Tag: numbers

Trivia quiz: Triangulation

12-May-09 / James Callan

Round 3 at the Old Pequliar on April 7, 2009

Trivia meets wordplay. I’ll give you three definitions. You tell me what word or term all three of them could define.

Example: an after-dinner cocktail, a kosher insect, and a synonym for padawan? Grasshopper.

Got it? Here we go:

1) a kind of Republican, a presidential birthplace, and something you might put on pancakes

2) a sketchy version of the lottery, a crime drama, and a book of the bible

3) Barbie’s younger sister, an employment agency, and a shade of green

4) one of Pee-wee’s friends, a kind of chick, and what Alabama is the heart of

5) something a bird does, a Lonesome Dove character, and to name the pocket you’re shooting for

6) a Yahoo! website, a haircut, and something the Simpsons might drink

7) a boxing measurement, a measure of audience size, and a toothbrush

8) one of Beetle Bailey’s brothers in arms, a bet in roulette, and a white fudge candy bar

9) an obsolete Chrysler car, a Carpenters album, and Alaska’s sister

10) Morse code for “e”, part of a URL, and an Animaniac

ANSWERS:

12-November-08 / James Callan

What better way to celebrate 11/12 than with a question about Sesame Street‘s beloved “Pinball Number Count” videos?

If you don’t remember them, the videos featured an animated pinball traveling through a deliriously complex pinball machine, illustrating the number of the day. The opening line went something like this: “One two three FOUR FIVE, six seven eight NINE TEN, eleven twelve.”

Question: The group who performed the song had a number of hits during the ’70s and ’80s. Their last single to hit the Billboard Top 10 was featured on the popular soundtrack for what ’80s movie?

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”?

Quiz: Five

8-August-07 / James Callan

1) Because they couldn’t trademark a number, what brand name did Intel invent for their 80586 chip?
2) What 1967 film is the fifth James Bond film produced by EON productions?
3) What was the second group of the British Invasion to have a hit single, “Glad All Over,” in the US?
4) The National Maximum Speed Law, which capped speed limits nationwide at 55 mph, was signed into law by what president?
5) What’s the Greek name for Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, the first five books of the bible?
6) When it crosses into Canada, I-5 becomes British Columbia Regional Highway number what?
7) If you buy a fifth of liquor, how many milliliters do you get?
8) Cinco de Mayo celebrates the victory of Mexican forces in the Battle of Puebla in 1862. What country did the Mexican Army defeat?
9) In the classic children’s book The Five Chinese Brothers, the first brother can swallow the ocean. Name one of the other brothers’ special powers.
10) What reality series, hosted by Jerry Springer, is airing on King 5 right now?

Round 5 at the Old Pequliar on August 7, 2007. Average score (18 teams): 5.22 Continue reading

What do these musical artists have in common?

30-July-07 / James Callan

What do these artists have in common: Blur, Harry Connick, Jr., Dread Zeppelin, Jewel, Midnight Oil, Prince, Public Image Limited, Rush, Sugar Ray, The Temptations, Usher, Van Halen, Wire, and Yes?

(This is not an exhaustive list.)