Totally Random Trivia: 2022

1. Fig

2: Jenga

5. Bach

Steve MN wrote...

2: Jenga

I figured it was Jenga but had no idea it had been around since 1983.

Answers to Monday, August 22, 2022
1. What kind of leaf was used to cover the genitalia of the statue “David” after Queen Victoria expressed shock at its nudity?

A fig leaf

2. What game, now owned by Hasbro, was introduced at the 1983 London Toy Fair, and gets its name from the Swahili for “to build”?

Jenga

3. The largest landlocked country by area is Kazakhstan. What African country is the largest landlocked country by population?

Ethiopia

4. Open pretty much any English-language book to the middle and look at the number of the right-hand page. Is it odd or even?

Odd

5. There are three legendary “Bs” in classical music: Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms. Which of those three was born first?

Bach

Questions for Tuesday, August 23, 2022

Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in tomorrow’s email.

1. The official mascot of Eastern Arizona College is what kind of reptile, the only venomous lizard native to the United States?

2. Jane Austen wrote six novels. Which of them comes last, alphabetically?

3. In 1999, the American Film Institute released a list of the 50 greatest movie stars of all time. Which of those stars played a lead role in just three movies—by far the fewest of anyone on the list?

4. The “Simpsons” character Mrs. Krabappel was retired in 2013 following the death of voice actor Marcia Wallace. This was a year and a half after Mrs. Krabappel married which other “Simpsons” character?

5. The land closest to zero latitude, zero longitude, and zero altitude is called Cape Three Points. It is located on which continent?

1. Python?

edit: incorrect

5: Africa

1.  Gila monster

2) Emma  What? You guys haven’t read Austin?  WRONG, that’s first.  Sense and Sensibility is last.  Jane would tsk tsk.

3) James Dean who was in East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant.

There is a cool statue/bust of James Dean in front of the Griffith Observatory, which is in the Hollywood Hills, commemorating the role the actor and observatory played in Rebel Without A Cause.

https://griffithobservatory.org/exhibits/exterior-exhibits/rebel-without-a-cause-monument/

4. Ned Flanders

Answers to Tuesday, August 23, 2022
1. The official mascot of Eastern Arizona College is what kind of reptile, the only venomous lizard native to the United States?

Gila Monster

2. Jane Austen wrote six novels. Which of them comes last, alphabetically?

“Sense and Sensibility”

3. In 1999, the American Film Institute released a list of the 50 greatest movie stars of all time. Which of those stars played a lead role in just three movies—by far the fewest of anyone on the list?

James Dean
(“Rebel Without a Cause,” “East of Eden,” “Giant”)

4. The “Simpsons” character Mrs. Krabappel was retired in 2013 following the death of voice actor Marcia Wallace. This was a year and a half after Mrs. Krabappel married which other “Simpsons” character?

Ned Flanders

5. The land closest to zero latitude, zero longitude, and zero altitude is called Cape Three Points. It is located on which continent?

Africa

Questions for Wednesday, August 24, 2022

Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in tomorrow’s email.

1. What bird, closely related to grosbeaks and buntings, is the state bird of more U.S. states than any other bird?

2. What comedian and “Eternals” actor is the only Pakistani American to be nominated for an Oscar, earning a nomination for co-writing the 2017 film “The Big Sick”?

3. What six-letter word originating from several Indian religions has been used as part of a Jack Kerouac title, a shadowy organization from a sci-fi TV show, and a Jenna Elfman character?

4. What is the primary food that Smurfs like to eat?

5. M-Bone of the Cali Swag District was tragically killed in a 2011 drive-by shooting. Before that, he taught the world to do… what dance move?

1. Cardinal?

3. Dharma

2. Kumail Nanjiani

4. Smurfberries. Duh. (actually sarsaparilla)

Answers to Wednesday, August 24, 2022
1. What bird, closely related to grosbeaks and buntings, is the state bird of more U.S. states than any other bird?

Cardinal

2. What comedian and “Eternals” actor is the only Pakistani American to be nominated for an Oscar, earning a nomination for co-writing the 2017 film “The Big Sick”?

Kumail Nanjiani

3. What six-letter word originating from several Indian religions has been used as part of a Jack Kerouac title, a shadowy organization from a sci-fi TV show, and a Jenna Elfman character?

Dharma

4. What is the primary food that Smurfs like to eat?

Smurfberries
(they also eat sarsaparilla)

5. M-Bone of the Cali Swag District was tragically killed in a 2011 drive-by shooting. Before that, he taught the world to do… what dance move?

The Dougie

Questions for
Theme Thursday, August 25, 2022

We’re Number Two! The 10 biggest domestic box office opening weekends in movie history have all happened in the past 10 years. Here are some questions about the second-biggest hits of those blockbuster weekends.

Answers in tomorrow’s email.

1. “Avengers: Endgame” obliterated box office records with its April 26, 2019 release. One of its stars also played the title role in that weekend’s No. 2 movie. Name that film.

2. “Spider-Man: No Way Home” overcame the Delta surge to set the record for the second-highest opening weekend of all time. We don’t talk about what Oscar-winning animated film that was second at the box office that weekend?

3. Ross Bagdasarian isn’t quite as big a name as George Lucas, but the weekend of December 18, 2015, his fourth live-action film about a trio of singing siblings finished second at the box office behind “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” Name that movie franchise.

4. “Jurassic World” owned the box office on June 12, 2015, completing Chris Pratt’s journey from TV supporting player to big-budget movie star. What former “Gilmore Girls” sidekick took a similar path while starring in that weekend’s No. 2 film, “Spy”?

5. The top two films of February 16, 2018, both had animal titles. “Black Panther” represented the felines, while what child-focused adaptation represented the lagomorphs?

1. Captain Marvel

4. Melissa McCarthy

I saw on FB that our trivia(l) guru is working at the fair today and I suspect @zwak is extremely busy.

In case you're wondering where the questions are today.

Answers to Thursday, August 25, 2022
1. “Avengers: Endgame” obliterated box office records with its April 26, 2019 release. One of its stars also played the title role in that weekend’s No. 2 movie. Name that film.

“Captain Marvel”

2. “Spider-Man: No Way Home” overcame the Delta surge to set the record for the second-highest opening weekend of all time. We don’t talk about what Oscar-winning animated film that was second at the box office that weekend?

“Encanto”

3. Ross Bagdasarian isn’t quite as big a name as George Lucas, but the weekend of December 18, 2015, his fourth live-action film about a trio of singing siblings finished second at the box office behind “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” Name that movie franchise.

“Alvin and the Chipmunks”

4. “Jurassic World” owned the box office on June 12, 2015, completing Chris Pratt’s journey from TV supporting player to big-budget movie star. What former “Gilmore Girls” sidekick took a similar path while starring in that weekend’s No. 2 film, “Spy”?

Melissa McCarthy

5. The top two films of February 16, 2018, both had animal titles. “Black Panther” represented the felines, while what child-focused adaptation represented the lagomorphs?

“Peter Rabbit”

Questions for Friday, August 26, 2022

Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in Monday’s email. 

1. Quit While You’re Ahead: The first time “Saturday Night Live” mentioned the “Five-Timers Club,” of people who have hosted the show five times, was in a host monologue in 1990. The show then segued to a sketch with a private club featuring two actors, a musician, and a comedian who is also an actor and musician. Name as many of those four people as you can for one point each. Zero points total if you get any wrong.

2. The Bible calls it “brimstone.” What do we call it today?

3. Thimphu is reportedly the world’s only capital city without a traffic light. It’s located in which Himalayan country?

4. The names of what advertising mascots are translated to “Piff, Paff, Puff” in Swedish, “Cric, Crac, Croc” in French, and “Pim, Pam, Pum” in Spanish?

5. Today is August 26. Born on this day in 1918, Katherine Johnson was a groundbreaking mathematician for NASA whose life was dramatized in what 2016 film?

1 - Elliot Gould, Paul Simon, Steve Martin...

4: Snap, Crackle and Pop

5: Hidden Figures

2. Sulphur? 

3 - Bhutan (Guess)

Posted by: @greyeagle

3 - Bhutan (Guess)

Yes, that is the capital of Bhutan. Wouldn’t have guessed they don’t have traffic lights but the country is notoriously reclusive.

Posted by: @greyeagle

1 - Elliot Gould, Paul Simon, Steve Martin...

Tom Hanks. It was his fifth time hosting, so it was his monologue they segued from.

Posted by: @karlsson

Posted by: @greyeagle

1 - Elliot Gould, Paul Simon, Steve Martin...

Tom Hanks. It was his fifth time hosting, so it was his monologue they segued from.

Hanks!  I remembered the skit but could not remember who the new host member was.  

Thanks!

Answers to Friday, August 26, 2022

1. Quit While You’re Ahead: The first time “Saturday Night Live” mentioned the “Five-Timers Club,” of people who have hosted the show five times, was in a host monologue in 1990. The show then segued to a sketch with a private club featuring two actors, a musician, and a comedian who is also an actor and musician. Name as many of those four people as you can for one point each. Zero points total if you get any wrong.

Tom Hanks, Elliott Gould, Paul Simon, Steve Martin

2. The Bible calls it “brimstone.” What do we call it today?

Sulfur

3. Thimphu is reportedly the world’s only capital city without a traffic light. It’s located in what Himalayan country?

Bhutan

4. The names of what advertising mascots are translated to “Piff, Paff, Puff” in Swedish, “Cric, Crac, Croc” in French, and “Pim, Pam, Pum” in Spanish?

Snap, Crackle, Pop

5. Today is August 26. Born on this day in 1918, Katherine Johnson was a groundbreaking mathematician for NASA whose life was dramatized in what 2016 film?

“Hidden Figures”

Questions for Monday, August 29, 2022

Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in tomorrow’s email.

1. Gillette introduced the U.S.’s first three-blade razor in 1998. What did they call it?

2. What six-letter word first appeared in print in a 1963 article in the MIT campus newspaper about students who had been expelled from the school for abusing the phone system?

3. As of 2022, there are two Broadway theaters named after Black people. One is named after the playwright who wrote “Fences;” one was recently renamed to honor an actor who won a Tony for starring in its original run. Name either of them!

4. As fans of “Weird Al” Yankovic may know, Darwin, Minnesota; Cawker City, Kansas; and Branson, Missouri all claim to be the home of the world’s largest… what?

5. All bank routing numbers in the United States are the same length. How many digits long are they?

4. Biggest Ball Of Twine

1.  Mach3

1 - Mach 3

3 - August Wilson (He lived several years in St. Paul)

5. Nine digits

2 Hacker

Answers to Monday, August 29, 2022

1. Gillette introduced the U.S.’s first three-blade razor in 1998. What did they call it?

The Mach 3

2. What six-letter word first appeared in print in a 1963 article in the MIT campus newspaper about students who had been expelled from the school for abusing the phone system?

“Hacker”

3. As of 2022, there are two Broadway theaters named after Black people. One is named after the playwright who wrote “Fences;” one was recently renamed to honor an actor who won a Tony for starring in its original run. Name either of them!

August Wilson, James Earl Jones

4. As fans of “Weird Al” Yankovic may know, Darwin, Minnesota; Cawker City, Kansas; and Branson, Missouri all claim to be the home of the world’s largest… what?

Ball of twine

5. All bank routing numbers in the United States are the same length. How many digits long are they?

Nine digits

Questions for Tuesday, August 30, 2022

Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in tomorrow’s email. 

1. What “unsinkable” Titanic survivor, who encouraged the crewmember in charge of her lifeboat to go back and look for survivors, has been portrayed by Kathy Bates, Debbie Reynolds, and twice by Cloris Leachman?

2. In Greek mythology, what bird is often depicted alongside the goddess Athena?

3. Sara Jane Moore and Lynette Fromme are the only two women ever charged with trying to assassinate a sitting U.S. president, in separate attempts 17 days apart. Which president did they try to kill?

4. If you order a “latte” in Italy, you’ll be handed a glass of… what?

5. The fourth generation of video game consoles, which included the Super Nintendo and the Sega Genesis, was also known as the “BLANK-bit era.” Fill in that blank.

3 - Ford

1. Molly Brown

2. Owl

1. The Unsinkable Molly Brown

D@MN! Viking beat me.

4: Milk

5: 16-bit

Answers to Tuesday, August 30, 2022

1. What “unsinkable” Titanic survivor, who encouraged the crewmember in charge of her lifeboat to go back and look for survivors, has been portrayed by Kathy Bates, Debbie Reynolds, and twice by Cloris Leachman?

(The Unsinkable) Molly Brown

2. In Greek mythology, what bird is often depicted alongside the goddess Athena?

Owl

3. Sara Jane Moore and Lynette Fromme are the only two women ever charged with trying to assassinate a sitting U.S. president, in separate attempts 17 days apart. Which president did they try to kill?

Gerald Ford

4. If you order a “latte” in Italy, you’ll be handed a glass of… what?

Milk
(the English word is short for the Italian “caffè e latte,” which means “coffee and milk”)

5. The fourth generation of video game consoles, which included the Super Nintendo and the Sega Genesis, was also known as the “BLANK-bit era.” Fill in that blank.

16

Questions for Wednesday, August 31, 2022

Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in tomorrow’s email.

1. Which branch of the U.S. Armed Forces uses more fuel than any other individual part of the federal government?

2. Shinto, or “The Way of the Gods,” is a set of religious and spiritual practices observed by about 70 percent of the residents of what country?

3. Even though you likely haven’t heard of Leprino Foods, you’ve probably eaten their products. They supply 85 percent of what product to Pizza Hut, Domino's, and Papa John's, as well as selling byproducts used in protein bars, yogurt, and baby formula?

4. If you bring a substance all the way down to -459.67 degrees Fahrenheit, what theoretical temperature have you achieved?

5. The lawyer who successfully argued “Brown v. Board of Education” before the Supreme Court later became a justice on that court. He once described his legal philosophy as, “You do what you think is right and let the law catch up.” Who was he?

2 - Japan

3 - Cheese (and I've heard of them, they are a customer!)

4 Absolute Zero

1. U.S. Navy

5. Thurgood Marshall

Answers to Wednesday, August 31, 2022

1. Which branch of the U.S. Armed Forces uses more fuel than any other individual part of the federal government?

The Air Force

2. Shinto, or “The Way of the Gods,” is a set of religious and spiritual practices observed by about 70 percent of the residents of what country?

Japan

3. Even though you likely haven’t heard of Leprino Foods, you’ve probably eaten their products. They supply 85 percent of what product to Pizza Hut, Domino's, and Papa John's, as well as selling byproducts used in protein bars, yogurt, and baby formula?

Cheese
(specifically mozzarella; the byproduct is whey)

4. If you bring a substance all the way down to -459.67 degrees Fahrenheit, what theoretical temperature have you achieved?

Absolute zero

5. The lawyer who successfully argued “Brown v. Board of Education” before the Supreme Court later became a justice on that court. He once described his legal philosophy as, “You do what you think is right and let the law catch up.” Who was he?

Thurgood Marshall