Tuesday, June 05, 2012
Ken Jennings Tuesday Trivia - June 5
THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. The Battle of Waterloo was fought in what modern-day country? Belgium
2. A spinet is a very small type of what not-uncommon household feature? piano
3. In honor of his retirement the previous week, what U.S. state proclaimed January 13, 2007 to be "Steve Yzerman Day"? Michigan
4. For what mathematical purpose is the fraction 52163/16604 occasionally used? This looks to be a bit more than 3 to 1. Maybe this is a fraction that approximates pi.
5. In a 1977 interview, what 90-year-old explained to a reporter, "I decided that if I could paint that flower in a huge scale, you could not ignore its beauty"? Dang. I should know this. I want to say Andrew Wyeth, but I don't think that is correct.
6. What brand of American root beer brags to customers that it "has bite"? Dads, A&W, Hires? No idea because I don't drink or shop for root beer.
7. What surprising distinction is shared by these foods? Chili con carne, corned beef and cabbage, fortune cookies, French dressing, General Tso's chicken, garlic bread, German chocolate cake, pepperoni. I believe these are all foods that appear to be foreign but which were invented in the US.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. Which is the smallest--but not the least massive--of the gas giant planets of our Solar System? The gas giants' size correlates with their distance from the sun: Jupiter is the biggest, and Neptune is the smallest. But the gases that make up Neptune are, surprisingly, denser: it weighs more than its larger neighbor Uranus. Some scientists believe that means Neptune originally formed closer to the Sun than Uranus. wrong
2. What American most famously spoke the state motto of Virginia in achieving his claim to fame? The state motto of Virginia is still "Sic semper tyrannis," even though John Wilkes Booth made it the catchy tagline of one of the most infamous acts in American history. wrong
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"? By the time his co-stars realized he wasn't just doing his "I'm coming, Elizabeth!" bit from Sanford and Son, it was too late to save the great Redd Foxx. wrong
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? In both years, Jacob and Isabella weren't just thinly written Stephenie Meyer characters--they were also the most popular baby names in America. 1/2 wrong. I said Jacob and Bella, not Isabella
5. In what country did the genre of musical drama called Noh originate? Noh, like kabuki, is a form of Japanese drama. correct!
6. Who tweets under the Twitter handle @shebop_aka_cyn? Couldn't Cyndi "Shebop" Lauper get a real handle? Fire your publicist, Cyndi. Unlike the Goonies, he's just not good enough. correct!
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. Their state capitals are home to NBA teams. Sorry, Sacramento. Looks like "Eight Is Enough" is about to once again become your biggest claim to fame. A pretty good question. But the hint about "CA about to leave the list" was a red herring. From what I have seen the Kings are committed to Sacramento at least through 2014. That does not qualify as "about to move."
1. The Battle of Waterloo was fought in what modern-day country? Belgium
2. A spinet is a very small type of what not-uncommon household feature? piano
3. In honor of his retirement the previous week, what U.S. state proclaimed January 13, 2007 to be "Steve Yzerman Day"? Michigan
4. For what mathematical purpose is the fraction 52163/16604 occasionally used? This looks to be a bit more than 3 to 1. Maybe this is a fraction that approximates pi.
5. In a 1977 interview, what 90-year-old explained to a reporter, "I decided that if I could paint that flower in a huge scale, you could not ignore its beauty"? Dang. I should know this. I want to say Andrew Wyeth, but I don't think that is correct.
6. What brand of American root beer brags to customers that it "has bite"? Dads, A&W, Hires? No idea because I don't drink or shop for root beer.
7. What surprising distinction is shared by these foods? Chili con carne, corned beef and cabbage, fortune cookies, French dressing, General Tso's chicken, garlic bread, German chocolate cake, pepperoni. I believe these are all foods that appear to be foreign but which were invented in the US.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. Which is the smallest--but not the least massive--of the gas giant planets of our Solar System? The gas giants' size correlates with their distance from the sun: Jupiter is the biggest, and Neptune is the smallest. But the gases that make up Neptune are, surprisingly, denser: it weighs more than its larger neighbor Uranus. Some scientists believe that means Neptune originally formed closer to the Sun than Uranus. wrong
2. What American most famously spoke the state motto of Virginia in achieving his claim to fame? The state motto of Virginia is still "Sic semper tyrannis," even though John Wilkes Booth made it the catchy tagline of one of the most infamous acts in American history. wrong
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"? By the time his co-stars realized he wasn't just doing his "I'm coming, Elizabeth!" bit from Sanford and Son, it was too late to save the great Redd Foxx. wrong
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? In both years, Jacob and Isabella weren't just thinly written Stephenie Meyer characters--they were also the most popular baby names in America. 1/2 wrong. I said Jacob and Bella, not Isabella
5. In what country did the genre of musical drama called Noh originate? Noh, like kabuki, is a form of Japanese drama. correct!
6. Who tweets under the Twitter handle @shebop_aka_cyn? Couldn't Cyndi "Shebop" Lauper get a real handle? Fire your publicist, Cyndi. Unlike the Goonies, he's just not good enough. correct!
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. Their state capitals are home to NBA teams. Sorry, Sacramento. Looks like "Eight Is Enough" is about to once again become your biggest claim to fame. A pretty good question. But the hint about "CA about to leave the list" was a red herring. From what I have seen the Kings are committed to Sacramento at least through 2014. That does not qualify as "about to move."
