Trivia Why's

Trivia Train - Random Trivia Answers

2009-11-29T23:00:00.002-05:00

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

2009-11-28T23:01:00.001-05:00

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

2009-11-28T23:00:00.000-05:00

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

2009-11-27T23:01:00.000-05:00

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

2009-11-22T23:00:00.000-05:00

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

2009-11-21T23:01:00.002-05:00

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

2009-11-21T23:00:00.000-05:00

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

2009-11-20T23:01:00.000-05:00

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

2009-11-15T23:00:00.001-05:00

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

2009-11-14T23:01:00.003-05:00

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

2009-11-14T23:00:00.000-05:00

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

2009-11-13T23:01:00.000-05:00

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

2009-11-08T23:00:00.002-05:00

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

2009-11-07T23:01:00.002-05:00

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

2009-11-07T23:00:00.000-05:00

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

2009-11-06T23:01:00.000-05:00

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

2009-11-01T23:00:00.002-05:00

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

2009-10-31T23:01:00.001-05:00

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

2009-10-31T23:00:00.000-05:00

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

2009-10-30T23:01:00.000-05:00

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

2009-10-25T23:00:00.002-05:00

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)

2009-10-24T23:01:00.001-05:00

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

2009-10-24T23:00:00.000-05:00

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

2009-10-23T23:01:00.000-05:00

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

2009-10-18T23:00:00.001-05:00

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.

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

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

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

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

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