Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Trivia Q&A: February 12

On a snowy night in New York City, we had an amazingly good turnout of folks at Professor Thom's on Tuesday night. We have an incredibly loyal following who must have their trivia! I appreciate all of you who made it, as we had 14 teams take part.

The scores for the first two rounds were generally on the lower side, especially for Presidents Trivia. (BTW, every single team answered "John F. Kennedy" to question #9 about the only president to take the oath of office on a Catholic missal. Only one other person in the bar knew it was Lyndon Johnson.) The scores of the other rounds were much better, and we had four teams seperated by three points going into the last round.

A team called Herbie Rides the Q Train got 15 points in the last round, and held on to win by the slimest of margins: one point. It was a good final round, as six teams got at least 10 or more points. (Nice job by Jerry's Squids getting 30 points in the last two rounds to finish a strong second.) The Herbie team has won many times, and my congratulations to them on their win.

Current Events
1. This Midwestern state's Supreme Court ruled the electric chair unconstitutional las week, saying it was a "dinosaur more befitting the lab of Dr. Frankenstein than the death chamber."
2. Five people died in an explosion last week at a sugar refinery in this Southern state.
3. An autopsy on former child star and actor Brad Renfro concluded he died because of this.
4. Camden Market, an historic shopping and tourist site in this city, was hit by a devastating fire that damaged many buildings on Saturday night.
5. Harvard Lampoon Magazine selected this media star as its' "Woman of the Year" for 2008 last week.
6. This jazz legend won the Album of the Year Grammy on Sunday, the first jazz album to win the award since 1964.
7. Tom Lantos, a Congressman from this state and the only Holocaust survivor to serve in Congress, died of cancer Monday at the age of 80.
8. Paintings by Cezanne, Degas, Van Gogh and Monet were stolen from a museum Monday in this European city.
9. America's Line has now listed this presidential candidate as the 6-5 favorite to win election this November.
10. Gregg Bergensen, a Defense Department analyst, was arrested yesterday and charged with espionage after being accused of leaking American military secrets to this nation.

Answers: 1. Nebraska; 2. Georgia; 3. heroin overdose; 4. London; 5. Paris Hilton; 6. Herbie Hancock; 7. California; 8. Zurich; 9. Barack Obama; 10. China.

Presidents Trivia

1. Which set of two presidents were actually grandfather and grandson?
2. Who were the last two incumbent presidents to be defeated for re-election?
3. What state have the most presidents come from?
4. Before 1937, when January 20 became Inauguration Day, what day of the year was Inauguration Day held on?
5. Within $50,000, what is President Bush's current annual salary?
6. What did the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution change about the presidency?
7. What former US president once ran as a candidate of the Bull Moose Party?
8. Who was the first Republican elected president?
9. What US president was first sworn in not on a Bible, but on a Roman Catholic missal?
10. Name 2 of the 3 qualifications for a person to be eligible to be elected president.

Answers: 1. William H. and Benjamin Harrison; 2. George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter; 3. Virginia (9); 4. March 4; 5. $400,000; 6. The two term limit; 7. Theodore Roosevelt; 8. Abraham Lincoln; 9. Lyndon Johnson; 10. Born in the US; at least 35 years old; a resident of the US for at least 14 years.

True or False ("The Q Train")

1. In Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein's monster reads the book, "Paradise Lost."
2. The Kelley Blue Book is used to check the fair market price of securities.
3. Casey Jones, of railroad fame, was in fact a real person.
4. A frog is considered an amphibian.
5. The aqualung was invented by Benjamin Franklin.
6. Michael Jackson was born in the state of Indiana.
7. A new McDonald's restaurant opens every day in the world.
8. France produces the most wine in the world.
9. The fabric of the Lone Ranger's mask was made from his brother's vest.
10. The color of a bride's wedding dress in China is black.

Answers: 1. true; 2. false, it is of cars; 3. true; 4. true; 5. false, Jacques Cousteau invented it; 6. true; 7. true; 8. false, Italy does; 9. true; 10. false, they are red.

General Knowledge

1. On a ten-speed bicycle, the derailleur is a device used to do what?
2. Kala is the adoptive mother of what fictional character?
3. String theory is a modern advancement in what scientific discipline?
4. Singers Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield are known professionally as what group?
5. A sufferagette is a woman who campaigns for a woman's right to do what?
6. The Barbary Coast, famous for pirate activity, is found on what continent?
7. Which two countries fought the Hundred Years War?
8. A graphic equalizer is a common feature on what piece of equipment?
9. What rock musician wrote, produced and starred in the film, "Give My Regards to Broad Street?"
10. What 1970s TV series was based on the novel, "Cyborg?"

Answers: 1. change gears; 2. Tarzan; 3. physics; 4. The Righteous Brothers; 5. vote; 6. Africa; 7. Britain and France; 8. stereo system; 9. Paul McCartney; 10. "The Six Million Dollar Man."

IQ Trivia

1. What English outlaw's real name was Edward Teach? ( 6 points)
2. In the Oscar-winning film "Rocky," what was the name of Rocky's pet dog? ( 5 points)
3. What Renaissance artist was an apprentice to the sculptor Verrocchio? ( 5 points)
4. People with seasonal affective disorder become depressed due to a lack of what? ( 4 points)
5. Which legendary American showman actually asked a New York newspaper to print his obituary in their paper so he could read it before he died? ( 5 points)

Answers: 1. Blackbeard; 2. Butkus; 3. Leonardo da Vinci; 4. sunlight; 5. P.T. Barnum.

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