Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Ken Jennings Tuesday Trivia - May 29
THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. Which is the smallest--but not the least massive--of the gas giant planets of our Solar System? the gas giant planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Must be one of the latter two. I think that Uranus is smaller than Neptune.
2. What American most famously spoke the state motto of Virginia in achieving his claim to fame? Patrick Henry? He said give me liberty or give me death. Sounds like a good state motto. And he was a Virginian.
3. What comedian died on the set of his 1991 sitcom The Royal Family, because cast and crew members didn't realize that he was actually suffering a real heart attack and not just doing a "bit"? Is this Bobcat Goldthwaite? I think that John Ritter died from a heart attack. But it was not 21 years ago, he was on a different show (8 Simple Rules) and I would call him an actor, not a comedian.
4. In 2009 and 2010, the Social Security Administration's most common baby name for both boys and girls were both character names from the same young adult novels. What were the two names? Jacob and Bella
5. In what country did the genre of musical drama called Noh originate? Japan
6. Who tweets under the Twitter handle @shebop_aka_cyn? Cyndi Lauper?
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these U.S. states and no others--though California is, in all likelihood, about to leave the list? Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, and Utah. Why would CA be likely to leave the list? What is going to change soon? This Q7 is a real puzzler.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. What are the only two species of eagle that can be found in the U.S. and Canada? Bald eagles--did you get that one? But also the thinning-on-top-but-not-quite-bald-yet golden eagle. correct
2. From 1872 to 1874, Captain John Moresby mapped the coast of what island? Port Moresby is the largest city on the island of New Guinea. Captain Moresby claimed he was naming the port "after his father," but c'mon Captain Ego, who do you think you're fooling? I feel like a dope. I knew Papua New Guinea but did not recognize that the name of the stupid island is New Guinea!
3. What company was America's most profitable retailer in 2012, with almost twice the sales dollars per square foot as its nearest rival, Tiffany? Apple's stores are by far the most profitable retail spaces in all the land. Less so if you count the square footage of the dungeons underneath them where the pale slave children make the devices. makes sense now but this was not one of the retailers that I had considered. I am surprised to learn that there are 246 Apple stores in the US.
4. What director has used as settings for his films the palatial corner house at 111 Archer Avenue, the trenches and reefs around the Ping Islands, a luxury train crossing India, and a New England summer camp? The movies are The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic, the Darjeeling Limited, and Moonrise Kingdom, so the director is (abrupt shift to slow motion, Kinks song begins) Wes Anderson. surprised and pleased to get this one correct
5. For what occasion would a poet pen an epithalamion? An epithalamion, or epithalamium, isn't the skin cancer it sounds like. It's a wedding ode. oh yes, the other life ceremony which might need a poem
6. The "Big Four" Fashion Weeks are held in New York, London, and what two continental European cities? Paris and Milan. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these TV characters? Gob Bluth on Arrested Development, Dr. Mark Craig on St. Elsewhere, Oscar Madison on The Odd Couple, Stuart Markowitz on L.A. Law, Commander Sheridian on Babylon 5, Roger Sterling on Mad Men, Ron Swanson on Parks and Recreation, Jason Walton on The Waltons. The real-life wife of each of these actors also played the character's wife (or ex-wife, in a couple cases) on the show. correct!
1. Which is the smallest--but not the least massive--of the gas giant planets of our Solar System? the gas giant planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Must be one of the latter two. I think that Uranus is smaller than Neptune.
2. What American most famously spoke the state motto of Virginia in achieving his claim to fame? Patrick Henry? He said give me liberty or give me death. Sounds like a good state motto. And he was a Virginian.
3. What comedian died on the set of his 1991 sitcom The Royal Family, because cast and crew members didn't realize that he was actually suffering a real heart attack and not just doing a "bit"? Is this Bobcat Goldthwaite? I think that John Ritter died from a heart attack. But it was not 21 years ago, he was on a different show (8 Simple Rules) and I would call him an actor, not a comedian.
4. In 2009 and 2010, the Social Security Administration's most common baby name for both boys and girls were both character names from the same young adult novels. What were the two names? Jacob and Bella
5. In what country did the genre of musical drama called Noh originate? Japan
6. Who tweets under the Twitter handle @shebop_aka_cyn? Cyndi Lauper?
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these U.S. states and no others--though California is, in all likelihood, about to leave the list? Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, and Utah. Why would CA be likely to leave the list? What is going to change soon? This Q7 is a real puzzler.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. What are the only two species of eagle that can be found in the U.S. and Canada? Bald eagles--did you get that one? But also the thinning-on-top-but-not-quite-bald-yet golden eagle. correct
2. From 1872 to 1874, Captain John Moresby mapped the coast of what island? Port Moresby is the largest city on the island of New Guinea. Captain Moresby claimed he was naming the port "after his father," but c'mon Captain Ego, who do you think you're fooling? I feel like a dope. I knew Papua New Guinea but did not recognize that the name of the stupid island is New Guinea!
3. What company was America's most profitable retailer in 2012, with almost twice the sales dollars per square foot as its nearest rival, Tiffany? Apple's stores are by far the most profitable retail spaces in all the land. Less so if you count the square footage of the dungeons underneath them where the pale slave children make the devices. makes sense now but this was not one of the retailers that I had considered. I am surprised to learn that there are 246 Apple stores in the US.
4. What director has used as settings for his films the palatial corner house at 111 Archer Avenue, the trenches and reefs around the Ping Islands, a luxury train crossing India, and a New England summer camp? The movies are The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic, the Darjeeling Limited, and Moonrise Kingdom, so the director is (abrupt shift to slow motion, Kinks song begins) Wes Anderson. surprised and pleased to get this one correct
5. For what occasion would a poet pen an epithalamion? An epithalamion, or epithalamium, isn't the skin cancer it sounds like. It's a wedding ode. oh yes, the other life ceremony which might need a poem
6. The "Big Four" Fashion Weeks are held in New York, London, and what two continental European cities? Paris and Milan. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these TV characters? Gob Bluth on Arrested Development, Dr. Mark Craig on St. Elsewhere, Oscar Madison on The Odd Couple, Stuart Markowitz on L.A. Law, Commander Sheridian on Babylon 5, Roger Sterling on Mad Men, Ron Swanson on Parks and Recreation, Jason Walton on The Waltons. The real-life wife of each of these actors also played the character's wife (or ex-wife, in a couple cases) on the show. correct!
