Tag: china

Quiz: Pop Culture 2008

20-January-09 / James Callan

Round 3 at the Old Pequliar on Jan. 6, 2009
Average score:6.60/10 (21 teams)

1) In January, David Letterman and Conan O’Brien both got rid of what that they’d cultivated during the writer’s strike?

2) Photographer Annie Liebovitz said, “She loved taking that picture, and she was ready to take that picture. It’s just that her audience wasn’t ready.” Who was she talking about, and what magazine published that photograph? (half point each)

3) In February, HD DVD conceded the high-definition DVD market to Blu-ray Discs. What color is the laser used most often in HD DVD?

4) Martha Sharp Crawford, depected in the movie Reversal of Fortune, was better known by what name when she died in December?

5) Stephen Fry, Britney Spears, the Mars Phoenix Lander, and Shaquille O’Neal are among the celebrities who tweeted using what Internet service?

6) When a TV series goes bad, it’s “jumping the shark.” What similar, 3-word phrase inspired by Kingdom of the Crystal Skull describes the moment when bad things happen to good movie sequels?

7) In episode 6 of the new 90210, Kelly reveals that the father of her child was what character from the original series?

8) To protest China’s policy towards the war in Darfur, what Hollywood director withdrew as an artistic adviser to the 2008 Olympics?

9) After confessing to cheating on her husband, Lauren Cleri lost on The Moment of Truth when she answered yes to the question, “Do you think you’re a” what?

10) NBC announced Tim Russert’s death at 3:39pm. What online resource scooped them, adding a date of death and shifting from present to past tense at 3:01pm?

Quiz: International News 2008

18-January-09 / James Callan

Round 1 at the Old Pequliar on Jan. 6, 2009
Average score: 7.24/10 (21 teams)

The first quiz of 2009 was entirely devoted to stuff that happened in 2008.

1) Come this January 20th, who’s going to be living at 10141 Daria Place, Dallas, TX?
2) As of February, whose only remaining title is First Secretary of the Communist Party of his country?
3) A factory girl working on a Chinese assembly line had her smile splashed ’round the Internet when a British man discovered 3 photos of her the first time he turned on what device?
4) Scientists at UC Berkeley announced that they’d invented what Harry Potter-esque article of clothing?
5) In February, Kosovo declared its independence from what country?
6) What country currently has troops scheduled in Abkhazia and South Ossetia?
7) When Pope Benedict XVI visited the US in April, representatives of what religion were invited for the first time to an ecumenical prayer service with the pope?
8) In March, Chloe Marshall became the first of what kind of model to make the finals to the Miss England contest?
9) China won more Gold medals than any other Asian nation at the 2008 Olympics. Which Asian nation came in second, including Golds in men’s and women’s archery, men’s taekwando, and men’s baseball?
10) In September, the view from Little Diomede island became famous because of what unusual characteristic?

Quiz: Geography

24-June-08 / James Callan

Round 1 at the Old Pequliar on June 3, 2008
Average score: 3.38/10 (16 teams)

So, yeah, this round’s a little too difficult.

1) None of the United Nations member states start with the letter X — or what other letter?
2) What’s the most populous country in the world where Spanish is a national language?
3) Name one of the two largest islands in Washington’s Island County.
4) 37 towns share the most popular place name in the US. Which founding father inspired most of them?
5) After the breakup of the Soviet Union, what country became the world’s leading producer of potatoes?
6) Put these three places in order of total area, from smallest to largest: the city of Juneau, Alaska; King County, Washington; and the state of Rhode Island
7) Maracaibo, Valencia, Barquisimeto, and MÃ©rida are cities in what South American country?
8) Which US city contains the world’s largest population of Iranians outside of Iran?
9) Birthplace of Goethe, Bach and Nietzsche, what was the second-most-populous city in East Germany?
10) After the 1861 unification of Italy, two cities were capitals before Rome. Name one of them.

Continue reading

Theme: You’ll Figure It Out

8-April-08 / James Callan

Round 2 at the Old Pequliar on April 1, 2008
Average score: 6.48/10 (21 teams)

1) When members of U2 and R.E.M. played at Clinton’s inaugural festivities as Automatic Baby, what U2 song did they play?
2) China discovered it had a population of about 60 million people when its first-ever census concluded in what year? (Julian calendar)
3) According to the Greek poet Hesiod, how many gorgons were there before Medusa got her head lopped off?
4) In English, what’s the only number with a name spelled with exactly as many letters as the number itself?
5) How many pillars of Islam are there?
6) According to musical superstition, a composer will die shortly after completing how many symphonies?
7) What song was the biggest hit from Prince’s “love symbol” album?
8) If you’re raised Mormon, how old are you when you hit the age of accountability, when you know the difference between right and wrong in the eyes of God?
9) What Jimi Hendrix song, which turns a couple of numerals upside-down, was featured on the Easy Rider soundtrack?
10) What risquÃ© 1979 comedy was marketed as “a temptingly tasteful comedy for adults who can count”?

Geography

7-November-07 / James Callan

1) What U.S. city shares a border with Tijuana, Mexico?
2) Six states make up New England. Name five of them.
3) What German city, home of BMW, was selected as the most livable in the world by Monocle magazine?
4) The area known as Kurdistan includes small parts of Syria and Armenia, plus large parts of three other countries. Name two of those countries.
5) What US state first applied for admission to the union in 1849 under the name Deseret?
6) Sure, Patagonia is a clothing company, but it’s also a region of South America covering parts of two countries. Name one of them.
7) The Erie Canal connects Lake Erie to what river in New York?
8) The world’s largest producers of silver are Mexico and what South American country, which has produced silver for European consumption since the 1500s?
9) There’s a Moxy Fruvous song that claims the US’s lowest highest point is in Delaware, but they’re wrong. Which state actually has that distinction, peaking at a mere 345 feet above sea level?
10) The Golden Shield Project is a government-sponsored effort to control all Internet traffic into and out of what country?

Average score, 17 teams: 7.47

Quiz: Geography

24-January-07 / James Callan

From the Old Pequliar on Jan. 23, 2007

1) What’s the most populous city on I-5 between Seattle and Portland?
2) As of 2006, according to the Economist Intelligence Group, what Scandinavian city is the most expensive in the world?
3) The total land area of Japan is closest to the total land area of which state: California, Michigan, Montana, or Oregon?
4) What river forms part of the border between Ontario and New York?
5) Which California city is the most populous city in the US that doesn’t contain at least 1,000,000 people?
6) Name one of the two Central American countries that borders Mexico.
7) Land’s End, the westernmost point in England, is located in which county?
8) Measured by total passenger traffic, which airport is the busiest on the European continent?
9) Name one of the two countries in the world that borders 14 other countries.
10) Seattle’s Empire Way was officially renamed in 1982. What’s it known as today?