12 Days of Christmas - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) The Cowsills. The Newport, Rhode Island singing group began in 1965 with the four brothers Barry, Bill, Bob, and John and later added their sister Susan, their brother Paul, and their mother Barbara.
• A2) The Netherlands. Unilever had bought a soap factory called De Duif and eventually began marketing Dove soap in the U.S. in 1957.
• A3) Sadie (Cohen). Although Youngman frequently joked about his wife ("Take my wife... please!"), they were happily married for over sixty years.
• A4) Magic Johnson. The huge rivalry, which included the 1979 NCAA Final Four Championship contest and three NBA Finals over a dozen seasons, earned them billing on the first double-sided Wheaties box.
• A5) Mount Doom. The long history of the Ring included Sauron creating it, Isildur stealing it from him, Smeagol killing his friend Deagol for it, and Bilbo Baggins finding it after Smeagol, who had turned into Gollum, lost it.
• A6) Richard. On August 6, 1988, the Hall of Famer became the second reliever, after Rollie Fingers, to record 300 career saves.
• A7) Jerry Rice. The San Francisco 49er amassed 589 yards in four games, dropping Swann's 364 into second place. Rice also owns the record for most receiving yards in a single Super Bowl, with 215 in Super Bowl XXIII; Swann's 161 in Super Bowl X was a record at the time but now ranks fourth.
• A8) Fitzwalter. Lady Marian Fitzwalter of Leaford was supposedly the daughter of the real-life Robert Fitzwalter, who had attempted to assassinate King John.
• A9) Fred Astaire. The Nebraskan born as Frederick Austerlitz would ultimately appear in 31 musical movies over a 76-year entertainment career.
• A10) Puck. The fairy had been causing trouble in the forest during Act III, Scene ii of A Midsummer Nights Dream.
• A11) Germany. Frankie Gammyfoot used his music to lure the rats from the town of Hamelin into the Weser River in 1284.
• A12) Stirrup (stapes). The hammer (malleus) and anvil (incus) also move, transferring the vibration to the cochlea, whose hairs generate nerve signals that are sent to the brain.

12 Days of Christmas - Random Trivia Questions

The Twelve Days of Christmas do not lead up to Christmas but actually run from Christmas Day (December 25) through Twelfth Night (January 5), which is the day before Epiphany. The song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" was initially published in England in 1780, but probably dates even further back in France. Since you're probably all holidayed out by now, this week's quiz uses the gifts in the song only to launch questions completely unrelated to the holidays.

12 Days of Christmas Questions

• Q1) What real life singing family was the basis for The Partridge Family television series?
• Q2) In what country did Dove soap originate?
• Q3) What was the first name of comedian Henny Youngman's wife?
• Q4) With whom did Larry Bird share the two big sides of Wheaties boxes in 1993?
• Q5) In The Lord of the Rings, into what volcano does the simple-looking gold ring known as the One Ring need to be tossed to be destroyed?
• Q6) What was Major League Baseball pitcher Goose Gossage's given first name?
• Q7) Who broke Lynn Swann's record for career receiving yards in Super Bowls?
• Q8) In the Robin Hood stories, what was Maid Marian's last name, introduced by playwright Anthony Munday in the early 17th century?
• Q9) What famous dancer first appeared on the big screen in the 1933 movie Dancing Lady, starring Joan Crawford and Clark Gable?
• Q10) What Shakespeare character observed, "Lord, what fools these mortals be!"?
• Q11) In what country does the Pied Piper live?
• Q12) What is the smallest bone in the human body, which vibrates in reaction to the movement of the eardrum?

Baseball, Police, or Prime Time -- Quiz Quilt 154 Solution

Category Answers:

Literature & Arts	OPUS	The mostly-innocent, herring-eating fowl originally appeared in a bit role as Michael Binkley's pet.
History & Government	SUN	Former peasant Sun Yat-sen was the Republic of China's first provisional president in 1912 and its unofficial leader from 1923 to 1925.
Geography & Nature	DELMARVA	The 180-mile-long peninsula meets the Chesapeake Bay on the west and the Delaware River, Delaware Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean on the east.
Sports & Games	SNEAD	"Slammin' Sammy" Snead collected 82 victories, nine more than Jack Nicklaus.
Math & Science	DIAPHRAGM	The transversus thoracis also generates the pressure for coughing, sneezing, urination, defecation, and vomiting.
Entertainment & Food	ALMONDS	The recipe must contain at least one-fourth almonds, or else the result is called almond paste instead.

Quiz Quilt Answer: LINEUP (Second letters going up)

The quilt solution follows each of the terms in the clue: baseball lineup, police lineup, or prime time lineup.

Baseball, Police, or Prime Time -- Quiz Quilt 154 Puzzle

Category Questions:

Literature & Arts	What penguin starred in the comic strip Bloom County?
History & Government	What Chinese statesman is known as the Father of the Revolution and has a large mausoleum in his honor in Nanking?
Geography & Nature	What peninsula between Chesapeake and Delaware Bays is made up of parts of Virginia and Maryland and all of Delaware?
Sports & Games	What American golfer holds the record for most career PGA tournament wins?
Math & Science	What is the chief muscle used in normal, shallow breathing?
Entertainment & Food	What type of nuts are needed to make marzipan?

Season's Seconds - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) "Joy to the World". Isaac Watts's hymn, to which Lowell Mason added a Handel melody in the early 1800s, continues, "Let men their songs employ".
• A2) "Deck the Halls". The traditional Welsh melody continues with the giveaway, "Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la".
• A3) "We Three Kings of Orient Are". John Hopkins's 1857 Christmas carol continues, "King forever, ceasing never, over us all to reign". Verses two, three, and four are told by Melchior, Caspar (frankincense), and Bathazar (myrrh) respectively, while verses one and five are sung by everyone.
• A4) "Away in a Manger". The German folk song continues, "But little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes".
• A5) "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear". Edmund Sears's Christmas poem, to which Richard Storrs Willis added music in 1850, continues, "And still their heavenly music floats o'er all the weary world".
• A6) "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing". Charles Wesley's 1739 hymn, which was grafted onto part of a 1840 cantata by Felix Mendelssohn, continues, "Late in time behold Him come, offspring of the favored one".
• A7) "O Little Town of Bethlehem". Episcopal priest Phillips Brooks's hymn, for which his organist Lewis Redner provided a melody, continues, "While mortals sleep, the angels keep their watch of wond'ring love."
• A8) "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen". The traditional English melody continues, "And unto certain shepherd brought tidings of the same".
• A9) "What Child Is This?". William Chatterton Dix's 1865 hymn, later set to the tune of "Greensleeves", continues, "Good Christian, fear; for sinners here the silent Word is pleading".
• A10) "O Come, All Ye Faithful". Frederick Oakeley's English translation of John Francis Wade's "Adeste Fideles" continues, "Sing, all ye citizens of heav'n above; glory to God in the highest".
• A11) "The First Noel". The traditional English melody continues, "And to the earth it gave great light, And so it continued both day and night. Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel, Born is the King of Israel".
• A12) "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day". Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, written on Christmas Day in 1863 when he heard that his son Charles had been wounded in the Civil War, continues, "Had rolled along th'unbroken song of peace on earth, good will to men". Among others, J. Baptiste Calkin set the piece to music seven years later.

Season's Seconds - Random Trivia Questions

Unless you're a serious caroler, you may not be very familiar with the second verses of these popular traditional holiday songs. But sometimes you may be able to figure things out by the rhythm, so don't give up too easily.

Season's Seconds Questions

• Q1) "Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns..."
• Q2) "See the blazing Yule before us..."
• Q3) "Born a King on Bethlehem's plain, gold I bring, to crown Him again..."
• Q4) "The cattle are lowing, the poor Baby wakes..."
• Q5) "Still through the coven skies they come, with peaceful wings unfurled..."
• Q6) "Christ, by highest heav'n adored..."
• Q7) "For Christ is born of Mary; and gather'd all above..."
• Q8) "From God, our Heavenly Father, a blessed angel came..."
• Q9) "Why lies He in such mean estate, where ox and ass are feeding?..."
• Q10) "Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation..."
• Q11) "They looked up and saw a star shining in the East, beyond them far..."
• Q12) "I thought how, as the day had come, the belfries of all Christendom..."

77 Stock Shares -- Quiz Quilt 153 Solution

Category Answers:

Math & Science	TITO	Multimillionaire Dennis Tito founded the Wilshire Associates investment management firm in 1972.
Sports & Games	WILD	The Columbus Blue Jackets debuted at the same time.
Entertainment & Food	GOODSON	Mark Goodson's 39,312 episodes could be strung together into a nonstop marathon running almost 2½ years.
Literature & Arts	MILLIARD	A U.S. trillion was a U.K. billion, and a quintillion was a trillion. The U.S. definitions are now standard on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
History & Government	JACOBINS	The Club Breton was nicknamed for its house on the Rue St. Jacques.
Geography & Nature	AUSTRALIA	At just under three million square miles, the continental commonwealth is by far the largest, almost three times bigger than Argentina.

Quiz Quilt Answer: ODDLOT (Fourth letters)

In stock trading, an odd lot is any number of shares that is not an even multiple of a base amount, usually 100.

77 Stock Shares -- Quiz Quilt 153 Puzzle

Category Questions:

Math & Science	What American businessman paid $20 million to take a flight to the space station in May 2001?
Sports & Games	What is the nickname of the Minnesota franchise that joined the NHL in the 2000-01 season?
Entertainment & Food	What game show producer is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the most prolific producer in TV history?
Literature & Arts	Until the late 20th-century, what was the British equivalent of the American word "billion"?
History & Government	What political group was responsible for France's Reign of Terror in which over 20,000 people were executed from September 1793 to July 1794?
Geography & Nature	What is the largest country in area that is completely south of the equator?

Ouch! - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) Touch of Evil. Charlton Heston played the hero Mike Vargas, a Mexican narcotics official who uncovers Quinlan's wrongdoings.
• A2) Oscar the Grouch. The trash lover, voiced by Carroll Spinney, became dull green the following year.
• A3) The Official Couch Potato Handbook. Tom Iacino, who helped write the 100-page guide but does not share co-authoring credit, owns the trademark for the term "couch potato".
• A4) Touch Gold. The thoroughbred had skipped the Kentucky Derby but finished a respectable fourth at the Preakness after stumbling out of the gate.
• A5) La Bouche. "Sweet Dreams", the title track from their debut album, actually came out in 1994 and topped the Italian charts but wasn't released in the U.S. initially.
• A6) Brian Boucher. The Phoenix Coyotes netminder kept the puck out of his net for 332 minutes and 1 second over five and a half games from December 27, 2003 to January 9, 2004.
• A7) The Untouchables. A second TV show with the same name that ran from 1993 to 1994 could only scrape up a single, unsuccessful Emmy nomination for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Sound Editing for a Series.
• A8) Khalid Khannouchi. Not surprisingly, he set a new American record of 2:07:01 at the 2000 Chicago Marathon.
• A9) Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. The literal translation of Li Mu Bai's sword's name is "Green Dark World Sword" and refers to a destination of the dead.
• A10) Groucho Marx. The gimmes served as one hundred dollar consolation questions for losing contestants on You Bet Your Life.
• A11) Tim Couch. The Cleveland Browns selected the 6'4", 220-pound junior instead of Donovan McNabb, who fell to the Philadelphia Eagles at #2.
• A12) Mike Souchak. A final-round 4-over-par 75 dropped him into a six-way tie for third place, with Jack Nicklaus, then an amateur, alone in second. Souchak had become the first PGA golfer to shoot a 27 over nine holes at the 1955 Texas Open.

Ouch! - Random Trivia Questions

I stepped on someone's foot yesterday playing basketball, and all I can say is, "Ouch"! Even though it's my oft-injured bad ankle (having never sprained the other one), I seem to have survived mostly intact. But this week, I'm going to share the pain, as all of the answers below contain the string "ouch" somewhere.

Ouch! Questions

• Q1) What 1958 movie did Orson Welles write, direct, and even co-star in, appearing as policeman Hank Quinlan?
• Q2) What Sesame Street character debuted as a furry, orange monster in 1969?
• Q3) What humorous 1983 book written by Jack Mingo and illustrated by cartoonist Robert Armstrong added the subtitle "A Guide to Prolonged Television Viewing" for its 1987 paperback edition?
• Q4) What horse denied Silver Charm the Triple Crown by only three-quarters of a length in the 1997 Belmont Stakes?
• Q5) By what name are Melanie Thornton and Lane McCray, who hit the U.S. charts with "Be My Lover" in 1995 and "Sweet Dreams" in 1996, better known?
• Q6) What NHL goalie holds the modern record for consecutive shutout minutes?
• Q7) What 1987 movie, which earned Sean Connery a Best Actor in a Supporting Role Oscar, was based on a television show that earned Robert Stack an Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Series Emmy in 1960?
• Q8) What Moroccan became the first runner to break 2:06 in a marathon with a world record 2:05:42 in the Chicago Marathon on October 24, 1999, half a year before becoming a U.S. citizen?
• Q9) What 2000 movie revolves around the search for a jade sword called the Green Destiny?
• Q10) What game show host was famous for asking questions like, "Who is buried in Grant's Tomb?", "What year did the War of 1812 start?", "How long do you cook a three-minute egg?", and "What color is an orange?"
• Q11) What University of Kentucky quarterback was the first pick of the 1999 NFL Draft?
• Q12) What golfer led going into the final round of the 1960 U.S. Open Golf Championship but struggled and saw Arnold Palmer come from seven strokes back to win?

G-Clef, G-Clef, G-Clef -- Quiz Quilt 152 Solution

Category Answers:

Math & Science	PREMARIN	In 2004, the National Institutes of Health declared the drug, named for its source of pregnant mares' urine, to be useless against heart disease.
Literature & Arts	SELDEN	Connecticut author George Selden, who dropped his last name Thompson, was inspired by the chirping of a real cricket in Times Square Station.
Sports & Games	ROBINSON	Center David Robinson put up 71 points against the Los Angeles Clippers on April 24, 1994 to clinch the season scoring title.
Geography & Nature	JOEY	The term can also refer to the related wallabies.
Entertainment & Food	HIRAM	The high school dropout was born in Mount Olive, Alabama on September 17, 1923 as Hiram King Williams.
History & Government	ASTOR	Lady Astor, the former Nancy Witcher Langhorne, joined the British House of Commons on December 1, 1919.

Quiz Quilt Answer: TREBLE (Third letters going up)

The commonly used G-clef is also known as the treble clef, and treble means three times.

G-Clef, G-Clef, G-Clef -- Quiz Quilt 152 Puzzle

Category Questions:

Math & Science	What hormone replacement therapy pill was first available in 1942 and was the most prescribed drug from 1990 to 1995?
Literature & Arts	What author penned The Cricket in Times Square in 1960?
Sports & Games	What NBA player scored the most points in a game in the 1990s?
Geography & Nature	What is the generic name for a baby kangaroo?
Entertainment & Food	What was singer Hank Williams's given first name?
History & Government	Who was the first female member of the British Parliament?

Trivia Train 2 - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) Walter Camp. The Father of American Football had also won at least one of the various national titles in three seasons as a player a decade earlier.
• A2) Camp Rock. Kevin and Nick Jonas are the other members of the band but play minor roles in the movie.
• A3) Rock Hudson. The Golden Globe World Film Favorite Male Actor in 1959, 1960, and 1963 was one of the first famous casualties of AIDS, passing away on October 2, 1985.
• A4) Hudson River. The river's mouth was the original target destination of the Mayflower when it left England in September 1620.
• A5) River Phoenix. His eight-year career was cut short when he overdosed at age 23 outside Johnny Depp's Viper Room in Los Angeles on Halloween in 1993.
• A6) Phoenix Mercury. The team edged the Detroit Shock 3-2 in the 2007 Finals, becoming the first WNBA team to clinch a title on the road, and the Indiana Fever by the same score in 2009.
• A7) Mercury Morris. The surviving members of his undefeated team celebrate annually when the last undefeated NFL team loses, but in 2007, the celebration had to wait until the New York Giants upset the heavily favored Patriots in the Super Bowl, barely saving the running back from eating his words.
• A8) Morris the Cat. The orange tabby is best known as the spokesfeline of 9Lives cat food.
• A9) Cat Stevens. The British musician, born in London on July 21, 1948 as Steven Demetre Georgiou, reached the Top 40 eleven times and the Top 10 thrice.
• A10) Stevens Point. The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point's radio station, WWSP-FM, asked over 11,000 players on 417 teams an average of eight trivia questions per hour for 54 straight hours during the 2009 contest.
• A11) Point Guard. Cousy was a three-time All-American who took Holy Cross to the Final Four tournament from 1948 to 1950. Lieberman led Old Dominion to a Women's National Invitational Tournament title in 1978 and AIAW National Championships in 1979 and 1980.
• A12) Guard Squeeze. In general, a squeeze play compels a player to discard a useful card because a single hand cannot cover suits in two hands.

Trivia Train 2 - Random Trivia Questions

Now that you know how this works, here's another word chain where the last word of each answer matches the first word of the following answer.

Trivia Train 2 Questions

• Q1) Who coached Yale University to perfect 13-0 records and NCAA football championships in 1888, 1891, and 1892 before leaving for Stanford?
• Q2) What made-for-television Disney movie starred Demi Lovato as Mitchie Torres and Joe Jonas as Shane Gray, the lead singer of Connect Three?
• Q3) What actor was born as Roy Harold Scherer, Jr. in Winnetka, Illinois on November 17, 1925?
• Q4) What body of water do the Iroquois call Muh-he-kun-ne-tuk, the Great Mohegan?
• Q5) What actor has a younger brother named Joaquin and three younger sisters named Rain, Liberty, and Summer?
• Q6) Which of the original WNBA teams needed eleven season to win its first championship in 2007, then only two more to win its second?
• Q7) What member of the 1972 Miami Dolphins made headlines in 2007 when he repeatedly criticized the then-undefeated New England Patriots?
• Q8) What animal did John Erwin lend his voice to in the 1973 Burt Reynolds movie Shamus and in television commercials throughout the 1970s?
• Q9) What 1970s singer returned under the name Yusuf Islam in 2006, three decades after his last hit singles?
• Q10) What Wisconsin town hosts the world's largest trivia contest at the end of every April?
• Q11) What basketball position is honored annually by the NCAA's Bob Cousy and Nancy Lieberman Awards?
• Q12) What declarer technique in bridge uses threats in both hand and dummy to force an opponent to discard a card that is not a winner by itself but keeps his partner from being finessed?

Science Sibling -- Quiz Quilt 151 Solution

Category Answers:

Literature & Arts	ANGELOU	The President personally requested Maya Angelou for his 1993 ceremony.
Math & Science	JAPAN	Muses-A was launched on January 24, 1990. The Soviet Union was the first, with the unmanned Luna 2 crash landing on September 14, 1959.
Geography & Nature	ATHENS	The University of Georgia is 60 miles northeast of Atlanta, while Ohio University is 75 miles southeast of Columbus.
Sports & Games	BUBKA	Ukrainian Sergei Bubka set the historic record on March 15, 1991, six years after he was the first to break the six-meter barrier (just under 19.7 feet).
Entertainment & Food	CRAIG	Redhead Jenny Craig and her husband Sid opened their first Jenny Craig centers in Australia in 1983.
History & Government	GEORGIA	In 1732, the Peach State had been the last British colony established in North America.

Quiz Quilt Answer: NATURE (Second letters)

In early Genus editions of Trivial Pursuit, the green category was named "Science and Nature".

Science Sibling -- Quiz Quilt 151 Puzzle

Category Questions:

Literature & Arts	What African-American author read her poem "On the Pulse of the Morning" at President Clinton's inauguration?
Math & Science	What was the third country to send a spacecraft toward the moon?
Geography & Nature	In what identically named cities are the University of Georgia and Ohio University located?
Sports & Games	What pole vaulter was the first to clear twenty feet?
Entertainment & Food	What Louisiana housewife gained 45 pounds after pregnancy, bought a health club, and created a weight loss empire?
History & Government	What southern state was the fourth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution, on January 2, 1788?

Trivia Train - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) Jason Orange. The former breakdancer pursued an acting career during the break, but did not gain any traction.
• A2) Orange Julius. Hamlin's customer, Julius Freed, owned an orange juice stand at which the new drink significantly increased sales.
• A3) Julius Caesar. In Act II, Scene ii, the dictator then asks what the augurers have to say, and they recommend that he stay inside for the day. It's a tragedy, so you know how well he listened.
• A4) Caesar Rodney. His vote at the Second Continental Congress swayed Delaware in favor of the proposed Declaration of Independence.
• A5) Rodney King. The unexpected evidence of police brutality during a seemingly routine speeding arrest led to four L.A.P.D. officers being put on trial. The initial acquittal then led to the riots named for King in the spring of 1992. King won $3.8 million in a subsequent civil lawsuit.
• A6) King Arthur. In various stories, Arthur pulled the sword from a stone or received it from the Lady of the Lake.
• A7) Arthur Lake. He also portrayed Dagwood in a 1957 television series, while Pamela Britton took over as Blondie.
• A8) Lake George. The 44-square-mile upstate New York lake empties to the north into Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence River.
• A9) George Foster. On June 21, 1916, the 5'7" right-handed pitcher, also known as Rube, blanked the New York Yankees on only three walks and earned a $100 bonus from Red Sox President Lannin. On February 7, 1982, the right-handed outfielder signed a $2,040,000 contract with the New York Mets, only two seasons after Nolan Ryan had broken the one million mark.
• A10) Foster Brooks. During various celebrity roasts, Brooks, who gave up drinking long before his career took off, would ask Dean Martin, rumored to be a heavy drinker in real life, to join him in Alcoholics Unanimous.
• A11) Brooks Robinson. The veteran third baseman would bat under .200 during his final three seasons with the Baltimore Orioles, while the youngster wouldn't do much better until a career year in 1982 following a trade to the California Angels.
• A12) Robinson Crusoe. Daniel Defoe's novel was based on the real story of sailor Alexander Selkirk, who was marooned on the island in 1704.

Each answer begins with the second word of the previous answer, forming a 13-word chain.

Trivia Train - Random Trivia Questions

This week's random quiz is only a mini mystery quiz, as you may be able to figure out what links the answers from the title. Certainly, once you've answered a few of the questions, you will have gained some big hints.

Trivia Train Questions

• Q1) What singer from the band Take That was the only member not to pursue a solo career between the group's break up in 1999 and its reunion in 2005?
• Q2) What drink did real estate broker Bill Hamlin concoct in 1929 in Los Angeles?
• Q3) What Shakespeare character claimed, "Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once"?
• Q4) Who rode eighty miles on horseback through a thunderstorm to Philadelphia to join Thomas McKean against George Read?
• Q5) What victim was famously videotaped by George Holliday?
• Q6) What legendary character carried a sword named Excalibur?
• Q7) What actor portrayed Dagwood Bumstead opposite actress Penny Singleton in 28 Blondie movies starting from 1938 to 1950?
• Q8) What is the current name of the body of water known as Horican in the novel The Last of the Mohicans?
• Q9) What name is shared by the first Boston Red Sox pitcher to throw a no-hitter at Fenway Park and the first Major League Baseball player to make two million dollars per year in salary?
• Q10) What comedian, famous for portraying a lovable drunk, got his big break from singer Perry Como in 1969 and became a regular on The Dean Martin Show in the 1970s?
• Q11) What future Hall of Famer did Doug DeCinces replace in the starting lineup in the second game of a doubleheader on June 6, 1976?
• Q12) For what fictional character was Chile's Mas a Tierra renamed in 1966?

Aliens, Desperado, or Hannibal -- Quiz Quilt 150 Solution

Category Answers:

Math & Science	COSMOLOGY	Pythagoras first applied the Greek word kosmos, meaning "orderly arrangement", to the universe.
Geography & Nature	FRANCE	They are the strong, northerly winds that are most prevalent during the winter.
Entertainment & Food	SUBARU	The tennis star was featured in a 1996 ad with golfers Juli Inkster and Meg Mallon and skier Diann Roffe-Steinrotter, ending with the line, "What do we know? We're just girls."
Literature & Arts	VELAZQUEZ	Although Diego Velazquez's paintings were displayed in palaces in museums during his lifetime, the Spaniard's real fame arrived when Sir David Wilkie rediscovered his work in 1828.
History & Government	MUSKIE	Navy lieutenant Edmund Muskie was the governor of Maine from 1954 to 1958 and the state's U.S. senator until 1980, when he resigned to become U.S. Secretary of State under Jimmy Carter.
Sports & Games	COSTAS	New Yorker Bob Costas has been a fixture at the Summer Olympics since 1988 and the Winter Olympics since 2002.

Quiz Quilt Answer: SEQUEL (Sixth letters going up)

These three movies were sequels to Alien, El Mariachi, and Silence of the Lambs respectively, and the sequels all made more money at the box office.

Aliens, Desperado, or Hannibal -- Quiz Quilt 150 Puzzle

Category Questions:

Math & Science	What field of science involves the study of the structure and origin of the universe?
Geography & Nature	What country's winds are called mistral winds?
Entertainment & Food	What car maker was one of the first companies to sign Martina Navratilova to do TV commercials?
Literature & Arts	What 17th-century artist painted The Maids of Honor and Old Woman Cooking Eggs?
History & Government	Who was Hubert Humphrey's 1968 running mate?
Sports & Games	Who is the only sportscaster to broadcast at least three Olympics, three Super Bowls, three World Series, and the NBA Finals?

Name Fame - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) Cheri Oteri. The actress, whose given first name is Cheryl, helped revive the late night show from 1995 to 2000.
• A2) Shaquille O'Neal. Between 1993 and 1998, the 1992-93 NBA Rookie of the Year released four rap albums, Shaq Diesel, Shaq Fu: Da Return, You Can't Stop the Reign, and Respect.
• A3) Jack Black. In School of Rock the Californian, born with the first name Thomas but known by a variant of his middle name Jacob, starred as offbeat substitute teacher Dewey Finn, and in Kung Fu Panda he voiced the title character Po.
• A4) Jacque Chirac. His two terms from 1995 to 2007 totaled two years less than his predecessor Mitterand.
• A5) Wavy Gravy. The concoction, consisting of vanilla ice cream, caramel, cashews, and Brazil nuts was discontinued in 2003 after its popularity waned.
• A6) Faye Dunaway. Seventeen years after her Best Actress Oscar as Diana Christensen in Network in 1976, the Florida Gator won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for Columbo: It's All in the Game.
• A7) Shin-Soo Choo. Traded to the Cleveland Indians during the 2006 season, the rightfielder batted .300 with 20 home runs and 21 steals in his first full season in 2009.
• A8) Fay Wray. The former WAMPAS Baby Star debuted in Blind Husbands in 1919, fourteen years before becoming an instant legend in King Kong.
• A9) Evel Knievel. The motorcycle daredevil, born as Robert Craig Knievel, was honored by the opening of the amusement park ride in June 2008, seven months after his death. Customers waiting in line to ride can watch video clips of some of Knievel's stunts.
• A10) Don Hahn. The Walt Disney veteran will earn his first full directing credit in Waking Sleeping Beauty, due to be released in April 2010.
• A11) Harry Caray. Harry Christopher Carabina's junior son, nicknamed Skip, also became a broadcaster, serving as the voice of the Atlanta Braves for over three decades.
• A12) Phil Hill. Capped off by the last win of his career, the Italian Grand Prix, the Florida-born Californian rode to six top-three finishes and a ninth to earn 34 points and the title in 1961 for Scuderia Ferrari.

Name Fame - Random Trivia Questions

Parents love to alliterate their children's first names with each other or with their last names. Much less commonly, parents will pick a first name that rhymes with their last name. Most rhymes are therefore stage names or pseudonyms. How many of these can you identify in this week's dozen?

Name Fame Questions

• Q1) What Saturday Night Live actress was known for her renditions of characters such as Rita DelVecchio, Cass Van Rye, and Althea McMahonaman and her impersonations of celebrities like Barbara Walters, Judge Judy, and Mariah Carey?
• Q2) What NBA player rapped in Michael Jackson's song "2 Bad" in 1995 and had his own rap song, "(I Know I Got) Skillz," appear in the 2008 movie Pineapple Express?
• Q3) What actor won the 2001 Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Romance for High Fidelity, the 2004 MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance for The School of Rock, and the 2009 Blimp Award for Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie for Kung Fu Panda?
• Q4) After Francois Mitterrand, who served as President of France for the longest?
• Q5) What Woodstock m.c., born as Hugh Nanton Romney, had a Ben & Jerry ice cream flavor named for him?
• Q6) What Best Actress Oscar winner was married to Peter Wolf of the J. Geils Band from 1974 to 1979?
• Q7) What South Korean baseball player was the Most Valuable Player and Best Pitcher of the 2000 World Junior Baseball Championship but signed as an outfielder with the Seattle Mariners in 2005?
• Q8) What actress, born with the first name Vina in Cardston, Alberta, Canada, was most famous for playing Ann Darrow?
• Q9) What stunt performer has a wooden roller coaster at Six Flags St. Louis named for him?
• Q10) Who produced The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Lion King, and Beauty and the Beast, and directed the live portions of Fantasia 2000?
• Q11) What baseball broadcaster announced over 8,300 games, including a quarter-century as the voice of the St. Louis Cardinals, a year with the Oakland Athletics, a decade with the Chicago White Sox, and seventeen years with the Chicago Cubs?
• Q12) Who is the only U.S.-born driver to win the Formula One World Championship?

Elephant's Enemy -- Quiz Quilt 149 Solution

Category Answers:

Math & Science	LYRIDS	The shower takes place every April.
Sports & Games	RETTON	Bouncy West Virginian Mary Lou Retton captured the gold in 1984.
History & Government	NIXON	The morning after Richard Nixon's speech was televised on August 8, 1974, the Californian submitted his written resignation to Henry Kissinger.
Entertainment & Food	BJORK	The former Sugarcubes member was born as Bjork Guomundsdottir in Reykjavik on November 21, 1965.
Geography & Nature	BOISE	The city's name comes from the French word for "wooded".
Literature & Arts	BARFY	The children named their cat Kittykat.

Quiz Quilt Answer: DONKEY (Fifth letters)

Editorial cartoonist Thomas Nast first represented the Democrats as a donkey in 1870 and the Republicans as an elephant four years later.

Elephant's Enemy -- Quiz Quilt 149 Puzzle

Category Questions:

Math & Science	What meteor shower does Comet Thatcher produce?
Sports & Games	Who was the first American woman to win an Olympic all-around gymnastics title?
History & Government	Who was the first U.S. President to resign from the office?
Entertainment & Food	What Icelandic singer's first solo hit single was "Play Dead" in 1993?
Geography & Nature	What is the capital and most populous city of Idaho, founded in 1863 when gold was discovered?
Literature & Arts	What is the name of the other family dog besides Sam in The Family Circus comic strip?

Multiple Choice Mystery - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) D) Polka. The dance became popular in 1835 in Czechoslovakia, and the dot was named for it about four decades later in Britain.
  
• A2) D) Pig Latin. The mock language dates back at least as far as the late 18th century, although its origin is unknown.
  
• A3) C) Leg. The drumstick used for playing drums has been known by that name since the 16th century, and the poultry part adopted the name because of their similar shapes two centuries later.
  
• A4) D) Quarterback. The concept of bagging plunder was first applied to American football around 1969.
  
• A5) C) Cupid. Eros was the equivalent god in Greek mythology.
  
• A6) D) Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Richard Dreyfuss's character Roy Neary sculpts a mashed potato model of the monument, which gained its evil name from a mistranslation of the Lakota Mato Tipila, which actually means "bear tower".
  
• A7) B) Tombstone. Only three men died in the famous October 26th battle, which, like the Battle of Bunker Hill, was not actually fought at the O.K. Corral, but near it.
  
• A8) A) August. Presidents Day (still officially called Washington's Birthday) is in February, Labor Day is in September, and both Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving are in November.
  
• A9) A) Phoenix. Arizona's capital city was given the name in 1867 because it was built on the former site of an old Native American settlement.
  
• A10) D) Jonas Salk. Albert Sabin developed the first oral polio vaccine shortly after Salk's shot-based vaccine.
  
• A11) C) Hinduism. Contemporary Hinduism can actually be monotheistic, but traditionally the religion is not.
  
• A12) D) I.M. Pei. The Louvre Pyramid is a 70-foot-high steel and glass pyramid surrounded by three smaller pyramids.

These were the third through fourteenth of the fifteen questions John Carpenter answered in a pair of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire episodes aired ten years ago (November 18 and 19, 1999), when he became the first player on the show to win a million dollars.

The final question, which you almost undoubtedly already know was:

Which of these U.S. Presidents appeared on the television series "Laugh-In"?

A) Lyndon Johnson	B) Richard Nixon
C) Jimmy Carter	D) Gerald Ford

Carpenter used his Phone-a-Friend lifeline to call his dad, not for help but to share the impending good news. Moments later, he chose B) Richard Nixon and was immortalized in game show history.

Then, as now, Millionaire really wanted a contestant to strike it rich, and the IRS agent was the beneficiary of a relatively easy set of questions (much easier than my usual Random Quizzes, eh?). But he earned his reward by defeating seven other contestants in the Fastest Finger contest, playing flawlessly, and not seriously using a single lifeline. This month, the show has turned to a tournament format to guarantee that it will finally have another million-dollar winner, to be crowned on November 20. Stay tuned.

Multiple Choice Mystery - Random Trivia Questions

This week's theme is unlike any of the other random quizzes I've ever posted, so don't try too hard to figure out what connects these questions. Most likely, you'll either know it or realize it fairly quickly, or you'll never guess. You've been warned.

Multiple Choice Mystery Questions

• Q1) Which of these dance names is used to describe a fashionable dot?

  A) Hora	B) Swing
  C) Lambada	D) Polka

• Q2) In what "language" would you say "ello-hay" to greet your friends?

  A) Bull Latin	B) Dog Latin
  C) Duck Latin	D) Pig Latin

• Q3) What part of a chicken is commonly called the "drumstick"?

  A) Breast	B) Wing
  C) Leg	D) Gizzard

• Q4) What is the only position on a football team that can be "sacked"?

  A) Center	B) Wide receiver
  C) Tight end	D) Quarterback

• Q5) What god of love is often depicted as a chubby winged infant with a bow and arrow?

  A) Zeus	B) Mercury
  C) Cupid	D) Poseidon

• Q6) What Steven Spielberg film climaxes at a place called Devil's Tower?

  A) E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial	B) Jurassic Park
  C) Raiders of the Lost Ark	D) Close Encounters of the Third Kind

• Q7) In what U.S. town did the famous 1881 shoot-out at the O.K. Corral take place?

  A) Laramie	B) Tombstone
  C) El Paso	D) Dodge City

• Q8) Which of the following months has no U.S. federal holiday?

  A) August	B) February
  C) September	D) November

• Q9) What mythological beast is reborn from its own ashes?

  A) Phoenix	B) Minotaur
  C) Dragon	D) Golem

• Q10) Who developed the first effective vaccine against polio?

  A) Albert Sabin	B) Niels Bohr
  C) Louis Pasteur	D) Jonas Salk

• Q11) Which of the following is not a monotheistic religion?

  A) Islam	B) Judaism
  C) Hinduism	D) Christianity

• Q12) What architect designed the glass pyramid in the courtyard of the Louvre?

  A) Philip Johnson	B) Le Corbusier
  C) Frank Gehry	D) I.M. Pei

Top-Notch Texas Gambler -- Quiz Quilt 148 Solution

Category Answers:

Geography & Nature	OSLO	Oslo, Norway returned to its ancient name in 1924.
Entertainment & Food	GREASE	The movie has earned almost $400 million worldwide and ranks just outside the top 100 on both lists through July 2008.
History & Government	REAGAN	Ronald Reagan, the Teflon President, led the guild from 1947 to 1952 and 1959 to 1960.
Sports & Games	AGASSI	Andre Agassi's dad Emmanuel "Mike" Agassian boxed in the 1948 and 1952 Olympics.
Literature & Arts	MOSES	In Hebrew, they are collectively called the Torah.
Math & Science	ARMPIT	The pit of the knee is called the popliteal fossa.

Quiz Quilt Answer: ROGERS (Second letters going up)

Singer Kenny Rogers took "The Gambler" to the top of the country music charts in 1978, and played the lead role, Brady Hawkes, in the 1980 made-for-TV movie.

Top-Notch Texas Gambler -- Quiz Quilt 148 Puzzle

Category Questions:

Geography & Nature	What is the current name of the city formerly known as Christiania?
Entertainment & Food	What is the most successful motion picture musical of all time in terms of both U.S. and world box office receipts?
History & Government	Which U.S. President was previously the president of the Screen Actors Guild?
Sports & Games	What top-ranked American tennis player's father was an Olympic boxer for Iran?
Literature & Arts	What prophet is believed to have written the first five books of the Old Testament?
Math & Science	What is the common name for the body part known as the axilla?

Children's Movies from Books - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. The Alice series, which began with The Agony of Alice in 1985, follows Alice from sixth grade through senior year in high school, although three prequels that aren't in the movie each cover a lower grade.
• A2) C.S. Lewis. Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia, published in 1951, is the second book in the Chronicles of Narnia series.
• A3) Darren Shan. The Vampire's Assistant, published in 2000, is the second book in the Vampire Blood trilogy.
• A4) Jeanne Duprau. The City of Ember was published in 2003 but took three years to win the Mark Twain Award from Missouri's fourth through sixth grade readers.
• A5) Judi Barrett. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, published in 1978, was illustrated by Judi's husband Ron. Given the success of the movie, I'd expect a sequel based on the 2000 follow-up Pickles to Pittsburgh sooner than three decades from now.
• A6) Neil Gaiman. Coraline, published in 2002, won Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novella and a Bram Stoker Award for Best Work for Young Readers.
• A7) Philip Pullman. The Golden Compass, published in 1995 and the winner of the U.K.'s Carnegie Medal in Literature the following year, originally referenced a circle-drawing compass but now refers to Lyra's alethiometer, which is a sort of truth-detecting compass.
• A8) Cornelia Funke. Inkheart, published in 2003, was followed by Inkspell in 2005 and Inkdeath in 2007.
• A9) Wendy Orr. Orr first sketched out some of the ideas that became Nim's Island in a story called "Spring Island" when she was only nine years old. Kerry Millard provided the illustrations for the 1999 book.
• A10) Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. The Spiderwick series began with The Field Guide in 2003 and reached five books in less than a year and a half.
• A11) Kate Dicamillo. The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread was published in 2003 and won that year's Newbery Medal.
• A12) Stephenie Meyer. The Twilight series began with the novel of the same name in 2005 and was followed by New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn in one-year intervals.

Children's Movies from Books - Random Trivia Questions

As great as a lot of children's movies are, the books they come from are usually even better. Reading allows you to go at your own pace. Reading stimulates your imagination in ways a movie can't. Reading gives you time to look up words you don't know. Reading simply makes you think more.

In the last couple of years, quite a few excellent children's books have been made into movies, like J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Dr. Seuss's Horton Hears a Who!, and Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are. How many authors can you identify for the following dozen recent movies?

Children's Movies from Books Questions

• Q1) Alice Upside Down
• Q2) The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
• Q3) Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
• Q4) City of Ember
• Q5) Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
• Q6) Coraline
• Q7) Golden Compass
• Q8) Inkheart
• Q9) Nim's Island
• Q10) The Spiderwick Chronicles (2 authors; take 1 point for each)
• Q11) Tale of Despereaux
• Q12) Twilight

Drug Store Doctor -- Quiz Quilt 147 Solution

Category Answers:

History & Government	NASSER	Construction began in 1960, and the High Dam was finished in 1970, just two months before Gamal Abdel Nasser passed away.
Geography & Nature	STONEHENGE	The huge stones were carefully positioned near Amesbury in Wiltshire, England around 2200 B.C. Their original purpose beyond serving as a burial site is still uncertain.
Literature & Arts	BOOPADOOP	The housewife-turned-caterer married Dagwood on February 17, 1933.
Entertainment & Food	SUPERTRAMP	"The Logical Song" (#6), "Take the Long Way Home" (#10), and "Goodbye Stranger" (#15) all invaded the Top 40.
Math & Science	CURIE	Pierre and Marie Curie met at the Sorbonne, where she had studied chemistry and physics and become the college's first female instructor.
Sports & Games	KEMP	Jack Kemp, the 1965 AFL MVP, was a U.S. representative from New York from 1971 to 1989.

Quiz Quilt Answer: PEPPER (Last letters going up)

Dr Pepper, the soft drink, was first dispensed at Morrison's Old Corner Drug Store in Waco, Texas in 1885.

Drug Store Doctor -- Quiz Quilt 147 Puzzle

Category Questions:

History & Government	Who was the Egyptian leader at the time the Aswan High Dam was built?
Geography & Nature	What prehistoric monument is found on the Salisbury Plain?
Literature & Arts	What is the title character's maiden name in the Blondie comic strip?
Entertainment & Food	What British musical group had the number one album Breakfast in America in 1979?
Math & Science	What husband and wife worked on radioactivity, discovered polonium and radium, and won two Nobel prizes?
Sports & Games	What former San Diego Chargers and Buffalo Bills quarterback sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1988 but failed?

Baseball Candy Bars - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) Reggie Jackson. Two years later, in 1978, fans attending the New York Yankees home opener were each given a Reggie! bar, containing chocolaty covered caramel and peanuts and named for the slugging outfielder who had been traded from the Baltimore Orioles before the previous season.
• A2) Travis Hafner. The designated hitter, who led the American League in slugging percentage in 2006, was variously nicknamed "Project" and "Donkey", so the two were combined.
• A3) Frank Thomas. The retail candy contained milk chocolate, caramel, and pecans, while a separate fund-raiser called the Frank Thomas bar, produced only in 1996, had milk chocolate and "crisp" rice.
• A4) Jose Canseco. The outfielder had become the first major leaguer to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in the same season in 1988, a year before the "nutrition" bar debuted. The bar, which hopes you'll "Taste the Power", contains mostly peanuts, corn syrup, sugar, molasses, and dextrose with enough cocoa powder thrown in to call it chocolate.
• A5) Mike Mussina. The fund raising bar showcases its contents as milk chocolate and peanut butter.
• A6) Wade Boggs. The number on the third baseman's .352 bar represented his career batting average at the time (1990). The Hall-of-Famer's average had slipped to .328 by the time he retired in 1999.
• A7) Pete Rose. The "Carob Coated" and "Protein Rich" bar, whose main ingredient is corn syrup, brags that it contains "Vitamins and Minerals".
• A8) Tony Gwynn. The 1990 confection is "pure" milk chocolate, smooth like the 8-time batting champ's swing.
• A9) Ken Griffey, Jr.. Edmonds' Pacific Trading Cards Inc. couldn't produce the milk chocolate trading card-sized bars fast enough to keep up with demand in the Seattle area. Ironically, the 1997 American League MVP is allergic to chocolate.
• A10) Cecil Fielder. The year before his streak, the portly first baseman and designated hitter had found his stroke during a year in Japan.
• A11) Larry Walker. The Colorado Rockies outfielder had led the National League in homers (49) and on-base percentage (.452), slugging percentage (.720), and total bases (409) and captured one of his seven Gold Gloves.
• A12) Cal Ripken, Jr.. The Cal Bar, with milk chocolate and crispy rice, debuted in January 1993 and reached sales of 1.4 million in only four months, primarily from fund raising efforts.

Bonus Factoids:

• The Chipper Bar, named for Chipper Jones, and the Albert Belle Bar both featured milk chocolate with crisped rice and were first produced by the same company, Malley's, in 1996 and 1997 respectively. The David Justice Bar was made by a different company, Morley's, two years later, but had the same ingredients, just like the company's Cal Bar and Big Hurt Bar.
• Although the Baby Ruth candy bar, formerly called the Kandy Kake, was almost undoubtedly named for Babe Ruth, the Curtiss Candy Company got away with claiming it was named for Grover Cleveland's daughter Ruth (who had passed away 15 years earlier!). There was an official Ruth's Home Run Candy Bar at one point (not sure when, but it cost five cents, so probably also in the 1920s).
• Although Hank Aaron advertised for the Oh Henry candy bar, it debuted in 1919 and took its current name the following year, fourteen years before the slugger was born.

Baseball Candy Bars - Random Trivia Questions

It's not unusual for celebrities to use their fame to push products. But even I didn't realize that the practice was so pervasive that you can have an entire quiz on nothing but candy bars created for Major League Baseball players! Some of these questions are pretty hard because the products didn't last longer than your kids' Halloween booty, but most of them are guessable.

Baseball Candy Bars Questions

• Q1) What baseball player remarked, "If I played in New York, they'd name a candy bar after me"?
• Q2) What baseball player had the Pronk candy bar named for him?
• Q3) What baseball player had the Big Hurt candy bar named for him?
• Q4) What baseball player had the 40/40 Power Bar named for him?
• Q5) What baseball player had the Moose candy bar named for him?
• Q6) What baseball player had the .352 candy bar named for him?
• Q7) What baseball player had the Supercharg'r energy bar named for him?
• Q8) What baseball player had the Base Hit candy bar named for him?
• Q9) What baseball player had a candy bar named for him in 1989 when he was only a rookie?
• Q10) What baseball player had a candy bar named for him in 1994 after four consecutive seasons with at least 30 home runs and 110 RBIs?
• Q11) What baseball player had a candy bar named for him in 1998 after his first and only MVP award?
• Q12) What baseball player had a candy bar featuring a picture of him as a 10-year-old?

Chunky Companion -- Quiz Quilt 146 Solution

Category Answers:

Entertainment & Food	CLAPTON	Guitarist and singer Eric Clapton was also a member of the Yardbirds, Cream, and Blind Faith.
Sports & Games	FRASER	Eight-time medalist Dawn Fraser was the first woman to swim the race in less than a minute on October 27, 1962.
Geography & Nature	SWEDEN	The region was inhabited as far back as the Stone Age, but the current Sweden has existed since it split from the Kalmar Union in 1523.
History & Government	PIZARRO	Conquistador Francisco Pizarro ordered the death of emperor Atahualpa, and the empire disappeared shortly thereafter.
Math & Science	FEYNMAN	Broderick played the young Manhattan Project scientist Richard Feynman.
Literature & Arts	MISERY	Annie Wilkes insists that author Paul Sheldon bring his fictional heroine Misery Chastain back to life.

Quiz Quilt Answer: CREAMY (Diagonally from the top left)

Peanut butter commonly comes in chunky and creamy varieties.

Chunky Companion -- Quiz Quilt 146 Puzzle

Category Questions:

Entertainment & Food	What singer was Derek in the band Derek and the Dominos?
Sports & Games	What female Australian swimmer won the Olympic 100-meter freestyle in 1956, 1960, and 1964?
Geography & Nature	What is the 174,000-square-mile country of just over nine million people whose currency is the krona?
History & Government	Who was the Spaniard whose army crippled the Inca Empire in 1532 but was then killed by his own men?
Math & Science	What physicist's life is the focus of the 1996 movie Infinity, starring Matthew Broderick and Patricia Arquette?
Literature & Arts	What 1990 movie was based on a 1987 Stephen King novel about a writer tormented by a fan who wants her favorite character restored?

Alliterative Actresses and Artists (Musical) - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) Tina Turner. Anna Mae Bullock was known as "Little Ann" when she and Ike Turner tried to get married in 1958, but he hadn't finalized his divorce yet. They became The Ike & Tina Turner Revue in 1960 and officially got married two years later.
• A2) Gloria Gaynor. Gloria Fowles wasn't happy with using her last name when record producer Johnny Nash suggested Gaynor so she could be nicknamed "GG". Fowles liked the new name and used it on her first single "She'll Be Sorry" in 1965.
• A3) Greta Garbo. A teenaged Greta Lovisa Gustafsson learned to act from director Mauritz Stiller, who changed her last name.
• A4) Vivian Vance. Vivian Roberta Jones took her new stage name from author and folk singer Vance Randolph.
• A5) Doris Day. On bandleader Barney Rapp's advice, Doris Mary Anne von Kappelhoff shortened her last name to match "Day After Day", the first song she had sung for him.
• A6) Barbie Benton. Barbara Lynn Klein chose Benton from a list of possibilities provided by her agent for the 1970 movie How Did a Nice Girl Like You Get in This Business?
• A7) Joan Jett. After her parents divorced, Joan Marie Larkin switched to her mother's maiden name Jett.
• A8) Suzanne Somers. Suzanne Marie Mahoney married Bruce Somers in college, having gotten pregnant during her freshman year. The marriage lasted only two years, but Somers kept the last name.
• A9) Susan Saint James. Susan Jane Miller changed her name to Saint James when she was in Paris, just before she headed to Hollywood at age 19.
• A10) Marilyn Monroe. Norma Jeane Mortenson was given her dad's last name at birth, but was baptized Norma Jeane Baker using her mom's first married last name, as her parents were separated and would get divorced soon thereafter. She borrowed her mother's maiden name for her stage name.
• A11) Fannie Flagg. Patricia Neal was forced to change her name because of the older Academy Award and Tony Award-winning actress of the same name.
• A12) Susan Sarandon. Susan Abigail Tomalin married college classmate Chris Sarandon in 1967. Both were acting when they divorced in 1979.

Alliterative Actresses and Artists (Musical)

My name doesn't alliterate, but it would have if my parents (or rather, the INS) had used a different translation for our last name. My sister's name alliterated before she got married, while my wife's has since we got married. So I know a thing or two about the topic. How about you? From their given first initials and last names, can you identify the following dozen actresses and singers, who gained alliteration (with one exception because she already had it) when they got married or took a stage name?

Alliterative Actresses and Artists (Musical) Questions

• Q1) A. Bullock (singer)
• Q2) G. Fowles (singer)
• Q3) G. Gustafsson (actress)
• Q4) V. Jones (actress)
• Q5) D. von Kappelhoff (actress)
• Q6) B. Klein (actress)
• Q7) J. Larkin (singer)
• Q8) S. Mahoney (actress)
• Q9) S. Miller (actress)
• Q10) N. Mortenson (actress)
• Q11) P. Neal (actress)
• Q12) S. Tomalin (actress)

Procured a Pig in Pigtown -- Quiz Quilt 145 Solution

Category Answers:

Entertainment & Food	GIGI	The movie was released in 1958 with Leslie Caron in the title role.
Math & Science	O	The blue stars range from 54,000° to 108,000° Fahrenheit.
Geography & Nature	TAIWAN	The word means "beautiful island".
Sports & Games	HENIE	Norwegian skater Sonja Henie won every year from 1927 to 1936 and collected all three Olympic gold medals during the span.
Literature & Arts	AARP	Ethel Percy Andrus founded the nonprofit American Association of Retired Persons in 1958. The periodical is now AARP the Magazine.
History & Government	MARX	German Karl Marx had taken refuge in London in 1849 and spent the last half of his life there.

Quiz Quilt Answer: GOTHAM (First letters)

If you "procured a pig", you might have "got ham" in Pigtown, the Brooklyn neighborhood where Ebbets Field was. Gotham City is a nickname for New York City.

Procured a Pig in Pigtown -- Quiz Quilt 145 Puzzle

Category Questions:

Entertainment & Food	What was Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe's Academy Award-winning film that had the song "Thank Heaven for Little Girls"?
Math & Science	What letter designation does the Morgan-Keenan spectral classification assign to the hottest stars?
Geography & Nature	What country do the Portuguese refer to as Formosa?
Sports & Games	What female figure skater won the most world championships?
Literature & Arts	What organization published the magazine Modern Maturity?
History & Government	Who was the originator of communism buried in London's Highgate Cemetery?

Presidential Pretenders - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) Beatrice Arthur. Bea became famous in the All In the Family spin-off Maude from 1972 to 1978 and cemented her legacy as Dorothy Petrillo Zbornak on The Golden Girls from 1985 to 1992.
• A2) Harry Harrison. Stanley R. Greenberg's screenplay, including the addition of cannibalism, helped the movie win the 1973 Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film.
• A3) Elvin Hayes. In addition to his 28.4 points per game, the Big E averaged 17.1 rebounds for the San Diego Rockets.
• A4) Marilyn Monroe. With Bernie Taupin's lyrics, the song was not completed until 1973, a full eleven years after the actress died.
• A5) Mary Pierce. The daughter of an American father and French mother vaulted to a career-high #3 ranking with the win and would later capture the French Open in 2000. Although not officially retired, Pierce has not entered a Grand Slam tournament since 2006, but she would have played in the 2008 Olympics if not for an injury.
• A6) Victoria Adams. The future Mrs. Beckham was nicknamed Posh Spice by the British magazine Top of the Pops in 1996.
• A7) Flip Wilson. Clerow Wilson Jr. escaped from poverty in Jersey City through the Apollo Theater to guest appearances on The Tonight Show, Laugh-In, and The Ed Sullivan Show to the highest rated show on television in 1970 and 1971, The Flip Wilson Show.
• A8) Samuel L. Jackson. The ubiquitous Morehouse College graduate managed to make 36 movies from 1990 to 1999, a full half dozen more than Harvey Keitel. Whoopi Goldberg led all actresses with 29 movies.
• A9) Bonnie Tyler. "Total Eclipse of the Heart" held the #1 position for a full four weeks and sold six million copies.
• A10) Booker T. Washington. The 'T' stands for Taliaferro, not Tuskegee, although he died in the Alabama town in 1915.
• A11) Jimmy Johnson. His 1987 Miami Hurricanes upset the #1 Oklahoma Sooners in the Orange Bowl on January 1, 1988, and his Dallas Cowboys downed the Buffalo Bills in the Super Bowl on January 31, 1993 (and again on January 12, 1994 in an unprecedented rematch).
• A12) Elizabeth Taylor. At age eleven, the actress played Priscilla in Lassie Come Home, and the following year she starred as Velvet Brown in National Velvet.

Presidential Pretenders - Random Trivia Questions

As we are midway between 2009's Presidents Day and 2010's, this week's random quiz is not about U.S. Presidents. None of the following people have ever been U.S. President or even played one in a movie, but they do all share a last name with one of our 44 Chief Executive Officers. How many can you name?

Presidential Pretenders Questions

• Q1) What television actress, born as Bernice Frankel, was famous for playing characters whose last names were Findlay and Zbornak?
• Q2) What author's 1966 sci-fi novel Make Room! Make Room! inspired the movie Soylent Green?
• Q3) What NBA player, who went on to play exactly 50,000 minutes in his career, was the last rookie to lead the league in scoring?
• Q4) Whom did Elton John's original version of "Candle in the Wind" honor?
• Q5) What Canadian-born woman won the 1995 Australian Open tennis tournament?
• Q6) Which of the Spice Girls married soccer player David Beckham on July 4, 1999?
• Q7) What comedian was famous for his catchphrase "The devil made me do it!"?
• Q8) What American actor appeared in the most major movies in the 1990s?
• Q9) What singer, born as Gaynor Hopkins, had a number one pop hit in 1983?
• Q10) Who founded the National Negro Business League and named his autobiography Up From Slavery?
• Q11) Who was the first coach to win both an NCAA football championship and a Super Bowl?
• Q12) What star movie actress claimed, "Some of my best leading men have been dogs and horses"?

Pair of Pairs Partner -- Quiz Quilt 144 Solution

Category Answers:

History & Government	CARTIER	Actually, sailor Jacques Cartier gave the name to a small bay in 1535, and a cartographic error later led to the river taking the name.
Literature & Arts	GUERNICA	The painting is named for the Spanish town whose bombing it depicts.
Geography & Nature	ARKANSAS	The honeybee has been its state insect since 1973.
Entertainment & Food	RECITATIVE	The term also applies to oratorios, cantatas, and other music works.
Math & Science	QUININE	Because of its bitter taste British colonists in India, who added it to their tonic water to prevent malaria, invented the gin and tonic.
Sports & Games	INKSTER	Californian Juli Inkster became the sixth woman to accomplish the quadruple.

Quiz Quilt Answer: KICKER (Third letters going up)

In poker, the fifth card in a hand with two pairs is the kicker, which serves as a tiebreaker.

Pair of Pairs Partner -- Quiz Quilt 144 Puzzle

Category Questions:

History & Government	What French explorer indirectly named the St. Lawrence River?
Literature & Arts	What masterpiece did Picasso paint in six weeks in 1937 as an indictment of future dictator Francisco Franco?
Geography & Nature	What is the U.S. state whose official tree is the pine, flower is the apple blossom, and bird is the northern mockingbird?
Entertainment & Food	What is a passage of sung dialogue in an opera called?
Math & Science	What alkaloid, isolated from the bark of Cinchona trees, was used to treat malaria before synthetic drugs were available?
Sports & Games	What female golfer completed her career Grand Slam when she won the 1999 LPGA Championship?

Wayne's World - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) Gordie Howe. Howe tallied 1,850 points and 801 goals in 1,767 games, 1,006 and 93 fewer than Gretzky did in 282 fewer games.
• A2) Paul Coffey. Coffey assisted on 1,102 goals, an astonishing 860 fewer than Gretzky.
• A3) Doug Gilmour. Gilmour helped win 13 games in his career with overtime assists, two fewer than Gretzky.
• A4) Marcel Dionne. Dionne reached 40 goals 10 times in 18 seasons, while Gretzky did it 12 times in 20 seasons.
• A5) Mike Bossy. Bossy reached 40 goals every season from 1977-78 to 1985-86, three fewer than Gretzky's record of 12 from 1979-80 to 1990-91.
• A6) Mark Messier. Messier's impressive 295 points on 109 goals and 186 assists fall short of Gretzky by 87, 13, and 74.
• A7) Claude Lemieux. Lemieux netted the game-winner 19 times in his playoff career, five fewer than Gretzky.
• A8) Mario Lemieux. The unrelated Lemieux's 199 points and 114 assists with the Penguins in 1988-89 were 16 and 49 below Gretzky's 1985-86 records and also trail the Great One's next three best seasons in points and next six best seasons in assists (tied with his eighth best effort).
• A9) Brett Hull. Hull's 86 goals with the Blues in 1990-91 were six fewer than Gretzky's 1981-82 record and one fewer than his 1983-84 season.
• A10) Adam Oates. Oates assisted on at least one goal in 18 consecutive games with the Bruins in 1992-93 (28 assists), five short of Gretzky's record in 1990-91 (48 assists).
• A11) Mario Lemieux. Lemieux's 44 points and 28 assists in the 1990-91 playoffs trail only Gretzky's 47 points in 1984-85 and his 31 assists in 1987-88 (and 30 in 1984-85 and 29 in 1986-87).
• A12) Gary Suter. Suter helped out on six Flames goals on April 4, 1986 against the Oilers, one fewer than Gretzky did for the Oilers on February 15, 1980 against the Capitals.

Surprisingly, Wayne Gretzky's best playoff year goal production was only 17, two behind leaders Jari Kurri (1985 Oilers, mostly assisted by Gretzky though) and Reggie Leach (1976 Flyers), one behind Joe Sakic (1996 Avalanche), and tied with Mike Bossy (three times), Newsy Lalonde, Steve Payne, and Kevin Stevens.

Wayne's World - Random Trivia Questions

With the NHL season upon us, our thoughts have turned to the ice (at least until basketball season starts ;-). If you're ever faced with an ice hockey trivia question to which you don't know the answer, just guess "Wayne Gretzky". The Great One set so many records that they kept track of his record for how many records he had (61, including some ties, right now). But that trick won't work here. This week, the question is who would hold these records if #99 were disqualified for being a superhero or an alien life form? [Unhelpful hint: only one person is the answer to two questions below.]

Wayne's World Questions

• Q1) Career Record: Regular Season Points and Goals
• Q2) Career Record: Regular Season Assists
• Q3) Career Record: Regular Season Overtime Assists
• Q4) Career Record: Seasons with 40 or More Goals
• Q5) Career Record: Consecutive Seasons with 40 or More Goals
• Q6) Career Record: Playoff Points, Goals, and Assists
• Q7) Career Record: Playoff Game-Winning Goals
• Q8) Season Record: Points and Assists
• Q9) Season Record: Goals
• Q10) Season Record: Consecutive Regular Season Games with an Assist
• Q11) Season Record: Playoffs Points and Assists
• Q12) Game Record: Assists by a Rookie

Lower Weight Incendiary -- Quiz Quilt 143 Solution

Category Answers:

Geography & Nature	NOSE	The Canadian Kennel Club has used nose prints as unique signatures since 1938.
Sports & Games	RYUN	Jim Ryun, the author of In Quest of Gold, lowered his time another two tenths of a second on June 23, 1967, a U.S. record that stood for 37 years until Alan Webb reduced it by half a second.
Literature & Arts	NINA	The caricaturist helpfully included a count next to his signature so you would know how many instances of his daughter's name to look for.
History & Government	MALTHUS	English demographer Thomas Malthus, who preferred to be called by his middle name Robert, wrote about his views in "An Essay on the Principle of Population".
Entertainment & Food	ABDUL	Paula Abdul's 1988 album featured the #1 singles "Cold Hearted", "Forever Your Girl", and "Straight Up".
Math & Science	LIBBY	UC Berkeley alumnus Willard Libby received the 1960 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his research.

Quiz Quilt Answer: BUTANE (Fourth letters going up)

Butane is the most commonly used cigarette lighter fluid.

Lower Weight Incendiary -- Quiz Quilt 143 Puzzle

Category Questions:

Geography & Nature	What type of prints are used to identify dogs more accurately than paw prints?
Sports & Games	What U.S. college student set a world record of 3:51.3 in the mile in 1966?
Literature & Arts	What name did New York Times cartoonist Al Hirschfeld hide in almost all his drawings?
History & Government	In 1798, what English minister and economist claimed that population always increases faster than food supply?
Entertainment & Food	What former Los Angeles Lakers cheerleader gained stardom as a singer with her debut album Forever Your Girl?
Math & Science	What U.S. scientist won a Nobel Prize for discovering carbon dating?

Major Moons - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) Jupiter. Since 2004, the largest planet has had 63 known moons, fourteen of which remain unnamed. Saturn has been closing the gap but currently stands at 61, eight of which remain unnamed.
• A2) The moon. Our moon has a diameter 27.2% of the Earth's. Charon has a diameter 52.3% of Pluto's, one of the main reasons the former ninth planet got demoted.
• A3) Triton. The largest irregularly shaped (non-spherical) moon has a diameter 5.5% of Neptune's, edging out Titan (4.3% of Saturn's) and Ganymede (3.7% of Jupiter's).
• A4) Titan. In 1655, Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens used a refracting telescope that he invented to spot Saturn's largest satellite.
• A5) Iapetus. From 1671 to 1684, Italian-born, French astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini discovered the four moons of Saturn he called Sidera Lodoicea (the Louisian Stars, in honor of his benefactor France's King Louis XIV). The other three moons, later named Rhea, Tethys, and Dione, would be the last new moons found for over a century.
• A6) Adrastea. Pictures taken from Voyager I on July 8, 1979 revealed Jupiter's inner moon, the first moon alphabetically. Saturn's Janus had already been noted from Earth as far back as 1966, but Voyager I confirmed its existence in 1980.
• A7) Mars. Despite its relative nearness, Mars was officially moonless until Deimos and Phobos were spotted 1877, after Jupiter (Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto in 1610), Saturn (Titan in 1655), Uranus (Titania and Oberon in 1787), and even Neptune (Triton in 1846).
• A8) Neso. Neso takes a whopping 9,374 days (25.7 years) to orbit Neptune. The next three slowest (Psamathe, Laomedeia, and Sao) also belong to the eighth planet. At the other extreme, Naiad and Metis only need seven hours to circle Neptune and Jupiter respectively.
• A9) Phobos. With a semi-major axis (the larger "radius" of the ellipse) of only 5,828 miles, Phobos actually revolves around Mars faster than Mars rotates. Its twin Deimos is the second closest at 14,577 miles.
• A10) Ganymede. The largest satellite in both volume and weight orbits Jupiter, edging Saturn's Titan in both categories.
• A11) Io. Slightly larger than the moon and less slightly heavier, Jupiter's Io is the only satellite on which you weigh more than you would on the moon. Ganymede and Titan both have lower enough densities to offset their larger sizes.
• A12) Y. Ymir, named for the giant whose body Odin used to create the world in Norse mythology, was discovered orbiting Saturn in 2000. The letters Q and V also begin the names of no moons.

Major Moons - Random Trivia Questions

Now that Pluto has been demoted to dwarf planet status, our solar system contains eight planets with 167 known moons orbiting them. This week's random quiz tests your knowledge of those natural satellites.

Major Moons Questions

• Q1) Which planet has the most moons orbiting it?
• Q2) What is the largest moon relative to its planet's diameter?
• Q3) What is the second largest?
• Q4) After the Earth's moon and the four Galilean moons, what was the next moon to be discovered?
• Q5) What was the next moon after that?
• Q6) What was the first moon discovered with the aid of a spacecraft*?
• Q7) Which of the six planets with moons was thought to be moonless until the most recently?
• Q8) What moon takes the longest time to orbit its planet*?
• Q9) What moon has the smallest orbit around its planet*?
• Q10) What is the heaviest moon?
• Q11) What moon has the highest surface gravity?
• Q12) Of W, X, Y, and Z, which is the only letter that starts the name of a moon?

* Very hard question, so take the point just for naming the planet plus a bonus point for the moon.

More Ideal -- Quiz Quilt 142 Solution

Category Answers:

Entertainment & Food	QUAID	Dennis Quaid had appeared with her in Innerspace in 1987 and D.O.A. in 1988.
Literature & Arts	STOKER	The hero of Bram Stoker's story is solicitor Jonathan Harker, who had acquired a house in London for the Count.
History & Government	POLK	Democrat James Polk won the election but lost the latitude. The boundary between the Oregon Territory and British Columbia was eventually set at 49° North.
Sports & Games	SPY	The marshal-killer bears the letter 'S'.
Math & Science	PI	Pi is the first letter of perimetros, Greek for "perimeter".
Geography & Nature	HALIFAX	When Halifax, Nova Scotia was a British military post, the town, now the province's most populous city, was named for George Montague-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax.

Quiz Quilt Answer: UTOPIA (Second letters)

Sir Thomas More coined the word "utopia" in his 1516 novel of the same name.

More Ideal -- Quiz Quilt 142 Puzzle

Category Questions:

Entertainment & Food	What actor married Meg Ryan on Valentine's Day in 1991?
Literature & Arts	What English novelist wrote Dracula in 1897?
History & Government	Which U.S. President supposedly ran with the campaign slogan "Fifty-four Forty or Fight"?
Sports & Games	What is the only piece in the board game Stratego that has a letter on it rather than a number?
Math & Science	What is the transcendental number that equals the circumference of a circle divided by its diameter?
Geography & Nature	Which provincial capital city is Canada's largest, ice-free port?

U.S. National Parks - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) Yellowstone. The 3,470-square mile park covers parts of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. Great Smoky Mountains National Park is almost evenly split between Tennessee and North Carolina, while Death Valley is mostly in California but also covers a part of Nevada.
• A2) Acadia. Located by the southeast coast of Maine, this is the only park close to us. It rained the only time we visited, so a return trip is in order.
• A3) Utah (5). Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion cut a diagonal line across the southeastern corner of the southwestern state. Colorado is next with four, while Arizona, Florida, and Washington each have three.
• A4) Sequoia and Kings Canyon. The two California national parks are adjacent in the Sierra Nevada.
• A5) Kansas. The 15th-largest state at 82,277 square miles, edges out Nebraska at 77,354 square miles. All totaled, 27 states have national parks and 23 do not.
• A6) Hot Springs. The Arkansas park measures only 9 square miles, less than a third as big as South Carolina's Congaree, the second smallest.
• A7) Death Valley. Covering 5,219 square miles in California and Nevada, the desert region includes the lowest elevation in the U.S. at Badwater, 282 feet below sea level. Five Alaska national parks are larger, and Glacier Bay is just slightly smaller.
• A8) Great Sand Dunes. The Colorado attraction was granted its national status on September 13, 2004. The dunes, which can reach 750 feet high, are held together like most sand castles, with a lot of water.
• A9) Hawaii Volcanoes. The volcanoes form over 4.6% of the island state. Hawaii also has Haleakala National Park, making it not only the smallest state with a national park but the smallest with two.
• A10) Alaska. Although Alaska is the largest state by far, it also has the largest national parks, which total over 9.6% of its area (bigger than West Virginia, the 41st largest state). California is a distant second at under 6%, while Hawaii is third at just over 5%.
• A11) Denali. Denali is another name for Mt. McKinley, which is the highest point in the U.S. at 20,320 feet.
• A12) 6. Texas's Big Bend National Park straddles the Rio Grande across from the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Coahuila. Montana's Glacier National Park touches both Alberta and British Columbia. Both Michigan's Isle Royale National Park and Minnesota's Voyageurs National Park connect to Ontario. Washington's North Cascades National Park borders British Columbia. And Alaska's Wrangell-St. Elias National Park adjoins the Yukon Territory.

U.S. National Parks - Random Trivia Questions

The United States has 56 national parks, but only nine are east of the Mississippi River, so it's only a little sad that I've visited just three of them. Hopefully, once the kids get older, we can start working on the list and explore some of the most amazing places in our country.

U.S. National Parks Questions

• Q1) What national park is spread across the most states?
• Q2) What is the only national park in New England?
• Q3) After Alaska and Hawaii, with eight each, what state has the third most national parks?
• Q4) What two national parks are closest to each other?
• Q5) What is the largest (area) U.S. state that does not have a national park?
• Q6) What is the smallest national park?
• Q7) What is the largest national park outside of Alaska?
• Q8) What is the newest national park?
• Q9) What national park takes up the largest percentage of its state's area?
• Q10) What state's national parks make up the highest percentage of its area?
• Q11) What national park reaches the highest elevation?
• Q12) How many national parks border a foreign country?

[P.S. - I wrote this quiz not knowing that Ken Burns's The National Parks: America's Best Idea six-episode series runs on PBS from Sunday through Friday (two hours per day; check your local listings). How's that for timing?]

Finicky Feline -- Quiz Quilt 141 Solution

Category Answers:

Entertainment & Food	HAMILTON	Thrice-divorced bipolar disorder sufferer Linda Hamilton played Catherine Chandler from 1987 to 1989, Amy Franklin in 1986, and Sarah Connor in 1984.
History & Government	MAO	Mao Zedong's new government took over on October 1, 1949 following a Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War.
Sports & Games	MARCIANO	Brockton, Massachusetts native Rocky Marciano won all 49 of his bouts, 43 by knockout.
Literature & Arts	BURROUGHS	Edgar Rice Burroughs's story takes place on and near the lost South Pacific island of Caspak, where dinosaurs still roam.
Geography & Nature	ASIA	It covers about 17 million square miles, roughly 30% of all the land on the Earth.
Math & Science	LISA	The 1983 home computer cost $9,995, had 1 megabyte of RAM and a 5-megabyte hard drive, ran at 5 megahertz, and featured a mouse and a graphical user interface.

Quiz Quilt Answer: MORRIS (Third letters)

The tabby Morris the Cat has eaten only 9-Lives cat food in the company's commercials since 1968.

Finicky Feline -- Quiz Quilt 141 Puzzle

Category Questions:

Entertainment & Food	What actress played beauty to the Beast, King Kong, and the Terminator?
History & Government	Who founded the People's Republic of China?
Sports & Games	What boxer won the heavyweight crown by knocking out Jersey Joe Walcott and retired from his professional career undefeated?
Literature & Arts	What author's 1918 novel The Land That Time Forgot was turned into a movie in 1975?
Geography & Nature	Which continent contains the most land?
Math & Science	What Apple computer model immediately preceded the Macintosh and was used to develop most of its software?

Funny Pages Families - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) Newman. Adam tries to work from home while his wife Laura works at a bookstore, and their children Clayton, Katy, and Nick do their best to make sure he doesn't get anything done.
• A2) Day. Jimmy Johnson hadn't given the strip a name yet when his syndicate suggested "Day by Day". He kept the last name even after the title was changed to avoid a conflict with a newspaper column.
• A3) MacPherson. Mom Wanda goes by the hyphenated last name Wizowski-MacPherson, but dad Darryl and the kids Zoe, Hamish, and Wren are all MacPhersons.
• A4) Wilkins. Curtis and his younger brother Barry are the focus of the comic strip, but their parents Greg and Diane also play major roles.
• A5) Patterson. Lynn Johnston is now retelling the story of Elly, John, Michael, Elizabeth, and April Pattersons' lives, having completed one life-cycle from 1979 to 2008.
• A6) Lamarr. Heart lives with her single mom Addy and spends most of her free time playing with her friend Dean.
• A7) Flagston. Hiram and Lois have lived in suburbia with their oldest son Chip, twins Dot and Ditto, and baby Trixie since 1954.
• A8) Yokum. 19-year-old Li'l Abner married his long-time fiancee Daisy Mae Scragg almost midway through the strip's 43-year run.
• A9) Burber. Brooke McEldowney has followed Juliette Burber, her daughter Edda, and her mother Gran (Edna O'Malley) since 1993.
• A10) Kaplan. Mom Jill is the star, but husband Rob and daughters Amy and Jess also share the frames in Ohio.
• A11) Gumbo. Mom Rose, dad Jimbo, and son Pasquale share their home with their pet cat Peekaboo.
• A12) Duncan. Teenager Jeremy is the star of the show, but his mom Connie and dad Walt also play large roles when he isn't hanging out with his friends.

Funny Pages Families - Random Trivia Questions

Even my younger son is now old enough to read the newspaper, and he's starting where most of us did, the funny pages. As my whole family competes to grab the comics, can you furnish the last names of the foremost families featured in the following funnies?

Funny Pages Families Questions

• Q1) Adam@home
• Q2) Arlo and Janis
• Q3) Baby Blues
• Q4) Curtis
• Q5) For Better or For Worse
• Q6) Heart of the City
• Q7) Hi and Lois
• Q8) Li'l Abner
• Q9) 9 Chickweed Lane
• Q10) The Pajama Diaries
• Q11) Rose Is Rose
• Q12) Zits

Venn Pen -- Quiz Quilt 140 Solution

Category Answers:

Math & Science	TESLA	Nikola Tesla was a Croatian-born American physicist.
History & Government	JEROBOAM	Solomon's successor led the nation for 22 years during the 10th century B.C.
Sports & Games	BOSSY	Right winger Mike Bossy reached the mark a record nine straight years, from 1977-78 to 1985-86.
Literature & Arts	HEPBURN	Katharine Hepburn's book The Making of the African Queen was published four years earlier.
Geography & Nature	CHIHUAHUA	Adults weigh between two and ten pounds. Ren and Stimpy's Ren, Taco Bell's dog mascot, and Paris Hilton's Tinkerbell are all chihuahuas.
Entertainment & Food	SIRENS	Supermodel Elle Macpherson portrayed one of the artist's three models.

Quiz Quilt Answer: SUBSET (Diagonally from the bottom to the top left)

A Venn diagram illustrates sets of objects with their unions, intersections, and subsets.

Venn Pen -- Quiz Quilt 140 Puzzle

Category Questions:

Math & Science	What is the unit of magnetic flux density equal to one weber per square meter?
History & Government	Who was the king of Israel and son of Nebat whose name now means a large container holding about four-fifths of a gallon of wine?
Sports & Games	Who was the only NHL player besides Wayne Gretzky to score 50 goals in a season eight straight times?
Literature & Arts	What actress's Me: Stories of My Life was the best selling nonfiction book of 1991?
Geography & Nature	What dog breed has the smallest dogs on average?
Entertainment & Food	What 1994 Hugh Grant movie was about an English clergyman, his wife, and an artist with a house of nudes in 1930s Australia?

U.S. Constitution - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) The Articles of Confederation. The Second Continental Congress created the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union on November 15, 1777, but unanimous consent was needed, and Maryland held out until New York and Virginia agreed to give up their stakes in the Ohio River valley.
• A2) Rhode Island. The state was happy with the weaker powers of the Articles of Confederation and did not want to create a stronger central government.
• A3) 2. George Washington and James Madison both represented Virginia. Thomas Jefferson was then the Minister to France, while John Adams was the Minister to Great Britain.
• A4) James Madison. His diaries give a detailed account of the proceedings that led to the final Constitution.
• A5) Alexander Hamilton. The future Secretary of the Treasury suggested a strong government not unlike the one the colonies had just broken away from, which was enough to doom its chances of acceptance.
• A6) William Paterson. Paterson's New Jersey Plan, favoring the less populous states, was eventually merged with Madison's Virginia Plan, favoring the more populous states. Roger Sherman's Connecticut Compromise created a Senate with equal representation and a House of Representatives with proportional representation.
• A7) The Three-Fifths Compromise. The southern states, whose population was forty percent slaves, wanted each slave to count fully toward their proportional representation but not toward their taxation. Wilson proposed that each slave count as three-fifths of a person for both purposes, and the compromise was agreed to.
• A8) 39. Although 55 people attended the Philadelphia Convention, some either disagreed with the final form or refused to sign without a Bill of Rights appended.
• A9) Rhode Island. By a slim majority of 34 to 32, the Ocean State agreed to the document on May 29, 1790, only after the Bill of Rights had been introduced (the state ratified the latter a mere nine days later). The state did not want the U.S. government to control currency and wanted slavery to be abolished.
• A10) 27. Before the Constitution was even finished, the framers knew that the Bill of Rights would be added. Congress proposed those first ten amendments on September 25, 1789, and they were ratified on December 15, 1791. The most recent amendment, the 27th, was ratified on May 5, 1992, when Alabama became the 38th state to approve it.
• A11) 20th century. The last twelve amendments were ratified between February 3, 1913 and May 7, 1992, while only one other amendment besides the Bill of Rights was ratified in the 18th century. The remaining four amendments were ratified in the 19th century.
• A12) The Enterprise. Following a successful write-in campaign, the test shuttle was dedicated in honor of the Star Trek starship on Constitution Day in 1976.