Totally Random Trivia: 2022

@karlsson 

I went to a Christian college, so some of my friends or guys on my floor took Hebrew and Greek classes. I never ventured down those paths. 

Posted by: @karlsson

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I only have half of the translation down, the easy part. Meaning I can follow what the rabbi is saying without using the transliteration in the siddur, but I don’t know what any of it means without looking at the English. 

Edit: That was a really long way of saying “I can sound it out but I don’t know what it means.” ? 

Posted by: @karlsson

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I only have half of the translation down, the easy part. Meaning I can follow what the rabbi is saying without using the transliteration in the siddur, but I don’t know what any of it means without looking at the English. 

Edit: That was a really long way of saying “I can sound it out but I don’t know what it means.” ? 

That is me and Russian nowadays. I can prob sound it out, but no I longer know what it means. 

Answers to Tuesday, September 26, 2023

1. What language—which currently has about 9 million speakers worldwide—was effectively dormant as a spoken language by the year 200 CE, and didn’t resurface until the 1800s?
Hebrew

2. Pop singer Rebecca Black released a song in 2011 that is often listed among the worst songs ever recorded. It is named after which day of the week?
Friday

3. In 2022, over 1.6 million people visited a national park that used to be known as the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. The park consists of three components: the Museum of Westward Expansion, the courthouse where the Dred Scott trials occurred, and what monument?
The Gateway Arch
(in St. Louis; it’s now called Gateway Arch National Park)

4. What 2011 animated film features Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis, and Billy Bob Thornton in its voice cast?
“Puss in Boots”
(Come to “Shrek” trivia this October!)

5. Hewlett-Packard, AltaVista, Tesla, and Theranos are all companies that have been, at one point or another, headquartered in what California city, which has a name that translates to “tall stick”?
Palo Alto

Questions for
Wednesday, September 27, 2023

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

1. In 1992, six years after the Challenger was lost, NASA introduced the shuttle that replaced it. They named it after James Cook’s ship. What was that shuttle called?

2. What 1979 movie ends with Eric Idle leading a group of condemned men in singing “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”?

3. Eric Holder was the first Black attorney general of the United States. Who was the second?

4. Actor and comedian Matt Walsh announced that he would delay his appearance on what competitive reality show, currently in its 32nd season, until the WGA strike is resolved?

5. In 1777, after failing to retake Philadelphia from the British, General George Washington led 12,000 soldiers to an area 18 miles northwest of the city, where they camped for the winter and regrouped. What is that area called?

2. Life of Brian

5. Valley Forge

1. Endeavour

4) Dancing With the Stars.  Stars? ?

3. Loretta Lynch

Answers to Wednesday, September 27, 2023

1. In 1992, six years after the Challenger was lost, NASA introduced the shuttle that replaced it. They named it after James Cook’s ship. What was that shuttle called?
Endeavour

2. What 1979 movie ends with Eric Idle leading a group of condemned men in singing “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”?
“Life of Brian”

3. Eric Holder was the first Black attorney general of the United States. Who was the second?
Loretta Lynch

4. Actor and comedian Matt Walsh announced that he would delay his appearance on what competitive reality show, currently in its 32nd season, until the WGA strike is resolved?
“Dancing with the Stars”

5. In 1777, after failing to retake Philadelphia from the British, General George Washington led 12,000 soldiers to an area 18 miles northwest of the city, where they camped for the winter and regrouped. What is that area called?
Valley Forge

Questions for
Theme Thursday, September 28, 2023

“The Magnificent Seven”: Seven is a magical number. It’s also the original namesake of the month of September. Here are five seven questions!

Answers in tomorrow’s email. 

1. Palatine Hill is the center-most of the seven hills on which what city was famously founded?

2. At what speed does a seven-inch record generally revolve?

3. Jackie Joyner-Kersee won gold medals in 1988 and 1992 for what Olympic track-and-field event, which is composed of seven running, jumping, and throwing contests?

4. Two of Disney’s Seven Dwarfs have names that don’t end in a “Y.” Name both of them.

5. What 1955 Marilyn Monroe movie has a title that is also a little-used nickname for scabies?

1. Rome

1: Rome

3: Heptathalon

2. 45 rpm

4. Doc and Bashful

5. Seven Year Itch?

Answers to Thursday, September 28, 2023

“The Magnificent Seven”: Seven is a magical number. It’s also the original namesake of the month of September. Here are five seven questions!

1. Palatine Hill is the center-most of the seven hills on which what city was famously founded?
Rome

2. At what speed does a seven-inch record generally revolve?
45 RPM
(they’re sometimes called “45s”)

3. Jackie Joyner-Kersee won gold medals in 1988 and 1992 for what Olympic track-and-field event, which is composed of seven running, jumping, and throwing contests?
Heptathlon

4. Two of Disney’s Seven Dwarfs have names that don’t end in a “Y.” Name both of them.
Bashful, Doc

5. What 1955 Marilyn Monroe movie has a title that is also a little-used nickname for scabies?
“The Seven Year Itch”

Questions for
Friday, September 29, 2023

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

1. Quit While You’re Ahead: There were four members of the so-called “Million Dollar Quartet” that played together in a historic Sun Studios recording session on December 4, 1956. Name as many of them as you can for one point each. Zero total if you get any wrong.

2. “Cavity Sam” is the main character in what board game?

3. The flag of the United Kingdom is the Union Jack, which features crosses that represent Scotland, England, and Northern Ireland. What is the color of Saint George’s Cross, which represents England?

4. During the 1976 Olympics, Nadia Comăneci became the first gymnast to earn a perfect 10. Which country did she represent?

5. Today is September 29. On this day in 1901, the Italian physicist who created the world’s first nuclear reactor in 1942 was born. Today, he is the namesake for a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory specializing in high-energy particle physics. What is the name of this lab, located in Illinois?

2: Operation

3: Red

1. Elvis, Carl Perkins. Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash

4. Romania

5. Fermilab ? 

Answers to Friday, September 29, 2023

1. Quit While You’re Ahead: There were four members of the so-called “Million Dollar Quartet” that played together in a historic Sun Studios recording session on December 4, 1956. Name as many of them as you can for one point each. Zero total if you get any wrong.
Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash

2. “Cavity Sam” is the main character in what board game?
Operation

3. The flag of the United Kingdom is the Union Jack, which features crosses that represent Scotland, England, and Northern Ireland. What is the color of Saint George’s Cross, which represents England?
Red

4. During the 1976 Olympics, Nadia Comăneci became the first gymnast to earn a perfect 10. Which country did she represent?
Romania

5. Today is September 29. On this day in 1901, the Italian physicist who created the world’s first nuclear reactor in 1942 was born. Today, he is the namesake for a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory specializing in high-energy particle physics. What is the name of this lab, located in Illinois?
Fermilab (Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory)

Questions for
Monday, October 2, 2023

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

1. The first “Tall Boy” beer can was 24 ounces of “the beer that made Milwaukee famous.” Name that beer.

2. What famous composer and bandleader was appointed the leader of the U.S. Marine Corps Band on October 1, 1880?

3. Scientists used a technology called LiDAR to reveal thousands of undiscovered Maya structures in the jungles of what country—home to the world’s highest percentage of people of Maya descent?

4. The “Manic Pixie Dream Girl” is a stock Hollywood character that was first identified by film critic Nathan Rabin after watching 2005’s “Elizabethtown,” starring what actor as the love interest to Orlando Bloom’s character?

5. In the song “My Favorite Things,” what “stay on my nose and eyelashes”?

1.  Schlitz 

2.  Sousa  ?? 

3. Guatemala

5. Snowflakes

4.  Kirsten Dunst

Posted by: @greyeagle

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1.  Schlitz 

2.  Sousa  ?? 

Fun fact, Minnesota March was written by Sousa! 

https://cla.umn.edu/music/ensembles/marching-band/history-traditions/school-songs/minnesota-march

Answers to Monday, October 2, 2023

1. The first “Tall Boy” beer can was 24 ounces of “the beer that made Milwaukee famous.” Name that beer.
Schlitz

2. What famous composer and bandleader was appointed the leader of the U.S. Marine Corps Band on October 1, 1880?
John Philip Sousa

3. Scientists used a technology called LiDAR to reveal thousands of undiscovered Maya structures in the jungles of what country—home to the world’s highest percentage of people of Maya descent?
Guatemala

4. The “Manic Pixie Dream Girl” is a stock Hollywood character that was first identified by film critic Nathan Rabin after watching 2005’s “Elizabethtown,” starring what actor as the love interest to Orlando Bloom’s character?
Kirsten Dunst

5. In the song “My Favorite Things,” what “stay on my nose and eyelashes”?
Snowflakes

Questions for
Tuesday, October 3, 2023

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

1. California’s Bay Bridge opened to traffic in 1936. The Bay Bridge connects San Francisco to what other athletic city?

2. “Bún” is the Vietnamese name for a long, thin, rice noodle. On English-language menus, that noodle is typically known by what Italian name, which translates to “little worms”?

3. Emilia Clarke is best known for her role as Daenerys Targaryen in the HBO series “Game of Thrones.” But you may also know her for playing what character in the fifth “Terminator” movie, “Terminator Genisys”?

4. Broadcaster Edward R. Murrow would famously end his reports with what five-word phrase that was also used as the title of an Academy Award-nominated 2005 historical drama?

5. NPR named a 12-time Olympic medalist the “platonic ideal of bro-dom” in 2013. He was given a VERY short-lived reality show on E! that same year. Who is he?

1.  Oakland  (not Philly or KC....  ? ?  )

3. Sarah Connor

2. Vermicelli

4: Good night, and good luck.

5) Ryan Lockte.  Until he had a slight PR problem ?

Answers to Tuesday, October 3, 2023

1. California’s Bay Bridge opened to traffic in 1936. The Bay Bridge connects San Francisco to what other athletic city?
Oakland

2. “Bún” is the Vietnamese name for a long, thin, rice noodle. On English-language menus, that noodle is typically known by what Italian name, which translates to “little worms”?
Vermicelli

3. Emilia Clarke is best known for her role as Daenerys Targaryen in the HBO series “Game of Thrones.” But you may also know her for playing what character in the fifth “Terminator” movie, “Terminator Genisys”?
Sarah Connor

4. Broadcaster Edward R. Murrow would famously end his reports with what five-word phrase that was also used as the title of an Academy Award-nominated 2005 historical drama?
“Good night and good luck.”

5. NPR named a 12-time Olympic medalist the “platonic ideal of bro-dom” in 2013. He was given a VERY short-lived reality show on E! that same year. Who is he?
Ryan Lochte

Questions for
Wednesday, October 4, 2023

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

1. The Hoover Dam forms the largest-capacity reservoir in the United States. What is that reservoir called?

2. What soft drink’s original formula was invented in the 1940s by Tennessee beverage bottlers Barney and Ally Hartman as a mixer for liquor, preferably whiskey, and is named after a southern slang term for moonshine?

3. If you are advancing up the “Bridge to Total Freedom” in an effort to attain a state of “Clear,” you probably belong to what group?

4. What European country’s name translates to English as “light stone”?

5. What crayon color, which shares its name with a perennial weed and gets its name from the French for “lion’s tooth,” was discontinued by Crayola in 2017?

1. Lake Mead 

2. Mountain Dew (gross!)

3. Scientology

5. Dandelion?

4. Liechtenstein

Answers to Wednesday, October 4, 2023

1. The Hoover Dam forms the largest-capacity reservoir in the United States. What is that reservoir called?
Lake Mead

2. What soft drink’s original formula was invented in the 1940s by Tennessee beverage bottlers Barney and Ally Hartman as a mixer for liquor, preferably whiskey, and is named after a southern slang term for moonshine?
Mountain Dew

3. If you are advancing up the “Bridge to Total Freedom” in an effort to attain a state of “Clear,” you probably belong to what group?
Church of Scientology

4. What European country’s name translates to English as “light stone”?
Liechtenstein

5. What crayon color, which shares its name with a perennial weed and gets its name from the French for “lion’s tooth,” was discontinued by Crayola in 2017?
Dandelion

Questions for
Theme Thursday, October 5, 2023

“You Sound American”: Five questions about non-American actors with great American accents.

Answers in tomorrow’s email. 

1. What British actor is famous in England for his comedic and musical skills, and was listed in the 2010 Guinness Book of World Records as “the most-watched leading man on TV” due to his role on an American drama?

2. Fans of “The Wire” were shocked to learn that the actor they knew as Baltimore drug kingpin Stringer Bell was actually British. Name that actor.

3. Cate Blanchett is a master of the American accent, which is why many of her own fans don’t know that she’s actually from what country?

4. Christian Bale has been honing his American accent ever since he played 17-year-old “Cowboy” Jack Kelly in what 1992 Disney movie?

5. Kate Winslet thought her accent in “Titanic” was terrible, but she was nominated for the “Best Actress” Oscar anyway. Her next “Best Actress” nod came for her 2004 role as an American named Clementine. Name that movie.

3.  Australia

3: Australia

1. Hugh Laurie 

Posted by: @steve-mn

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3: Australia

2. Idris Elba

Posted by: @karlsson

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2. Idris Elba

One of the best TV characters ever.

4) The Newsies
5) Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind

yay, movie questions lol

Posted by: @mikeeruzione11

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Posted by: @karlsson

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2. Idris Elba

One of the best TV characters ever.

 

Answers to Thursday, October 5, 2023

“You Sound American”: Five questions about non-American actors with great American accents.

1. What British actor is famous in England for his comedic and musical skills, and was listed in the 2010 Guinness Book of World Records as “the most-watched leading man on TV” due to his role on an American medical drama?
Hugh Laurie
(“House”)

2. Fans of “The Wire” were shocked to learn that the actor they knew as Baltimore drug kingpin Stringer Bell was actually British. Name that actor.
Idris Elba

3. Cate Blanchett is a master of the American accent, which is why many of her own fans don’t know that she’s actually from what country?
Australia

4. Christian Bale has been honing his American accent ever since he played 17-year-old “Cowboy” Jack Kelly in what 1992 Disney movie?
“Newsies”

5. Kate Winslet thought her accent in “Titanic” was terrible, but she was nominated for the “Best Actress” Oscar anyway. Her next “Best Actress” nod came for her 2004 role as an American named Clementine. Name that movie.
“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”