Tag: paris

Trivia + wordplay: Trianguation

21-May-09 / James Callan

Round 3 at the Old Pequliar on May 5, 2009

Trivia meets wordplay. Iâ€™ll give you three definitions. You tell me the word 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 Supreme Court plaintiff, a university, and a famous encyclopedia

2) the opposite of draw, part of a LEGO, and an earring

3) an Heiress Records album, a Gilmore Girls character, and a Trojan

4) a book by Alex Haley, a card, and a kind of bee

5) a basketball game, h, and a type of power

6) Louise Brooks, a little comic strip character, and something amazing

7) a perpetually rejected fish, a Revlon fragrance, and part of the phonetic alphabet

8) a variety of apple, a Toni Morrison novel, and a Transformer

9) a river, someone known for his escapes, and the opposite of ladder

10) a Bumstead, a text file, and a monster

ANSWERS (no peeking!)

Trivia quiz: 10 Questions inspired by the Mona Lisa

11-May-09 / James Callan

Round 2 at the Old Pequliar on April 7, 2009

1) The Mona Lisa’s eyes peek out from the cover of what 2003 mystery, the second-best-selling novel of 2004?

2) To create his piece L.H.O.O.Q., what did Dadaist Marcel Duchamp draw on a postcard of the Mona Lisa?

3) Mona Lisa is one of the craters on what planet, where most of the large craters are named after women?

4) The song “Mona Lisa” was a 1950 hit for what jazz vocalist, who last hit the charts in 1991, 26 years after his death?

5) After the Mona Lisa was stolen in 1911, police questioned what artist, who now has a museum in Paris dedicated to him?

6) In 1800, what world leader moved the Mona Lisa to his bedroom?

7) In 2005, “emotion recognition” software calculated that the Mona Lisa was 9% disgusted, 6% fearful, and 2% angry, but 83% what emotional adjective?

8) Mona Lisa Overdrive is the final book in the Sprawl trilogy. What seminal cyberpunk novel was the trilogy’s first book?

9) When the Mona Lisa came to the US in 1962, you could see it in which two East Coast cities? (Half point each)

10) What did the countess of Bearn add to the Mona Lisa back in 1906, which remains with the painting until this day?

What do these cities have in common?

3-March-08 / James Callan

Amsterdam
Barcelona
Houston, TX
Oslo
Paris
Pittsburgh, PA
Santa Fe, NM
St. Petersburg, FL

Need a hint? Try adding Stockbridge, Massachusetts to the list.

Geography

9-January-08 / James Callan

1) The combined area of all Wal-Marts in the world is approximately equal to the area of which of these islands: Manhattan, Maui, Nantucket, or Vancouver Island?
2) Name one of the two states that border a record 8 other states.
3) Paris is the most populous French-speaking city in the world. What’s the second-largest?
4) What present-day country is home to most of the territory of the ancient Etruscan civilization?
5) Multiple choice: which of these distances is the longest: Moscow, Idaho to Moscow, Russia; San Juan Island to San Juan, Puerto Rico; Sun City, AZ to Sun City, South Africa; or Toledo, OH, to Toledo Spain?
6) What Pacific Ocean country is the most linguistically diverse in the world, home to over 820 languages?
7) Angola, East Timor, Macau, and Mozambique are all former colonies of what European country?
8) What country has the world’s second-largest sheep population, but is the world’s largest exporter of wool?
9) What’s the largest city located within the Mojave Desert?
10) What building was the tallest in Seattle for 48 years, from its construction to when the Space Needle was built?

Quiz: How ‘Bout Them Apples?

8-August-07 / James Callan

1) What’s the best-selling apple variety in the US?
2) Although King Features denies it, many people believe that a 1930s comic strip called Apple Mary eventually turned into what long-running soap opera comic strip?
3) In 1997, Fiona Apple said “This world is bullshit. … You shouldn’t model your life about what you think that we think is cool and what we’re wearing and what we’re saying and everything.” when she accepted what award? (Need award and category — both “best supporting actress” and “Oscar”)
4) What 20th century poet wrote “The Song of Wandering Aengus,” which ends:
Though I am old with wandering
Through hollow lands and hilly lands,
I will find out where she has gone
And kiss her lips and take her hands;
And walk among long dappled grass,
And pluck till time and times are done
The silver apples of the moon,
The golden apples of the sun.
5) What brand, which shares its name with a popular American singer/pianist, is the best-selling hard apple cider in the US?
6) Name one of the three midwest states where Johnny Appleseed planted orchards.
7) The Beatles were inspired to name their company Apple Corps by a surrealist painting called The Son of Man, by what artist?
8) The Apple MessagePad personal digital assistant, introduced in 1993, became better known by what name, which was technically its operating system?
9) Paris awarded Aphrodite the golden apple labeled “to the fairest.” Name one of the other two goddesses who claimed it.
10) What football team has won the Apple Cup the most times?

Round 6 at the Old Pequliar on August 7, 2007. Average score (18 teams): 6.44