Ken Jennings trivia challenge

[musicgeek]

1. What's the only Best Picture Oscar winner to spawn a hit TV series, lasting for eight seasons (1988 to 1995) on NBC and CBS? In the Heat of the Night

2. What word, sometimes explained by journalists as meaning "war of stones," is actually the Arabic for "shaking off"? WAG - Fatwa?

3. By what crimefighting name do comic book fans better know Kara Zor-El, a.k.a. Linda Lee? Supergirl

4. In 1921, a Utrecht phytopathologist named Bea Schwarz isolated what disease, which has since claimed over 200 million victims in the U.S. alone? Dutch Elm disease?

5. What U.S. state has the shortest coastline, a 13-mile stretch where you'd find the historic seaport of Portsmouth? New Hampshire?

No idea on 6 and 7 this week.

[Seaboe Muffinchucker]

Originally Posted by MacLloyd

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS

1. What's the only Best Picture Oscar winner to spawn a hit TV series, lasting for eight seasons (1988 to 1995) on NBC and CBS?

Shakespeare In Love

2. What word, sometimes explained by journalists as meaning "war of stones," is actually the Arabic for "shaking off"?

paxlithia

3. By what crimefighting name do comic book fans better know Kara Zor-El, a.k.a. Linda Lee?

Supergirl

4. In 1921, a Utrecht phytopathologist named Bea Schwarz isolated what disease, which has since claimed over 200 million victims in the U.S. alone?

AIDS

5. What U.S. state has the shortest coastline, a 13-mile stretch where you'd find the historic seaport of Portsmouth?

New Hampshire

6. Followers of what religion build and worship at stupas?

Hindi

7. What unusual distinction is shared by these countries and no others, listed in the correct order? Tunisia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Guatemala, Norway, Italy, Australia, Spain, China, Thailand, and Switzerland?

Is the distinction only shared if they're listed in this order? Is there an incorrect order? These are places where they filmed bits of the Star Wars films. That's my answer.

Seaboe

[Darth Credence]

Originally Posted by MacLloyd

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS

3. By what crimefighting name do comic book fans better know Kara Zor-El, a.k.a. Linda Lee?

Supergirl

Originally Posted by MacLloyd

5. What U.S. state has the shortest coastline, a 13-mile stretch where you'd find the historic seaport of Portsmouth?

Rhode Island?

Originally Posted by MacLloyd

7. What unusual distinction is shared by these countries and no others, listed in the correct order? Tunisia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Guatemala, Norway, Italy, Australia, Spain, China, Thailand, and Switzerland?

I know this one! Tunisia was Tatooine; the UK was filming in studios the US had some scenes in studios and other bits of Tatooine; Guatemala was where they shot Yavin; Norway was the ice planet of Hoth; Italy was Naboo; studio work was done in Australia; Spain was other bits of Naboo; China and Thailand were both used for background of Kashyyyk; and some of the mountains in Switzerland were used to show Alderaan at the very end of Revenge of the Sith. So, Star Wars locations. Sorry about too much detail, but I got excited.

ETA: I see that Kitap and Seaboe got to it before me. Seaboe, it is in the order that the filming was actually done.

[GenYus234]

Originally Posted by Seaboe Muffinchucker

paxlithia

That's "Peace of Stones". I think you meant "bellumlithia".

PS. Don't look now, but I think you answered several correctly. You'll ruin your streak.

[Seaboe Muffinchucker]

Originally Posted by Darth Credence

Seaboe, it is in the order that the filming was actually done.

I understand that. It was the way he worded the question, which made it seem as if the answer would change if you put them in a different order.

Originally Posted by GenYus234

That's "Peace of Stones". I think you meant "bellumlithia".

I couldn't remember bellum, so thanks.

Seaboe

[GenYus234]

I only remembered it because of the ammunition. Parabellum (the most common 9mm bullet) is from the phrase, "si vis pacem para bellum". If you desire peace, prepare for war.

Full disclosure: I Google searched for the exact quote.

[Mateus]

Once again, I've probably too late to give an answer, but...

1. What's the only Best Picture Oscar winner to spawn a hit TV series, lasting for eight seasons (1988 to 1995) on NBC and CBS?

In the Heat of the Night

2. What word, sometimes explained by journalists as meaning "war of stones," is actually the Arabic for "shaking off"?

Intifada

3. By what crimefighting name do comic book fans better know Kara Zor-El, a.k.a. Linda Lee?

Supergirl

4. In 1921, a Utrecht phytopathologist named Bea Schwarz isolated what disease, which has since claimed over 200 million victims in the U.S. alone?

Phyto indicates something about plants, but no clue beyond that.

5. What U.S. state has the shortest coastline, a 13-mile stretch where you'd find the historic seaport of Portsmouth?

New Hampshire

6. Followers of what religion build and worship at stupas?

Buddhism (they're sites that contain relics)

7. What unusual distinction is shared by these countries and no others, listed in the correct order? Tunisia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Guatemala, Norway, Italy, Australia, Spain, China, Thailand, and Switzerland?

Countries where the world's tallest person lived/lives?

[damian]

Originally Posted by GenYus234

That's "Peace of Stones". I think you meant "bellumlithia".

Bellum Lapides.

[quijote57]

1. What's the only Best Picture Oscar winner to spawn a hit TV series, lasting for eight seasons (1988 to 1995) on NBC and CBS?

I can only think of M*A*S*H, but that went off the air long before 1995.

2. What word, sometimes explained by journalists as meaning "war of stones," is actually the Arabic for "shaking off"?

Jihad is all that comes to mind.

3. By what crimefighting name do comic book fans better know Kara Zor-El, a.k.a. Linda Lee?

Supergirl/Superwoman

4. In 1921, a Utrecht phytopathologist named Bea Schwarz isolated what disease, which has since claimed over 200 million victims in the U.S. alone?

Can't think, since I have no clue "phytopathologist" means.

5. What U.S. state has the shortest coastline, a 13-mile stretch where you'd find the historic seaport of Portsmouth?

New Hampshire. But wouldn't all the land-locked states have an even shorter coastline?

6. Followers of what religion build and worship at stupas?

This question leaves me in a stupor (or "stupa" as someone from Brooklyn might say).

[MacLloyd]

LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS

1. What's the only Best Picture Oscar winner to spawn a hit TV series, lasting for eight seasons (1988 to 1995) on NBC and CBS? Crash was a fairly unsuccessful TV show (two seasons on Starz) but In the Heat of the Night became an actual, bona fide TV hit twenty years after winning its Oscar.

2. What word, sometimes explained by journalists as meaning "war of stones," is actually the Arabic for "shaking off"? "Intifada," more colloquially translated as "uprising" or something similar.

3. By what crimefighting name do comic book fans better know Kara Zor-El, a.k.a. Linda Lee? Kara Zor-El is the cousin of Jor-El's son Kal-El, but we know her better as Supergirl.

4. In 1921, a Utrecht phytopathologist named Bea Schwarz isolated what disease, which has since claimed over 200 million victims in the U.S. alone? Utrecht is in the Netherlands, which is why Dr. Schwarz's discovery is still called Dutch elm disease.

5. What U.S. state has the shortest coastline, a 13-mile stretch where you'd find the historic seaport of Portsmouth? New Hampshire. Delaware is in second place, by the way, with just 28 miles of coastline.

6. Followers of what religion build and worship at stupas? A stupa is one of those stone mounds that contain Buddhist relics.

7. What unusual distinction is shared by these countries and no others, listed in the correct order? Tunisia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Guatemala, Norway, Italy, Australia, Spain, China, Thailand, and Switzerland? These are the filming locations of the Star Wars films, in the chronological order they were visited by George Lucas's film crew. China, Thailand, and Switzerland, which appear briefly in the final film, were just second-unit visits to shoot background plates, since those three countries have strict no-Jar Jar immigration policies.

[MacLloyd]

Per Ken Jennings' request, the trivia challenge discussed on this message board has the number seven question delayed by one week. This is to avoid easy googling of the question which is designed to foil those who would "cheat". If you know the current number seven question, please do not discuss it here.

The Rules of the Thread
1. If you use the thread to help you get answers, do not submit those answers to the official game.
2. No googling until Sunday. No looking anything up anywhere (and posting it) before Sunday. No checking an article in a magazine you read last week. No checking some old notebook from college. No wikipedia. Not even snopes.com. No checking anything, anywhere - until Sunday. Only information that is stored in your brain, or in the brains of your non-snopester friends and family. But you can't use your family members as a work-around to looking up the information yourself.
3. If you google, don't post that information to the thread until Sunday. Not even as confirmation of the guesses of other posters. Someone else might still know the information on their own.
4. No guess is stupid, throw it out there.
5. No Hinting. If you have a guess or a reasonable belief that you have the right answer, post it. If you are attempting to use hinting as a work-around to the no posting googled answers rule, don't.

And remember, this is an exhibition, not a competition, so please... no wagering.

This is the 310th weekly installment of Ken Jennings's Tuesday Trivia. "We evolve 'em, you solve 'em."

After this week's quiz is scored, we'll be able to crown our latest ten-week winner, who gets a signed copy of Maphead, aka "that book about maps I wrote." (Now in paperback!) It's a tight race atop the Question Seven scoreboard right now, as you can see over at http://ken-jennings.com/messageboard...pic.php?t=7067 . ON WITH THE QUIZ!


THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS

1. What are you calculating if you subtract course rating from five scores, multiply each by 113, and then divide by the appropriate slope rating?

2. The "Denmark Strait" is actually located over a thousand miles away from Copenhagen, and lies between what two islands?

3. In the U.S., federal inmates in prison or on furlough must agree not to eat baked goods containing what (generally harmless) ingredient?

4. Shale, limestone, and sandstone belong to which of the three basic categories of rock?

5. What TV show's characters often repeat the slogan "Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose"?

6. On April 18, 1975, President Ford visited what building to light in one of its windows a lantern that still hangs there today?

7. What unusual distinction is shared by these bands? Alabama, Backstreet Boys, the Beach Boys, the Dandy Warhols, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Kings of Leon, the Miracles, Rascal Flatts.

[MacLloyd]

1. What are you calculating if you subtract course rating from five scores, multiply each by 113, and then divide by the appropriate slope rating?

WAG - Golf handicap???

2. The "Denmark Strait" is actually located over a thousand miles away from Copenhagen, and lies between what two islands?

Iceland and Greenland

3. In the U.S., federal inmates in prison or on furlough must agree not to eat baked goods containing what (generally harmless) ingredient?

Poppy Seeds???

4. Shale, limestone, and sandstone belong to which of the three basic categories of rock?

Sedimentary

5. What TV show's characters often repeat the slogan "Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose"?

Friday Night Lights

6. On April 18, 1975, President Ford visited what building to light in one of its windows a lantern that still hangs there today?

Gotta be the Old North Church

7. What unusual distinction is shared by these bands? Alabama, Backstreet Boys, the Beach Boys, the Dandy Warhols, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Kings of Leon, the Miracles, Rascal Flatts.

Wow. I have absolutely no idea. I don't even know where to start.

MacLloyd

[Spam & Cookies-mmm]

1. Golf handicap?
3. Poppy seeds
4. Sedimentary
6. The Old North Church?

[Floater]

3. In the U.S., federal inmates in prison or on furlough must agree not to eat baked goods containing what (generally harmless) ingredient?

Files?

4. Shale, limestone, and sandstone belong to which of the three basic categories of rock?

Sedimentary

ETA Seeing your answer to #2: I thought it could be those two

[Don Enrico]

3. In the U.S., federal inmates in prison or on furlough must agree not to eat baked goods containing what (generally harmless) ingredient?

Poppy seed, because it messes with drug testing.

4. Shale, limestone, and sandstone belong to which of the three basic categories of rock?

Sedimentary rock.

[Mateus]

1. What are you calculating if you subtract course rating from five scores, multiply each by 113, and then divide by the appropriate slope rating?
Golf handicap?
2. The "Denmark Strait" is actually located over a thousand miles away from Copenhagen, and lies between what two islands?
Greenland and Iceland
3. In the U.S., federal inmates in prison or on furlough must agree not to eat baked goods containing what (generally harmless) ingredient?
Poppy seeds, I would imagine
4. Shale, limestone, and sandstone belong to which of the three basic categories of rock?
Sedimentary
5. What TV show's characters often repeat the slogan "Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose"?
No clue.
6. On April 18, 1975, President Ford visited what building to light in one of its windows a lantern that still hangs there today?
That place where Paul Revere "the British are coming" can't think of it's name one if by land
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these bands? Alabama, Backstreet Boys, the Beach Boys, the Dandy Warhols, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Kings of Leon, the Miracles, Rascal Flatts.
They're in alphabetical order.

[GenYus234]

1. What are you calculating if you subtract course rating from five scores, multiply each by 113, and then divide by the appropriate slope rating?Par?

3. In the U.S., federal inmates in prison or on furlough must agree not to eat baked goods containing what (generally harmless) ingredient?Poppy seeds

4. Shale, limestone, and sandstone belong to which of the three basic categories of rock? Sentimentary

6. On April 18, 1975, President Ford visited what building to light in one of its windows a lantern that still hangs there today?The Old North Church in Boston?

[Floater]

Originally Posted by Mateus

7. What unusual distinction is shared by these bands? Alabama, Backstreet Boys, the Beach Boys, the Dandy Warhols, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Kings of Leon, the Miracles, Rascal Flatts.
They're in alphabetical order.

[Simply Madeline]

1. What are you calculating if you subtract course rating from five scores, multiply each by 113, and then divide by the appropriate slope rating?
Don't know

2. The "Denmark Strait" is actually located over a thousand miles away from Copenhagen, and lies between what two islands?
Greenland and Iceland

3. In the U.S., federal inmates in prison or on furlough must agree not to eat baked goods containing what (generally harmless) ingredient?
Poppy Seeds.

4. Shale, limestone, and sandstone belong to which of the three basic categories of rock?
Sedimentary?

5. What TV show's characters often repeat the slogan "Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose"?
Friday Night Lights

6. On April 18, 1975, President Ford visited what building to light in one of its windows a lantern that still hangs there today?
Old North Church?

7. What unusual distinction is shared by these bands? Alabama, Backstreet Boys, the Beach Boys, the Dandy Warhols, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Kings of Leon, the Miracles, Rascal Flatts.
Some of the members are cousins? I know this is true of Backstreet Boys, Kings of Leon, and the Beach Boys.

[Seaboe Muffinchucker]

Originally Posted by MacLloyd

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS

1. What are you calculating if you subtract course rating from five scores, multiply each by 113, and then divide by the appropriate slope rating?

obstacle course scores.

2. The "Denmark Strait" is actually located over a thousand miles away from Copenhagen, and lies between what two islands?

Big and Little Diomede (which is probably the wrong name; I mean the two islands separating the US from Russia)

3. In the U.S., federal inmates in prison or on furlough must agree not to eat baked goods containing what (generally harmless) ingredient?

poppy seeds

4. Shale, limestone, and sandstone belong to which of the three basic categories of rock?

sedimentary

5. What TV show's characters often repeat the slogan "Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose"?

Dawson's Creek

6. On April 18, 1975, President Ford visited what building to light in one of its windows a lantern that still hangs there today?

the Old North Church ("One if by land, two if by sea, and I on the opposite shore shall be.")

7. What unusual distinction is shared by these bands? Alabama, Backstreet Boys, the Beach Boys, the Dandy Warhols, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Kings of Leon, the Miracles, Rascal Flatts.

They're all well known for songs with a strong bass line (it's an answer, right?) ETA: Madeline's got it. That's also true of Gladys Knight.

Seaboe