U.S. Constitution - Random Trivia Questions

September 17, this Thursday, is celebrated as Constitution Day in the U.S., with this year marking the 322nd anniversary of the completion of the document that created the current government as we know it. The day has officially been called Constitution Day and Citizenship Day since 2004 but is not an off-day for government workers despite floating to the nearest Friday or Monday when it falls on a weekend.

U.S. Constitution Questions

• Q1) What document served as the charter for the United States of America for over seven years after its ratification on March 1, 1781?
• Q2) What state did not send a delegate to the Philadelphia Convention that created the Constitution?
• Q3) How many future U.S. Presidents attended the Philadelphia Convention?
• Q4) Who is known as the Father of the Constitution?
• Q5) Who proposed the British Plan?
• Q6) Who proposed the New Jersey Plan?
• Q7) What compromise did James Wilson suggest regarding slaves?
• Q8) How many people signed the Constitution (within ten)?
• Q9) What was the last of the original thirteen colonies to ratify the Constitution?
• Q10) How many amendments have been made to the Constitution?
• Q11) In what century were the most amendments ratified?
• Q12) What space shuttle was originally going to named the Constitution?

Standup Song -- Quiz Quilt 139 Solution

Category Answers:

Sports & Games	RODMAN	Despite his increasingly strange behavior at times, forward Dennis Rodman was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year for both 1989-90 and 1990-91.
Geography & Nature	QUEEN	The male counterpart is a stud.
Entertainment & Food	KOCH	New York University Law School graduate Ed Koch had been one of the state's U.S. Congressmen from 1969 to 1977.
Literature & Arts	MARTIN	Etiquette authority Judith Martin, born as Judith Sylvia Perlman in 1938, began writing "Miss Manners" for her hometown Washington Post in 1978.
Math & Science	CERN	The acronym originally stood for Conseil Europeen pour la Recherche Nucleaire in 1954 but was changed to Centre Europeen de Recherche Nucleaire after the council was dissolved.
History & Government	MAYA	They understood the concept of zero, employed a base 20 number system, and used a calendar that was more accurate than either the Julian or Gregorian calendar.

Quiz Quilt Answer: ANTHEM (Fourth letters going up)

It is customary to stand, face the flag, and put your hand over your heart when the "Star-Spangled Banner", the U.S. national anthem, is played.

Standup Song -- Quiz Quilt 139 Puzzle

Category Questions:

Sports & Games	What NBA player was known as the Worm?
Geography & Nature	What term refers to a female cat used for breeding purposes?
Entertainment & Food	Who was the mayor of New York City from 1977 to 1989 who presided over The People's Court from 1997 to 1999?
Literature & Arts	What is the real name of advice columnist Miss Manners?
Math & Science	By what acronym is the European Laboratory for Particle Physics best known?
History & Government	What ancient, Central American tribes were known for their hieroglyphic writing, advanced mathematics, and accurate calendar?

Number Nine - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) World Series of Poker (Main Event). Last year, the annual No Limit Texas Hold 'Em tournament began delaying its final table by four months to allow publicity to build for the event and its last nine contenders.
• A2) Tennis. The concept was introduced under the awkward title, "Championship Series, Single Week" in 1990, became the Tennis Masters Series in 2000, and has been called the ATP Masters Series since 2004.
• A3) Turnberry. The course on the Firth of Clyde features Turnberry Lighthouse, which was built over the ruins of Turnberry Castle, where Robert the Bruce, the Scottish King from 1306 to 1329, was born.
• A4) 17. 35,396 different puzzles are known that start with only 17 squares filled in. A minimum of 18 are needed for a symmetrical puzzle.
• A5) 501. The total can be achieved with three identical sets of three darts: a triple 20, a triple 19 (these first two darts can be swapped), and a bullseye (worth 50; the very last dart must be a double-score or a bullseye).
• A6) 3. The 1-5, 2-8, and 3-9 are the double woods that make it hard to see how many pins you have standing.
• A7) North America. Australia and South America each consist of four territories, Africa six, Europe seven, and Asia twelve.
• A8) 55. A Double 6 set has 28, a Double 12 set has 91, and so on, easily calculated using the formula for triangular numbers, (n*(n+1))/2, where n is one higher than the number of the set because of the blanks (e.g., Double 6 -> (7*8)/2 = 28).
• A9) NHL. Glenn Anderson, Andy Bathgate, Johnny Bucyk, Clark Gillies, Adam Graves, Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull (two teams), Lanny McDonald, and Maurice Richard all wore #9. Six Major League Baseball players and two NBA players have had their number 9 retired, but no NFL team has ever retired the number (Drew Brees could eventually be the first if last year wasn't an anomaly).
• A10) Yellow. It matches the 1-ball, as the solid and striped balls that are eight apart share the same color.
• A11) 9 of Diamonds. Among other stories, Sir John Dalrymple supposedly authorized the Glencoe Massacre on February 13, 1692 using the nine of diamonds playing card. His family's coat of arms bears sports nine diamonds, almost in the same pattern as on the card.
• A12) Lefty Grove. By turning the trick on August 23 and September 27, 1928, the Philadelphia Athletics hurler became the first pitcher to ever accomplish the feat twice in an entire career. Only Sandy Koufax, in 1962 and 1964, and Nolan Ryan, in 1968 and 1972 have since tied the latter record.

Number Nine - Random Trivia Questions

Since Wednesday will be 9/9/09, this week's random quiz is all about the number 9 in the Sports and Games category.

Number Nine Questions

• Q1) What international event features the November Nine?
• Q2) What sport's second-most important events were known as the Mercedes-Benz Super 9 from 1996 to 1999?
• Q3) What golf course's 9th hole is known as Bruce's Castle?
• Q4) What is the fewest number of prefilled digits needed for a 9-by-9 Sudoku puzzle to have a unique answer?
• Q5) What version of darts allows for a variety of different perfect games known as nine dart finishes?
• Q6) In ten-pin bowling, what pin stands directly in front of the 9-pin?
• Q7) In the board game Risk, what continent contains exactly nine territories?
• Q8) How many tiles are in a complete Double 9 domino set?
• Q9) In which major North American sport (MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL) has the uniform number 9 been retired for exactly nine players?
• Q10) What color is the stripe on the 9-ball in pool?
• Q11) Which playing card is known as the Curse of Scotland?
• Q12) Who is the only Major League Baseball pitcher to strike out the side on nine pitches twice in a single season?

Humble, Radiant, & Terrific -- Quiz Quilt 138 Solution

Category Answers:

Literature & Arts	HEMINGWAY	Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel was critically acclaimed immediately in New York, however.
Sports & Games	DIMAGGIO	Center fielder Joe DiMaggio was married to Arnold, after meeting on a set, from 1939 to 1944 and to Monroe, after a tabloid romance, from 1954 to 1955.
Entertainment & Food	GODZILLA	The name means "king of the monsters".
Geography & Nature	CHERNOBYL	The power plant began having serious problems on April 25, 1986 and exploded the next day.
History & Government	LONGITUDE	In 1715, John Harrison qualified for a reward of 20,000 pounds for developing a clock that could determine longitude to within half a degree (thirty nautical miles).
Math & Science	AVOGADRO	Count Amedeo Avogadro's number is about 6.02 times 10^23.

Quiz Quilt Answer: WILBUR (Seventh letters)

In the book "Charlotte's Web", the spider stitched each of these messages, along with "Some Pig", into her web to save Wilbur from becoming breakfast.

Humble, Radiant, & Terrific -- Quiz Quilt 138 Puzzle

Category Questions:

Literature & Arts	What author's The Sun Also Rises did not sell well initially?
Sports & Games	What baseball player was married to actress Dorothy Arnold during his playing days and to actress Marilyn Monroe after?
Entertainment & Food	What 1954 movie is known in Japan as Gojira?
Geography & Nature	In what city in northern Ukraine did the worst nuclear reactor accident in history occur?
History & Government	Specifically, what was Harrison's chronometer used to measure in the 1700s?
Math & Science	For what Italian chemist and physicist is the number of molecules in a mole named?

One Man Band - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) Person. Stuart Leslie Goddard renamed himself after a nervous breakdown, although he did also once call his band Adam and the Ants.
• A2) Band. The English group won the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest with "Making Your Mind Up".
• A3) Person. Although Johann Holzel is Austrian, he hit the U.S. pop charts with English and German lyrics in "Rock Me Amadeus" and "Der Kommisar".
• A4) Person. James Newell Osterberg, Jr. took his stage name from his first band, the Iguanas.
• A5) Person. Clyde Jackson Browne was born in Germany in 1948 and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.
• A6) Band. The English group melded the word "jam", as in "jam session", with "Iroquois", as in "Iroquois Indians".
• A7) Band. Charles Kelley, Dave Haywood, and Hillary Scott formed their country group in 2006.
• A8) Band. The British girl group recorded with Alesha Dixon, Su-Elise Nash, Sabrina Washington, and Zena McNally from 1999 to 2001 before McNally left the band.
• A9) Band. Cousins Gary LeVox and Jay DeMarcus teamed up with Joe Don Rooney for ten number one country songs.
• A10) Band. The Florida alt-rock band was named for nun Sister Hazel Williams in 1994.
• A11) Band. Milton Bradley forced the band to change its name from Shrinky Dinx, which was too close to toy's name.
• A12) Band. Carol Decker's group was named for the Star Trek Vulcan priestess in 1986 and reached #4 in the U.S. with "Heart and Soul" the next year.

One Man Band - Random Trivia Questions

The royal "we" refers to an individual. So do some of the following names. Can you identify whether each of the following is a band or a person?

One Man Band Questions

• Q1) Adam Ant
• Q2) Bucks Fizz
• Q3) Falco
• Q4) Iggy Pop
• Q5) Jackson Browne
• Q6) Jamiroquai
• Q7) Lady Antebellum
• Q8) Mis-Teeq
• Q9) Rascal Flatts
• Q10) Sister Hazel
• Q11) Sugar Ray
• Q12) T'Pau

Long Short Short -- Quiz Quilt 137 Solution

Category Answers:

Math & Science	ATLANTIS	It later met up with the Soviet satellite six more times, facilitating several crew transfers.
History & Government	RAY	White supremacist James Earl Ray, who had escaped from the Missouri State Penitentiary a year earlier, assassinated the civil rights leader on April 4, 1968.
Entertainment & Food	HATS	The Men Without Hats were a one-hit wonder, reaching #3 with the single in 1983 before fading into obscurity.
Literature & Arts	BUCK	Novelist Pearl Buck, who was born in West Virginia but raised across the globe in China, titled a second autobiography A Bridge for Passing eight years later.
Geography & Nature	BRAZIL	The Rio de Janeiro beach faces the South Atlantic.
Sports & Games	BUDGE	Californian Don Budge, who went by his middle name instead of his first name John, excelled in all areas of the game but was especially known for his backhand.

Quiz Quilt Answer: DACTYL (Third letters going up)

A dactyl is a poetic foot consisting of a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables.

Long Short Short -- Quiz Quilt 137 Puzzle

Category Questions:

Math & Science	Which U.S. space shuttle docked with the Mir space station on July 7, 1995?
History & Government	Who murdered Martin Luther King, Jr.?
Entertainment & Food	What item of clothing did the group that sang the "Safety Dance" elect not to wear?
Literature & Arts	Whose 1954 autobiography is titled My Several Worlds?
Geography & Nature	In what country is the Copacabana beach located?
Sports & Games	What American tennis player won the Grand Slam in 1938?

Baseball By the Numbers - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) Arizona Diamondbacks. Chase Field is 1,087 feet above sea level, higher than the Metrodome (Minnesota Twins; 992 feet), Turner Field (Atlanta Braves; 928 feet), and Kauffman Stadium (Kansas City Royals; 877 feet).
• A2) New York Mets and New York Yankees. Citi Field is a mere 9.5 miles from Yankee Stadium, while Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs) is 10.5 miles from U.S. Cellular Field (Chicago White Sox). Despite the creative team naming, Angel Stadium (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) is over 30 miles from Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles Dodgers).
• A3) Seattle Mariners. Safeco Field is 677 miles from Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The Colorado Rockies in Denver are 558 miles from the Kansas City Royals and 586 miles from the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix.
• A4) Los Angeles Dodgers. Dodger Stadium has a capacity of 56,000 people, topping Yankee Stadium (52,325), Coors Field (Colorado Rockies; 50,445), and Turner Field (Atlanta Braves; 50,091).
• A5) Oakland Athletics. Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum has a capacity of only 35,067, below Tropicana Field (Tampa Bay Rays; 36,973), PNC Park (Pittsburgh Pirates; 38,496), LandShark Stadium (Florida Marlins; 38,560, although the team will be moving to Marlins Ballpark, with a capacity of 37,000 in 2012), and Fenway Park (Boston Red Sox; 39,928).
• A6) North Carolina. Ranked #10 as of July 2008 with an estimated population of 9,222,414, North Carolina edges out New Jersey (#11 at 8,682,661) and Virginia (#12 at 7,769,089).
• A7) San Antonio, Texas. With an estimated population of 1,351,305 in July 2008, San Antonio ranks seventh. State mate Dallas also lacks a team and ranks eighth at 1,279,910. San Jose (#10 at 948,279) makes three top-ten cities without a team.
• A8) 4. The Arizona Diamondbacks (Phoenix), Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, and Colorado Rockies (Denver) all have home stadiums in their state capital. In addition, the Toronto Blue Jays play in the capital of the province of Ontario, and the Washington Nationals play in the U.S. capital.
• A9) National League Central and American League West. Because Interleague play is restricted to a few times each year, the American and National Leagues must each have an even number of teams, so despite having 30 total teams, it's not possible to have six divisions with five teams each. The Astros, Brewers, Cardinals, Cubs, Pirates, and Reds each have a slightly lower chance of winning their division, while the Angels, Athletics, Mariners, and Rangers each have a slightly higher chance.
• A10) The bases. It's very close, but each base is a 15-inch square for an area of 225 square inches, while home plate is an irregular pentagon with sides of 17 inches (top), 8.5 inches (left and right sides), and 12 inches (bottom sides meeting at the corner) for an area of 216.5 square inches (17 * 8.5 + 12 * 12 / 2).
• A11) Shortstop. The shortstop, who gets numbered after the third baseman, is number 6 (six).
• A12) 400. Using a direct line to each base would total 360 feet, but making it a circle increases the distance by 39.859 feet. 400 feet is such a pretty number that it equals the distance to the fence in dead centerfield in ten Major League Baseball parks. The average is about 404 feet, thanks mostly to Minute Maid Park (Houston Astros; 435 feet), Comerica Park (Detroit Tigers; 420 feet), and Coors Field (415 feet).

Baseball By the Numbers - Random Trivia Questions

America's pastime is a treasure trove of trivia partly because of its heavy use of statistics, from up-to-the minute season numbers when a player enters the batter's box to box scores to the backs of baseball cards. While this week's questions all involve numbers, most should be reasonably guessable by even casual fans.

Baseball By the Numbers Questions

• Q1) After the Colorado Rockies' Coors Field, which Major League Baseball team's home stadium has the highest elevation?
• Q2) According to Google Maps' driving directions, which two Major League Baseball teams' home stadiums are the closest to each other?
• Q3) As the crow flies, which Major League Baseball team's home stadium is the farthest from any other stadium?
• Q4) Which Major League Baseball team's park can hold the most fans?
• Q5) Which Major League Baseball team's park can hold the fewest fans?
• Q6) What is the most populous U.S. state that is NOT home to a Major League Baseball team?
• Q7) What is the most populous U.S. city that is NOT home to a Major League Baseball team?
• Q8) How many Major League Baseball teams play their home games in a U.S. state capital city?
• Q9) Which Major League Baseball division has six teams, and which division has only four?
• Q10) Which has a larger top surface area, home plate or each of the three bases?
• Q11) In the standard numbering system for fielders, where the pitcher is 1, who is the only fielder whose spelled-out number and position begin with the same letter?
• Q12) If a player literally circled the bases on a home run, how many feet would he trot, within 10 feet?

Stun Daze -- Quiz Quilt 136 Solution

Category Answers:

Entertainment & Food	CABRIOLET	The term "taxi cab" is derived from the same root.
Math & Science	JUPITER	The Titius-Bode law of regular spacing predicts a missing planet that was unable to form due to Jupiter's gravity.
Sports & Games	GARCIA	Spaniard Sergio Garcia defeated Woods 1 up in Palm Desert, California.
Literature & Arts	HELEN	The wife of Menelaus, the king of Sparta, was supposedly the most beautiful woman in the world.
History & Government	PAC	Political Action Committees can spend no more than $5,000 on each candidate per election or primary, $15,000 for each political party, and $5,000 for other PACs.
Geography & Nature	FRANCE	The 38-square-mile tropical Caribbean island lies 150 miles east of Puerto Rico.

Quiz Quilt Answer: TRANCE (Last letters)

Someone who has been stunned into a daze might be in a trance.

Stun Daze -- Quiz Quilt 136 Puzzle

Category Questions:

Entertainment & Food	What Volkswagen model was named after a hackney carriage with two wheels and a folding top?
Math & Science	Which planet is found just outside the asteroid belt?
Sports & Games	Who dueled Tiger Woods at The Battle of Big Horn in August 2000?
Literature & Arts	In Greek mythology, what woman did Paris capture to instigate the Trojan War?
History & Government	What is the acronym for a U.S. organization formed by a corporation, labor union, or association to raise money for political activity?
Geography & Nature	What country shares the island of St. Martin with the Netherlands Antilles?

Star Search - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) Taurus. Aldebaran, the Follower (of the Pleiades), is the Bull's eye.
• A2) Aquila. Altair is one corner of the Summer Triangle with Deneb and Vega.
• A3) Scorpius. Antares is a red supergiant in the Milky Way galaxy with a diameter 800 times as large as our Sun's.
• A4) Bootes. Arcturus, the third brightest star in the sky, is the Guardian of the Bear for its location near Ursus Major, the Bear.
• A5) Carina. Canopus, the second brightest star, can only be seen as far north as San Francisco. It is almost 15,000 times as strong as the sun, but is 316 light-years away.
• A6) Gemini. Castor and Pollux are the twins from Roman mythology. Because Castor's father was the mortal Tyndareus while Pollux's was the immortal Zeus, Pollux asked his father to immortalize Castor when his brother died.
• A7) Cygnus. Deneb is a white supergiant, 60,000 times as strong as the sun but dimmed by being approximately 1,500 light-years away.
• A8) Ursa Minor. The North Star, which is 430 light years distant, is currently 0.7 degrees away from direct north as described by the rotation of the Earth.
• A9) Orion. Rigel, the sixth brightest star (technically a triple star system), is the Hunter's left foot, and Betelgeuse, the ninth brightest star, is the right shoulder.
• A10) Canis Major. Sirius, the brightest star, was named for the Greek seirius, meaning "scorching".
• A11) Virgo. Spica is the 15th brightest star, while Porrima is a double star also known as Arich.
• A12) Lyra. Vega, the fifth brightest star, takes its turn as the North Star every 25,000 years or so.

Star Search - Random Trivia Questions

This week's random quiz isn't about Ed McMahon's talent show that ran on television from 1983 to 1995. It's about much, much bigger stars... the ones up in the sky. Can you identify which constellation each of these stars is located in?

Star Search Questions

• Q1) Aldebaran
• Q2) Altair
• Q3) Antares
• Q4) Arcturus
• Q5) Canopus
• Q6) Castor and Pollux
• Q7) Deneb
• Q8) Polaris
• Q9) Rigel and Betelgeuse
• Q10) Sirius
• Q11) Spica and Porrima
• Q12) Vega

Manfred Man -- Quiz Quilt 135 Solution

Category Answers:

Literature & Arts	ARES	He was the son of Zeus and Hera to the Greeks and the son of Juno and a magical flower or Jupiter to the Romans.
Math & Science	CORNEA	The dense connective tissue helps to refract light and protect the eye.
Sports & Games	SMITS	Rik Smits, a 7'4" Marist graduate, averaged just under 15 points and just over 6 rebounds per game.
Geography & Nature	CATS	House cats are most closely related to desert cats and African wild cats.
Entertainment & Food	ENYA	The single from her Watermark album reached #1 on the pop charts on October 29.
History & Government	MOON	Sun Myung Moon, the founder of the Unification Church, later obliterated his own record with a mass wedding of 360,000 couples in Seoul on August 25, 1995.

Quiz Quilt Answer: ROMANO (Second letters)

Ray Romano gave his voice to Manfred the woolly mammoth in the "Ice Age" movie series.

Manfred Man -- Quiz Quilt 135 Puzzle

Category Questions:

Literature & Arts	In Greek mythology, who was the God of War, known to the Romans as Mars?
Math & Science	What is the transparent outer layer of the front of the eyeball called?
Sports & Games	What Dutchman played center for the Indiana Pacers from 1988 to 2000?
Geography & Nature	What is the common name for the carnivorous mammals of the family Felidae are highly adapted for hunting and devouring their prey?
Entertainment & Food	What singer's first solo hit song was "Orinoco Flow" in 1988?
History & Government	What reverend married off a record 2,200 couples in New York City on July 22, 1982?

A Dozen Cousins - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) [My] Cousin Rachel [Ashley]. Richard Burton won a Golden Globe award as the Most Promising Male Newcomer for his role as Philip Ashley, who suspects Rachel of killing Ambrose, her husband and his cousin.
• A2) Cousin Itt. On paper, he was just "It" but gained a letter for the television version in 1964.
• A3) Cousin Oliver [Tyler]. Shiny blonde, mop-topped Oliver is Carol Brady's brother Jack's son. The series was desperately trying to avoid cancellation by adding a younger character, but the ploy hurt more than it helped.
• A4) Cousin Kevin. Tommy had lost his ability to see, talk, and hear from the trauma of witnessing the murder of his father.
• A5) Cousins Coy and Vance [Duke]. Actors Byron Cherry and Christopher Mayer filled in for almost a full season before the show's real stars returned for two more years.
• A6) Cousin Eddie [Johnson]. Eddie even got his own made-for-TV movie, Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie's Island Adventure, in 2003, but it bombed.
• A7) Cousin Kara [Zor-El]. Helen Slater played the female superhero, who uses the alias Linda Lee.
• A8) Cousin Balki [Bartokomous]. Balki and his cousin are the Perfect Strangers in the 1986 to 1993 television series.
• A9) [My] Cousin Vinny [Gambini]. Vinny is the lawyer cousin of Billy Gambini, played by former Karate Kid Ralph Macchio, who is unexpectedly arrested for murder and robbery with his friend Stan.
• A10) Cousin Bette. Lynn Siefert wrote the screenplay adaptation of Honore de Balzac's 1846 novel, La Cousine Bette.
• A11) Cousin Skeeter. Robert Ri'chard plays Bobby, who learns a lot about life from his puppet cousin.
• A12) Cousin Tony [Blundetto]. Tony had been jailed for 17 years for hijacking a truck and unsuccessfully attempted to reform after being released.