Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:


1)  This curmudgeon supposedly said, "Anyone who hates children and animals can't be all bad."

2)  This tenor player often played with Kenny Burrell and Jimmy Smith.

3)  In the periodic table, "I" stands for this element.


Answers:

1)  W.C. Fields - Although a very commonly attributed to Fields himself, this is derived from a statement which was actually first said about him by Leo Rosten during a roast at the Masquer's Club in Hollywood in 1939, as Rosten explains in his book, The Power of Positive Nonsense (1977) "The only thing I can say about W. C. Fields ... is this: Any man who hates dogs and babies can't be all bad."

2)  Stanley Turrentine

3)  Iodine

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  On this date in 1973, George Steinbrenner bought the New York Yankees for $10 million. Who sold them to him?

2)  Who was the first woman inducted in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame?

3)  The Beatles recorded their last song together on this date in 1970. What was the song's title?

4)  Eric Knight's classic, Lassie, Come-Home, was first published as a short story in the Saturday Evening Post in 1938. Where was "home"?

Answers:

1)  The Yankees were sold to Steinbrenner by CBS.

2)  Aretha Franklin

3)  The last song they recorded was "I Me Mine."  George wrote the song in one evening and a decade later,  the title would be used again for his autobiography. Harrison took his inspiration from a verse in the Bhagavad Gita: "They are forever free who renounce all selfish desires and break away from the ego-cage of "I", "me" and "mine" to be united with the Lord. This is the supreme state. Attain to this, and pass from death to immortality" (BG 2:71-72). Whether deliberate or not, the song addresses the clashes of egos in the Beatles' painful closing days as a group (read more at Wikipedia).

4)  Lassie's home was Yorkshire, England. The pic below is from the original 1943 movie with Roddy McDowall.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  The Andrews Sisters recorded "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" on this date in 1941.  The song was featured in what movie?

2)  This celebrity named one of his children "Sage Moonblood."

3)  This U.S. president signed a bill requiring that states limit highway speeds to 55 mph or else forfeit federal funding for highways.

Answers:

1)  "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" was in Buck Privates which starred Abbott and Costello.

2)  Sylvester Stallone. By the way, Stallone's full name is Michael Sylvester Enzio Stallone.

3)  Richard Nixon signed the bill on this date in 1974. It was intended to address rising highway fatalities as well as fuel conservation.  Sammy Hagar complained about it in his song, "I Can't Drive 55."

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  What year did the first New Year's ball drop in Times Square?

2)  On this date in 1902, Michigan was leading Stanford 49-0 in the Rose Bowl. With eight minutes left on the clock, the Stanford team forfeited and walked off the field. Rose Bowl officials were so embarassed they refused to host another game until 1916. What activities took the place of football in Pasadena's Tournament of Roses during the intervening years?

3)  Today is New Year's Day by the Gregorian calendar, marking the beginning of the year 2013 A.D. What do the initials "A.D." stand for?

4)  Since 1751,  most western and western-colonized nations observe New Year's Day January 1st.  Prior to 1751, when was New Year's Day celebrated?

Answers:

1)  It started with the 1907-08 New Year's celebration.

2)  The Tournament of Roses held chariot races.

3)  Anno Domini, Latin for "in the year of our LORD."

4)  March 25th - which at the time was also designated as being the first day of Spring.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  This movie star/sex symbol was quoted as having said, "It's not true that I had nothing on. I had the radio on."

2)  What animal does mohair come from?

3)  This automaker once made a luxury line of cars called Crown that featured three models, one of which was the Crown Athlete.

4)  Arnold Schwarzenegger's recent autobiography shares a title with one of his movies. Which one?

Answers:

1)  Marilyn Monroe

2)  Goats produce mohair

3)   Toyota. The other vehicles were the four-door Saloon and the Royal. The cars are primarily sold in Japan and Indonesia.

4)  Total Recall

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:


1)  The actor who played The Lone Ranger died on this date in 1999. What was his name?

2)  Who created the character of Norman Bates?

3)   Jesse Owens  won his four gold medals at that year's Summer Olympics.

4)  Who played the role of Batman  in Batman Returns?

Answers:

1)  Clayton Moore

2)  Robert Bloch

3)  The Berlin Games, which were held the summer of 1936.

4)  Michael Keaton

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  This cartoonist's rendering of St. Nicholas became the most popular, and the template for Santas that followed.

2)  In the movie, Miracle on 34th Street, a man is on trial for claiming to be Santa Claus. What convinces the judge to rule in his favor?

3)  Pope Benedict did this for the first time this week.

Answers:

2)  German-born Thomas Nast is responsible for this popular image of Santa Claus.

3)  Pope Benedict took to Twitter for the first time.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  How many total gifts are there in the "Twelve Days of Christmas"?

2)  What did Frosty, the Snowman have for a nose?

3)  This rock star was invited to lunch at the White House.

4)   In the opening scene of Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown, what were the Peanuts characters all doing?


Answers:

1)  364. Interesting fact:  USA Today estimates the current cost of the gifts as totaling over $107,000.

2)  a button

3)  On this day in 1974, Gerald Ford's son, Jack, extended a lunch invitation to George Harrison. Billy Preston and Ravi Shankar came along as well.

4) The kids were all ice-skating.

 

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  Which two of Santa's reindeer have names beginning with "C"?

2)  What did the Grinch use to pull his sleigh?

3)  This Emmy-winning cartoon was based on a newspaper editorial.

4)  The carolers singing this carol are all demanding figgy pudding.

Answers:

1)  Comet and Cupid

2)  his dog

3)  "Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus."

4)  "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  The earth is situated between the orbiting paths of which two planets?

2)  How many cards are there in a deck of tarot cards?

3)  Today is actress Teri Garr's birthday.  She was nominated for best supporting actress in 1982 for her role in which movie?

4)  On this date in 1977 the Tampa Bay Bucs finally won an NFL game by defeating this team, 33-14.  The Bucs had lost their first 26 regular games; 11 of which were shutouts.

Answers:

1)  Venus and Mars

2)  78

3)  Tootsie

4)  New Orleans Saints

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:


1)  Chemist Alfred Nobel died on this date in 1896. He was responsible for having invented dynamite, and as a response to his own invention, he established the award for human achievement. Who was the first American woman to receive the prize?

2)  The first edition of Playboy hit the stands on this date in 1953. The issue featured the famous calendar shot of Marilyn Monroe. What was unusual about that particular issue?

3)  This federal building produces twice as much hazardous waste as the top three industrial waste producers.

Answers:

1)  Jane Addams became a co-recipient of the award on this date in 1931.

2)  There was no date indicated on the cover.

3)  The Pentagon.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:


1)  Instant replay was used for the first time on this date in 1963. What game was being telecast?

2)  Jack Russell terriers are not an AKC registered breed, ostensibly because there is no breed "standard." Most people are familiar with Jack Russell because one was featured on __________________________.

3)  The word "Kwanzaa" (starts December 26th) originates in what language?

Answers:

1)  It debuted for the Army-Navy game.

2)  People know Jack Russells from TV's Frasier and prior to that, from the RCA logo.

 
3)  Swahili

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  After naming his son after himself, this famous individual later paid the son a weekly allowance to use another name.

2)  What is a paraprosdokian?

3)  What was the first name of the fictional "Scrooge"?

4) Bass player Ray Brown was once married to this vocalist.

Answers:

1)  Thomas Alva Edison. The grown-up son was a drunk and involved in shady business deals. They went to court and Junior demanded and got a weekly payment of $50 to stop using his father's name.

2)  A paraprosdokian is a figure of speech in which a sentence or phrase ends in an unexpected manner, to the point where the reader or listener has to reinterpret the first part. Example: "Two guys walked into a bar - the third one ducked."

3)  Ebenezer

4)  Ella Fitzgerald

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer began as a promotion for this department store.

2)  Eggnog was first created and consumed in this city.

3) The original St. Nicholas in the country known today as what?

4) In A Charlie Brown Christmas, this character builds a gray snowman.

Answers:

1)  Rudolph was created expressly as a promotional gimmick. In 1939, Montgomery Ward hired Robert L. May to write a Christmas story to give to shoppers May's brother-in-law liked the story well enough to write a song for it. The result was the popular song of the same name, but it wasn't recorded until ten years later. "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer was first sung by cowboy actor/singer, Gene Autry in 1949.

2)  Captain John Smith reported that eggnog was consumed in 1607 in Jamestown, Virginia.

‘Nog’ is an English word for strong ale, and eggnog was originally made with ale. Eggnog is descended from the English drink ‘posset’ or ‘sack posset’, which was a hot drink made with sweetened milk and ale or a Spanish wine called ‘sack.’

Americans adapted it but used American liquors, like rum, or even cider. Early American cookbooks listed eggnog recipes in sections for the sick and infirm (source: http://www.foodreference.com/html/feggnog.html).

3)  St. Nicholas is said to have been born around 280 A.D. in Patara, near the town of Myra (now Demre) in the Lycia province of what is now Turkey.

 4)  Pigpen. Pigpen was so dirty, he even turned his snowman into a gray snowman.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  This president, while still in office, was first to travel outside of the United States.

2)  This president frequently went skinny-dipping in the Potomac.

3)  This president was the only one to have a child while in office.

4)  This president had the most children.

Answers:

1)  Teddy Roosevelt traveled to the Panama Canal, November 9, 1906.

2)  John Quincy Adams was fond of swimming nude in the Potomac (there were no bathing suits in his day).

3)  Grover Cleveland. Tragically, Jacqueline Kennedy had child born prematurely while John was in office, but the infant perished after two days.

4)  Our tenth president, John Tyler, had 15 children, 8 children by his first wife, Letitia and seven by his second wife, Julia.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  What country started the Christmas tradition of exchanging gifts?

2)  Which U.S. President had the most pets while in the White House?

3)  On this date in 1947, Tennessee Williams' play, A Streetcar Named Desire opened on Broadway. Who were the stars of the original Broadway production?

4)  From 1941 until 1950, violet was one of the colors of M&Ms candies. What color replaced violet?

Answers:

1)  The custom began with the Romans in Italy.

2)  Theodore Roosevelt was responsible for the menagerie, which included cats, dogs, ponies, guinea pigs, lizards - and kangaroos! He even had a one-legged rooster as a pet.

3)  Jessica Tandy played Blanche and Marlon Brando was Stanley.

4)  In 1950 the violet-colored M&Ms were replaced by tan ones.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  Where is The Hague located?

2)  In colonial America, people in this profession were called upon to make flags.

3)  On this date in 1913, Charlie Chaplin made his screen debut in a Mack Sennett short. What was the film's name?

4) Where is the Nubian Desert located?


Answers:

1)  The Hague the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. It is home to the Dutch government and parliament, the Supreme Court, and the Council of State, but the city is not the capital of the Netherlands which constitutionally is Amsterdam.^[4] Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands lives at Huis ten Bosch and works at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague. Most foreign embassies in the Netherlands and 150 international organizations are located in the city, including the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, which makes The Hague one of the major cities hosting the United Nations, along with New York, Vienna, Geneva, and Nairobi (Wikipedia).

2)  upholsterers

3)  Making a Living

4)  The Sudan

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  Which Apollo mission was the first to land on the moon?

2)  Who was the president at the time of the moon landing?

3)  "Twit" is a popular slang term for moron or idiot, but its original meaning is something else entirely. What is the original meaning of "twit"?

4)  Where are the biceps femoris muscles located?

Answers:

1)  Apollo 11

2)  Richard Nixon took office January 20, 1969 and the Apollo 11 landing was seven months later, touching down July 20.

3)  A "twit" is a pregnant goldfish.

4)  The thighs

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  John Lennon thought this song was the greatest rock 'n' roll record ever made.

2)  This nerve is the largest in the human body

3)  Singer Tom Jones hails from the village of Pontypridd in South Wales. What other famous individual comes from Pontypridd?

Answers:

1)  Jerry Lee Lewis's "Whole Lotta Shakin'"

2) The sciatic nerve

3)  Richard Burton

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  This film was the first American feature-length 3D film in color, sparking a short-lived 3D movie craze in theaters in the 50s.

2)  He once said, "history is written by the victors."

3)  This. UNICEF ambassador played the character Holly Go Lightly in this film, which was based on a book by Truman Capote.

4)  How many cardinals have been promoted in recent days?

Answers:

1)  Bwana Devil

2)  Winston Churchill

3)  Audrey Hepburn

4)  six

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  This deceased celebrity made more money in the past year than any other deceased celebrity.

2)  This metal is the most common one found in the composition of the earth's crust.

3)  What does the name "Puerto Rico" mean in English?

4)  This was the first U.S. holiday to be designated by presidential proclamation.

Bonus Question:  What is an orrery?

Answers:

1)  Elizabeth Taylor

2)  aluminum

3)  Literally means "rich port"

4)  Thanksgiving Day was declared by George Washington on this day in 1789.

Bonus Answer:  An orrery is a mechanical model of the solar system. Here's one made of wood.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  Alfred E. Neuman was the fictional mascot for what?

2)  This president was the first to travel in a submerged submarine.

3)  On this date in 1980, a plot twist happened on a popular television show that kept viewers in suspense over the show's holiday hiatus.

4) Which side of the turkey has more feathers?

Answers:

1)  Mad Magazine

2) President Harry Truman

3)  After that evening's episode of Dallas aired, viewers were left wondering, "who shot JR?"

4) That was a joke question. The side with more feathers would be....(wait for it)....the outside.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  The common name for the flowering plant, Gypsophila, is what?

2)  The first state to ratify the Bill of Rights did so on this date in 1789. Which state was it?

3)  This seven-year old hosted SNL on this date in 1982.

4)  What is the official language of Belize?

Answers:

1)  "Baby's Breath"

2)  New Jersey

3)  Drew Barrymore

4)  English

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  The U.S. Army is the nation's largest employer of folks with this skill.

2)  What word refers to an important part of both a computer and a piano.

3)  This planet is the only one in our solar system that rotates clockwise.

4)  What is the maximum number of folds one can fold a piece of paper in half?

Answers:

1)  Musicians

2)  keyboard

3) Venus

4)  The answer is seven. They did this test on Mythbusters once. They got to eight - but it was a gigantic piece of paper to start with. Generally speaking, it's seven.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  This Hollywood actress patented a missile guidance system.

2)  This president established the fourth Thursday in November as the Thanksgiving holiday.

3)  This cartoon character was the first balloon character in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Answers:

1) Hedy Lamarr

2) Lincoln

3)  Felix the Cat

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Composed in the early 1980s by British songwriter Andrew Lloyd Weber, name this musical and the book that inspired it.

2) Cats are one of only three four-footed animals that walk by moving their front and hind legs, first on one side and then the other.  Name the other two animals with this trait.

3) In what year did President Lincoln make his historic Gettysberg address?

Answers:

1) The musical is Cats, which is based on T.S. Eliot's book entitled Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats.

2) Camels and giraffes walk similarly to cats.

3) 1863

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) On November 14, 1954, Bill Haley's first hit record peaked at number 7.  What was the name of the song?

2) On November 14, 1980, Martin Scorsese's film Raging Bull opened in the U.S.  Actor Robert DeNiro played which boxer?

3) Who originally sang Do You Know The Way To San Jose?

4) What color is cerise?

Answers:

1) Shake, Rattle & Roll

2) Jake LaMotta

3) Dionne Warwick

4) Reddish pink

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Who said in a letter to a friend, "In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes"?

2) On November 13, 1977, the comic strip Li'l Abner appeared in newspapers for the last time.  Who was the creator of that comic?

3) Who was the first major league pitcher to win four consecutive Cy Young Awards?

4) Which breed of dog is historically associated with the fire service?

Answers:

1) Benjamin Franklin 

2) Al Capp

3) Greg Maddox of the Atlanta Braves

4) Dalmation

 

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Who was the first NFL coach to win 100 regular season games in ten seasons?

2) Where would you wear a snood?

3) On what peninsula is Portugal situated?

Answers:

1) Don Shula

2) On your head.  A snood is historically a type of European female headgear or, in modern times, a tubular neck scarf.  In the most common form, the headgear resembles a close-fitting hood worn over the back of the head.  A tighter mesh band may cover the forehead or crown, then run behind the ears and under the nape of the neck.

              
3) Iberian

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  What are the world's three most populous cities?

2)  What are the three most populous countries?

3)  On this date in 1997, this running back became the first player in NFL history to rush for over 1,000 yards in nine straight seasons.

Answers:

1)  Tokyo's population is 32,450,000; Seoul's is 20,550,000 and Mexico City's population is 20,450,000.

2)  The three most populous countries are 1) China - 1.3 billion, 2) India - 1.2 billion and 3) The U.S. - 312 million

3)  Barry Sanders 

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)  She once said, "You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough."

2)  He was the vibraphonist in the Modern Jazz Quartet.

3)  This song was and still is the theme song of the Glenn Miller Orchestra.

Answers:

1)  Miss Mae West.

Mae West also said, "Those who are easily shocked, should be shocked more often."

2)  Milt Jackson

3)  "Moonlight Serenade"