Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  Who was the last baseball player to finished the season with a batting average of .400?

2)  The song "Moon River" was originally sung by Audrey Hepburn in this film.

3)  This actor/singer is the only celebrity with five stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

4)  This company is credited with creating the first coin-operated video game.

Answers:

1)  Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox.

2)  Breakfast at Tiffany's

3)  Gene Autry

4)  Atari

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  On this date in 1954,  The Tonight Show made its national debut. Who was the show's first host?

2)  This landmark is recognized as a universal symbol of freedom and democracy.

3)  This fruit comes in varieties with names like Anjou and Bartlett.

4)  This often overlooked male singer collaborated with John Coltrane on a particularly brilliant album in 1963.

Answers:

1)  Steve Allen was the first, hosting 1954-57; Jack Paar followed, hosting the show from 1957-62 and Johnny Carson took over the seat and stayed for 30 years until 1992.

2)  The Statue of Liberty

3)  Pears

4)  Johnny Hartmann

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  Grover Cleveland was eligible to have fought in the Civil War; instead of going to battle, what did he do?

2)  Who was the oldest baseball player to play in a major league game?

3)  The Pacific Ocean was discovered on September 25, 1513 by whom?

4)  What does it mean when a gorilla sticks out its tongue?


Answers:

1)  He hired someone to fight in his stead. An option that at the time, was legal.

2)  Born July 7, 1906, Satchel Paige was 59 years, 2 months and 18 days old when he threw three shutout innings for what was then the Kansas City Athletics on this date in 1965. At the age of 42 Paige become the oldest rookie in major league history when he joined the Cleveland Indians during the 1948 pennant race.

3)  Vasco de Balboa

4)  Gorillas stick their tongues out when they're angry.  This one is registering his disapproval from the cheap seats.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  On this date in 1979, the operation of the world's first public computer information service went into effect. What was the name of the company?


2)  What was the name of the B-29 bomber that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima during WWII?

3)  On this date in 1968, CBS premiered this new "magazine" style news and information program.

4)  Velcro was invented in which decade?

Answers:

1)  Compuserve

2)  Enola Gay

3)  60 Minutes

4)  Velcro was invented in the 1940s and was described as hook and loop material until the Velcro brand name ... um ... stuck.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  These two countries are less than one square mile each in size.

2)  Who succeeded Moses as the leader of the Israelites?

3)  A speleologist explores these.

4)  Charles Manson murder victim, Sharon Tate was married to this man.

Answers:

1) Vatican City and Monaco

2)  Joshua

3)  caves

4)  A budding movie actress herself, Tate was married to director Roman Polanski.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  How many baby teeth does a child have?

2)  What year did Congress declare July Fourth a national holiday?

3)  The comic book division of this company began in 1939 and was known as Timely Publications, later changing the name to Atlas Comics. The company continues to thrive, operating under this name.

4)  Where was the first traffic light installed?

Answers:

1)  20

2) 1870

3)  Marvel Comics

4)  At the intersection of Euclid Avenue and E. 105th Street in Cleveland, Ohio.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  Which country grows more bananas than any other?

2)  What was Edward Teach more commonly known as?

3)  This country is credited with having invented paper money in the 9th century.

4)  U.S. coins minted prior to 1965 contained this precious alloy.


Answers:

1)  India

2)  Blackbeard

3)  China

4)  Silver

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  Who is the creator of the Garfield comic strip?

2) When he was a child star Robert Blake played sidekick to this Western movies character.

3) What was Frankie Avalon's first top ten hit?

4)  From which Dr. Seuss book did this quote come?
"Unless someone like you cares a whole lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."

Answers:

1)  Jim Davis

2) He was Red Ryder's Indian buddy, Little Beaver.

3)  His first hit was "Dede Dinah."  That song reached #7 in 1958. Avalon's first #1 song, "Venus," came out in 1958.

4) The Lorax

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  On this date in 1901, President William McKinley died of gunshot wounds from an assassin who'd shot him eight days earlier.  Who was the Vice-President succeeding him?

2)  Who led the house band at the Savoy in the late 1930s?

3)  This Supreme Court Chief Justice resigned from the court to run for governor of New York.

4)  In 1967 the Count Basie Band featured two singers. One was Jimmy Rushing; who was the other singer?

5)  On this date in 1985, The Golden Girls premiered on NBC.  Who were the four actresses playing the primary roles?


Answers:

1)  President Theodore Roosevelt.  Here are images of the McKinley Monument in Canton, Ohio.

2)  Chick Webb. He was the person most responsible for launching Ella Fitzgerald's career.

3)  John Jay

4) Billie Holiday

5)  Bea Arthur: Dorothy; Estelle Getty: Sophia; Rue McClanahan: Blanche; Betty White: Rose

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  In Greek mythology, what is a cyclops?

2)  What was Glenn Close's character in Fatal Attraction?

3)  Which country has a greater land mass - Greenland or Iceland?

4)  What is the capital of Costa Rica?

Answers:

1)  A cyclops is a one-eyed giant.

2)  Close played "Alex Forrest."

3)  Greenland has the larger land mass (2,166,086 km) and is actually the largest island on earth in terms of area.

4)  San Jose

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  In what city is the famous opera house, La Scala, located?

2)  In Samuel Beckett's play, Waiting for Godot, when does the awaited Godot show up?

3)  Chris Haney and Scott Abbott were playing a game of Scrabble when they decided to invent their own game (from About.com).

4)  Lachanophobia is a fear of what?

Answers:

1)  La Scala (Italian: Teatro alla Scala) opened August 3rd, 1778, and is regarded as one of the leading, and most enduring, opera houses in the world.

2)  The conceit of Beckett's absurdist play is that Godot never arrives.


3)  Trivial Pursuit was first conceived on December 15, 1979 by Chris Haney and Scott Abbott. At the time, Chris Haney worked as a photo editor at the Montreal Gazette, and Scott Abbott was a sports journalist for The Canadian Press. The two friends came up with the basic concept of Trivial Pursuit within a few short hours (from About.com).

4)  vegetables

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  On this date in 1955,  the Miss America Pageant was televised for the first time. Who was first to wear the crown?

2)  Who once said, "This American system gives to everyone a great opportunity if we only seize it with both hands and make the most of it."?

3)  Who was the first African-American to host his own television program?

4)  This baseball player was the first to break Ty Cobb's record for number of hits.

Answers:

1)  Lee Ann Meriweather

2)  Al Capone

3)  Nat King Cole

4)  Pete Rose

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  The first frozen food "TV dinner" was sold on this date in 1953. What was the brand?

2)  Gunsmoke debuted on this date in 1955. Along with Marshall Matt Dillon there was Chester Goode, Doc and Miss Kitty. The "Chester" character was later replaced by this character.

3)  In Eintein's formula, E=mc2, what does "c" stand for?

4)  According to the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture, for every dollar spent on produce at a supermarket, how much goes to the farmer who grew the item?

Answers:

1)  Swanson

2)  Festus Haggen (played by Ken Curtis)

3)  the speed of light

4)  about 5 cents

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  On this date in 1979 ESPN debuted on cable. What do the initials "ESPN" stand for?

2)  On this date in 1963, the National Pro Football Hall of Fame was dedicated in Canton, Ohio. Who was the first player to be enshrined there?

Answers:

1)  The "Entertainment and Sports Programming Network."

2)  Sammy Baugh. With him in the same class of inductees were Bert Bell, Joe Carr, Dutch Clark, Harold "Red" Grange,George Halas, Mel Hein, Pete Henry, Cal Hubbard, Don Hutson, Curly Lambeau, Tim Mara, George Preston Marshall, John (Blood) McNally, Bronko Nagurski, Ernie Nevers and Jim Thorpe.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  This TV game show premiered in 1983 and was modeled after the simple game of Hangman.

2)  With the advent of the popularity in Rock in the 1950s, many Jazz musicians held the genre in disdain. There were some though that explored the musical vocabulary of Rock, incorporating elements into Jazz. This melding of the two genres became known as what?

3)  What Jazz style, identified with the West Coast, was made popular by Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan and Lee Konitz?

Answers:

 1)  Wheel. Of. Fortune!

2)  fusion

3)  "Cool Jazz." The most popular example of this sort of Jazz is Dave Brubeck's "Take Five."

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  Who was the first athlete to win seven Olympic gold medals?

2)  Who was the first winner of American Idol?

3)  Which car was the first to have a wraparound windshield, electric door locks and four headlights?

4)  On this date in 1993, Jim Abbott pitched a perfect game, playing for the New York Yankees.
Aside from the relatively rare instance of a no-hitter, what else was remarkable about his accomplishment?

Answers:

1)  Mark Spitz

2)  Kelly Clarkson

3)  The Ford Edsel, which was introduced on this date in 1958.

4)  Abbott was born without a right hand.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  American workers spend an average of over 100 hours a year doing this.

2)  This U.S. President signed the bill designating the first Monday in September as Labor Day.

3)  On this date in 1967, the final show of the original What's My Line? aired. Who was that show's host?

4)   In the United States popcorn is a favorite snack for moviegoers.  What do their Chinese counterparts prefer?

Answers:

1)  Commuting

2)  Grover Cleveland made Labor Day a federal holiday in 1894.

3)  John Charles Daly was the show's host during its 17-year run on CBS.

4)  Chicken feet