1. What “Dirty Dancing” actor joined Chris Farley as a prospective Chippendale’s dancer in a 1990 “Saturday Night Live” skit?
Patrick Swayze
2. What school — named after a governor of the East India Company’s Fort St. George — was founded in 1701 to train Connecticut students in theology and sacred languages?
Yale
3. “Z: The Beginning of Everything” is an Amazon television series based on a 2013 novel titled “Z.” They both tell the true story of what Jazz Age figure?
Zelda Fitzgerald
4. The holy Indian city of Varanasi is known as the “City of Temples,” and is visited by more than 1 million pilgrims every year. On what river is that city located?
The Ganges
5. Many web and app-based mapping services use a variation of a map projection that was developed by a Flemish cartographer in 1569. Name that map projection.
1. In the theatrical world, it is supposedly unlucky to say “Macbeth” while inside a theater. What are you supposed to call that play instead?
2. Ravens are seen as bad luck in some cultures. In Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven,” what is the name of the narrator’s lost love?
3. Some people believe the number “13” is unlucky because that’s how many people are purported to have attended what event on or around April 1, 33 CE?
4. Many people in China are tetraphobic. This means they have an aversion to what unlucky number, which, when spoken, sounds like the Chinese word for “death”?
5. There are a few unlucky spaces on the Wheel of Fortune that say… what?
“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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Bonus question! (Not sure if this is still a thing, but it was back in my day…)
When the hockey team sweeps, the Battle Hymn is played. It is however bad luck to refer to the Battle Hymn by name during the games. What two-letter word are you instead supposed to use when referring to that particular song?
Bonus question! (Not sure if this is still a thing, but it was back in my day…)
When the hockey team sweeps, the Battle Hymn is played. It is however bad luck to refer to the Battle Hymn by name during the games. What two-letter word are you instead supposed to use when referring to that particular song?
1. In the theatrical world, it is supposedly unlucky to say “Macbeth” while inside a theater. What are you supposed to call that play instead?
“The Scottish Play” (or “The Bard’s Play”)
2. Ravens are seen as bad luck in some cultures. In Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven,” what is the name of the narrator’s lost love?
Lenore
3. Some people believe the number “13” is unlucky because that’s how many people are purported to have attended what event on or around April 1, 33 CE?
The Last Supper
4. Many people in China are tetraphobic. This means they have an aversion to what unlucky number, which, when spoken, sounds like the Chinese word for “death”?
Four
5. There are a few unlucky spaces on the Wheel of Fortune that say… what?
Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in Monday’s email.
1. Quit While You’re Ahead: There are four teams currently in the NBA whose names represent an entire state, rather than a city. Name as many of them as you can — the full team name — for one point each. Zero points total if you get any wrong. Note: the “New York” in the New York Knicks is generally considered to refer to the city, not the state.
2. If you want to order a sausage in England, you should order what menu item — which derives its name from a sausage’s tendency to explode when cooked?
3. One of the most-produced Shakespeare plays contains a character named Tom Snout, who plays a character named Wall, who is, indeed, a wall. What play is that?
4. Pakistan's film industry is known as “Lollywood” because it is based in what city of over 13 million people?
5. Today is January 12. On this day in 1999, Jive Records released a record featuring a song that Rolling Stone called the “greatest debut single of all time.” Name that album (or the single, they have the same name).
Indiana Pacers & Golden State Warriors in addition to Utah & MN.
The Nets are now the Brooklyn Nets.
“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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Well... fail on my part. You can see how closely I follow the NBA
No shame there....I only remembered the Nets were in Brooklyn because (IIRC) there was talk of the Islanders relocating to the Brooklyn arena.
“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. Quit While You’re Ahead: There are four teams currently in the NBA whose names represent an entire state, rather than a city. Name as many of them as you can — the full team name — for one point each. Zero points total if you get any wrong. Note: the “New York” in the New York Knicks is generally considered to refer to the city, not the state.
Golden State Warriors, Indiana Pacers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz
2. If you want to order a sausage in England, you should order what menu item — which derives its name from a sausage’s tendency to explode when cooked?
Banger
3. One of the most-produced Shakespeare plays contains a character named Tom Snout, who plays a character named Wall, who is, indeed, a wall. What play is that?
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
4. Pakistan's film industry is known as “Lollywood” because it is based in what city of over 13 million people?
Lahore
5. Today is January 12. On this day in 1999, Jive Records released a record featuring a song that Rolling Stone called the “greatest debut single of all time.” Name that album (or the single, they have the same name).
Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in tomorrow email.
1. What TV show’s title character was known to pronounce, “It’s not lupus! It’s never lupus!”?
2. In which U.S. state can you find an international airport whose three-letter abbreviation is “DFW”?
3. The largest religious temple in the world is Angkor Wat, built in the 12th century in what is now what Southeast Asian country?
4. What actor helped popularize the pixie hairstyle when she wore it in her Hollywood film debut, 1953’s “Roman Holiday”?
5. What toy, inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 1999, has a name that is both a reference to a historic site near Evansville, Indiana, and a description of what you're doing while you're playing with it?
“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. What TV show’s title character was known to pronounce, “It’s not lupus! It’s never lupus!”?
“House”
2. In which U.S. state can you find an international airport whose three-letter abbreviation is “DFW”?
Texas (Dallas-Fort Worth)
3. The largest religious temple in the world is Angkor Wat, built in the 12th century in what is now what Southeast Asian country?
Cambodia
4. What actor helped popularize the pixie hairstyle when she wore it in her Hollywood film debut, 1953’s “Roman Holiday”?
Audrey Hepburn
5. What toy, inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 1999, has a name that is both a reference to a historic site near Evansville, Indiana, and a description of what you're doing while you're playing with it?
Lincoln Logs (Lincoln's log cabin; "linkin' logs")
Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in tomorrow’s email.
1. Mount Everest is the highest mountain on Earth. What neighboring peak is the second-highest?
2. McDonald’s introduced its chicken sandwich, the McChicken, in 1980. Is it made from white meat, dark meat, or both?
3. An “X-Men” character with pyrotechnic powers, a cherry-based dessert, and a periodic celebration hosted by the British monarchy all share what name?
4. What three-word phrase was coined by New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman in 2007, became a central part of Jill Stein’s presidential campaigns in 2012 and 2016, and spiked dramatically on Google Trends in 2018?
5. In “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” the Headless Horseman is a Revolutionary War soldier who is decapitated by a cannonball and hastily buried, doomed to ride the countryside every Halloween in search of his lost head. Who wrote that short story?
Given the access issues earlier today I suspect Zwak was not able to get in to add today so I will pinch hit for him. 😎
Answers to Tuesday, January 16, 2024
Mount Everest is the highest mountain on Earth. What neighboring peak is the second-highest?
K2 (or Chhogori or Godwin-Austen)
McDonald’s introduced its chicken sandwich, the McChicken, in 1980. Is it made from white meat, dark meat, or both?
Both
An “X-Men” character with pyrotechnic powers, a cherry-based dessert, and a periodic celebration hosted by the British monarchy all share what name?
Jubilee
What three-word phrase was coined by New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman in 2007, became a central part of Jill Stein’s presidential campaigns in 2012 and 2016, and spiked dramatically on Google Trends in 2018?
“Green New Deal”
In “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” the Headless Horseman is an American Revolutionary War soldier who is decapitated by a cannonball and hastily buried, doomed to ride the countryside every Halloween in search of his lost head. Who wrote that short story?
Washington Irving
“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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Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in tomorrow’s email. Answers to yesterday’s questions below.
What fabric pattern — characterized by teardrop-shaped figures called “buta” that originated in Persia — got its English name from a town in Scotland that produced knockoffs in the 19th century after genuine imports couldn't keep up with demand
In 2014, France’s Angoulême International Comics Festival awarded its grand prize to what reclusive American cartoonist, who is most famous for creating “Calvin and Hobbes”?
What historical figure was born near what is now Jamestown, Virginia, around 1596, and died in Kent, England, in 1617?
Beginning in the early 16th century, Charles V — King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor — began the practice of binding documents he deemed unimportant in string, while documents that required immediate attention were marked with something else. What was it?
“LOL” is a relatively new phrase that can be seen printed on what seasonal candy, which used to be manufactured by the New England Confectionery Company before it was purchased by the Spangler Candy Company in 2018?
“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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“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
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. What fabric pattern — characterized by teardrop-shaped figures called “buta” that originated in Persia — got its English name from a town in Scotland that produced knockoffs in the 19th century after genuine imports couldn't keep up with demand?
Paisley
2. In 2014, France’s Angoulême International Comics Festival awarded its grand prize to what reclusive American cartoonist, who is most famous for creating “Calvin and Hobbes”?
Bill Watterson
3. What historical figure was born near what is now Jamestown, Virginia, around 1596, and died in Kent, England, in 1617?
Pocahontas (or Amonute, or Matoaka)
4. Beginning in the early 16th century, Charles V — King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor — began the practice of binding documents he deemed unimportant in string, while documents that required immediate attention were marked with something else. What was it?
Red tape
5. “LOL” is a relatively new phrase that can be seen printed on what seasonal candy, which used to be manufactured by the New England Confectionery Company before it was purchased by the Spangler Candy Company in 2018?
I’ve Been Framed: Five questions about frame-jobs from fiction.
Answers in tomorrow’s email.
1. A character named Marvin Acme was killed in a 1988 movie. Who was framed for his murder?
2. In “Legally Blonde,” fitness trainer Brooke Taylor-Windham, inventor of “Brooke’s Butt-Buster Workout,” is accused of killing her husband after she refuses to give an alibi. That’s because she was undergoing what procedure at the time of his murder?
3. Rosamund Pike stars as Amy Dunne, the titular “Gone Girl” in that book's 2014 film adaptation. What actor plays her husband, Nick — who may or may not have been framed for her disappearance?
4. Krusty the Clown was once framed for a Kwik-E-Mart robbery on “The Simpsons.” Who framed him?
5. “The name: Dr. Richard Kimble. The destination: Death Row, state prison. The irony: Richard Kimble is innocent.” This is the opening narration to what classic TV show, which was made into a movie in 1993?
“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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Thanks for filling in GE. You were right. I couldn’t get in.
Fun fact I learned yesterday:
What’s the only state without a natural waterfall?
I would imagine it has to be one of the small, east coast, states on the ocean and are also relatively flat. Rhode Island or Delaware?
“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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I’ve Been Framed: Five questions about frame-jobs from fiction.
1. A character named Marvin Acme was killed in a 1988 movie. Who was framed for his murder?
Roger Rabbit
2. In “Legally Blonde,” fitness trainer Brooke Taylor-Windham, inventor of “Brooke’s Butt-Buster Workout,” is accused of killing her husband after she refuses to give an alibi. That’s because she was undergoing what procedure at the time of his murder?
Liposuction
3. Rosamund Pike stars as Amy Dunne, the titular “Gone Girl” in that book's 2014 film adaptation. What actor plays her husband, Nick — who may or may not have been framed for her disappearance?
Ben Affleck
4. Krusty the Clown was once framed for a Kwik-E-Mart robbery on “The Simpsons.” Who framed him?
Sideshow Bob
5. “The name: Dr. Richard Kimble. The destination: Death Row, state prison. The irony: Richard Kimble is innocent.” This is the opening narration to what classic TV show, which was made into a movie in 1993?
Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in Monday’s email.
1. Quit While You’re Ahead: By calling themselves the “New England” Patriots, the team lays claim over a six-state region. One is Massachusetts, where they play their home games. Name as many of the other five states as you can for one point each! Zero total if you get any wrong.
2. One of the most famous lines from a U.S. vice presidential debate was delivered in 1988 by Lloyd Bentsen, who said, “Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy.” Which senator was he talking to?
3. In October 1969, Miles Davis sent a telegram to Paul McCartney, inviting him to play bass in a proposed supergroup along with what guitarist, whose death the following year ended any further plans?
4. There has been only one film to win both an Oscar and a Razzie. Name that 1987 film, which earned Michael Douglas a “Best Actor” Oscar for his role as Gordon Gekko, and got Daryl Hannah a Razzie for “Worst Supporting Actress.”
5. Yesterday was January 18. The English author who created the beloved characters Christopher Robin and his toy bear, Winnie-the-Pooh, was born on that day in 1882. Name him!
1. Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut
2. Dan Quayle
“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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