Big Guy on a Bicycle

August 17 Trivia Answers

1.  Which US President signed into law a bill legalizing the home-brewing of beer and wine?  Jimmy Carter signed off on that one, possibly hoping that Billy Beer could move back into his brother’s basement and out of grocery stores…

2.  The presidential retreat in Fredrick County, Maryland, is called Camp David.  Who named it that and who is it named after?  Dwight D. Eisenhower named it after his grandson in 1953.

3.  What did Francis Crick and James Watson win a Nobel Prize for in 1962?  Watson and Crick were actually two of three men awarded the Nobel for their work on the structure of DNA.  Maurice Wilkins also shared in the award, but is less famous for it.

4.  Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe put out a studio album back in 1989.  All were previous members of what famous band?  All were previous members of Yes.  Yes later reformed again after the ABWH album to limited success.

5.  Who was the only American cyclist to win the famous Giro d’Italia (AKA the Tour of Italy)?  Andy Hampsten, AKA “The Hampster” won an exciting Giro d’Italia back in 1988 while riding for the 7-Eleven team.

August 10 Trivia Answers

1. Who wrote the Pelican Brief? John Grisham wrote this and many other fine novels, some of which may be the subjects of future trivia questions.

2. How many provinces and territories are there in Canada?  Ten and three.  That is, ten provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador [both together make one], Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Saskatchewan) and three territories (Northwest, Nunavut, and Yukon).

3. What ship hosted the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on Sept 2, 1945?  The USS Missouri (BB-63) had that honor.  “Big Mo” also happens to be the last American battleship ever built (HMS Vanguard was the last to be built in the world).

4. According to Isaac Asimov, how many laws of robotics are there?  There are three laws of robotics.

5. What happened in the Kansas City Hyatt Regency on July 17, 1981? The Hyatt was hosting a social gathering and dance when disaster struck.  Two of the catwalks in the atrium of the hotel (where the even was being held) collapsed due to…well, that’s a little complicated, but the engineers were blamed and rightly so.  Many lives were lost and many survivors were seriously injured.  This case study was one we dealt with in my own college structural design classes.

Extra Credit: What were Asimov's laws of robotics?

#1 – Don’t talk about Fight Club.  No, no, no…wrong rules.  Let’s try again.

1. A robot may not harm a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

August 3 Trivia Answers 

1.  What was the name of the device that the Germans used to encrypt their messages during World War II?  It was generally called the Enigma machine, but the German model used during WWII was called the Wehrmacht Enigma.

2.  Who played Dr. Zhivago in the movie by the same name?  Omar Shariff starred as the good doctor.

3.  What character was in the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings book (but not the movie) who demonstrated that the Ring of Power had no power over him?  Many LOTR buffs were upset that Tom Bombadil did not make it into the movie, but Peter Jackson had to decide early on that the movies were going to be long enough as it was.

4.  What's the name of the museum in New York City that was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright?  The Guggenheim, specifically the ‘Soloman R. Guggenheim Museum’ is on the Upper East Side in Manhattan, directly across 5^th Avenue from Central Park (and somewhat near the water, if I remember correctly).

5.  Who sang "The Bear Necessities" in Disney's The Jungle Book?  Baloo (derived from the Hindi word for “bear”) sang this with Mowgli.  Baloo was played by Phil Harris.

1.  Which US President signed into law a bill legalizing the home-brewing of beer and wine?

2.  The presidential retreat in Fredrick County, Maryland, is called Camp David.  Who named it that and who is it named after?

3.  What did Francis Crick and James Watson win a Nobel Prize for in 1962?

4.  Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe put out a studio album back in 1989.  All were previous members of what famous band?

5.  Who was the only American cyclist to win the famous Giro d’Italia (AKA the Tour of Italy)?

1. Who wrote the Pelican Brief?

2. How many provinces and territories are there in Canada?

3. What ship hosted the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on Sept 2, 1945?

4. According to Isaac Asimov, how many laws of robotics are there?

5. What happened in the Kansas City Hyatt Regency on July 17, 1981?

Extra Credit: What were Asimov's laws of robotics?