Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Trivia Q&A: November 25

We had 14 teams in for Trivia Night on Tuesday. I was a bit concerned that we might have a smaller crowd due to the holiday weekend approaching, but there was a good crowd on hand. It was enhanced by my softball league handing out the championship trophies at Professor Thom's before Trivia Night began. (Unfortunately my team, the Cereal Killers, didn't win anything.)

The numbers on Current Events were very strong (with thanks to my buddy Keith who read two of the questions in my stead), but the James Bond questions caused some problems, as the scores were rather low (and I heard a few complaints afterwards). We had a close match throughout, with the top three teams separated by just three points.

But the IQ Trivia numbers were rather low, with just two teams getting as many as three of the questions right. But one of them was the team in third place, and that team, I Thought Trivia Only Came Once a Week, jumped over the two teams ahead of them to win by just two points. Congratulations to John and his friends on their squeaker of a win.

Current Events
1. This Australian actor was chosen as People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" for 2008 last week.
2. Mitch Mitchell, a rock drummer who gained fame playing with this guitar legend in the 1960s, died of natural causes in Oregon recently.
3. Pirates from this African nation recently seized a Saudi supertanker off the East African coast, one loaded with $100 million in crude oil and days later seized a Hong Kong ship filled with grain.
4. This European country last week dropped its pursuit of a ban on the Church of Scientology after finding insufficient evidence of any illegal activity.
5. This celebrated fashion designer was forced to pay $1 million to get himself out of a case where his company used bribes to get exclusive use of a desirable venue for his fashion shows.
6. According to a National Traffic Safety Administration study since 2001, this holiday had the most traffic fatalities than any other in the US.
7. This tennis legend was arrested last Friday in California after refusing to leave an area at a basketball game he was attending following a confrontation he had.

Answers: 1. Hugh Jackman; 2. Jimi Hendrix; 3. Somalia; 4. Germany; 5. Marc Jacobs; 6. Thanksgiving; 7. Jimmy Connors.

James Bond Trivia
1. Before Sean Connery was cast to play 007, what popular actor from such films as "His Girl Friday" and "To Catch a Thief" rejected the role?
2. What was Bond character "Major Boothroyd" better known as in the film series?
3. Name 2 of the 3 Bond films that Shirley Bassey sang the theme to.
4. What was the first James Bond film that starred Roger Moore?
5. Which actress was the only Bond girl to marry James Bond?
6. What is James Bond's rank in the British Navy?
7. Which TV actor had to reject the offer to follow Roger Moore in the 1980s to play James Bond because of his TV series commitment?

Answers: 1. Cary Grant; 2. "Q;" 3. "Goldfinger;" "Diamonds Are Forever;" and "Moonraker;" 4. "Live and Let Die;" 5. Diana Rigg; 6. Commander; 7. Pierce Brosnan.

True or False Trivia ("The Q Train")
1. Anthracite is a highly pure form of coal.
2. "Eureka" is New York's state motto.
3. There are 5 different types of pieces in a standard game of chess.
4. A peanut is actually a legume.
5. California has the longest coastline of any state in the lower 48 states.
6. Brazil has the largest Christian population of any country in the world.
7. Karl Marx, the father of communism, is buried in London.
8. Flotaki and kilim are popular types of rugs.
9. Drivers in Japan drive on the right-hand side of the road.
10. Jack Paar was the first host of "The Tonight Show" in 1954.

Answers: 1. true; 2. false, it is the motto of California; 3. false, there are six; 4. true; 5. false, Michigan; 6. false, USA; 7. true; 8. true; 9. false, they drive on the left; 10. false, it was Steve Allen.

General Knowledge
1. Who wrote the original novel "American Psycho," which became a movie in 2000?
2. What does AC stand for in the abbreviation AC/DC?
3. What type of book does a lexicographer contribute to?
4. In the Coleridge poem "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," what bird was hung around The Mariner's neck?
5. What species of bird lays the largest eggs?
6. "The Fosbury Flop" is a common technique in what track and field event?
7. Name 4 of the 7 most popular names taken by a pope.

Answers: 1. Bret Easton Ellis; 2. alternating current; 3. dictionary; 4. albatross; 5. ostrich; 6. high jump; 7. John, Gregory, Pius, Leo, Benedict, Clement, Innocent.

IQ Trivia
1. What famous person was the basis for the main character Oliver in the best-selling novel "Love Story?" ( 4 points)
2. According to Greek legend, what creature killed Orion? ( 4 points)
3. What author was executed for refusing to recognize the religious supremacy of King Henry VIII? ( 3 points)
4. Who was the first Jewish Supreme Court justice? ( 4 points)
5. What were the only four cabinet positions in George Washington's presidential administrations? ( 5 points)

Answers: 1. Al Gore; 2. scorpion; 3. Sir Thomas More; 4. Louis Brandeis; 5. Secretary of State, Secretary of War, Secretary of the Treasury, and Attorney General.

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