Friday, December 31
Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in Monday's email.
1. Quit While You’re Ahead: Will Smith has appeared in three movies with one of his real-life children. Name as many of them as you can for one point each. Zero points total if you get any wrong.
2. In the novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” the tornado isn’t called a tornado. What is it called instead?
3. The longest-serving U.S. senator was Robert Byrd, who served in Congress from 1959 until his death in 2010. Which state did he represent?
4. After being clubbed in the knee in 1994, Nancy Kerrigan went on to win silver at Lillehammer. What skater bested her, becoming the first and only Ukrainian figure skater ever to win gold at the Olympics?
5. It’s New Year’s Eve. In the song "Auld Lang Syne," what will we drink a cup of yet?
2. Twister
3. West Virginia
4. Oksana Bayul?
5. Kindness
If ever there has been a time to do this, it is now.
4. Oksana Bayul?
Yes
1. "Pursuit of Happyness", "After Earth", and ????
Tact is the ability to step on a man's toes without messing up the shine on his shoes - Harry S Truman
1. "Pursuit of Happyness", "After Earth", and ????
Ali ?
“When your best friend is the son of God, you get tired of losing every argument.”
― Christopher Moore, Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
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If ever there has been a time to do this, it is now.
You got that right! Happy New Year my friend.
If ever there has been a time to do this, it is now.
You got that right! Happy New Year my friend.
The same to you!
Answers to Friday, December 31
1. Quit While You’re Ahead: Will Smith has appeared in three movies with one of his real-life children. Name as many of them as you can for one point each. Zero points total if you get any wrong.
“PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS” (with Jaden), “AFTER EARTH” (with Jaden), “I AM LEGEND” (with Willow)
2. In the novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” the tornado isn’t called a tornado. What is it called instead?
A CYCLONE
3. The longest-serving U.S. senator was Robert Byrd, who served in Congress from 1959 until his death in 2010. Which state did he represent?
WEST VIRGINIA
4. After being clubbed in the knee in 1994, Nancy Kerrigan went on to win silver at Lillehammer. What skater bested her, becoming the first and only Ukrainian figure skater ever to win gold at the Olympics?
OKSANA BAIUL
5. It’s New Year’s Eve. In the song "Auld Lang Syne," what will we drink a cup of yet?
KINDNESS
Monday, January 3
Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in tomorrow's email.
1. There was a U.S. presidential election in the 20th century in which, for the first and only time in U.S. history, three U.S. presidents (past, present, or future) were on the ballot. What year did that happen?
2. If you’re eating wiener schnitzel, you’re not eating beef. What are you eating?
3. The Sprouse Brothers portrayed the Martin Brothers on the Disney Channel from 2005 to 2011. The Sprouse Brothers’ names are Dylan and Cole. What were the Martin Brothers’ first names?
4. What word means “one thousand gigabytes”? Hint: It has nothing to do with earth.
5. Of the eight most popular TV manufacturers in the world, just one is based in the United States. Name that TV brand. Hint: Five letters.
1) 1912
“When your best friend is the son of God, you get tired of losing every argument.”
― Christopher Moore, Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
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1. 1912 Teddy Roosevelt, W.H.Taft, & Woodrow Wilson were the 3
Edit: Greyeagle would not have beat me if I hadn't entered in the 3 candidates
2. Veal
4. Terabyte
1. 1912 Teddy Roosevelt, W.H.Taft, & Woodrow Wilson were the 3
Edit: Greyeagle would not have beat me if I hadn't entered in the 3 candidates
You'd think he'd want to show off his knowledge given he probably voted in that election 
3. Zack & Cody
5. Vizio?
2. Veal is from calves. How can that not be beef?
I think beef is technically the flesh from a cow/bull/steer/heifer etc, meaning it is from an animal over a year old. Not 100% certain, though.
Answers to Monday, January 3
1. There was a U.S. presidential election in the 20th century in which, for the first and only time in U.S. history, three U.S. presidents (past, present, or future) were on the ballot. What year did that happen?
1912
(Wilson, Taft, Roosevelt)
2. If you’re eating wiener schnitzel, you’re not eating beef. What are you eating?
VEAL
3. The Sprouse Brothers portrayed the Martin Brothers on the Disney Channel from 2005 to 2011. The Sprouse Brothers’ names are Dylan and Cole. What were the Martin Brothers’ first names?
ZACK AND CODY
(“The Suite Life of Zack & Cody”)
4. What word means “one thousand gigabytes”? Hint: It has nothing to do with earth.
TERABYTE
5. Of the eight most popular TV manufacturers in the world, just one is based in the United States. Name that TV brand. Hint: Five letters.
VIZIO
Tuesday, January 4
Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in tomorrow's email.
1. Of the world’s 10 most populous countries, only one is in Africa. It’s in West Africa, and it’s that continent’s 14th largest country by area. What is it?
2. If you write a 14-line poem in iambic pentameter, consisting of three quatrains and a couplet, what did you just write?
3. Bacon is often cured with a chemical compound whose formula is NaNO2. What is the common name of that compound?
4. In the Brothers Grimm version, they’re made of gold. In the Disney version, they’re made of glass. What are they?
5. When the euro was adopted in 1999, it became the first currency used throughout most of the European continent since the reign of what king, who is remembered today as the “Father of Europe”?
2. Sonnet?
Tuesday, January 4
Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in tomorrow's email.
1. Of the world’s 10 most populous countries, only one is in Africa. It’s in West Africa, and it’s that continent’s 14th largest country by area. What is it?
2. If you write a 14-line poem in iambic pentameter, consisting of three quatrains and a couplet, what did you just write?
3. Bacon is often cured with a chemical compound whose formula is NaNO2. What is the common name of that compound?
4. In the Brothers Grimm version, they’re made of gold. In the Disney version, they’re made of glass. What are they?
5. When the euro was adopted in 1999, it became the first currency used throughout most of the European continent since the reign of what king, who is remembered today as the “Father of Europe”?
1. Nigeria
5. Charlemagne
4. Cinderella's slippers?
Tact is the ability to step on a man's toes without messing up the shine on his shoes - Harry S Truman
3. Sodium nitrite
Correct.
“When your best friend is the son of God, you get tired of losing every argument.”
― Christopher Moore, Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
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Answers to Tuesday, January 4
1. Of the world’s 10 most populous countries, only one is in Africa. It’s in West Africa, and it’s that continent’s 14th largest country by area. What is it?
NIGERIA
2. If you write a 14-line poem in iambic pentameter, consisting of three quatrains and a couplet, what did you just write?
A SONNET
3. Bacon is often cured with a chemical compound whose formula is NaNO2. What is the common name of that compound?
SODIUM NITRITE
4. In the Brothers Grimm version, they’re made of gold. In the Disney version, they’re made of glass. What are they?
CINDERELLA’S SLIPPERS
5. When the euro was adopted in 1999, it became the first currency used throughout most of the European continent since the reign of what king, who is remembered today as the “Father of Europe”?
CHARLEMAGNE
CORRECTIONS CORNER
Thank you to reader Joe for writing in about Question 1 from Monday's questions, about three past and future presidents appearing on the ballot together. We intended three past and future presidents appearing on the ballot as candidates for president, but it is true that Nixon, Kennedy, and Johnson were all on the ballot in 1960. We apologize for the oversight!
Wednesday, January 5
Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in tomorrow's email.
1. What are feral, free-roaming horses called in North America?
2. Here’s a question that Microsoft used to ask its job applicants: How many times does the minute hand of a clock pass the hour hand between noon and midnight?
3. Which NHL team plays in the league’s southernmost home arena?
4. If you take Teflon and stretch it between 800 and 1000 percent, you get the fiber used to make what waterproof fabric, invented and trademarked in 1969?
5. What sauce brand purportedly got its name from King George IV of England in 1824, who ranked it among his favorite sauces?
1. Mustangs
Tact is the ability to step on a man's toes without messing up the shine on his shoes - Harry S Truman
4. Gore-Tex
3. Florida Panthers
5. A1?
Hard work will beat talent, if talent doesn't work hard.
2: Since it's "passes" - 11 (The Minute hand is right on top of the hour hand at both Noon and Midnight, so shouldn't count as "passing")
B1G refs... corrupt, or just incompetent?
2: Since it's "passes" - 11 (The Minute hand is right on top of the hour hand at both Noon and Midnight, so shouldn't count as "passing")
I think that using your logic, which I think is correct, an argument can be made for 10. It doesn't pass it during the eleventh hour, just catches up to it at midnight.
2: Since it's "passes" - 11 (The Minute hand is right on top of the hour hand at both Noon and Midnight, so shouldn't count as "passing")
I think that using your logic, which I think is correct, an argument can be made for 10. It doesn't pass it during the eleventh hour, just catches up to it at midnight.
That's what I get for answering trivia questions in the BC era (Before Coffee)
B1G refs... corrupt, or just incompetent?
2: Since it's "passes" - 11 (The Minute hand is right on top of the hour hand at both Noon and Midnight, so shouldn't count as "passing")
I think that using your logic, which I think is correct, an argument can be made for 10. It doesn't pass it during the eleventh hour, just catches up to it at midnight.
That's what I get for answering trivia questions in the BC era (Before Coffee)
I thought 10 too, then I actually did the work.
The Minute Hand passes the hour eleven times:
1:06
2:11
3:16
4:21
5:26
6:31
7:36
8:41
9:46
10:51
11:56
At 12:01 it doesn't "pass" the hour hand, it starts equal moves on.
At 12:00 it catches the hour hand, but does not pass it.
2: Since it's "passes" - 11 (The Minute hand is right on top of the hour hand at both Noon and Midnight, so shouldn't count as "passing")
I think that using your logic, which I think is correct, an argument can be made for 10. It doesn't pass it during the eleventh hour, just catches up to it at midnight.
That's what I get for answering trivia questions in the BC era (Before Coffee)
I thought 10 too, then I actually did the work.
The Minute Hand passes the hour eleven times:
1:06
2:11
3:16
4:21
5:26
6:31
7:36
8:41
9:46
10:51
11:56
At 12:01 it doesn't "pass" the hour hand, it starts equal moves on.
At 12:00 it catches the hour hand, but does not pass it.
The problem with your logic is that you're only factoring for the hour hand to move one extra minute on the clock dial each hour, regardless of how long it takes the minute hand to reach the hour hand. However, it actually takes the minute hand an additional 25-30 seconds each hour to "catch up" to the hour hand.
Here's a rough estimate of when the minute hand passes the hour hand each hour:
1:05:30
2:11:00
3:16:30
4:22:00
5:27:30
6:33:00
7:38:30
8:44:00
9:49:30
10:55:00
These calculations aren't exact, but it's close. If I had the time and the desire, I would calculate the movements out to the tenth of the second.
Tact is the ability to step on a man's toes without messing up the shine on his shoes - Harry S Truman
2: Since it's "passes" - 11 (The Minute hand is right on top of the hour hand at both Noon and Midnight, so shouldn't count as "passing")
I think that using your logic, which I think is correct, an argument can be made for 10. It doesn't pass it during the eleventh hour, just catches up to it at midnight.
That's what I get for answering trivia questions in the BC era (Before Coffee)
I thought 10 too, then I actually did the work.
The Minute Hand passes the hour eleven times:
1:06
2:11
3:16
4:21
5:26
6:31
7:36
8:41
9:46
10:51
11:56
At 12:01 it doesn't "pass" the hour hand, it starts equal moves on.
At 12:00 it catches the hour hand, but does not pass it.
The problem with your logic is that you're only factoring for the hour hand to move one extra minute on the clock dial each hour, regardless of how long it takes the minute hand to reach the hour hand. However, it actually takes the minute hand an additional 25-30 seconds each hour to "catch up" to the hour hand.
Here's a rough estimate of when the minute hand passes the hour hand each hour:
1:05:30
2:11:00
3:16:30
4:22:00
5:27:30
6:33:00
7:38:30
8:44:00
9:49:30
10:55:00
These calculations aren't exact, but it's close. If I had the time and the desire, I would calculate the movements out to the tenth of the second.
Doing some digging, it's every 1 hour, 5 minutes, 27 seconds. So that last one ends up being 10:54:33, then they catch up again at Midnight/Noon
EDIT: Before anyone else chimes in on all this, Quoth The [mention]melmac[/mention] "It was my understanding that there would be no math"
B1G refs... corrupt, or just incompetent?
I think the question they should have used is "How many times does the minute hand of a digital clock pass the hour hand between noon and midnight?" and just eliminate everyone having this discussion. 
I think the question they should have used is "How many times does the minute hand of a digital clock pass the hour hand between noon and midnight?" and just eliminate everyone having this discussion.
In the context of this being an interview question for Microsoft, the inclusion of corner cases that need to be identified and properly handled is deliberate.
I think the question they should have used is "How many times does the minute hand of a digital clock pass the hour hand between noon and midnight?" and just eliminate everyone having this discussion.
Reading this I was wondering if this was going to turn into another 'clavicle' type argument
^^^^^ THIS ^^^^^
Since this is a hockey board is the hour hand to be treated as the blue line and the minute hand as the puck?
I'll hang up and listen. ?
Answers to Wednesday, January 5
1. What are feral, free-roaming horses called in North America?
MUSTANGS
2. Here’s a question that Microsoft used to ask its job applicants: How many times does the minute hand of a clock pass the hour hand between noon and midnight?
10
(it doesn’t pass the minute hand in the first or last hour)
3. Which NHL team plays in the league’s southernmost home arena?
FLORIDA PANTHERS
(Sunrise, Florida)
4. If you take Teflon and stretch it between 800 and 1000 percent, you get the fiber used to make what waterproof fabric, invented and trademarked in 1969?
GORE-TEX
5. What sauce brand purportedly got its name from King George IV of England in 1824, who ranked it among his favorite sauces?
A1
Theme Thursday, January 6
Today's theme is: Epiphany: Today is the Christian holiday Epiphany, so here are five spoiler-free questions about movies and TV shows in which characters have sudden realizations!
1. The 1995 film “The Usual Suspects” ends with a huge epiphany from customs agent Dave Kujan. From what 1942 film does “The Usual Suspects” get its title?
2. Bruce Willis gets a lot of attention for his epiphany in “The Sixth Sense,” but he wasn’t nominated for an Oscar. Haley Joel Osment was, as was the actor who played his mother. Name her.
3. 2017’s “Get Out” takes about an hour for its central character to come to the epiphany that maybe he should get out of there. Who wrote and directed “Get Out”?
4. NBC’s “The Good Place” is full of epiphanies. A T.M. Scanlon philosophy text, with a six-word title, formed what the show’s creator called its “moral spine.” Eleanor literally takes a page out of it to provide the initial epiphany for Season 2. Name that book!
5. “Citizen Kane” closes by revealing its central mystery, unsolved by all the film’s characters, to the audience. What newspaper magnate—whose life it was loosely based on—banned all advertising of the film and blocked its Oscar chances?
5. William Randolph Hearst
“When your best friend is the son of God, you get tired of losing every argument.”
― Christopher Moore, Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
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3. Jordan Peele
When you tell somebody somethin', it depends on what part of the United States you're standin' in... as to just how dumb you are.
1. Casablanca
4. What We Owe to Each Order
2. Toni Collette
Answers to Theme Thursday, January 6
1. The 1995 film “The Usual Suspects” ends with a huge epiphany from customs agent Dave Kujan. From what 1942 film does “The Usual Suspects” get its title?
“CASABLANCA”
2. Bruce Willis gets a lot of attention for his epiphany in “The Sixth Sense,” but he wasn’t nominated for an Oscar. Haley Joel Osment was, as was the actor who played his mother. Name her.
TONI COLLETTE
3. 2017’s “Get Out” takes about an hour for its central character to come to the epiphany that maybe he should get out of there. Who wrote and directed “Get Out”?
JORDAN PEELE
4. NBC’s “The Good Place” is full of epiphanies. A T.M. Scanlon philosophy text, with a six-word title, formed what the show’s creator called its “moral spine.” Eleanor literally takes a page out of it to provide the initial epiphany for Season 2. Name that book!
“WHAT WE OWE TO EACH OTHER”
5. “Citizen Kane” closes by revealing its central mystery, unsolved by all the film’s characters, to the audience. What newspaper magnate—whose life it was loosely based on—banned all advertising of the film and blocked its Oscar chances?
WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST