Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Ken Jennings Tuesday Trivia - February 26
THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. What current TV hit was created by Robert and Michelle King after they watched news footage of Silda Spitzer at a press conference in 2008? Silda Spitzer ---> wife of Eliot Spitzer who was caught paying call girls (aka escorts) ---> The Good Wife
2. Because it's famously difficult to hunt, what close relative of the sandpiper and curlew lent its name to a word for "sharpshooter"? sharpshooter ---> sniper ---> snipe
3. Who was the most recent U.S. president to make do without a Chief of Staff, only appointing Hamilton Jordan to the post for the last year of his presidency? Jimmy Carter
4. The score of what Broadway musical includes the songs "Something Bad," "For Good," and "The Wizard and I"? Wicked?
5. The dodecathlon is the most famous achievement of what mythological character? The 12 Labours of Hercules
6. What American inventor also wrote the slogan--"You press the button, we do the rest"--that made his 1888 invention such a great success? Edison?
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these athletes? George Gervin, Ahman Green, Dwight Howard, Claudio Reyna, Cal Ripken Jr., Camilo Villegas, Dwyane Wade. Pretty easy this week. All have nicknames of superheroes. Iceman, Batman, Superman, Captain America, Iron Man, Spiderman, Flash.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. What word of ancient Greek origin is more commonly used in America for the construction material elsewhere called "bitumen"? "Bitumen" is what asphalt is called elsewhere in the paved English-speaking world. correct
2. P. D. James's 2011 murder mystery Death Comes to Pemberley was written as a sequel to what 1813 novel? Pemberley is Mr. Darcy's estate in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Is Mr. Darcy himself the victim in the sequel?!? I'm too horrified to read on and find out. correct
3. Who was the only Buddhist ever to serve as Secretary-General of the United Nations? U Thant, of Burma, was a devout Buddhist. (The other Asian possibility, current Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has a Buddhist mother but is not himself religious.) I missed this one, but it was a reasonable guess
4. Of the thirteen independent island nations of the Caribbean, which is by far the closest to the South American coast? Trinidad and Tobago--the Trinidad part of it, anyway--is only 7 miles away from Venezuela at its closest point. my guess Aruba is 17 miles from Venezuela and is also not an independent nation. It is part of the Netherlands Antilles.
5. Solely on the strength of its 257 appearances in "Hey Jude," what is the 25th most commonly used word in the entire Beatles lyrical canon? "Nah." Nah nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah, repeat until fade-out. correct
6. Participants in Cub Scout car racing events are typically given a kit based on a block of what kind of wood? The event is the Pinewood Derby, and the block of wood is still pine to this day. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these TV series? Grey's Anatomy, Lost, Northern Exposure, Rescue Me, Six Feet Under, Thirtysomething. Each featured a "ghost" of sorts--that is, a dead character who continued to recur as a cast member. I thought there were more examples of this, but I was sort of struggling to think of more than six. What did I miss? correct. Another that might fit - Peter White in St. Elsewhere though his ghost was only in two episodes.
1. What current TV hit was created by Robert and Michelle King after they watched news footage of Silda Spitzer at a press conference in 2008? Silda Spitzer ---> wife of Eliot Spitzer who was caught paying call girls (aka escorts) ---> The Good Wife
2. Because it's famously difficult to hunt, what close relative of the sandpiper and curlew lent its name to a word for "sharpshooter"? sharpshooter ---> sniper ---> snipe
3. Who was the most recent U.S. president to make do without a Chief of Staff, only appointing Hamilton Jordan to the post for the last year of his presidency? Jimmy Carter
4. The score of what Broadway musical includes the songs "Something Bad," "For Good," and "The Wizard and I"? Wicked?
5. The dodecathlon is the most famous achievement of what mythological character? The 12 Labours of Hercules
6. What American inventor also wrote the slogan--"You press the button, we do the rest"--that made his 1888 invention such a great success? Edison?
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these athletes? George Gervin, Ahman Green, Dwight Howard, Claudio Reyna, Cal Ripken Jr., Camilo Villegas, Dwyane Wade. Pretty easy this week. All have nicknames of superheroes. Iceman, Batman, Superman, Captain America, Iron Man, Spiderman, Flash.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. What word of ancient Greek origin is more commonly used in America for the construction material elsewhere called "bitumen"? "Bitumen" is what asphalt is called elsewhere in the paved English-speaking world. correct
2. P. D. James's 2011 murder mystery Death Comes to Pemberley was written as a sequel to what 1813 novel? Pemberley is Mr. Darcy's estate in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Is Mr. Darcy himself the victim in the sequel?!? I'm too horrified to read on and find out. correct
3. Who was the only Buddhist ever to serve as Secretary-General of the United Nations? U Thant, of Burma, was a devout Buddhist. (The other Asian possibility, current Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has a Buddhist mother but is not himself religious.) I missed this one, but it was a reasonable guess
4. Of the thirteen independent island nations of the Caribbean, which is by far the closest to the South American coast? Trinidad and Tobago--the Trinidad part of it, anyway--is only 7 miles away from Venezuela at its closest point. my guess Aruba is 17 miles from Venezuela and is also not an independent nation. It is part of the Netherlands Antilles.
5. Solely on the strength of its 257 appearances in "Hey Jude," what is the 25th most commonly used word in the entire Beatles lyrical canon? "Nah." Nah nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah, repeat until fade-out. correct
6. Participants in Cub Scout car racing events are typically given a kit based on a block of what kind of wood? The event is the Pinewood Derby, and the block of wood is still pine to this day. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these TV series? Grey's Anatomy, Lost, Northern Exposure, Rescue Me, Six Feet Under, Thirtysomething. Each featured a "ghost" of sorts--that is, a dead character who continued to recur as a cast member. I thought there were more examples of this, but I was sort of struggling to think of more than six. What did I miss? correct. Another that might fit - Peter White in St. Elsewhere though his ghost was only in two episodes.
