Answers to Monday, January 29, 2024
1. Which of the 50 states lends its name to a dessert made of sponge cake, ice cream, and meringue that is often served with lit sparklers?
Alaska
(Baked Alaska)
2. Baltimore’s NFL team took its name in honor of a writer who called the city home. Name that writer.
Edgar Allan Poe
(The Ravens)
3. According to the website The Knot, two consecutive months were the most popular months to get married in 2016. Name them both.
September, October
4. The 2010 song “Telephone” — originally written for Britney Spears — earned a Grammy nomination for “Best Pop Collaboration.” What two singers collaborated on that song?
Lady Gaga, Beyoncé
5. While Crayola is best known for its crayons, the company also produces what toy, invented during World War II rubber shortages and noted for its non-Newtonian fluid properties?
Silly Putty
Questions for
Tuesday, January 30, 2024
Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in tomorrow’s email.
1. The national dish of Algeria has a name that means “pounded small” in Arabic, and is an example of a linguistic concept known as “reduplication.” Name that dish.
2. An ornamental grass, several species of fish, an eel, two species of shark, a mussel, a slug, a lizard, a Little Debbie snack cake, a spider, and a butterfly are named after what distinctive land mammal?
3. Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas’ largest airport, is just the country’s fourth-busiest airport. Which U.S. state is home to the country’s (and the world’s, as of December 2023) busiest airport?
4. The Kahuna Burger is a real burger that was once served at McDonald’s in Australia. Big Kahuna Burger is a fictional chain of Hawaiian-themed fast food restaurants that first appeared in the films of what American director?
5. Charles Dickens published a novel in 1850 whose full title is “The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of BLANK the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery (Which He Never Meant to Publish on Any Account).” Fill in that blank.
1. Couscous?
3. Georgia
Tact is the ability to step on a man's toes without messing up the shine on his shoes - Harry S Truman
4 Quentin Tarantino
B1G refs... corrupt, or just incompetent?
2. Zebra
Little Debbie!
“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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5. David Copperfield
Answers to Tuesday, January 30, 2024
1. The national dish of Algeria has a name that means “pounded small” in Arabic, and is an example of a linguistic concept known as “reduplication.” Name that dish.
Couscous
2. An ornamental grass, several species of fish, an eel, two species of shark, a mussel, a slug, a lizard, a Little Debbie snack cake, a spider, and a butterfly are named after what distinctive land mammal?
Zebra
3. Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas’ largest airport, is just the country’s fourth-busiest airport. Which U.S. state is home to the country’s (and the world’s, as of December 2023) busiest airport?
Georgia
(Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport)
4. The Kahuna Burger is a real burger that was once served at McDonald’s in Australia. Big Kahuna Burger is a fictional chain of Hawaiian-themed fast food restaurants that first appeared in the films of what American director?
Quentin Tarantino
5. Charles Dickens published a novel in 1850 whose full title is “The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of BLANK the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery (Which He Never Meant to Publish on Any Account).” Fill in that blank.
David Copperfield
Questions for
Wednesday, January 31, 2024
Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in tomorrow’s email.
1. Radio host Jad Abumrad has won two Peabody Awards for his work on what NPR show that is known for experimental sound design and “smashing information into music”?
2. What American musical genre takes its name from a species of plant whose scientific name is Poa pratensis?
3. Richard Gere is best known for playing the handsome, romantic lead in all kinds of rom-coms, but for what 2002 movie did he win the “Best Actor” Golden Globe?
4. Every wild orangutan on Earth lives on one of two large islands in Southeast Asia. Name one of those islands.
5. Also known as “The Duke,” what actor was born Marion Robert Morrison in Winterset, Iowa, in 1907?
5. John Wayne
4. Borneo
5. John Wayne
Tact is the ability to step on a man's toes without messing up the shine on his shoes - Harry S Truman
2. Bluegrass
Hard work will beat talent, if talent doesn't work hard.
1) Radiolab
3) Chicago as shady lawyer Billy Flynn. My favorite scene…
Note: Due to inflation dirty deeds will no longer be done dirt cheap.
4. Sumatra is the other island
Answers to Wednesday, January 31, 2024
1. Radio host Jad Abumrad has won two Peabody Awards for his work on what NPR show that is known for experimental sound design and “smashing information into music”?
“Radiolab”
2. What American musical genre takes its name from a species of plant whose scientific name is Poa pratensis?
Bluegrass
3. Richard Gere is best known for playing the handsome, romantic lead in all kinds of rom-coms, but for what 2002 movie did he win the “Best Actor” Golden Globe?
“Chicago”
4. Every wild orangutan on Earth lives on one of two large islands in Southeast Asia. Name one of those islands.
Borneo, Sumatra
5. Also known as “The Duke,” what actor was born Marion Robert Morrison in Winterset, Iowa, in 1907?
John Wayne
Questions for
Theme Thursday, February 1, 2024
Brand Name Origins: Five questions about how some brands got their names.
Answers in tomorrow’s email.
1. In the 1960s, a poultry company called Swift decided to change its name, so they licensed a trademark owned at the time by a Michigan dairy farmer. What did they change their name to?
2. What financial payment company was founded in 1958 by Bank of America, who spun it off into its own company in the 1970s and gave it a name that they felt connoted “universal acceptance”?
3. What was the name of Frank C. Mars’ favorite thoroughbred racehorse in 1930?
4. The website Cadabra.com was changed in 1995, because its founder wanted a name that better represented the large volume of stuff he planned to sell. What name did he choose?
5. What restaurant chain is often erroneously thought to be named after the product it sells, but in fact is a reference to brothers Forrest and Leroy Raffel, who founded it in 1964?
2. VISA ?
5. Arby's
Tact is the ability to step on a man's toes without messing up the shine on his shoes - Harry S Truman
4: Amazon.com
B1G refs... corrupt, or just incompetent?
3. Snickers
Answers to Thursday, February 1, 2024
Brand Name Origins: Five questions about how some brands got their names.
1. In the 1960s, a poultry company called Swift decided to change its name, so they licensed a trademark owned at the time by a Michigan dairy farmer. What did they change their name to?
Butterball
2. What financial payment company was founded in 1958 by Bank of America, who spun it off into its own company in the 1970s and gave it a name that they felt connoted “universal acceptance”?
Visa
3. What was the name of Frank C. Mars’ favorite thoroughbred racehorse in 1930?
Snickers
4. The website Cadabra.com was changed in 1995, because its founder wanted a name that better represented the large volume of stuff he planned to sell. What name did he choose?
Amazon
5. What restaurant chain is often erroneously thought to be named after the product it sells, but in fact is a reference to brothers Forrest and Leroy Raffel, who founded it in 1964?
Arby’s
(RB = “Raffel Brothers,” not “Roast Beef”)
Questions for
Friday, February 2, 2024
Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in Monday’s email.
1. Quit While You’re Ahead: There have been six U.S. presidential elections since 1900 in which the incumbent lost. Name as many of those losing incumbent presidents as you can for one point each. Zero points total if you get any wrong.
2. What group won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999 and has used the slogan, “We have 2 billion people in our waiting room”?
3. In the 1970s, Coca-Cola released what less academic-sounding soda brand to compete with Dr. Pepper?
4. The man remembered as “America’s first great playwright” wrote such full-length plays as “Ah, Wilderness,” “Long Day’s Journey into Night,” “Anna Christie,” and “The Iceman Cometh.” Name that playwright.
5. Today is February 2. On this day in 1887, the first Groundhog Day celebration was held in what Pennsylvania town?
1. Hoover, Ford, GHW Bush, Trump, ?
3. Mr Pibb
“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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2. Doctors Without Borders ??
“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
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'29, '40, '74, '76, '79, '02, & '03
GPL's Resident Cabin Enthusiast & Cadets Hockey Fan
1. Punxatawny PA not sure if spelling matters or not.
'29, '40, '74, '76, '79, '02, & '03
GPL's Resident Cabin Enthusiast & Cadets Hockey Fan
“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. Punxatawny PA not sure if spelling matters or not.
I don’t think Phil ran for president? 🤔😉
Oh Shoot! It was too early for me to make intelligent thoughts. Bummer that I got question 1 wrong. ha!
'29, '40, '74, '76, '79, '02, & '03
GPL's Resident Cabin Enthusiast & Cadets Hockey Fan
3. Mr Pibb
Coke should have took “Quit While You’re Ahead” when it came to Mr. Pibb. Mr Pibb doesn’t hold a snowball chance in h.e. double hockey sticks to Dr. Pepper.
Keep your stick on the ice...
3. Mr Pibb
Coke should have took “Quit While You’re Ahead” when it came to Mr. Pibb. Mr Pibb doesn’t hold a snowball chance in h.e. double hockey sticks to Dr. Pepper.
Same with Mello Yello vs Mt Dew
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.
Mello Yello will always be awesome, but only because of Days of Thunder.
Mello Yello will always be awesome, but only because of Days of Thunder.
+1
As long as I don't have to drink it. Or mt. dew. Blech....
“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
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What the F?! I learned this today:
When RCA Records issued their first 45 singles in 1949, they would color-code the label according to the genre of music.
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.
I just learned today (from a kid) that dart boards flip around and have a smaller and more challenging target on the other side.
never stop learning!
😂
Answers to Friday, February 2, 2024
1. Quit While You’re Ahead: There have been six U.S. presidential elections since 1900 in which the incumbent lost. Name as many of those losing incumbent presidents as you can for one point each. Zero points total if you get any wrong.
Donald Trump, George H.W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, Herbert Hoover, William Taft
2. What group won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999 and uses the slogan, “We have 2 billion people in our waiting room”?
Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières)
3. In the 1970s, Coca-Cola released what less-academic soda brand to compete with Dr Pepper?
Mr. Pibb (originally Peppo, now Pibb Xtra)
(Thank you to reader Chris B. for reminding us that there’s no period in “Dr Pepper”!)
4. The man remembered as “America’s first great playwright” wrote such full-length plays as “Ah, Wilderness,” “Long Day’s Journey into Night,” “Anna Christie,” and “The Iceman Cometh.” Name that playwright.
Eugene O’Neill
5. Today is February 2. On this day in 1887, the first Groundhog Day celebration was held in what Pennsylvania town?
Punxsutawney
Questions for
Monday, February 5, 2024
Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in tomorrow’s email.
1. Singer-songwriter Janis Ian won a Grammy for her 1975 hit “At Seventeen.” She later became the namesake of a rebellious teen played by Lizzy Caplan in what 2004 comedy?
2. Tramar Dillard liked his home state so much that he took his stage name from it. What is his two-word stage name?
3. What Greek goddess of wisdom, justice, and strategic warfare was born fully formed out of Zeus’ forehead?
4. The eighth president of the United States was the first president born in the United States. Before he went bald, he was a redhead, hence his nickname: the “Red Fox of Kinderhook.” Name him!
5. If you’re in Italy and you’re eating a type of pasta that translates to English as “little tongues,” what are you eating?
3: Athena
B1G refs... corrupt, or just incompetent?
5. Linguini - I think I remember this from Stanley Tucci's Italy cooking/travel show.
“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. Mean Girls
2. Flo Rida
4) Martin Van Buren! I have a redhead history book lol!
Note: Due to inflation dirty deeds will no longer be done dirt cheap.
Answers to Monday, February 5, 2024
1. Singer-songwriter Janis Ian won a Grammy for her 1975 hit “At Seventeen.” She later became the namesake of a rebellious teen played by Lizzy Caplan in what 2004 comedy?
“Mean Girls”
2. Tramar Dillard liked his home state so much that he took his stage name from it. What is his two-word stage name?
Flo Rida
3. What Greek god of wisdom, justice, and strategic warfare was born fully formed out of Zeus’ forehead?
Athena
4. The eighth president of the United States was the first president born in the United States. Before he went bald, he was a redhead, hence his nickname: the “Red Fox of Kinderhook.” Name him!
Martin Van Buren
5. If you’re in Italy and you’re eating a type of pasta that translates to English as “little tongues,” what are you eating?
Linguine
Questions for
Tuesday, February 6, 2024
Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in tomorrow’s email.
1. What musician topped Forbes' 2014 list of highest-earning musicians, largely thanks to the $3 billion sale of his company to Apple?
2. His television debut came in 1987 on “Another World.” He appeared in “Thelma & Louise” in 1991. And in 2008, Guinness World Records named him the world’s “Most Powerful Actor.” Who is he?
3. What food brand, known for its cake and brownie mixes, has used a red spoon logo in its advertising since 1954?
4. What TV personality found that she couldn’t read her teleprompter during a 1983 broadcast, so she went to a nearby store to buy some reading glasses, only to find that they only had glasses with bright red frames in her price range?
5. “Best Makeup and Hairstyling” is an Academy Award category introduced in 1982. In its first year there were only two nominees, and the winner was a horror comedy written and directed by John Landis. Name that film!
1. Dr Dre
2. Brad Pitt
“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
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 Betty Crocker
B1G refs... corrupt, or just incompetent?
4. Sally Jessy Raphael, I assume.
5. An American Werewolf in London
Answers to Tuesday, February 6, 2024
1. What musician/maker of beats topped Forbes' 2014 list of highest-earning musicians, largely thanks to the $3 billion sale of his company to Apple?
Dr. Dre
(he sold his headphone company, Beats. Thank you to Reader Chris for pointing out that Beats sold for $3 billion, not $3 million, as we said yesterday! Trivia Mafia regrets the error.)
2. His television debut came in 1987 on “Another World.” He appeared in “Thelma & Louise” in 1991. And in 2008, Guinness World Records named him the world’s “Most Powerful Actor.” Who is he?
Brad Pitt
3. What food brand, known for its cake and brownie mixes, has used a red spoon logo in its advertising since 1954?
Betty Crocker
4. What TV personality found that she couldn’t read her teleprompter during a 1983 broadcast, so she went to a nearby store to buy some reading glasses, only to find that they only had glasses with bright red frames in her price range?
Sally Jessy Raphael
(Red glasses became her signature look)
5. “Best Makeup and Hairstyling” is an Academy Award category introduced in 1982. In its first year there were only two nominees, and the winner was a horror comedy written and directed by John Landis. Name that film!
“An American Werewolf in London”