Musings of a Dead Parrot

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1.  An orchid called kimilsungia and a begonia called kimjongilia are flower cultivars originating in what country?  North Korea
2.  Doyle Brunson was the first person ever to officially earn a million dollars doing what?  playing poker
3.  Last year, former Revlon magazine model Gita Hall settled her lawsuit against what TV show, for prominently using her image in its credits?  Nip/Tuck?
4.  Who built 50-odd "Usonian houses" during his career?  Frank Lloyd Wright
5.  According to the first verse of a 1979 hit song, where can you "find pleasure, search the world for treasure," or "learn science technology"?  I don't do well at all on questions about song lyrics.  In Cars?  maybe from the Gary Numan song.
6.  The last State of the Union address of lame duck President James K. Polk is best remembered for his announcing the discovery of what?  best remembered by who? this was around 1830-1835, I think.  Is it a scientific discovery?  Geographic discovery?  Did Polk discover the sock that he had previously lost in the wash? 
7.  What unusual distinction is shared by all these movies?  American Psycho, Blue Valentine, Casino, Natural Born Killers, Philomena, The Right Stuff, Ryan's Daughter, Scarface.  Many of these movies have extreme violence or sex scenes that caused them to be rated R or NC-17 by the MPAA.  But I think the ratings were changed after appeal or some judicious editing.  So that is my guess - the original MPAA ratings were changed.

LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1.  The father of actor Mark Harmon became, in 1940, the sixth person to win what?  The Heisman Trophy.  Tom Harmon was an All-American halfback for the University of Michigan. correct
2.  What country's 38th prime minister, Aldo Moro, was kidnapped and executed by revolutionaries in 1978?  Before the Red Brigades shot him, Moro was one of modern Italy's longest-serving Prime Ministers.  correct
3.  Peridot is one of the few precious gems that comes in only one color.  What color is peridot?  It's green, as you probably know if your birthday is in August and have NO REASON to care about otherwise. not correct
4.  In one of the most influential magazine profiles in history, Gay Talese wrote in 1966 that what famous man "Has a Cold"?  Frank Sinatra, who spent three months ducking Talese's interview requests with lame excuses like the titular one. If you have no awareness of this story (as in my case), how are you supposed to come up with this answer?
5.  The operas Aïda and Thaïs have something in common besides their diacritical dots.  Both are set in what country?  In Egypt, a natïon not necessarïly known for ïts umlauts.  correct
6.  Yellowstone National Park includes part of three U.S. states, but 96 percent of it lies within what state?  Wyoming, though narrow strips at the edges of the park are part of Montana and Idaho.  correct
7.  What unusual distinction is shared by these countries, listed in this order?  Australia, Japan, Tanzania, Brazil, Canada, Great Britain, France, China, Italy, Peru, Ireland, Israel.  These are the countries, in order, to the which TV's The Simpsons have traveled.  (I limited this to visits by the family as a unit, not just (for example) Bart or Homer alone.  Remember: disparaging the boot is a bootable offense!  I thought that the answer was something in this vein.  But I never would have guessed The Simpsons.