Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Trivia Q&A: August 19

We had another huge crowd at Thom's on Tuesday night for Trivia, as well as a number of Red Sox fans and a good number of fans of gymnastics watching the Olympics. 21 teams took part in the contest.

The scores were generally good in the first three rounds. We had a four-way tie for first going into the fourth round, which is General Knowledge. (I also removed a question I felt was a bit ambiguous in that round when a few people came up to me looking for a clarification. That happens sometimes, and The Trivia Maven does look to avoid controversy.)

Going into the final round, we had nine teams within five points of the lead. We had two teams get four questions correct in IQ Trivia. (The scores were generally a bit lower, as most teams only got one or two right.) But one of the teams, The Metal Detectors, were one of the two teams that got four correct, as since they were tied for the lead going into the round, got the victory by just two points. My congratulations to Matt and his friends, who are regulars and previous Trivia Night winners.

Once again, we will have Trivia Night on Monday next week, August 25th, at 9 PM, due to a Red Sox-Yankees game next Tuesday. You can't have Trivia on a night when the bar is packed with Red Sox fans screaming obscenities at A-Rod and his teammates.

Current Events
1. This online site is now the top global social network, with 132 million users, with nearly 2/3 of them outside North America.
2. Fernando Lugo took office last Friday as president of this South American country, after 60 years of one-party rule.
3. Usain Bolt of this country won the gold medal in the 100 meters at Beijing and set a new world record of 9.69 seconds.
4. Virgin Records is suing this rock band for $30 million, claiming they refused to deliver three albums required by their contract, and haven't released a new one since 2005.
5. This film knocked out "The Dark Knight" of the number one movie slot, which it held for the last month, grossing $26 million in its debut.
6. Dozens of tourists had to be airlifted to safety out of this national park after a dam broke and created a flood on Sunday.
7. A gunman burst into the office of the Democratic Party HQ of this state and shot and killed the chairman before police killed him last week.

Answers: 1. Facebook; 2. Paraguay; 3. Jamaica; 4. 30 Seconds to Mars; 5. "Tropic Thunder;" 6. Grand Canyon; 7. Arkansas.

Famous Last Words
1. This from a famous actor/singer, who died in 1977: "That was a great game of golf, fellas."
2. From a famous world leader, who died in 1965: "I'm bored with it all."
3. He was part of one of the best comedy duos of all-time and died in 1959: "That was the best ice cream soda I ever tasted."
4. From a former US president, who died on the nation's birthday: "Is it the Fourth?"
5. An assassin who was killed 12 days after gunning down a great historic figure: "Useless, useless."
6. From a notorious serial killer, who died in prison in 1994: "I don't care if I live or die. Go ahead and kill me."
7. From an historic American figure, who died in 1776: "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."

Answers: 1. Bing Crosby; 2. Winston Churchill; 3. Lou Costello; 4. Thomas Jefferson; 5. John Wilkes Booth; 6. Jeffrey Dahmer; 7. Nathan Hale.

True or False Trivia ("The Q Train")
1. John Lennon is the only Beatle on the cover of the Abbey Road album not wearing shoes.
2. "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" was the theme song to the TV series "Cheers."
3. Count Dracula did not cast his reflection in mirrors.
4. Chromium is added to steel to make it "stainless."
5. Pablo Casals was a well-known violinist.
6. Colin Powell served in the US Air Force for nearly 25 years.
7. The Mississippi River crosses the US border into Canada in Minnesota.
8. "A League of Their Own" features the famous line, "There's no crying in baseball."
9. Big Sur is a scenic coastline found in Hawaii.
10. A talisman is a type of good luck charm.

Answers: 1. false, it was Paul McCartney; 2. true; 3. true; 4. true; 5. false, he was a guitarist; 6. false, he was in the Army; 7. false, it starts in Minnesota; 8. true; 9. false, it is in California; 10. true.

General Knowledge
1. The Greenwich meridian is another name for what degree of longitude?
2. Which of King Henry VIII's wives was the mother of Queen Elizabeth I?
3. How many balls does a bowler roll in a perfect game of 300?
4. What was the only thing that remained in Pandora's Box after she opened it?
5. What 1950s quiz show did Charles Van Doren, the principal figure of the scandals that followed, appear on?
6. In the film "The Blair Witch Project", the characters disappear in the woods of what state?
7. What is the only publicly owned sports team in the US?

Answers: 1. zero; 2. Anne Boleyn; 3. twelve; 4. hope; 5. "Twenty-One;" 6. Maryland; 7. Green Bay Packers.

IQ Trivia
1. What famous American structure is Irish architect James Hoban credited with designing? ( 5 points)
2. Which president's wife had the nickname "Lemonade Lucy?" ( 3 points)
3. What is the northernmost world capital? ( 4 points)
4. What is the only TV series-turned-movie to be nominated for the Best Picture Oscar? ( 4 points)
5. Which baseball Hall of Famer was born the same day Bobby Thomson hit his famous home run to win the 1951 NL pennant for the New York Giants? ( 4 points)

Answers: 1. The White House; 2. Rutherford B. Hayes; 3. Reykjavik, Iceland; 4. "The Fugitive;" 5. Dave Winfield.

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