Thursday, May 12, 2011
Ken Jennings Tuesday Trivia - May 10
THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. In what mountain range was the Borscht Belt found? Catskills
2. What was anciently known as "hydrargyrum," meaning "water-silver"? mercury
3. Krist Novoselic plays bass on what band's new song "I Should Have Known," marking his first on-album collaboration with them? Have no idea what he has done since Nirvana and have never heard "I Should Have Known." Foo Fighters since that is Dave Grohl's band?
4. What two cities hosted the first non-U.S. expansion teams in both the NBA and the MLS? Toronto, Vancouver
5. What 1991 film's iconic catchphrase became "Sayonara, baby," in its Spanish-language versions? Terminator 2
6. What was the better-known name for the "Whitechapel killer"? Jack the Ripper
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these famous people? John Belushi, David Carradine, Coco Chanel, Janis Joplin, Robert Kennedy, President John Tyler, Oscar Wilde, Tennessee Williams. There are some unusual deaths among this group but nothing that appears to be consistent. No patterns yet.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. The Iowa state quarter depicts the childhood schoolhouse of what painter? Grant "American Gothic" Wood is by far Iowa's greatest gift to the art world. (But only because the Etch-a-Sketch is actually made by the Ohio Art Company, not the Iowa Art Company. I always get that confused.) correct
2. What two Broadway megahits of the 1970s were both adapted into films that added a new song called "Sandy"? I think most people remembered "Grease" first, but the title character of "Annie" serenades a Sandy as well--her mutt, in this case. A YouTube mashup switching up the two songs might be fun. correct
3. What country borders both of the world's two most voluminous lakes? The Caspian Sea and Lake Baikal hold more water than any other lake on Earth, and both have Russian shores. I will call this correct
4. By what full name do we remember the famous American woman born Thelma Catherine Ryan, whose father gave her her lifelong nickname the day after her March 16, 1912 birth? Pat Nixon got her nickname from St. Patrick's Day. Wow, if she'd been born a few weeks early, we might have had a First Lady named "Mardi Gras." good get, Jelly Troll Morton!
5. What was demoted thanks to the January 2005 discovery of the larger "Eris"? Eris is the larger-than-Pluto "dwarf planet" that finally got Pluto officially kicked out of the planet club. correct
6. What New Mexico city is home to a professional baseball team appropriately called the Invaders? This one comes courtesy of my dental hygienist, who was talking New Mexico semipro ball last time she cleaned my teeth, for some reason. According to her, the Roswell Invaders wear lime-green uniforms with an "alien grey" mascot in the middle of the big 'R', which sounds completely awesome to me. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these TV series? Charmed, The Daily Show, The Gilmore Girls, Grey's Anatomy, Murphy Brown, Soap, and 30 Rock, as well as (in part) Friends, The Good Wife, and Sesame Street? All were created by women--which isn't as unheard-of as it used to be, but still sadly uncommon. In hindsight, I wish I'd included The Nanny in this list, because Fran Drescher has been under-utilized in Tuesday Trivia up until now. ok, I guess
1. In what mountain range was the Borscht Belt found? Catskills
2. What was anciently known as "hydrargyrum," meaning "water-silver"? mercury
3. Krist Novoselic plays bass on what band's new song "I Should Have Known," marking his first on-album collaboration with them? Have no idea what he has done since Nirvana and have never heard "I Should Have Known." Foo Fighters since that is Dave Grohl's band?
4. What two cities hosted the first non-U.S. expansion teams in both the NBA and the MLS? Toronto, Vancouver
5. What 1991 film's iconic catchphrase became "Sayonara, baby," in its Spanish-language versions? Terminator 2
6. What was the better-known name for the "Whitechapel killer"? Jack the Ripper
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these famous people? John Belushi, David Carradine, Coco Chanel, Janis Joplin, Robert Kennedy, President John Tyler, Oscar Wilde, Tennessee Williams. There are some unusual deaths among this group but nothing that appears to be consistent. No patterns yet.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. The Iowa state quarter depicts the childhood schoolhouse of what painter? Grant "American Gothic" Wood is by far Iowa's greatest gift to the art world. (But only because the Etch-a-Sketch is actually made by the Ohio Art Company, not the Iowa Art Company. I always get that confused.) correct
2. What two Broadway megahits of the 1970s were both adapted into films that added a new song called "Sandy"? I think most people remembered "Grease" first, but the title character of "Annie" serenades a Sandy as well--her mutt, in this case. A YouTube mashup switching up the two songs might be fun. correct
3. What country borders both of the world's two most voluminous lakes? The Caspian Sea and Lake Baikal hold more water than any other lake on Earth, and both have Russian shores. I will call this correct
4. By what full name do we remember the famous American woman born Thelma Catherine Ryan, whose father gave her her lifelong nickname the day after her March 16, 1912 birth? Pat Nixon got her nickname from St. Patrick's Day. Wow, if she'd been born a few weeks early, we might have had a First Lady named "Mardi Gras." good get, Jelly Troll Morton!
5. What was demoted thanks to the January 2005 discovery of the larger "Eris"? Eris is the larger-than-Pluto "dwarf planet" that finally got Pluto officially kicked out of the planet club. correct
6. What New Mexico city is home to a professional baseball team appropriately called the Invaders? This one comes courtesy of my dental hygienist, who was talking New Mexico semipro ball last time she cleaned my teeth, for some reason. According to her, the Roswell Invaders wear lime-green uniforms with an "alien grey" mascot in the middle of the big 'R', which sounds completely awesome to me. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these TV series? Charmed, The Daily Show, The Gilmore Girls, Grey's Anatomy, Murphy Brown, Soap, and 30 Rock, as well as (in part) Friends, The Good Wife, and Sesame Street? All were created by women--which isn't as unheard-of as it used to be, but still sadly uncommon. In hindsight, I wish I'd included The Nanny in this list, because Fran Drescher has been under-utilized in Tuesday Trivia up until now. ok, I guess
