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10/17/2004: Weekend Trivia answers
Got a couple right answers, a "half-right" (well, "right but no extra credit") answer, and a pretty good guess this week. Not bad considering that I'm not offering any sort of prize for this.
1) In the movie The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension, where is the headquarters of defense contractor Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems? What is the significance of that location in U.S. history, and how did the movie tie historic events related to that place to the plot of the movie?
Grover's Mill, New Jersey. Grover's Mill is the location which Orson Welles chose as the location of the Martian attack in his infamous Mercury Theater of the Air "War of the Worlds" broadcast in October of 1938. In the movie, Team Banzai hypothesizes that the Red Lectroids "used" Welles and his broadcast as a smokescreen to cover their invasion of the Earth from their place of exile in the eighth dimension.
2) In 1933, Will Rogers made a memorable mistake when he was hosting the Academy Awards ("Oscars") that year, and it came time to hand out the Oscar for Best Director. What happened?
Both Frank Lloyd and Frank Capra had been nominated for the Director Oscar. When he opened the envelope, Rogers simply shouted, "Come and get it, Frank!" Both Lloyd and Capra came up to the stage, to the embarassment of Frank Capra, who was not the winner.
3) November 19, 1999 was a special day. Why?
11/19/1999 was the last date for more than 1,000 years which is numerically expressed in all odd numbers.
4) In the movie Rocky, during a news conference prior to his match with Apollo Creed, Rocky Balboa was asked by a reporter to "say something derogatory" about the champ. What did Rocky say to dis Creed?
"He's great."
5) It's Good Friday evening. You're at a theater. On stage, an actor delivers the line, "You sock-dologizing old mantrap!", and then there's a pause for a big laugh. What happens next?
There is a gunshot, then a man jumps from one of the boxes while shouting, "Sic semper tyrannus!", gets tangled in a flag, and falls to the stage, breaking his leg. You're at Ford's Theater in Washington, DC, it's April 14, 1865, and you were present at the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Of course, I would have accepted "President Lincoln is assassinated."
6) What was weird about the New York Times's obituary of Bob Hope?
It was written by Vincent Canby, who had himself died about two and a half years before Hope did.
7) What is the deadliest animal in the United States? In the world? (i.e., what animals are responsible for the most human deaths in the U.S., and worldwide?)
In the U.S., deer (car collisions). Worldwide, the mosquito (from various mosquito-borne illnesses).
8) These two master spies combined to make up 185 while remaining in control. Who are they?
Maxwell Smart (Agent 86) and Agent 99 of CONTROL (86 + 99 = 185, get it?), in TV's Get Smart, of course. Incidentally, the closest thing to a "real name" that Agent 99 ever got in the series was "Mrs. Smart", which a few people called her after her marriage to Max. Some trivia sources state that her "real" name was "Susan Hilton", but that was only an alias she used in one episode. 99 went through the entire series run unnamed (other than as "Agent 99", of course).
9) What do Superman, Moses, and Cabbage Patch Dolls have in common?
They are all adopted.
10) Who is the proofreader in the comic strip "Dilbert"?
Anne L. Retentive
11) It's probably the rarest defensive play in baseball; it's only been turned 12 times in major league history, the last time on August 10, 2003 by Rafael Furcal of the Atlanta Braves in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals. What is it? (For a very large amount of extra credit to be determined, describe how Furcal accomplished it.)
The unassisted triple play. In Furcal's case, STL catcher Mike Matheny was on second, outfielder Orlando Palmiero was on first, and pitcher Woody Williams was batting in the Cardinals' half of the fifth inning. Woody lined a shot directly at Furcal for the first out as the runners broke; Furcal then stepped on second to force out Matheny and managed to tag out Palmiero before he could return to first. (Yes, I was watching the game (which was being broadcast as ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball, as I recall) when it happened.)
12) The "Razzies" are the anti-Oscars of filmdom; they exist to acknowledge the worst movies and performances of the year. Only two Razzie winners have actually shown up at the ceremony to receive their awards in person. Who are they?
Paul Verhoeven, who won the Worst Director Razzie of 1995 for Showgirls, and Tom Green, who picked up 4 Razzies for perpetrating Freddie Got Fingered.
13) Gary Hoy was a well-respected Toronto lawyer who died in an extremely stupid fashion. How did he shuffle off this mortal coil?
On July 9, 1993 (my 36th birthday, incidentally), while giving some law students a tour of the offices of the Toronto law firm where he was employed, Hoy decided to demonstrate the strength of the windows in the office space by hurling himself at one of them, something he'd done a number of times previously. However, that day, the window gave way, and Hoy plunged 24 stories to his death.
14) Given that the classic cult horror film Halloween is set in a small town in Illinois, anyone who's a car buff might notice a glaring continuity error. What might that be?
All the automobiles in the film had California license plates.
15) A well known fictional character boasts that his experience with women "extends over many nations and three continents", a fact which would surprise most of us. Who is this unlikely stud?
John H. Watson, M.D., the chronicler of Sherlock Holmes's many adventures.
16) Only one actor in Mel Brooks's 1976 film, Silent Movie has a spoken line. Who? For extra credit, what is the line?
Noted French mime Marcel Marceau. His line is "No!"
17) The opening voiceover begins: "A shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a man who does not exist: a young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless, the powerless, in a world of criminals who operate above the law." What show are we watching?
Knight Rider
18) One for BSTommy: Who is the largest person ever to compete in professional sports? (Hint: He also had a brief career as an actor.)
Wrestler Andre the Giant
19) In 1957, Lloyd's of London would have charged you a premium of US$74 to insure you against a rather unlikely accidental death. What would have had to happen for you to have collected under this policy?
You would have had to be killed by Sputnik falling from orbit.
20) He was born in Scotland in the 1860s, started making money in a Montana copper mine, and ultimately his fortune would be estimated at $1 multiplijillion, 9 obsquatumatillian, 623.62. Who is he?
Scrooge McDuck
Len on 10.17.04 @ 08:24 PM CST
