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?

Trivia Answers from 7/27

1.  In "The Hunt for Red October", what was the class of Soviet submarine skippered by the guy who was trying to sink Captain Raimius?  It was an Alfa (or Alpha) Class attack submarine.  Captain Tupolev had some serious issues going on with Ramius.

2.  Sony introduced a home video system in 1975.  It was a very good system, but was beaten in the market by a competitor's home video system due to a marketing blunder.  What was the name of the system that Sony introduced (and which still has a small but loyal following today)?  The BetaMax was the competitor to the VHS system that eventually caught on.  Most agree that the BetaMax was a better system, but the VHS marketing machine was a steamroller.

3.  What was Bruce Banner bombarded with that ultimately caused him to transform into a green behemoth every time he got angry?  Bruce got hit with a hefty dose of Gamma Radiation. 

4.  Norm Abram's show "New Yankee Workshop" is sponsored by which two major tool manufacturing companies (actually, I'll take either one)?  One of them is Porter-Cable, but the one I was really looking for was Delta.  I have some tools from both companies, but I have stuff from other manufacturers as well.

5.  What is the anglicized spelling of the name that citizens of Greece use for their country (Hint: It isn't 'Greece')?  If you couldn't guess the theme of the quiz by this point, well, you're beyond my ability to help.  But the anglicized spelling for their country is Hellas (Ελλάς).

Trivia Time is upon us

There are Rules.  Please read them if you need to, and remember to email your answers to bgoab (at) mindspring (dot) com for credit.  Ready?  Ready or not...

1.  What was the name of the device that the Germans used to encrypt their messages during World War II?

2.  Who played Dr. Zhivago in the movie by the same name?

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?

4.  What's the name of the museum in Ney York City that was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright?

5.  Who sang "The Bear Necessities" in Disney's The Jungle Book?

That gave me just enough time to get over to my regular doctor's office for my annual physical.  Yes, it was a complete physical, but I don't want to talk about that.  Ever.  So don't ask.

I haven't actually seen Dr. A. in forever it seems.  I think the last time I saw him was a few years ago when I went in with Mrs. Guy to see about some bronchitis she was having.  Most of the time I end up seeing a PA.  They've gotten very busy over the years.

At one point we discussed how long I've been his patient.  I had to remind him that I used to have Patient Number 14 before they went to a new numbering system several years back.  I think I dropped in there in the first couple of weeks they were open.  It was planned that way, though.  He and another doctor hung out their shingle only months after I moved to this area, and that other doctor (let's call him "Pooh") is someone I grew up with.

"Pooh" is my sister's age.  His sister is my age.  Our older brothers are almost the same age.  Their family and ours lived right next to each other at one point, and both families moved into the same neighborhood very close to each other when I was two years old.  "Pooh" was his nickname way back in the day.  I have to be careful about telling that to his staff, though, cause he knows embarrasing stories about me, too.  Ahem...not that there are any, of course.

So anyway we decided back when I first went to their office that I should be Dr. A's patient for a variety of reasons, but I think mostly because Dr. A didn't know as many people in the area and had fewer patients then.  It's worked out well, as Dr. A is now a friend as well (though I rarely see him these days).

So anyway, he pronounced me the fittest overweight patient that he has, which we both credit to cycling.  Cycling, when I actually get to do it (a reference to the last three months of enforced sloth) is very effective at helping me lose weight, and now that I'm back at it, maybe I can get back under 230 pounds by early September (like I was back in April).

Now I'm headed to Deal's Gap for the annual Miatas At The Gap weekend (hence the early post today).  I won't be staying overnight though, as I have to pick up Mrs. Guy at the airport at 9:15 pm or so.  I figure she'll want to have some 'together time' to decompress, so I'll just go ahead and throw this out there now.

Trivia Answers from 7/20:

1.  What religious denomination was Tour de France phenom Floyd Landis brought up in?  Floyd was a Mennonite.  Let me just say right here that I can't fathom that Floyd would possibly have purposefully used performance-enhancing drugs.

2.  What does 'BART' stand for to San Franciscans?  Having nothing to do with 'The Simpsons', BART stands for Bay Area Rapid Transit.  At least that's the official acronym.  I've heard a few others, and most aren't repeatable here.

3.  Who bought McDonalds from the McDonald brothers and made it the most successful franchise restaurant?  Ray Kroc was a restaurant-equipment salesman who apparently knew a good thing when he saw it.  He took the little hamburger stand in San Bernadino, California and turned into a worldwide phenomenon.

4.  The Hudson Bay is bounded by what large peninsula on it's east side?  This is something I know because of my love of dogs.  It's the Labrador Peninsula.

5.  Asa Candler (1851-1929) is seen as being responsible for the overwhelming success of what famous product?  Asa bought the formula for Coca-Cola from its inventor, John Pemberton, way back in 1887 and aggresively marketed it, overseeing it's growth to the leader in soft-drink sales.  Asa Candler also served as the Mayor of Atlanta for a time, but is much more well known due to his association with 'The Real Thing'.

Extra Credit Science Question: 'PV=nRT' is also know as __________.  The Ideal Gas Law.  I just have to throw a science question in once in a while.  But a couple of answers to this one stand out.

From CafLib: "Pervert? The formula kinda looks like it spells "pervert" if you squint at it..."

From Honor: "Package Vacations = no Restful Travel"

Thanks for the laughs, ladies.

Trivia Time

Please remember to follow the Rules and to send your answers to bgoab (at) mindspring (dot) com.

1.  In "The Hunt for Red October", what was the class of Soviet submarine skippered by the guy who was trying to sink Captain Raimius?

2.  Sony introduced a home video system in 1975.  It was a very good system, but was beaten in the market by a competitor's home video system due to a marketing blunder.  What was the name of the system that Sony introduced (and which still has a small but loyal following today)?

3.  What was Bruce Banner bombarded with that ultimately caused him to transform into a green behemoth every time he got angry?

4.  Norm Abram's show "New Yankee Workshop" is sponsored by which two major tool manufacturing companies (actually, I'll take either one)?

5.  What is the anglicized spelling of the name that citizens of Greece use for their country (Hint: It isn't 'Greece')?