Trivia Q&A: June 14

About fifteen minutes before our scheduled Trivia Night start on Monday night, Professor Thom's was nearly empty, and I was really worried we might have to bag it for the first time in many years. I was worried about the switch in days (it was fine last week, but it seemed to have tailed off last night). But fortunately, we had a late arriving crowd, with a few regulars who thankfully changed around their schedules and took part.

We had 10 teams in, and the scores for Current Events was rather low, but they picked up with Soccer Trivia (which I made rather easy). They tailed off a bit with 21-30 Trivia, but General Knowledge once again saw the scores get better.

IQ Trivia was another tough round, and only one team got as many as three out five correct. And that team, Is That a Vuvuzela In Your Pocket Or Are You Just Happy To See Me wound up winning by five points, and also won the double on the night with Best Team Name as well. It was their first win for both categories, and my congratulations to them.

Once again, I am pleased to say that Trivia Night returns to its rightful home on Tuesday nights next week, on June 22nd at 9 PM. It will be good to get back to normal again.

Current Events
1. Spike TV honored this Oscar-winning actress last week with their "Decade of Hotness" Award from the show "Guys Choice."
2. The NY State Broadcasters Assn. picked this newsman as their 2010 Broadcaster of the Year Award winner, despite the fact he was last on the air last December.
3. The owners of the Empire State Building recently denied a request to light the building in blue and white on the 100th anniversary of the birth of this religious icon this August.
4. Noynoy Aquino was elected president of this Asian country last week, following in the footsteps of his mother, who once ruled that nation as well.
5. In a cave in Armenia last week, this kind of artifact, over 5500 years old, was found in perfectly preserved condition and is the world's oldest of its kind.
6. This Academy Award-winning actress has been accused of battery by a 17-year-old boy after he claims she attacked him after he attempted to take a photo of her.
7. Red Sox rookie outfielder Daniel Nava became just the 4th player in MLB history to accomplish this rare feat last Saturday.

Answers: 1. Charlize Theron; 2. Charles Gibson; 3. Mother Teresa; 4. The Philippines; 5. leather shoe; 6. Jodie Foster; 7. Hit a grand slam in his first MLB at-bat.

Soccer Trivia
1. What country was the legendary Pele originally from? a. Brazil; b. Spain; c. Argentina; d. Portugal.
2. What team is the current defending World Cup champions? a. France; b. Brazil; c. Italy; d. Germany.
3. True or False: This year's World Cup is the first one ever played on African soil.
4. What year were the World Cup Finals held in the United States? a. 1986; b. 1990; c. 1994; d. 1998.
5. True or False: The United States has never played in a World Cup final.
6. It was recently announced that Glasgow Celtic and Sporting Lisbon will play an exhibition match this July in what American venue? a. Rose Bowl; b. New Meadowlands Stadium; c. Cowboys Stadium; d. Fenway Park.
7. Name 2 of the 5 nations that have won the World Cup at least twice.

Answers: 1. a; 2. c; 3. true; 4. c; 5. true (I also accepted "false" as I did not specify men's or women's teams); 6. d; 7. Brazil (5), Italy(4), Germany(3), Uruguay(2), Argentina(2).

21-30 Trivia ("The Q Train")
1. This is the number of MLB Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Tony Perez and Rickey Henderson.
2. The number of days February has in leap years.
3. This was the number amendment that ended Prohibition in 1933.
4. In a normal deck of cards, there are this many number red cards, as well as black cards.
5. The most famous Psalm in the Bible was this number, also known as the Shepherd Psalm.
6. The Arabic alphabet has this many letters.
7. Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus for this many pieces of silver.
8. This is the current roster size number for all MLB teams.
9. Rock stars Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain and Brian Jones all died at this age.
10. This is the total number of soccer players that can be on the field active at any one time.

Answers: 1. 24; 2. 29; 3. 21; 4. 26; 5. 23; 6. 28; 7. 30; 8. 25; 9. 27; 10. 22.

General Knowledge
1. What MLB Hall of Famer wrote the autobiography, "Say Hey?" ( 1 pt)
2. What time zone is Denver, CO found in? ( 1 pt)
3. In 1848, what was famously discovered at Sutter's Mill in California? ( 1 pt)
4. Joseph Smith founded what religion in the early 19th century in upstate New York? ( 2 pt)
5. "Submitted For Your Approval" was a 1995 documentary about what TV legend? ( 2 pt)
6. Winnipeg is located in what Canadian province? ( 2 pt)
7. Last March, what web site passed Google to become the web's most visited domain for the first time? ( 3 pt)

Answers: 1. Willie Mays; 2. Mountain; 3. gold; 4. Mormon; 5. Rod Serling; 6. Manitoba; 7. Facebook.

IQ Trivia
1. What planet did British astronomer William Hershel discover on March 13, 1781? ( 4 points)
2. Lookout Mountain overlooks what southern US city? ( 4 points)
3. What male tennis player has played in the most Grand Slam finals? ( 5 points)
4. What female pop singer died of cancer in 1999, on the same day that she was to receive the OBE (Order of the British Empire) at Buckingham Palace? ( 4 points)
5. What iconic 18th century American is pictured on the Pulitzer Prize medal? ( 3 points)

1. Uranus; 2. Chattanooga, TN; 3. Ivan Lendl; 4. Dusty Springfield; 5. Benjamin Franklin.