May 14, 2008

Round 1 (58% correct)

1. What company tabulates the votes for the Academy Awards, a job they’ve done since 1934?

2. The SAT test is a standardized test for college admission. Its top score used to be 1600. What is it now?

3. Plumbers derive their name from the Latin name for which metal?

4. An agency of the department of Labor, what does OSHA stand for?

5. On this date in 1948, this country declared its independence and was immediately attacked by 7 of its neighbors?

6. Which company advertised “Put a tiger in your tank”?

7. What day of the week was 9-11 (2001)?

8. When Conan O’Brien takes over for Jay Leno next year, who takes over for Conan?

9. The Scooby in Scooby-Doo is a nickname. What is his actually name?

1. Schroeder
2. Scoobert
3. Scout
4. Frank

10. What is the name of the lion in C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe?

Round 2 (70% correct)

1. What drink consists of wine, fruit slices, fruit juice, and soda water?

2. In what may well be one of the worst natural disasters ever, a cyclone ripped through Myanmar (Burma), killing upwards of a hundred of thousands of people. What name was given to the storm?

1. Mala
2. Akash
3. Nilan
4. Nargis

3. What is the name of The Simpson’s cat?

4. What country has the world’s longest coastline?

5. To escape detection, what fairy tale character assumed the identity Briar Rose?

6. Name the movie: “Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here! This is the War Room”

7. How many labors did Hercules perform?

8. The Queensberry Rules are standard rules of which sport?

9. In poker, what is the name of a behavioral tick that gives away a players hand?

10. What does “dot dot dot, dash dash dash, dot dot dot” spell out in Morse Code?

Round 3 (48% correct)

1. Who’s the black private dick that’s a sex machine to all the chicks?

2. By which other name was Edward Teach known?

3. What was the name of the lioness raised by George and Joy Adamson in the book/film/TV Series Born Free?

4. Held every 2 years, what golf tournament pits a U.S. team against one from Europe?

5. If you have died intestate, how have you died?

6. The average human has 32 teeth. How many does the average dog have?

7. What was the name of Sherlock Holmes’ Scottish housekeeper?

8. Which of the Bush girls got married last weekend in Crawford, Tx?

9. Without this man, born on May 12th, 1937, we wouldn’t know the seven words we can’t say on television. Who are we referring to?

10. Which toy was originally called the “Pluto Platter” when it was first sold in 1955?

Round 4 (53% correct)

1. What is the name of Hagar the Horrible’s wife?

2. What state has the most sparsely populated capital city?

3. For a point each, name the 4 members of the A-Team?

4. What is the longest running soap opera on US TV?

5. Where does Winnie the Pooh call home?

6. As of Feb, 2008, what long running T.V. series had the most watched television broadcast in U.S. history?

7. What is the name of the hero in Ayn Rand’s seminal classic Atlas Shrugged?

8. What company began life as the Tabulating Machine Company, then changed its name to Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation before finally deciding on its’ current name?

9. What Arkansas town is home to the headquarters of Wal*Mart?

10. Of the following, who has not walked on the moon? Alan Shepard, Neil Armstrong, John Glenn, Buzz Aldrin?

Answers

May 7, 2008

Round 1 (63 % correct)

1. Who was the childhood playmate Of Little Jackie Papers

2. Balder was the god of beauty, goodness and light in the mythology of which society?

3. Which of the following fairy tales does NOT feature a wicked stepmother?

1. Hansel and Gretel
2. Cinderella
3. Snow White
4. Sleeping Beauty

4. Power Play, Mamba, Licks, Exciter, Honeymoon Super, Euroglider, Billy Boy and Enormex are all brand names of which item?

5. In Gulliver’s Travels what is the name of the land of the giants?

6. Now That’s What I Call Music is now up to what number?

7. What was the name of the robot maid on The Jetsons?

8. Members of the Heaven’s Gate cult believed that a spaceship was hiding behind what comet?

9. According to old timey radio, “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?”

10. This Cunard ship was sunk by German U-Boat U-20 on this day in 1915, hastening America’s entry into World War I.

Round 2 (53 % correct)

1. What is an Otoscope used to look at?

2. James Dean died during the filming of which film in 1955?

3. Three Mile Island, a nuclear reactor that suffered a core meltdown in 1979, is located in which U.S. state?

1. New York
2. Maryland
3. Connecticut
4. Pennsylvania

4. Agnetha, Anni-Frid, Benny, Bjorn are better known as who?

5. In the world of Citizen Band radio, what channel was reserved for emergency use?

6. What was the name of Michael Jackson’s pet chimpanzee?

7. Which boxer was nicknamed “The Louisville Lip”?

8. What brand of all-purpose cleaner was advertised as a “white tornado”?

1. Janitor in a Drum
2. Ajax
3. Formula 409
4. Mr. Clean

9. A typical earthworm has how many hearts?

10. May 7th, today, is commonly referred to as VE Day. What does VE stand for?

Round 3 (70 % correct)

1. What are the 4 corner squares on a standard monopoly board?

2. True or False: The army’s current field ration, the MRE, contains a bottle of Tabasco sauce?

3. From 1963 to 1985, who hosted Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom?

4. Since 1950, where has the College World Series been held each June?

5. Who is known as “The Oracle of Omaha”

6. Gamophobia is the fear of what?

7. In units of measurements, how much is a stone?

8. During prohibition, people who smuggled booze by land were called bootleggers. What were they called if they smuggled it by sea?

9. Whose pet dog was called Dogmatix?

10. Which film was Grace Kelly in the middle of shooting when she met her future husband Prince Rainier of Monaco?

Round 4 (65 % correct)

1. Between 2000 and 2006 (the last year for which I could find stats), what is the most popular girls name in the US?

2. What 3 diseases does the MMR vaccine protect against?

3. What flavor is the drink Kahlua?

4. In which game do you score One for His Knobs?

5. If you had the title of The Doge, where would you be the ruler of?

6. Who was killed along side Nicole Brown by persons unknown, although OJ Simpson is still pursuing the killer even as we speak…

7. For a point each, name the weapons included in the original Clue game?

8. In what two-player board game do players try to capture the other player’s flag?

9. If I’ve just committed uxoricide, what have I done?

10. In honor of Irv Baskin, who died yesterday, how many flavors of ice cream did Baskin-Robbins offer when they opened their first store?

Answers

April 23, 2008

Round 1 (35% correct)

1. What type of triangle has all three sides being of different length?

2. Who is the Hawaiian goddess of fire, lightning, dance, volcanoes, and violence?

3. The Amazon river meets the Atlantic Ocean in what country?

4. What does the CB in CB Radio stand for?

5. Which of the following is NOT a friend of Strawberry Shortcake?

1. Cherry Delight
2. Lemon Meringue
3. Ginger Snap

6. Current vice president Dick Cheney held what post in George H.W. Bush’s government?

7. When animals sleep all winter, they hibernate. What is it called when they sleep all summer?

8. 20 years ago today, this album left the billboard top 200 chart (due to a rule change), for the first time in 741 weeks.

9. The F-117 Stealth Fighter is being retired this month. What name was it given?

10. What is the high school that is home to Disney’s High School Musical?

Round 2 (56% correct)

1. What does a knight errant go in search of?

1. Adventure
2. Food
3. Religious Enlightenment
4. Medical Treatment

2. If the wheels on the bus go round and round, what do the wipers do?

3. Which comedian was the first to depart the original SNL troupe?

4. What is the exact distance of a modern marathon?

5. Before the Lakers moved to Los Angeles in 1960, they were located in what city from 1947-1960 in which city?

6. People who disregard conventional standards of behavior are sometimes called bohemians. The historical region of Bohemia is located in which country?

7. The pony express, established in April, 1860, operated between what two cities?

8. Which product was the first to be sold under the Newman’s Own label?

9. What two dogs are cross bred to produce the Schnoodle?

10. How many Dick’s are there in Seattle?

Round 3 (48% correct)

1. What were the last names of Bonnie and Clyde?

2. What Food Network star recently lost his television slot over accusations that he embellished his resume, including claiming he helped design Princess Diana’s wedding cake and worked a stint at the White House?

3. To which island was Napoleon first exiled to in 1814?

4. The presidential retreat Camp David, was named after which president’s grandson?

5. What was the name of Roy Rogers’s horse

6. Who is taking over for Jay Leno when he retires in 2009?

7. Which has a higher rank? Duke or Earl?

8. What is the primary grain in bourbon?

9. What are the 3 Baltic states?

10. The Chicago Typewriter is a gangster slang term for what?

Round 4 (68% correct)

1. What is the average toll paid by cargo ships to navigate the Panama canal?

2. What was the name of Tennessee Tuxedo’s walrus partner?

3. What are the 4 kinds of teeth found inside the human mouth?

4. All rocks can be separated into 3 categories. What are they?

5. Who was nicknamed “The Little Corporal”?

6. Which period of history preceded the Iron Age?

7. Home on the Range is the state song for which state?

8. What is the hardest substance in the human body?

9. What is the name of the single cell that results from the union of the parents sex cells at fertilization?

10. What phenomenon is measured by with Zener cards?

Answers

April 16, 2008

This one also ended up being more difficult than originally anticipated.

Round 1 (30% correct)

1. Known for their covert actions during WWII, the OSS was the precursor to the CIA. What does OSS stand for?

2. What was the name of the two detectives on the first season of Law and Order?

3. Which is longer? A statute mile or a nautical mile?

4. How much was George Washington paid per year to be president (in 1789 dollars)?

1. $500
2. $2500
3. $5000
4. $25000

5. The phrase sticky wicket, meaning a difficult situation, comes to us from what sport?

6. Which famous American playwright recently declared that he was “no longer a brain-dead liberal”?

7. Barbara Bush is the great-great-great niece of which former US President?

8. What singer recently won a Pulitzer Special Citation award this year?

9. True or False: President Gerald Ford was offered a contract to play football for the Green Bay Packers?

10. What agent number was Maxwell Smart in the TV series Get Smart!

Round 2 (60% correct)

1. On this day in 1912, Harriet Quimby, the first female to gain a pilots license in the US, became the first woman to cross what body of water?

2. “The Buck Stops Here” was the maxim of which US President?

3. St Matthew is the patron saint of what profession?

1. Paratroopers
2. Tax Collectors
3. Prostitutes
4. Writers

4. The front of which US coin has remained virtually unchanged since 1909?

5. The streets comprising Seattle’s central business district can be remembered by the useful mnemonic “Jesus Christ Made Seattle Under Protest”. For a point each, name the streets that this refers to?

6. What is the alcoholic ingredient in a Tom Collins?

7. How many pecks in a bushel?

8. Of the top 100 thrillers as compiled by the American Film Institute, which director was most represented with 9 entries?

9. We’ve all heard of the Stockholm Syndrome. But what is the Lima Syndrome?

10. Mark Spitz holds the record for the most number of gold medals won in a single Olympic Games. How many did he win?

Round 3 (43% correct)

1. The first income tax in the US was levied to pay for what war?

2. What does a gymnophobic fear?

3. Which drug cartel was built and run by the Columbian Pablo Escobar through the 1970s and 1980s?

4. Italian sculptor Franco Covill spent 18 months cultivating topiary in Liverpool to honor the Beatles. Vandals removed the head from one of the figures. Which one?

5. Which is the best selling car of all times (sold more than any other model)?

6. In addition to the French, two other countries fought as allies of America during the War of Independence. Name either one

7. What was the first non-human to appear on the cover of Time magazine’s “Man of the Year” issue?

1. the atomic bomb
2. the personal computer
3. the television
4. the planet Earth

8. What is the only venomous lizard native to the United States?

9. Hymen was the Greek god of what?

10. Who is Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkle Emmanuel Ambroise Diggs?

Round 4 (54% correct)

1. Crystle Stewart, the 26-year-old miss from what state, is the new Miss USA?

1. Colorado
2. Georgia
3. Mississippi
4. Texas

2. Who advertises their beer as “the champagne of beers”?

3. What was the name of the Russian nuclear cruise missile submarine which was lost with all hands when it sank in the Barents Sea on August 12, 2000?

4. The aliens from the movie Mars Attacks! were finally dispatched by being exposed to whose music?

5. What is the name of the Barbie clone on the Simpsons?

6. What event allegedly ignited the Watts Riots of 1965?

1. A case of mistaken identity
2. A drunk driving arrest
3. A raid on an after-hours tavern
4. A domestic violence call

7. Which is taller? Snoqualmie Falls? Or the American side of Niagra Falls?

8. “Here I come to save the day” was the catchphrase of what cartoon crime fighter?

9. What does the H & R stand for in H & R Block?

10. Jesse White, Gordon Jump, and Clay Earl Jackson have all held the role of Ol’ Lonely. For what company do they work?

Answers:

April 9, 2008

Round 1 (81% correct)

1. What was the name of the dynasty that ruled Russia from 1613 to 1917?

2. What is the name of the butler in The Addams Family’?

3. The mineral pyrite, FeS2, is more commonly known by what name?

4. Lake Itasca, Minnesota, is the starting point for what?

5. Which of the Great Lakes does not border on Canada?

6. In the standard game of Monopoly, what are the names of the 4 railroads?

7. Baby Doc Duvalier succeeded Papa Doc Duvalier as leader of which country?

8. Who has been the only divorced President of the USA?

9. Who got voted off Dancing with the Stars last night?

1. Adam Corolla
2. Pricilla Presley
3. Jason Taylor
4. Shannon Elizabeth

10. What was Diana, Princess of Wales maiden name?

Round 2 (43% correct)

1. What is a female lobster called?

2. We all know them for manufacturing the Blackberry, but what does RIM stand for?

3. What was the destination of the Voyager 1 probe?

4. What was Dorothy’s last name in The Wizard of Oz?

1. Walters
2. Gale
3. Fahey
4. Roth

5. For a work created after 1978, how long after the author’s death is a copyright good for?

6. What has a nulliparous (nul-i-par-ous) woman never done?

7. One of the earliest established railroads, what does B&O stand for?

8. Which of the Great Lakes is the deepest?

9. As of 2004 (the last year I could find stats for), which country had the most number of sheep?

10. Whose picture is on the 2 dollar bill?

Round 3 (63% correct)

1. Which state has the largest population?

2. Which state has the smallest population?

3. Depression-era bank robber Pretty Boy Floyd’s first name was what?

1. Charles
2. Fred
3. George
4. Lester

4. The IFOCE is the ruling body for what sport?

5. Four states have capital cities named after American presidents. Can you name them?

6. The Battle of Fort Sumter was the opening battle of which war?

7. Which famous literary character made his first appearance in a story called A Study In Scarlet?

8. What was the name of the Ewing ranch on TV’s Dallas?

9. If one is sniggling, what is one doing?

10. On this date in 1867, the United States got significantly bigger with the purchase of this territory?

Round 4 (55% correct)

1. True or False: Scottish actor Alan Cumming has a range of fragrances that includes Cumming All Over and Cumming Clean?

2. What was the maiden name of Diana, Princess of Wales

3. Cal Ripken, Jr broke Lou Gherig’s record for the most consecutive games in 1995. By the time he retired in 1998, by how many games did he ultimately exceed Lou’s record?

4. What do the initials of NASA stand for?

5. Serial killer Albert de Salvo was better known as who?

6. The Quarrymen included the nucleus of what well-known rock band?

7. From what bird do we get the meat known as squab?

1. pigeon
2. dove
3. pheasant
4. starling

8. Where are the Weddell and Ross Seas?

9. In a game of Polo, how many horses are there on the field during play?

10. A Venezuelan TV station recently pulled The Simpsons from it’s 11am slot, citing it’s “inappropriateness for children”. With what program did they fill that slot?

Answers:

April 2, 2008 Quiz

This quiz was given on April 2nd, 2008.  It was a little harder than intended.

Round 1 (60% correct)

1. By what do we know the Sandwich Islands as today?

2. According to Pillsbury lore, what is the name of Poppin’ Fresh’s dog?

1. Crusty
2. Bun Bun
3. Flapjack
4. Poppie

3. How many moons has Mars?

4. What is the tallest building in downtown Seattle?

5. Which Milwaukee based company has the stock symbol HOG?

6. Who won season 1 of American Idol?

7. Which cartoon character was the first to be made into a balloon for a parade?

8. According to DNA studies completed in 2007, what farm animal is the closest living relative to the Tyrannosaurus Rex?

9. Due to the popularity of the cult hit Office Space, this company reintroduced a red stapler (the Rio Red) in 2004?

10. What professional sports team takes it’s name from an Edgar Allen Poe work?

Round 2 (60% correct)

1. According to witnesses, what did John Wilkes Booth shout after shooting Abraham Lincoln?

2. Which book starts out Puff-puff-puff. Chug-chug-chug?

3. On this date in 1917, Jeanette Rankin was the first woman elected to the House of Representatives, serving from 1917 to 1919, and again from 1941-1943. From what state was she elected?

4. In Texas hold ’em poker, what is the first set of 3 community cards called?

5. According to a recent Forbes estimate, who is now the richest man in the world?

1. Carlos Slim
2. Warren Buffet
3. Bill Gates
4. The Sultan of Brunei

6. What name was given to the practice which tried to turn lead into silver and gold?

7. What does OPEC stand for?

8. Who said “America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between.”

9. By the power of Greyskull, who battled Skeletor?

10. Which teams comprise this years NCAA basketball Final Four?

Round 3 (35% correct)

1. Which of the following is not a show currently shown on TV’s Disney channel?

1. Captain Flamingo
2. Power Rangers:Destination Moon
3. The Mummy: The Animated Series
4. Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!

2. Who was the original voice of Mickey Mouse?

3. True or False: Adolf Hitler was Time magazines Man of the Year once?

4. Who wrote such instant classics as Zabibah and the King, The Fortified Castle, Men and the City, and Begone, Demons?

5. Which composer was known as “The Waltz King”?

6. What was the eastern starting point of the Oregon Trail?

7. What piece of equipment is Dizzy in the Bob The Builder TV series?

8. In the world of trains, what does BNSF stand for?

9. Who was Prime Minister of Great Britain at the outbreak of World War II?

10. If you grabbed a hold of your pollex, what would you be holding?

Round 4 (35% correct)

1. Which Gilligans Island star was recently sentenced to 6 months probation after being caught with pot?

2. There are 3 USDA grades of beef that are commercially available. What are they?

3. What alias did Wonder Woman assume?

4. Who is the host of NPRs This American Life?

5. Of the 20 largest hotels in the US, how many of them are in Las Vegas?

6. What was the name of the shop keeper on Sesame Street?

7. Which two oceans meet at the Cape of Agulhus (also known as the Cape of Needles)?

8. Which human organ secretes bile, forms blood proteins, and stores vitamins for later release into the bloodstream?

9. Lions most often roar at night. How far away can their roar be heard?

10. Business tycoon and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie amassed his fortune from which commodity?

Answers