Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) On this date in 1957, Jack Paar debuted as host of The Tonight Show. Who hosted the show before Paar?

2) This appointee to the Supreme Court was once an NFL player.

3) Who was the first actress to win a second Best Actress Oscar?

4) On this date in 1981, a large ceremony was held in London. What was the occasion?

Answers:

1) Steve Allen and Ernie Kovaks.

2) Byron "Whizzer" White played for the Detroit Lions for two seasons.

3) Luise Rainer won her first Oscar for her role in The Great Ziegfeld in 1936, then in the following year won for her role in The Good Earth.

4) Prince Charles and Diana Spencer were married.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) In the early 1930s, opinion polls showed that Mickey Mouse was a close second to what cartoon series?

2) Where was the first traffic light installed?

3) In 1938, this animated film became the most successful motion picture of that year and earned over $8 million on its initial release. What was it?

4) What was the so-called "Soldier's Disease"?


Answers:

1) Popeye the Sailor

2) The world's first traffic light was installed 75 years ago at the intersection of Euclid Avenue and 105th St. in Cleveland.

3) It was the most successful motion picture of 1938 - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

4) "Soldiers Disease" is a term for morphine addiction. The Civil War produced over 400,000 morphine addicts.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Which president signed into legislation a bill requiring cigarette manufacturers to put warning labels on cigarette packaging?

2) Who was the first movie comic actor to have gotten a pie in the face?

3) Who was the first American cyclist to win the Tour de France?

4) What was the name of Blackbeard's ship?

Answers:

1) Lyndon Baines Johnson

2) Fatty Arbuckle, in the 1913 silent film, A Noise from the Deep.

3) Greg LeMond was the first American and first non-European to win the Tour de France.

4) Queen Anne's Revenge

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Which species of wild animal has been responsible for killing the most humans in Africa?

2) How many hearts does an earthworm have?

3) What is the only temporary (for humans) organ?

4) What state once belonged to Russia?

Answers:

1) The hippopotamus

2) An earthworm has five hearts.

3) The placenta, which forms during conception is designed for the temporary purpose of providing life support and nourishment to the developing fetus as it grows inside the womb.

4) The former Governor can tell you: it's Alaska.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Who was the Native American who led the battle opposing Custer in his "last stand"?

2) Who was the only president to, after his term, serve as Chief Justice on the Supreme Court?

3) What material is used for a first anniversary gift?

Answers:

1) Sitting Bull, Sioux Chief

2) William Howard Taft

3) Paper

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For July 22

Questions:

1) This famous gangster was gunned down July 22, 1934. Who was he?

2) This university was founded in 1746 as the College of New Jersey. It is now known by what name?

3) The meteorological term for fluffy clouds is what?

4) What was Gone With the Wind's original title?

Answers:

1) John Dillinger

2) Princeton University

3) Cumulus

4) Tomorrow is Another Day

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) You are hired to be part of a claque. What will you be doing?

2) What was Thomas Edison afraid of?

3) On this date in 1955, the last episode of this popular radio program aired. Which character was the star of the show?

4) Also on this date in 1955, this woman swam the English Channel, setting a record for either women or men, in having crossed in 13 hours and 55 minutes. Who was she?

Answers:

1) Claquers comprise a paid "instant audience," such as the instant crowds that appear at events like the Halftime shows at the Superbowl. They are rehearsed to quickly get into place, applaud and cheer wildly, then swiftly exit.

2) Edison feared the dark.

3) Roy Rogers

4) Florence May Chadwick

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) What apparel item did Samuel Clemons (aka Mark Twain) invent?

2) How popular is Lithiated Lemon today?

3) Who scored the 1999 World Cup winning goal for the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team?

4) Which president was the first to issue a military draft in peacetime?

Answers:

1) suspenders

2) Introduced in 1929, 7-Up, as the drink was renamed, is still popular today.

3) Brandy Chastain

4) President Truman

Alan Rock's Trivia

Questions:

1) Which planet has the shortest day?

2) Who was the star of Our Miss Brooks that debuted on CBS Radio on July 19, 1948?

3) Who was the first woman on a major political ticket?

4) In how many novels did Sherlock Holmes star?

Answers:

1) Jupiter is the planet with the shortest day -- slightly under 10 hours. However, its years are 12 times as long as ours.

2) Eve Arden.

3) On July 19, 1984, U.S. Rep. Geraldine Ferraro (D-NY) was chosen as Walter Mondale's vice presidential running mate at the Democratic National Convention.

4) In all, Sherlock Holmes (and Dr. John Watson) was featured in four novels and 56 short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Unquestionably, Holmes is one of the most beloved figures in the history of mystery fiction, and was immortalized in many films, particularly those in the 1930s and 1940s starring Sir Basil Rathbone. The character has also been a popular subject in many novels since those of Conan Doyle.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) What industry spends more money on television commercials each year than the cereal industry?

2) The U.S. cereal industry uses enough sugar every to cover each year to cover every single American in how much sugar?

3) Which style of jazz is most closely associated with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Max Roach?

4) What is an autodidact?

Answers:

1) The automobile industry

2) 3 pounds

3) Bebop

4) Someone who is self-taught

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Sylvan N. Goldman of Humpty Dumpty Stores and Standard Food Markets developed an innovation allowing people to buy more items in a single visit. What was it?

2) Your BMI (body mass index) estimates your body fat based on what calculations?

3) What noted author served as a nurse in the Civil War?

Answers:

1) Shopping carts

2) BMI = weight in pounds divided by height (in inches)

3) Louisa May Alcott

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) What was the first item ever dispensed from a vending machine?

2) People in this profession are credited with having the most extensive vocabulary.

3) What river forms the natural border for northern Kentucky?

4) The longest Monopoly game on record lasted how long?

Answers:

1) The first reference to a vending machine is in the work of Hero of Alexandria, a first-century engineer and mathematician. His machine accepted a coin and then dispensed holy water. The first modern coin-operated vending machines were introduced in London, England in the early 1880s, dispensing post cards. The first vending machine in the U.S. was built in 1888 by the Thomas Adams Gum Company, selling gum on New York City train platforms.

2) Journalists

3) The Ohio River

4) 1,680 hours - over 70 days

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) What country has the most doughnut shops per capita?

2) Which of the Great Lakes is the only one entirely within U.S. borders?

3) Where is the best place to see Norman Rockwell paintings?

4) Depressed at how his career was going in the early 70s, Harrison Ford took up another line of work. What did he do?

Answers:

1) Canada

2) Lake Michigan

3) The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA - of course!

4) Ford worked as a carpenter.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Which city was the U.S.'s first to serve as the capitol?

2) Which Bond girls were played by Nikki Van der Zyl?

3) When was wearing red as a bride in fashion?

4) In addition to humans, there are a few species that can recognize their own reflection in a mirror. Name two.

Answers:

1) Philadelphia

2) Ursula Andress, Shirley Eaton, Eunice Gayson, and Claudine Auger were unable to match an alluring voice to go with their looks. Van der Zyl provided the voicework.

3) During the American Revolution, many brides did not wear white gowns but instead wore red as a symbol of rebellion.

4) Great apes, bottlenose dolphins, orca, elephant and European magpies can all recognize their own images in a mirror.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Name the treaty that recognized the United States as an independent country.

2) Which U.S. Vice-President shot Alexander Hamilton to death in a duel?

3) How much does a coffee measure scoop hold?

4) Why do we abbreviate pound as "lb" and ounce as "oz"?

Answers:

1) The Treaty of Paris

2) On this date in 1804, Aaron Burr shot Hamilton.

3) 2 U.S. tablespoons

4) "Lb." is derived from the Latin word for pound: "libra." "Oz" is from the Italian "onzia." Additionally, the early Anglo-Saxon word "tun," meaning tub or vat, later became "ton."

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) On this date in 1932, the low point of the Depression came when the stock market crashed. What was the Dow Jones average that day?

2) On this date in 1995, former DJ Robert Weston Smith was buried. His audience knew him by what nickname?

3) What makes a diamond fully faceted?

4) On this date in 1958, the RIAA presented the first gold album. Which recording won?

Answers:

1) 41.22

2) Wolfman Jack

3) A quality, fully-faceted round brilliant diamond has at least 58 facets. These are important in order to have maximum sparkle and brilliance of the stone.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Who wrote "Over There"?

2) Which government official heads up the American Red Cross?

3) On this date in 1754, New York's Kings College opened with eight students and one professor, Dr. Samuel Johnson, who also served as college president. Kings College would later be known as ___________ ____________.

4) Who was the youngest player to win the Men's Singles title at Wimbledon?

Answers:

1) George M. Cohan

2) The President

3) Columbia University

4) Boris Becker was 17 when he won on this date back in 1985.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) On this date in 2002 Serena Williams beat her sister, Venus, to win her first Wimbledon title and second straight Grand Slam tournament title. Who was the first black female to win a Singles title at Wimbledon?

2) When Thomas Jefferson wrote his epitaph, what important fact did he omit?

3) What Shakespearean play inspired Disney's The Lion King?

Answers:

1) Althea Gibson

2) that he was President

3) Hamlet

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) On July 5, 1947, the first black American League baseball player signed with the Cleveland Indians. Who was he?

2) What state, in 1781, first declared Independence Day as a holiday?

3) Who was the first president to be voted out of office? Which president won that election replacing the incumbent?

4) In what city and building did the Continental Congress convene to sign the Declaration of Independence?

Answers:

1) Larry Doby

2) Massachusetts

3) John Adams was voted out and Jefferson was voted in.

4) Philadelphia's Independence Hall

Trivia for July 4th:

Questions:

1) What town changed its name as a publicity stunt?

2) A dozen is frequently used by bakers and for recipes. Why?

3) Who was the first woman to be awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor?

4) "Jiffy" is an expression used by people and businesses to indicate speedy service. It is an actual term though, indicating what?

Answers:

1) Hot Springs, NM changed its name to Truth or Consequences in 1950 in response to a dare from Ralph Edwards, host of the show of the same name. Edwards promised the town free publicity in exchange.

2) Twelve is a convenient number for cooking and baking since it can be divided evenly by half, thirds or quarters.

3) Milly Francis, the "Oklahoma Pocahontas," was recognized by Congress for having saved the life of Captain Duncan McKrimmon. Francis, part Creek Indian, persuaded the group of Seminole Indians who'd captured McKrimmon to release him. Later, the grateful McKrimmon proposed to Francis, but she turned him down. She fell on hard times and was living in poverty when her story was reported to Congress. By the time her reward was sent to her, she was dying from tuberculosis.

4) A "jiffy" is an actual unit of time used in chemistry and physics equal to a light centimeter, i.e., the time required for light to travel one centimeter.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) How many official federal holidays are observed in the United States?

2) In which publication was the Pledge of Allegiance first published?

3) On this date in 1941, NBC broadcast the first FCC-sanctioned television commercial during a Dodgers-Phillies. What was the product?

4) Which part of the American flag is the canton?

Answers:

1) 10

2) The Youth's Companion

3) Bulova watches

4) The blue square that serves as the background for the stars.