Totally Random Trivia - 2025

Questions for
Theme Thursday, February 13, 2025

Black Nobel Laureates: February is Black History Month. Here are some questions about Black winners of the Nobel Committee’s highest honor.

Answers in tomorrow’s email.

1. Three Black South Africans have won the Nobel Peace Prize. The first was Albert Luthuli in 1960. The third was Nelson Mandela in 1993. Who was the second, who won the prize in 1984?

2. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf shared the 2011 prize for her efforts for women’s rights in what West African country, which was founded as a refuge for Black American expatriates and former slaves?

3. Five years after her 1988 novel “Beloved” won a Pulitzer Prize, what American author became the first Black woman to win a Nobel Prize for Literature?

4. W. Arthur Lewis is the only Black person to win a Nobel Prize in what field, for his books such as “Labour in the West Indies: The Birth of a Workers' Movement” and “Tropical Development 1880–1913”?

5. The youngest Black Nobel laureate was an activist who won the Peace Prize in 1964. He also won a posthumous Grammy Award in 1971 for a recording of a speech titled “Why I Oppose the War in Vietnam.” Name that laureate.

1. Desmond Tutu

2. Liberia

5:  Martin Luther King, Jr

4. Economics

3. Toni Morrison

Answers to Thursday, February 13, 2025

Black Nobel Laureates: February is Black History Month. Here are some questions about Black winners of the Nobel Committee’s highest honor.

1. Three Black South Africans have won the Nobel Peace Prize. The first was Albert Luthuli in 1960. The third was Nelson Mandela in 1993. Who was the second, who won the prize in 1984?

Desmond Tutu

2. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf shared the 2011 prize for her efforts for women’s rights in what West African country, which was founded as a refuge for Black American expatriates and former slaves?

Liberia

3. Five years after her 1988 novel “Beloved” won a Pulitzer Prize, what American author became the first Black woman to win a Nobel Prize for Literature?

Toni Morrison  

4. W. Arthur Lewis is the only Black person to win a Nobel Prize in what field, for his books such as “Labour in the West Indies: The Birth of a Workers' Movement” and “Tropical Development 1880–1913”?

Economics

5. The youngest Black Nobel laureate was an activist who won the Peace Prize in 1964. He also won a posthumous Grammy Award in 1971 for a recording of a speech titled “Why I Oppose the War in Vietnam.” Name that laureate.

Martin Luther King Jr.
 

Questions for
Friday, February 14, 2025

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

1. Quit While You’re Ahead: There are four NFL teams named after some kind of cat. Name as many of those cats as you can for one point each. Zero points total if you get any incorrect.

2. Happy Valentine’s Day! We hear a lot about Cupid this time of year. What is his Greek equivalent?

3. One of the earliest recorded examples of biological warfare happened when a Mongol army catapulted bodies into the Genoese-occupied city of Caffa in 1347, causing the spread of what disease?

4. Helianthus is a genus of flowering plants more commonly known as… what?

5. Today is February 14. On this day in 1991, a film was released in U.S. theatres that would go on to win five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Actress. Name that psychological thriller, directed by Jonathan Demme.

1 Panthers, Jaguars, Lions, Bengals 

5. Silence Of The Lambs

3 Bubonic Plague

2. Eros?

4. Sunflowers

Posted by: @zwak

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2. Eros?

Posted by: @steve-mn

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Posted by: @zwak

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2. Eros?

 

 

I only know that because it’s a common crossword puzzle clue/answer

Posted by: @zwak

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Posted by: @steve-mn

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Posted by: @zwak

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2. Eros?

 

 

I only know that because it’s a common crossword puzzle clue/answer

 

Answers to Friday, February 14, 2025

1. Quit While You’re Ahead: There are four NFL teams named after some kind of cat. Name as many of those cats as you can for one point each. Zero points total if you get any incorrect.

Bengal tiger, jaguar, lion, panther
(Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars, Detroit Lions, and Carolina Panthers)

2. Happy Valentine’s Day! We hear a lot about Cupid this time of year. What is his Greek equivalent?

Eros

3. One of the earliest recorded examples of biological warfare happened when a Mongol army catapulted bodies into the Genoese-occupied city of Caffa in 1347, causing the spread of what disease?

Bubonic plague (Black Death)

4. Helianthus is a genus of flowering plants more commonly known as… what?

Sunflowers

5. Today is February 14. On this day in 1991, a film was released in U.S. theatres that would go on to win five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Actress. Name that psychological thriller, directed by Jonathan Demme.

“The Silence of the Lambs”

Questions for
Monday, February 17, 2025

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

1. Cartoonist Mort Walker created the comic strip “Beetle Bailey” in 1950. Four years later, he created a spin-off strip about Beetle's sister and brother-in-law. What is it called?

2. What Swiss folk hero killed a tyrannical bailiff named Gessler with a crossbow in the early 1300s, among other feats?

3. What Indian dessert beverage is always made with yogurt, and often contains mango or saffron?

4. Spelled one way, they are a pair of best friends who regularly antagonize Pluto and Donald Duck. Spelled another way, it’s an 18th-century cabinetmaker. What is it?

5. In 2021, Rosalind Brewer became the third Black woman to head a Fortune 500 company when she was named CEO of what Illinois-based pharmacy chain?

2.  William Tell ??

1. Hi and Lois?

3. Lassi

4. Chip ‘n Dale/Chippendale

5. Walgreens

Answers to Monday, February 17, 2025

1. Cartoonist Mort Walker created the comic strip “Beetle Bailey” in 1950. Four years later, he created a spin-off strip about Beetle's sister and brother-in-law. What is it called?

“Hi and Lois”

2. What Swiss folk hero killed a tyrannical bailiff named Gessler with a crossbow in the early 1300s, among other feats?

William Tell

3. What Indian dessert beverage is always made with yogurt, and often contains mango or saffron?

Lassi

4. Spelled one way, they are a pair of best friends who regularly antagonize Pluto and Donald Duck. Spelled another way, it’s an 18th-century cabinetmaker. What is it?

Chip ’n’ Dale / Chippendale

5. In 2021, Rosalind Brewer became the third Black woman to head a Fortune 500 company when she was named CEO of what Illinois-based pharmacy chain?

Walgreens
(Walgreens Boots Alliance)

Questions for
Tuesday, February 18, 2025

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

1. If you’re drinking grapefruit-flavored LaCroix sparkling water, what 12-letter French word will you find on the can?

2. What actor had to get a rabies shot after being bitten by a ferret on the set of “Along Came Polly,” which was released in 2004, the same year that he starred in “Starsky & Hutch” and “Dodgeball”?

3. Cal Ripken Jr. played his 2,131st consecutive MLB game on September 6, 1995. That broke an endurance record set 56 years earlier by what self-declared “luckiest man on the face of the Earth”?

4. What film production company — which was shuttered by Disney in 2016 — got its name from a rock tablet that can be used to test the purity of gold and other precious metals?

5. What is the name of the woodcarver who created Pinocchio?

2.  Ben Stiller

3.  Lou Gehrig    (the baseball player, not @youngeagle's Social Studies teacher 😀)

4. Touchstone 

1. Pamplemousse

5. Geppetto

5. Geppetto

Answers to Tuesday, February 18, 2025

1. If you’re drinking grapefruit-flavored LaCroix sparkling water, what 12-letter French word will you find on the can?

Pamplemousse

2. What actor had to get a rabies shot after being bitten by a ferret on the set of “Along Came Polly,” which was released in 2004, the same year that he starred in “Starsky & Hutch” and “Dodgeball”?

Ben Stiller

3. Cal Ripken Jr. played his 2,131st consecutive MLB game on September 6, 1995. That broke an endurance record set 56 years earlier by what self-declared “luckiest man on the face of the Earth”?

Lou Gehrig

4. What film production company — which was shuttered by Disney in 2016 — got its name from a rock tablet that can be used to test the purity of gold and other precious metals?

Touchstone

5. What is the name of the woodcarver who created Pinocchio?

Geppetto

Questions for
Wednesday, February 19, 2025

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

1. What is the proper five-letter term, from Japan’s feudal period, for a samurai without a master?

2. According to some sources, what legendary item has the words “Take me up” engraved on one side, and “Cast me away” on the other?

3. Only one Disney movie has won more than four Academy Awards. It came out in 1964, and it won five, including Best Actress, Best Song, and Best Visual Effects. Name that movie.

4. If you've run 830,610 inches, you've just completed what kind of race?

5. What continent’s northern boundary was known as the “Barbary Coast” from the 16th century to the 19th century?

1 Ronin

5 Africa

3. Mary Poppins

5. Africa

4. Half marathon

2) the sword Excaliber

1. Answers to Wednesday, February 19, 2025

   1. What is the proper five-letter term, from Japan’s feudal period, for a samurai without a master?

   Ronin

   2. According to some sources, what legendary item has the words “Take me up” engraved on one side, and “Cast me away” on the other?

   Excalibur

   3. Only one Disney movie has won more than four Academy Awards. It came out in 1964, and it won five, including Best Actress, Best Song, and Best Visual Effects. Name that movie.

   “Mary Poppins”

   4. If you've run 830,610 inches, you've just completed what kind of race?

   Half marathon

   5. What continent’s northern boundary was known as the Barbary Coast from the 16th century to the 19th century?

   Africa

Questions for
Theme Thursday, February 20, 2025

Name That Car: All the answers in this round have the same name as a car model. You're going to name that car model. For example: "What Dodge played home games in Los Angeles, then San Diego, then Los Angeles again?" Answer: "Charger."

Answers in tomorrow’s email. 

1. What Ford is the arthouse arm of Universal Studios, which distributed such films as "Brokeback Mountain" and "Promising Young Woman"?

2. What Honda was composed by Homer some 2,700 years ago?

3. What Toyota invented a written syllabary for the Cherokee language in 1821?

4. What Volkswagen was invented in Scotland in the 15th century?

5. What Chevy is a key ingredient in a Bahama Mama, as well as the Pacific Coast home of Barbara Millicent Roberts?

2.  Odyssey 

5. Malibu

3) Sequoyah

4. Golf

1) Ford FOCUS= Focus Films

Answers to Thursday, February 20, 2025

Name That Car: All the answers in this round have the same name as a car model. You're going to name that car model. For example: "What Dodge played home games in Los Angeles, then San Diego, then Los Angeles again?" Answer: "Charger."

1. What Ford is the arthouse arm of Universal Studios, which distributed such films as "Brokeback Mountain" and "Promising Young Woman"?

Focus

2. What Honda was composed by Homer some 2,700 years ago?

Odyssey

3. What Toyota invented a written syllabary for the Cherokee language in 1821?

Sequoia (or Sequoyah)

4. What Volkswagen was invented in Scotland in the 15th century?

Golf

5. What Chevy is a key ingredient in a Bahama Mama, as well as the Pacific Coast home of Barbara Millicent Roberts?

Malibu
(“Barbara Millicent Roberts” is Barbie’s full name)

Questions for
Friday, February 21, 2025

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

1. Quit While You’re Ahead: There are five naturally occurring elements in the periodic table group known as the halogens. Name as many of those elements as you can for one point each. Zero points total if you get any incorrect.

2. What website reportedly turned down two chances to buy Google — for $1 million in 1998 and for $5 billion in 2002 — even though they had recently paid similar amounts for GeoCities and Broadcast.com?

3. Set in a fictional California coastal town, a 1930 werewolf novel titled "Murder at Full Moon" is the only surviving unpublished work by what future Nobel Prize-winning author?

4. Cheap Trick, Bob Dylan, Ozzy Osbourne, and many other artists have recorded live albums at what famous Tokyo arena, built in 1964 to host the Olympic judo competitions?

5. Today is February 21. On this day 100 years ago, the first issue of a social and cultural magazine was published with a cover illustration whose top-hatted subject remains the publication’s mascot today. Name that magazine.

5. The New Yorker

2 Yahoo!

4. Budakhan (sp?)

3) John Steinbeck 

Posted by: @zwak

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4. Budakhan (sp?)

1. Fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine...

That's all I got

Answers to Friday, February 21, 2025

1. Quit While You’re Ahead: There are five naturally occurring elements in the periodic table group known as the halogens. Name as many of those elements as you can for one point each. Zero points total if you get any incorrect.

Fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl), bromine (Br), iodine (I), astatine (At)

2. What website reportedly turned down two chances to buy Google — for $1 million in 1998 and for $5 billion in 2002 — even though they had recently paid similar amounts for GeoCities and Broadcast.com?

Yahoo

3. Set in a fictional California coastal town, a 1930 werewolf novel titled "Murder at Full Moon" is the only surviving unpublished work by what future Nobel Prize-winning author?

John Steinbeck

4. Cheap Trick, Bob Dylan, Ozzy Osbourne, and many other artists have recorded live albums at what famous Tokyo arena, built in 1964 to host the Olympic judo competitions?

The Budokan

5. Today is February 21. On this day 100 years ago, the first issue of a social and cultural magazine was published with a cover illustration whose top-hatted subject remains the publication’s mascot today. Name that magazine.

The New Yorker

Questions for
Monday, February 24, 2025

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

1. The oldest bottled condiment continuously sold in the United States wasn’t invented in the United States. It was first sold in 1837 in what 14-letter English county?

2. What religious term, sometimes used interchangeably with the word “missionary,” comes from the Greek for “one who is sent forth”?

3. Only two U.S. presidents have been inaugurated into office with both of their parents in attendance. George W. Bush was one. Who was the other?

4. “Welcome to Dead House,” “The Haunted Mask,” and “Say Cheese and Die!” are titles from what series of 62 paperbacks, the best-selling children’s book series of the pre-“Harry Potter” era?

5. To achieve the "Triple Crown" of U.S. hiking, you need to traverse three trails: the Appalachian Trail, the Continental Divide, and the PCT, which stands for... what?

1. Worcestershire