December 21, 2007 question

Believe it or not, the last ex-Beatle big hit was "I Got My Mind Set On You" by George Harrison. It's been so long that only Heidi remembered . . . and Jessie, calling it "the Money song" which is good enough this close to Christmas.

See, this is that time of year when Santa expands his "Good" list just to up his quantity for lower production costs. It's the same thing with trivia. If we go through a right-answer dry spell, it starts costing me a lot more per correct response, and I really need a higher conversion rate to justify the continuation of this here trivia game. Sorry to reveal the business side of trivia, but if we have to make some cutbacks in 2008, it's best that you're prepared with a little foundational knowledge.

What the heck are you talking about, Adam? Oh, right . . . thanks, internal voice. On to trivial matters. Here's today's question:

Who is Roger Clemens' lawyer?

A) Rusty Harden
B) Rocky Rhodes
C) Dusty Stifle
D) Eugene Stone
E) Buster Yucks

December 20, 2007 question

Clement Moore or Henry Livingston Jr.? That's another question surrounding our last trivia subject, " 'Twas the Night Before Christmas," or as it was originally titled, "An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas." No one got it quite right, but Pat was closest.

I had forgotten the hubbub from seven years back when Don Foster, an expert on authorial attribution, claimed that there was no way that Clement Moore wrote the poem. He was a stern, unimaginative, stick-in-the-mud Bible professor who would never have written the poem and probably never could have.

I love a good Christmas controversy. Here's a yet-again unrelated bit of trivia for you:

What was the last song performed by an ex-Beatle to top the Billboard pop chart?

December 18, 2007 question

Here was the inaugural class of the Songwriter Hall of Fame:

Ahlert, Fred; Ball, Ernest; Bates, Katharine Lee; Berlin, Irving; Billings, William; Bland, James; Brockman, James; Brown, Lew; Brown, Nacio Herb; Bryan, Alfred; Burke, Joe; Burke, Johnny; Caldwell, Anne; Carroll, Harry; Clare, Sidney; Cohan, George M.; Conrad, Con; Coslow, Sam; Danks, Hart P.; De Koven, Reginald; De Rose, Peter; De Sylva, B.G. (Buddy); Dixon, Mort; Donaldson, Walter; Dresser, Paul; Dreyer, Dave; Dubin, Al; Duke, Vernon; Edwards, Gus (The Star Maker); Egan, Raymond B.; Emmett, Daniel Decatur; Fiorito, Ted; Fisher, Fred; Foster, Stephen; Gershwin, George; Gilbert, L. Wolfe; Gilmore, Patrick S.; Gordon, Mack; Grofe, Ferde; Guthrie, Woody; Hammerstein II, Oscar; Handy, W.C. (Father of the Blues); Hanley, James F.; Harbach, Otto; Harris, Charles K.; Hart, Lorenz (Larry); Henderson, Ray; Herbert, Victor; Hill, Billy; Howard, Joe; Howe, Julia Ward; Jacobs Bond, Carrie; Johnson, Howard; Johnson, James P.; Johnson, James W.; Johnston, Arthur; Jones, Isham; Joplin, Scott (King of Ragtime); Kahal, Irving; Kahn, Gus; Kalmar, Bert; Kern, Jerome; Key, Francis Scott; Ledbetter, Huddie (Leadbelly); Lewis, Sam; Loesser, Frank; MacDonald, Ballard; Madden, Edward; McCarthy, Joseph; McHugh, Jimmy; Meyer, George W.; Monaco, Jimmy; Moret, Neil; Morse, Theodore; Muir, Lewis F.; Nevin, Ethelbert; Norworth, Jack; Olcott, Chauncey; Payne, John Howard; Pierpont, J.S.; Pollack, Lew; Porter, Cole; Rainger, Ralph; Revel, Harry; Rexford, Eben E.; Rodgers, Jimmie (Father of Country Music); Rodgers, Richard; Romberg, Sigmund; Root, George F.; Rose, Billy; Rose, Vincent; Ruby, Harry; Russell, Bob; Schwartz, Jean; Smith, Harry B.; Smith, Samuel Francis; Snyder, Ted; Sousa, John Phillip; Sterling, Andrew B.; Tierney, Harry A.; Tobias, Charles; Turk, Roy; Van Alstyne, Egbert; Von Tilzer, Albert; Von Tilzer, Harry; Waller, Thomas ("Fats"); Ward, Samuel A.; Weill, Kurt; Wenrich, Percy; Whiting, Richard; Williams, Clarence; Williams, Hank; Williams, Spencer; Winner, Septimus (Sep); Woods, Harry M.; Work, Henry C.; Wrubel, Allie; Youmans, Vincent; Young, Joe; Young, Rida Johnson; Young, Victor

 

And here's who knew: Reg, Micaela, Gene, and Charles. They didn't know all of them. But they each got one. Now here's a Christmas question that I'm regifting, because I'm sure it's been asked many times, many ways:

 

What is the original title of the Clement Clarke Moore poem commonly referred to as " 'Twas the Night Before Christmas"?

 

AND

 

When was it written?

December 17, 2007 question

How did I not give you the answer yet? It's unfathomable, especially if you're new at fathoming. If you can remember back to Thursday when we last plumbed the depths of trivia, I had asked you what kingdom was founded on Christmas of 1000. The answer was Hungary. Nobody knew that. But you know what? That's okay. It's Christmas time. Were it not Christmas time, it would still be okay.

What's not okay? Performance enhancing drugs. I'm thinking about adding a rule to the trivia bylaws. Baseball and the rest of the sporting world has inspired me. I'm going to hire an impartial investigator (me . . . but just the part of me that is impartial) to look into allegations of rampant trivia cheating. I will question some of you, I won't expect a response from any of you, and then I'll make a final conclusion that affects all of you.

Gag. I think the thing that bothers me most about the state of baseball is the attitude of the press, particularly the voters for the Baseball Hall of Fame. Many of them (and enough of them to matter) refuse to cast a Hall of Fame vote for anyone mentioned in the Mitchell report. They compare this scandal to the Black Sox scandal of 1919. But you know what the biggest difference between the scandals is? The fixed World Series story broke because of a newspaper article alleging the fix. The steroid scandal story broke because Jose Canseco published a book.

Don't you point the fingers, baseball writers of America. On the whole, you stink at your job, you fell asleep on the job, and electing members to the Hall of Fame should no longer be your job.

Okay, who's happy? Here's today's question:

Who is one of the 121 artists (any name will do) inducted to the inaugural class of the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970?

December 13, 2007 question

"Wild Thing" was written by Chip Taylor, younger brother of Jon Voight, uncle of actress Angelina Jolie and her actor brother James Haven and brother-in-law to actress Marcheline Bertand. The last name they could have all gone by if they so chose is Voight, but you know how these things go. Here's who knew:

Heather M (the M stands for Makes a Keen Observation About How Every Woman Brad Pitt Is Involved With Suddenly Loses All Traces Of Body Fat Not Located In Their Lips)
Reg

And now for some Christmas trivia. Here's today's question:

What kingdom was founded on Christmas Day in the year 1000? (In the year one thousaaaaaaaand)

December 12, 2007 question

The Grinch has termites in his smile. I guess you could say he also has them in his teeth. Here's who has seen them up close:

Jacqueline
Micaela
Reg
Mo
Paul C (the C stands for Christmas Is Cancelled)

Now on to a quick story out of the football world. Over the last year and a half, Bobby Petrino has signed contracts totalling 20 years of alleged commitment to three, count 'em, three different football teams. It started with a 10-year contract extension at Louisville, followed six months later by a 5-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons. Now, eleven months later, he's jumped ship yet again back to the college ranks, having just agreed to a 5-year contract at the University of Arkansas.

I don't think I even have to comment on how lowly and despicable that track record is. If my spit could reach Arkansas, I'd be expectorating in his general direction right about now. Here's today's question (and, yes, it's completely unrelated . . . I just had to get that off my chest):

The younger brother of what actor composed the song "Wild Thing," recorded by the Troggs? Hint: this actor is part of an acting family with at least three names you might know, and none of them share the same last name.

December 10, 2007 question

This is the way December plays out. I'm sorry. Here you all sit waiting for glory for knowing your longitude (the right answer) from your latitude (the wrong answer), and I just make you wait.

Unfortunately, it's not coming. The list is too long, and time is too short. I only received one wrong guess. It's crazy . . . we just had a week with one 50/50 question that only one person got right and another 50/50 question that only one person got wrong. That's crazy. But I won't cancel Christmas, or trivia, just because of the craziness and the extended lapses of productivity. Here's today's question:

According to the Christmas special song, the Grinch had termites in his what?

December 6, 2007 question

What is happening to trivia? Either I'm sending you three messages or none . . . get your act together, me!

I'm sorry you had to witness me losing my temper with myself. Hopefully you won't lose yours when you learn that only Norris knew that Georgia has the most land area of any state east of the Mississippi, or that I have to give special credit to Neil for guessing tricky Alaska, which could technically be interpreted as a state east of the Mississippi since part of it extends so far West it becomes East again. But since Georgia is larger than the part of Alaska that extends beyond 180 degrees latitude . . . or is it longitude? Looks like I got myself a question. Here goes nothing:

If an armadillo travels due East with no variation North or South, which changes: its latitude or its longitude?

December 4, 2007 question

Believe it or not, the entire statement yesterday was true. Comiskey really did make his players launder their own uniforms, they didn't really do it very often, and people really did start calling them the Black Sox before they were crooks. Even if the socks didn't, the name fit quite well after they threw the World Series. What is even harder to believe is that Karen H (the H stands for How Well You Know Me) was the only one who suspected I would trick you in that way. I guess it's easier to believe that only one person was willing to guess that I'd say something true. Be that as it may, I can't decide if I'm offended or disappointed.

Here's today's question:

Not including water area, what is the largest U.S. state (by area) east of the Mississippi River?

December 3, 2007 question

Ah, winter time, when the trivia nights are longer, the trivia glory a bit duller, and the trivia questions covered in hoary powder that is either a cold morning frost or just a bunch of dust. Whichever, here's the answer to the last question I asked you: Universal Product Code, and here is the list of brilliant people who knew:

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For those non-UPC readers out there, that translates to Heidi, Nancy K (the K stands for Kmart), Charles, Steve J (the J stands for JC Penny), Micaela, Reg, Karen H (the H stands for Hook's Drug Store), Konrad, Steve T (the T stands for T. J. Maxx), Paul C (the C stands for Cafe Cou Rouge). For those UPC readers out there, I know, it doesn't really.

And a brief note on the news that Senator Larry Craig has 8 new male accusers. If there isn't a headline somewhere in this country reading "Eight Men Out," I declare myself extremely disappointed in the state of American journalism. Here's today's question:

True or False: Charles Comiskey, the longtime owner of the Chicago White Sox and former pro baseball player and manager, was so budget-conscious that he required his players to launder their own uniforms, which led to their perennially dirty wardrobes and the nickname "the Black Sox."

If any part of that is false, answer false--bonus points if you can tell me which part is false. Of course, if it's all true, answer true.

November 29, 2007 question

According to extensive research, scientists don't know whether lightning rods increase or decrease the likelihood of lightning striking. One theory (the dissipation theory) is that lightning rods create a path for a more gradual transfer of electricity, thereby decreasing the chances of a sudden burst of lightning. The other theory (the diversion theory) suggests that the lightning rod is more likely to be struck because the air surrounding it becomes ionized, and the lightning rod's main protective effect is that it is a safely grounded target for bolts.

But scientists have a tough time testing lightning, because, as one expert put it, "that's a lot of energy to be messing around with in a lab, dude. You could, like, die."

It's funny, real scientists experiment on their theories before coming to conclusions. Something as powerful as lightning is really tough to predict, measure, test, and/or recreate. So the scientists studying it admit there's a lot they don't know. If you can't prove it, you don't know it. Meanwhile, the fake, evil, lying, rat-faced, belligerent, egotistical porkheads who study geology and fossils think they can accurately reconstruct the history of the universe based on dried up pigeon poop, catastrophically destroyed bones, telescopes, and ashes. Go figure.

Okay, here's today's question:

What do the initials UPC stand for (you know, the barcode thing)?

*I'll give Paul K (the K stands for Knows His 1.21 Jigowatts From His Flux Capacitors) credit because his guess was in the neither more nor less category.

**The second quote was from Willow.

November 28, 2007 question

Truly, you have a dizzying intellect.

Wait til I get going! Where was I?

Australia.

Yes, Australia. You must have suspected that I would know the powder's origin, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me.

You're only stalling now.

You'd like to think so, wouldn't you! You've beaten my giant, which means you're exceptionally strong. So you could have put the poison in your own goblet, relying on your strength to save you, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you. But you've also bested my Spaniard, which means you must have studied, and in studying you must have learned that man is mortal, so you would have put the poison as far from yourself as possible, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me.

You're trying to trick me into giving something away. It won't work.

But it already has worked. You've given everything away!* I know where the poison is!

Then make your choice.

I will. And I choose . . . what in the world could that be?

Some people got close, but I can clearly not give credit for close. I'm sorry. No apprentice this year. Here's today's question(s):

Is a lightning rod more or less likely to be struck by lightning than a tower of the same height in the same conditions?

AND

Bonus points to anyone who knows what other 80s fantasy movie I quoted in italics.

*That's as far as I could get without looking it up.

*That's as far as I could get without having to look it up.

November 27, 2007 question

Whew, that was a longer layoff than I expected. But those of you in the know know you've got mega-credit coming your way. Here's who correctly predicted all three football games:

Norris

Here's who knew the last float in Macy's is always Santa and company:

Heidi
Paul C (the C stands for Candy Everybody Wants)
Neil

And here's who knew everything:

Reg
Micaela
Melinda
Heather M (the M stands for Macy's Great Granddaughter)
Jean

Truly, you have a dizzying intellect. Which brings me to today's question:

In The Princess Bride, the movie that cracks almost everyone's top 5, what line comes after "Truly, you have a dizzying intellect"?

November 21, 2007 question

I don't want to leave you all hanging like a turkey wattle for the weekend, but I also want to ask a question of sufficient difficulty for a Wednesday. So I'm unleashing an unprecedented trivia onslaught of questions with yet-to-be-determined answers. I'm asking all of you to accurately predict the answers to any of these questions:

1. Who is the winner of Thursday's Colts/Falcons game?

2. Who is the winner of Thursday's Packers/Lions game?

3. Who is the winner of Thursday's Cowboys/Jets game?

4. What is the last float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade?

Whoever scores the trifecta in football or gets #4 right will get mega-bold credit.

Oh, and to see who knew yesterday's question, you'll have to go to http://kelloggdailytrivia.blogspot.com/ to find out.

November 20, 2007 question

Let's get this out of the way: Karen H (the H stands for How In The World?) knew that a bowling alley is 60 feet long from the foul line to the center of the head pin. She was the first to respond and the only to get it right, and if you aren't impressed by A) the precision of her knowledge or B) the sheerness of her luck or C) the education of her guess, then you, my friend, have no soul. I can assume, however, that you do have a soul and that you are, therefore, impressed as I am.

Now I have to confess I have had precious little to comment on outside of the world of trivia questions and answers, and I'm not entirely sure why that is. I can usually trust myself to have an opinion on just about anything no matter how ill-informed that opinion may be. And I'm usually pretty reliable about voicing said opinions eagerly and volubly, if not valuably. So why the sudden momentum of mum? Who knows.

Maybe it's because I find myself, as the media are, interested solely in the democratic presidential candidates. Maybe it's because Chicago sports teams are causing me to shut down emotionally. Maybe I'm a man . . . maybe I'm a lonely man who is in the middle of something that he doesn't really understand. Whatever it is, I'm ready to break out, and here's my opinion that has for too long lain dormant:

Stop complaining about Mattel and the Chinese, and start telling your stupid kids to stop eating their toys. There, I said it. Here's today's question:

How many stars are on the flag of China?

Answer: 5

Today's Winners: Melinda, Karen H (the H stands for Hong Kong), Charles, and Neil

November 19, 2007 question

Ferris Bueller's parents, or the actors who played them in the movie, got married in real life after the movie was filmed. Actually, the whole bloomin' family almost got married, as Matthew Broderick and Jennifer Grey were engaged (didn't quite make it to the altar). Laurie knew that nugget, and for that, I'll ask a question that is right up her alley. Here it is:

How long is a bowling alley (as measured from the foul line to the center of the head pin)?

November 16, 2007 question

Reg was the only one who knew Charles Bronson was the Tunnel King, although Charles did know he was the tunnel dude . . . that's still pretty good in my book.

Now it's time for more movie trivia:

The actors who played what two characters in Ferris Bueller's Day Off got married after making the film?

November 15, 2007 question

Alexander IV (aka, the Not So Great) came after Alexander the Great (aka, the 3rd), and only Reg knew that. It's gotta be a hard act to follow when the guy before you was known as "the Great." Like after Gretzky retired. Or . . . escaping after Steve McQueen. Or all the post-'30s Depressions. How do you improve on greatness?

I don't know. I'm still working on improving on mediocrity. But here's today's Great Escape question:

What was the nickname of Charles Bronson's character, Flight Lt. Danny Velinski, in The Great Escape?

November 14, 2007 question

Suddenly yesterday, Elena had a stroke of inspiration. Maybe it was only a mild stroke of inspiration, but a stroke nonetheless. She realized that a migraine is a headache one may feel on one side of the head. She also may have realized that it's pretty much a complete misnomer, but realization and full trivia glory were hers and hers alone.

Now today I'm feeling historical. Not historic, just ancient. So here's today's question:

Who succeeded Alexander the Great?

November 13, 2007 question

Bad boys, bad boys, watcha gonna do, watcha gonna do when Jessie comes for you?

That's right, Cops has doled out 700 episodes of shaky-camera, mosaic-blur, drag-you-out-in-the-street-by-your-underwear good times, and only Jessie had the 411. Way to go!

To the rest of you, don't pretend like you didn't watch at least 350 of those fine broadcasts. Here's today's better-late-than-never question:

What medical condition derives its name from the Greek term hēmikrania?

November 12, 2007 question

Ritz crackers first hit shelves in 1934, and Heidi was the closest--the only person to guess a Depression-era year (1933), according to my records.

Now onto bigger and better things. This weekend marked a historic milestone for one of our culture's most beloved entities. I can't say too much about it, because once I get going, my love for this particular subject will surely give away the answer. Here's the question:

What television series aired its 700th episode this weekend?

November 9, 2007 question

Remember when Rachael Ray was all famous and stuff? Now she showed up on a Ritz commercial and I thought I was seeing a zombie; a perky little zombie with that one annoying piece of hair that just wouldn't stay out of her face. I guess she's still famous, but I just hadn't seen her in awhile. And if I haven't seen you in awhile, and you're in the food preparation business, your fame is fleeting, sister.

Rachael may not be the culinary multimedia sensation she once was, but the Ritz cracker ain't goin' nowhere. Here's a question about putting on the Ritz:

In what less-than-ritzy year was the Ritz cracker introduced to the American palette?

Oh, and here's who knew that GERD is gastroesophageal reflux disease:

Konrad
Heidi
Charles
Karen H (the H stands for Hurts When I Swallow)
Karen M (the M stands for My Tummy Feels Icky)

Sorry to all of you who were oh so close but said disorder instead of disease. It pained me so not to put your names in bold . . . almost as if I had some kind of gastric disorder--I mean, disease.

November 8, 2007 question

I had to get stingy with yesterday's question, accepting only the full name Jonas Salk . . . a lot of people couldn't remember or didn't mention his first name, so to save myself the extra typing I suddenly became a hard . . . liner. Anyway, here's who knew both names:

Konrad
Karen H (the H stands for Holy Polio)
Steve J (the J stands for Jai Alai)
Heather M (the M stands for Marco Polio)
Nancy K (the K stands for Koko B. Ware)
Pat
Georgia
Charles
Steve T (the T stands for Truth Be Told, Charles, Lee, And I Didn't Know, But We Got It Right The Day Before, And This Is Just A Makeup Call)

So congrats to all of you for knowing the sick question. Now that I'm feeling less gastricly disturbed, let's see if I can give you a question that requires a little more intestinal fortitude. Here's my best shot:

What does the medical abbreviation GERD stand for?

November 7, 2007 question

The War of 1812 ended in 1815, but it was never really the same after the first season. I don't remember who knew, except for Randy and Paul C (the C stands for Casual History Buff) . . . I'm pretty sure there were other people, but I don't have the list in front of me because I'm sick.

But I'm also that dedicated to trivia. So let's see who knows the answer to today's medical stumper. Here it is:

Who developed the first polio vaccine?

November 6, 2007 question

Now that the Monday fog has lifted, you probably already know that The Departed was the last film to score Best Picture honors at the Oscars. Heidi, Melinda, Robbie, Neil, and Heather M (the M stands for Maybe The Rest Of You Couldn't Remember Because The Ceremony Ended After Bedtime) all knew anyway, fog be darned.

But that was yesterday. Today is a better today. Today is Tuesday. Wait . . . today is Tuesday? Then today is most definitely not a better day. Tuesdays reek even worse than Mondays. Mondays may be foggy, but when the pea soup drifts into nothingness, it leaves behind the foul stench of Tues. If you're wondering what Tues smells like, it's a lot like toes, but worse, because shoes and odor eaters have no effect. The terrible Tues, oh, I hate to think of it. You know what else I hate to think of? History. Here's a question from that era . . . you know, the past:

In what year did the War of 1812 end?

November 5, 2007 question

It.

Is.

Monday.

I wish I had better news, but I don't. Here's today's question . . . one that seems too easy, but for the life of me, I don't know the answer:

What movie won "Best Picture" at the most recent Oscars?

November 2, 2007 answer

Beijing is the second-largest city in China. Or was it Shanghai? No, Shanghai is the biggest, and Beijing is the next. Then there's Hong Kong, but nobody guessed that. Here's who knew:

Reg
Heidi
Nancy K (the K stands for Kong)

Happy weekend, party people.

November 2, 2007 question

The second smallest planet in our solar system (not including Pluto . . . for now) is Mars. Daniel and Mo knew that, so to them as well as those about to rock, I salute you.

Now this is it, the last second question of the series. It's not a last-second question. You can take all day to answer it. I just won't ask any more questions about the second most, second biggest, second smallest, or second funniest, second ugliest, or second least politically correct things in the world. After today, that is. Let's hope your knowledge of non-record-holding stuff holds up for one last day. Here's the question:

What is the second largest city in China?

November 1, 2007 question

It's November 1. That used to mean Christmas season was approaching, that we would soon see Christmas displays being erected in department stores for grand unveiling some days or weeks later. That used to mean the early birds would begin making out their shopping lists and scribbling out their Christmas cards. Now? Christmas stuff is already on clearance, and our neighbors will have the ten-story inflatable Santa eminating its jolly red light all over the hood by the time the daylight-saving night falls. Yeah, that's right. People will have their Christmas trees up before we even set the clocks back. It's ridiculous.

Merry Christmas, happy New Year, and a splendid continuation of second-trivia merriment. Here's today's penultimate second question:

Now that Pluto is no longer considered a planet, what is the second-smallest planet in our solar system?

Oh, and big congrats to these folks who knew that London (next to Moscow) has the second-highest population in Europe:

Nancy K (the K stands for King Me)
Heidi
Karen H (the H stands for Highly Populous)
Daniel
Steve T (the T stands for Tea Time)

 

October 31, 2007 question

Today, trivia is dressing up like a normal person.

Congratulations to Heather M (the M stands for Monster), Karen H (the H stands for Halloween), Diannalee, Stephen K (the K stands for Knocking On Doors), Neil, Karen M (the M stands for Macabre) who knew San Diego to be the second largest Californian city. Okay, now I'm putting on my disguise.

Boy, did you watch the democratic presidential debate last night? Wow, Obama and Edwards were really giving Hilary a hard time. That's probably evidence that she is the favorite. I don't know for whom I will vote, but there are some interesting candidates. It's probably better that I don't use this forum for my personal views. It's all about the trivia, right?

I think I will do one more "second" question. I hope you enjoy it. This one might be a little more difficult, because not everyone will know what the most populous city is. Here is the question, forgive me if it doesn't meet your approval:

What is the second largest city in Europe?

October 30, 2007 question

Manhunt 2--a video game where an insane asylum escapee tortures and murders people with pliers, a shovel, broken glass, and many other tools of sadism--is being released on Halloween. Spokesmen from Rockstar Games, the purveyor of the virtual bloodfest, say that the game is intended not for children but rather for responsible adults.

For the benefit of everyone at Rockstar Games, I've attached a Venn Diagram of the intersection of Manhunt 2 players (A) and responsible adults (B).

Umm . . . yeah. Okay, here's today's question:

What is the second largest city in California?

Oh, and trivial kudos to Reg, Cindy, Paul C (the C stands for Cities Are Big), Heidi, Charles, and Heather M (the M stands for Make Me Up An Order Of Them There Super Fire Hot Wings), who knew that Buffalo is the second most populous city in New York.

October 29, 2007 question

The second-largest city in Illinois is Aurora, and Reg and Steve J (the J stands for Just As Large As Chicago In My Heart) knew that.

Now, for two rants. First of all, I no longer love baseball. I should clarify . . . at the moment, at least, I don't love professional baseball. I kind of hate it. I hate what it has become. I hate what the television networks, commissioner, owners, players, and fans have made it.

Truthfully, I don't know how it happened. After the '94 strike, fans were so disgruntled, they were throwing money onto the field in mock support of the baseball. But suddenly, we forgave the whole industry for making such a colossal mess of the sport we loved. Now the sport is just spoiled and stained with avarice and ugliness. The Red Sox just won it all, but it felt like the terrorists won . . . no, it felt like Microsoft won. I felt dirty watching it.

Secondly, I hate Microsoft. And Google. And computers. If you are getting multiple emails, let me know. If you ever fail to get the question, you can always find it at www.kelloggdailytrivia.blogspot.com. Okay, here's today's question:

What is the second largest city in New York state?

October 26, 2007 question

Believe it or not, Barney was created in 1987. A few of you guessed 1988, and I was on the verge of giving you credit until Reg flew in at the last minute hitting the dino right on the nose.

Okay, so here we are. It's Friday. The moment of truth. Why is it the moment of truth? I don't know, I just feel it coming. Why is it, you ask, that truth need last for but a moment? Because really, that's usually as long as we can go without deceiving people.

Am I calling you a liar? No. See how easy that was? I did call you a liar, and denying it was a lie of my own. Some other common lies of which you probably tell at least one a day:
No, nothing's bothering me.
Of course I didn't mean it.
Sure, no problem.
Yes, I'm fine.
No, really, it looks good.
I don't care.
Just kidding.
It's not a big deal.
I just tell it like it is.
I don't mean to be rude, but . . .
I'll pray for you.
I'm full.
I'm sorry.
I don't know what's wrong with me.

I mean, come on . . . no one's ever FULL, we do so love to be rude, we're not fine, we are incessantly bothered by almost everything (because it is a problem), it is a big deal, and if we had it to do all over again, we'd do the exact same thing for which we all apologized to begin with.

Am I being mean today? I'm sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me. I was just kidding. Wait a second . . . I'm supposed to ask a question. Here's a second question (I mean, it's the first question, but it's about secondary stuff):

What is the second largest city in Illinois?

October 25, 2007 question

The Visa logo is blue, white, and gold. Here's who knew:

Heather M (the M stands for My Birthday Is So Gonna Rock)
Rachel
Trevor
Heather K (the K stands for Keep Spending To A Minimum)
Micaela
Reg
Melinda
Jocelyn
Paul C (the C stands for Cash Only)
Cindy
H. E. (the H E stands for Holographic Eagle)
Steve T (the T stands for Takes American Express)
Diannalee

Man, y'all weren't driven crazy at all! I'll have to try harder this time. Let's see . . . what's a question that will drive people crazy? I know! Here it is:

In what year was Barney the dinosaur created? (Note to evolutionists: Save me your scientific sarcasm, and just answer the question.)

October 24, 2007 question

The first entry in Wikipedia, when listed alphabetically, is 0 (zero). I know, I know, it's more alphanumerically, but any good Blockbuster employee knows that numbers come first, even though they're not really in the alphabet. And don't you dare let people get away with filing 12 Monkeys DVDs or 10,000 Maniacs CDs under "T," because it's an outrage. An outrage, I say!

Well, I think it's time for one of those obvious trivia questions that just might drive you crazy. You know, the ones you think you know, you know you should know, but when it really comes down to it, you don't really know if you know . . . you know? Here it is:

What are the colors in the Visa credit card logo? (No peeking!)

October 23, 2007 question

I believe the curse of the Red Sox has not been broken. It has instead rebounded upon us all. We are now forced to endure Red Sox fans (who are giving Yankee fans a run for there money in the most-hated category) and a seemingly endless stream of Red Sox banter, discussion, hype, and (occasionally) games.

And I think it may have infected trivia as well.

A quick update: the world is lost. Chaos reigns. Google is not the savior from Microsoft that I thought it might be. And that's okay. If you joined the group, great. If you didn't, so be it. If you want to strangle me, remember that the word throttle would also suffice.

Before I pass on, I should mention that Laurie knew Freud's middle name (Schlomo) . . . I wonder what that tells us about her? Oh, yeah, she's wicked smart. Let's see who knows today's question. Here it is:

In alphabetical order, what is the first entry in Wikipedia?

the switch

Hopefully this will be the last bit of housekeeping for our trivia fun. You are now (as you were before) enrolled in daily trivia. It just goes to different electronic places before it gets to you. Everything is private, or as private as I could make it. The only real difference is convenience. So, as my comedic friend, Mitch Hedberg, would say about broken-down escalators that suddenly become stairs, "Sorry for the convenience."

 

If you want to opt out, it's easy. If you want to read it online and post comments, you can go to www.kelloggdailytrivia.blogspot.com. If you want to pretend that you invented the Internet and the environment, you can dress up like Al Gore for Halloween. That has nothing to do with trivia . . . yet it has everything to do with trivia. If you're wondering what today's question is . . . here:

 

What was Sigmund Freud's middle name? (Hint: it was also the name of one of Hanukkah Harry's donkeys.)

October 22, 2007 question

Welcome to e-based trivia!

 

Wait . . . it was e-based before. It's always been e-based. And e-based sounds too much like debased, which, you could argue, it always has been as well.

 

So . . . welcome to trivia. First off, let's clean up the last of the business Microsoft Outlook tried to undo: credit for Friday's experts, who knew that Charles was looking for Psalm 117 as the answer supreme:

 

Frank and Gabriel. Y'all are phenomenal. Okay, on to today's question:

 

What was Sigmund Freud's middle name? (Hint: it was also the name of one of Hanukkah Harry's donkeys.)

Escape from Outlook

I've been pondering doing this for some time now. A total conversion to trivia blog mode. One part of me hates to do it, because blogs represent everything that's wrong with the world, people operating under the delusion that the universe wants nothing more than to read their rambling thoughts. But then the other part of me said, "Hey, that's my favorite delusion!"

I just couldn't take one more error message from Outlook. Half of you weren't getting the questions anymore, and it should be your own level of disinterest that decides such thing, not some piece of incompetently wrought software.

So now, our little trivia game is online. I don't know if I can make it work so that things don't change for you at all. I've tried to set it up using a Google group so that all you have to do is check your email and reply when you know the answer. If that doesn't work . . . then you probably don't know about this page.

The answer to today's question was Psalm 117. I'll have to update you later on who actually got the question right, but for now, let's rejoice together in the knowledge that Outlook has no control over us any longer. Ding, dong, Bill Gates is dead.