Below are six trivia questions I’ve written. You can reply to this e-mail if you’d like to participate. Like most trivia, the answers can be readily found via Google, so you’re on the honor system. The SIXTH question of each set is designed to be a question that cannot be easily Googled, so correct answers to those will be tracked and recognized in the next newsletter. The answers, and the next set of questions, will be published every Monday and Thursday.
1) In 1995, sports commentator Tony Kornheiser wrote “I fear this climate of political correctness. If ‘Pistol Pete’ Maravich were playing today, would he have to be known as ‘Pesto Pete’? Should Chuck ‘The Rifleman’ Person petition to change his nickname to ‘The Raffleman’?” Kornheiser was specifically arguing against a proposed name change to WHAT major sports team? (The prior or current team name is acceptable.)
2) In recognition of his actions one year ago today, WHAT U.S. Capitol Police officer was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal on February 12, 2021? “He is wholly deserving of the highest civilian honor bestowed by Congress,” said Senator Chris Van Hollen, “and I'm glad the Senate acted quickly on our legislation to recognize the quick thinking and bravery of this great Marylander with a Congressional Gold Medal.”
3) NAME the most populous US city that has a double letter in its name where the double letter is a vowel—so, cities such as Jacksonville or Charlotte would not qualify.
4) As described on chef Gordon Ramsay’s official website, the following list is the complete list of ingredients for WHAT specific dish?
2 x 400g beef fillets
Olive oil, for frying
500g mixture of wild mushrooms, cleaned
1 thyme sprig, leaves only
500g puff pastry
8 slices of Parma ham
2 egg yolks, beaten with 1 tbsp water and a pinch of salt
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
5) A “lake island” is, predictably enough, an island in a lake. Three of the seven largest lake islands in the world, located very close to one another, are Manitoulin Island, St. Joseph Island, and Drummond Island. All three islands are located in WHAT lake?
6) Each of these nations, among others, shares WHAT unusual distinction? Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guyana, Italy, Liberia, Kazakhstan, Mauritius, New Zealand, São Tomé and Príncipe, Slovakia, the United States.
Here are the answers from last time:
1) Episodes of television shows such as Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine often begin by jumping directly into the story before the title sequence or opening credits are shown. WHAT two-word name is generally given to these beginning scenes?
The answer here is “cold open,” though an answer like “teaser sequence” would have worked as well. Cold opens have been around for decades—Star Trek, Saturday Night Live, and some old-timey radio shows employ them as well.
2) Hey now, you're not an all-star of the NBA, but you did get your game on when you won the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award in 2011. WHO are you?
The NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2011 was Lamar Odom, who last played in the NBA in 2013 and is, to some, perhaps more famous for his appearances on Keeping Up with the Kardashians. This question didn’t give you much to work with—more on that below in #6.
3) Since 1990, WHAT actress is the only person to win back-to-back Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress - Motion Picture Comedy or Musical? She won for playing the film roles of con artist Sydney Prosser and not-con artist Margaret Keane in the two films.
This is Amy Adams for her roles in American Hustle (2013) and Big Eyes (2014). To quote BoJack Horseman: “A doctor heals, a DJ spins, Jessica Chastain takes whatever gig Amy Adams says no to,” and “A doctor heals, a DJ spins, Bryce Dallas Howard takes the gigs Jessica Chastain says no to.”
4) On June 15, 2012, high-wire artist Nik Wallenda completed what he claims to be the longest unsupported tightrope walk in history (1,800 feet or 550 meters), and then was required to present his passport at the end of the walk. WHAT geographical feature did Wallenda cross during this trek?
Wallenda crossed Niagara Falls—the hope was that the passport clue (together with the mention of both feet and meters) would make you think of international boundaries. Wallenda is a member of The Flying Wallendas, the family group of aerialists.
5) NAME the woman, born in 1979 as Vera Chokalingam and with a middle name inspired by a spinoff of the television show Happy Days, who has published the following works: Unbelievable Holiday Tales: Scripting a Fantasy of a Family, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns), Questions I Ask When I Want to Talk About Myself: 50 Topics to Share With Friends, Nothing Like I Imagined (Except for Sometimes), and Why Not Me?.
This is Mindy Kaling—Mindy is legally her middle name, which was inspired by the TV show Mork & Mindy. Kaling is set to co-write the next Legally Blonde movie soon with Dan Goor (a writer for Parks and Recreation, and co-creator of Brooklyn Nine-Nine).
6) WHAT unusual distinction is shared by each of these songs? “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel, “Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of...)” by Lou Bega, “O.P.P.” by Naughty By Nature, “You Sexy Thing” by Hot Chocolate, “Tiny Dancer” by Elton John, “Leaving on a Jet Plane” by John Denver, “Runaway Train” by Soul Asylum, “Girlfriend” by Avril Lavigne, “American Pie” by Don McClean, “Who Let the Dogs Out?” by Baha Men, “Goodbye Stranger” by Supertramp, “Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus, “Seasons of Love” by the cast of Rent.
Each of these songs was parodied or riffed by characters on the television show The Office (the US version), often in memorable and pivotal scenes in the show’s run. The other questions in the newsletter were each trying to point you to The Office. For Question #1, The Office also has cold opens (and has several connections to Parks & Rec and Brooklyn Nine-Nine in terms of actors and themes). Question #2 is lifted word-for-word from the script of the Office episode “Trivia,” when in Season 8 most of the cast plays in a bar trivia night. For Question #3, Amy Adams appeared several times in Seasons 1 and 2 of the show as Jim’s girlfriend. Question #4 centered around Niagara Falls, which was featured in the episodes where Jim and Pam get married. On Question #5, it probably goes without saying that Kaling played Kelly on the show and was one of the show’s core writers. Finally, “Mindful Friend” is an anagram of “Dunder Mifflin,” the company at the core of the plot of The Office.
The current Question #6 leaderboard can be viewed at this link.