Musings of a Dead Parrot

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. In Irish legend, what's a leprechaun's day job? this week will not be easy like last week. The only leprechaun I know is an advertising character that collects hearts, moons, stars and clover. Maybe that is what they do in the woods - collect 4 leaf clovers.
2. What name for a large Midwestern stew has become the exclamation of choice for broadcasters like Stuart Scott and Jim Cramer? Stuart Scott says "Booya!" but that does not sound like a stew. Who thinks of stew as being large or small anyway? And what is a Midwestern stew - chili? Irish stew? I guess I will have to go with booya.
3. The adjective "vermiform" is used to describe which small bodily organ? Is vermiform like vermicelli? Could this be the small intestine?
4. M.I.A.'s hit "Paper Planes" samples "Straight to Hell" and Cypress Hill's "What's Your Number?" samples "The Guns of Brixton," both songs by what band? The Guns of Brixton --> The Clash
5. What U.S. state has the word "quadricentennial" on its state quarter? Quadricentennial is 400 years. I think of Virginia (for Jamestown) or Massachusetts (for Plymouth). I'll go with Virginia.
6. What sports figure currently has two Texan namesakes on prime time TV: the middle school on King of the Hill, and Matt Saracen's best friend on Friday Night Lights? Must be a Texas sports legend of some flavor. Football - Earl Campbell, Roger Staubach, Vince Young, Eric Dickerson. Baseball - Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens. Basketball - Hakeen Olajuwon. Boxing - George Foreman (he is from Houston, isn't he?). Golf - Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson. I note it says sports figure and not athlete. Could it be a coach? Bum Phillips? Tom Landry? Jimmy Johnson? That is a good generic name - Jimmy Johnson.
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these famous people? Fidel Castro, Marc Chagall, Bill Clinton, Marlene Dietrich, Giuseppe Garibaldi, Magic Johnson, Joe Louis, Golda Meir, Burt Reynolds, and Richard Wagner. Nothing comes to me now. Will need to keep researching during the week.

LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. Whose barbershop was located at 186 Fleet Street, London, next to St. Dunstan's Church? In Victorian "penny dreadfuls," and the subsequent Sondheim musical, Sweeney Todd was "the Demon Barber of Fleet Street." correct
2. "One could change the world with 140 characters" is the motto of Jack Dorsey, the founder of what website? Twitter, whose "tweets" carry a 140-character maximum. correct
3. What country's economy melted down in 2008 following the collapse of its three national banks: Glitnir, Landsbanki, and Kaupthing? Iceland is still reeling from the popping of its happy little bubble. correct
4. On average, a Big Mac contains 178 of what ingredient? That's the average number of seeds on the advertised "sesame seed bun." correct
5. At what battle was a bugle tune called the "Deguello" famously played? Remember? The Alamo. correct (and a lucky guess)
6. What do all animals with a "cloaca" use it for? "Cloaca" is the Latin word for sewer, and names the, er, excretory organ in birds and reptiles. all animals do not lay eggs. Read the question clearly, Mark! Only some animals/birds use a cloaca to lay eggs.
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these TV series? The Guardian, Hong Kong, Kings, Legend of the Seeker, Moonlight, Prison Break, The United States of Tara, Without a Trace. The lead actor in all these shows is an Australian--but one hiding his or her Australianity under an American accent, with varying degrees of success. I know about Toni Collette and Anthony LaPaglia. I have no idea of the stars of the other shows.

# posted by The O'Brien's Team @ 2:46 PM