Trivia Q&A: October 28

On a cold and rainy evening in New York, we had 17 teams come out for Trivia Night, and I appreciate all of you who came out and braved the lousy weather. We also had the Boston Celtics opening night game against Cleveland, which brought out a number of basketball fans as well.

The scores were generally good throughout the night. Current Events' numbers were so-so, but the "McCain/Obama Trivia" numbers were actually pretty good.

It was a two-team race going into the IQ Trivia round, separated by just one point. And the top two teams also ran the table in getting all 20 points. (The IQ numbers were overall pretty strong.) The team of Drew's Big Date Night, led by Matt and his friends who've won on a few occasions, wound up the winners. My congratulations to them.

Please do keep in mind that because of Election Night next Tuesday night, we will be having Trivia Night next week on the next day, Wednesday, November 5th, at 9 PM.

Current Events
1. The Rev. Edward Pinckney is running for a congressional seat in this midwestern state even though he's currently in jail on election fraud and other charges.
2. A parking garage executive committed suicide last week after being sued by this talk show host over an alleged vintage car swindle.
3. Dr. Pepper plans to make good on a promise that if this rock band released an album in 2008 (and they will next month), everyone in the US will get a free soda.
4. This Hollywood and cable TV star opened on Broadway last week in a play that had been directed previously on the stage by the star's mother and sister.
5. For the sixth consecutive year, this automaker's car was "The Most Stolen Car in America" for 2007 by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
6. This NFL star's jersey is now the number one selling NFL replica jersey and it propelled his team to number two on the list of best-selling NFL team jerseys, behind the Dallas Cowboys.
7. Ted Stevens, US senator from this state, was found guilty on corruption charges and faces five years in prison on each of the seven counts he was convicted on.

Answers: 1. Michigan; 2. Jay Leno; 3. Guns 'N' Roses; 4. Jeremy Piven; 5. Cadillac Escalade (GM); 6. Brett Favre; 7. Alaska.

McCain & Obama Trivia
1. What branch of the armed forces did John McCain serve in?
2. What foreign country did Barack Obama live in from 1967-1971?
3. What year was John McCain first elected to the US Senate?
4. Name 1 of the 2 colleges Barack Obama attended as an undergraduate.
5. To the closest year, how many years was John McCain a POW in Vietnam?
6. In what year was Barack Obama first elected to the Illinois State Senate?
7. To the closest year, what is the age difference between John McCain and Barack Obama?

Answers: 1. US Navy; 2. Indonesia; 3. 1986; 4. Occidental College and Columbia University; 5. five years and four months; 6. 1996; 7. 24 years and 11 months.

Spell the Word Trivia ("The Q Train")
1. CAVEAT (noun): a warning or a caution.
2. CHICANERY (noun): the use of trickery to deceive.
3. MICROCOSM (noun): a smaller, representative system having analogies to a larger system.
4. PECCADILLO (noun): a slight offense; a petty fault.
5. MELLIFLUOUS (adj): smooth; flowing sweetly.
6. UNCTUOUS (adj): insincerely suave or ingratiating in manner or speech.
7. BELLWETHER (noun): a leading indicator of future trends.
8. PUGNACIOUS (adj): inclined to fight; quarrelsome.
9. PALINDROME (noun): a word or sentence that reads the same backward or forward.
10. MALAISE (noun): a general feeling of depression or unease.

General Knowledge
1. Who was the president of the United States during the Spanish-American War?
2. What fruit contains an enzyme that is used as a meat tenderizer?
3. In what state would you find "Old Faithful?"
4. What country owns the islands of Elba and Capri?
5. What R&B legend was known as "Mr. Dynamite?"
6. What item are there two of in British cricket and six of in American croquet?
7. What common household alloy must contain, by law, at least 11.5% chromium?

Answers: 1. William McKinley; 2. papaya; 3. Wyoming; 4. Italy; 5. James Brown; 6. wickets; 7. stainless steel.

IQ Trivia
1. What current US territory or possession is larger in area than the smallest US state? ( 3 points)
2. Who is the only actor to win both a Comedy and Drama Emmy Award for playing the same character on TV? ( 5 points)
3. The first "Electric Pig" was developed in 1927, and what is this household convenience invention called today? ( 4 points)
4. When the police practice dactyloscopy, what are they doing? ( 4 points)
5. "Backwards in High Heels" is a musical about what 1930s actress? ( 4 points)

Answers: 1. Puerto Rico; 2. Edward Asner; 3. garbage disposal; 4. identifying fingerprints; 5. Ginger Rogers.