Ken Jennings Trivia Challenge

[Seaboe Muffinchucker]

I think you're right on #4, Hapax, now that I think about it.

As for the typography, I did get it right on my X, no Y (yeah, one right!), so I no longer care about everything else in that answer I got wrong.

Seaboe

[DadOf3]

Happy Tuesday, fellow Snopesters, and welcome to another round of trivia. Ken Jennings writes:

Well, Tuesday Trivia fans, we've gotten to the point where the Roman numerals don't even look like real numbers anymore. "CDXC"? That can't be a number. That's somebody who should be doing duets with Iggy Azalea. In a few centuries, the NFL will have this problem with Super Bowls, if professional football hasn't been legally banned by then.

So with that said, let's move on to:

LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. According to the message that appears at the end of the first seven worlds in the original Super Mario Bros. video game, where is "our princess"?
She's in another castle. Not sure why no one saw fit to let Mario in on this BEFORE he stormed all those unnecessary castles...

2. The Kikuyu, Luhya, and Luo peoples are the largest ethnic groups in what country?
These are just a few of the different types of Kenyans that there are.

3. An elongated version of what letter of the alphabet is used as the integral symbol in mathematics?
The integral sign (∫) is a tall letter 's'...for summation. If you think that doesn't make a whole lot of sense, please blame Leibniz. I'm just the messenger.

4. What cult silent movie star did Kenneth Tynan celebrate in his 1979 New Yorker profile "The Girl in the Black Helmet"?
Louise Brooks, the star of classics like Pandora's Box and Diary of a Lost Girl, had the still-fashion-forward bob hairstyle in question.

5. The "Bonus Army," made up of some 43,000 people, carried out their famous 1932 campaign at what city?
The Bonus Army marched on Washington, D.C. They were World War I vets demanding their promised benefits payments from the government at the height of the Great Depression.

6. What legendary sports figure ended his 23-year career last weekend, retiring after a sixth-place finish in Homestead, Florida?
Jeff Gordon's finished sixth in his 797th and final NASCAR race.

7. What unusual distinction is shared by these U.S. presidents and no others? Madison, Jackson, Pierce, Grant, Cleveland, McKinley, Taft, and Nixon.
Each lost a vice-president (or two, in James Madison's case) in an untimely midterm fashion. Jackson's and Nixon's were resignations, and the others were deaths.

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS

1. Spencer Perceval, shot by an angry gunman on May 11, 1812, is still the only holder of what office ever to be assassinated?

2. What future country superstar wrote "Crazy," the biggest pop hit ever for Patsy Cline in 1962?

3. What kind of product is manufactured by the namesake companies founded by Albert Dremel, Wilhelm Fein, Alonzo Decker, and Raymond DeWalt?

4. In Old English, "blac" was the most common word used to mean what?

5. What kind of plant is sphagnum?

6. When Alan Hunter and Mark Goodman left America's TV sets in July 1987, they were the last two original holders of what job?

7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these books? Endymion, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Jurassic Park, The Kite Runner, The Moviegoer, Of Human Bondage, Paterson, Roget's Thesaurus.

Enjoy!

[TallGeekyGirl]

#5 is a moss.

[Steve]

7) The authors were all doctors, or at least studied medicine

[Richard W]

I don't know very many!

1. is British Prime Ministers.
4. (Guess) "Evil"? My odd attempts to read Old English have never got far... seeing it in context would help!
5. Moss

Originally Posted by DadOf3

7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these books? Endymion, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Jurassic Park, The Kite Runner, The Moviegoer, Of Human Bondage, Paterson, Roget's Thesaurus.

Interesting list. Roget's Thesaurus? I've read (or referred to) several of those and can't immediately think of anything - although I think somebody in Jurassic Park gets eaten by a thesaurus...

[A Turtle Named Mack]

2. Willie Nelson
3. Tools
4. white - I think it is a version of 'blanc', totally a guess
5. epiphyte - I don't think it is a true moss
6. TV censors, whatever that committee was called

[Don Enrico]

3. What kind of product is manufactured by the namesake companies founded by Albert Dremel, Wilhelm Fein, Alonzo Decker, and Raymond DeWalt?

Both Dremel and Black&Decker I know as names for power tools, so that's my guess.

And for No. 7. I guess "The title is often spelled wrongly".

[Morning]

2. What future country superstar wrote "Crazy," the biggest pop hit ever for Patsy Cline in 1962? Dolly Parton

3. What kind of product is manufactured by the namesake companies founded by Albert Dremel, Wilhelm Fein, Alonzo Decker, and Raymond DeWalt? Tools

4. In Old English, "blac" was the most common word used to mean what? Guess: black

5. What kind of plant is sphagnum? Moss

[TallGeekyGirl]

#6 is MTV VJs.

[Seaboe Muffinchucker]

Originally Posted by DadOf3

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS

1. Spencer Perceval, shot by an angry gunman on May 11, 1812, is still the only holder of what office ever to be assassinated?

British Prime Minister. This death is the source of the M'Naughton rules for judging whether a criminal is insane.

2. What future country superstar wrote "Crazy," the biggest pop hit ever for Patsy Cline in 1962?

What the heck--Dolly Parton.

3. What kind of product is manufactured by the namesake companies founded by Albert Dremel, Wilhelm Fein, Alonzo Decker, and Raymond DeWalt?

Power tools. Specifically, drills. Fein, though, I haven't personally heard of. And where's Black?

4. In Old English, "blac" was the most common word used to mean what?

Block. Well, it can't possibly be the obvious answer, black, because that would be--duh--too obvious. Plus, the great vowel shift means the a didn't sound like an a does today (it sounds good, even if I'm wrong).

5. What kind of plant is sphagnum?

Moss. As in, Kate.

6. When Alan Hunter and Mark Goodman left America's TV sets in July 1987, they were the last two original holders of what job?

Mark Goodman and Bill Toddman were producers (I think), but I have no clue if this is the same Goodman. I can just hear this voice in my head saying "brought to you by Goodman & Toddman." But that's probably not the answer, because TV has tons of producers. So I'm going to say they're the original Snap and Krackle in the Rice Krispies advertisements.

7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these books? Endymion, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Jurassic Park, The Kite Runner, The Moviegoer, Of Human Bondage, Paterson, Roget's Thesaurus.

Don't know the Moviegoer or Paterson. Have heard of Jurassic Park (who hasn't?), Of Human Bondage and the Kite Runner. Have read Endymion and Hound of the Baskervilles. Own an old-fashioned (i.e., non-alphabetical) verison of Roget's. Figuring out what they have in common? Not a clue. That won't stop me from guessing that they all use multiple uncommon terms for an animal featured in the book. ETA: I believe Steve is correct, now that I've seen his answer.

Seaboe

[Dr. Winston O'Boogie]

Originally Posted by Seaboe Muffinchucker

Mark Goodman and Bill Toddman were producers (I think), but I have no clue if this is the same Goodman. I can just hear this voice in my head saying "brought to you by Goodman & Toddman." But that's probably not the answer, because TV has tons of producers.

I was thinking that too, at firs, but it wasn't Mark Goodman, it was Mark Goodson, and I can hear the voiceover, too.

[chillas]

1. Spencer Perceval, shot by an angry gunman on May 11, 1812, is still the only holder of what office ever to be assassinated?

British Prime Minister.

2. What future country superstar wrote "Crazy," the biggest pop hit ever for Patsy Cline in 1962?

Willie Nelson.

3. What kind of product is manufactured by the namesake companies founded by Albert Dremel, Wilhelm Fein, Alonzo Decker, and Raymond DeWalt?

Power tools.

4. In Old English, "blac" was the most common word used to mean what?

Don't know.

5. What kind of plant is sphagnum?

Don't know.

6. When Alan Hunter and Mark Goodman left America's TV sets in July 1987, they were the last two original holders of what job?

VJs.

7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these books? Endymion, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Jurassic Park, The Kite Runner, The Moviegoer, Of Human Bondage, Paterson, Roget's Thesaurus.

Nothing comes to mind.

[Andrew of Ware]

1. The UK Prime minster. His dying words are said to be 'Oh, I am slain.' This is probably the last time a UK Prime Minister spoke the truth.

[DadOf3]

Happy Tuesday, all you "trivial" Snopesters.

Ken Jennings writes:

Hello Tuesday Trivia subscribers! Does anyone read these intros anyway? Does it even matter what I say here? Could I just cut-and-paste the entire Wikipedia entry for the 1992 TV movie Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style and have no one even notice?

Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style occurred during the continuity of the original series, during a summer holiday. In the movie, Kelly's grandfather, played by Dean Jones, invites the kids to stay at his hotel in Hawaii. However, someone else is out to buy his land and build a hotel/resort complex, and the group has to save it. As would eventually be the case with Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas, Hawaiian Style was presented as a two-hour movie on NBC, although when aired in syndication, it is commonly split into four regular length episodes, all featuring the song "Summertime" by DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince in the opening credits as opposed to the traditional Saved by the Bell theme.

I thought that was worth sharing. Now on to ...

LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS

1. Spencer Perceval, shot by an angry gunman on May 11, 1812, is still the only holder of what office ever to be assassinated?
"British Prime Minister" may be four times safer than "U.S. President" as jobs go, but that didn't help poor Perceval.

2. What future country superstar wrote "Crazy," the biggest pop hit ever for Patsy Cline in 1962?
A young Willie Nelson, apparently a little high-strung having not yet discovered weed, wrote "Crazy."

3. What kind of product is manufactured by the namesake companies founded by Albert Dremel, Wilhelm Fein, Alonzo Decker, and Raymond DeWalt?
The four companies founded by these men (Decker later joined by S. Duncan Black) still make power tools today.

4. In Old English, "blac" was the most common word used to mean what?
"Blac," confusingly, meant "white." This is where we get words like "bleach" and "blanch."

5. What kind of plant is sphagnum?
It's a kind of moss. (Moss sips martini.) Peat moss.

6. When Alan Hunter and Mark Goodman left America's TV sets in July 1987, they were the last two original holders of what job?
Since Martha Quinn, Nina Blackwood, and J.J. Jackson had already left the channel, these two were the last two original "VJ's" on MTV.

7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these books? Endymion, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Jurassic Park, The Kite Runner, The Moviegoer, Of Human Bondage, Paterson, Roget's Thesaurus.
Each was written by a doctor, a physician, a medical man of some kind. None were written by Dr. Phil, so maybe I should have added 2006's Love Smart: Find the One You Want, Fix the One You Got to the list.

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS

1. For how many hours was Aron Ralston famously trapped in a Utah canyon in 2003?

2. The number of what gets halved by the process called meiosis?

3. Who is the last surviving man to have been Staatspresident of the Union of South Africa?

4. What Canadian novelist wrote the bestselling 2009 book Generation A?

5. The proposed state of Sequoyah would have made up the eastern half of what is now what U.S. state?

6. What sport's players can use a technique called a "googly"?

7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these cities? Birmingham, U.K.; Chiang Mai, Thailand; Granada, Spain; Leon, Mexico; Los Angeles; Malmö, Sweden; Osaka; Portland, Oregon; Riga; Shezhen.

Enjoy!

[TallGeekyGirl]

#1 is 127 hours

#6 is Cricket

[musicgeek]

1. For how many hours was Aron Ralston famously trapped in a Utah canyon in 2003? 127

2. The number of what gets halved by the process called meiosis? chromosomes

3. Who is the last surviving man to have been Staatspresident of the Union of South Africa? deKlerk?

4. What Canadian novelist wrote the bestselling 2009 book Generation A? WAG - Margaret Atwood?

5. The proposed state of Sequoyah would have made up the eastern half of what is now what U.S. state? California?

6. What sport's players can use a technique called a "googly"? Cricket

[chillas]

1. For how many hours was Aron Ralston famously trapped in a Utah canyon in 2003?

127 Hours.

2. The number of what gets halved by the process called meiosis?

Gametes?

3. Who is the last surviving man to have been Staatspresident of the Union of South Africa?

Don't know.

4. What Canadian novelist wrote the bestselling 2009 book Generation A?

Don't know - not even sure I've heard of the book.

5. The proposed state of Sequoyah would have made up the eastern half of what is now what U.S. state?

Oklahoma.

6. What sport's players can use a technique called a "googly"?

Cricket.

7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these cities? Birmingham, U.K.; Chiang Mai, Thailand; Granada, Spain; Leon, Mexico; Los Angeles; Malmö, Sweden; Osaka; Portland, Oregon; Riga; Shezhen.

Nothing comes to mind.

[Seaboe Muffinchucker]

Originally Posted by DadOf3

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS

1. For how many hours was Aron Ralston famously trapped in a Utah canyon in 2003?

96? Honestly, I can't remember, since this was a story I found more stomach turning than fascinating.

2. The number of what gets halved by the process called meiosis?

Genes, I think (not my uncle, the little bits that make you who you are).

3. Who is the last surviving man to have been Staatspresident of the Union of South Africa?

Oh, wow. I haven't a clue. The one that preceded Mandela?

4. What Canadian novelist wrote the bestselling 2009 book Generation A?

Margaret Atwood (the first name that leapt to mind)

5. The proposed state of Sequoyah would have made up the eastern half of what is now what U.S. state?

Oregon? Man, I'm striking out today, batting 1000

6. What sport's players can use a technique called a "googly"?

Jai Alai. I mean, why not?

7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these cities? Birmingham, U.K.; Chiang Mai, Thailand; Granada, Spain; Leon, Mexico; Los Angeles; Malmö, Sweden; Osaka; Portland, Oregon; Riga; Shezhen.

They're connected by bridges to another country. Which I'm not whiting out because it's so far off right that it's doesn't even qualify as a joke answer.

Seriously, I don't think I got a single question right. I don't think I'm even in the same state as the answers.

Seaboe

[TallGeekyGirl]

I only knew the answer to #6 because of an old commercial with Jerry Seinfeld.

[Seaboe Muffinchucker]

See? You're in Virginia and I'm clear across the country!



Seaboe