Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Trivia Q&A: September 23

We had 16 teams in for Trivia Night, on what started out to be a rather nerve-wracking night, but turned into a celebratory one as the Red Sox beat the Indians just after the second round and raised the spirits of the bar considerably.

I used a new category called "What's the Number Trivia," as my friend Chris, who also runs a bar trivia night in another Village pub, told me he used it one night. I asked the players to know what number two certain events had and either add, subtract, multiply of divide them. The feedback I got was mostly on the negative side, but I may just try to fine tune it over the next several weeks and try to get a version of it that the players might like better. The scores were generally about average in that round.

The scores were good in both True or False and General Knowledge, and we had seven teams withing eight points of the lead. The scores were pretty good in IQ Trivia (I was surprised that no one got the Elvis Presley question), but the team of Every Time I Look to My Left...wound up getting the best score in that round (actually tied with 16 points), but won pretty comfortably by eight points. Nice job by Matt and his crew pulling off another win.

Current Events
1. This onetime Hollywood superstar actor was arrested along with his son on narcotics possession charges last week.
2. This man, who was the richest American back in March according to Forbes, is now again number 2, as Bill Gates again has the top spot.
3. 16 people were killed last Wednesday as terrorists attacked the US embassy in this Middle Eastern country.
4. Thabo Mbeki agreed to resign as president of this African country after getting caught up in allegations he influenced a corruption case against his rivals.
5. Web hackers bypassed security in this political commentator's web site last week and exposed the personal information of some of the site's users, which was posted on the Internet.
6. Travis Barker, former drummer of this '90s rock group, was seriously injured in a plane crash in South Carolina last Saturday that killed four other people.
7. This pop singer was busted by police for the fourth time in three years after getting caught with crack in a public restroom in London on Sunday.

Answers: 1. Ryan O'Neal; 2. Warren Buffett; 3. Yemen; 4. South Africa; 5. Bill O'Reilly; 6. Blink-182; 7. George Michael.

What's the Number Trivia
1. The number of regular season games each MLB team plays minus the number of games each NBA team plays in their regular season.
2. The number of presidential assassinations multiplied by the number of people depicted in Leonardo daVinci's painting "The Last Supper."
3. The number of years FDR was president divided by the number of World Series won by the New York Mets.
4. The number of states that made up the Confederacy plus the number of Oscars won by Jack Nicholson.
5. The number worn by hockey Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky divided by the number worn by NBA Hall of Famer Larry Bird.
6. This was the numbered amendment that ended prohibition multiplied by the number of times per day Muslims are required to pray to Allah.
7. The numbered bill US Grant is on plus the size of the full roster on a MLB team (before September 1).

Answers: 1. 162-82= 80; 2. 4 x13= 52; 3. 12 divided by 2= 6; 4. 11+ 3= 14; 5. 99 divided by 33= 3; 6. 21 x 5= 105; 7. 50+25= 75.

True or False Trivia ("The Q Train")
1. Neil Armstrong was the first man on the moon in Apollo 11.
2. Plato was the most famous student of the philosopher Aristotle.
3. Car makers currently express engine size in terms of liters.
4. "Plaited" hair is braided.
5. Conan O'Brien was a writer for both "Saturday Night Live" and "The Simpsons."
6. The rock band Uriah Heep was named after the inventor of the seed drill.
7. A book that has a soporific effect on someone makes them ill.
8. The tourist attraction The Spanish Steps are found in Rome.
9. "The Kitchen Debate" was a war of words between John F. Kennedy and Fidel Castro.
10. The charcoal briquette was invented by Henry Ford.

Answers: 1. true; 2. false, Aristotle was a student of Plato; 3. true; 4. true; 5. true; 6. false, the band was Jethro Tull; 7. false, it makes one sleepy; 8. true; 9. false, it was between Richard Nixon and Nikita Khruschev; 10. true.

General Knowledge
1. What organ sends oxygen and other nutrients to a developing fetus?
2. In Cajun cuisine, what crustaceans are also known as "mudbugs?"
3. What men's magazine, which was banned from Wal-Mart in 2003, is the world's best selling men's lifestyle magazine?
4. A stone resting on a cliff's edge is said to possess what type of energy?
5. Who was the first black manager in major league baseball history?
6. In September 1916, who became the first billionaire in American history?
7. The Eclipse Awards are given for achievement in what sport?

Answers: 1. placenta; 2. crawfish; 3. Maxim; 4. potential; 5. Frank Robinson; 6. John D. Rockefeller; 7. horse racing.

IQ Trivia
1. What powerful V8 engine was re-introduced in many Chrysler cars in 2003? ( 4 points)
2. What was the name of Quint's boat in the 1975 movie "Jaws?" ( 3 points)
3. Who famously told Dan Quayle during a debate in 1988, "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy?" (4 points)
4. What vocal quartet sang backup for Elvis Presley in the '50s? ( 4 points)
5. In August 1914, the cement steamer SS Ancon became the first ship to do what? ( 5 points)

Answers: 1. Hemi; 2. Orca; 3. Lloyd Bentsen; 4. The Jordanaires; 5. Pass through the Panama Canal.

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