Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Trivia Q&A: February 10

We had another huge turnout on Tuesday night, and it was helped by Michigan and Kentucky basketball games. We had 22 teams come out for Trivia, and it was a close contest throughout.

I thought we'd have a lot of "A-Rod" inspired team names, but the most names were based on the singer Rihanna and her troubles at the Grammys. Nevertheless, the scores were not particularly strong for either Current Events or Abraham Lincoln Trivia, but they picked up for both True or False Trivia and General Knowledge.

The top five teams were separated by just five points going into IQ Trivia. We had just one team run the table in that round, but had some strong scores from the teams trailing the leaders. But despite that, the team called John Quinn's Illegitimate Octuplets held on for the win. They led the entire night but wound up winning by just one point. Congratulations to Matt and his team on the win.

Current Events
1. According to the NY Post, this man, who is projected to become the first billionaire athlete by 2010, does, in fact, not like to tip.
2. This rock star is furious at Ticketmaster because when tickets for one of his concerts went on sale last week, some fans got an error message on their computers and got an ad from a ticket broker instead offering seats for hundreds of dollars more.
3. Congress last week pushed back the date for the digital TV takeover from February 17 to this date in later 2009.
4. 134 ice fishermen had to be rescued last Saturday when a piece of ice broke loose from this Midwestern lake and cut the men off from land.
5. This Hall of Fame MLB pitcher was among the most famous people who lost big money in Bernie Madoff's $50 billion Ponzi scheme, it was revealed last week.
6. Milton Parker, who ran this Midtown eatery for 33 years and turned it into one of NYC's most famous restaurants, died recently at age 90.
7. A $50 billion lawsuit aginst this rap star was thrown out of court in Manhattan last week after a judge ruled that his ex-girlfriend's claim of an oral contract to share the wealth was not valid.

Answers: 1. Tiger Woods; 2. Bruce Springsteen; 3. June 12; 4. Lake Erie; 5. Sandy Koufax; 6. Carnegie Deli; 7. 50 Cent.

Abraham Lincoln Trivia
1. In what current state was Abe Lincoln born in 1809?
2. How many sons did Abraham Lincoln have?
3. In what year did Lincoln deliver his famous Gettysburg Address speech?
4. Which holiday did Lincoln make a federal holiday in 1863?
5. How many terms in the US House of Representatives did Abe Lincoln serve?
6. What was the name of the theater that Lincoln was assassinated in in April 1865?
7. What western territory, now a US state, was Lincoln offered the governorship in 1949, but declined?

Answers: 1. Kentucky; 2. four; 3. 1863; 4. Thanksgiving; 5. one (1847-49); 6. Ford's Theater; 7. Oregon.

True or False Trivia ("The Q Train")
1. A chariot has two wheels.
2. Brine is water that is saturated with salt.
3. All lines of longitude meet in the continent of Antarctica.
4. Sting performed in both the US and UK on the same day as part of the 1985 Live Aid concerts. 5. In 1987, the state of Florida issued a special license plate honoring the space shuttle Challenger.
6. The sousaphone is a type of trumpet.
7. The 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations took place in Shanghai.
8. "The Banzai Pipeline" is a surfer nickname for the waters off the coast of Hawaii.
9. Kurt Waldheim became president of West Germany despite allegations he was a war criminal.
10. Rosh Hashana is the Jewish holiday known as The Day of Atonement.

Answers: 1. true; 2. true; 3. true; 4. false, Phil Collins; 5. true; 6. false, tuba; 7. false, Beijing; 8. true; 9. false, Austria; 10. false, Yom Kippur.

General Knowledge
1. What instrument was legendary comedic performer Victor Borge known for playing?
2. What major European city is made up of a chain of over 100 islands?
3. The 1998 movie "Ringmaster" is a parody of what TV personality's show?
4. What song was Michael Jackson performing live when he introduced the "moonwalk" in 1983?
5. What was the name of the first artificial satellite launched into space in 1957?
6. What is the term for a U-shaped bend in a river?
7. Since 1902, the 3M company has been located in what US state?

Answers: 1. piano; 2. Venice, Italy; 3. Jerry Springer; 4."Billie Jean;" 5. Sputnik; 6. oxbow; 7. Minnesota.

IQ Trivia
1. John Reed's book "Ten Days That Shook The World" is an account of a revolution in what country? ( 4 points)
2. What web site scooped traditional news sources in breaking the Monica Lewinsky scandal in 1998? ( 5 points)
3. Since 1886, what country has been the largest producer of gold in the world? ( 3 points)
4. The Ruy Lopez is a popular combination of moves in what game? ( 4 points)
5. From 1979-1985, who was the host of the TV show, "Dance Fever?" ( 4 points)

Answers: 1. Russia; 2. The Drudge Report; 3. South Africa; 4. chess; 5. Deney Terrio.

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