Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Ken Jennings Tuesday Trivia - April 30
THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. What 2012 song that inspired a dance craze begins with a sample of reggaeton arist Hector Delgado saying, "Con los terroristas"? Gagnam Style?
2. A Messier marathon is an event in which participants try to spot 110 different objects where? in the stands at a soccer match? Is this a reference to Lionel Messier?
3. What popular Turkish dish is a reasonably close equivalent of Japanese "yakitori" or Indonesian "satay"? shish kabob
4. What U.S. state was the site of the World War II-era army base Fort Oglethorpe? Georgia
5. The classic role-playing game Bunnies and Burrows was inspired by what beloved 1972 novel? Watership Down. I have never heard of Bunnies and Burrows. It's a classic game?
6. Who was the first Roman emperor to commit suicide, in 68 AD on the anniversary of the death of his first wife, Claudius's daughter Octavia? Nero?
7. What unusual distinction is shared (or rather, what usual distinction has never been shared) by these world nations and no others? Andorra, Belarus, Bolivia, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Guatemala, Kyrgyzstan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Mali, Marshall Islands, Monaco, Mongolia, Paraguay, Republic of Congo, Sao Tome and Principe, Sweden, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and the Vatican? I almost never get Q7s that are countries. Something that they have never done. Attend a session of the United Nations. No Starbucks or McDonalds. I cannot think of an athletic achievement that they might have in common. The inclusion of Sweden negates the idea that none has won an Olympic medal. Never hosted a democratic election. How about never been invaded or occupied.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. Lawrence Wright's recent best-seller Going Clear is a look behind the curtain of what organization? "Clear" is a term for a specific level of mental health according to the teachings of the Church of Scientology. Most of what I know about Scientology I learned on South Park. I don't recall that they mentioned Clear.
2. What European company is, by number if not by volume, the world's biggest tire manufacturer, producing 318 million tires every year? Michelin makes over 200 million tires a year, but Lego makes many, many more. (Of course, Legos are smaller...) I hear this question about every 10 years and it gets me every time
3. What classic game theory scenario was named in 1950 by Albert Tucker, who began it with the words, "Two members of a criminal gang are arrested"? This is known as the Prisoner's Dilemma. SPOILERS: game theorists say that if you get into this situation somehow, *always* sell out the other prisoner. Alex's comment from last week was correct. My answer of Spanish Prisoner was not. The Prisoner's Dilemma is not the same as the Spanish Prisoner.
4. Only three people have ever descended to Challenger Deep, the lowest point of the Pacific Ocean's Mariana Trench. What Hollywood personality is the only one to do it since 1960? James Cameron, who got a taste for underwater exploration while helming The Abyss and Titanic. correct
5. The one-room schoolhouse depicted on the Iowa state quarter was chosen because what famed Cedar Rapids painter attended school there? The most famous "native son" painter of Iowa is Grant "the American Gothic guy" Wood. correct
6. Speedo was the only corporate sponsor not to drop what athlete in 1994 when he announced that he was HIV positive? Speedo, to their credit, immediately extended their deal with Speedo-loving diver Greg Louganis. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these literary figures? Roald Dahl, Carlos Fuentes, Vaclav Havel, Charles Macarthur, Arthur Miller, Harold Pinter, Philip Roth, Salman Rushdie. All married actresses--pretty famous ones in most cases, though not as famous as the second Mrs. Arthur Miller. correct
1. What 2012 song that inspired a dance craze begins with a sample of reggaeton arist Hector Delgado saying, "Con los terroristas"? Gagnam Style?
2. A Messier marathon is an event in which participants try to spot 110 different objects where? in the stands at a soccer match? Is this a reference to Lionel Messier?
3. What popular Turkish dish is a reasonably close equivalent of Japanese "yakitori" or Indonesian "satay"? shish kabob
4. What U.S. state was the site of the World War II-era army base Fort Oglethorpe? Georgia
5. The classic role-playing game Bunnies and Burrows was inspired by what beloved 1972 novel? Watership Down. I have never heard of Bunnies and Burrows. It's a classic game?
6. Who was the first Roman emperor to commit suicide, in 68 AD on the anniversary of the death of his first wife, Claudius's daughter Octavia? Nero?
7. What unusual distinction is shared (or rather, what usual distinction has never been shared) by these world nations and no others? Andorra, Belarus, Bolivia, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Guatemala, Kyrgyzstan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Mali, Marshall Islands, Monaco, Mongolia, Paraguay, Republic of Congo, Sao Tome and Principe, Sweden, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and the Vatican? I almost never get Q7s that are countries. Something that they have never done. Attend a session of the United Nations. No Starbucks or McDonalds. I cannot think of an athletic achievement that they might have in common. The inclusion of Sweden negates the idea that none has won an Olympic medal. Never hosted a democratic election. How about never been invaded or occupied.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. Lawrence Wright's recent best-seller Going Clear is a look behind the curtain of what organization? "Clear" is a term for a specific level of mental health according to the teachings of the Church of Scientology. Most of what I know about Scientology I learned on South Park. I don't recall that they mentioned Clear.
2. What European company is, by number if not by volume, the world's biggest tire manufacturer, producing 318 million tires every year? Michelin makes over 200 million tires a year, but Lego makes many, many more. (Of course, Legos are smaller...) I hear this question about every 10 years and it gets me every time
3. What classic game theory scenario was named in 1950 by Albert Tucker, who began it with the words, "Two members of a criminal gang are arrested"? This is known as the Prisoner's Dilemma. SPOILERS: game theorists say that if you get into this situation somehow, *always* sell out the other prisoner. Alex's comment from last week was correct. My answer of Spanish Prisoner was not. The Prisoner's Dilemma is not the same as the Spanish Prisoner.
4. Only three people have ever descended to Challenger Deep, the lowest point of the Pacific Ocean's Mariana Trench. What Hollywood personality is the only one to do it since 1960? James Cameron, who got a taste for underwater exploration while helming The Abyss and Titanic. correct
5. The one-room schoolhouse depicted on the Iowa state quarter was chosen because what famed Cedar Rapids painter attended school there? The most famous "native son" painter of Iowa is Grant "the American Gothic guy" Wood. correct
6. Speedo was the only corporate sponsor not to drop what athlete in 1994 when he announced that he was HIV positive? Speedo, to their credit, immediately extended their deal with Speedo-loving diver Greg Louganis. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these literary figures? Roald Dahl, Carlos Fuentes, Vaclav Havel, Charles Macarthur, Arthur Miller, Harold Pinter, Philip Roth, Salman Rushdie. All married actresses--pretty famous ones in most cases, though not as famous as the second Mrs. Arthur Miller. correct
