1903 - Coney Island has decided to execute a violent elephant named Topsy, so Thomas Edison volunteers to electrocute Topsy with 6,000 volts of alternating current--part of his ongoing campaign to discredit AC in favor of his own system, direct current. This incident is the source of Edison's famous maxim "Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-two percent perspiration, and seven percent execution of elephants."
1. Who called his elephant "Tantor"?
2. Which chess piece was originally called "the elephant"?
3. What late-breaking news story kicked Dumbo off the cover of Time Magazine six weeks after the elephant cartoon release?
4. Surus (The Syrian) who had a broken tusk, was the standout among whose elephants?
5. Who is worshiped by Ganapatya Hindus as the supreme god?
6. What's the only land mammal taller than the elephant?
7. What 1979 hit was the first song featuring a marching band ever to make the Billboard Top Ten?
8. Who produced the movie The Elephant Man, casting his wife in a lead role and hiring director David Lynch, but insisted on going without screen credit to avoid confusing audiences?
9. What White Stripes hit, off their album Elephant, is titled after singer Jack White's childhood name for a well-known religions organization?
10. Who married his own cousin Celeste in an elaborate 1931 ceremony?
11. Of the three substances that make up your teeth--enamel, dentin, and pulp--which is elephant ivory made of?
12. What word comes to us from the Greek for "thick-skinned"?
13. Which SEC college football team uses an elephant as its mascot?
14. What two Republicans are the only U. S. presidents ever to serve a full eight years as vice president as well?
15. What country's highest decoration is the Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant?
2004 - The Mars rover Spirit lands on the red planet's Gusev crater and begins taking the highest-resolution pictures ever taken on any planet but this one.
In what movie do these actors play ghosts?
16. Bruce Willis
17. Alec Baldwin
18. Nicole Kidman
19. Cary Grant
20. Ray Liotta
21. Rex Harrison
22. Alan Rickman
23. Carol Kane
24. Daveigh Chase
25. Michelle Pfeiffer
26. Jake Busey
27. Charles Laughton
28. Paul Scofield
29. Vincent Schiavelli
30. Ian McShane
Answers:
1. Tarzan
2. The Bishop
3. Pearl Harbor
4. Hannibal
5. Ganesh
6. The giraffe
7. Tusk, by Fleetwood Mac
8. Mel Brooks
9. Seven Nation Army - for the Salvation Army
10. Babar
11. Dentin
12. Pachyderm
13. The Alabama Crimson Tide
14. Richard Nixon and George H. W. Bush
15. Thailand
16. The Sixth Sense
17. Beetlejuice
18. The others
19. Topper
20. Field of Dreams
21. The Ghost and MRs. Muir
22. Truly, Madly, Deeply
23. Scrooged
24. The Ring
25. To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday
26. The Frighteners
27. The Canterville Ghost
28. Hamlet
29. Ghost
30. Scoop
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Avia-Tricks/Ho Ho Ho 1-3
1496 - Leonardo Da Vinci tests a flying machine of his own invention, an "ornithopter" with flapping batlike wings, but the idea fails to get off the ground.
1. Which two U.S. states salute the Wright brothers on their license plates?
2. What modern-day conglomerate built the Zero Fighter planes used to bomb Pearl Harbor?
3. In what city did Charles Lindbergh take his first piloting job, flying the mail?
4. What even inspired Herbert Morrison's famous quote "Oh, the humanity!"?
5. What record-breaking pilot discovered the jet stream in his plane the Winne Mae?
1863 - Political cartoonist Thomas Nast publishes his first illustration of Santa Claus in the pages of Harper's Weekly. Our popular image of Santa today springs directly from Nast's work.
6. What branch of the Armed Forces first popularized the phrase "gung ho"?
7. HO scale is the world's most popular size of what?
8. What Devon town, named for a Charles Kingsley novel, is the only place in Britain that ends with an exclamation point?
9. What song about a glass of wine is Don Ho's signature tune?
10. What do Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Liz Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly have in common?
1988 - Margaret Thatcher becomes the longest-ruling British prime minister of the twentieth century, surpassing Herbert Asquit.
Answers:
1. Ohio and North Carolina
2. Mitsubishi
3.St. Louis
4. The Hindenburg explosion
5. Wiley Post
6. The Marines
7. Model railroad
8. Westward Ho!
9. Tiny Bubbles
10. They were killed by Jack the Ripper
1. Which two U.S. states salute the Wright brothers on their license plates?
2. What modern-day conglomerate built the Zero Fighter planes used to bomb Pearl Harbor?
3. In what city did Charles Lindbergh take his first piloting job, flying the mail?
4. What even inspired Herbert Morrison's famous quote "Oh, the humanity!"?
5. What record-breaking pilot discovered the jet stream in his plane the Winne Mae?
1863 - Political cartoonist Thomas Nast publishes his first illustration of Santa Claus in the pages of Harper's Weekly. Our popular image of Santa today springs directly from Nast's work.
6. What branch of the Armed Forces first popularized the phrase "gung ho"?
7. HO scale is the world's most popular size of what?
8. What Devon town, named for a Charles Kingsley novel, is the only place in Britain that ends with an exclamation point?
9. What song about a glass of wine is Don Ho's signature tune?
10. What do Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Liz Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly have in common?
1988 - Margaret Thatcher becomes the longest-ruling British prime minister of the twentieth century, surpassing Herbert Asquit.
Answers:
1. Ohio and North Carolina
2. Mitsubishi
3.St. Louis
4. The Hindenburg explosion
5. Wiley Post
6. The Marines
7. Model railroad
8. Westward Ho!
9. Tiny Bubbles
10. They were killed by Jack the Ripper
Breeder's Digest/Major Issues/Dammed If I Know - 1-2
1834 - Louis Dobermann, the tax collector and dog pound owner (there's a popular guy!) for whom the pinscher will be named, is born in Germany.
1. For his tenacity, nineteenth-century biologist Thomas Huxley was nicknamed whose "bulldog"?
2. Ironically, German shepherds now do the rescue work at what historic Alpine hospice?
3. What detective would have made his eighth appearance in Raymond Chandler's unfinished novel Poodle Springs?
4. Who was coached the UConn Huskies to two national titles and an undefeated Final Four record?
5. On what PBS TV show did the Bloodhound Gang solve mysteries?
6. What two U.S. states border Mexico's largest state, Chihuahua?
7. What 1995 album did Billy Corgan describe as "The Wall for Generation X"?
8. What nation was forced to sign the Boxer Protocol in 1901?
9. The name of what nineteenth-century parson and avid hunter is still remembered today thanks to his beloved pet terrier Trump?
10. Where did the Beagle 2 crash and disappear on Christmas Day 2003?
1928 - Stuck in a slow news week and still embarrassed to have left Charles Lindbergh off their cover following his famous transatlantic flight, the editors of Time institute an ad hoc "Man of the Year"award , awarding the first one to Lindy.
11. In 1989, what fifty-nine-year-old became people's oldest Sexiest Man Alive ever?
12. Who's the only two-time Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year , so name din 1996 and 2000?
13. What magazine gives out the "Golden Clippers" to its Car of the Year Winner?
14. Who beat our FDR and Gandhi to be named Person of the Century in 1999?
15. Who's the only Playboy Playmate of the Year also to make the cover of Rolling Stone?
1961 - Caltech students perform one of history's greatest pranks, on national TV at the Rose Bowl. By infiltrating the Washington cheer squad, the pranksters sabotage a routine in which giant images were to be displayed on thousands of flip cards held by the crowd. The word "Caltech" replaces "Washington", and UW's Husky Mascot was replaced by the Caltech beaver.
16. What city's Summer Olympics had the beaver Amik as their mascot?
17. In Airplane, Barbara "June Cleaver" Billingsley proves to be fluent in what language?
18. The Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver were the three ships on which what famous event from American History occurred?
19. What's the only college football team whose home stadium is larger than Penn State's Beaver Stadium?
20. The beaver is North America's largest rodent. What South American animal is the world's largest?
Answers:
1. Darwin's
2. The hospice of Saint Bernard
3. Philip Marlowe
4. Jim Calhoun
5. 3-2-1 Contact
6. Texas and New Mexico
7. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
8. China
9. Jack Russell
10. Mars
11. Sean Connery
12. Tiger Woods
13. Motor Trend
14. Albert Einstein
15. Jenny McCarthy
16. Montreal's
17. Jive
18. The Boston Tea Party
19. Michigan
20. The capybara
1. For his tenacity, nineteenth-century biologist Thomas Huxley was nicknamed whose "bulldog"?
2. Ironically, German shepherds now do the rescue work at what historic Alpine hospice?
3. What detective would have made his eighth appearance in Raymond Chandler's unfinished novel Poodle Springs?
4. Who was coached the UConn Huskies to two national titles and an undefeated Final Four record?
5. On what PBS TV show did the Bloodhound Gang solve mysteries?
6. What two U.S. states border Mexico's largest state, Chihuahua?
7. What 1995 album did Billy Corgan describe as "The Wall for Generation X"?
8. What nation was forced to sign the Boxer Protocol in 1901?
9. The name of what nineteenth-century parson and avid hunter is still remembered today thanks to his beloved pet terrier Trump?
10. Where did the Beagle 2 crash and disappear on Christmas Day 2003?
1928 - Stuck in a slow news week and still embarrassed to have left Charles Lindbergh off their cover following his famous transatlantic flight, the editors of Time institute an ad hoc "Man of the Year"award , awarding the first one to Lindy.
11. In 1989, what fifty-nine-year-old became people's oldest Sexiest Man Alive ever?
12. Who's the only two-time Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year , so name din 1996 and 2000?
13. What magazine gives out the "Golden Clippers" to its Car of the Year Winner?
14. Who beat our FDR and Gandhi to be named Person of the Century in 1999?
15. Who's the only Playboy Playmate of the Year also to make the cover of Rolling Stone?
1961 - Caltech students perform one of history's greatest pranks, on national TV at the Rose Bowl. By infiltrating the Washington cheer squad, the pranksters sabotage a routine in which giant images were to be displayed on thousands of flip cards held by the crowd. The word "Caltech" replaces "Washington", and UW's Husky Mascot was replaced by the Caltech beaver.
16. What city's Summer Olympics had the beaver Amik as their mascot?
17. In Airplane, Barbara "June Cleaver" Billingsley proves to be fluent in what language?
18. The Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver were the three ships on which what famous event from American History occurred?
19. What's the only college football team whose home stadium is larger than Penn State's Beaver Stadium?
20. The beaver is North America's largest rodent. What South American animal is the world's largest?
Answers:
1. Darwin's
2. The hospice of Saint Bernard
3. Philip Marlowe
4. Jim Calhoun
5. 3-2-1 Contact
6. Texas and New Mexico
7. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
8. China
9. Jack Russell
10. Mars
11. Sean Connery
12. Tiger Woods
13. Motor Trend
14. Albert Einstein
15. Jenny McCarthy
16. Montreal's
17. Jive
18. The Boston Tea Party
19. Michigan
20. The capybara
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
The Appellation Trail/Division Day - 1-1
1953 - J. D. Salinger moves to remote Cornish, New Hampshire, and is, for the most part, never seen again. Once asked what his initials stood for, Salinger said, "Juvenile delinquent."
1. What running back won the biggest landslide in Heisman voting history, beating Leroy Keyes of Purdue by 1,750 points?
2. What then struggling English teacher did Portuguese TV journalist Jorge Arantes divorce in 1993?
3. What Canadian singer appeared on the first cover of Entertainment Weekly?
4. Who got his beloved New Mexico ranch in exchange for the original manuscript of his novel Sons and Lovers?
5. Who set most of his most famous book in the year A.D. 802,701?
6. Who was already Gilda Radner's ex-husband when he was hired as bandleader as Saturday Night Live in 1980?
7. Who collaborated with James Thurber on Is Sex Necessary? before turning to more family-friendly books?
8. Who replaced John Paxson as Chicago Bulls point guard and was later replaced by him as the Bulls' general manager?
9. What playwright's friendship with Sylvia Llewelyn-Davie's fmaily inspired a 2004 movie?
10. Who has performed marriages for both Corey Feldman and Vince Neil?
1993 - Czechoslovakia is no more, dividing peacefully--and syllabically! --into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Any other countries with long, tongue-twisting names want to help us out by doing the same? I'm looking at you, Trinidad and Tobago.
11. What book is divided into 114 chapters called "suras"?
12. What process is divided into four parts: prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase?
13. What are divided by Botts' dots?
14. What nation is divided into twenty-six cantons, each of which was an independent state until 1848?
15. What is divided into the duodenum, the jejunum, and the ileum?
16. What movie is divided into chapters bearing title cards that include "The Gold Watch"and "The Bonnie Situation"?
17. The Carboniferous period, 300 million years ago, is divided into two epochs with the names of U.S. states. What two states?
18. What had Adams, Norris, Patrick, and Smythe divisions prior to 1993?
19. What nation is divided in two by the Cook Strait?
20. What incendiary novel is divided into three sections: "The Hearth and the Salamander,""The Sieve and the Sand,"and "Burning Bright"?
21. What kind of sporting event is divided into chukkas?
22. What line of latitude was chosen as the boundary between North and South Korea after WWII?
23. What "hip-hopera"did R. Kelly divide into twenty-two serialized chapters?
24. Excepting Alaska and Louisiana, what U. S. state is divided into the fewest counties, with only three?
25. Into how many numbered sections is a dartboard divided?
Answers:
1. O.J. Simpson
2. J. K. Rowling
3. k. d. lang
4. D. H. Lawrence
5. H. G. Wells
6. G. E. Smith
7. E. B. White
8. B. J. Armstrong
9. J. M Barrie's
10. M. C. Hammer
11. The Qur 'an
12. Cell mitosis
13. Highway lanes
14. Switzerland
15. The small intestine
16. Pulp Fiction
17. Pennsylvania and Mississippi
18. The NHL
19. New Zealand
20. Fahrenheit 451
21. A polo match
22. The Thirty-eight Parallel
23. Trapped in the Closet
24. Delaware
25. Twenty
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