July 23, 2009 question - Kim Jong-il Wants To Be Your Friend

International Name-Calling Brouhaha
Did Secretary of State Clinton Unfriend North Korea

Hilary Clinton said North Korea was acting like unruly teenagers. Then North Korea called her a schoolgirl. They even called her a "funny lady," which goes to show how little the North Korean government knows about A) Hilary Clinton and B) humor. How junior high is this?

It's so bad, Hilary and Kim Jong-il are no longer Facebook friends. No word on who unfriended whom. I'm just worried they'll make me pick sides. Drama!




Today's Question
Geography

What is the capital city of North Korea?

Previous Answer

And the people who knew it

"Earth Song," by Michael Jackson somehow became a mega-hit in the UK, despite its tragic theme (suckiness) and unreleased status in the states. Even more shocking: none of you knew that. My world is collapsing.

July 1, 2009 question - No X-Ray Necessary

Birds Fly With No Clothes On
Why, oh, why can't I?
A man aboard a US Airways flight from North Carolina to LA found a brand new way to get comfortable on his cross-country flight. He donned a suit his parents had given him on his birthday . . . you know, his birthday suit. Figuratively.

So there he was, sitting in his assigned seat (complete story with photos) when two off-duty police officers who just happened to be onboard (the plane, not with the plan to fly in the buff) wrestled him to the ground, covered him up, and restrained him with what appears to be an extension cord and some luggage straps.

Meanwhile, the flight was diverted to New Mexico (ABQ). Talk about taking a wrong turn at AL-buh-KUR-kee.

Today's Question
Geography
What is the correct spelling of the state capital of New Mexico?

Previous Answer
And the people who knew it
Congrats to Kyle and Heidi who knew that the Elephant Man's doc was also the first to perform an appendectomy. I don't know if it was successful or not, but their trivia efforts certainly were. Nicely done!

May 26, 2009 question - Forgetial Day

Memorial Day to Forget
For the Cubs anyway
Maybe the true meaning of Memorial Day has nothing to do with baseball, but they're both very American institutions, so it's hard to separate my feelings, especially when the two intersect. So regardless of how enjoyable most of the day was, I just can't set aside my disdain for the way the day ended: with miserable Cubs baseball.

The big problems had nothing to do with the play on the field and the eight-game losing streak the Cubbies plopped upon the Wrigley grass. The real shocks were A) the fact that on Memorial Day, the Cubs played at night, presumably to keep their national broadcast from interfering with the evil MLB network's 2 day-game telecasts; B) the Cubs wearing . . . prepare to gasp . . . red hats.

I know, right? The Reds wear red hats. The Cardinals wear red hats. Sophia Loren has been known to wear a giant red hat, but that doesn' t excuse everybody in baseball being forced to don the crimson caps of doom.

The forces of good must unite to ensure this never happens again.

Today's Question
Geography
What is the easternmost province in Canada?

Yesterday's Answer
And the people who knew it
Chowder comes from the French chaudière, a kettle or pot . . . B. Even though they knew, these people are far from being chowder heads: Steve J (the J stands for Jambalaya), Steve T (the T stands for Tomato Basil), Micaela, and Elena. Y'all are souper duper geniuses.

April 14, 2009 question - Trivia in the Making

300
Two Sox go Spartan
Hitting 300 home runs in a career is usually pretty special for any baseball player. It doesn't put you into the Hall of Fame by any means, but it does show you're a legitimate slugger with staying power. And when that 300th long ball clears the fence, the day is usually (or, until yesterday, always) yours to savor.

But that all changed after Jermaine Dye of the Chicago White Sox circled the square base path for his 300th time. Before he could finish his congratulatory round of "you're so special" high fives and back slaps, Paul Konerko, the very next batter, repeated the feat, belting his 300th dinger over the generous fences of U.S. Cellular Field.

When two guys in a row do it, hitting 300 doesn't seem all that special for either one. But for the pair, it's as special as special gets. No two teammates have ever both hit their 300th, 400th, or 500th homers in the same game, let alone in precise succession.

I'm not one to spend a lot of time praising White Sox, but congratulations to Dye and Konerko, for forging trivia before our very eyes.

Today's Question
Geography
How many countries (ignoring any Antarctic territories . . . those aren't countries) are intersected on land by the Antimeridian, the Prime Meridian's neglected opposite?

Yesterday's Answer
And the people who knew it
Mercutio uttered those famous words that I've already forgotten, but these trivia winners have vowed never to forget (or they just can't help being that smart):

Kyle
Heather M (the M stands for Mercutio's Last Words)
Karen M (the M stands for My How Dramatically They Die In Romeo And Juliet?)

Congratulations to you all for your
Great knowledge of the Bard and all his works.

Trivia glory is great on its own. Trivia glory in iambic pentameter is as good as it's gonna get. Congrats.

March 26, 2009 question

Guest Intro
At least I thought it was funny
I'm stepping aside from the trivia mic today to allow a guest joke from my 5 year old, who made me laugh out loud the other day with this joke he surely borrowed from a magazine or something. I don't care. I'll pass it on to you as if it was his own:
 
Him: Wanna hear a construction joke?
 
Me: Sure, let me hear it.
 
Him: Sorry, I'm still working on it!
 
The great thing about email is that you don't even have to pretend to laugh to humor the parent who thinks everything his child does is funny. You can just move on to the question without a second thought . . . although, if the answers come in too quickly, I'll worry you didn't take the requisite time to catch your breath.

Today's Question
Geography
What country was known as East Pakistan until 1971?

Tuesday's Answer
And the people who knew it
Carbon has the highest melting point of any element, outlasting even Tungsten, which will leave a decidedly undecided Karen H boiling, conceding victory to Karen M (the M stands for My Best Friend Is A Diamond).

March 16, 2009 question

Karen M (the M stands for Making A Living Schooling Y'all) was so wronged it was right, living up to the reverse alphabetical trivia challenge in seven-letter fashion. Perhaps someone could have bested her if they were spoonfed the answer.

Ah, there are a lot more of those alphabetical trivia questions lurking out there, but I will leave them alone for a spell so we can focus on more important matters, like . . . okay, I've lost interest in more important matters. I'll settle for just plain different. Here's today's question:

What seven countries have official territorial claims on land in Antarctica?