Musings of a Dead Parrot

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1.  In the classic tale of Androcles, what kind of animal does the title character twice encounter? lion
2.  The 1956 and 2000 Summer Olympics were held in two cities just 550 miles apart.  What were they?  Melbourne and Sydney
3.  The first successful flyby of another planet in the solar system, in December 1962, was of which planet?  Venus?
4.  At one point in the 1990s, half of every CD produced worldwide had what corporate logo printed on it?  who was big in music publishing?  Columbia?
5.  Who is the frontman of the band whose other three members are Mike Dirnt, Tre Cool, and Jason White?  Trent Reznor?
6.  What arithmetical operation produces a result called a "quotient"?  division.  dividend over divisor equals quotient
7.  What unusual distinction is represented by these U.S. states in this order, and no others?  Mississippi, Mississippi, Massachusetts, Illinois, Illinois, Illinois, South Carolina, Massachusetts.  Is this a question with a political connection?

LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1.  Ellen Church and seven other San Francisco nurses became the pioneers of what profession when they were hired by BAT in 1930?  Church and her fellow nurses were a pilot program, so to speak.  Boeing Air Transport hired them as the world's first stewardesses.  I thought of transportation, just not the right kind.  Good question.
2.  In a remarkable streak, what actor has starred in a $500-million-grossing movie (internationally) in each of the last six years?  Robert Downey, Jr.--thanks to the successful Sherlock Holmes and Iron Man/Avengers film franchises, of course.  correct
3.  The only penguins native to the Northern Hemisphere live in what island group?  The Galapagos penguin is the only equatorial penguin.  I bet funny cartoon penguins wearing sunglasses are the Galapagos kind.  I thought that the Galapagos Islands were right on top of the equator.  How can we tell if the penguins are native to the Northern or Southern Hemisphere?
4.  What type of portable hut used by Central Asian nomads takes its name from the Turkish for "home"?  Please, Hammer.  Don't yurt 'em.  correct
5.  TV star Clayton Moore is the only actor to have his character name listed on his Hollywood Walk of Fame star.  Who did Moore play on TV for four seasons?  Moore was TV's original Lone Ranger.  Please, Armie Hammer.  Don't hurt him.  correct
6.  As commonly stated, the principle known as Gresham's Law deals with the "good" and "bad" types of what?  Gresham's Law is an economic principle usually simplified as "Bad money drives out good."  Was I supposed to learn this in Econ?  I don't remember hearing of Gresham's Law before.
7.  What unusual distinction is shared by these performers?  Paul McCartney, Rick Moranis, Dennis Quaid, Lily Tomlin, Raquel Welch, Mia Wasikowska.  Each played a character in a movie who literally shrunk--in, respectively, Help!, Honey We Shrunk Ourselves, Innerspace, The Incredible Shrinking Woman, Fantastic Voyage, and Alice in Wonderland.  When I wrote the question, I forgot that Rick Moranis never shrinks in either of the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids movies...but luckily there's a straight-to-video sequel in which he does.  Small consolation.    Hard, but gettable.