Monday, February 20, 2012
Ken Jennings Tuesday Trivia - February 14
THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. Until 1949, what was the only letter that appeared exactly twice in the iconic "Hollywood" sign? an odd question, but the answer is "d." The sign originally read "Hollywoodland." I guess it was shortened in 1949.
2. What is made up of parts including the cuirass, the gorget, the hauberk, and greaves? is this a sail?
3. What is the mass number of the strontium isotope that's a notorious component of nuclear fallout? another odd question. It may be notorious but I think of other radioactive isotopes first. I have heard of uranium 235 and plutonium 239 and cesium isotopes. Asking about strontium is like asking for the 5th biggest city in a particular country. Or the 4th most popular girl scout cookie.
4. What musician's dubious reputation is defended vigorously online by "Team Breezy"? Snoop Dogg?
5. Quintana Roo is the eastern part of what peninsula? Yucatan
6. The current Broadway hit The Mountaintop is a fictionalized version of the last night in the life of what famous person? The Mountaintop --> Mount Everest --> Sir Edmund Hillary?
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these U.S. cities, as well as most boroughs of New York City? Anchorage, Austin, Columbus, Denver, Dallas, Lincoln, Lubbock, Raleigh, Seattle, St. Paul. no idea whatsoever. Most boroughs of NYC? very mysterious.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. Who made the hejira to Medina in 622 AD? Muhammad and his followers fled Mecca in the hejira, or hijra, to avoid assassination. This pivotal event became the starting point for the Islamic calendar. correct
2. Room 237, a documentary at this year's Sundance Film Festival, looks at obsessive fans of what horror film? Room 237 is the room at the Overlook Hotel where several characters encounter a violent--but sexy!--ghost in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. really, people are still obsessing over this movie?
3. Which two judges on TV's The Voice have also appeared in Super Bowl halftime shows? Cee Lo Green was just on a couple weeks ago. Christina Aguilera co-headlined the 2000 show with Phil Collins et. al. Wait, did I spell her name right? Is there an X now? Fine, Christian Xuilera. 1/2 correct. I thought that Madonna was the headliner at this year's Super Bowl. What do I know, I cared about the game and skipped the commercials and halftime.
4. Springs and neaps are extreme types of what phenomenon? "Spring" and "neap" are the highest and lowest range variations in the Earth's tides. correct
5. What's the only currently syndicated U.S. comic strip with an umlaut in its logo? Hagar the Horrible apparently takes two dots over the first 'a'. I guess I've been saying it wrong? correct
6. Richard and Cuthbert Burbage owned half the shares of what building, built in 1599 but burned down in 1613? Richard Burbage was the great Elizabethan actor who originated all the big Shakespeare tragic roles. So the building was the Globe Theatre. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these movies? Barbarella, Catch-22, The Cider House Rules, Fighting, Lolita, Magnolia, Slither, Three Colors: White. correct
1. Until 1949, what was the only letter that appeared exactly twice in the iconic "Hollywood" sign? an odd question, but the answer is "d." The sign originally read "Hollywoodland." I guess it was shortened in 1949.
2. What is made up of parts including the cuirass, the gorget, the hauberk, and greaves? is this a sail?
3. What is the mass number of the strontium isotope that's a notorious component of nuclear fallout? another odd question. It may be notorious but I think of other radioactive isotopes first. I have heard of uranium 235 and plutonium 239 and cesium isotopes. Asking about strontium is like asking for the 5th biggest city in a particular country. Or the 4th most popular girl scout cookie.
4. What musician's dubious reputation is defended vigorously online by "Team Breezy"? Snoop Dogg?
5. Quintana Roo is the eastern part of what peninsula? Yucatan
6. The current Broadway hit The Mountaintop is a fictionalized version of the last night in the life of what famous person? The Mountaintop --> Mount Everest --> Sir Edmund Hillary?
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these U.S. cities, as well as most boroughs of New York City? Anchorage, Austin, Columbus, Denver, Dallas, Lincoln, Lubbock, Raleigh, Seattle, St. Paul. no idea whatsoever. Most boroughs of NYC? very mysterious.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. Who made the hejira to Medina in 622 AD? Muhammad and his followers fled Mecca in the hejira, or hijra, to avoid assassination. This pivotal event became the starting point for the Islamic calendar. correct
2. Room 237, a documentary at this year's Sundance Film Festival, looks at obsessive fans of what horror film? Room 237 is the room at the Overlook Hotel where several characters encounter a violent--but sexy!--ghost in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. really, people are still obsessing over this movie?
3. Which two judges on TV's The Voice have also appeared in Super Bowl halftime shows? Cee Lo Green was just on a couple weeks ago. Christina Aguilera co-headlined the 2000 show with Phil Collins et. al. Wait, did I spell her name right? Is there an X now? Fine, Christian Xuilera. 1/2 correct. I thought that Madonna was the headliner at this year's Super Bowl. What do I know, I cared about the game and skipped the commercials and halftime.
4. Springs and neaps are extreme types of what phenomenon? "Spring" and "neap" are the highest and lowest range variations in the Earth's tides. correct
5. What's the only currently syndicated U.S. comic strip with an umlaut in its logo? Hagar the Horrible apparently takes two dots over the first 'a'. I guess I've been saying it wrong? correct
6. Richard and Cuthbert Burbage owned half the shares of what building, built in 1599 but burned down in 1613? Richard Burbage was the great Elizabethan actor who originated all the big Shakespeare tragic roles. So the building was the Globe Theatre. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these movies? Barbarella, Catch-22, The Cider House Rules, Fighting, Lolita, Magnolia, Slither, Three Colors: White. correct
