Trivia Q&A: October 19

We had 16 teams in for Trivia Night on Tuesday, as the ALCS game was going on, most following it were Texas Rangers fans/Yankee haters. We had some strong scores for Current Events and for 1980s Trivia. I was surprised they tailed off a bit for 1980s Hit Songs in the audio round.

It was a dominant night for Our Team Is Too Damn High, who wound up winning by seven points. Nice job by Matt and his crew.

The changes were well-received by most of the Trivia players. The shots to the winners of the rounds went down well, but we will tweak that a bit in the next few weeks. And I think everybody likes the fact we have added a second and third place winner.

And speaking of which, second place went to Ellen's Angels, and third place went to It's The Stay Puft Marshmellow Men (who finished two points out of second). We will now list them every week.

Best Team Name: Mike Hunt's Honorable Discharge

Current Events
1. The UN & Food Agriculture Organization announced that rinderpest, a disease found in cattle, has been eradicated, making it the second virus to have been eliminated by humans. What was the first?
2. Mary MacKillop was canonized as a saint this past Sunday by Pope Benedict XVI, and she became the first saint from what country?
3. Laura Wells, a candidate for California's governor, was arrested last week outside of the theater where the CA governor's debate was going on, as she tried to use someone else's ticket to get in. What third-party does Wells represent?
4. A contract dispute between Cablevision and what TV network caused it to be pulled off Cablevision in NYC, New Jersey and the Philadelphia areas last week?
5. Typhoon Megi, a category 5 "super typhoon," and one of the strongest storms in history to make landfall, hit what Asian country on Monday?
6. The Gotthard Base Tunnel became the world's largest railway tunnel last week, as a drilling machine went through the last few feet inside what mountain range?
7. What comedy film took in an astounding $50 million at the box office in its debut this past weekend to become number one in America?

1980s Trivia
1. What 1980s TV show starred Tom Hanks in women's clothing?
2. Who sang "I Want My MTV" on Dire Straits' hit song "Money For Nothing?"
3. In 1982, Great Britain clashed with what country over the Falkland Islands?
4. "The Simpsons" first appeared as a series of cartoon shorts in 1987 on what TV show?
5. What musician was elected mayor of Palm Springs, CA in 1988 in response because he was angry that the city fathers wouldn't let him open a new restaurant?
6. What world leader announced a "fatwa" on author Salman Rushdie in 1989 after he wrote "The Satanic Verses?"
7. After 120 years, Mt. St. Helens erupted in 1980. In what state is it located?

In Q's iPod: 1980s Hit Songs ("The Q Train")
1. High On You--Survivor
2. Glory Days--Bruce Springsteen
3. Smooth Operator--Sade
4. End of the Line--Traveling Wilburys
5. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For--U2
6. My Best Friend's Girl--The Cars
7. Here I Go Again--Whitesnake
8. Walk of Life--Dire Straits
9. Modern Love--David Bowie
10. The End of the Innocence--Don Henley

General Knowledge
1. In what American city were the 1996 Olympics held? ( 1 pt)
2. What occurs around June 21st every year when the sun is at its northernmost position? ( 1 pt)
3. Bart Giamatti was once commissioner of what sport? ( 1 pt)
4. What is the largest city in New Jersey by population? ( 2 pt)
5. Who led the Norman forces to victory at the Battle of Hastings in England in 1066? ( 2 pt)
6. Which longtime maestro of the Boston Pops Orchestra is honored with a bust on the Esplanade? ( 2 pt)
7. Which actress won the Razzie Award for Worst Actress for the decade of the 2000s for such films as "House of Wax?" ( 3 pt)

IQ Trivia
1. In 1939, Russian-born Igor Sikorsky was credited with inventing the first practical what? ( 4 points)
2. 19th century Irish post Thomas Moore is best known for burning the memoirs entrusted to him by what late poet? ( 5 points)
3. Colombo is the capital of what Asian country? ( 3 points)
4. Built in the early 1940s, Moton Field in Alabama has a national historic site honoring those from what famed group? (4 points)
5. What actress played Elvis Presley's mother in "Blue Hawaii" and Laurence Harvey's mother in "The Manchurian Candidate" despite being just a few years older than both? ( 4 points)

Answers
Current Events
1. smallpox; 2. Australia; 3. Green Party; 4. Fox; 5. The Philippines; 6. Swiss Alps; 7. "Jackass 3D."

1980s Trivia
1. "Bosom Buddies;" 2. Sting; 3. Argentina; 4. "The Tracey Ullman Show;" 5. Sonny Bono; 6. Ayatollah Khomeini; 7. Washington.

General Knowledge
1. Atlanta; 2. Summer Solstice; 3. baseball; 4. Newark; 5. William the Conqueror; 6. Arthur Fiedler; 7. Paris Hilton.

IQ Trivia
1. helicopter; 2. Lord George Byron; 3. Sri Lanka; 4. Tuskegee Airmen; 5. Angela Lansbury.