Musings of a Dead Parrot

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. Who made history by winning the Indy Japan 300 in April 2008? Danica Patrick
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? are these Fibonacci numbers?
3. Ras Hafun, the easternmost point of Africa, is found in which country? I believe that it is Somalia (though it may not be accurate to call it a country at this time)
4. What Chicago-based nonprofit changed its name last month, leading musician Victor Willis to issue a statement on the situation? The Victor Willis clue is not helpful. ACORN?
5. In the comic strip Peanuts, what is the usually posted price of "Psychiatric Help" at Lucy's booth? "5 cents, please"
6. What's the name for the type of tower in which you might find a muezzin? muezzin can be found in mosques. I believe they make the call to prayer.
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

LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. Acura is the luxury division of what major automaker? Acura is owned by Honda, which is why its 'A' logo is essentially a squished version of the Honda 'H'. correct
2. Which Lewis Carroll character is honored by fans one day a year: on June 10 in the U.K., and October 6 in America? These days are 10/6 on their respective sides of the Atlantic, a nod to the character whose trademark hat reads "In This Style 10/6": the Mad Hatter. I was walking by a costume shop on Pico in Santa Monica and saw this hat in the window.
3. Most of the bats used in major league baseball games--over 60%--are manufactured in what U.S. state? Sixty percent of major leaguers still use Louisville Slugger bats--made, of course, in Louisville, Kentucky. correct
4. What Russian statesman under Catherine the Great had a battleship named for him that was the site of a famous 1905 mutiny? The battleship Potemkin (of movie fame) was named for Grigory Potemkin, the nobleman for whom fraudulent "Potemkin villages" were also named. correct
5. What word is used for the four major divisions--frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal--of the brain's cerebral cortex? These are your brain's four lobes. Your ears' two lobes don't have fancy names, sorry. correct
6. Despite being part of Asia, what nation has been disallowed from the Asian Games since 1974 and has competed in the Eurovision song contest since 1973? For political reasons, Israel is usually grouped with Europe in international competition, even though it's part of Asia. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these famous people? Garth Brooks, Marlon Brando, Stephen Hawking, Le Duc Tho, Sinclair Lewis, Sinead O'Connor, John Singer Sargent, Jean-Paul Sartre. Each famously turned down some kind of award or honor...Garth Brooks turned down a knighthood, for example, while Stephen Hawking turned down an American Music Award. Unless Wikipedia got that backwards. correct