Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Trivia Q&A: January 26

We had a big crowd in for Trivia Night on Tuesday, with 18 teams taking part. It was good to see my old friends from Table One back again last night, as they have been devoted regulars, but had been missing for over three months due to various reasons. Welcome back to Tara and the whole gang!

The numbers on the night were very good, and we had perfect scores in all the rounds except in the first two. I actually made a slight mistake in the True or False round on the one about Harvard University, as I should have said "Cambridge College" and not "University" so I tossed out the question and gave everyone a point.

We had a close match going into IQ Trivia, with the top two teams separated by one point, but the team in the lead, Suck It Trebek, got a perfect score in that round (as they also did in the previosu two rounds) to capture the title by seven points. Nice job by Matt and his team on their victory.

BTW, a weird coincidence tonight. Question #4 in IQ Trivia was about the queen of the fairies in "A Midsummer Night's Dream," and in the online Jeopardy test which I took about an hour before the Trivia Night, one of the questions asked who the king of the fairies in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" was. Too funny.

A reminder: Trivia Night will be occurring this Sunday night at 8 PM, January 31st, and will be back on Tuesday nights on February 9th at 9 PM. The "Lost" premiere will be occupying Professor Thom's next Tuesday night.

Current Events
1. This auto manufacturer announced a recall of over 24,000 vehicles due to a potential defect in a brake system that could result in a sudden break failure.
2. This actor/comedian was arrested last weekend in California on sexual abuse charges, that he groped two men in a club.
3. This airline filed for bankruptcy protection last week after they lost nearly $1 billion in the final quarter of 2009.
4. Kraft Foods announced last week that they have completed a takeover of this British confectionary company for nearly $19 billion.
5. A new basketball league founded by the All-American Basketball Alliance is trying to get started. What unusual feature will the league be based on?
6. This violent and darkly comic film won the award for Best Film at the SAG Awards last Saturday night.
7. This country's government took down six cable channels off the air that refused to air their leader's speech to his political supporters last Saturday night.

Answers: 1. Chrysler; 2. Andy Dick; 3. Japan Airlines; 4. Cadbury; 5. Only white guys can play; 6. "Inglourious Basterds;" 7. Venezuela.

Australia Trivia
1. What city is the capital of Australia?
2. What nation of the world is the most similar to Australia in terms of land area?
3. Between Nicole Kidman, Heath Ledger and Hugh Jackman, which one was not born in Australia?
4. What is Australia's largest city in population?
5. What Australian-born singer has sold the most records than other artist from that country?
6. What is Australia's most popular team sport in terms of attendance?
7. What explorer claimed Australia for England in 1770?

Answers: 1. Canberra; 2. United States; 3. Nicole Kidman; 4. Sydney; 5. Kylie Minogue (over 60 million); 6. Aussie Rules Football; 7. Captain James Cook.

True or False Trivia ("The Q Train")
1. Harvard University's original name was Cambridge University (actually College).
2. Dwight D. Eisenhower had a putting green installed on the White House lawn.
3. England was the first country to use paper money.
4. Benjamin Franklin was born in Philadelphia.
5. The Pulitzer Prize is awarded in the fields of journalism and literature.
6. Woodrow Wilson was the first American awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
7. The country of Ceylon is today known as Sri Lanka.
8. Becky Sharp is the main character in the novel Little Women.
9. Al Capone died of syphilis.
10. Ivan Pavlov is credited with having trained dogs to salivate at the sound of a bell.

Answers: 1. true; 2. true; 3. false, China; 4. false, Boston; 5. true; 6. false, Theodore Roosevelt; 7. true; 8. false, Vanity Fair; 9. true; 10. true.

General Knowledge
1. What author released the novel, "2010: Odyssey Two" in 1982? (1 pt)
2. What Hollywood star's real name is Carlos Estevez? ( 1 pt)
3. In what part of the body would you find the cornea? ( 1 pt)
4. The capital of Liberia is named for what US president? ( 2 pt)
5. Abu Dhabi is the capital of what country? ( 2 pt)
6. Cajuns are the descendants of an ethnic group exiled to Louisiana from what present-day country? ( 2 pt)
7. Which of the contiguous 48 U.S. states has the smallest population? ( 3 pt)

Answers: 1. Arthur C. Clarke; 2. Charlie Sheen; 3. eye; 4. James Monroe; 5. United Arab Emirates; 6. Canada; 7. Wyoming.

IQ Trivia
1. What was the first state to secede from the United States in 1860? ( 3 points)
2. The 1971 film "Duel" was the directorial debut of what Oscar-winning director? ( 4 points)
3. A "prune picker" is a term for a native of what US state? ( 4 points)
4. In Shakespeare's "A Midsummer's Night's Dream," what is the name of the queen of the fairies? ( 5 points)
5. What 19th century author created the fictional detective Auguste Dupin? ( 4 points)

Answers: 1. South Carolina; 2. Steven Spielberg; 3. California; 4. Titania; 5. Edgar Allan Poe.

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