Ken Jennings trivia challenge

[Seaboe Muffinchucker]

Originally Posted by MacLloyd

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS

1. The title family on TV's Party of Five shared what literary surname?

Hemingway (wouldn't it be funnier if the name were Thurber?)

2. In what state is the Preakness Stakes, one third of horse racing's Triple Crown, run?

New Joisey

3. Who composed the 1905 Suite Bergamasque for piano, with a famous third movement inspired by a Paul Verlaine poem about moonlight?

Ira Gershwin (yes, I know)

4. Which Kardashian is the oldest child of Robert and Kris Kardashian?

Khloe

5. CQ, which organizes annual RTTY and DX contests, is the most popular magazine for American devotees of what hobby?

Remote control cars

6. How many oxygen atoms are there in a molecule of sulfuric acid?

4, which the green little chemist should've known.

7. What unusual distinction is shared by these U.S. presidents, and no others? Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Jackson, Polk, Taylor, Grant, Truman, and Carter?

They were all farmers.

Seaboe

[GenYus234]

6. How many oxygen atoms are there in a molecule of sulfuric acid?
Michael was a chemist,
Michael is no more.
'Cause what he thought was H2O,
Was H2SO4

[MacLloyd]

LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS

1. The title family on TV's Party of Five shared what literary surname? Neve Campbell and Jennifer Love Hewitt and Matthew Fox and then the other less famous ones too I guess were all "the Salingers."

2. In what state is the Preakness Stakes, one third of horse racing's Triple Crown, run? The Preakness is always run at the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland.

3. Who composed the 1905 Suite Bergamasque for piano, with a famous third movement inspired by a Paul Verlaine poem about moonlight? That movement is "Clair de lune," by Claude Debussy.

4. Which Kardashian is the oldest child of Robert and Kris Kardashian? Kourtney is the oldest. I actually respect you more if you DIDN'T know that.

5. CQ, which organizes annual RTTY and DX contests, is the most popular magazine for American devotees of what hobby? "CQ" is the "calling any station" code used by amateur radio operators, or hams.

6. How many oxygen atoms are there in a molecule of sulfuric acid? The chemical symbol for sulfuric acid is H2SO4, because there are four oxygen atoms in a sulfate ion.

7. What unusual distinction is shared by these U.S. presidents, and no others? Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Jackson, Polk, Taylor, Grant, Truman, and Carter? These are the presidents who were farmers in their pre-Oval Office life. I predict Carter will be the last one for a while.

[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.

Happy Tuesday Trivia once again, everybody. Actually I'm either in Italy or Sweden right now, if all goes according to plan, so this is either Tisdag Trivia or Martedi Trivia. Please make the necessary adjustments to your quiz experience.

I can only hope that the scoreboard is being updated from time to time in my absence. Check out http://ken-jennings.com/messageboards/viewforum.php?f=3 if you want to know more. LET'S GO VOLTRON FORCE!

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS

1. What animal is popularly known in North America as a polecat?

2. The chorus of what 2012 hit song begins, "Hey, I just met you and this is crazy, but here's my number"?

3. From his 1306 coronation until his 1329 death, who led the Wars of Scottish Independence against England?

4. What device, invented at Bell Labs in 1947 by Bardeen, Brattain, and Shockley, made possible the next half-century of miniaturized radios and other electronics?

5. Mohammed Mursi and Ahmed Shafiq are recent political rivals in what nation?

6. Brick, lumber, wool, grain, and ore are the five original resources found on what imaginary island?

7. What unusual distinction is shared by these countries, listed in this order? Sudan, Serbia, Serbia and Montenegro, Indonesia, the United States, Ethiopia, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, the USSR.

[MacLloyd]

1. What animal is popularly known in North America as a polecat?

The lovely, lovely skunk!

2. The chorus of what 2012 hit song begins, "Hey, I just met you and this is crazy, but here's my number"?

My only contact with this is through internet memes, so I couldn't tell you what the song is.

3. From his 1306 coronation until his 1329 death, who led the Wars of Scottish Independence against England?

Robert the Bruce

4. What device, invented at Bell Labs in 1947 by Bardeen, Brattain, and Shockley, made possible the next half-century of miniaturized radios and other electronics?

The Transistor

5. Mohammed Mursi and Ahmed Shafiq are recent political rivals in what nation?

Egypt

6. Brick, lumber, wool, grain, and ore are the five original resources found on what imaginary island?

Don't know

7. What unusual distinction is shared by these countries, listed in this order? Sudan, Serbia, Serbia and Montenegro, Indonesia, the United States, Ethiopia, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, the USSR.

Holy Crap! I have absolutely no idea!

MacLloyd

[Richard W]

Originally Posted by MacLloyd

1. What animal is popularly known in North America as a polecat?

Presumably not a polecat, then? Pine martens are similar in the UK (although very rare).

No idea for 2.

3. From his 1306 coronation until his 1329 death, who led the Wars of Scottish Independence against England?

Robert the Bruce

4. What device, invented at Bell Labs in 1947 by Bardeen, Brattain, and Shockley, made possible the next half-century of miniaturized radios and other electronics?

Transistor

5. Mohammed Mursi and Ahmed Shafiq are recent political rivals in what nation?

Egypt, I think.

6. Brick, lumber, wool, grain, and ore are the five original resources found on what imaginary island?

Hmmm.... I should know that. It sounds like the island from Settlers (the game) but I don't know its name, and that's an unlikely sort of answer...

If it's a more literary thing, then Utopia, perhaps?

7. What unusual distinction is shared by these countries, listed in this order? Sudan, Serbia, Serbia and Montenegro, Indonesia, the United States, Ethiopia, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, the USSR.

Hmmm.... Sudan recently split into Sudan and South Sudan, and most of the others have either split up recently or joined together relatively recently. But I can't think of a way to make that into an answer.

[erwins]

1. What animal is popularly known in North America as a polecat?
Skunk

2. The chorus of what 2012 hit song begins, "Hey, I just met you and this is crazy, but here's my number"?
"Call Me Maybe."

3. From his 1306 coronation until his 1329 death, who led the Wars of Scottish Independence against England?

Don't know.

4. What device, invented at Bell Labs in 1947 by Bardeen, Brattain, and Shockley, made possible the next half-century of miniaturized radios and other electronics?

Transistor

5. Mohammed Mursi and Ahmed Shafiq are recent political rivals in what nation?
Egypt

6. Brick, lumber, wool, grain, and ore are the five original resources found on what imaginary island?
Don't know, but sounds like a video game of some sort.

7. What unusual distinction is shared by these countries, listed in this order? Sudan, Serbia, Serbia and Montenegro, Indonesia, the United States, Ethiopia, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, the USSR.

Don't know. Interesting list.

[Don Enrico]

5. Mohammed Mursi and Ahmed Shafiq are recent political rivals in what nation?

Egypt.

6. Brick, lumber, wool, grain, and ore are the five original resources found on what imaginary island?

Ah, German type board games! That island is Catan from the board game "Settlers of Catan".

7. What unusual distinction is shared by these countries, listed in this order? Sudan, Serbia, Serbia and Montenegro, Indonesia, the United States, Ethiopia, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, the USSR.

Sudan, Sebia and Serbia and Montenegro recently diveded/lost part of their country to form another state. I seem to remember something like that about Indonesia, too. Ethiopia, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and the USSR did the same not quite so recently. But how did the USA end up in that list?

[Floater]

5. Mohammed Mursi and Ahmed Shafiq are recent political rivals in what nation?

Egypt

[KirkMcD]

Originally Posted by Don Enrico

But how did the USA end up in that list?

The USA did give back some territory, the Panama Canal Zone. Without looking it up, I think it became official in 2000 or 2001.

[Don Enrico]

So number seven is "the most recent states that lost (part or all of their) territory".

[Spam & Cookies-mmm]

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS

1. skunk
2. call me maybeThanks, Ken. I had just got that earworm out of my head.
3. Robert the Bruce?
4. The transistor

[Seaboe Muffinchucker]

Originally Posted by MacLloyd

LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these U.S. presidents, and no others? Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Jackson, Polk, Taylor, Grant, Truman, and Carter? These are the presidents who were farmers in their pre-Oval Office life. I predict Carter will be the last one for a while.

OMG! I was right!

Originally Posted by MacLloyd

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS

1. What animal is popularly known in North America as a polecat?

the Stink-kitty (aka, skunk)

2. The chorus of what 2012 hit song begins, "Hey, I just met you and this is crazy, but here's my number"?

Rikki don't lose that number

3. From his 1306 coronation until his 1329 death, who led the Wars of Scottish Independence against England?

Robert the Bruce

4. What device, invented at Bell Labs in 1947 by Bardeen, Brattain, and Shockley, made possible the next half-century of miniaturized radios and other electronics?

The transistor

5. Mohammed Mursi and Ahmed Shafiq are recent political rivals in what nation?

Egypt

6. Brick, lumber, wool, grain, and ore are the five original resources found on what imaginary island?

Atlantis. Or maybe Utopia. ETA: I guess no one has read the books I have...

7. What unusual distinction is shared by these countries, listed in this order? Sudan, Serbia, Serbia and Montenegro, Indonesia, the United States, Ethiopia, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, the USSR.

I'm not good at "countries in this order" questions. How 'bout, they all closed down their airspace due to terrorist acts?

Seaboe

[Simply Madeline]

Why wouldn't #7 include the United Kingdom giving up Hong Kong?

[GenYus234]

Was Hong Kong territory of the UK though? Usually land which is scheduled to be ceded is legally some other category. For example, when companies around here want to build on lands in Native American reservations, they pay a one-time fee to lease the land for a long period of time (99 years?)since they can't buy it.

[Richard W]

Originally Posted by Seaboe Muffinchucker

Atlantis. Or maybe Utopia. ETA: I guess no one has read the books I have...

Hey, I gave one of those answers too...

[musicgeek]

1. What animal is popularly known in North America as a polecat? A skunk (in Europe, it's a ferret-like creature)

2. The chorus of what 2012 hit song begins, "Hey, I just met you and this is crazy, but here's my number"? "Call Me Maybe" (Which, while insipid is maddeningly catchy and has been stuck in my head for about two weeks now. Arrgh!)

3. From his 1306 coronation until his 1329 death, who led the Wars of Scottish Independence against England? Robert the Bruce?

4. What device, invented at Bell Labs in 1947 by Bardeen, Brattain, and Shockley, made possible the next half-century of miniaturized radios and other electronics? The transistor! (Made Iron Man possible too, if you believe the original origin comics!)

5. Mohammed Mursi and Ahmed Shafiq are recent political rivals in what nation? Egypt?

6. Brick, lumber, wool, grain, and ore are the five original resources found on what imaginary island? WAG - Monkey Island?

7. What unusual distinction is shared by these countries, listed in this order? Sudan, Serbia, Serbia and Montenegro, Indonesia, the United States, Ethiopia, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, the USSR.

Saw the answer and have to abstain.

[Seaboe Muffinchucker]

Sorry, Richard. Missed your answer amid all the video games.

And totally OT, I have to say that Francis Bacon's version of the Utopia story was so incredibly boring, I can't imagine why anybody would believe he could've written Shakespeare.

Seaboe

[Spam & Cookies-mmm]

Seaboe, my kids' high school band is playing that insipid song as a stand tune this fall. I keep seeing the phrase written, hearing it practiced in the house, etc. It will never leave my head. It'll be stuck there as firmly as the marching cadence that the drumline played when I was in high school.

[Seaboe Muffinchucker]

You know, Spam, I didn't have an earworm until you said that...

Seaboe