Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Trivia Q&A: December 23

I was really curious to see what kind of crowd we'd get in for Trivia Night just two days before Christmas. I thought it might be low due to the closeness of the holiday, but to my surprise, 20 teams turned out on a cold night, but we had a great night. It was great to see onetime Trivia regular Mariangela return, as she's back in the area for Christmas. The scores were rather strong on December Holiday Trivia (and we had many Seinfeld fans who got the bonus Festivus question correct), but were a bit lower on General Knowledge, as there were a couple of tough ones in that round.

The scores were close throughout the night, and we had many tie scores in all the rounds. Going into IQ Trivia, we had the top five teams bunched up and a point separated each team. But the team called This $10 Gift Card is My Only Holiday Bonus (Bah Humbug) jumped from fourth place and got three of the five questions correct (the scores were also a bit lower due to it being a bit hard) and wound up winning by just a single point. They were also without their group leader Matt, who was away for the holiday, and he will undoubtedly hear from the rest of his group how they were able to win without him. Nice job, guys.

A reminder that we will be having two special categories next week, and the "Q Train" lightning round takes a breather this week, and will be back on January 6th with a new category. I will announce the two special categories next Monday. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas, and thanks for coming out last night and making it such a great night.

Current Events
1. This radio format has officially passed country music as the most popular one in America with over 2,000 stations airing it in the country.
2. This New York-based bank holding company announced last week it lost $2.37 billion during its fiscal fourth quarter and lost 2.34 per share for the quarter ended November 30.
3. This four-time Emmy-winning TV star is now said to be suffering from Alzheimer's disease and his daughter is seeking court approval for a conservatorship of him.
4. This western US city got hit with a 3 1/2 inch snowfall last week, the largest amount of snow the city has gotten in 30 years.
5. China blocked access to this newspaper's web site last Friday, right after the government defended its right to censor content it deems illegal.
6. The International Criminal Tribunal found three senior army officers of this African country guilty of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity and were sentenced to life imprisonment.
7. This celebrity's home was burglarized last Friday and approximately $2 million in jewelry was stolen.

Answers: 1. news/talk; 2. Morgan Stanley; 3. Peter Falk; 4. Las Vegas; 5. New York Times; 6. Rwanda; 7. Paris Hilton.

December Holiday Trivia
1. In the 1983 movie, "A Christmas Story," what did Ralphie want for Christmas?
2. The Vince Guaraldi Trio did the score to what classic Christmas special?
3. What is the traditional spinning top game that is played during Hanukkah?
4. What was the gift my true love sent on "the sixth day of Christmas?"
5. What was the name of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer's dogsled driving friend?
6. What was the name of Scrooge's deceased business partner in Dickens' "A Christmas Carol?"
7. How many candles are there on a standard Menorah?
8. What are 2 of the 3 main rituals of the holiday of Festivus?

Answers: 1. bb gun; 2. "A Charlie Brown Christmas;" 3. dreidel; 4. six geese a-laying; 5. Yukon Cornelius; 6. Jacob Marley; 7. nine; 8. The Festivus Pole, The Airing of Grievances and The Feats of Strength.

True or False ("The Q Train")
1. A person born on Christmas Day falls under the sign of Sagittarius.
2. St. Elmo's fire is an electrical phenomenon named for the patron saint of inventors.
3. In Greek mythology, Oedipus' mother's name is Jocasta.
4. Oxygen is the first element on the Periodic table.
5. Bob Dole was a US senator for 28 years from the state of Kansas.
6. Martin Luther King was born in Memphis, Tennessee.
7. Avedis Zildjian Co. is the world's leading maker of cymbals.
8. Chip Gizmo is a character in the comic strip Doonesbury.
9. The femur is the longest bone in the human body.
10. Canada is the world's largest producer of uranium.

Answers: 1. false, Capricorn; 2. false, sailors; 3. true; 4. false, hydrogen; 5. true; 6. false, Atlanta; 7. true; 8. false, Beetle Bailey; 9. true; 10. true.

General Knowledge
1. Which sci-fi author wrote "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and "Around the World in Eighty Days?"
2. What is the 12th and final sign of the zodiac calendar?
3. What common household item contains 138 cubic centimeters of an argon-nitrogen gas mixture?
4. In what field did Arthur Frommer and Eugene Fodor make their fame?
5. Who is currently the sole anchor of NBC Nightly News?
6. Most of the over 800 known Dead Sea Scrolls are written in what language?
7. A turophile is a gourmet who specializes in what kind of food?

Answers: 1. Jules Verne; 2. Pisces; 3. lightbulb; 4. travel writing; 5. Brian Williams; 6. Hebrew; 7. cheese.

IQ Trivia
1. World War I began in 1914 when Austria-Hungary declared war on what country? ( 3 points)
2. What father and son won Academy Awards for the same movie? ( 4 points)
3. "Nanuq" is an Inuit word for what animal? ( 4 points)
4. Which college football team currently has the longest consecutive streak of appearing in bowl games, with 26? ( 5 points)
5. Queen Victoria's 1840 wedding is credited with popularizing what tradition? ( 4 points)

Answers: 1. Serbia; 2. Walter and John Huston ("Treasure of Sierra Madre"); 3. polar bear; 4. Florida State Seminoles; 5. white bridal gown.

No comments: