Trivia Q&A: February 20

We had another fine night of Trivia last night with 11 teams taking part. The highlight was the debut of "The Q Train" lightning round, and it was generally well-received by the players. The round was Presidential Trivia, and most of the questions were on the easy side. I explained the rules before the round, that questions would not be repeated, and 6 of the 11 teams got perfect scores in it. I saw very few answers left blank, so everyone paid close attention. I would say that The Q Train will be back next week.

We had a close game last night, but a group called "Threepeat" was the winners, by just two points. I think I may have made the Oscar Trivia questions a little too difficult, as the scores were not very high. And only one team got as many as three correct in the final 10-point bonus question on movies that had won as many as 9 Oscars. It's always a delicate balancing act when writing up trivia quizzes.

Current Events
1. This legendary entertainer opened the NBA All-Star Game festivities on Sunday night with dancing girls and a version of "Viva Las Vegas."
2. This Northeastern state officially became the third state to offer civil unions to gay couples on Monday.
3. Three stranded climbers were rescued on Monday by authorities on Mt. Hood in this state.
4. This US president was voted number one all-time by a recent Gallup poll.
5. The Catholic Archdiocese of this California city is considering declaring bankruptcy to avoid going on trial on more than 140 lawsuits alleging sex abuse by priests.
6. This star of "Goodfellas"and other films was arrested in LA on suspicion of drunk driving on Sunday night.
7. Playboy Magazine selected this 22-year-old actress as its current "sexiest celebrity."
8. This 2008 presidential candidate said Sunday that Donald Rumsfeld was "one of the worst Secretaries of Defense ever."
9. Norv Turner was hired by this NFL team as its head coach on Monday.
10. Two people were killed when two shuttle buses collided near this Florida airport on Sunday.

Answers: 1. Wayne Newton; 2. New Jersey; 3. Oregon; 4. Abraham Lincoln; 5. San Diego; 6. Ray Liotta; 7. Scarlett Johansson; 8. John McCain; 9. San Diego Chargers; 10. Ft. Lauderdale International Airport.

True Or False Trivia
1. The nickname of IBM is "Big Blue."
2. China does not border Vietnam.
3. Eating a teaspoon of sugar can cure the hiccups.
4. An ant actually has two pair of antennae.
5. "The Honeymooners" began as a series of short sketches on "The Jackie Gleason Show."
6. The word "vaccine" comes from the Latin word for cow.
7. Pastrami is traditionally made from pork.
8. The Philadelphia Phillies didn't win their first World Series until 1980.
9. Jim Morrison is buried in the same cemetery that contains Walt Disney's ashes in California.
10. The chess term "checkmate" comes from the Persian trem "shah mat" which means "The King is dead."

Answers: 1. true; 2. false, it does; 3. true; 4. false, it has just one; 5. true; 6. true; 7. false, it's made from beef; 8. true; 9. false, Jim's buried in Paris; 10. true.

Presidential Trivia ("The Q Train")
1. Who is the only president to serve three terms?
2. Who was the heaviest president?
3. Who was the second US president?
4. Which elected president served the shortest term?
5. Which president pardoned Richard Nixon?
6. Who is the 43rd US President?
7. Under which president was Al Gore the vice-president?
8. In which year was Abraham Lincoln first elected president?
9. In which city did George Washington take his first oath of office as president in 1789?
10. Who succeeded John F. Kennedy as president in 1963?

Answers: 1. Frankin D. Roosevelt; 2. William H. Taft; 3. John Adams; 4. William H. Harrison; 5. Gerald Ford; 6. George W. Bush; 7. Bill Clinton; 8. 1860; 9. New York City; 10. Lyndon B. Johnson.

General Knowledge
1. Which daytime soap opera is based primarily in the fictional town of Pine Valley?
2. What number is the most recent US constitutional amendment, ratified in 1992?
3. A person suffering from bruxism does what while sleeping?
4. In which classic 1964 film did Phil Collins, at age 12, appear in as an extra?
5. "Why Can't We Be Friends" was a hit song in 1975 by which musical group?
6. Which European city was Hannibal looking to conquer when he crossed the Alps in 218 BC?
7. Yosemite National Park is located in which US state?
8. Which three-digit code did the FCC set aside for phone calls regarding police nonemergencies?
9. Which kind of animal is the Alaska malamute?
10. Which decade in the 20th century did author F. Scott Fitzgerald dub "The Jazz Age?"

Answers: 1. "All My Children"; 2. 27; 3. Grinds their teeth; 4. "A Hard Day's Night"; 5. War; 6. Rome; 7. California; 8. 311; 9. dog; 10. 1920s.

Oscar Trivia
1. Which actor won an Oscar for Best Actor in a feature film in which he directed? a. Warren Beatty; b. Kevin Costner; c. Laurence Olivier; d. Mel Gibson.
2. Which entertainer is the host of this Sunday's Oscars? a. Billy Crystal; b. Ellen DeGeneres; c. Whoopi Goldberg; d. Steve Martin.
3. How many times has Kevin Bacon been nominated for an Academy Award? a. 1, b. 2, c. 3, d. none.
4. Which of the following actors has never won an Oscar? a. Kevin Kline; b. Peter O'Toole; c. Morgan Freeman; d. Robert Duvall.
5. Which foreign language film was nominated for the most Oscars? a. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"; b. "Life Is Beautiful"; c. "Das Boot"; d. "Fanny And Alexander."
6. Which of the following actors was nominated in the Acting, Directing and Writing categories for the same film? a. Kevin Costner; b. Clint Eastwood; c. Woody Allen; d. Robert Duvall.
7. Who was the last woman nominated for Best Director? a. Penny Marshall; b. Sofia Coppola; c. Jane Campion; d. Lina Wertmuller.
8. Who was the only actor to win an acting award posthumously? a. John Wayne; b. Peter Finch; c. Henry Fonda; d. Humphrey Bogart.
9. Which 1980s film was nominated for 11 Oscars, but wound up winning none? a. "The Color Purple"; b. "A Passage To India"; c. "Tootsie"; d. "Reds."
10. Name 3 of the 7 films that have won at least 9 Oscars.

Answers: 1. c; 2. b; 3. d; 4. b; 5. a; 6. c; 7. b; 8. b; 9. a; 10. "Ben Hur"; "Titanic"; "Lord of the Rings: Return Of The King"; "West Side Story"; "Gigi"; "The Last Emperor"; "The English Patient."