12 Days of Christmas - Random Trivia Answers

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

12 Days of Christmas - Random Trivia Questions

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

12 Days of Christmas Questions

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

Season's Seconds - Random Trivia Answers

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

Season's Seconds - Random Trivia Questions

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

Season's Seconds Questions

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

Holiday Quiz - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) Eggnog. Randy Brooks wrote the song but sold the rights to Elmo and Patsy Shropshire for $500 in 1979 when his own band wouldn't let him record it.
  
• A2) Chevy Chase. The comedic actor first played the role in Vacation in 1983, repeated it in European Vacation in 1985, and finished off with Vegas Vacation in 1997.
  
• A3) Mariah Carey. Along with classics such as "Silent Night" and "Joy to the World", she also covered "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town".
  
• A4) Rod Carew. The infamous rhyming couplet is, "O.J. Simpson: not a Jew! But guess who is... Hall of Famer Rod Carew." Actually, the infielder's wife and children are Jewish, but he never converted to the religion.
  
• A5) An old, silk hat. In the 1969 television special, a magician's top hat did the trick.
  
• A6) Thomas Nast. The cartoonist created the image in 1863 for Harper's Weekly magazine.
  
• A7) Kwanzaa. Dr. Ron "Maulana" Karenga scheduled the African American celebration to run from the day after Christmas through New Year's Day.
  
• A8) Vince Guaraldi. Producer Lee Mendelson discovered the jazz pianist's music on the radio while driving across the Golden Gate Bridge one day. On his Linus & Lucy album in 1996, George Winston was playing Vince Guaraldi playing Schroeder playing Beethoven.
  
• A9) The Nutcracker. The first scene begins with a Christmas party at the Stahlbaums' house.
  
• A10) Irving Berlin. He almost immediately claimed that it was the "best song that anybody's ever written", and Bing Crosby's rendition proved him right, having sold a record 50 million copies.
  
• A11) Nine. They're right between the eight maids-a-milking and the ten lords-a-leaping.
  
• A12) Scrooged. Not only did Bill Murray star as executive Frank Cross, his three brothers John, Brian, and Joel also made appearances.

Happy Holidays from the Trivia Why's Guy!

Holiday Quiz - Random Trivia Questions

Seasons greetings! The following questions are mostly about Christmas, but other December holidays are also represented.

Holiday Quiz Questions

• Q1) According to the song, what was Grandma drinking when she got run over by a reindeer?
  
• Q2) What actor starred as Clark W. Griswold, Jr. in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation in 1989?
  
• Q3) What singer's 1994 Merry Christmas album includes the hit "All I Want for Christmas Is You"?
  
• Q4) What Major League Baseball player does Adam Sandler mention in "The Hanukkah Song"?
  
• Q5) What object brought Frosty the Snowman to life in the original song?
  
• Q6) What artist first drew a jolly, red-suited Santa Claus?
  
• Q7) What winter holiday did a Long Beach State University professor create in 1966?
  
• Q8) What composer and pianist created the music for the Peanuts special A Charlie Brown Christmas?
  
• Q9) What holiday ballet did Peter Tchaikovsky compose in 1892?
  
• Q10) Who composed the all-time most popular Christmas song "White Christmas"?
  
• Q11) How many ladies are dancing in the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas"?
  
• Q12) What 1988 A Christmas Carol movie variant starred Bill Murray?