Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Ken Jennings Tuesday Trivia - February 25
THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. What October 26, 1881 event took place not at the celebrated livery stable, but six doors down at the vacant lot by Camillus Fry's photography studio? the start of the Great Chicago Fire
2. 2013's The Hunger Games: Catching Fire was the first movie with a female protagonist to top the annual U.S. box office charts in forty years. What 1973 megahit (with a male title character, interestingly) was the last to do so? The Exorcist
3. What Jewish rabbinic text is made up of the Mishnah and the Gemara? the Torah?
4. What ten-year NBA veteran and current Houston Rocket has led the league in rebounds five of the last six seasons? I pay no attention to NBA stats. Dwight Howard?
5. Males of many species, including ours, are heterogametic, meaning they have what sex chromosome not found in females? Y
6. "Gorod," sometimes shortened as "grad," is a Russian word meaning what? town or city
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these countries, listed in this order? Turkey, Germany, Spain, South Korea, France, South Korea, Canada, Switzerland, Italy, Switzerland, China. These look like countries trying to host the Winter Olympics. Are these countries that lost the final vote to serve as Winter Olympic host?
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. An orchid called kimilsungia and a begonia called kimjongilia are flower cultivars originating in what country? Their names are tributes to Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il, late dictators of totalitarian North Korea and all-around not-fun guys. correct
2. Doyle Brunson was the first person ever to officially earn a million dollars doing what? Playing tournament poker. Brunson is the "Godfather of Poker," perhaps the most influential person in the history of the game except for Kenny Rogers. correct
3. Last year, former Revlon magazine model Gita Hall settled her lawsuit against what TV show, for prominently using her image in its credits? She's in one of the magazine ads prominently projected on the skyscrapers in the Mad Men credits. I think Nip/Tuck was a good guess, just not correct
4. Who built 50-odd "Usonian houses" during his career? Usonian, an infelicitous coinage that I'm not even sure I know how to pronounce, was a demonym for "United States-ian" coined by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Today, Usonian homes are prized properties that rarely change hands and sell for millions. correct
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"? These are among the selling points of the title branch of the Armed Services, according to the Village People hit "In the Navy." aha. Alex's hint in his comment last week was spot on.
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? The clitoris. No, not really. You'd probably remember that speech if so. Polk left office in 1849, shortly after announcing the discovery of gold in California. I was about 10-15 years off in thinking about Polk's term. 1849 would have been a very helpful clue.
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. Each was given a new MPAA rating following an appeal. correct!!
1. What October 26, 1881 event took place not at the celebrated livery stable, but six doors down at the vacant lot by Camillus Fry's photography studio? the start of the Great Chicago Fire
2. 2013's The Hunger Games: Catching Fire was the first movie with a female protagonist to top the annual U.S. box office charts in forty years. What 1973 megahit (with a male title character, interestingly) was the last to do so? The Exorcist
3. What Jewish rabbinic text is made up of the Mishnah and the Gemara? the Torah?
4. What ten-year NBA veteran and current Houston Rocket has led the league in rebounds five of the last six seasons? I pay no attention to NBA stats. Dwight Howard?
5. Males of many species, including ours, are heterogametic, meaning they have what sex chromosome not found in females? Y
6. "Gorod," sometimes shortened as "grad," is a Russian word meaning what? town or city
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these countries, listed in this order? Turkey, Germany, Spain, South Korea, France, South Korea, Canada, Switzerland, Italy, Switzerland, China. These look like countries trying to host the Winter Olympics. Are these countries that lost the final vote to serve as Winter Olympic host?
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. An orchid called kimilsungia and a begonia called kimjongilia are flower cultivars originating in what country? Their names are tributes to Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il, late dictators of totalitarian North Korea and all-around not-fun guys. correct
2. Doyle Brunson was the first person ever to officially earn a million dollars doing what? Playing tournament poker. Brunson is the "Godfather of Poker," perhaps the most influential person in the history of the game except for Kenny Rogers. correct
3. Last year, former Revlon magazine model Gita Hall settled her lawsuit against what TV show, for prominently using her image in its credits? She's in one of the magazine ads prominently projected on the skyscrapers in the Mad Men credits. I think Nip/Tuck was a good guess, just not correct
4. Who built 50-odd "Usonian houses" during his career? Usonian, an infelicitous coinage that I'm not even sure I know how to pronounce, was a demonym for "United States-ian" coined by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Today, Usonian homes are prized properties that rarely change hands and sell for millions. correct
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"? These are among the selling points of the title branch of the Armed Services, according to the Village People hit "In the Navy." aha. Alex's hint in his comment last week was spot on.
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? The clitoris. No, not really. You'd probably remember that speech if so. Polk left office in 1849, shortly after announcing the discovery of gold in California. I was about 10-15 years off in thinking about Polk's term. 1849 would have been a very helpful clue.
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. Each was given a new MPAA rating following an appeal. correct!!
