Trivia Q&A: May 26

We had 17 teams in for Trivia on Tuesday, including our old friend and onetime Trivia regular Mariangela, who came up to New York to join us for the night, as she was belatingly celebrating her birthday with a crew of her friends. At first, it looked like the night might not happen, as we had microphone problems, and that I might have to call the whole night without a mic. But fortunately, our friend Manny came to the rescue, and got another mic and system and we were good to go, after a 15 minute delay.

For most of the night, the scores were on the lighter side. Current Events was tough on many teams, as was May 26th Trivia. But they bounced back with 1-10 Trivia, as eight teams got perfect scores.

But IQ Trivia saw some of the weakest scores ever. Only one team got as many as nine points, and only four other teams got as many as two of the five right. (Almost everyone got the "4 factorial" question correct.) But the team of What About The Children, who got the nine in IQ Trivia and led most of the night, held on and won by two points. My congratulations to them on their victory.

Current Events
1. A recent study by the GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test found that this Northeastern US state had the least knowledgeable drivers, for the second time in five years.
2. A military plane carrying troops from this Asian country crashed into a row of houses last week, killing nearly 100 people.
3. This rock star will play the final concerts at Giants Stadium in NJ this October before the stadium is torn down following the 2009 NFL season.
4. Ursula Burns will become the first black woman to head a Fortune 500 company when she takes over this company in July.
5. A couple slapped a writer from this TV show with a $6 million lawsuit after basing two characters on the show on them, which they said made them look like a pair of "kinky psychos."
6. Stephen Leatherman, who is called "Dr. Beach" and puts out an annual survey of America's top beaches, ranked Hanalei Bay in this state as number one for 2009.
7. This legendary rock star is being sued by his longtime former drummer for hundreds of thousands of dollars in overdur royalties he feels the star owes him.

Answers: 1. New York; 2. Indonesia; 3. Bruce Springsteen; 4. Xerox; 5. "CSI;" 6. Hawaii; 7. Billy Joel.

May 26th Trivia

1. On this date in 1869, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts chartered this university, which is currently ranked 60th on the US News and World Report's rankings of national universities.

2. In 1868, the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson was finished, and how many votes was he acquitted by?

3. On this date in 1879, the UK signed the Treaty of Gandamak with this country, establishing the state of Afghanistan.

4. In 1977, George Willig became the first man to climb to the top of this building, and was fined $1.10 after doing so.

5. This immortal jazz trumpeter, bandleader and composer, considered one of the 20th century's most influential musicians and died in 1991, would have turned 83 today.

6. Mick Ronson, who gained fame as a lead guitarist in this classic rocker's band in the early 1970s, was born on this date in 1946.

7. This actor/producer/director, who won an Oscar for Best Director for Out of Africa" and directed more than 30 films and TV shows, died on this date in 2008.

Answers: 1. Boston University; 2. one; 3. Russia; 4. World Trade Center (South Tower); 5. Miles Davis; 6. David Bowie; 7. Sydney Pollack.

1-10 Trivia ("The Q Train")
1. John Tyler was this number US president.
2. This number represents the second baseman in baseball.
3. This is the atomic number of nitrogen.
4. This is the number of "degrees of Kevin Bacon," a popular trivia game.
5. An octogon is a polygon with this number of sides.
6. The number of MLB players who have hit at least 70 HRs in a season.
7. In bowling, this many strikes thrown in a row is called a turkey.
8. In Dante's "Divine Comedy," there are this many Circles of Hell.
9. This is the number of points in a pentagon.
10. This is the number of Oscars won by Al Pacino in his career.

Answers: 1. ten; 2. four; 3. seven; 4. six; 5. eight; 6. two; 7. three; 8. nine; 9. five; 10. one.

General Knowledge
1. What does the "A" stand for in the international alliance NATO?
2. In what part of the body are nephrons located?
3. What are the national meetings of the Boy Scouts of America called?
4. What US president was a member of two undefeated national championship NCAA football teams?
5. What hit sitcom was Norm MacDonald a writer for before he joined "Saturday Night Live?"
6. What mythic creature is on the Mobil Gas logo?
7. On what street do "The Simpsons" live on?

Answers: 1. Atlantic; 2. kidneys; 3. jamborees; 4. Gerald Ford; 5. "Roseanne;" 6. pegasus; 7. Evergreen Terrace.

IQ Trivia
1. The Punic Wars were fought between what two ancient rival cities? ( 3 points)
2. What famous man was deposed as governor of New South Wales, Australia in the "Rum Rebellion" of 1808? ( 4 points)
3. What do Abraham Lincoln, in the US, and early 20th century Canadian prime minister Wilfrid Laurier have in common? ( 5 points)
4. In 1804, Lewis and Clark were joined by Sacagewea in a territory that is now part of what US state? ( 4 points)
5. In mathematics, what is the value of 4 factorial? ( 4 points)

Answer: 1. Rome and Carthage; 2. William Bligh; 3. They are both on their respective countries' $5 bills; 4. North Dakota; 5. twenty-four.