Trivia Factorial Omake 4
Trivia for August 19, 2025
9/29 EDIT: You might be wondering why you haven’t received an edition of Trivia Factorial in several weeks. The answer is that we haven’t published any. We’ll be back—for real this time—on or before Friday, October 17th.
Last September, we introduced two omake sets—basically bonus sets of questions that, for whatever reason, would not make for a good set in standard editions of Trivia Factorial. We’re spending a little extra time on our upcoming 300th mainline edition, so today, we have a fourth omake set.
Today’s set doesn’t count for the Question #6 leaderboard, but we included a submission button below in case you’d like to play along anyway. We’re taking off this Friday, and so we’ll be back on [EDIT: see above].
Below are eight trivia questions. If you would like to participate, you can either reply to this e-mail or submit your answers via Google Forms by using the button below. You can find our rules and guidelines by following this link.
1) “Well, I told you to [BLANK] / I'm sorry now, so won't you come on back?” are the lyrics that begin the song “Well, I Told You” by the Chantels. That song is a response to WHAT hugely popular song released in 1961? The song’s four-word name also fills in the quoted blank.
2) Robert Kirkman is most notable for creating the comic-book series Invincible, which ran for 144 issues from 2003 to 2018, and for co-creating WHAT other comic-book series, which ran for 193 issues from 2003 to 2019?
3) FILL in the blank in this ordered and otherwise complete list provided by the United States Department of Agriculture: Prime, [BLANK], Select, Standard, Commercial, Utility, Cutter, and Canner.
4) In the 1987 video game Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, a character in the town of Ruto introduces himself by saying “I am” WHAT? The unlikely name is believed to be an in-joke by the game’s programmers, as a similar character is named “Bug.”
5) James McNeill Whistler’s painting Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1, often called Whistler’s Mother, is central to the plot of WHAT 1997 film based on a sitcom? The film is sometimes subtitled “The Ultimate Disaster Movie”.
6) WHAT letter, when dropped from the English name of a certain country, yields the mononymous name that Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin is better known by?
7) The Comité International Spécial des Perturbations Radioélectriques was formed in 1934 to address a particular problem often called “EMI” that is caused by, among other things, lightning, solar flares, and auroras. WHAT does “EMI” in this context stand for?
8) The answers to Questions #1 through #7 allude to a seven-event set, sorted from most common to least common. These events, collectively, happened in a particular context exactly 3,496,892 times from 1945 to 2012 (and will almost certainly happen hundreds of times today). “Make out” the theme and provide the place to which each of the seven events directly leads.
Trivia Newsletter CCXCIX Recap
1) “Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do,” besides being good advice for Trivia Factorial players, is a quote from the 1946 bestseller The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care. NAME that work’s author.
This is BENJAMIN SPOCK.
Let’s jump right in to The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care, right after “You know more than you think you do”:
Soon you’re going to have a baby. Maybe you have him1 already. You're happy and excited, but, if you haven’t had much experience, you wonder whether you are going to know how to do a good job. Lately you have been listening more carefully to your friends and relatives when they talked about bringing up a child. You’ve begun to read articles by experts in the magazines and newspapers. After the baby is born, the doctor and nurses will begin to give you instructions, too. Sometimes it sounds like a very complicated business. You find out all the vitamins a baby needs and all the inoculations. One mother tells you you must use the black kind of nipples, another says the yellow. You hear that a baby must be handled as little as possible, and that a baby must be cuddled plenty; that spinach is the most valuable vegetable, that spinach is a worthless vegetable; that fairy tales make children nervous, and that fairy tales are a wholesome outlet.
Don't take too seriously all that the neighbors say. Don’t be overawed by what the experts say. Don’t be afraid to trust your own common sense. Bringing up your child won’t be a complicated job if you take it easy, trust your own instincts, and follow the directions that your doctor gives you. We know for a fact that the natural loving care that kindly parents give to their children is a hundred times more valuable than their knowing how to pin a diaper on just right, or making a formula expertly. Every time you pick your baby up, even if you do it a little awkwardly at first, every time you change him, bathe him, feed him, smile at him, he’s - getting a feeling that he belongs to you and that you belong to him. Nobody else in the world, no matter how skillful, can give that to him.
It may surprise you to hear that the more people have studied different methods of bringing up children the more they have come to the conclusion that what good mothers and fathers instinctively feel like doing for their babies is usually best after all. Furthermore, all parents do their best job when they have a natural, easy confidence in themselves. Better to make a few mistakes from being natural than to do everything letter-perfect out of a feeling of worry.
2) Princess Mary, the eldest daughter of King Charles I of England, was the first holder of the title “Princess Royal” in the British monarchy. NAME the seventh and current Princess Royal.
This is ANNE (customarily “Anne, Princess Royal” or “Her Royal Highness”).
Anne celebrated her 75th birthday just four days ago, according to the Instagram account of the royal family. The family’s official website also published a list of 75 facts about Her Royal Highness to commemorate the occasion. Here’s an appropriate fact from that list:
On 5th February 1987, Princess Anne became the first member of The Royal Family to appear as a contestant on a television quiz-show when she competed on the BBC panel game, A Question of Sport.
Here’s more on that appearance:
"Is it John Reid?" Those few words uttered by Emlyn Hughes were the foundations for the most famous episode of A Question of Sport, the opening gambit in a series of events that still bring a smile to the face.
"John Reid!" guffawed [host David] Coleman, in response to Hughes' Picture Round guess. Coleman sounded even happier than usual at Hughes' wrong answer, and it soon became apparent why. When [Bill] Beaumont tentatively suggested that the mud-splattered jockey may in fact be Princess Anne, Hughes was beside himself: "Don't put that out. They'll hang me." Not only did the clip survive the edit, but a chuffed Coleman informed Hughes that Princess Anne was to appear on the show in two weeks' time.
So it transpired that on Thursday 5 February 1987 an estimated 19 million viewers tuned in to watch the eagerly awaited appearance of HRH on Hughes' team, the 200th episode of the programme. The viewing public were not disappointed.
Princess Anne showed the nation that she possessed a mischievous sense of humour: teasing Hughes as to whether he could ascertain the right gender of a sporting figure on the Picture Board; criticising her captain's spelling; and cheekily challenging Coleman at one point, leading to the host crying: "I can see you're on the right team."
3) 7 Days in Hell, a 2015 mockumentary starring Andy Samberg and Kit Harington, is a spoof of an event that took place on June 22, 2010 (and on June 23rd and June 24th). NAME either of the primary participants in that event.
These folks are JOHN ISNER and NICOLAS MAHUT. Isner and Mahut met in the first round of Wimbledon and played, by far, the longest match in the history of professional tennis:
I recommend reading this live blog describing the match, which descended into madness:
7.30pm: Let it end, let it end, it's 46-all. It was funny when it was 16-all and it was creepy when it was 26-all. But this is pure purgatory and there is still no end in sight. John Isner has just struck his 90th ace. Nicolas Mahut, poor, enfeebled Nicolas Mahut, has only hit 72. Maybe we should just decide it on the number of aces struck? Give the game to Isner and then we can all crawl into our graves.
7.45pm: What happens if we steal their rackets? If we steal their rackets, the zombies can no longer hit their aces and thump their backhands and keep us all prisoner on Court 18. I'm shocked that this is only occurring to me now. Will nobody run onto the court and steal their rackets? Are they all too scared of the zombies' clutching claws and gore-stained teeth? Steal their rackets and we can all go home. Who's with me? Steal their rackets and then run for the tube.
4) The M46, a medium tank first designed in 1948, was named after WHAT late U.S. military officer who established the Army’s first tank training school?
This is GEORGE PATTON. Here’s a quick summary of the basic facts that you’ll want to know about Patton:
George Patton (born November 11, 1885, San Gabriel, California, U.S.—died December 21, 1945, Heidelberg, Germany) was a U.S. Army officer who was an outstanding practitioner of mobile tank warfare in the European and Mediterranean theatres during World War II. His strict discipline, toughness, and self-sacrifice elicited exceptional pride within his ranks, and the general was colourfully referred to as [BLANK] by his men. However, his brash actions and mercurial temper led to numerous controversies during his career.
WHAT nickname for Patton did we replace with a blank in the preceding quote? The answer’s at the end of this newsletter.2
5) Bitcoin Billionaires: A True Story of Genius, Betrayal, and Redemption is the 2019 sequel to the 2009 [work]3 The Accidental Billionaires (subtitle omitted). NAME the two real-life figures central to Bitcoin Billionaires who vii for wealth and vindication.
These folks are TYLER WINKLEVOSS and CAMERON WINKLEVOSS. The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, a Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal is the book that was adapted into the 2010 film The Social Network. The Winklevoss twins, key characters in the book and film, are facetiously called the “Winklevii” in The Social Network, so we wrote “vie” as “vii” in this question as a clue for you.
“Great film, great story, but certainly not the full story,” Cameron Winklevoss once wrote of The Social Network, without elaboration.
6) Each of the answers to Questions #1 through #5 shares a (perhaps surprising) connection. NAME the connection. Missouri, New York, California, Georgia, and Utah are the only five U.S. states that, in a different sense, share the connection. (One word is sufficient.)
Each of the seven folks who are the answers to Questions #1 through #5 COMPETED IN THE OLYMPIC GAMES:
Dr. Benjamin Spock won a gold medal in men’s rowing in the 1924 Olympics.
Anne, Princess Royal, competed in eventing (an equestrian sport) at the 1976 Olympics.
Isner (2012) and Mahut (2016, 2020) have competed in tennis events at the Olympics.
George Patton competed in the modern pentathlon at the 1912 Olympics.4
The Winklevoss twins competed in the men's pair rowing event at the 2008 Olympics.
Our newsletter title was “What Nicolas Cage and Pamela Anderson Have in Common.” What they have in common is that each of them has been married five times. Being married five times might be suggestive of having five rings, just like the Olympic logo.5
Question #6 Leaderboard
The Question #6 leaderboard can be viewed at this link. (We’re a week behind here; this will be updated next week.)
Spock refers to any particular baby as “him” throughout the 1946 edition of Spock’s book. Spock explains the choice in this way: “I want to apologize to half the fathers and mothers who are going to read the book. I mean the parents whose first baby is a girl. Everywhere I’ve called the baby “him.” I think girl babies are as wonderful as boy babies. But in every sentence I can't say “her or him” and I can't say “it” (parents would rather have their baby called by the wrong sex than be called “it”). Why can’t I call the baby “her” in at least half the book? I need “her” to refer to the mother. I hope the parents of girls will understand and forgive me.”
Patton was known by the nickname “OLD BLOOD AND GUTS.”
The original draft of this question used the word “novel” for the book The Accidental Billionaires. I used the word “novel” carelessly; The Accidental Billionaires, a work of non-fiction, is definitionally not a novel. I regret the error.
Thanks to Knowing without Understanding for bringing this Patton fact to my attention.
Pamela Anderson’s five marriages were to four different folks—she married Rick Salomon on two different occasions.