July 7, 2009 question - Glee

The Bright Side
It only took me four years to find one.
Glee: noun The feeling evoked by the 2005 World Series Champion White Sox sharing a theme song with a series about show choir


Today's Question
Really Cool Literature
Who is the alter ego of Steve Rogers?

Previous Answer
And the people who knew it
For real, it wasn't a trick question yesterday, and the answer was The Sun Also Rises, as Karen H (the H stands for Hemingway) knew quite well. Nicely done!

July 6, 2009 question - Gore '09

It's Pamplona Time.

Keep a close eye on your upper thigh.
The economy is wearing on the city of Pamplona and its annual running of the bulls.

Call me old school, but I'd rather be pinched by a recession than gored by a bull.

Today's Question
Literature
What Hemingway novel popularized the San Fermín festival in Pamplona?

Previous Answer
And the people who knew it
I'm a little disappointed in you for trusting me so much. I tried to tell you overtly that I would not be asking trick questions anymore . . . which is exactly what someone who is about to ask yet another trick question would say. Because there are no, zero, nada free-standing structures that reach higher than the Sears Tower antennas. By most classifications, antennae do not count in the "world's tallest" argument. Spires count, antennas don't. I can't pretend to understand it, but that's the way it is. So in my mind (where anyone is free to roam around, although I don't recommend it) the Sears tower is the world's tallest building. There are four structures that go higher than the top of the actual building, but those red and white feelers touch rarified air. So congrats to Sears, Willis, and all future names of Chicago's most altitudinous location!

July 2, 2009 question - I'm a Tricky Sicky

Once, Doce, Trece, Catorce
Sears Tower now a little place called Vertigo
The Sears Tower is set to change its name to Willis Tower later this summer, but for now it will test out a series of temporary names: Vertigo Tower, Wetmypants Place, Faintville, and Holycrap, just to name a few. That's because the Sears Tower skydeck now features a number of glass-box observatories collectively called "The Ledge," allowing people to stand suspended 103-stories above the Chicago pavement with an unobstructed view of the descent to their doom, one engineers claim will probably not occur.

Reading the story about this "innovation," I almost threw up and fainted. They say the idea for The Ledge came from all the forehead smudges they had to clean from the observatory windows. Guess what, fellas? If people of my ilk frequent the 103rd floor, the messes you'll have to clean up from those ill-begotten boxes of death will make you pine for the good-old days of forehead smudges.

For real, Willis, watchu talkin' 'bout?

Today's Question
Superlatives
How many buildings/free-standing structures in the world reach higher than the top of the Sears Tower's antennas?

Previous Answer
And the people who knew it
Some of you knew how to spell Albuquerque, some of you didn't, and the very sharpest among you didn't care. The capital of New Mexico is Santa Fe. Here's who overcame that spelling challenge:

Melinda
Karen H (the H stands for How Do You Spell, Jerk? A-D-A-M)
Charles

I'll try to keep my trick questions at a bare minimum from now on. Congratulations, all who doubt me.

July 1, 2009 question - No X-Ray Necessary

Birds Fly With No Clothes On
Why, oh, why can't I?
A man aboard a US Airways flight from North Carolina to LA found a brand new way to get comfortable on his cross-country flight. He donned a suit his parents had given him on his birthday . . . you know, his birthday suit. Figuratively.

So there he was, sitting in his assigned seat (complete story with photos) when two off-duty police officers who just happened to be onboard (the plane, not with the plan to fly in the buff) wrestled him to the ground, covered him up, and restrained him with what appears to be an extension cord and some luggage straps.

Meanwhile, the flight was diverted to New Mexico (ABQ). Talk about taking a wrong turn at AL-buh-KUR-kee.

Today's Question
Geography
What is the correct spelling of the state capital of New Mexico?

Previous Answer
And the people who knew it
Congrats to Kyle and Heidi who knew that the Elephant Man's doc was also the first to perform an appendectomy. I don't know if it was successful or not, but their trivia efforts certainly were. Nicely done!

June 29, 2009 question - Trivia Saves Lives

What's with the Dying?
Trivia was never meant to be an obit
Ed McMahon. Farrah Fawcett. Michael Jackson. Billy Mays. I guess the lesson here is, when I don't send Trivia, celebrities die. I'm on it.

Today's Question
History
Sir Frederick Treves, the physician famed for treating "Elephant Man" Joseph Merrick, was also the first to perform what surgical procedure?

Previous Answer
And the people who knew it
Dorothy Gale was the central character in The Wizard of Oz, although the Ozzians knew her by one name only, a la Madonna and Cher. Congrats to Jocelyn, John H (the H stands for Happy Birthday), Karen H (the H stands for Howling Winds Of Genius), Stephen K (the K stands for Knocked Out During House Relocation), and Karen M (the M stands for Emily), all of whom knew Dorothy long before she hit it big on the Yellow Brick Road. Your intellect blows me away.

June 23, 2009 question - Ed Signs Off

Hiyoooooo In Peace
Ed & Johnny Together in the Late, Late, Late Show
Ed McMahon worked in a business in which appearing on screen is life. So to all of us who say he will be missed, let's be realistic. In our minds, he's been dead for years. We don't miss him more today than we did yesterday. We merely realized he was gone.

However, Ed was the master of being invisible unless called upon, a humble page in Johnny's royal court. He'd chime in for a laugh at the perfect moment at the service of the show, not to polish his own ego.

So from the guy who knew when to be quiet and when to boom hilariously into America's consciousness, Ed McMahon has simultaneously ended his silence and entered his peace with perfect irony and, as always, impeccable comedic timing.

Today's Question
Literature/Film
I'm pretty sure we've asked this question before, but my son asked it of me out of the blue during a series of questions that went like this:

What's that movie with the green witch? The Wizard of Oz

What's the girl's name who lives in Kansas? Dorothy

(And today's question)

What's her last name?

Previous Answer
And the people who knew it
Beverly Hills is the only (one) city in the 90210 ZIP code. Kyle, Karen M (the M stands for Melrose Place), Nancy K (the K stands for Knows Rodeo Drive Like The Back Of Her Hand), and Charles all guessed one, although a few of you confused the Hills with LA and/or Hollywood. Beverly Hills and West Hollywoood are actually 2 distinct cities surrounded by Los Angeles.

Kinda confusing. Not sure I even want to figure it out. Congrats to you all, regardless of trivial discrepancies.

June 17, 2009 question - Leakage

Sammy's in a Jammy
The Voices in my head are debating
First of all, sorry for the trivia rain-out yesterday. So frustrating for all of us, I'm sure. Secondly, if you're wondering how the so-called news of Sammy's so-called positive drug test are affecting me, let me fill you in: I'm angry. I'm so tired of news stories that rest solely on the word of unnamed sources without the slightest shred of corroboration or investigation whatsoever. Citing an anonymous source doesn't make you a journalist, it makes you a gossip, an email rumor generator, a snitch.

And while we're on the topic of anonymous leaks, isn't that what Sammy thought he was doing in the first place?

Today's Question
Going Postal
How many cities share the 90210 ZIP code?

Monday's Answer
And the people who knew it
Bumblebee's can sting, but not all of them. Females (the queen and the worker bumbles) have stingers, but the males are just good for birds & bees related activities. I was prepared to give credit to all who answered yes, but Karen M (the M stands for Make Way For The Trivia Queen) knew the answer in vivid detail and will share her trivia throne with no one. Way to know your buzz biz!