Musings of a Dead Parrot

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. What passion does a "railbird" enjoy? a railbird could refer to the fans who stand at the rail and watch horses train and race. We also refer to the fans who watch college football practice as railbirds.
2. What unusual item was worn by both Werner Klemperer and Burgess Meredith in their most familiar TV roles? Mr. Peanut too. A monacle.
3. Which U.S. senate candidate has released a video to explain that he was *not* named for his father's favorite author, as has been claimed? Rand Paul (reference to Ayn Rand)
4. What profession made Louis Sullivan and Louis Kahn famous? architecture
5. One "astronomical unit," or AU, is defined as the distance between the Earth and what? This seems to be most logically the average distance between the Earth and the Sun
6. Who played Elvis Presley's mother in Blue Hawaii and Laurence Harvey's mother in The Manchurian Candidate, despite being only a few years older than both? Angela Lansbury
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these countries, listed in this order? Rwanda, Peru, the U.S., China, Mongolia, Mongolia, China, Brazil, China, and Zambia. Why are China and Mongolia listed multiple times?

LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. What hit 2010 film was based on a book called The Accidental Billionaires? Which was (very loosely!) based on reality. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and company are the accidental billionaires in question in The Social Network. correct
2. What small Asian lake lent its name to one of the most influential scientists in history? A non-Asian scientist, which made this a little trickier than usual. Galileo Galilei's family name was a reference to the Sea of Galilee, of Jesus-lived-there fame. once I searched outside of East Asia, I found this answer.
3. If her husband had won his election, what still-living woman would have become the first foreign-born American First Lady since John Quincy Adams' wife? Ketchup bajillionaire Theresa Heinz Kerry is without a doubt the most powerful American ever to have been born in Mozambique.
4. According to legend, what famous and much-feared object was forged on the isle of Avalon? King Arthur is buried on Avalon, ergo this is his sword Excalibur. correct
5. What artist set a record in 2009 by having all seven songs on his debut EP chart on Billboard's Hot 100? Justin Bieber accomplished this amazing feat. What? It is amazing. How many Hot 100 hits did YOU have before your voice changed? correct
6. What U.S. government agency can be reached toll-free at 1-800-829-1040? The "1040" part is easier than the other seven digits; this is the IRS. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these TV series? Castle, Louie, M*A*S*H, Maverick, The Odd Couple, Roseanne, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The West Wing. Each featured (or features) a regular poker game. So did Celebrity Poker Showdown, but I thought that might make the question a LITTLE too easy. Shoot. This required that you actually had to have watched a bunch of episodes to identify the poker game pattern. Internet research was not going to help. But my incorrect answer might be a good starting point for another Q7.