance enhancing drugs?
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. The "Magyar Agar" dog breed is also called the "greyhound" of what nation? The Magyars are natives of Hungary, so the Magyar Agar is the Hungarian greyhound. I read too much into this question and overthought it. I certainly had the Hungarian part, but I was thinking he was looking for a different breed.
2. What Best Picture-winning film has intertitles dividing it up into chapters like "The Players," "The Set-Up," "The Hook," "The Tale," "The Wire," and "The Shut-Out"? The final intertitle is the name of the film as well: "The Sting." correct
3. Name two of the three current U.S. Cabinet departments that have never been headed by a woman. The Secretaries of Defense and Treasury have always been male; so has the most recent Cabinet addition, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. correct
4. What French artist painted "Fatata te Miti," "La Orana Maria," and "Hini Tefatou"? The Tahitian names might have tipped you off that this was Paul Gauguin, buried today in his adopted home of Polynesia. correct
5. What city is home to the B & O Railroad Museum, on the site of America's oldest railroad complex? The 'B' in B & O is for Baltimore, where the railroad originated. correct
6. What U.S. fast food chain has 28 million of its trademark antenna balls in circulation? This was a toughie in those parts of the Midwest and Northeast that happen to be free from the plague of Jack-in-the Box. Still, I thought this was a fair question no matter where you live; after all, people travel a lot nowadays, and those damn antenna balls are *everywhere*. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these songs? "Aeroplane" by Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Another Brick in the Wall" by Pink Floyd, "Everything Is Beautiful" by Ray Stevens, "Happy Christmas (War Is Over") by John and Yoko, "I'm a Thug" by Trick Daddy, "Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud" by James Brown, "2080" by Yeasayer, "We Don't Need Another Hero" by Tina Turner. All feature backing vocals by a children's chorus. Yes, there are lots of other possibilities; these particular songs were chosen to make the question harder to Google. However, "You Can't Always Get What You Want" is *not* on the list; that's apparently the London Bach Choir opening that song, adults all. good get, Alex
1. What two South American nations begin with the same letters as their respective capital cities? Brasil and Brasilia. The other one does not come as easily. Not Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay or Bolivia. Must be one of the three countries in the northeast that no one pays attention to. What are they - Guyana, French Guyana, Suriname? A guess has 1/3 chance of being right, but that is better than cheating and using an atlas. I seem to recall that Cayenne is a city in Suriname. That gets me to 50-50. I'll guess Guyana.
2. What hit 1994 documentary features cameo appearances by John Thompson, Mike Krzyzewski, and Rick Pitino, among others? A classic. Hoop Dreams.
3. What do you tend to do in bright light if you have "Autosomal-dominant Compelling Helio-Ophthalmic Outburst syndrome"? is this something as simple as "shade your eyes"?
4. What modern holiday is believed to be descended from the Roman festival of Lupercalia? since this is around the time of Valentine's Day, I'll guess that. I know from Final Jeopardy two weeks ago (which everyone missed!) that Valentine's Day is based on a Roman celebration.
5. On TV, what "middle ground" "lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge"? sounds like that might be The Twilight Zone. I can hear Rod Serling saying something like that.
6. Dan Simmons' new book Drood is based on the troubled last years of what writer? Drood --> Edwin Drood --> Charles Dickens
7. Based on the unusual distinction they all share, what baseball player could be added to this list of performers, and why? Benjamin Bratt, John Derek, Richard Gere, Peter Sellers, Charlie Sheen, Ringo Starr, and Robert Wagner. First, I have to identify the unusual distinction that they all share. Nothing is really evident. How many of them have taken performance enhancing drugs?
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. The "Magyar Agar" dog breed is also called the "greyhound" of what nation? The Magyars are natives of Hungary, so the Magyar Agar is the Hungarian greyhound. I read too much into this question and overthought it. I certainly had the Hungarian part, but I was thinking he was looking for a different breed.
2. What Best Picture-winning film has intertitles dividing it up into chapters like "The Players," "The Set-Up," "The Hook," "The Tale," "The Wire," and "The Shut-Out"? The final intertitle is the name of the film as well: "The Sting." correct
3. Name two of the three current U.S. Cabinet departments that have never been headed by a woman. The Secretaries of Defense and Treasury have always been male; so has the most recent Cabinet addition, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. correct
4. What French artist painted "Fatata te Miti," "La Orana Maria," and "Hini Tefatou"? The Tahitian names might have tipped you off that this was Paul Gauguin, buried today in his adopted home of Polynesia. correct
5. What city is home to the B & O Railroad Museum, on the site of America's oldest railroad complex? The 'B' in B & O is for Baltimore, where the railroad originated. correct
6. What U.S. fast food chain has 28 million of its trademark antenna balls in circulation? This was a toughie in those parts of the Midwest and Northeast that happen to be free from the plague of Jack-in-the Box. Still, I thought this was a fair question no matter where you live; after all, people travel a lot nowadays, and those damn antenna balls are *everywhere*. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these songs? "Aeroplane" by Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Another Brick in the Wall" by Pink Floyd, "Everything Is Beautiful" by Ray Stevens, "Happy Christmas (War Is Over") by John and Yoko, "I'm a Thug" by Trick Daddy, "Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud" by James Brown, "2080" by Yeasayer, "We Don't Need Another Hero" by Tina Turner. All feature backing vocals by a children's chorus. Yes, there are lots of other possibilities; these particular songs were chosen to make the question harder to Google. However, "You Can't Always Get What You Want" is *not* on the list; that's apparently the London Bach Choir opening that song, adults all. good get, Alex
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#1 -- Yep, the other one is one of those three countries. That is tough without the Google.
#3 -- The "ouburst" thing makes me think it's this. I've heard of this but never met anyone who has this condition.
#6 -- Nice one! I had no idea. Same with #4.
#7 -- Wikipedia showed me the answer on this one. Let me add that this is a retired baseball player, which might not be obvious from the framing of the question.
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#3 -- The "ouburst" thing makes me think it's this. I've heard of this but never met anyone who has this condition.
#6 -- Nice one! I had no idea. Same with #4.
#7 -- Wikipedia showed me the answer on this one. Let me add that this is a retired baseball player, which might not be obvious from the framing of the question.
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