February 29, 2008 question

I have been ridiculously remiss doling out trivia credit this week, so my apologies to all who have gone uncredited. It is your pursuit of trivia glory, sans the glory, that makes your quest so honorable. But here's who knew yesterday's answer was Nice (the shoe is Nike):

Elena
Heather M (the M stands for Missing Glory)
Charles
Heidi (not really, but I've missed her two days in a row, so what the heck)

Here's today's leap day question:

What will be the next year that will NOT be a leap year despite being a multiple of four ?

February 28, 2008 question

Grand Teton National Park is in Wyoming, and the canyon one is in Arizona. Here's who knew:

Daniel
Kristin
Jacqueline
Karen M (the M stands for Make My Teton A Venti)

Today is the Cubs' first Spring Training game, which makes me happy. Not only does it mean I can officially start hoping for a World Series, it also means that the results of this game have absolutely no effect on the likelihood of that hoping coming to fruition. That's a nice situation. Here's a nice question:

What city in France was named for the same Greek goddess who lends her name to tennis shoes?

 

February 27, 2008 question

First off, a correction. On the Waterfront didn't sweep the Big 5 Oscars, just the Big 4. But, as alert trivialyte Heather M (the M stands for Movie Whiz) pointed out, it didn't come out in 1975, either. For some inexplicable reason, I typed "On the Waterfront" instead of the name that was in my head, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, which happens to be the film that swept the cinqo grande in '75. [Insert Adam is cuckoo joke, here.]

Next, I'll award the only partial credit of the day to Charles who correctly answered Grand Teton National Park (1919), yesterday. The other February 26 National Park establishment was Grand Canyon National Park (1909). So the obvious question is . . .

In what U.S. states are Grand Teton National Park and Grand Canyon National Park located?

February 26, 2008 question

Clearly I was not clear yesterday. I was asking for the three movies in the 80-year history of the Oscars to have swept all five of the big awards in a single year. Those were:

It Happened One Night (1934)
One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
Silence of the Lambs (1991)

So I give credit to everyone for putting up with me. Today's question moves things to the great outdoors, because for some reason today is "establish a national park" day. Here's the question:

What two national parks were established on this date, one by Congress in 1919 and the other by Coolidge in 1929?

February 25, 2008 question

Gone with the Wind is the top box-office earner of all time when you factor in inflation. When you don't consider inflation, it's just a really old movie. Here's who knew:

Neil
Andy
Karen H (the H stands for Huge Ears Like That, You Ought To Give A Darn)

On to today's movie news, where researchers have proclaimed to finally possess the ability to film the flight of an electron. It's gripping theater, if you care to watch. (Find the footage here: http://www.livescience.com/php/video/player.php?video_id=080222-ElectronRide). And of course by gripping, I mean that it is the singular most ridiculous so-called footage I've ever witnessed. It looks like a Real Jukebox visualizer effect from 1992. But, sure, hooray for you, Mr. Scientist. You can now safely return to your high school reunion and prove to all your old classmates that they were wrong: you are even more boring than they suspected. Here's today's question:

What three films have swept the Big 5 categories at the Oscars (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Screenplay)?

February 22, 2008 question

Hey, hey, we're the Monkees, and Jenn and Karen* know our address, but we're too busy in trial to think about stalker stress.

Today is the day single-game Cub tickets go on sale. In like . . . seven minutes. But I'll be busy, so feel free to pick me up some, kay? Thanks. Here's today's ticket question:

Adjusted for inflated ticket prices, what is the top U.S. domestic box office grossing movie of all time?

 

*H (the H stands for Heart Goes Out To Davy Jones Who Was Sued For Singing Monkee Songs In A Commercial)

 

February 21, 2008

The Daytona 500 is 500 miles long. But it only takes 200 laps to get there.

Norris
Charles
Neil
Heather M (the M stands for My Kids All Knew Too)
Steve T (the T stands for Talladega Man)

all knew that without blinking an eye. At least, I assume, eye-blinking had little to do with their ability to answer that question. No idea why I chose to put that idiom in there, but I'm having so much fun mocking myself for putting it there, I can't help but leave it. Sorry if the trivia layoff caused you to get restless. Here's today's new question:

Who lived at 1134 North Beechwood Drive? (Smaller but more obvious hint than the one already given above: If this were Trivial Pursuit, I think it would be a pink, maybe a brown question.)

February 19, 2008 question

So much to talk about, so little trivia.

First off, I want to apologize to what appears to be about half the trivia list for somehow omitting your names for the past month. Yes, I have been sending trivia. No, it wasn't personal. No, I'm not exactly sure how it happened. Yes, I am answering questions that no one has asked. No, I can't seem to stop. Yes, I'll try.

Whew. I did it.* Okay, time for today's news, which includes Fidel Castro resigning as president of Cuba. As polls are just starting to get busy in Wisconsin and Hawaii, rumors are already swirling that Hillary will repeat the maneuver she pulled in New York and move to Havana to try to win that election. Good luck, Hill. Here's today's question:

How many laps is the Daytona 500?

*Yes, it feels good.

February 18, 2008 answer

Here's who knew that the people of Kosovo are Kosovars:

H. E. (the H E stands for Happily Eloquent)
Elena
Andy
Heather M (the M stands for Malaprops)
George W (the W stands for Where's Kosovo Going To Stay Now That They Moved Out Of Bosnia?)

Mad props to all y'all.

February 18, 2008 question

For the people of Kosovo, the 4th of July is in February. That's because they declared their independence from . . . well, from everyone, really. Isn't that the whole point of independence?

Anyway, the United States officially recognized Kosovo as an independent state, and in so doing, George Bush clued us all into a little bit of trivia for us to exploit together. So here's the question:

According to W, what is the term for a resident of Kosovo?

February 15, 2008 answer

Back in the day . . . the Midday, even, they believed that the birds mating season began on Valentine's Day, which proves once and for all that Valentine's Day really is . . . for the birds. How you like that for corny!

Partial credit to Daniel, Heather M (the M stands for Mating, Migrating, Whatever), Nancy K (the K stands for Kill A Mockingbird Softly With Her Song), Andy, and Stephen K (the K stands for Killdeer Are Scary) for getting the mating part right. That sounds wrong, but what the heck, it's Friday. Have a great weekend!

Fact or Crap

Licking a postage stamp means consuming 20 calories.

 

I have posted this under false pretenses. This is a public service announcement to the owners of the 2008 Fact or Crap desktop calendar. Don't look up the answers on the Internet. I beg of you. You owe it to yourself to find the answer within yourself. Trust your gut. Or don't. But don't look up the answer. You're robbing yourself of all the fun, and I ask you . . . if we don't have fun, what else do we have?

 

Come on. Make the call. Is it fact, or is it crap? Search your feelings. You'll thank yourself when you flip over that tiny slip of paper with genuine suspense knowing that, right or wrong, today you have lived.

 

You can do it!

February 15, 2008 question

If you were wondering about the actual history of Valentine's Day, I can tell you that Pope Gelasius declared February 14 to be St. Valentine's Day near the end of the 5th century AD. And the popularization of valentine card exchanges here in the states actually dates back to the mid 19th century. But now we can end our week on one little Valentinian tidbit you might not know. Here's the question:

Valentine lovers in the Middle Ages believed what season in the animal kingdom began on February 14?

February 14, 2008 answer

Crap. But the resounding consensus (with only two voices of dissent) was Fact. We lose. But it is better to have trivialized and lost than never to have trivialized at all. Better luck tomorrow, when it's every trivialite for him or herself.

February 14, 2008 question

Yesterday, Karen H (the H stands for Heart You), Daniel, Reg, Larry, Kelly, Kristin, Heather M (the M stands for Mine Be, Yoda Love You Does), and Jean all knew that the whole "I cannot tell a lie, I chopped down the cherry tree" story was, ironically enough, a big fat lie told by Parson Weems in his book of George Washington worship. Congrats to you all on your trivial integrity.

Now, since it's Valentine's Day, I've decided to include you all in to what is normally a private undertaking here in my So-Called Office. The Fact or Crap daily calendar challenge. Each day I canvas the people who happen to be in the office at the time and we vote on whether the statement of the day is fact or . . . well, you know the name of the game. And since Valentine's Day is all about the love, there will be no individual credit. We will vote and either succeed as a group or fail as a group. Your vote counts, and I will count them all this afternoon to let you know how we voted and how we fared. Here is the statement:

In 1956, Hallmark founder Joyce Hall attempted to trademark Valentine's Day.

Fact or Crap?

February 13, 2008 question

Fargo, North Dakota, is the home of North Dakota State University. North Dakota U is in North Forks. Apparently we have no alumni on the trivia list . . . which maybe explains why you all typically do so well.

Today is the day we get to hear Roger Clemens perjure himself. That should be fun. Maybe we should start a little friendly trivia bet on where the biggest stars of this past generation will land first, the Hall of Fame or Federal Prison. Who do you think gets convicted first, Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens? And to think, the thing that could land them both in the clubhouse, as it were, is failing to tell the truth. I'm sure there's a lesson in there somewhere. Forget lessons, there must be a potential question in there somewhere. Here's the best I could find:

What famous truth-telling story by biographer Mason Locke "Parson" Weems has been determined by historians to be almost certainly a falsehood?

February 12, 2008 question

I've got a lot of credit to catch up on. Here's who knew that the 700s are reserved for the Arts: Charles, Kelly, and Andy. And quite a few of you went mentionless about your Dewey genius: Karen H (the H stands for Had To Wait Too Long), H. E. (the H E stands for Hardly Expedited), Charles, Meg, Nancy K (the K stands for Kept Waiting), and Mike K (the K stands for Knew You'd Come Around Sooner Or Later).

No more waiting. Here's today's trivia question about the city of Fargo, the new Guinness World Record holder for the largest pancake feed in history:

What university calls Fargo home?

 

February 11, 2008 question

Thomas E. Dewey was reported to have won the presidential election over Harry S. Truman. The trivia research department  uncovered a story late last night: he did not, in fact, win. Harry Truman won. Dewey, apparently, was never president. He had to settle for being king over the decimal system.

Now . . . did you watch the Grammy's last night? The show had its bright spots. Who would have thought Vince Gill and Kanye West would have an exchange of any kind? And who could have imagined Keely Smith and Kid Rock would be such a perfect combination? But most of the night was awkward and bad. First off, Alicia Keys' can't sing. It wasn't fair to pair her with a holographic Frank Sinatra who, even while dead, effortlessly outsang Keys and her strained, pained nasal blasts. Then having her perform again later in the program, only to be outsung again by . . . John Mayer's guitar? At least both performers looked equally in pain on that one.

But the weirdest moment of the night was Amy Winehouse's performance. I'll save the jokes about how obvious it was that the "Rehab" singer needed rehab. But did it seem like she just really had to go, you know, number 1? Seriously, she looked like a five year old trying to hold it until the last possible moment. She might as well have been singing this:

They tried to make me go potty, but I said "No, no, no."
I might wet my pants if I stop this dance, uh Oh, oh, oh.
I didn't have the time, I told my daddy that I'm fine.
And now I gotta find a bathroom so I can go, go, go.

Here's today's question:

The 700s in the Dewey Decimal Classification System are reserved for books on what topic?

February 7, 2008 question

Yesterday's question was a waste of time. I fell victim to one of the classic blunders: never trust a news story for the facts. I saw multiple stories saying that hydrocodone was another name for ibuprofen. I thought it looked odd, which is why I picked it for a trivia question. I'm guessing Amy saw that, too, so kudos to her. Also auxiliary credit to Meg who knew the right answer was Vicodin, and for knowing that's not an over-the-counter drug. Although, it all depends on what counter you're talking about.

Anyway, I'm trying something different starting today, sending out the trivia questions the night before. I'll try it out and see how it works . . . if you don't like it, let me know. If you do like it, let me know. If you don't care, look away. Your apathy is tearing me apart. Here's today's question:

According to the November 3, 1948 issue of the Chicago Daily Tribune, who defeated Truman? (I'll need a full name, please.)

February 6, 2008 question

Montana (democratic), South Dakota, and New Mexico round out the primaries this year, and from the looks of it, they might still have a say in the matter. Let's hear it for democracy!

Unfortunately, no one knew that, but that's . . . okay. You're good enough, you're smart enough, and, doggone it, I like you. Here's an accidental overdose of trivia:

What is another name for the over-the-counter drug hydrocodone?

February 5, 2008 question

Reg and Kelly (not the morning talk TV duo . . . at least, I don't think so) knew Mike Campbell was a Heartbreaker, but Larry's list of known Heartbreakers was longer than the list of hearts he's broken. I couldn't give you a complete list of the latter, but for complete info on Tom Petty's crew, head here.

Anyway, on to Super Duper Looper Trooper Tuesday. Today could be the day when both parties wrap up the suspense. It won't necessarily happen, but with basically half of the union holding their primaries and caucuses today, there might not be a lot nationally for me to decide when I vote in Indiana's contest on May 6. And that leads me to today's question:

What three states hold their primary/caucus elections on June 3, 2008, the latest date for such elections in the U.S.?

February 4, 2007 question

Trivia is shoveled clean, salted through, thawed out, and ready for action. Sorry for the long hiatus, hibernation, hijacking . . . pick your hi- word. I'm sorry for all of it. But let's move on, shall we?

If you watched the Super Bowl closely, this question should be no problem for you. Or it will be impossible. I guess we'll find out which. Here's the question, well, really not so much of a question as it is a challenge:

Name one of the Heartbreakers (of "Tom Petty and the . . ." fame). Just one will do, but if you can name them all, you shall be proclaimed Super Bowl champion of the universe.