General Trivia Questions #3,763-3,768

Question 3,763: Entertainment & Food -- Planetary Piece

By what planetary-sounding nickname is Mozart's 41st symphony best known?

a) Jupiter Symphony
b) Mars Symphony
c) Mercury Symphony
d) Saturn Symphony

Question 3,764: History & Government -- Abe-Negator

Who assassinated Abraham Lincoln?

a) James Earl Ray
b) John Wilkes Booth
c) Lee Harvey Oswald
d) Sirhan Sirhan

Question 3,765: Math & Science -- Hurray for Herschel

Which planetary body did Sir William Herschel discover on March 13, 1781?

a) Mercury
b) Neptune
c) Pluto
d) Uranus

Question 3,766: Geography & Nature -- Snake River State

What is the 43rd U.S. state, nicknamed the Gem State, in which you can find the Snake River and Yellowstone Park?

a) Idaho
b) Montana
c) Utah
d) Wyoming

Question 3,767: Literature & Arts -- Sonnet Scheme

How many lines are in a sonnet?

a) 8
b) 10
c) 12
d) 14

Question 3,768: Sports & Games -- Replaced by Rose

Who was the National League career hits leader before Pete Rose?

a) Hank Aaron
b) Stan Musial
c) Tris Speaker
d) Ty Cobb

Nuts! - Random Trivia Answers

To understand the answers to this week's random quiz, begin with this set of botanical definitions:

• fruit - The mature ovary of a seed plant. {An egg that can produce a new plant.}
• seed - The ripened ovule, consisting of the embryo and its proper coats. {The part of the fruit that actually produces the new plant.}
• nut - A dry, hard indehiscent single-celled and single-seeded fruit, though usually resulting from a compound ovary. {"Indehiscent" means that nuts don't come out of their shells on their own.}
• legume - A dry, single-celled fruit of the Leguminosae, formed of a simple pistil, and usually dehiscent by both sutures and often grouped in a long pod. {"Dehiscent" means that legumes come out of their pods easily.}
• drupe - A fleshy or pulpy fruit with the inner portion of the pericarp (single-celled and single-seeded, or sometimes several-celled) hard or stony. {A specific type of fruit which bears tryma, not nuts.}

It's definitely very confusing, but no worse than the fruit vs. vegetable debate!

• A1) Nuts. Acorns are the nuts from an oak tree but are too bitter for human consumption.
• A2) Neither. Almonds are the seeds of a drupe.
• A3) Neither. Brazil nuts are the seeds from a capsule that can contain from 8 to 24 seeds.
• A4) Neither. Cashews are seeds that hangs from the bottom of the cashew apple and lacks a hard shell.
• A5) Nuts. Chestnuts, from chestnut trees, should not be confused with Horse Chestnuts, which are toxic and inedible, or Water Chestnuts, which are root vegetables.
• A6) Neither. Coconuts are unusually large seeds, which will germinate even when sitting above the ground.
• A7) Nuts. Filberts are both a type of hazel tree and their edible nuts.
• A8) Legumes. Garbanzo beans come in pods containing two or three seeds.
• A9) Legumes. Peanuts are legumes which are pollinated above ground but grow underground.
• A10) Neither. Pecans, which come from a deciduous tree that is a type of hickory, are the seeds of a drupe.
• A11) Neither. Pine nuts are the seeds of several species of coniferous trees.
• A12) Neither. Walnuts, like almonds, pecans, and pistachios, are the seeds of a drupe.

Nuts! - Random Trivia Questions

Sometimes you feel like a nut. Sometimes you don't. Is a peanut a pea or a nut? Don't go nuts trying to decide of each of the following is a nut, legume, or neither using the strict biological definition, not the broad culinary interpretation.

Nuts! Questions

• Q1) acorns
• Q2) almonds
• Q3) Brazil nuts
• Q4) cashews
• Q5) chestnuts
• Q6) coconuts
• Q7) filberts (hazelnuts)
• Q8) garbanzos (chickpeas)
• Q9) peanuts
• Q10) pecans
• Q11) pine nuts
• Q12) walnuts

Before III -- Quiz Quilt 124 Solution

Category Answers:

History & Government	WILDER	L. Douglas Wilder, the grandson of slaves, was elected governor of Virginia on August 29, 1989 and took office the following January.
Literature & Arts	LONDON	Jack London, a California native believed to have been born as John Griffith Chaney in 1876, hit upon the wolf theme with his first novel, The Son of the Wolf, in 1900.
Geography & Nature	MALI	It is one of the poorest nations in the world, partly because almost two-thirds of its land is desert or semidesert.
Sports & Games	MONTANA	At the beginning of his clutch, game-winning drive in Super Bowl XXIII, Joe Montana looked into the stands from his huddle and inquired, "Isn't that John Candy?"
Math & Science	BUICK	Although the Scottish-American David Buick founded the Buick Manufacturing Company, which eventually became GM, he died in poverty.
Entertainment & Food	JAGGER	Heath Ledger took Mick Jagger's role as the real criminal in the 2003 remake. Both films were based on Robert Drew's novel Our Sunshine.

Quiz Quilt Answer: JUNIOR (Diagonally from the bottom left corner)

If a grandfather, father, and son share the same name, the son has "III" appended to his name.

Before III -- Quiz Quilt 124 Puzzle

Category Questions:

History & Government	Who was the first black to be elected U.S. state governor?
Literature & Arts	What author built but never lived in Wolf House, whose ruins are now part of a California park?
Geography & Nature	What country is the largest in West Africa and has Bamako as its capital?
Sports & Games	What San Francisco 49ers quarterback led them to four Super Bowl victories?
Math & Science	What plumber developed a process to anneal porcelain onto iron and built the first automobile for General Motors?
Entertainment & Food	What rock singer starred as Australian outlaw Ned Kelly in the 1970 movie of the same name?

General Trivia Answers #3,757-3,762

Answer 3,757: Entertainment & Food -- Cheese in Threes

b) Italy

Asiago cheese is named for the town of the same name, Gorgonzola for a village near Milan, and Romano for the city of Rome.

Answer 3,758: History & Government -- Death to the Death Penalty

a) Austria

Grand Duke Leopold II banished them when the nation was called Tuscany.

Answer 3,759: Math & Science -- Circling the Sun

d) Venus

The difference between its perihelion and its aphelion is less than a millon miles, and its eccentricity is only 0.007.

Answer 3,760: Geography & Nature -- Central and Surrounded

c) Chad

The country is the 20th largest in the world.

Answer 3,761: Literature & Arts -- Truth DK

c) Dorling

Dorling Kindersley is a large publisher in the U.K.

Answer 3,762: Sports & Games -- Field Cricketer

d) Turn stop

The term is completely made up.

General Trivia Questions #3,757-3,762

Question 3,757: Entertainment & Food -- Cheese in Threes

In what country did Asiago, Gorgonzola, and Romano cheeses originate?

a) Greece
b) Italy
c) Portugal
d) Spain

Question 3,758: History & Government -- Death to the Death Penalty

What country became the first to abolish the death penalty in 1787?

a) Austria
b) Belgium
c) Finland
d) Portugal

Question 3,759: Math & Science -- Circling the Sun

Which planet's orbit around the Sun is closest to a circle?

a) Earth
b) Mars
c) Neptune
d) Venus

Question 3,760: Geography & Nature -- Central and Surrounded

What is the landlocked central African country whose capital is N'Djamena?

a) Cameroon
b) Central African Republic
c) Chad
d) Congo

Question 3,761: Literature & Arts -- Truth DK

What does the 'D' in DK books stand for?

a) Darking
b) Deering
c) Dorling
d) Downing

Question 3,762: Sports & Games -- Field Cricketer

Which term below is not one of the positions in the sport of cricket?

a) Cover point
b) Gully
c) Square leg
d) Turn stop

General Trivia Answers #3,751-3,756

Answer 3,751: Entertainment & Food -- Rap Roots

c) New York

The Fatback Band's 1979 album King Tim III, named for the group's lead rapper, was the first rap record.

Answer 3,752: History & Government -- Forever Flag

d) 50

The flag was stable for 47 years from July 4, 1912 to July 3, 1959, but the current stretch, which began the following year, became the longest in 2008.

Answer 3,753: Math & Science -- Hubble Helper

c) Discovery

Endeavor was sent up three years later to fix its blurry images.

Answer 3,754: Geography & Nature -- Kilimanjaro Country

c) Tanzania

The peak is 19,340 feet high.

Answer 3,755: Literature & Arts -- Reuben Realm

a) Cartoonist of the Year

The award was named for the first National Cartoonists Society president, Rube Goldberg.

Answer 3,756: Sports & Games -- Point-After Position

b) 2-yard line

College football spots the ball on the 3-yard line.

General Trivia Questions #3,751-3,756

Question 3,751: Entertainment & Food -- Rap Roots

In what city did rap music originate?

a) Chicago
b) Los Angeles
c) New York
d) Philadelphia

Question 3,752: History & Government -- Forever Flag

How many stars did the U.S. flag have for the longest period?

a) 13
b) 15
c) 48
d) 50

Question 3,753: Math & Science -- Hubble Helper

What space shuttle deployed the Hubble telescope on April 25, 1990?

a) Atlantis
b) Columbia
c) Discovery
d) Endeavor

Question 3,754: Geography & Nature -- Kilimanjaro Country

In what country is Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest point in Africa, located?

a) Angola
b) Morocco
c) Tanzania
d) Zambia

Question 3,755: Literature & Arts -- Reuben Realm

Who is the annual Reuben award given to?

a) Cartoonist of the Year
b) Novelist of the Year
c) Poet of the Year
d) Sandwich Maker of the Year

Question 3,756: Sports & Games -- Point-After Position

From what yard line do NFL teams attempt extra point conversions?

a) 1-yard line
b) 2-yard line
c) 3-yard line
d) 5-yard line

Millionaire Hits the Road!

In a welcome return to its glorious past, Who Wants To Be a Millionaire will hold road auditions in cities throughout the U.S. beginning on June 13. The first few cities scheduled are Nashville, Charlotte, Indianapolis, and Tampa, but check the official schedule for additions. As I mentioned in my previous post, tryouts may qualify you for either the current syndicated version or the special prime time run. You must be 18 years or older to enter. Good luck!

General Trivia Answers #3,745-3,750

Answer 3,745: Entertainment & Food -- Honeymooners Honey

d) Trixie

Joyce Randolph played Mrs. Norton on the show from 1955 to 1956 after first portraying her in skits on The Jackie Gleason Show.

Answer 3,746: History & Government -- Country Combination

b) Germany

The nation had been split into East and West Germany since the end of World War II.

Answer 3,747: Math & Science -- Na Time

c) Sodium

The alkali metal is known as natrium in Latin.

Answer 3,748: Geography & Nature -- Constricted City

a) Beijing, China

The building, now called the Palace Museum, is exactly in the middle of Beijing.

Answer 3,749: Literature & Arts -- Red Letter

a) 'A'

Hester Prynne was forced to wear an 'A' for "adultery".

Answer 3,750: Sports & Games -- Unique Streak

a) Cal Ripken, Jr.

The two-time American League MVP appeared in 2,632 straight games from May 30, 1982 to September 19, 1998, including one stretch of 8,243 consecutive innings.

General Trivia Questions #3,745-3,750

Question 3,745: Entertainment & Food -- Honeymooners Honey

Who was Ed Norton's wife on The Honeymooners?

a) Dixie
b) Nixie
c) Pixie
d) Trixie

Question 3,746: History & Government -- Country Combination

What country reunified on October 3, 1990?

a) China
b) Germany
c) Korea
d) Vietnam

Question 3,747: Math & Science -- Na Time

What chemical element's symbol is Na?

a) Magnesium
b) Manganese
c) Sodium
d) Tin

Question 3,748: Geography & Nature -- Constricted City

In what city is the Forbidden City located?

a) Beijing, China
b) Seoul, Korea
c) Taipei, Taiwan
d) Tokyo, Japan

Question 3,749: Literature & Arts -- Red Letter

What letter is The Scarlet Letter in Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel?

a) 'A'
b) 'F'
c) 'S'
d) 'X'

Question 3,750: Sports & Games -- Unique Streak

What Major League Baseball player holds the record for most consecutive games played?

a) Cal Ripken, Jr.
b) Everett Scott
c) Lou Gehrig
d) Steve Garvey

General Trivia Answers #3,739-3,744

Answer 3,739: Entertainment & Food -- Sign Line

c) Furniture

In 1982, Hull University students Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt saw the sign claiming, "For your bedroom needs, we sell everything but the girl."

Answer 3,740: History & Government -- Brown Town

c) Topeka

The court declared that racially segregated public schools were inherently unequal.

Answer 3,741: Math & Science -- Time to Get a New Watch

c) Seiko

They also manufactured the first quartz watch in 1969, the first TV watch in 1982, and the first computer watch in 1984.

Answer 3,742: Geography & Nature -- Sea Separator

d) Caspian Sea

You can travel around the sea to the south through Iran to go between the two countries.

Answer 3,743: Literature & Arts -- Contract of Consensus

d) Jean-Jacques Rousseau

The 1762 publication describes an ideal state founded on man's universal desire for freedom.

Answer 3,744: Sports & Games -- Pitching Pariah

a) Bob Gibson

Along with telling many baseball stories, the candid book complains about racism, how baseball has changed for the worse, and how the Hall of Famer was misunderstood.

General Trivia Questions #3,739-3,744

Question 3,739: Entertainment & Food -- Sign Line

The music group Everything But the Girl was named for a sign in what type of store?

a) Clothing
b) Electronics
c) Furniture
d) Used records

Question 3,740: History & Government -- Brown Town

What Kansas city was the subject of the 1954 Supreme Court ruling Brown v. Board of Education?

a) Kansas City
b) Salinas
c) Topeka
d) Wichita

Question 3,741: Math & Science -- Time to Get a New Watch

In 1973, what company sold the first watch with a liquid crystal display?

a) Armitron
b) Casio
c) Seiko
d) Timex

Question 3,742: Geography & Nature -- Sea Separator

What sea separates Azerbaijan from Turkmenistan?

a) Aral Sea
b) Baltic Sea
c) Black Sea
d) Caspian Sea

Question 3,743: Literature & Arts -- Contract of Consensus

What French philosopher wrote The Social Contract, Or Principles of Political Right?

a) Comte de Saint-Simon
b) Emile Durkheim
c) Francois Voltaire
d) Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Question 3,744: Sports & Games -- Pitching Pariah

What Major League Baseball pitcher wrote the 1993 autobiography Stranger to the Game?

a) Bob Gibson
b) Don Newcombe
c) Mickey Lolich
d) Sandy Koufax

General Trivia Answers #3,733-3,738

Answer 3,733: Entertainment & Food -- First Film

d) Train

The Lumiere brothers impressed audiences with their Arrival of a Train at a Station.

Answer 3,734: History & Government -- Still Standing

c) Santa Fe, New Mexico

The Palace of the Governors was built in 1610.

Answer 3,735: Math & Science -- Formaldehyde Form

a) Gas

A solution with water and some methanol is usually used for preserving biological specimens.

Answer 3,736: Geography & Nature -- Busy in Belgium

a) Antwerp

The city is known for its fashion and diamond industries.

Answer 3,737: Literature & Arts -- Play the Fool

a) As You Like It

The fool Jacques repeatedly uses the expression to refer to himself in a conversation with Duke Senior.

Answer 3,738: Sports & Games -- Fatal Fault

d) Stefan Edberg

The freak tragedy occurred during the U.S. Open Junior Boys Final.

General Trivia Questions #3,733-3,738

Question 3,733: Entertainment & Food -- First Film

What was the subject of the first motion picture in 1895?

a) Car
b) Horse
c) Man
d) Train

Question 3,734: History & Government -- Still Standing

Which city has the oldest standing public building in the U.S.?

a) Jamestown, Virginia
b) Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts
c) Santa Fe, New Mexico
d) St. Augustine, Florida

Question 3,735: Math & Science -- Formaldehyde Form

At standard temperature and pressure, what phase does formaldehyde exist in?

a) Gas
b) Liquid
c) Plasma
d) Solid

Question 3,736: Geography & Nature -- Busy in Belgium

What city is Belgium's busiest and largest harbor?

a) Antwerp
b) Brussels
c) Ghent
d) Liege

Question 3,737: Literature & Arts -- Play the Fool

Which Shakespeare play does the term "motley fool" come from?

a) As You Like It
b) King Lear
c) Measure for Measure
d) Twelfth Night

Question 3,738: Sports & Games -- Fatal Fault

What tennis player's serve struck a center service linesman, knocking him over and killing him in 1983?

a) Boris Becker
b) Jimmy Arias
c) Roscoe Tanner
d) Stefan Edberg

Memorial Day - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) U.S. Civil War. Just under half a million U.S. soldiers on both sides died, not quite a hundred thousand more than World War II, with a record 283,394 deaths on both sides from illness and other causes.
• A2) World War II. 291,557 U.S. soldiers lost their lives in battle or from wounds suffered in battle.
• A3) U.S. Civil War. Over six and a half percent of the U.S. soldiers who saw action died in battle. About 2.2% of U.S. soldiers died in battle during the Mexican-American War, and 2.0% in the Revolutionary War.
• A4) Mexican-American War. Disease, most notably yellow fever, wiped out over one of every seven U.S. soldiers.
• A5) Union. Nearly half a million Union soldiers died, over two and a half times as many as the Confederacy, if you believe the official numbers. Other, probably more accurate, estimates claim only about 1.2 times as many Union soldiers died as Confederate.
• A6) Battle of the Bulge. The World War II battle in Europe cost 19,276 American lives from December 16, 1944 to January 25, 1945.
• A7) Battle of Meuse-Argonne. The World War I battle in France cost 26,277 American lives from September 26 to November 11, 1918.
• A8) World War II. Over sixteen million U.S. soldiers were needed during five years of action.
• A9) Vietnam War. 8,744,000 U.S. soldiers saw duty in Vietnam, three million more than in the Korean War, and four million more than in World War I.
• A10) World War II. Over twelve percent of the population, nearly a quarter of all males, served in the war.
• A11) Civil War. About ten percent of the population, one fifth of all males, served in the war.
• A12) Vietnam War. Over seven million Vietnam veterans, about five of every six, is still living. Both World War II and the Korean War have over three million living veterans, with the former currently holding a slight lead that will disappear over the next decade (both will drop below the number of Gulf War veterans soon thereafter).

Memorial Day - Random Trivia Questions

This week's quiz honors those who have died fighting for our country in the hopes of making the world a better place to live. Consider only the dozen or so largest wars that the U.S. has been involved in since the Revolutionary War when answering the following questions.

Memorial Day Questions

• Q1) In which war did the most U.S. soldiers die from both battle and non-battle injuries and illnesses?
• Q2) In which war did the most U.S. soldiers die from battle?
• Q3) In which war did the highest percentage of U.S. soldiers die from battle?
• Q4) In which war did the highest percentage of U.S. soldiers die from non-battle injuries and illnesses?
• Q5) During the U.S. Civil War, which side lost more soldiers, the Union or the Confederacy?
• Q6) In which battle did the most U.S. soldiers die?
• Q7) In which battle did the second most U.S. soldiers die?
• Q8) In which war did the most U.S. soldiers serve?
• Q9) In which war did the second most U.S. soldiers serve?
• Q10) In which war did the highest percentage of the U.S. population serve?
• Q11) In which war did the second highest percentage of the U.S. population serve?
• Q12) Of which war are the most U.S. veterans currently alive?

Ghostbusting Disney Dog -- Quiz Quilt 123 Solution

Category Answers:

History & Government	SAKHAROV	Nuclear physicist Andrei Sakharov won the 1975 award for his ideas on using human rights as the basis of all politics.
Entertainment & Food	SHAW	George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play was in turn based on a Roman myth.
Math & Science	CHANDRA	The satellite was named for Indian physicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar.
Sports & Games	BORG	Ice Man Bjorn Borg conquered the clay at Roland Garros six times between 1974 and 1981.
Geography & Nature	PARAGUAY	The city of half a million people is in the southwest, next to Argentina.
Literature & Arts	HUXLEY	Aldous Huxley's title comes from Shakespeare's The Tempest, where Miranda marvels, "O brave new world, that hath such people in it."

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

Scooby-Doo and his owner Shaggy are part of a cartoon ghost-debunking gang; "The Shaggy D.A." is a 1976 movie about a lawyer who becomes a sheepdog.

Ghostbusting Disney Dog -- Quiz Quilt 123 Puzzle

Category Questions:

History & Government	Who was the first Soviet citizen to win the Nobel Peace Prize?
Entertainment & Food	What Irish playwright and critic wrote Pygmalion, on which the 1964 movie My Fair Lady was based?
Math & Science	What was the orbiting X-ray observatory that discovered an exploding galaxy in Centaurus A in October 1999?
Sports & Games	What Scandinavian male tennis player has won the most French Opens since 1925?
Geography & Nature	Which South American country's capital is Asuncion?
Literature & Arts	What British author's Brave New World was published in 1932?

General Trivia Answers #3,727-3,732

Answer 3,727: Entertainment & Food -- Slight Height

a) 13½ inches

The 8½-pound statue was nicknamed by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences librarian Margaret Herrick, who thought it resembled her uncle.

Answer 3,728: History & Government -- Checkpoint Charlie

a) Berlin, Germany

The gate was the third one that the U.S. put up at the Berlin Wall, after Alpha and Bravo at Helmstedt.

Answer 3,729: Math & Science -- Galactic Gloom

b) Neptune

Unlike the more famous Great Red Spot on Jupiter, Neptune's marking is thought to be a hole in the atmosphere rather than a giant storm.

Answer 3,730: Geography & Nature -- Skyscraper

b) Chicago

The 1,450-foot-tall Sears Tower was completed in 1973. The company was too optimistic in its growth projections and never used more than half of the building before leaving it completely by 1995.

Answer 3,731: Literature & Arts -- Rabbit Writer

d) John Updike

The summa cum laude Harvard alumnus wrote one per decade from Rabbit Run in 1960 to Rabbit at Rest in 1990.

Answer 3,732: Sports & Games -- Martial Mildness

a) Judo

One of the discipline's basic ideas is to use the opponents' momentum against themselves.

General Trivia Questions #3,727-3,732

Question 3,727: Entertainment & Food -- Slight Height

How tall is the Oscar award?

a) 13½ inches
b) 17½ inches
c) 21½ inches
d) 25½ inches

Question 3,728: History & Government -- Checkpoint Charlie

In what city was Checkpoint Charlie located?

a) Berlin, Germany
b) Marseille, France
c) Vienna, Austria
d) Warsaw, Poland

Question 3,729: Math & Science -- Galactic Gloom

On which planet can the Great Dark Spot be found?

a) Jupiter
b) Neptune
c) Saturn
d) Uranus

Question 3,730: Geography & Nature -- Skyscraper

Which city is home to the tallest building in the U.S.?

a) Atlanta
b) Chicago
c) Los Angeles
d) New York

Question 3,731: Literature & Arts -- Rabbit Writer

What author's character Harry Angstrom appeared in four novels with the word "rabbit" in their titles?

a) John Dos Passos
b) John Knowles
c) John O'Hara
d) John Updike

Question 3,732: Sports & Games -- Martial Mildness

What is the Japanese martial art created in 1882 whose name means "gentle way"?

a) Judo
b) Kendo
c) Kenjo
d) Tai chi

General Trivia Answers #3,721-3,726

Answer 3,721: Entertainment & Food -- Certifiable Supporter

a) Baseball

San Francisco Giants fan Gil Renard, played by Wesley Snipes, is obsessed with three-time MVP Bobby Rayburn.

Answer 3,722: History & Government -- Rules of Rearrangement

b) Massachusetts

Elbridge Gerry passed a law in February 11, 1812 to repartition his state's voting districts in his party's favor. He later became James Madison's Vice President.

Answer 3,723: Math & Science -- Constellation Components

c) Orion

Orion was a mythological Greek hunter.

Answer 3,724: Geography & Nature -- No Mo' Togoland

d) Ghana

On March 6, 1957, the nation became the first African colony to gain its independence, splitting from the U.K.

Answer 3,725: Literature & Arts -- Hippie Harris

a) Edgar

The hippie is part nanny and part slacker.

Answer 3,726: Sports & Games -- Schulz's Sport

c) Hockey

Sparky was such a big hockey and ice skating fan that he had his own rink.

General Trivia Questions #3,721-3,726

Question 3,721: Entertainment & Food -- Certifiable Supporter

What sport is the title character of the 1996 movie The Fan crazy about?

a) Baseball
b) Basketball
c) Football
d) Hockey

Question 3,722: History & Government -- Rules of Rearrangement

Which U.S. state's governor was the term "gerrymander" named for?

a) Connecticut
b) Massachusetts
c) New Jersey
d) New York

Question 3,723: Math & Science -- Constellation Components

What constellation's components include the stars Altinak and Alnilam and the double star Mintaka?

a) Aquila
b) Cygnus
c) Orion
d) Serpens

Question 3,724: Geography & Nature -- No Mo' Togoland

What African country, named after a medieval empire, was once part of Togoland?

a) Burundi
b) Chad
c) Congo
d) Ghana

Question 3,725: Literature & Arts -- Hippie Harris

In the Doonesbury comic strip, what is Zonker Harris's given first name?

a) Edgar
b) Harvey
c) Morris
d) Spencer

Question 3,726: Sports & Games -- Schulz's Sport

What sport's Hall of Fame was cartoonist Charles Schulz inducted into?

a) Baseball
b) Golf
c) Hockey
d) Tennis

General Trivia Answers #3,715-3,720

Answer 3,715: Entertainment & Food -- Death Decider

d) Richard Wagner

The second of four works in The Ring of the Nibelung was completed in 1870.

Answer 3,716: History & Government -- United Nations Aberration

c) Switzerland

Afghanistan is much larger but was already a member.

Answer 3,717: Math & Science -- Inspired Invention

a) Helicopter

German Heinrich Focke developed the Focke-Wulf FW 61 in 1936, two years before xerography appeared.

Answer 3,718: Geography & Nature -- Danube Deposit

c) Black Sea

The Danube-Black Sea Canal has helped link the Black Sea to the North Sea since its 1984 opening.

Answer 3,719: Literature & Arts -- Lower World Levels

c) 9

They are Limbo, the Lust level, the Glutton level, the Greedy level, the Wrathful and Slothful level, the Heretic level, the Violent level, the Fraudulent level, and the Traitor level.

Answer 3,720: Sports & Games -- Sega System

a) Dreamcast

The console was produced until 2001 when the company exited the market.

General Trivia Questions #3,715-3,720

Question 3,715: Entertainment & Food -- Death Decider

Who composed the opera The Valkyrie?

a) Giacomo Puccini
b) Giuseppe Verdi
c) Richard Strauss
d) Richard Wagner

Question 3,716: History & Government -- United Nations Aberration

Until 2002, what was the largest country by area that was not in the United Nations?

a) Afghanistan
b) Kiribati
c) Switzerland
d) Taiwan

Question 3,717: Math & Science -- Inspired Invention

Which is the oldest of the following inventions?

a) Helicopter
b) Microwave oven
c) Teflon
d) Xerography

Question 3,718: Geography & Nature -- Danube Deposit

What sea does the Danube River flow into?

a) Adriatic Sea
b) Aegean Sea
c) Black Sea
d) Ionian Sea

Question 3,719: Literature & Arts -- Lower World Levels

How many levels of Hell are in Dante's Inferno?

a) 3
b) 6
c) 9
d) 12

Question 3,720: Sports & Games -- Sega System

What 128-bit game system did Sega release in 1998?

a) Dreamcast
b) Gamecube
c) PlayStation
d) Xbox

General Trivia Answers #3,709-3,714

Answer 3,709: Entertainment & Food -- Poet Pair

d) Transcendental Poets

Transcendentalism began in New England in the early 1800s.

Answer 3,710: History & Government -- Rising Rank

d) Texas

The Lone Star State swapped places with New York.

Answer 3,711: Math & Science -- Double-Digit Distinction

c) 97

99 can be factored into 3 x 3 x 11.

Answer 3,712: Geography & Nature -- Big Apple Boroughs

b) 5

They are the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island.

Answer 3,713: Literature & Arts -- Stroke Signs

a) 'J'

The pinky traces its shape in the air.

Answer 3,714: Sports & Games -- Color Coding

c) Green

The Masters has used red to display scores under par since 1960, while other tournaments use black.

General Trivia Questions #3,709-3,714

Question 3,709: Entertainment & Food -- Poet Pair

What type of poets were Ralph Waldo Emerson and Margaret Fuller?

a) Cavalier Poets
b) Confessional Poets
c) Metaphysical Poets
d) Transcendental Poets

Question 3,710: History & Government -- Rising Rank

Which state became the second most populous behind California in the 2000 U.S. Census?

a) Florida
b) Georgia
c) New York
d) Texas

Question 3,711: Math & Science -- Double-Digit Distinction

What is the highest prime number under 100?

a) 91
b) 93
c) 97
d) 99

Question 3,712: Geography & Nature -- Big Apple Boroughs

How many boroughs does New York City have?

a) 4
b) 5
c) 6
d) 7

Question 3,713: Literature & Arts -- Stroke Signs

What is the only letter in sign language besides 'Z' that requires motion to sign?

a) 'J'
b) 'Q'
c) 'T'
d) 'X'

Question 3,714: Sports & Games -- Color Coding

What color is used on a golf leader board to indicate a score over par?

a) Black
b) Blue
c) Green
d) Red

General Trivia Answers #3,703-3,708

Answer 3,703: Entertainment & Food -- Addams Actress

b) Jodie Foster

The Coppertone baby shared the duties with Ken Weatherwax.

Answer 3,704: History & Government -- Finding Florida

d) Panfilo de Narvaez

The conquistador was appointed governor but died a year later.

Answer 3,705: Math & Science -- Error Expert

d) Niels Bohr

The Dane's narrow field was quantum mechanics, in which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922.

Answer 3,706: Geography & Nature -- Camel Continent

c) North America

Camels are now native to the deserts of Africa and Asia.

Answer 3,707: Literature & Arts -- That '70s Magazine

d) Woman's Day

The periodical has been in circulation since October 7, 1937.

Answer 3,708: Sports & Games -- Holdsclaw's Homage

c) She likes the 23rd Psalm

The psalm begins, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want."

General Trivia Questions #3,703-3,708

Question 3,703: Entertainment & Food -- Addams Actress

What actress gave her voice to Pugsley on The Addams Family cartoon from 1973 to 1975?

a) Brooke Shields
b) Jodie Foster
c) Kristi McNichol
d) Tatum O'Neal

Question 3,704: History & Government -- Finding Florida

What Spanish explorer first reached Florida in 1527?

a) Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca
b) Francisco Pizarro
c) Hernan Cortes
d) Panfilo de Narvaez

Question 3,705: Math & Science -- Error Expert

Which scientist observed, "An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made in a very narrow field"?

a) Enrico Fermi
b) Guglielmo Marconi
c) Max Planck
d) Niels Bohr

Question 3,706: Geography & Nature -- Camel Continent

On which continent did the camel originate?

a) Africa
b) Asia
c) North America
d) South America

Question 3,707: Literature & Arts -- That '70s Magazine

Which of the following magazines did not debut in the 1970s?

a) Ms.
b) People
c) US
d) Woman's Day

Question 3,708: Sports & Games -- Holdsclaw's Homage

Why does WNBA player Chamique Holdsclaw wear #23?

a) It was the first uniform she got
b) She idolizes Michael Jordan
c) She likes the 23rd Psalm
d) She was born on March 23

We're #1! (Part Two) - Random Trivia Answers

Each group is listed with the year they were founded, any omitted founding member, and their #1 songs.

• A1) Foreigner. Founded 1976. "I Want to Know What Love Is" in 1984. The band's previous album, 4, reached number one on the album chart, but had just fallen short with "Urgent" (#4) and "Waiting for a Girl Like You" (#2), both of which topped the Mainstream Rock chart.
• A2) Def Leppard. Founded 1977. "Love Bites" [link to The Hit Co. version] in 1988. The song ends with producer Mutt Lange's filtered sentence, "Yes it does, bloody hell", not a stronger curse about Jesus as some have speculated.
• A3) The Human League. Founded 1977. "Don't You Want Me" in 1981 and "Human" in 1986. Although usual backup singer Susan Ann Sulley took the female lead on "Don't You Want Me", the song is merely Philip Oakey's fiction inspired by the movie A Star Is Born and is not about any romance between the two.
• A4) INXS. Founded 1977. "Need You Tonight" in 1987. The single is often combined with "Mediate" (also spelled "Meditate" on some album versions), the next song on the Kick LP.
• A5) Toto. Founded 1977. "Africa" in 1982. The group's signature tune almost didn't make it onto Toto IV because of how long it took to record and how different it is from the other songs on the album.
• A6) Berlin. Founded 1978. "Take My Breath Away" in 1986. The love song from the Top Gun soundtrack won both the Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.
• A7) Dexys Midnight Runners. Founded 1978. "Come On Eileen" in 1982. The essence of a one-hit wonder, at least in the U.S., the British band never even cracked the Hot 100 before or after.
• A8) Simple Minds. Founded 1978. "Don't You (Forget About Me)" in 1985. The single was the only song from The Breakfast Club soundtrack to chart and was followed soon after by Once Upon a Time, which landed "Alive and Kicking" at #3 and took two other songs into the top thirty.
• A9) Survivor. Founded 1978. "Eye of the Tiger" in 1982. In the movie Rocky III, for which the song was written at Sylvester Stallone's request, a tiger's roar can be heard.
• A10) UB40. Founded 1978. "Red Red Wine" in 1988 and "Can't Help Falling in Love" in 1993. The former was written and initially recorded by Neil Diamond in 1968 but the band says it was only familiar with Tony Tribe's reggae version from the following year.
• A11) Men at Work. Founded 1979. "Who Can It Be Now?" and "Down Under" in 1981. The latter is such an Australian favorite that the band performed it at the closing ceremonies of the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
• A12) Tears for Fears. Founded 1981. "Shout" in 1984 and "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" in 1985. Producer Chris Hughes added the latter to Songs from the Big Chair to appeal to Americans and was rewarded with the album's second chart-topper.
• A13) a-ha. Founded 1982. "Take on Me" in 1985. The band's only top ten hit benefitted greatly from its groundbreaking, partially-animated video. The group couldn't even crack the Hot 100 with the theme song to the James Bond movie The Living Daylights.
• A14) Mr. Mister. Founded 1982. "Broken Wings" in 1985 and "Kyrie" in 1986. The phrase Kyrie eleison, which is part of the song, means "Lord, have mercy" in Greek.
• A15) Bon Jovi. Founded 1983. Omitted: Jon Bon Jovi. "You Give Love a Bad Name" in 1986; "Livin' On a Prayer" in 1987; "Bad Medicine" in 1988; and "I'll Be There for You" in 1989. The group's string of #1 songs began when they started working with songwriter Desmond Childs.
• A16) Fine Young Cannibals. Founded 1984. "She Drives Me Crazy" and "Good Thing" in 1989. Rush Limbaugh briefly used the former as the theme song for his talk-radio show.
• A17) New Kids on the Block. Founded 1984. "I'll Be Loving You (Forever)" and "Hangin' Tough" in 1989 and "Step by Step" in 1990. The last of these outsold both of the others, with a total of over six and a half million copies.
• A18) Extreme. Founded 1985. "More Than Words" in 1991. The heavy metal band enjoyed their greatest success with their love ballads, also reaching #4 with "Hole Hearted" from Pornograffitti.
• A19) Ace of Base. Founded 1987. "The Sign" in 1994. The single spent four weeks at #1, dropped down, then regained the top spot for another two weeks between March and May.
• A20) Barenaked Ladies. Founded 1988. "One Week" in 1998. The song and its funky, semi-improvised, pseudo-rap topped the charts for two weeks in October.
• A21) Boyz II Men. Founded 1988. "End of the Road" in 1992; "I'll Make Love to You" and "On Bended Knee" in 1994; "One Sweet Day" (with Mariah Carey) in 1995; and "4 Seasons of Loneliness" in 1997. "End of the Road", from the Eddie Murphy movie Boomerang, stayed at #1 on the Hot 100 for a record thirteen weeks.
• A22) Destiny's Child. Founded 1990. Omitted: Beyonce Knowles. "Bills, Bills, Bills" in 1999; "Say My Name" and "Independent Women Part I" in 2000; and "Bootylicious" in 2001. The "Independent Women" were Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu as the 2000 version of Charlie's Angels.
• A23) TLC. Founded 1991. "Creep" in 1994; "Waterfalls" in 1995; and "No Scrubs" and "Unpretty" in 1999. T-Boz, Chilli, and Left Eye's cautionary "Waterfalls" helped CrazySexyCool win a Best R&B Album Grammy.
• A24) Black Eyed Peas. Founded 1995. "Boom Boom Pow" in 2009. Digital downloads topped a million in only three weeks, the second fastest ever behind Flo Rida's "Right Round".
• A25) Matchbox 20. Founded 1995. "Bent" in 2000. Rob Thomas's first real love song, about a co-dependent relationship, was not intentionally named for the British slang for "homosexual".
• A26) Nickelback. Founded 1995. "How You Remind Me" in 2001. The rock single was determined to be Billboard Monitor's #1 Most Played Song of 2002 in the U.S.
• A27) 'N Sync. Founded 1995. Omitted: Justin Timberlake. "It's Gonna Be Me" in 2000. The single from No Strings Attached, the group's second consecutive #1 album, pushed three spots higher up the charts than the previously released "Bye Bye Bye".
• A28) Coldplay. Founded 1997. "Viva la Vida" in 2007. The song views the world from the perspective of a king who knows he won't get into heaven because of all the people he has killed, a message of caution to religious zealots who think they'll be rewarded for blowing up buildings.
• A29) 98 Degrees. Founded 1997. "Thank God I Found You" in 2000. Mariah Carey released this single from her Rainbow album, but the song also appears on 98 Degrees' The Collection [sorry, not one of the songs in the linked album].
• A30) Maroon 5. Founded 2002. "Makes Me Wonder" in 2007. The Grammy Award-winning single set a record by leaping from #64 to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 between May 5 and May 12.