Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts. Founded by Mark Kleiman (1951-2019)
Using these brief descriptions, Google not and name the U.S. President to whom each refers. Please post scores and any comments/critiques at the end. Good luck!
1. Bachelor
2. Served discontinuous terms
3. Shortest stature
4. Shortest time in office
5. First former veep to become POTUS
6. GI Bill signer
7. Made first Presidential address on radio.
8. Held first televised press conference
9. Distant cousin of First Lady Barbara Bush
10. Nicknamed “Elegant”, accused of being Canadian
I was a huge fan of the late James Garner, including of course for his work on the Rockford Files. This quiz is a tribute to that show, which always opened with a message left on Jim’s answering machine. The list below includes 8 real messages from season 1, and two that are fake. Your challenge is to identify the fakes. Answers after the jump. Observations on the quiz or on just how damn great this show was are welcome in the comments.
1. “Mr. Rockford? This is the Thomas Crown School of Dance and Contemporary Etiquette. We aren’t going to call again. Now, you want these free lessons, or what?”
2. “It’s Norma at the market. It bounced. You want me to tear it up, send it back, or put it with the others?”
3. “Sonny, it’s Dad. Remember how my truck had that problem with the brakes? Can you pick me up at the end of the Santa Monica pier?”
4. “It’s Laurie at the trailer park. A space opened up. Do you want me to save it or are the cops going to let you stay where you are?”
5. “I staked out that guy only it didn’t work out like you said. Please call me. Room 234. County Hospital.”
6. “It’s Audra. Remember last summer at Pat’s? I’ve got a twelve hour layover before I go to Chicago. How about it?”
7. “This is Shirley at the bank. The answers are: no, no, and yes. No, we won’t loan you money. No, we won’t accept any co-signers; and yes, your account’s overdrawn. I get off at 4:30.”
8. “Jimmy it’s Angel. I’m onto an incredible land deal that you’ve got to get in on. Buddy, you are going to LOVE Florida, Call me.”
9. “It’s Doc Jones. What did you do to the hand, son? Three fractured knuckles! You hit somebody?”
10. “This is Mrs. Lindis. Three time this month I came to clean and it always look like people been fighting in there. Furniture broke, things tipped over. I’m sorry, but I quit.”
Due both to being an amateur film reviewer and to observing the process through which my wife’s writing was made into the movie, I often surf Internet Movie Database and read its brief descriptions of various films. Here is the one for Casablanca.
Set in unoccupied Africa during the early days of World War II: An American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications.
Sometimes, the films described are so strange sounding I can hardly believe they are real, and that is the seed from which this quiz grows. Below are 5 short film descriptions of the horror/sci-fi genre. Three of them are real descriptions from IMDB whereas the other two I made up. Try to guess which is which. Answers after the jump. As ever, please post scores and any critiques/comments/corrections at the end.
1. A lesbian college couple becomes stranded in the middle of nowhere with a pack of orphaned Nazi zombie breeders hellbent on their demise.
2. When an island off the coast of Ireland is invaded by bloodsucking aliens, the heroes discover that getting drunk is the only way to survive.
3. Two awkward Martian teenagers infiltrate the Texas Chili Cook Off and try to reunite their squabbling parents at the same time.
4. After making a pact with a witch to win a high school tennis tournament, the class nerd is terrorized by blood-sucking tennis balls that can only be defeated by a magical silver racket.
5. Aliens resurrect dead humans as zombies and vampires to stop humanity from creating the Solaranite (a sort of sun-driven bomb).
Today’s quiz is about international abbreviations. Google not and see how you do on this one. Please post your score and any comments/corrections. Answers and scoring key after the jump.
1. During the Eurozone crisis, what five countries were referred to as the PIIGS?
2. What three nations signed the ANZUS treaty?
3. What four countries are referred to in the acronym BRIC?
4. Sometimes a fifth nation is added to make the above BRICS. What is this country?
5. What four developing nations are shorthanded as MINT?
6. For what does the acronym SEATO stand?
7. Three of the world’s busiest airports are abbreviated DXB, HND and LHR respectively. What are their full names?
8. The above are termed IATA codes, which stands for what?
9. What nations’ currencies are abbreviated BMD, ILS, NOK and TND, respectively?
10. If you were a librarian, you would often have occasion to look up an ISSN or the LTWA. For what do these acronyms stand?
These questions are all about The Bible. Google not and see how many you can get correct - post your scores and any comments at the end. Correct answers and scoring key after the jump.
1. The Byrds 1965 mega-hit Turn, Turn, Turn was written by Pete Seeger, who lifted its lyrics from which book of the Bible?
2. The Bible was originally written in what three languages?
3. Which has more books, the Old Testament or the New Testament?
4. George Washington was the first person to take his Presidential Oath of Office with his hand on The Bible. What President broke the tradition?
5. In 2009, Barack Obama also did something different than George Washington by being sworn into Presidential office with his hand on TWO Bibles. Who were the original owners of these two Bibles?
6. Two apostles shared a first name and are thus distinguished patronymically in The New Testament. What was the shared first name?
7. The expression “The left hand didn’t know what the right hand is doing” is now generally used to describe something negative, such as a political scandal or complete disorganization. But this phrase derives from a Biblical verse which actually recommends that the left hand not know what the right hand is doing. What is the context in which this recommendation is to be practiced?
8. During the time of Jesus’ preaching, who was the ruler of the region of Galilee?
9. Many people misquote Proverbs 16: 18 as “Pride goeth before a fall”. What is the correct wording?
10. Many people think “God helps those who help themselves” is from The Bible, but it actually comes from what other famous book?
Continue reading “Pub Quiz”
A seven question political history trivia quiz
In my continuing quest to waste my own time and help you to do the same, I have created this pub quiz about political history. The format is “These but not those”.
An example format of the prompt is:
President, Senator and Governor but not Secretary of State or FBI Director
To which the answer would be: Positions to which people are elected by vote.
Google not and see if you can answer the seven questions below. I put my answers after the jump. There could easily be more than one correct, important answer (i.e., not a trivial one like “words with an n in them”). If you don’t get my answer but have a credible alternative please post it and take the points for a correct answer.
In any event, please post your score. Good luck!
1. Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford and Harry Truman but not Jimmy Carter or Richard Nixon.
2. Secretary of State, Secretary of War, Secretary of the Treasury and Attorney General but not Secretary of the Interior or Secretary of Agriculture.
3. Winfield Scott, Zachary Taylor, Henry Clay and Millard Fillmore but not Franklin Pierce or Ulysses S. Grant.
4. William Henry Harrison, James Garfield, William Howard Taft and William McKinley but not Calvin Coolidge or Chester A. Arthur
5. U.K. Prime Ministers Ramsey McDonald, Gordon Brown and Henry Campbell-Bannerman but not Tony Blair or Winston Churchill
6. James Garfield, William Henry Harrison and Franklin Delano Roosevelt but not Richard Nixon or Woodrow Wilson.
7. John Nance Garner, Harry Truman and Henry Wallace but not Alben Barkley or Thomas Dewey
On a grey and parky Sunday afternoon, few things are more diverting than a quiz down at the pub. Throw a log on the fire, pull yourself a pint of bitter and above all Google not and see how many of these 10 questions you can get correct. This one isn’t too hard so you should be able to correctly answer at least half and maybe even all of them.
Answers after the jump. Please post your score.
1. London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital has been able to treat many sick children over the years because it was generously granted the rights to what classic children’s tale?
2. By what moniker is Nick Chopper better known?
3. Jim Hawkins is the hero of what well-loved children’s book?
4. How many siblings does Tiny Tim have in a Christmas Carol?
5. Who uses her psychic powers to get the better of the horrid Miss Trunchbull?
6. In the original version of the poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas”, what reindeer names followed these words “On, Comet! on, Cupid!, on…”
7. What doctor made the largest ever contribution to Dartmouth Medical School?
8. The Terrible Trivium is a villain in what book?
9. What do the authors of Winnie the Pooh, Mary Poppins, Peter Pan and Go, Dog, Go have in common, besides the obvious fact that they all wrote famous children’s books?
10. Who were the two parties in this exchange?:
“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,”
“I don’t much care where-”
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,”
“-so long as I get somewhere,”
“Oh, you’re sure to do that if you only walk long enough.”