Friday, June 20, 2014
Ken Jennings Tuesday Trivia - June 17
THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. Founded in 1966, RIF is the largest and oldest literacy nonprofit in the U.S. What do the initials RIF stand for? Reading Is Fundamental
2. Comedian Jack Benny was actually a skilled musician on what instrument, which he often made a gag of playing badly in his act? violin
3. In cruciform Gothic cathedrals, the long bar of the cross, or "nave," is crossed at right angles by what shorter part of the church, forming two wings? transept?
4. Today, there are four Pacific nations that were granted their independence by the United States. Name any two of them. The Philippines and one other. The Marshall Islands? I don't think Guam counts. I think it is still a US territory.
5. What platinum-selling West Coast rapper is also the featured artist on Robin Thicke's "Give It 2 U," Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive," and Alicia Keys's "It's On Again"? Snoop Dogg?
6. Piranhas are native to which continent? South America
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these TV shows? Airwolf, Battlestar Galactica (2004), Days of Our Lives, Game of Thrones, Lost, Mad Men, Oz, Pushing Daisies, Twin Peaks, The Walking Dead. Some quality shows here. I have looked at actors, character names, opening credits. Nothing clicking yet.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. The new book by French economist Thomas Piketty recalls the title of an 1867 text as it considers the implications of what "in the Twenty-First Century"? Piketty's best-seller is Capital in the Twenty-First Century, an obvious callback to Karl Marx's Das Kapital. Which is why I haven't read it yet, waiting to "binge-read" the full series NO SPOILERS PLEASE. I said "Capitalism" not "Capital" which probably would not be considered a correct answer on Jeopardy
2. The 1st and 4th top-grossing romantic comedies of the 1990s--one released in 1990 and the other in 1999--both starred what pair of leads? The 1990 hit was Pretty Woman and the 1999 one was Runaway Bride, so the leads are, of course, Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. Did anybody bite on Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan? Sorry. I sort of knew that might happen. correct
3. What are you shopping for if you've bought russets, fingerlings, and Yukon Golds? Those are three of the most common varieties of potatoes, aka "taters," aka "spuds," aka "dirt limes," aka "Irish bagels." correct
4. What country was Mohammed Mossadegh leading in 1953 when U.S and British intelligence organized his ouster? Iran. This led to the Shah which led to the Islamic Revolution so yay "containment." correct
5. No Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup since Montreal in 1993. What's the only Canadian team to make it to the finals twice since then, though they've never won the Cup in their franchise history? The Vancouver Canucks lost to the Rangers in 1994 (big riots in Vancouver!) and the Bruins in 2011 (even bigger riots in Vancouver!) correct
6. Of the digits 0 through 9, which is by far the last to make its first appearance in a decimal expansion of pi? The digits 1-9 all appear within the first 13 decimal places...but you won't find a 0 until the 32nd digit! This one goes out to all the weirdos who memorized pi as kids for some reason. correct! and who are you calling a weirdo, KJ?
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these biblical figures? Abel, Cain, Jehoshaphat, Joshua, Samuel, and Seth. They each had a parent with a palindromic name (variously Eve, Asa, Nun and Hannah). Tough one. Bible palindromes. I just felt like that was what the people wanted.
that was a tough one
1. Founded in 1966, RIF is the largest and oldest literacy nonprofit in the U.S. What do the initials RIF stand for? Reading Is Fundamental
2. Comedian Jack Benny was actually a skilled musician on what instrument, which he often made a gag of playing badly in his act? violin
3. In cruciform Gothic cathedrals, the long bar of the cross, or "nave," is crossed at right angles by what shorter part of the church, forming two wings? transept?
4. Today, there are four Pacific nations that were granted their independence by the United States. Name any two of them. The Philippines and one other. The Marshall Islands? I don't think Guam counts. I think it is still a US territory.
5. What platinum-selling West Coast rapper is also the featured artist on Robin Thicke's "Give It 2 U," Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive," and Alicia Keys's "It's On Again"? Snoop Dogg?
6. Piranhas are native to which continent? South America
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these TV shows? Airwolf, Battlestar Galactica (2004), Days of Our Lives, Game of Thrones, Lost, Mad Men, Oz, Pushing Daisies, Twin Peaks, The Walking Dead. Some quality shows here. I have looked at actors, character names, opening credits. Nothing clicking yet.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. The new book by French economist Thomas Piketty recalls the title of an 1867 text as it considers the implications of what "in the Twenty-First Century"? Piketty's best-seller is Capital in the Twenty-First Century, an obvious callback to Karl Marx's Das Kapital. Which is why I haven't read it yet, waiting to "binge-read" the full series NO SPOILERS PLEASE. I said "Capitalism" not "Capital" which probably would not be considered a correct answer on Jeopardy
2. The 1st and 4th top-grossing romantic comedies of the 1990s--one released in 1990 and the other in 1999--both starred what pair of leads? The 1990 hit was Pretty Woman and the 1999 one was Runaway Bride, so the leads are, of course, Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. Did anybody bite on Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan? Sorry. I sort of knew that might happen. correct
3. What are you shopping for if you've bought russets, fingerlings, and Yukon Golds? Those are three of the most common varieties of potatoes, aka "taters," aka "spuds," aka "dirt limes," aka "Irish bagels." correct
4. What country was Mohammed Mossadegh leading in 1953 when U.S and British intelligence organized his ouster? Iran. This led to the Shah which led to the Islamic Revolution so yay "containment." correct
5. No Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup since Montreal in 1993. What's the only Canadian team to make it to the finals twice since then, though they've never won the Cup in their franchise history? The Vancouver Canucks lost to the Rangers in 1994 (big riots in Vancouver!) and the Bruins in 2011 (even bigger riots in Vancouver!) correct
6. Of the digits 0 through 9, which is by far the last to make its first appearance in a decimal expansion of pi? The digits 1-9 all appear within the first 13 decimal places...but you won't find a 0 until the 32nd digit! This one goes out to all the weirdos who memorized pi as kids for some reason. correct! and who are you calling a weirdo, KJ?
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these biblical figures? Abel, Cain, Jehoshaphat, Joshua, Samuel, and Seth. They each had a parent with a palindromic name (variously Eve, Asa, Nun and Hannah). Tough one. Bible palindromes. I just felt like that was what the people wanted.
that was a tough one
