Trivia

I still have not managed to get the epic column done about my trip to see all five Best Picture nominated movies this year, but I did want to tell you that I went up early and played Trivia. I played with Carlos and my brother, Achmed. I thought you might like to have a go at the Trivia Questions. Feel free to ask your office mates the questions and make a go of it; forming into teams, etc. After all, it has to be better than work, right?

The way it works is that each question was worth a certain number of points. We had one song to figure out each answer. At the end we wagered on a Bonus Question. Okay, here they are.


1. (Sports, worth 10 points, 5 points for each correct answer) - Who were the first two finishers in the Daytona 500?

2. (History, worth 10 points, 5 points for each correct answer) - Who were the two shortest-serving presidents?

3. (Automotive, 8 points) - What is the best-selling car in the U.S.?

4. (Internet, 9 points) - Multiple Choice: what is the largest cause of online fraud: Nigerian e-mails, Lotteries, Auction, Adult Services

5. (Miscellaneous, 8 points) - The Pyramid of Giza and the Colossus of Rhodes are examples of what?

6. (Money, 8) - What is the #1 expenditure of the U.S. government?

7. (Words, 9) - What does the acronym SCUBA stand for?

8. (People, 9) - What was Citizen Kane's first name?

9. (History, 8) Who was the first person killed in the Boston Massacre?

10. (Science, 8) - What is the Chemical composition of Salt?

Commentary: at this point we were in 2nd place, one point behind the leaders, having only missed one question. We felt pretty good about ourselves. I have the answers here in InvisiText, in case you are playing and don't want them revealed.

Answers:
Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch; William Henry Harrison and James Garfield; Toyota Camry; Auctions; part of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World; Social Security; Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus; Charles Foster Kane; Crispus Attics; NaCl (Sodium and Chloride)

Here are the second half:

11. (Movies, 7) - Felicity Shagwell was a character in what movie?

12. (People, 8) - Who was known as the "Long Island Lolita"?

13. (Words, 7) - What is the more common name for Patella?

14. (Sports, 9) Name the 1996 Olympics Mascot.

15. (Literature, 8) - Multiple Choice. The Great Gatsby lived: East Egg, West Egg, North Egg, South Egg

16. (Books, 9) - The following characters -- Rayford Steele, Bruce Barnes, Nicolae Carpathia, Cameron Buck Williams -- are part of what book series?

17. (TV, 8) - The following TV shows -- Will & Grace, Mad About You, Spin City, Night Court -- have what in common?

18. (Music, 9) - The 1985 song "We Are the World" was co-written by Michael Jackson and who?

19. (Miscellaneous, 10) - The Bessamer Process produces what?

20. (Sports, 8) - What team has won the most Super Bowls?

Commentary: This half we didn't do so well. I KNEW the Gatsby one until Multiple Choice screwed up our thinking. What sucks is that if we had answered that one correct, with how it all turned out, we would have won. Here are the answers:

Answers:
Austin Powers The Spy Who Shagged Me; Amy Fisher; Kneecap; Izzy or Whatzit?; West Egg; part of the Left Behind Series; all set in New York City; Lionel Ritchie; Steel; Dallas Cowboys

Bonus: History. The deal is you can "wager" your point, Jeopardy style. The only catch is that you HAVE to wager at least one point. We were in second place, and wagered enough to cover third place, assuming both third and we got it right, and they bet all the points they had.

Question: Put the following events from 2005 in chronological order, from first to last:
Israel withdraws from Gaza
Iraq holds their first free Election
The identity of Deep Throat is revealed
Pope John Paul II dies
Martha Stewart is released from prison

Pretty freaking tough, huh? Even if you know one or two of the events, where do you place the others? The best way to try to remember is to to remember something that might have been happening in your life when you heard about X. We had two songs on this one, but still had no clue. Carlos was upset we didn't wager 1 point, but I hate doing that. If it turns out you can answer the question, you feel helpless as others pass you by, negating all your hard work. As it turns out, no one got it right, and as I mentioned earlier, had we gotten one more questions right in the regular round, the math would have worked out that we would have won. As it is, we came in second, which was worth a thirty dollar gift certificate to the restaurant. Not bad. Here is the correct order:

Answer:
1/30 - Iraq holds first free election
3/4 - Martha Stewart Released from Prison
4/2 - John Paul II dies
5/31 - Deep Throat Revealed (who was going to remember this exact date!?!)
8/14 - Israel begins its withdrawal from Gaza


Have fun playing. If you play with friends, leave your scores in the comments, and don't forget to answer that question up top!