Musings of a Dead Parrot

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. Thanks to her recent TV success, who has her first Top Ten hit in eight years with "On the Floor"? wracked my brain thinking of recent TV success. KJ sometimes defines "recently" to mean within the last 5 years. Maybe Gwyneth Paltrow on Glee? Has Britney Spears been on tv? Then I thought of JLo
2. U.S. consumption of what vegetable doubled in the 1990s, thanks to the 1986 debut of its "baby" variety? carrot
3. What 2011 buzzword also names a 1969 Paul Newman racing movie, a 1981 Santana single, and a best-selling Jack Welch management book from 2005? buzzwords - tea party, shut down, tsumani. None of those sound like a racing movie, single or best selling management book.
4. On May 8, 1657, who refused the British crown? David Beckham. Other than smart answers, I have no idea.
5. What sporting event was first held in 1967, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the American purchase of its territory? 1867 - Alaska. Iditarod.
6. By one common definition, what number is a "whole number" but not a "counting number"? Zero?
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these literary figures? Frankie Addams (The Member of the Wedding), Amir (The Kite Runner), Benjamin (Genesis), Cathy Linton (Wuthering Heights), Inigo Montoya (The Princess Bride), Smerdyakov (The Brothers Karamazov), Snow White, Oliver Twist, Voldemort (Harry Potter), the Wicked Witch of the East (Wicked). Mother dies in childbirth?

LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. What hobby are you enjoying if you're using a fixer bath solution of sodium thiosulfate to remove excess quantities of silver halide? You're a photographer...who for some reason hasn't gone digital yet but still prefers tinkering in a darkroom. correct
2. What two classic American "muscle cars" both debuted in 1964 and were both named for types of horses? The Mustang is a horse, of course, of course--and so is a Charger. correct
3. Income tax day in the U.S. will be delayed this year because the District of Columbia, on April 15, has a legal holiday celebrating the 139th anniversary of what event? This question suggested by my tax preparer--no kidding. The unfortunate math error was mine and not hers. D.C. celebrates Emancipation Day every April, but this year is the 149th anniversary of President Lincoln's signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, not the 139th. correct
4. Who is the only member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to have died while still legally a minor? When Ritchie "La Bamba" Valens died in the same tragic 1959 plane crash that killed Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper, he was, amazingly, only seventeen years old. correct
5. Of what early Saturday Night Live performers did writer Michael O'Donoghue famously sniff, "I won't write for felt"? The Muppets were regular performers on the first season of SNL--and credited above the show's human regulars. correct
6. What is South America's smallest Spanish-speaking nation, both in area and population? Uruguay is larger than Guyana and Suriname--but natives of those countries speak British and Dutch, respectively. not correct. Bolivia is much bigger than I thought.
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these U.S. presidents, and no others? Jefferson, Madison, Jackson, Lincoln, Grant, McKinley, F.D.R., and Nixon? This was meant to be an easy one--presidents that had more than one vice president. I inadvertently made it a little harder by leaving off Grover Cleveland--though I guess you could rationalize that Cleveland officially counts as two different presidents (22nd and 24th!), each of which only had one vice president. And if you buy that explanation, I have this theory about how the Emancipation Proclamation *really* took effect not in 1862 but in 1872... Alex got this even with KJ's (acknowledged) mistake.