Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Ken Jennings Tuesday Trivia - April 28
THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. What quantity do scientists measure with "candelas"? sounds like candles or foot-candles. Do candelas measure brightness or luminosity?
2. What music group recently refused a PETA request to rename itself the "Rescue Shelter Boys"? Pet Shop Boys
3. Runners from what nation have won 16 out of the last 20 Boston Marathons (Men's Open division)? Kenya
4. Despite its Swiss location, the tiny Alpine town of Meiringen, near Reichenbach Falls, is home to a museum dedicated to what British literary character? Sherlock Holmes
5. What actress began her career doing stand-up using the last name "Cushon"? Is that supposed to be a hint?
6. What are the two vegetables most commonly used to make succotash? lima beans and corn (though aren't lima beans considered a legume, not a vegetable?)
7. What is the significance of this list of U.S. states (and the District of Columbia), in this order? D.C., D.C., D.C., New York, Wisconsin, Florida, D.C., Texas, California, California, D.C. Looks like a ranked order list. DC has a lot of museums, sports teams, universities. Wisconsin is a curious appearance. What is there - Milwaukee, Green Bay? I thought this might have something to do with pandas. But the only US pandas are in DC, San Diego, Atlanta and Memphis.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. What are the Septuagint, the Targum, and the Vulgate? Translations of the Bible. lesser referenced translations I guess
2. What famous TV pair first met at MGM in 1939 after one left the Harman-Ising studio and the other left Terrytoons? That was William Hanna and Joe Barbera of Hanna-Barbera fame, who directed dozens of Tom and Jerry shorts for MGM before moving to TV with their own production company. correct
3. "Velvet" is the soft skin that covers what kind of animal appendage? Deer antlers are covered in "velvet" until they finish growing. correct
4. What company was named in 1972 to refer to the music-industry inexperience of its now-famous founder? That's why Richard Branson called his tiny mail-order LP company "Virgin Records." correct
5. What object, which inspired the "Battle Hymn of the Republic," is currently buried on a farm near Lake Placid, New York? Lake Placid is apparently where John Brown's body lies a-mouldering in the grave. I am still learning (or re-learning) American history.
6. What nation's traditional formal garment is the "barong Tagalog"? Tagalog is a major language and ethnic group of the Philippines. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these film actors? Marlon Brando, Nicolas Cage, Jimmy Cagney, Johnny Depp, Tom Hanks, Charles Laughton, Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Anthony Quinn, Frank Sinatra. They each directed exactly one movie each. Some of these are minor classics (like Brando's One-Eyed Jacks or Laughton's The Night of the Hunter). Others, like Nicolas Cage's Sonny...not so much. Q7s have been brutally tough lately
1. What quantity do scientists measure with "candelas"? sounds like candles or foot-candles. Do candelas measure brightness or luminosity?
2. What music group recently refused a PETA request to rename itself the "Rescue Shelter Boys"? Pet Shop Boys
3. Runners from what nation have won 16 out of the last 20 Boston Marathons (Men's Open division)? Kenya
4. Despite its Swiss location, the tiny Alpine town of Meiringen, near Reichenbach Falls, is home to a museum dedicated to what British literary character? Sherlock Holmes
5. What actress began her career doing stand-up using the last name "Cushon"? Is that supposed to be a hint?
6. What are the two vegetables most commonly used to make succotash? lima beans and corn (though aren't lima beans considered a legume, not a vegetable?)
7. What is the significance of this list of U.S. states (and the District of Columbia), in this order? D.C., D.C., D.C., New York, Wisconsin, Florida, D.C., Texas, California, California, D.C. Looks like a ranked order list. DC has a lot of museums, sports teams, universities. Wisconsin is a curious appearance. What is there - Milwaukee, Green Bay? I thought this might have something to do with pandas. But the only US pandas are in DC, San Diego, Atlanta and Memphis.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. What are the Septuagint, the Targum, and the Vulgate? Translations of the Bible. lesser referenced translations I guess
2. What famous TV pair first met at MGM in 1939 after one left the Harman-Ising studio and the other left Terrytoons? That was William Hanna and Joe Barbera of Hanna-Barbera fame, who directed dozens of Tom and Jerry shorts for MGM before moving to TV with their own production company. correct
3. "Velvet" is the soft skin that covers what kind of animal appendage? Deer antlers are covered in "velvet" until they finish growing. correct
4. What company was named in 1972 to refer to the music-industry inexperience of its now-famous founder? That's why Richard Branson called his tiny mail-order LP company "Virgin Records." correct
5. What object, which inspired the "Battle Hymn of the Republic," is currently buried on a farm near Lake Placid, New York? Lake Placid is apparently where John Brown's body lies a-mouldering in the grave. I am still learning (or re-learning) American history.
6. What nation's traditional formal garment is the "barong Tagalog"? Tagalog is a major language and ethnic group of the Philippines. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these film actors? Marlon Brando, Nicolas Cage, Jimmy Cagney, Johnny Depp, Tom Hanks, Charles Laughton, Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Anthony Quinn, Frank Sinatra. They each directed exactly one movie each. Some of these are minor classics (like Brando's One-Eyed Jacks or Laughton's The Night of the Hunter). Others, like Nicolas Cage's Sonny...not so much. Q7s have been brutally tough lately
