On a very cold night in New York, we had 11 teams on hand for the first Trivia contest of the year at Professor Thom's. Most teams had a tough start with Current Events, but the numbers were generally good throughout the next three categories. My friend Matt's team dominated for the first four rounds, but hit the wall at IQ Trivia and wound up falling to a tie for fourth place.
They led by six points going into the final round, but a team called Mo Vaughn's Deuce at Brockton's Foxy Lady II got four of the five questions right for 20 points, and wound up winning by an amazing 10 points, after trailing by 7 going into IQ Trivia. Congratulations to them on a great comeback.
Just before the True or False round, I was given a very nice surprise, as Trivia regular Mariangela grabbed the mic and asked the audience, for a bonus point, when my birthday was. The last choice she gave was this coming Friday, and with that, a birthday cake was brought out, and my dear friend Deborah brought out two dozen roses for me. The bar warmly applauded, and I was very touched by it all. My thanks to Deborah, Mariangela, and everyone else in the bar for remembering my special day. I love you all for doing something so special for me.
Current Events
1. This loudmouth celebrity was voted "The Most Annoying Celebrity" for 2007 in a recent poll by Parade Magazine.
2. This media star was voted "The Most Overpaid Celebrity" for 2007 in a similar poll.
3. This Western city was the number one visited city in the United States by tourists in 2007.
4. This mountainous Asian country's government last week agreed to abolish the nation's 240-year-old monarchy.
5. Riots erupted in this African country and 120 people were reported killed over irregularities in the result of the recent presidential election.
6. Actress Jennifer Garner was selected the Person of the Year for 2007 from this Eastern state she has considered home since she was a child.
7. This American city was chosen as "the most cinematic city of 2007" in a recent poll of moviegoers by Fandango.com.
8. This Super Bowl-winning former coach was named as the head of football operations by the Miami Dolphins last week.
9. Sara Jane Moore, who once tried to shoot this US president, was released from a California prison this past Monday.
10. The oldest orangutan ever died this past week. Within five years, how old was she?
Answers: 1. Rosie O'Donnell; 2. Oprah Winfrey; 3. Las Vegas; 4. Nepal; 5. Kenya; 6. West Virginia; 7. New York City; 8. Bill Parcells; 9. Gerald Ford; 10. 55.
New Year's Trivia
1. This country officially dissolved on December 31, 1991.
2. This musician, long associated with New Year's, performed "Auld Lang Syne" for the first time in NYC on New Year's Eve, 1929.
3. This automotive giant became the first US corporation to make over $1 billion in a year in 1955.
4. This legendary Hall of Fame baseball player was killed in a plane crash on New Year's Eve, 1972, while rushing medical supplies and aid to Nicaragua, which had recently been hit with an earthquake.
5. This actor, who has appeared in such films as "The Doors," "Heat," and "Batman Forever," turns 48 on New Year's Eve.
6. The first official Mummers Parade was held New Year's Day, 1901, in this Eastern city.
7. This immortal location began accepting immigrants to the United States for the first time in 1892.
8. The Emancipation Proclamation takes effect for the first time on January 1 in this year during the Civil War.
9. Name one of the two nations in the Caribbean that celebrates either its Independence or Liberation Day on January 1.
10. Which European city has a New Year's Day Parade, with over 10,000 performers marching through the city streets?
Answers: 1. Soviet Union; 2. Guy Lombardo; 3. General Motors; 4. Roberto Clemente; 5. Val Kilmer; 6. Philadelphia; 7. Ellis Island; 8. 1863; 9. Cuba and Haiti; 10. London.
True or False ("The Q Train")
1. An animal's tail is considered prehensile if it can grasp.
2. Superscript is a printing type in which letters slope to the right.
3. The US president nicknamed "Old Hickory" appears on the front of the ten dollar bill.
4. California is the US state that has the most number of MLB teams.
5. The Tower of London has been both an official English royal residence and a prison.
6. The standard measure of a TV screen's size is taken from top to bottom.
7. In medieval times, a young man of noble birth who assisted a knight was called a herald.
8. The element silicon has never been found in nature in its pure form.
9. Folic acid is another name for vitamin A.
10. Brownish orange is the color of terra cotta.
Answers: 1. true; 2. false, italics; 3. false, he's on the $20 bill; 4. true; 5. true; 6. false, it's measured diagonally; 7. false, it's called a squire; 8. true; 9. false, it's also known as retinol; 10. true.
General Knowledge
1. What shape was the chakram, a weapon wielded by TV's warrior princess Xena?
2. In an official game of volleyball, how many players are on the court at one time?
3. What courier service used the slogan,"When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight?"
4. What 1970s TV show popularized the insult,"Up your nose with a rubber hose?"
5. What is the name of the process that makes it possible to view moving images on the Internet?
6. What character in the 2000 film, "X-Men" has retractable adamantium claws?
7. What two countries are separated by the Bering Strait?
8. In the 1984 movie, "Romancing the Stone," what is the profession of Kathleen Turner's character?
9. The 1980 Gdansk Accords were spearheaded by the striking workers in what country?
10. In October 2000, Slobodan Milosevic was ousted as president of which country?
Answers: 1. circle; 2. twelve; 3. Federal Express; 4. "Welcome Back, Kotter;" 5. streaming; 6. Wolverine; 7. US and Russia; 8. novelist; 9. Poland; 10. Yugoslavia.
IQ Trivia
1. When a body suffers from "the bends," its tissues and capillaries are infused with bubbles of what? ( 4 points)
2. At age 15, future Mexican revolutionary Doroteo Arango became a fugitive and changed his name to what? ( 5 points)
3. What body of water is also known as the Sea of Cortes? ( 6 points)
4. According to the TV theme song, who is "the lady in red when everybody else is wearing tan?" ( 5 points)
5. When Revolutionary War hero John Paul Jones retired from the US Navy, what foreign country's navy did he later became an admiral in? ( 5 points)
Answers: 1. nitrogen; 2. Pancho Villa; 3. Gulf of California; 4. "The Nanny;" 5. Russia.
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