Tuesday, September 06, 2011
Ken Jennings Tuesday Trivia - September 6
THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. In 1993, who became the only pro football coach ever named Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year? Bill Walsh was my first thought but he moved to Stanford in 1992. Next would be Bill Parcells.
2. What late movie director set much of his oeuvre in the fictional suburb of Shermer, Illinois? John Hughes
3. Which U.S. presidential surname is also a top ten name for baby girls at the moment, according to the Social Security Administration? Madison
4. What nation, Europe's 10th largest by area today, was actually Europe's largest country for much of the 16th and 17th centuries? I remember on old maps that Poland used to dominate eastern Europe
5. What are you doing if you're using an "orange stick"? Is that what they call the sticks used by airline workers who direct planes into and out of gates?
6. The Chordettes and Lil Wayne both recorded hit odes to what sweet treat? No idea so I will guess everyone's favorite crossword triple layer treat - oreo. I am mostly useless on the rap/hip hop questions.
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these writers? Dante, Heine, Hugo, Carlo Levi, Ovid, Pushkin, Sappho, Thucydides. I think they were all exiled. I started with Dante because I know that he was exiled from Florence. The others appear to have been vanquished from one location or another as well.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. Green Bay (of "Packers" fame) is an inlet of which Great Lake? Wisconsin's east coast lies on Lake Michigan. correct
2. Which two major U.S. movie releases of 2011 are both adapted from, of all things, Belgian comics? Why are Belgian cartoonists taking over our tentpole movies? This summer saw the unfortunate return of the Smurfs, and this Christmas there's a billion-dollar Tintin movie for some reason. Also, why do I keep asking Smurf questions on Tuesday Trivia? Note to self... correct although not quite fair to ask about movies not yet released
3. The pigment called "sepia" comes from what kind of animal? The brownish ink called sepia originally came from cephalopod ink--specifically cuttlefish, but we accepted "squid" also, because wtf is a cuttlefish? a good question. I was thinking of some aquatic animal and should have hit on a cephalopod
4. London's Ticketshare giveaway for the 2012 Olympics will allow lucky schoolchildren to see any sport but one. Which one? Shooting is apparently the non family-friendly Olympic sport, but that's only because nude Jell-o Twister won't be an exhibition sport until 2016. another good question. But what about modern pentathlon that includes shooting?
5. On reality TV, Duff Goldman is the "ace" and Buddy Valastro the "boss" of what food? Cake. Let's compare America's BMI over the decades to its number of television shows about cake and then start arguing correlation and causation. correct (with unintended assistance)
6. What title was held by Grand Princes of the Rurik dynasty, beginning in 1547? They were the first Tsars of Russia. You probably remember all those Tea Party protests complaining about why Russia needed all those czars. makes sense now. In fact I should have remembered that shah means king. Tsar is prince.
7. What unusual (for celebrities) distinction is shared by these celebrities? Antonio Banderas, Kirk Cameron, Harry Connick Jr., Sam Elliott, Ed Harris, Michael J. Fox, Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Keith Urban, Denzel Washington. All are married to older women. Should I have left off Ashton or not? I'm fairly certain I did the right thing. Semi-interesting factoid
1. In 1993, who became the only pro football coach ever named Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year? Bill Walsh was my first thought but he moved to Stanford in 1992. Next would be Bill Parcells.
2. What late movie director set much of his oeuvre in the fictional suburb of Shermer, Illinois? John Hughes
3. Which U.S. presidential surname is also a top ten name for baby girls at the moment, according to the Social Security Administration? Madison
4. What nation, Europe's 10th largest by area today, was actually Europe's largest country for much of the 16th and 17th centuries? I remember on old maps that Poland used to dominate eastern Europe
5. What are you doing if you're using an "orange stick"? Is that what they call the sticks used by airline workers who direct planes into and out of gates?
6. The Chordettes and Lil Wayne both recorded hit odes to what sweet treat? No idea so I will guess everyone's favorite crossword triple layer treat - oreo. I am mostly useless on the rap/hip hop questions.
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these writers? Dante, Heine, Hugo, Carlo Levi, Ovid, Pushkin, Sappho, Thucydides. I think they were all exiled. I started with Dante because I know that he was exiled from Florence. The others appear to have been vanquished from one location or another as well.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. Green Bay (of "Packers" fame) is an inlet of which Great Lake? Wisconsin's east coast lies on Lake Michigan. correct
2. Which two major U.S. movie releases of 2011 are both adapted from, of all things, Belgian comics? Why are Belgian cartoonists taking over our tentpole movies? This summer saw the unfortunate return of the Smurfs, and this Christmas there's a billion-dollar Tintin movie for some reason. Also, why do I keep asking Smurf questions on Tuesday Trivia? Note to self... correct although not quite fair to ask about movies not yet released
3. The pigment called "sepia" comes from what kind of animal? The brownish ink called sepia originally came from cephalopod ink--specifically cuttlefish, but we accepted "squid" also, because wtf is a cuttlefish? a good question. I was thinking of some aquatic animal and should have hit on a cephalopod
4. London's Ticketshare giveaway for the 2012 Olympics will allow lucky schoolchildren to see any sport but one. Which one? Shooting is apparently the non family-friendly Olympic sport, but that's only because nude Jell-o Twister won't be an exhibition sport until 2016. another good question. But what about modern pentathlon that includes shooting?
5. On reality TV, Duff Goldman is the "ace" and Buddy Valastro the "boss" of what food? Cake. Let's compare America's BMI over the decades to its number of television shows about cake and then start arguing correlation and causation. correct (with unintended assistance)
6. What title was held by Grand Princes of the Rurik dynasty, beginning in 1547? They were the first Tsars of Russia. You probably remember all those Tea Party protests complaining about why Russia needed all those czars. makes sense now. In fact I should have remembered that shah means king. Tsar is prince.
7. What unusual (for celebrities) distinction is shared by these celebrities? Antonio Banderas, Kirk Cameron, Harry Connick Jr., Sam Elliott, Ed Harris, Michael J. Fox, Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Keith Urban, Denzel Washington. All are married to older women. Should I have left off Ashton or not? I'm fairly certain I did the right thing. Semi-interesting factoid
