Whose Line Is It Anyway?: Five questions about lines.
1. Until it was surpassed by “Cats” in 1997, what 1975 musical had the longest run of any Broadway production?
“A Chorus Line”
2. When the Korean peninsula was divided into North Korea and South Korea in 1948, what line of latitude was used as the border?
38th Parallel
3. In film, it refers to people like the actors and director. In advertising, it refers to mass media promotions. In accounting, it’s a deduction you take to figure out your adjusted gross income. What is that three-word phrase?
“Above the line”
4. If you’re a baseball player, you don’t want to be on the wrong side of the “Mendoza Line,” named for former Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Mario Mendoza. It means your batting average is below… what?
.200
5. An extremely expensive — and ultimately ineffective — series of concrete bunkers called the “Maginot Line” was built in the 1930s between France and Germany. When the line failed, France’s army became cut off from its British allies, who were forced to retreat north to what French harbor town?
Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in Monday’s email.
1. Quit While You’re Ahead: There are five elements within the Chinese Zodiac. Name as many of those elements as you can for one point each. Zero points total if you get any incorrect.
2. “The Gospel at Colonus” is an avant-garde musical based on the work of Sophocles. The cast of a 1985 special aired on PBS includes Morgan Freeman as The Messenger, Robert Earl Jones as Creon, and The Blind Boys of Alabama collectively playing what tragic hero?
3. What “Rocky IV” action star earned a Fulbright Scholarship to MIT, only to drop out in favor of being Grace Jones’ boyfriend-slash-bodyguard?
4. The SI unit of electrical resistance is named after the German physicist who first described it. What was his surname?
5. Today is October 2. On this day in 1627, Emperor Chongzhen ascended to the throne after the death of his brother Emperor Tianqi, making him the last ruler of what Chinese dynasty?
“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 five elements within the Chinese Zodiac. Name as many of those elements as you can for one point each. Zero points total if you get any incorrect.
Wood, fire, earth, metal, water
2. “The Gospel at Colonus” is an avant-garde musical based on the work of Sophocles. The cast of a 1985 special aired on PBS includes Morgan Freeman as The Messenger, Robert Earl Jones as Creon, and The Blind Boys of Alabama collectively playing what tragic hero?
Oedipus
3. What “Rocky IV” action star earned a Fulbright Scholarship to MIT, only to drop out in favor of being Grace Jones’ boyfriend-slash-bodyguard?
Dolph Lundgren
4. The SI unit of electrical resistance is named after the German physicist who first described it. What was his surname?
Ohm
5. Today is October 2. On this day in 1627, Emperor Chongzhen ascended to the throne after the death of his brother Emperor Tianqi, making him the last ruler of what Chinese dynasty?
Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in tomorrow’s email.
1. Before Bill Murray and Chris Pratt, Lorenzo Music was the voice of what cartoon character?
2. Hollywood was founded in part because of its physical distance from New Jersey’s Motion Picture Patents Company and its notoriously litigious owner. Name that owner.
3. What type of musical composition — notable for its use of overlapping voices, similar to a canon — gets its name from the Latin for “to flee,” and counted Bach as one of its most famous practitioners?
4. A 1953 movie based on a true story and starring Barbara Stanwyck won the Oscar for Best Screenplay. A 1997 movie based on the same true story and with the exact same title won the Oscar for Best Picture. Name those movies.
5. Pink Floyd's debut album “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn” takes its name from a chapter title in what Kenneth Grahame children’s novel?
1. Before Bill Murray and Chris Pratt, Lorenzo Music was the voice of what cartoon character?
Garfield
2. Hollywood was founded in part because of its physical distance from New Jersey’s Motion Picture Patents Company and its notoriously litigious owner. Name that owner.
Thomas Edison
3. What type of musical composition — notable for its use of overlapping voices, similar to a canon — gets its name from the Latin for “to flee,” and counted Bach as one of its most famous practitioners?
Fugue
4. A 1953 movie based on a true story and starring Barbara Stanwyck won the Oscar for Best Screenplay. A 1997 movie based on the same true story and with the exact same title won the Oscar for Best Picture. Name those movies.
“Titanic”
5. Pink Floyd's debut album “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn” takes its name from a chapter title in what Kenneth Grahame children’s novel?
Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in tomorrow’s email.
1. Expanding our understanding of the Roman diet, sea urchins, shellfish, and giraffe bones have been found in latrine drains in what archaeological site near Naples?
2. The Sprouse brothers portrayed the Martin brothers on the Disney Channel from 2005 to 2011. The Sprouse brothers’ names are Dylan and Cole. What were the Martin brothers’ first names?
3. A “canard” is a deliberately false or misleading story. On fancy restaurant menus, however, it truly is what kind of animal?
4. There are four spices in McCormick’s pumpkin pie spice blend. Which one comes first alphabetically?
5. What fairy tale character got her name because she was made to sleep in a hearth instead of a bed?
1. Expanding our understanding of the Roman diet, sea urchins, shellfish, and giraffe bones have been found in latrine drains in what archaeological site near Naples?
Pompeii (and Herculaneum)
2. The Sprouse brothers portrayed the Martin brothers on the Disney Channel from 2005 to 2011. The Sprouse brothers’ names are Dylan and Cole. What were the Martin brothers’ first names?
Zack and Cody (“The Suite Life of Zack & Cody”)
3. A “canard” is a deliberately false or misleading story. On fancy restaurant menus, however, it truly is what kind of animal?
Duck
4. There are four spices in McCormick’s pumpkin pie spice blend. Which one comes first alphabetically?
Allspice (the others: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg)
5. What fairy tale character got her name because she was made to sleep in a hearth instead of a bed?
Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in tomorrow’s email.
1. “Our personal lives are now distinct and separate, and we will be seeing other people, pigs, frogs, et al.” This was part of the official statement posted to Twitter in 2015, announcing the split of what couple?
2. Which Major League Baseball team has been at least partially owned by Nintendo since 1992 — which probably accounts for their line of Ken Griffey Jr. games in the ’90s?
3. What 1989 movie’s title also appears in its dialogue, followed by the line, “Unlike people, dogs are naturally good and loyal and kind”?
4. The Heloderma suspectum is the only venomous lizard native to the U.S. By what scary-sounding two-word name is this lizard better known?
5. What “Designing Women” actor voiced Bo Peep in the “Toy Story” movies and played Janine the receptionist in the original “Ghostbusters” films?
1. “Our personal lives are now distinct and separate, and we will be seeing other people, pigs, frogs, et al.” This was part of the official statement posted to Twitter in 2015, announcing the split of what couple?
Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog
2. Which Major League Baseball team has been at least partially owned by Nintendo since 1992 — which probably accounts for their line of Ken Griffey Jr. games in the ’90s?
Seattle Mariners
3. What 1989 movie’s title also appears in its dialogue, followed by the line, “Unlike people, dogs are naturally good and loyal and kind”?
“All Dogs Go to Heaven”
4. The Heloderma suspectum is the only venomous lizard native to the U.S. By what scary-sounding two-word name is this lizard better known?
Gila monster
5. What “Designing Women” actor voiced Bo Peep in the “Toy Story” movies and played Janine the receptionist in the original “Ghostbusters” films?
Holy Clustering Consonants!: Each answer will be or contain a word that features five consonants in a row. For example: A “waiter’s friend” is better known by what compound term? Answer: Corkscrew, which contains the letters “R-K-S-C-R” in a row.
Answers in tomorrow’s email.
1. If you see the word “BAMF!” in a comic book, chances are what character is — or was until very recently — also in that frame?
2. Bridget Bishop, Martha Corey, and Elizabeth Clarke are among the more notable historical figures who were accused, and convicted, of what crime?
3. Advocates for clean water are fond of a four-word saying: “We all live…” where?
4. Until Brenda Lee took the record in 2023, the oldest artist to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart was 62 years old when “Hello, Dolly!” was released in 1964. Name that artist.
5. If your apartment kitchen was renovated in the last five years, it probably has a gray floor, white walls, and subway tiles… where?
“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
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Holy Clustering Consonants!: Each answer will be or contain a word that features five consonants in a row. For example: A “waiter’s friend” is better known by what compound term? Answer: Corkscrew, which contains the letters “R-K-S-C-R” in a row.
1. If you see the word “BAMF!” in a comic book, chances are what character is — or was until very recently — also in that frame?
Nightcrawler
2. Bridget Bishop, Martha Corey, and Elizabeth Clarke are among the more notable historical figures who were accused, and convicted, of what crime?
Witchcraft
3. Advocates for clean water are fond of a four-word saying: “We all live…” where?
“Downstream”
4. Until Brenda Lee took the record in 2023, the oldest artist to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart was 62 years old when “Hello, Dolly!” was released in 1964. Name that artist.
Louis Armstrong
5. If your apartment kitchen was renovated in the last five years, it probably has a gray floor, white walls, and subway tiles… where?
Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in Monday’s email.
1. Quit While You’re Ahead: Besides “joker,” there are six personalities identified in the chorus of the Steve Miller Band hit “The Joker.” Name as many of those identifiers as you can for one point each. Hint: Every answer should follow the lyrics “I’m a…” in the song. Zero points total if you get any incorrect.
2. The final installment in the “Dirty Harry” series co-stars Jim Carrey. Delete the space in the middle of the film’s title, and it could refer to what 2016 Marvel film, starring another Canadian?
3. Diastole and systole are two measurements of… what?
4. The Kalahari Desert spans three countries: Namibia, South Africa, and what third country, whose capital is Gaborone?
5. Today is October 9. It’s Moldy Cheese Day! What antibiotic is derived from mold in the same genus as the one that appears in cheeses like Roquefort, Stilton, and Gorgonzola?
“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. Quit While You’re Ahead: Besides “joker,” there are six personalities identified in the chorus of the Steve Miller Band hit “The Joker.” Name as many of those identifiers as you can for one point each. Hint: Every answer should follow the lyrics “I’m a…” in the song. Zero points total if you get any incorrect.
2. The final installment in the “Dirty Harry” series co-stars Jim Carrey. Delete the space in the middle of the film’s title, and it could refer to what 2016 Marvel film, starring another Canadian?
“Deadpool” (“The Dead Pool”)
3. Diastole and systole are two measurements of… what?
Blood pressure
4. The Kalahari Desert spans three countries: Namibia, South Africa, and what third country, whose capital is Gaborone?
Botswana
5. Today is October 9. It’s Moldy Cheese Day! What antibiotic is derived from mold in the same genus as the one that appears in cheeses like Roquefort, Stilton, and Gorgonzola?
Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in tomorrow’s email.
1. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan starred together in three romantic comedies during the 1990s. Which was released last?
2. The shoreline of Ohio borders which Great Lake for over 300 miles?
3. As spooky as “Thrilla Killa Klownz” might sound, it’s actually a fictional group from “Saturday Night Live” parodying what hip-hop act?
4. What 2022 speculative fiction novel by R.F. Kuang, in which the U.K. is powered by magical silver bars, is named after a tower from chapter 11 of the Book of Genesis?
5. When you swallow, the flap that covers the larynx to keep food out of the respiratory tract is known as your… 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
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan starred together in three romantic comedies during the 1990s. Which was released last?
“You've Got Mail”
2. The shoreline of Ohio borders which Great Lake for over 300 miles?
Lake Erie
3. As spooky as “Thrilla Killa Klownz” might sound, it’s actually a fictional group from “Saturday Night Live” parodying what hip-hop act?
Insane Clown Posse
4. What 2022 speculative fiction novel by R.F. Kuang, in which the U.K. is powered by magical silver bars, is named after a tower from chapter 11 of the Book of Genesis?
“Babel (or the Necessity of Violence)”
5. When you swallow, the flap that covers the larynx to keep food out of the respiratory tract is known as your… what?
Five questions to wake up your noodle. Answers in tomorrow’s email.
1. The first Indian American governor of South Carolina, the bass player of Mötley Crüe, and a darling character Prince supposedly met in a hotel lobby all share what name?
2. What eight-letter word, meaning “one that returns after death,” appears in the title of a 2002 novel about frontiersman Hugh Glass, as well as the book’s 2015 film adaptation?
3. What 19th-century literary classic was published in its original language under the title “Voyna i mir”?
4. What is the name of the small opening through which muscles, tendons, and nerves pass from your forearm to your hand?
5. What dog breed, which surged in popularity in America beginning in 1956, gets its name from the southern coastal region of Croatia?
