Hi all—this post is the last in our series of guest posts for March.
Today's newsletter is brought to you by Mark D. Lew. Mark is a member of the team that writes the Hidden Connections MiniLeagues on LearnedLeague.
If you are interested in writing a guest post, perhaps to promote some endeavor of yours, we would love to hear from you! We write the recaps, so all you have to do is write six questions with a hidden theme.
[For this edition, the newsletter title of “Guest Post” is not a clue about the theme.]
Below are six trivia questions. If you’d 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. Doris Day, Albert Einstein, and Richard Nixon are among the many individuals mentioned in WHAT Billy Joel song that in December 1989 reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100?
2. WHAT novel, twice adapted to film, derives its title from an alternate name for a mushroom cloud? The first movie, with the same title as the novel, was the fourth in a long series; the second, with a different title, came eighteen years later but starred the same actor as the protagonist.
3. In one of his last television appearances, Charlton Heston at age 74 played himself in the 14th episode of the fourth season of WHAT sitcom?
4. WHAT adjective did scholar William Muir use to describe two verses in the Qur'an known to Arab historians as gharaniq? The word was famously used in the title of a controversial 1988 novel.
5. WHAT name comes next in the following series? Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss, _____.
6. There are three nations of the world that would continue the pattern established by the previous five answers. Two of those countries are in Europe; NAME the third such country, which is in Asia.
Trivia Newsletter CCX Recap
Thanks to Matt for writing these questions!
1) The court case of the century wrapped up in October 2023 when Taco Bell announced that Taco Tuesday “officially belongs to all who make, sell, eat and celebrate tacos now that” WHAT was relinquished? Two establishments—Taco John’s and Gregory’s Restaurant and Bar—lost their turn with “Taco Tuesday” in the legal proceedings.
This is the REGISTERED TRADEMARK with respect to “Taco Tuesday.”
For how long has Taco Tuesday been around? At least 90 years:
The earliest-documented advertisement for a Tuesday taco special I could find is in the classified section of the October 16, 1933, edition of the El Paso Herald-Post. Under the headline "Some Good Things to Remember," the White Star Cafeteria at the St. Regis launched a weeklong campaign to let everyone know it sold "Mexican Tacos" on Tuesday -- three for just 15 cents.
Newspaper clippings from across the country showed restaurants offered Tuesday taco specials in the ensuing decades, sometimes coming deliciously close to using “Taco Tuesday.” Albuquerque’s Zia Lounge gave away free tacos on Tuesday in early 1949. Around the same time, Oliver’s in Green Bay, Wisconsin, featured a Tuesday taco deal -- free coffee with every purchase. A restaurant called La Cucaracha declared tacos were their “Tuesday special” in the April 13, 1965, edition of the Minneapolis Star Tribune; a small ad in the January 31, 1967, Arizona Daily Star asked readers to "Stop at Pinky's for Tacos"; the next line said, “Tuesday, 6 for 98 cents.” And Combe's Dining Parlor told readers of the Ogden Standard-Examiner in Utah to “Try our Tasty Tacos Tonight” on March 5, 1968 -- a Tuesday.
But the first true documented use of “Taco Tuesday” appeared in the August 20, 1973, edition of the Rapid City Journal in South Dakota. Under the drawing of a Spanish flamenco dancer, the Snow White Drive In asked people to “Stop in on Taco Tuesday.” The Spanish motif continued in Manhattan, Kansas, two years later, where a restaurant called Marti's announced “Every Tuesday is Taco Tuesdays,” complete with a drawing of a bullfighter. “Crisp shell, tangy meat, lettuce, cheese and sauce make our tacos always a treat,” read the ad in the Manhattan Mercury. Cost? Nineteen cents for one.
Taco John's wasn't even the first Mexican chain to launch a Taco Tuesday campaign. That honor went to Baker's Drive-Thru, which operates in California's Inland Empire to this day and advertised a taco special on Tuesday as early as 1967. Their first Taco Tuesday campaign seems to date to 1976. “Why are Tuesdays special?” read an ad in the November 2, 1976, edition of the Progress Bulletin in Pomona. "They're TACO TUESDAYS at Baker's.”
2) After declaring war against Germany in 1917, the U.S. Congress created the “draft” to conscript men for military service. While the country has not involuntarily conscripted soldiers since the early 1970s, no one gets a free play: all biological male US citizens between 18 and 25 are still required to register with WHAT three-letter initialism?
This is the Selective Service System, or SSS.
Something that we are surprised is not more notable is that the 1969 draft lottery to conscript folks into the Vietnam War was almost certainly not a random drawing.
3) Don’t say Jack: He may be most famous for his hairstyle (which he has said is inspired by Mandinka warriors in West Africa) or the catchphrase he coined as Clubber Lang. GIVE the name that this man, born Laurence, is most commonly known by; he chose his name to get instant respect.
This is MR. T.
Here’s the man himself explaining the name change:
"I was not born Mr. T," the actor explains. "I changed my name because as a black man growing up in white society, I watched my father being called 'boy,' and he was a preacher. I watched my brother coming back from the Marines and Vietnam and being called 'boy.' I watched enough black men in my family being called 'boy,' so I point to the fact: What does a black man have to do to get his respect as a man? So, when I became 18 years old, I legally changed my name to Mr. T."
4) There’s Blue, Brown, Green, Orange, Pink, Purple, Red, and Yellow (but no White) spanning 145 stations. NAME the American transit system that is centered around the Loop.
This is Chicago’s “L.” Or is it “El”?
A: Whether the Chicago rapid transit system is officially referred to as the "L" or the "el" seems to be a matter of opinion, but the most commonly accepted version is "L" . This spelling is what the Chicago Transit Authority uses and what the private "L" companies used from the first day of operation.
The key thing to realize is that it is a shortened version of "elevated railroad". Other cities have (or have had) elevated rapid transit systems and they too have used this shortened nickname. However, in other cities (New York City, for instance), it is used as a generic name, so "el" is usually utilized there. In Chicago, however, it specifically refers to a particular system and the more unique and specific "L" is used. But, still, they are sometimes used somewhat interchangeably, especially by the press and public. But, the fact that CTA publicity and literature uses it and the previous companies (mostly the CRT) have also used "L" for their maps, ads and publications would seem to back-up the use of "L" , and not "el", for the Chicago system.
It has never really been completely clear why Chicago calls it 'the "L" ' rather than 'the el", although it was mostly likely 1) a marketing tool or gimmick; and/or 2) may have also been a way to differentiate Chicago from NYC (as the Second City is often wont to do).
The identity of the person who coined it has been lost to history. However, what is known is that the use of the term "L" pre-dates the opening of the first line in 1892 and was quickly adopted by the press and public. It could be seen on printed materials and painted on the elevated structure at stations by 1893, the year after the first line opened. So it has been with us from the beginning of the system. Later, in the 1910s and 1920s, the "L" companies began using it even more prominently on marketing materials, with the invention of a stylized "L" in single quotes (which the CTA briefly brought back for a few year on the rail system maps above the doors on the railcars; it's since been superseded by the new "dot" CTA logo; however, around 2009 the CTA added 'L' in Helvetica type to its rail system car card maps and map posters in rail stations and at bus stops with Decaux shelters).
The CTA seemingly brought the matter to some conclusion on February 9, 2012, when it posted this message to its official Twitter feed in response to a survey by GridChicago about what the proper spelling is: "'L' is correct use, dates back >120 yrs in Chgo; "el" is generic abbrev. for 'elevated,' 'L' applies to whole system. #settled". Indeed.
5) Give it a spin: NAME the symbol for the set of natural numbers {1, 2, 3, 4, 5…}, the symbol for the most abundant element in earth’s atmosphere, or the shorthand SI unit for force (named after the father of classical mechanics).
The common letter here is N (for the set of natural numbers, for nitrogen, and for newtons).
Nitrogen is one of the six elements that form stable homonuclear diatomic molecules (i.e., molecules composed of two atoms of the same chemical element) at standard temperature and pressure. Hydrogen, oxygen, fluorine, and chlorine are gases that also have this property. WHAT element, atomic number 35, also has this property? The answer is at the end of this newsletter.1
6) Can you solve the puzzle? Talk it out. WHAT single character completes the sequence alluded to by the answers to Questions #1 through #5?
The answers in this newsletter pointed to the first five letters that a contestant in the final round of the television show Wheel of Fortune would be given as clues—R (as in ®), S, T, L, and N, and so your job was to name the sixth such letter: E.
Matt also added a variety of WoF-themed clues to the questions:
Question #1: “Lost their turn” referring to the game’s mechanic where players can lose a turn by landing on the relevant wheel space.
Question #2: “No one gets a free play” referring to the wheel’s “Free Play” space.
Question #3: “Don’t say Jack” is a reference to the show’s co-host, Pat Sajak.
Question #4: “(but no White)” refers to the show’s co-host, Vanna White.
Question #5: “Give it a spin” refers to the show’s wheel.
Question #6: “Can you solve the puzzle?” is a straightforward reference to the show’s structure, and “Talk it out” is a common refrain by Sajak to contestants.
For one last reading suggestion, since college basketball continues tonight and throughout the weekend, here is a 2014 Grantland piece that previews that year’s men’s basketball tournament, but in an unusual way. One excerpt:
Kansas (2-seed, South Region)
Emotion represented: Fun for the whole family
Pick if you’re #passionate about: Rocks, chalk, draft stock
It’s lame to compare everything to Game of Thrones, which is fortunate, because nothing on earth is less like Game of Thrones than Kansas basketball. George R.R. Martin’s work depicts a realm of amoral, power-starved monsters who would rip the spine out of a kitten to have their throne raised a tenth of an inch; Kansas basketball, by contrast, has featured zero kitten-despining incidents since at least the early Dick Harp era. But wait, there’s more!
THE TOP 10 GAME OF THRONES CHARACTERS WHO HAVE NOTHING IN COMMON WITH KANSAS BASKETBALL
10. Sansa Stark. I mean … what would Sansa Stark possibly have in common with Kansas basketball? She’s a medieval princess. Kansas basketball players live in the here and now. Please be serious.
9. Grey Wind. Grey Wind is a large, possibly supernatural wolf. Kansas basketball is played by humans. It’s stupid to even think about this.
Question #6 Leaderboard
The Question #6 leaderboard can be viewed at this link. (Updates to the leaderboard may occur irregularly until April.)
The other element that forms stable homonuclear diatomic molecules at STP is BROMINE.