Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) This former Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast later went on to star as Peter Pan on Broadway? Who was it?

2) Who was the first woman to race in the Indianapolis 500?

3) What was the name of the Wright Brother's plane?

4) In ancient Egypt, it was a capital offense to kill this animal.

Answers:

1) Cathy Rigby, a gold medalist at the 1972 Olympics, began playing the role in a touring company in 1974, then played the role on Broadway in the 1990s. She is presently set to revive the role again - at age 58 - in a touring production scheduled for this fall.

2) Janet Guthrie was the first to compete in the Indianapolis 500 (in 1977). Danica Patrick was the first to win an Indy race, having done so at the 2008 Indy Japan race.

3) Flyer

4) It was a capital offense to kill a cat.

Alan Rock's Trivia

Questions:

1) When asked if there was anything she didn't play, what female athlete replied, "Yeah, dolls."

2) The founders of Portland, Oregon chose the name by flipping a coin. If the coin had come up on the other side, what would Portland be named?

3) Why is the monarch butterfly never eaten?

4) What happened to London Bridge?

Answers:

1) Babe Didrikson.

2) Boston.

3) It's poisonous.

4) The famed London Bridge, which spanned the River Thames for almost 140 years from the 1830s until 1968, now connects Arizona's Lake Havasu City's mainland and island. The bridge survived a terrorist attack in 1884 and bombing from Germany in both world wars; but it could not withstand the forces of nature, as it was sinking into the Thames River's clay bottom.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) What was baseball player Ty Cobb's jersey number?

2) On this date in 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was signed. What did that document accomplish?

3) Who was the founder of the company that experimented with flash freezing in order to preserve food while using minimal ice crystals?

4) Who was the first to design and build a mechanical ventilating fan?

Answers:

1) Trick question! There weren't any numbers on players' jerseys until the 1930s.

2) It effectively ended World War I.

3) Clarence Birdseye.

4) Leonardo da Vinci

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Today, June 27TH, marks the 1949 television debut of Captain Video and His Video Rangers. Who was the star?

2) Who is the oldest major leaguer to hit a grand slam?

3) On this date in 1950, an 8-pound bear cub that had been seriously burned in a forest fire was transferred to the National Zoo in Washington, DC, where he lived to the ripe old age of 26. The firemen who saved him nicknamed him "Hot Foot Teddy," but he became better known as who?

4) This cough drop company was sold to Hershey Foods in 1986.

Answers:

1) Richard Coogan. Guest "villains" included appearances by Jack Klugman and Tony Randall (pre-Odd Couple).

2) Julio Franco. In a single game, he hit a grand slam, a pinch-hit home run,two regular home runs, and stole two bases to boot!

3) Smokey the Bear

4) Founded by William H. Luden, Luden's was sold to Hershey Foods in 1986.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) What was the first Beatles song to reach #1 on the country charts?

2) What was the first network television western-themed program?

3) Which river is the longest river in the world?

Answers:

1) Rosanne Cash's cover of the Beatles' "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party" charted number 1 on the country charts. The original hit #1 on the pop charts.

2) Hopalong Cassidy, starring William Boyd and Edgar Buchanan. The show debuted on this date in 1949.

3) The length of a river can be very difficult to calculate; as a result the lengths reported are ultimately only approximations. There is disagreement, for example, over whether the Nile or the Amazon is longer. The Nile is traditionally considered to be the longest but recent scholarship suggests the Amazon could be longer.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Which fictional character is the most-portrayed character in films?

2) Which president was sworn into office by his own father?

3) The U.S. cereal industry uses enough sugar every year to cover each American with how much sugar?

4) Which president died less than one mile from the house where he was born?

Answers:

1) Sherlock Holmes

2) Calvin Coolidge

3) 3 pounds

4) Lyndon Baines Johnson

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) M&Ms is the American version of a U.K. candy that goes by what brand name?

2) Whose nickname was "Leo the Lip"?

3) Humans aren't the only mammals able to recognize their own reflection in a mirror. What other species can do this?

4) Of these thre important documents, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Mayflower Compact, which document had the most signers?

Answers:

1) "Smarties"

2) Leo Ernest Durocher

3) Great apes, bottlenose dolphins, orca whales, elephants and European magpies can recognize their own reflections.

4) The Declaration of Independence was signed by 56 people. The Mayflower Compact was signed by 41 and the Constitution was signed by 39, not including William Jackson, who signed merely as a witness to the other signatures.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) What was the Glenn Miller Orchestra's theme song?

2) Which president was nicknamed "Old Sink-or-Swim"?

3) What did Merv Griffin, Ted Knight, Ernest Borgnine, Soupy Sales and Adam West all have in common?

4) Which famous author said this about Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn:"All American writing comes from that. There was nothing before; there has been nothing as good since."?

Answers:

1) "Moonlight Serenade"

2) John Adams

3) They all started their careers as local television station's children's show hosts.

4) Ernest Hemingway

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Two signers of the Constitution went on to serve as presidents. Who were they?

2) What is the nation's oldest newspaper that is still in publication?

3) Glenn Miller co-wrote "Room 1411" with which other famous band leader?

4) How many people signed both the Declaration and the Constitution?

Answers:

1) George Washington, who was president of the Constitutional Convention, and James Madison. Both men were from Virginia.

2) The answer is a bit complicated. The New York Post, established on November 16, 1801 as the New York Evening Post, describes itself as the nation's oldest continuously published daily paper. The Hartford Courant was founded in 1764 as a semi-weekly paper, then began publishing daily in 1836. It describes itself as the nation's oldest continuously published newspaper. The New Hampshire Gazette has trademarked its claim of "The Nation's Oldest Newspaper." It was founded in 1756 as a weekly publication. Since the 1890's it has been strictly a weekend paper.

3) Benny Goodman. Miller was playing with Ben Pollack's band in 1928 when he and Goodman wrote "Room 1411." Glenn and Benny also played together in the pit orchestras for Broadway shows Strike Up the Band and Girl Crazy.

4) Six people signed both the Declaration of Independencee and the Constitution.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Whose nickname was "Rapid Robert" or "The Heater from Van Meter"?

2) Deep Hollow Ranch is the country's oldest cattle ranch that's still in operation. Where is it located?

3) Barry Manilow worked as an accompanist for what singer?

4) What is the proper term for a bunch of bananas?

Answers:

1) The Cleveland Indians' Bob Feller.

2) Montauk, NY. Deep Hollow Ranch has been in operation since the 1800's.

3) Bette Midler

4) A bunch of bananas is a hand. A single banana is a finger.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) According to Roper Starch Worldwide, what do most U.S. adults consider to be the most important product to have been introduced in the 20th century?

2) Who was the first president to be inaugurated in Washington, D.C.?

3) On this date in 1995, Batman Forever opened in movie theaters. Who played The Riddler?

4) This president was the first Rhodes Scholar.

Answers:

1) 83% say the computer, 9% the telephone, and 5% the television.

2) Thomas Jefferson

3) Jim Carrey

4) Bill Clinton

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) For what purpose were screwdrivers first used?

2) What color clothing is best for deflecting heat?

3) In hot weather you should avoid eating foods that are high in what?

4) Which president was the first to have also served as Speaker of the House?

Answers:

1) Screwdrivers were first used to secure knights in their armor.

2) White

3) Protein

4) James J. Polk

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) How many of the top ten best-selling hardcover books of all time were written by Dr. Seuss?

2) What is unique about the leaders of elephant herds?

3) The hoary bat and monk seal share a Hawaiian connection. What is it?

4) Who was the first U.S. president to broadcast a message on the radio?

Answers:

1) Four: The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, Hop on Pop, and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Blue Fish.

2) Females are the leaders

3) They are two mammals that are native only to Hawaii.

4) Warren G. Harding, who broadcast on this date in 1922, dedicatiing the Francis Scott Key Memorial in Baltimore.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Which worldwide organization was founded by two friends, Dr. Robert Smith and William G. Wilson, on this date in 1935?

2) The first television debate between vice-presidential candidates was held in 1976. Who were the candidates?

3) Who was the first African-American to win an Oscar?

4) Of commonly used words, which is the longest word typed only using the left hand? With the right hand?

5) Which four words end in "_dous"?

6) Who invented scissors?

7) What common word in the English language ends in "_mt"?

Answers:

1) Alcoholics Anonymous

2) Walter Mondale and Bob Dole

3) Hattie McDaniel won for her role in Gone With the Wind.

4) left hand: stewardesses; right hand: lollipop

5) stupendous, horrendous, tremendous, hazardous

6) Scissors were first devised in ancient Egypt, dating back to 1500, BCE, however, Leonardo da Vinci is credited with inventing scissors as we know them today.

7) dreamt

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Who transformed popular music by inventing the modern solid-body electric guitar?

2) This cartoon character made his screen debut in The Little Wise Hen on this date in 1934. Who was he?

3) Who was the first U.S. president to appear on a coin?

4) Who was the first U.S. president to make a live coast-to-coast television broadcast?

Answers:

1) It's birthday boy, Les Paul; he turned 96 years old today.

2) Donald Duck

3) Abraham Lincoln

4) Harry Truman in 1951.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Pepperoni is the most popular pizza topping in the U.S. Which is the least popular?

2) What weather-related experience actually really does "knock your socks off"?

3) Which country was the first to give women the right to vote?

4) This band leader introduced jazz arrangements culled from improvisational Dixieland, making the music more suitable for a mainstream audience. He was one of the first to form a "Big Band."

Answers:

1) Anchovies

2) Being struck by lightning

3) New Zealand

4) Paul Whiteman

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) What three horse races make up the Triple Crown?

2) In 1976, 155 women were admitted into a U.S. military academy, ending its history of exclusively male enrollment. It was the first military academy to break the gender barrier; which academy was it?

3) Before Ellen DeGeneres became successful in comedy, what career path had she considered taking?

4) This WW1 flying ace was nicknamed "Captain Eddie." What was his real name?

Answers:

1) The Belmont Stakes, The Preakness Stakes and the Kentucky Derby.

2) The U.S. Air Force Academy was first to enroll women.

3) Professional golfing

4) Edward Rickenbacker

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Born Henry Deutschendorf Jr., this folk singer got his start in 1965, singing with the Chad Mitchell Trio.

2) In the commercial, Choo-Choo Charlie needed this to make his train run.

3) Born Reginald Kenneth Dwight, this singer/songwriter took his stage name by combining the names of two other musicians.

4) This person coined the term "Iron Curtain."

Answers:

1) John Denver

2) Choo-Choo Charlie needed Good-n-Plenty candy to make his train go.

3) Elton John took his name from saxophonist Elton Dean and singer/songwriter, John Baldry.

4) Winston Churchill

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Who was the original host of The Gong Show?

2) This alto sax player was known for his solo on Billy Joel's hit, "Just the Way You Are." Who was it?

3) This movie star was born on this date in 1925. He appeared in The Defiant Ones, Houdini and The Count of Monte Cristo, as well as more famous roles. Who was he?

4) This legendary tenor sax player performed with such greats as Miles Davis, Maynard Ferguson and Art Blakey before he formed Weather Report. Who was he?

Answers:

1) Gary Owens (Laugh-In) hosted for the first year, then the show's creator and producer, Chuck Barris hosted.

2) Phil Woods

3) Tony Curtis

4) Wayne Shorter

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) On this date in 1924, Congress granted citizenship to a group of people. Who were they?

2) What jazz singer got his start singing with the Chico Marx orchestra?

3) On this date in 1886, this president did something no president had done before or since. What did he do?

Answers:

1) Native Americans

2) Mel Torme

3) President Grover Cleveland got married.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) According to the National Climatic Center, What U.S. city is the windiest?

2) How many member nations are there in the United Nations?

3) Name the highest point in the U.S.

4) Which president established Thanksgiving as a national holiday?

Answers:

1) Dodge City, KS. Chicago is ranked 53rd.

2) There are 192 member nations in the UN.

3) Alaska's Mount McKinley is highest at 20,320 feet.

4) FDR