Answers to Monday, October 13, 2025 1. In the early 1990s, a chain of U.S. airport bars named for a TV show tried to drum up business by installing a pair of animatronic patrons. They were retired after the stars of the TV show sued. Name that bar/TV show!
“Cheers”
2. Pep Comics was a monthly anthology focused on action and crime until 1941, when stories featuring supervillain Madam Satan were phased out in favor of what new character, described as “America's Typical Teenager”?
Archie
3. Malaria tablets, letters from a girl back home, and the New Testament are among the titular items in what 1990 collection of war stories by author Tim O’Brien?
“The Things They Carried”
4. Philip Clapp is an actor and stunt performer born in 1971 in the third-largest city in Tennessee. He chose his stage name to honor his hometown. What name is that?
Johnny Knoxville
5. Commedia dell’arte actors in 16th-century Italy used to hit each other with a small wooden baton, designed to make a loud noise at the slightest touch. This early sound effect prop eventually lent its name to what form of comedy?
Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in tomorrow’s email.
1. These days, most fishing bait is sold in plastic or Styrofoam containers, but an idiomatic phrase meaning “a complicated matter not worth getting into” comes from the 1950s, when bait was sold in what vessel?
2. A national monument and quarry outside of Jensen, Utah shares its name with a nearby town in Colorado, and both are named for former inhabitants of the region. What is that name?
3. Actors Tatyana Ali and Alfonso Ribeiro both won NAACP Image Awards for their work on what ’90s TV series?
4. A self-proclaimed emperor of the United States, a cybersecurity company, a publisher known for its anthologies and critical editions, and the authors of “The Phantom Tollbooth” and “The Borrowers” all share what name?
5. The original “Grand Theft Auto” video game was set in three fictional cities: Liberty City, Vice City, and what third city, based on the Bay Area in Northern California?
I hauled a couple of those anthologies around back in the day....and I'm convinced they were designed to not fit into a backpack. 🤣
“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. These days, most fishing bait is sold in plastic or Styrofoam containers, but an idiomatic phrase meaning “a complicated matter not worth getting into” comes from the 1950s, when bait was sold in what vessel?
Cans (it’s where the phrase “opening a can of worms” comes from)
2. A national monument and quarry outside of Jensen, Utah shares its name with a nearby town in Colorado, and both are named for former inhabitants of the region. What is that name?
Dinosaur
3. Actors Tatyana Ali and Alfonso Ribeiro both won NAACP Image Awards for their work on what ’90s TV series?
“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”
4. A self-proclaimed emperor of the United States, a cybersecurity company, a publisher known for its anthologies and critical editions, and the authors of “The Phantom Tollbooth” and “The Borrowers” all share what name?
Norton
5. The original “Grand Theft Auto” video game was set in three fictional cities: Liberty City, Vice City, and what third city, based on the Bay Area in Northern California?
Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in tomorrow’s email.
1. There are 38 million members of AARP in the United States. “AARP” stands for the American Association of… what?
2. What fast food chain owns the trademark to the phrase “Quality Is Our Recipe”?
3. Is the field goal crossbar in football taller than a basketball hoop, shorter, or the same height?
4. Stevie Wonder wrote the hit song “Happy Birthday” in 1980 as part of a successful campaign for the official adoption of what public holiday?
5. In May of 2003, the geological feature known as Old Man of the Mountain collapsed. This was three years after it was minted onto the face of which state's commemorative quarter?
1. There are 38 million members of AARP in the United States. “AARP” stands for the American Association of… what?
Retired Persons (or Retired People)
2. What fast food chain owns the trademark to the phrase “Quality Is Our Recipe”?
Wendy’s
3. Is the field goal crossbar in football taller than a basketball hoop, shorter, or the same height?
Same height (10 feet)
4. Stevie Wonder wrote the hit song “Happy Birthday” in 1980 as part of a successful campaign for the official adoption of what public holiday?
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
5. In May of 2003, the geological feature known as Old Man of the Mountain collapsed. This was three years after it was minted onto the face of which state's commemorative quarter?
Sweet Valley Trivia: That space between two mountains can be pretty sweet, man.
Answers in tomorrow’s email.
1. Katori Hall adapted her own play about the employees of a Mississippi strip club into what Starz series, which launched in 2020?
2. What famed valley lies across the river from Luxor at the heart of the Theban Necropolis?
3. Michael: “What do you think of when you hear the name ‘Sudden Valley’?” George Michael: “Salad dressing. But for some reason, I don't want to eat it.” That’s a quote from what canceled and revived sitcom?
4. What iconic valley, located on the Arizona–Utah border and made famous in John Ford’s movies set in the Old West, shares its name with a popular 2014 mobile game?
5. The “Valley girl” stereotype of a vapid, materialistic young woman who can’t stop saying “like” skewers teenage girls from what California valley?
Sweet Valley Trivia: That space between two mountains can be pretty sweet, man.
1. Katori Hall adapted her own play about the employees of a Mississippi strip club into what Starz series, which launched in 2020?
“P-Valley”
2. What famed valley lies across the river from Luxor at the heart of the Theban Necropolis?
The Valley of the Kings (also: Valley of the Queens)
3. Michael: “What do you think of when you hear the name ‘Sudden Valley’?” George Michael: “Salad dressing. But for some reason, I don't want to eat it.” That’s a quote from what canceled and revived sitcom?
“Arrested Development”
4. What iconic valley, located on the Arizona–Utah border and made famous in John Ford’s movies set in the Old West, shares its name with a popular 2014 mobile game?
Monument Valley
5. The “Valley girl” stereotype of a vapid, materialistic young woman who can’t stop saying “like” skewers teenage girls from what California valley?
Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in Monday’s email.
1. Quit While You’re Ahead: Julia Child’s recipe for homemade mayonnaise has five ingredients. Name as many of those ingredients as you can for one point each. Zero points total if you get any incorrect.
2. Stannite is a sulfide ore of copper, iron, and what metal?
3. What flaming dessert was named after the chairman of the New Orleans Crime Commission in 1951?
4. At an average elevation of 1.5 meters above sea level, which South Asian archipelago is the world’s lowest country?
5. Today is October 17. Arthur Miller was born on this day in 1915. In addition to writing such plays as “Death of a Salesman,” he also wrote screenplays, including the films “Let’s Make Love” and “The Misfits.” Who starred in both of those films?
“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: Julia Child’s recipe for homemade mayonnaise has five ingredients. Name as many of those ingredients as you can for one point each. Zero points total if you get any incorrect.
Egg yolks, lemon juice (or vinegar), mustard, salt, oil
2. Stannite is a sulfide ore of copper, iron, and what metal?
Tin
3. What flaming dessert was named after the chairman of the New Orleans Crime Commission in 1951?
Bananas Foster
4. At an average elevation of 1.5 meters above sea level, which South Asian archipelago is the world’s lowest country?
Maldives
5. Today is October 17. Arthur Miller was born on this day in 1915. In addition to writing such plays as “Death of a Salesman,” he also wrote screenplays, including the films “Let’s Make Love” and “The Misfits.” Who starred in both of those films?
Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in tomorrow’s email.
1. The national dish of Scotland is minced sheep organs boiled in a sheep’s stomach, traditionally served with a side of “neeps and tatties.” Name that dish!
2. There is a stylized “S” — consisting of 14 straight lines and resembling a Mobius strip — that is often doodled on notebooks by American schoolchildren. It is frequently, but inaccurately, attributed to what surf and streetwear brand, launched in Orange County in 1984?
3. Math! What is the top number of a fraction called?
4. Due to trademark issues, Axe deodorant isn’t known as “Axe” in the U.K. Instead, it takes its name from Europe’s largest wild cat. Name that cat, which is also a constellation and a snowmobile brand.
5. The Biblical Nimrod, a Spider-Man villain named Kraven, an alien species known as the Yautja, anime character Gon Freecss, and the Roman goddess Diana are all known for engaging in what activity?
1. The national dish of Scotland is minced sheep organs boiled in a sheep’s stomach, traditionally served with a side of “neeps and tatties.” Name that dish!
Haggis
2. There is a stylized “S” — consisting of 14 straight lines and resembling a Mobius strip — that is often doodled on notebooks by American schoolchildren. It is frequently, but inaccurately, attributed to what surf and streetwear brand, launched in Orange County in 1984?
Stüssy (people call it the “Stüssy S”)
3. Math! What is the top number of a fraction called?
Numerator
4. Due to trademark issues, Axe deodorant isn’t known as “Axe” in the U.K. Instead, it takes its name from Europe’s largest wild cat. Name that cat, which is also a constellation and a snowmobile brand.
Lynx
5. The Biblical Nimrod, a Spider-Man villain named Kraven, an alien species known as the Yautja, anime character Gon Freecss, and the Roman goddess Diana are all known for engaging in what activity?
Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in tomorrow’s email.
1. If you’re a dentist, what three letters probably follow your name on your business cards?
2. Margaret Hamilton, Elizabeth Olsen, Melissa Joan Hart, and Fairuza Balk have all famously played characters who could be described as... what?
3. R&B singer and producer Kenneth Edmonds shares what juvenile nickname with Prohibition-era outlaw George Nelson?
4. What emoji consistently ranks high on lists of the most frequently used emoji, to the point where Oxford English Dictionary named the emoji its 2015 “word of the year”?
5. One of the plot lines in the 2004 documentary “Some Kind of Monster” follows Robert Trujillo as he auditions for, and becomes the bassist of, what legendary hard rock band?
2. Witches? Margaret Hamilton's most famous role was Wicked Witch of the West
“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. If you’re a dentist, what three letters probably follow your name on your business cards?
DDS (or DMD)
2. Margaret Hamilton, Elizabeth Olsen, Melissa Joan Hart, and Fairuza Balk have all famously played characters who could be described as... what?
Witches (in “The Wizard of Oz,” the MCU, “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” and “The Craft”)
3. R&B singer and producer Kenneth Edmonds shares what juvenile nickname with Prohibition-era outlaw George Nelson?
Babyface
4. What emoji consistently ranks high on lists of the most frequently used emoji, to the point where Oxford English Dictionary named the emoji its 2015 “word of the year”?
Face with tears of joy (😂)
5. One of the plot lines in the 2004 documentary “Some Kind of Monster” follows Robert Trujillo as he auditions for, and becomes the bassist of, what legendary hard rock band?
Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in tomorrow’s email.
1. Globally, four of the top 10 best-selling mobile phones ever, as measured in units sold, were made by the same company. All of their names are three or four digits long, such as the 1100. What Finnish company is that?
2. The Suzanne Vega song “Tom's Diner” is about Tom's Restaurant in Manhattan. That same restaurant appears in all exterior shots of the restaurant called “Monk's Cafe” on what '90s-era sitcom?
3. An annual outdoor music and arts festival held in Seattle since the ’70s gets its name from an old-timey word for “umbrella.” Name that festival.
4. Sealed Air Corporation owns the patent to what ubiquitous plastic material and occasional fidget toy?
5. Dugong is a relative of the manatee found throughout the Indian and Pacific oceans. Dewgong is a seal-like creature found near the Seafoam Islands in what video game franchise?
“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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