Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Ken Jennings Tuesday Trivia - August 10
THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. The Giant's Causeway is a formation of 40,000 basalt columns at the northern end of what island? Ireland. I've been to Giant's Causeway. Similar formations to Devil's Postpile near Mammoth.
2. What number, expressed in Roman numerals, also spells the name of a letter of the Greek alphabet? Had to think about this a bit. 11 - XI.
3. Name the two characters--one literary, one historical--that have both been played on screen by Charles Laughton *and* Anthony Hopkins. Both have been Captain Bligh. That must be the historical character. Literary? Laughton played the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Hopkins too?
4. What simple sugar is the right-handed stereoisomer of glucose? simple sugar --> sucrose?
5. By what name do we better know the Schtroumpfs, created in 1958 by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo? I may be wrong, but I seem to recall that the Smurfs have a Belgian heritage.
6. In 1901, what famous woman said, "I can say what most conductors can't say: I never run my train off the track, and I never lost a passenger"? 1901 would be too early to be an aviatrix like Amelia Earhart. Maybe Nellie Bly?
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these teams from the four major North American sports leagues and (as far as I can tell) no others? Angels, Clippers, Cubs, Dodgers, Flyers, New York Giants, Jets, Knicks, Lakers, Oilers, Packers, Raiders, New York Rangers, Redskins, Stars, Yankees. Let's do a little reorganizing and see if that helps. MLB - Angels, Cubs, Dodgers, Yankees. NBA - Clippers, Knicks, Lakers. NFL - Giants, Jets, Packers, Raiders, Redskins. NHL - Flyers, Oilers, Rangers, Stars. The inclusion of the Clippers ensures that this question has nothing to do with winning championships.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. Who made history by winning the Indy Japan 300 in April 2008? This was Danica Patrick's first and only Indy car win. correct
2. Who wrote 1653's Treatise of an Arithmetic Triangle, describing a pattern in which every number is the sum of the two above it? Blaise Pascal wasn't the first to describe this pattern, but today we know it by his name: Pascal's triangle. I had typed Pascal first and then had a 2nd thought.
3. Ras Hafun, the easternmost point of Africa, is found in which country? Ras Hafun is that pointy part at the end of Somalia--if you can even call Somalia a country these days. correct
4. What Chicago-based nonprofit changed its name last month, leading musician Victor Willis to issue a statement on the situation? Victor Willis was the original lead singer of the Village People, and he wanted people to know that (a) he wouldn't be changing the title of his biggest hit from "YMCA" to "the Y," and (b) he's still alive! Did not know that the national Y is based in Chicago. For some reason, I thought it would be somewhere like Springfield, MA.
5. In the comic strip Peanuts, what is the usually posted price of "Psychiatric Help" at Lucy's booth? Five cents. The doctor is in. correct
6. What's the name for the type of tower in which you might find a muezzin? It's a minaret. We didn't accept "mosque" (or "community center," heh) because that's the building, not the tower. fair enough
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these movies? Babe, Big Momma's House 2, Eyes Wide Shut, The Fellowship of the Ring, Horse Feathers, Sex and the City, WarGames, Watchmen. In each of these movies, a secret password is "hacked," whether by computer shenanigans, a lucky guess, talking sheep, Chico Marx being an idiot, or other means. Eyes Wide Shut - fidelio. Fellowship of the Ring - friend. WarGames - Joshua. Ok I understand now.
1. The Giant's Causeway is a formation of 40,000 basalt columns at the northern end of what island? Ireland. I've been to Giant's Causeway. Similar formations to Devil's Postpile near Mammoth.
2. What number, expressed in Roman numerals, also spells the name of a letter of the Greek alphabet? Had to think about this a bit. 11 - XI.
3. Name the two characters--one literary, one historical--that have both been played on screen by Charles Laughton *and* Anthony Hopkins. Both have been Captain Bligh. That must be the historical character. Literary? Laughton played the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Hopkins too?
4. What simple sugar is the right-handed stereoisomer of glucose? simple sugar --> sucrose?
5. By what name do we better know the Schtroumpfs, created in 1958 by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo? I may be wrong, but I seem to recall that the Smurfs have a Belgian heritage.
6. In 1901, what famous woman said, "I can say what most conductors can't say: I never run my train off the track, and I never lost a passenger"? 1901 would be too early to be an aviatrix like Amelia Earhart. Maybe Nellie Bly?
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these teams from the four major North American sports leagues and (as far as I can tell) no others? Angels, Clippers, Cubs, Dodgers, Flyers, New York Giants, Jets, Knicks, Lakers, Oilers, Packers, Raiders, New York Rangers, Redskins, Stars, Yankees. Let's do a little reorganizing and see if that helps. MLB - Angels, Cubs, Dodgers, Yankees. NBA - Clippers, Knicks, Lakers. NFL - Giants, Jets, Packers, Raiders, Redskins. NHL - Flyers, Oilers, Rangers, Stars. The inclusion of the Clippers ensures that this question has nothing to do with winning championships.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. Who made history by winning the Indy Japan 300 in April 2008? This was Danica Patrick's first and only Indy car win. correct
2. Who wrote 1653's Treatise of an Arithmetic Triangle, describing a pattern in which every number is the sum of the two above it? Blaise Pascal wasn't the first to describe this pattern, but today we know it by his name: Pascal's triangle. I had typed Pascal first and then had a 2nd thought.
3. Ras Hafun, the easternmost point of Africa, is found in which country? Ras Hafun is that pointy part at the end of Somalia--if you can even call Somalia a country these days. correct
4. What Chicago-based nonprofit changed its name last month, leading musician Victor Willis to issue a statement on the situation? Victor Willis was the original lead singer of the Village People, and he wanted people to know that (a) he wouldn't be changing the title of his biggest hit from "YMCA" to "the Y," and (b) he's still alive! Did not know that the national Y is based in Chicago. For some reason, I thought it would be somewhere like Springfield, MA.
5. In the comic strip Peanuts, what is the usually posted price of "Psychiatric Help" at Lucy's booth? Five cents. The doctor is in. correct
6. What's the name for the type of tower in which you might find a muezzin? It's a minaret. We didn't accept "mosque" (or "community center," heh) because that's the building, not the tower. fair enough
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these movies? Babe, Big Momma's House 2, Eyes Wide Shut, The Fellowship of the Ring, Horse Feathers, Sex and the City, WarGames, Watchmen. In each of these movies, a secret password is "hacked," whether by computer shenanigans, a lucky guess, talking sheep, Chico Marx being an idiot, or other means. Eyes Wide Shut - fidelio. Fellowship of the Ring - friend. WarGames - Joshua. Ok I understand now.
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That is an excellent guess. Here in LA we do not think about mascots because most of the area teams do not have them. I checked and even the Browns have a mascot. The way the question is worded ("as far as I can tell") leads you to believe that the answer is one that required a lot of research such as checking the mascots of 100+ teams.
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