Trivia Why's: December 2010

Friday, December 31, 2010

Category Questions:

History & Government	Who was William Henry Harrison's Vice President, who became President when he died early in his first term?
Literature & Arts	What English author wrote the tetralogy The Once and Future King from 1938 to 1958?
Math & Science	What British scientist's book Principles of Geology became the basis of modern day geology?
Entertainment & Food	What European plant of the carrot family has pungent, aromatic leaves and seeds that are used for pickling?
Geography & Nature	What is the calm part in the center of a hurricane?
Sports & Games	Who is the only player besides Michael Jordan and Larry Bird to retire from the NBA after averaging over 20 points in his final season?

Category Answers:

Entertainment & Food	MARCEAU	Marcel Marceau's character sported a dented, silk hat and a red flower.
Sports & Games	DICICCO	Tony DiCicco, Anson Dorrance's successor, quietly stepped down to spend time with his family after the team won the 1999 World Championship.
Math & Science	CERVICAL	The Latin cervic means "neck".
History & Government	STANLEY	David Livingstone's response to Henry Stanley was, "You have brought me new life", as he was running out of supplies near Lake Tanganyika. The New York Times financed Stanley's trip.
Literature & Arts	BATSON	C.C. Beck and Bill Parker created Billy Batson in 1940. There have been several other superheroes called Captain Marvel, not surprisingly including some from Marvel Comics.
Geography & Nature	JAKARTA	Jakarta, Indonesia's name had been Jayakarta from 1527 until 1619 and was renamed Jakarta by the Japanese when they occupied it during World War II.

Quiz Quilt Answer: ACCENT (Sixth letters)

Accent is a brand of food seasoning whose main ingredient is monosodium glutamate, and an accent on a syllable is a stress.

Category Questions:

Entertainment & Food	What French mime was known for his sad-faced clown character Bip?
Sports & Games	Who was the U.S. women's soccer head coach who resigned on November 3, 1999?
Math & Science	What medical adjective describes the vertebrae located highest on the spine?
History & Government	What explorer was famous for his line, "Dr. Livingstone, I presume"?
Literature & Arts	What is the secret identity of comic strip and movie character Captain Marvel?
Geography & Nature	What is the current name of the city formerly known as Batavia?

Category Answers:

Entertainment & Food	BEST	The group dismissed Pete Best on August 16, 1962 for musical reasons.
Literature & Arts	BYRON	Lord Byron penned "She Walks in Beauty" in 1814, after seeing his cousin, Lady Anne Wilmot Horton, in her mourning dress.
Math & Science	AMERICIUM	The alpha radiation from the radioactive americium-241 passes through an ionization chamber where the presence of smoke would interrupt its flow.
Sports & Games	IRVIN	Former University of Miami star Michael Irvin had set school receiving records for career catches, yards, and touchdowns and contributed to a national title in 1987.
History & Government	THINK	Thomas Watson had first issued the directive when he was working for NCR three years earlier.
Geography & Nature	MIDWAY	Since the last Navy personnel left in 1997, the islands have served mostly as a National Wildlife Refuge.

Quiz Quilt Answer: DIVERS (Third letters going up)

"Divers" is an alternate spelling of "diverse", and Olympic divers hope to spin their way to gold medals.

Category Questions:

Entertainment & Food	Who was the original drummer for the Beatles that Ringo Starr replaced?
Literature & Arts	What poet wrote, "She walks in beauty, like the night of cloudless climes and starry skies"?
Math & Science	What chemical element is usually used in ionization smoke detectors?
Sports & Games	What Dallas Cowboys wide receiver was suspended for five games in 1996 for a felony cocaine conviction?
History & Government	What has been IBM's one-word motto since 1914?
Geography & Nature	What is the two-square-mile atoll, located in the Hawaiian group of islands, that is part of the U.S. but not incorporated into Hawaii?

Category Answers:

Entertainment & Food	DNA	Vega's company bought the originally unauthorized song and made a video for it.
Literature & Arts	POE	Edgar Allan Poe's short stories have terrified readers since the 1840s.
History & Government	UTAH	The Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads joined their tracks in the town of Promontory.
Geography & Nature	ROMANIA	The historic region is now a province in central and western Romania.
Math & Science	ERNST	The Austrian physicist established the principles of supersonics and devised the Mach number in 1887.
Sports & Games	SPITZ	Californian Mark Spitz only came home with two but would go on to greater glory in 1972, taking home a then-record seven gold medals.

Quiz Quilt Answer: PROTON (Second letters going up)

The nucleus of an atom contains charge-neutral neutrons and positive protons.

Category Questions:

Entertainment & Food	What British duo remixed Suzanne Vega's original a capella version of "Tom's Diner" and hit the charts in 1990?
Literature & Arts	What author mastered the art of suspense in "The Pit and the Pendulum" and "The Tell-Tale Heart"?
History & Government	In which future state was the last spike driven in to complete the U.S. Transcontinental Railroad on May 10, 1869?
Geography & Nature	In what country is Transylvania located?
Math & Science	What is the first name of the physicist for whom Mach speed is named?
Sports & Games	What American swimmer predicted he would win six gold medals during the 1968 Olympics?

Category Answers:

Literature & Arts	MATISSE	Over 100,000 visitors had viewed Henri Matisse's inverted paper-cut boat and its reflection. The Frenchman had taken up art while recovering from an appendicitis operation.
History & Government	ACTIQ	Cephalon verbosely calls its product a "medicated, mild berry-flavored lozenge that is attached to a handle".
Math & Science	KURU	Some scientists believe the disease was often transmitted when cannibals ate infected human brain tissue.
Entertainment & Food	CHARLES	"The Fix-Up" episode in 1992 earned Larry Charles his first Emmy, shared with Elaine Pope.
Sports & Games	ASHLEY	Players from the continent of Africa had become grandmasters before Maurice Ashley, but none of them were black.
Geography & Nature	HOUSTON	The code is short for Intercontinental Airport of Houston, which was renamed George Bush International Airport in 1997.

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

Squash is both a fruit related to the gourd and a racket sport played in a walled room.

Category Questions:

Literature & Arts	What artist's Le Bateau hung upside down in the New York Museum of Modern Art for 47 days in 1961?
History & Government	What prescription pain killer was approved for cancer patients in 1998 and is dispensed as raspberry flavored lollipops?
Math & Science	What fatal disease of the central nervous system is commonly known as Laughing Sickness?
Entertainment & Food	Who was the two-time, Emmy-winning Seinfeld writer who became executive producer of Mad About You?
Sports & Games	What U.S. chess player became the world's first black grandmaster on March 15, 1999?
Geography & Nature	What U.S. city's three-letter airport code is IAH?