Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Trivia Q&A: August 25

It was a quiet night at Professor Thom's on Monday night, as there was no Red Sox game and many of the Trivia Night regulars did not come out. (Monday's always a slow night there.) The Red Sox-Yankees series starting tomorrow night forced us to Monday. (And I'm sure we'll have a bigger crowd in Thom's on Tuesday.) We had just 9 teams come out for the special edition of Trivia, and at one point it looked like we might not even get as many as 5 teams. But fortunately we had some folks who wanted to play, so we had a good round nonetheless. (And we completed the night in just about 90 minutes. We normally go on for at least two hours when he have at least 15-20 teams.)

It was a close contest throughout, and the scores were relatively respectable all night. We had just one perfect score the entire game, and it was in the General Knowledge round (Rob going solo!). We had the top three teams separated by two points going into IQ Trivia.

The team in third, Just The Two of Us, had the best score in that round, getting four of the five questions right for 15 points. They leaped over the top two teams to get the win, and by six points. The winners were also two ladies who were a part of one of the recent winning teams, and most of their teammates couldn't make it in. Nice job, ladies!

Remember that next week's Trivia Night will be held on its usual night, Tuesday night, September 2, at 9 PM. I'll bet we'll have a bigger crowd then.

Current Events
1. This pop/rock star will pay over $46 million to his ex-wife to settle their divorce, and it is believed to be the largest sum ever in a celebrity divorce.
2. The US signed a deal with this European nation to build a missile defense base there, which angered Russia, one that nation's neighbors.
3. A jet swerved off a runway in this European city last week and killed 153 people on impact.
4. Congressman Steve Cohen of Tennessee is proposing renaming the airport in Memphis after this recently deceased entertainer, a Tennessee native.
5. The City of Milwaukee honored this actor last week by unveiling a statue of his legendary TV character in the city.
6. This prestigious university replaced Princeton as the top college in the US in US News and World Report's yearly listing of America's best universities.
7. Forbes magazine last week proclaimed that King Bhumibol Adulyadej, of this Asian nation, is the richest royal person in the world, worth $35 billion.

Answers: 1. Phil Collins; 2. Poland; 3. Madrid; 4. Isaac Hayes; 5. Henry Winkler; 6. Harvard; 7. Thailand.

Tennis Trivia
1. Who did John McEnroe defeat to win his first Wimbledon singles title in 1981? a. Rod Laver; b. Jimmy Connors; c. Bjorn Borg; d. Ivan Lendl.
2. What is the term for zero in tennis? a. let; b. ace; c. skunk; d. love.
3. Who won the Men's Singles gold medal at the Beijing Olympics? a. Rafael Nadal; b. James Blake; c. Roger Federer; d. Fernando Gonzalez.
4. Who was the first unseeded player to win Wimbledon? a. Bjorn Borg; b. Boris Becker; c. Michael Chang; d. Pete Sampras.
5. What was the US Open's most recent location prior to Flushing Meadow? a. Longwood; b. Philadelphia; c. Forest Hills; d. Newport.
6. Which major tournament has Roger Federer never won? a. French Open; b. US Open; c. Wimbledon; d. Australian Open.
7. What country is Martina Navratilova originally from? a. Romania; b. Czechoslovakia; c. Bulgaria; d. Austria.

Answers: 1. c; 2. d; 3. a; 4. b; 5. c; 6. a; 7. b.

Spell The Word ("The Q Train")
1. UMBRAGE (noun): reason for doubt; suspicion.
2. SCHADENFREUDE (noun): a malicious satisfaction obtained from the misfortunes of others.
3. ACUMEN (noun): shrewdness shown by keen insight.
4. PARSIMONIOUS (adj): sparing in expenditure; frugal to excess.
5. RUMINATE (verb): to think again and again; to ponder.
6. BELLWETHER (noun): a leading indicator of future trends.
7. LAMBASTE (verb): to scold sharply; to berate.
8. MAELSTROM (noun): a violent or turbulent state of affairs.
9. UBIQUITOUS (adj): being everywhere, or in all places, at the same time.
10. SALUBRIOUS (adj): favorable to health or healthful.

General Knowledge
1. What event was planned by Machine Gun Jack McGurn, with the help of his girlfriend's alibi?
2. Who was the emperor of Rome when Jesus Christ was born?
3. What candy invites you to "taste the rainbow?"
4. What was the original theme song to the TV series "Happy Days?"
5. What cable network originally debuted on cable in 1979 as "Pinwheel?"
6. In which city is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame located?
7. In the children's story "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," how many of the dwarfs have names ending with a "y"?

Answers: 1. St. Valentine's Day Massacre; 2. Caesar Augustus; 3. Skittles; 4. "Rock Around the Clock;" 5. Nickelodeon; 6. Cleveland; 7. five (Happy, Grumpy, Sleepy, Dopey and Sneezy).

IQ Trivia
1. Which actor was a member of both "The Dirty Dozen" and "The Magnificent Seven?" ( 4 points)
2. What is the only middle name shared by two different US presidents? ( 4 points)
3. What country singer was pardoned by President Ronald Reagan in 1981? ( 5 points)
4. What form of transportation would you be on if you were on a caravel? ( 3 points)
5. James Meredith was the first black man to attend what southern university? ( 4 points)

Answers: 1. Charles Bronson; 2. Walker (George Bush Sr. and Jr.); 3. Merle Haggard; 4. ship; 5. University of Mississippi.

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