Friday, September 13, 2013
Ken Jennings Tuesday Trivia - August 20
THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. The mouth of the Amazon River is in Brazil, but its main source is found in what other country? Ecuador?
2. The philosopher Diogenes is best-known for his practice of carrying a lamp in the daytime, claiming to be looking for what? an honest man
3. What ubiquitous new word was popularized as the title motto of Drake's 2011 song "The Motto"? I think the only thing I know about Drake is that he is Jewish. twerk?
4. What quantity is defined in physics as the product of force and displacement, and usually measured in joules? work
5. What youngest U.S. Navy pilot in 1943 flew 58 World War II combat missions in his plane, the "Barbara"? JFK?
6. The four Halliwell sisters on TV's Charmed all had first names beginning with what letter? I know nothing about this show but I do have a 1 in 26 chance of being correct. A
7. What surprising (but not unusual!) distinction is shared by these famous people? Cesar Chavez, Mahatma Gandhi, Vaclav Havel, Stephen Hawking, James Joyce, Lise Meitner, Dmitri Mendeleev, Vladimir Nabokov, Marcel Proust, Nikola Tesla. These are all highly accomplished individuals who never won a Nobel prize
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. The sometimes-criticized Chief Wahoo is the mascot of what professional sports franchise? Chief Wahoo is the grinning be-feathered mascot of the Cleveland Indians, and is somehow still a thing in 2013. correct
2. What did detractors from 1817 to 1825 refer to as "Clinton's Big Ditch"? Not that Clinton: New York governor DeWitt Clinton. One of his greatest (and most ditch-shaped) legacies was the Erie Canal. correct
3. Robert Indiana is best known for his series of Pop Art sculptures--which have even appeared on a U.S. postage stamp--depicting what word?
L O
V E correct
4. What's the better-known name for the flavor sometimes called "VCS" in the ice cream industry? VCS stands for vanilla-chocolate-strawberry--or, as we usually call it, Neapolitan. aagh! An unforced error.
5. In what 2012 film are the protagonist's mental problems triggered by hearing the Stevie Wonder song "My Cherie Amour"? This rare affliction, not yet catalogued in psychiatry's DSM-5, plagues Bradley Cooper's character in Silver Linings Playbook. I actually did see the movie, but I don't remember this detail
6. Petrichor is what scientists call the distinctive smell, a result of plant oils absorbed in clay, that often follows what? Petrichor is what people are usually thinking of when they talk about "the smell of rain." thought of this as a possible answer. A nice factoid to learn.
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these TV characters? Mr. Cunningham (Happy Days), Tom Hanson (21 Jump Street), Jenna Maroney (30 Rock), Father Mulcahey (M*A*S*H), Willow Rosenberg (Buffy), Chrissy Snow (Three's Company), Catelyn Stark (Game of Thrones), Danny Tanner (Full House). All were played, believe it or not, by a different actor in the pilot episode of their respective series. Weirdly, all except for Danny Tanner were originally played by comedian Bob Saget. correct
1. The mouth of the Amazon River is in Brazil, but its main source is found in what other country? Ecuador?
2. The philosopher Diogenes is best-known for his practice of carrying a lamp in the daytime, claiming to be looking for what? an honest man
3. What ubiquitous new word was popularized as the title motto of Drake's 2011 song "The Motto"? I think the only thing I know about Drake is that he is Jewish. twerk?
4. What quantity is defined in physics as the product of force and displacement, and usually measured in joules? work
5. What youngest U.S. Navy pilot in 1943 flew 58 World War II combat missions in his plane, the "Barbara"? JFK?
6. The four Halliwell sisters on TV's Charmed all had first names beginning with what letter? I know nothing about this show but I do have a 1 in 26 chance of being correct. A
7. What surprising (but not unusual!) distinction is shared by these famous people? Cesar Chavez, Mahatma Gandhi, Vaclav Havel, Stephen Hawking, James Joyce, Lise Meitner, Dmitri Mendeleev, Vladimir Nabokov, Marcel Proust, Nikola Tesla. These are all highly accomplished individuals who never won a Nobel prize
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. The sometimes-criticized Chief Wahoo is the mascot of what professional sports franchise? Chief Wahoo is the grinning be-feathered mascot of the Cleveland Indians, and is somehow still a thing in 2013. correct
2. What did detractors from 1817 to 1825 refer to as "Clinton's Big Ditch"? Not that Clinton: New York governor DeWitt Clinton. One of his greatest (and most ditch-shaped) legacies was the Erie Canal. correct
3. Robert Indiana is best known for his series of Pop Art sculptures--which have even appeared on a U.S. postage stamp--depicting what word?
L O
V E correct
4. What's the better-known name for the flavor sometimes called "VCS" in the ice cream industry? VCS stands for vanilla-chocolate-strawberry--or, as we usually call it, Neapolitan. aagh! An unforced error.
5. In what 2012 film are the protagonist's mental problems triggered by hearing the Stevie Wonder song "My Cherie Amour"? This rare affliction, not yet catalogued in psychiatry's DSM-5, plagues Bradley Cooper's character in Silver Linings Playbook. I actually did see the movie, but I don't remember this detail
6. Petrichor is what scientists call the distinctive smell, a result of plant oils absorbed in clay, that often follows what? Petrichor is what people are usually thinking of when they talk about "the smell of rain." thought of this as a possible answer. A nice factoid to learn.
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these TV characters? Mr. Cunningham (Happy Days), Tom Hanson (21 Jump Street), Jenna Maroney (30 Rock), Father Mulcahey (M*A*S*H), Willow Rosenberg (Buffy), Chrissy Snow (Three's Company), Catelyn Stark (Game of Thrones), Danny Tanner (Full House). All were played, believe it or not, by a different actor in the pilot episode of their respective series. Weirdly, all except for Danny Tanner were originally played by comedian Bob Saget. correct
