Friday, March 08, 2013
Ken Jennings Tuesday Trivia - March 5
THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. What color are the helmets typically worn by U.N. peackeeping forces? white?
2. Solo Star and Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams are the first two albums from a singer still perhaps best known as the little sister of whom? is that performer Janet Jackson, Michael's little sis?
3. What mammals have the only horns in nature made not from bone but entirely of keratin, the protein that hair and nails are made from? rhino
4. "Traceurs" are participants in what urban sport founded by David Belle and the Yamakasi group in Lisses, France in the 1980s? parkour? only thing that comes to mind in the category of urban sport. other than street football
5. Protagoras, Gorgias, and Hippias were members of what school of Greek philosophy renowned for their rhetorical skill? sophists?
6. A capital-C Corvette is a car, but a small-c corvette is what mode of transportation? a small sled of some kind?
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these nations, listed in this order? Peru, the United States, (the Philippines), Nepal, (Pakistan, Iraq), Egypt, Greece, China, India, (Canada, Portugal), Italy, Austria, Germany, Turkey, (Cuba, Mexico), Brazil. what do the countries in parentheses mean? very cryptic. Why is Peru first? I always struggle with Q7s about countries.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
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 was the apparently supportive political spouse of embattled, escort-hiring New York governor Eliot Spitzer, and the TV show his troubles inspired was The Good Wife. correct
2. Because it's famously difficult to hunt, what close relative of the sandpiper and curlew lent its name to a word for "sharpshooter"? Originally, a "sniper" was very good at hunting snipe. Which is not an easy task, as you know if you've ever been on a snipe hunt. correct
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 served as his own Chief of Staff for most of his term, like Truman and JFK before him. correct
4. The score of what Broadway musical includes the songs "Something Bad," "For Good," and "The Wizard and I"? Wicked. "The Wizard" is, obviously, the "of Oz" one. You know. James Franco. correct
5. The dodecathlon is the most famous achievement of what mythological character? A dodecathlon, as its name suggests, includes twelve events. In this case, they're the Twelve Labors of Heracles. correct
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? This slogan was a huge part of the early success of Kodak, and its founder-inventor George Eastman. doh! this is a good question. I just don't think of Eastman as being of the same era as Edison and Alexander Graham Bell.
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. All were given (or game themselves!) nicknames that are also comic book super-heroes: respectively, the Iceman, Batman, Superman, Captain America, the Iron Man, Spider-Man, and Flash. correct
1. What color are the helmets typically worn by U.N. peackeeping forces? white?
2. Solo Star and Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams are the first two albums from a singer still perhaps best known as the little sister of whom? is that performer Janet Jackson, Michael's little sis?
3. What mammals have the only horns in nature made not from bone but entirely of keratin, the protein that hair and nails are made from? rhino
4. "Traceurs" are participants in what urban sport founded by David Belle and the Yamakasi group in Lisses, France in the 1980s? parkour? only thing that comes to mind in the category of urban sport. other than street football
5. Protagoras, Gorgias, and Hippias were members of what school of Greek philosophy renowned for their rhetorical skill? sophists?
6. A capital-C Corvette is a car, but a small-c corvette is what mode of transportation? a small sled of some kind?
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these nations, listed in this order? Peru, the United States, (the Philippines), Nepal, (Pakistan, Iraq), Egypt, Greece, China, India, (Canada, Portugal), Italy, Austria, Germany, Turkey, (Cuba, Mexico), Brazil. what do the countries in parentheses mean? very cryptic. Why is Peru first? I always struggle with Q7s about countries.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
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 was the apparently supportive political spouse of embattled, escort-hiring New York governor Eliot Spitzer, and the TV show his troubles inspired was The Good Wife. correct
2. Because it's famously difficult to hunt, what close relative of the sandpiper and curlew lent its name to a word for "sharpshooter"? Originally, a "sniper" was very good at hunting snipe. Which is not an easy task, as you know if you've ever been on a snipe hunt. correct
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 served as his own Chief of Staff for most of his term, like Truman and JFK before him. correct
4. The score of what Broadway musical includes the songs "Something Bad," "For Good," and "The Wizard and I"? Wicked. "The Wizard" is, obviously, the "of Oz" one. You know. James Franco. correct
5. The dodecathlon is the most famous achievement of what mythological character? A dodecathlon, as its name suggests, includes twelve events. In this case, they're the Twelve Labors of Heracles. correct
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? This slogan was a huge part of the early success of Kodak, and its founder-inventor George Eastman. doh! this is a good question. I just don't think of Eastman as being of the same era as Edison and Alexander Graham Bell.
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. All were given (or game themselves!) nicknames that are also comic book super-heroes: respectively, the Iceman, Batman, Superman, Captain America, the Iron Man, Spider-Man, and Flash. correct
