Curiosity in the world: rec.games.trivia - 22 new messages in 6 topics

rec.games.trivia
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia?hl=en

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Today's topics:

* Calvin's Quiz #130 - 3 messages, 3 authors
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia/t/c0a067c127f58b80?hl=en
* QFTCI5GNM Final Round 4 answers: Geography - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia/t/a4cd379971c8fb66?hl=en
* QFTCIMM Current Events 1-2 - 8 messages, 8 authors
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia/t/32863a9f10a9de00?hl=en
* Rotating Quiz #16 RESULTS - 2 messages, 2 authors
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia/t/720e6665521c09c9?hl=en
* Calvin's Quiz #131 - 6 messages, 6 authors
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia/t/0b588fe8987c87c2?hl=en
* *RESULTS* of Rare Entries contest MSB71 - 2 messages, 2 authors
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia/t/9f368f6df23a05af?hl=en

==============================================================================
TOPIC: Calvin's Quiz #130
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia/t/c0a067c127f58b80?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 3 ==
Date: Wed, May 25 2011 10:10 pm
From: Dan Tilque

Calvin wrote:
>
> 1 In American football how many points are scored for a touchdown?

> 2 The Faroe Islands are a constituency of which European nation?

Denmark

> 3 In what year was China's one child policy introduced? [allow 2
> either way]

1977

> 4 Which opera by Guiseppe Verdi is set in Egypt?

Cleopatra

> 5 Which three colours appear on the Russian flag?

white, red, and blue

> 6 Which food, originally from North Africa, consists of semolina
> balls coated in flour?

couscous

> 7 Which company was chiefly responsible for the Gulf of Mexico oil
> spill?

British Petroleum

> 8 Which Bond villain did actor Donald Pleasance portray?

Dr No

> 9 The Swarovski label mostly specialises in making luxury items of
> what material?

silk

> 10 Which war began in 1861 and ended in 1865?

American Civil War

--
Dan Tilque

== 2 of 3 ==
Date: Thurs, May 26 2011 3:52 pm
From: Calvin

On Wed, 25 May 2011 11:05:06 +1000, Calvin <calvin@phlegm.com> wrote:

> 1 In American football how many points are scored for a touchdown?

6
10/11

> 2 The Faroe Islands are a constituency of which European nation?

Denmark
7/11

> 3 In what year was China's one child policy introduced? [allow 2 either
> way]

1980 [accepting 1978 - 1982]
2/11

> 4 Which opera by Guiseppe Verdi is set in Egypt?

Aida
9/11

> 5 Which three colours appear on the Russian flag?

Red, white & blue
10/11

> 6 Which food, originally from North Africa, consists of semolina balls
> coated in flour?

Couscous
5/11
Apologies Stephen if you misled by the wording

> 7 Which company was chiefly responsible for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill?

BP (and as Mark noted British Petroleum is NOT correct]
9/11

> 8 Which Bond villain did actor Donald Pleasance portray?

Ernst Blofeld
6/11
Along with Charles Gray and Donald Pleasance

> 9 The Swarovski label mostly specialises in making luxury items of what
> material?

Crystal
6/11

> 10 Which war began in 1861 and ended in 1865?

US Civil War
10/11

I've re-formatted the results table to hopefully make it a bit easier to
parse.

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 Q10 TOTAL Quiz 130
- - - - - - - - - - --- ----------
1 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 7 Bruce Bowler
1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 5 Dan Tilque
0 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 6 Erland S
1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 3 Jeffrey Turner
1 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 7 Marc Dashevsky
1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8 Mark Brader
1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 8 Pete Gayde
1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 7 Peter Smyth
1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 8 Rob Parker
1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 7 Stan Brown
1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 8 Stephen Perry
- - - - - - - - - - --- ----------
10 7 2 9 10 5 9 6 6 10 74 TOTAL
67%

Logjam on 8.

cheers,
calvin

== 3 of 3 ==
Date: Thurs, May 26 2011 4:24 pm
From: msb@vex.net (Mark Brader)

"Calvin":
> > 8 Which Bond villain did actor Donald Pleasance portray?
>
> Ernst Blofeld
> 6/11
> Along with Charles Gray and Donald Pleasance

A special effect, was it? :-)
--
Mark Brader, Toronto | "Some people open all the windows:
msb@vex.net | wise wives welcome spring by moving the UNIX."
-- ad, Housewife magazine, April 1941

==============================================================================
TOPIC: QFTCI5GNM Final Round 4 answers: Geography
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia/t/a4cd379971c8fb66?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Thurs, May 26 2011 7:21 am
From: msb@vex.net (Mark Brader)

(Next I'm going to post Current Events rounds 1 and 2 from the current
season, as promised, but it'll be a little while before I have them
ready to go.)

Mark Brader:
> These questions were written to be asked in Toronto on 2010-12-13,
> and should be interpreted accordingly... For further information
> see my companion posting on "Questions from the Canadian Inquisition
> (QFTCI5GNM, QFTCI11, QFTCIMM)".

> ** Final, Round 4 - Geography

> * Oceania

> In each case, name the country or territory.

> 1. Formerly known as the Ellice Islands, this Polynesian
> island nation is located in the Pacific Ocean, midway
> between Hawaii and Australia. Its population of 12,000
> makes it the 2nd-least-populous sovereign state in the
> world, with only Vatican City having fewer inhabitants.
> In terms of physical land size, at just 26 km² (10 sq.mi.),
> it is the 4th-smallest country in the world.

Tuvalu. 4 for Peter, Stephen, and Jeff. 3 for Joshua, Rob,
and Dan Tilque. 2 for Calvin.

> 2. It is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea,
> consisting of nearly 1,000 islands, covering a land area
> of 28,400 km² (11,000 sq.mi.). The capital, Honiara, is
> located on the island of Guadalcanal.

Solomon Is. 4 for Erland, Calvin, Stephen, Joshua, Rob,
and Dan Tilque.

> 3. This group of 4 volcanic islands is a British overseas
> territory, the last remaining in the Pacific Ocean. Only its
> 2nd-largest island is inhabited. The islands are best known
> as home of the descendants of the Bounty mutineers.

Pitcairn Is. 4 for Dan Blum, Peter, Erland, Calvin, Joshua, Marc,
Rob, and Dan Tilque.

> * Islands of Great Britain

> Given the island or island group, name its capital or administrative
> center.

> 4. The Shetlands.

Lerwick. 4 for Peter.

> 5. The Isle of Man.

Douglas. 4 for Dan Blum, Peter, and Joshua.

> 6. The Isle of Wight.

Newport. 4 for Peter.

> * US State Borders

> In each case, name the US state that is bordered by all the ones listed.

> 7. Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio.

Pennsylvania. 4 for Dan Blum, Peter, Erland, Stephen, Pete, Joshua,
Marc, Rob, Dan Tilque, and Jeff.

> 8. Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, New Mexico, Nebraska, Kansas,
> Oklahoma.

Colorado. 4 for everyone -- Dan Blum, Peter, Erland, Calvin, Stephen,
Pete, Joshua, Marc, Rob, Dan Tilque, and Jeff.

> 9. North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin.

Minnesota. 4 for Dan Blum, Peter, Erland, Stephen, Pete, Joshua,
Marc, and Jeff.

> * Territorial Disputes

> Given the name and a brief description of an area or region in
> dispute, name either of the countries laying claim to the disputed
> area.

> 10. The city of Melilla has a population of roughly 75,000
> people and is located in northwestern Africa.

Morocco, Spain. 4 for Dan Blum, Peter, Erland, Calvin, Stephen,
Pete, Joshua, Marc, Dan Tilque, and Jeff. 3 for Rob.

> 11. The Island of Vukovar, located in the Danube River.

Croatia, Serbia. 4 for Erland and Stephen. 2 for Joshua.

> 12. Ankoko Island, also known as Isla de Anacoco, in
> north-central South America.

Guyana, Venezuela. 4 for Erland, Stephen, and Dan Tilque.
3 for Dan Blum and Calvin. 2 for Joshua and Rob.

> * Cities from the Air

> In each case, name the city.

> 13. http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/msb/fi.04/city/13.jpg

Vancouver. 4 for Erland, Pete, and Dan Tilque.

The picture is looking east, with downtown Vancouver in the center
between English Bay (in the foreground) and the harbor and Burrard
Inlet (behind). False Creek is to the right of downtown and Stanley
Park at the left edge of the picture.

> 14. http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/msb/fi.04/city/14.jpg

Barcelona. 4 for Erland, Stephen, and Pete. 2 for Rob.

The picture is looking SSW, with the Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada
Família (Expiatory Temple of the Sacred Family, designed by Gaudí --
cf. round 4 of the Cellar Rats' Final of 2009-12-14) towards the left.
The diagonal (N-S) street ending at it is Avingude de Gaudí.

> 15. http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/msb/fi.04/city/15.jpg

New York. 4 for Dan Blum, Peter, Erland, Calvin, Stephen, Pete,
Joshua, Marc, Rob, and Jeff.

The picture is looking east, with lower Manhattan between the
Hudson River in the foreground and the East River behind, and Brooklyn
behind that. The Brooklyn Bridge is in the center of the picture,
with the Manhattan Bridge a bit to the left. If you scan along a
vertical line downward from the nearer tower of the Manhattan Bridge
toward the right-hand edge of the square marina in the foreground,
the large excavation a bit past halfway, a few blocks in from the
Hudson River, is the site where the World Trade Center should be.

Scores, if there are no errors:

ROUND-> 2 3 4 TOTALS
TOPIC-> Sci Lit Geo
Stephen Perry 38 40 40 118
Joshua Kreitzer 26 36 39 101
Marc Dashevsky 44 28 24 96
Dan Tilque 36 12 31 79
Pete Gayde 17 24 28 69
Peter Smyth 21 8 40 69
Rob Parker 35 4 30 69
Dan Blum -- 31 31 62
Erland Sommarskog 4 8 44 56
"Calvin" 10 4 25 39
Jeff Turner -- -- 24 24

--
Mark Brader | And the customary practice seems to be "FIRST,
Toronto | let the cat out of the bag; THEN inform you
msb@vex.net | that there's a cat and a bag." --Daniel P.B. Smith

My text in this article is in the public domain.

==============================================================================
TOPIC: QFTCIMM Current Events 1-2
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia/t/32863a9f10a9de00?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 8 ==
Date: Thurs, May 26 2011 8:47 am
From: msb@vex.net (Mark Brader)

These questions were written to be asked in Toronto on the dates
indicated below, and should be interpreted accordingly. If any
answers have changed due to newer news, you are still expected
to give the answers that were correct on those dates.

On each question you may give up to two answers, but if you give
both a right answer and a wrong answer, there is a small penalty.
Please post all your answers in a single followup to the newsgroup,
based only on your own knowledge. (In your answer posting,
quote the questions and place your answer below each one.)
I will reveal the correct answers in about 3 days. For further
information see my 2011-05-23 companion posting on "Questions
from the Canadian Inquisition (QFTCI5GNM, QFTCI11, QFTCIMM)".

All questions were written by members of the Misplaced Modifiers,
and are used here by permission, but have been reformatted and
may have been retyped and/or edited by me.

* Game 1 (2011-05-09), Round 1 - Current Events

1. There is a lovely little town north of Islamabad, named for
the British army major who founded it in 1853, a town where a
certain Osama Bin Laden was living until his demise last week.
Name that town.

2. Already infamous as the NDP's so-called "Vegas" candidate,
newly elected MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau ran into trouble this
week. What electoral offence have several citizens of her
riding accused her of?

3. Toronto rolled out its new bike-sharing program last week.
Eventually there will be 1000 bikes at 80 stations.
Name the program.

4. Save the Children published its Mothers Index last week.
The index measures lengths of maternity leaves, women's
life expectancy, maternal and child mortality, and and other
indicators to reveal the best place to be a mom. Afghanistan
came in last. Canada was 20th. Which country was first?

5. Within half a percentage point, what percentage of eligible
voters actually voted in last Monday's federal election,
according to Elections Canada?

6. French soccer, a.k.a. football, was rocked last week by
allegations that its national team coach had made a secret
agreement with other coaches and officials to do what?

7. Vancouver journalist Dorothy Parvaz arrived in Damascus,
Syria, last week to cover the protests there, and was
immediately detained by the Syrian government upon her
arrival. Which news service does she work for?

8. The leader of the Apache tribe asked the U.S. president for
a formal apology last week for the government's use of a code
name to refer to Osama Bin-laden. What was the code name?

9. Which on-line gaming network was the target last week of a
security breach that stole the private credit card data of 100
million users? Name either the network or the parent company.

10. Well, Yuri Gagarin beat him into space by a month, but at
least the first American in space was honoured posthumously
with his own stamp last week to commemorate the 50th
anniversary of his flight. Name him.

* Game 2 (2011-05-16), Round 1 - Current Events

1. A pilot for which US airline kicked two Muslim men off
his plane because "some passengers might be uncomfortable"?
The men were on their way to a conference on Muslim
stereotyping.

2. Which party won a majority in the Scottish parliament for
the first time, a victory which could lead to a separation
referendum?

3. Doug Ford pissed off a city other than Toronto, for a
change, when he suggested a certain NFL team would be ripe for
relocation to our burg. Officials of which city vehemently
denied the rumour?

4. The defending NBA champions were eliminated in the second
round of playoffs in 4 straight games by the Dallas Mavericks.
Name the soon-to-be-ex champs.

5. Name the singer whose album "Fumbling Toward Ecstasy" was
turned into a ballet debuted this week by Ballet Alberta.

6. Which Canadian entertainment icon was in Toronto this week
signing copies of her new book "From this Moment On"?

7. This new 30-story thrill ride at Canada's Wonderland was
scheduled to debut with the opening of the park this weekend.
It has been delayed due to the lousy spring weather. Name it.

8. Which horse won the Kentucky Derby?

9. Forzani Group -- the Canadian retail sports chain which
includes Athlete's World, Sportchek, and Nevada Bob's among
other stores -- was purchased for $771 million by which
Canadian retail giant?

10. In another buyout this week, Microsoft is spending
$8.5 billion to acquire which communications company?

--
Mark Brader | "...i will have hideous nightmares involving huge
Toronto | monsters in academic robes carrying long bloody
msb@vex.net | butcher knives labelled Excerpt, Selection,
| Passage and Abridged." -- Helene Hanff

My text in this article is in the public domain.

== 2 of 8 ==
Date: Thurs, May 26 2011 10:57 am
From: "Peter Smyth"

"Mark Brader" wrote in message
news:EfGdnVWGWeaV60PQnZ2dnUVZ_vadnZ2d@vex.net...

>* Game 1 (2011-05-09), Round 1 - Current Events
>
>1. There is a lovely little town north of Islamabad, named for
> the British army major who founded it in 1853, a town where a
> certain Osama Bin Laden was living until his demise last week.
> Name that town.
Abbotabad
>2. Already infamous as the NDP's so-called "Vegas" candidate,
> newly elected MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau ran into trouble this
> week. What electoral offence have several citizens of her
> riding accused her of?
>
>3. Toronto rolled out its new bike-sharing program last week.
> Eventually there will be 1000 bikes at 80 stations.
> Name the program.
>
>4. Save the Children published its Mothers Index last week.
> The index measures lengths of maternity leaves, women's
> life expectancy, maternal and child mortality, and and other
> indicators to reveal the best place to be a mom. Afghanistan
> came in last. Canada was 20th. Which country was first?
Norway, Sweden
>5. Within half a percentage point, what percentage of eligible
> voters actually voted in last Monday's federal election,
> according to Elections Canada?
66.5%, 67.5%
>6. French soccer, a.k.a. football, was rocked last week by
> allegations that its national team coach had made a secret
> agreement with other coaches and officials to do what?
have a quota for non-white players
>7. Vancouver journalist Dorothy Parvaz arrived in Damascus,
> Syria, last week to cover the protests there, and was
> immediately detained by the Syrian government upon her
> arrival. Which news service does she work for?
Reuters
>8. The leader of the Apache tribe asked the U.S. president for
> a formal apology last week for the government's use of a code
> name to refer to Osama Bin-laden. What was the code name?
>
>9. Which on-line gaming network was the target last week of a
> security breach that stole the private credit card data of 100
> million users? Name either the network or the parent company.
Playstation Network
>10. Well, Yuri Gagarin beat him into space by a month, but at
> least the first American in space was honoured posthumously
> with his own stamp last week to commemorate the 50th
> anniversary of his flight. Name him.
Alan Shepherd
>
>* Game 2 (2011-05-16), Round 1 - Current Events
>
>1. A pilot for which US airline kicked two Muslim men off
> his plane because "some passengers might be uncomfortable"?
> The men were on their way to a conference on Muslim
> stereotyping.
Delta, United
>2. Which party won a majority in the Scottish parliament for
> the first time, a victory which could lead to a separation
> referendum?
Scottish National Party
>3. Doug Ford pissed off a city other than Toronto, for a
> change, when he suggested a certain NFL team would be ripe for
> relocation to our burg. Officials of which city vehemently
> denied the rumour?
Baltimore, Detroit
>4. The defending NBA champions were eliminated in the second
> round of playoffs in 4 straight games by the Dallas Mavericks.
> Name the soon-to-be-ex champs.
LA Lakers, Chicago Bulls
>5. Name the singer whose album "Fumbling Toward Ecstasy" was
> turned into a ballet debuted this week by Ballet Alberta.
Justin Bieber
>6. Which Canadian entertainment icon was in Toronto this week
> signing copies of her new book "From this Moment On"?
Celine Dion
>7. This new 30-story thrill ride at Canada's Wonderland was
> scheduled to debut with the opening of the park this weekend.
> It has been delayed due to the lousy spring weather. Name it.
>
>8. Which horse won the Kentucky Derby?
>
>9. Forzani Group -- the Canadian retail sports chain which
> includes Athlete's World, Sportchek, and Nevada Bob's among
> other stores -- was purchased for $771 million by which
> Canadian retail giant?
>
>10. In another buyout this week, Microsoft is spending
> $8.5 billion to acquire which communications company?
Skype

Peter Smyth

== 3 of 8 ==
Date: Thurs, May 26 2011 11:11 am
From: tool@panix.com (Dan Blum)

Mark Brader <msb@vex.net> wrote:

> * Game 1 (2011-05-09), Round 1 - Current Events

> 1. There is a lovely little town north of Islamabad, named for
> the British army major who founded it in 1853, a town where a
> certain Osama Bin Laden was living until his demise last week.
> Name that town.

Abbottabad

voting in a riding she doesn't live in

> 4. Save the Children published its Mothers Index last week.
> The index measures lengths of maternity leaves, women's
> life expectancy, maternal and child mortality, and and other
> indicators to reveal the best place to be a mom. Afghanistan
> came in last. Canada was 20th. Which country was first?

Sweden; Denmark

> 5. Within half a percentage point, what percentage of eligible
> voters actually voted in last Monday's federal election,
> according to Elections Canada?

62; 56

> 6. French soccer, a.k.a. football, was rocked last week by
> allegations that its national team coach had made a secret
> agreement with other coaches and officials to do what?

lower winning margins

Reuters; AP

> 8. The leader of the Apache tribe asked the U.S. president for
> a formal apology last week for the government's use of a code
> name to refer to Osama Bin-laden. What was the code name?

Geronimo

> 9. Which on-line gaming network was the target last week of a
> security breach that stole the private credit card data of 100
> million users? Name either the network or the parent company.

Sony

> 10. Well, Yuri Gagarin beat him into space by a month, but at
> least the first American in space was honoured posthumously
> with his own stamp last week to commemorate the 50th
> anniversary of his flight. Name him.

Alan Shepard

> * Game 2 (2011-05-16), Round 1 - Current Events

> 1. A pilot for which US airline kicked two Muslim men off
> his plane because "some passengers might be uncomfortable"?
> The men were on their way to a conference on Muslim
> stereotyping.

Delta; US Airways

> 2. Which party won a majority in the Scottish parliament for
> the first time, a victory which could lead to a separation
> referendum?

Nationalists

> 3. Doug Ford pissed off a city other than Toronto, for a
> change, when he suggested a certain NFL team would be ripe for
> relocation to our burg. Officials of which city vehemently
> denied the rumour?

Detroit

> 4. The defending NBA champions were eliminated in the second
> round of playoffs in 4 straight games by the Dallas Mavericks.
> Name the soon-to-be-ex champs.

Lakers; Pacers

> 6. Which Canadian entertainment icon was in Toronto this week
> signing copies of her new book "From this Moment On"?

Celine Dion

HBC

> 10. In another buyout this week, Microsoft is spending
> $8.5 billion to acquire which communications company?

Skype

--
_______________________________________________________________________
Dan Blum tool@panix.com
"I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't just made it up."

== 4 of 8 ==
Date: Thurs, May 26 2011 2:20 pm
From: Erland Sommarskog

Mark Brader (msb@vex.net) writes:
> 1. There is a lovely little town north of Islamabad, named for
> the British army major who founded it in 1853, a town where a
> certain Osama Bin Laden was living until his demise last week.
> Name that town.

Abbotabad

> 4. Save the Children published its Mothers Index last week.
> The index measures lengths of maternity leaves, women's
> life expectancy, maternal and child mortality, and and other
> indicators to reveal the best place to be a mom. Afghanistan
> came in last. Canada was 20th. Which country was first?

Finland

> 6. French soccer, a.k.a. football, was rocked last week by
> allegations that its national team coach had made a secret
> agreement with other coaches and officials to do what?

Decrease the number of players in the team that are of non-European
extraction.

> 8. The leader of the Apache tribe asked the U.S. president for
> a formal apology last week for the government's use of a code
> name to refer to Osama Bin-laden. What was the code name?

Gueronimo

> 9. Which on-line gaming network was the target last week of a
> security breach that stole the private credit card data of 100
> million users? Name either the network or the parent company.

Sony

> 10. Well, Yuri Gagarin beat him into space by a month, but at
> least the first American in space was honoured posthumously
> with his own stamp last week to commemorate the 50th
> anniversary of his flight. Name him.
>

Alan Goodard

> 1. A pilot for which US airline kicked two Muslim men off
> his plane because "some passengers might be uncomfortable"?
> The men were on their way to a conference on Muslim
> stereotyping.

United

> 2. Which party won a majority in the Scottish parliament for
> the first time, a victory which could lead to a separation
> referendum?

SNP, Scottish National Party

> 5. Name the singer whose album "Fumbling Toward Ecstasy" was
> turned into a ballet debuted this week by Ballet Alberta.

Sarah McLachlan

> 10. In another buyout this week, Microsoft is spending
> $8.5 billion to acquire which communications company?

Skype

--
Erland Sommarskog, Stockholm, esquel@sommarskog.se

== 5 of 8 ==
Date: Thurs, May 26 2011 3:27 pm
From: Calvin

On Fri, 27 May 2011 01:47:20 +1000, Mark Brader <msb@vex.net> wrote:

Abbottabad (Abbott is Mrs calvin's maiden name so I've had a lot of fun
with this :-)

> 2. Already infamous as the NDP's so-called "Vegas" candidate,
> newly elected MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau ran into trouble this
> week. What electoral offence have several citizens of her
> riding accused her of?
>
> 3. Toronto rolled out its new bike-sharing program last week.
> Eventually there will be 1000 bikes at 80 stations.
> Name the program.
>
> 4. Save the Children published its Mothers Index last week.
> The index measures lengths of maternity leaves, women's
> life expectancy, maternal and child mortality, and and other
> indicators to reveal the best place to be a mom. Afghanistan
> came in last. Canada was 20th. Which country was first?

Sweden, Norway

> 5. Within half a percentage point, what percentage of eligible
> voters actually voted in last Monday's federal election,
> according to Elections Canada?

72, 73%

> 6. French soccer, a.k.a. football, was rocked last week by
> allegations that its national team coach had made a secret
> agreement with other coaches and officials to do what?

Fix games?

> 7. Vancouver journalist Dorothy Parvaz arrived in Damascus,
> Syria, last week to cover the protests there, and was
> immediately detained by the Syrian government upon her
> arrival. Which news service does she work for?
>
> 8. The leader of the Apache tribe asked the U.S. president for
> a formal apology last week for the government's use of a code
> name to refer to Osama Bin-laden. What was the code name?

Big Chief Crazy Beard :-)

> 9. Which on-line gaming network was the target last week of a
> security breach that stole the private credit card data of 100
> million users? Name either the network or the parent company.

Sony

Glenn, Shephard
IIRC there is no agreed definition as to where "space" begins.

> * Game 2 (2011-05-16), Round 1 - Current Events
>
> 1. A pilot for which US airline kicked two Muslim men off
> his plane because "some passengers might be uncomfortable"?
> The men were on their way to a conference on Muslim
> stereotyping.

LOL. American, United

> 2. Which party won a majority in the Scottish parliament for
> the first time, a victory which could lead to a separation
> referendum?

Scottish Nationalist Party

New Orleans, Oakland

> 4. The defending NBA champions were eliminated in the second
> round of playoffs in 4 straight games by the Dallas Mavericks.
> Name the soon-to-be-ex champs.

LA Lakers

kd lang, Celine Dion
Tempted to answer Justin Beiber...

> 7. This new 30-story thrill ride at Canada's Wonderland was
> scheduled to debut with the opening of the park this weekend.
> It has been delayed due to the lousy spring weather. Name it.
>
> 8. Which horse won the Kentucky Derby?
>
> 9. Forzani Group -- the Canadian retail sports chain which
> includes Athlete's World, Sportchek, and Nevada Bob's among
> other stores -- was purchased for $771 million by which
> Canadian retail giant?
>
> 10. In another buyout this week, Microsoft is spending
> $8.5 billion to acquire which communications company?

Skype

cheers,
calvin

== 6 of 8 ==
Date: Thurs, May 26 2011 6:35 pm
From: Marc Dashevsky

In article <EfGdnVWGWeaV60PQnZ2dnUVZ_vadnZ2d@vex.net>, msb@vex.net says...
> * Game 1 (2011-05-09), Round 1 - Current Events
>
> 1. There is a lovely little town north of Islamabad, named for
> the British army major who founded it in 1853, a town where a
> certain Osama Bin Laden was living until his demise last week.
> Name that town.
Abbottabad

> 5. Within half a percentage point, what percentage of eligible
> voters actually voted in last Monday's federal election,
> according to Elections Canada?
>
> 6. French soccer, a.k.a. football, was rocked last week by
> allegations that its national team coach had made a secret
> agreement with other coaches and officials to do what?
>
> 7. Vancouver journalist Dorothy Parvaz arrived in Damascus,
> Syria, last week to cover the protests there, and was
> immediately detained by the Syrian government upon her
> arrival. Which news service does she work for?
Al Jazeera

> 8. The leader of the Apache tribe asked the U.S. president for
> a formal apology last week for the government's use of a code
> name to refer to Osama Bin-laden. What was the code name?
Geronimo

> 9. Which on-line gaming network was the target last week of a
> security breach that stole the private credit card data of 100
> million users? Name either the network or the parent company.
Sony Playstation

> 2. Which party won a majority in the Scottish parliament for
> the first time, a victory which could lead to a separation
> referendum?
>
> 3. Doug Ford pissed off a city other than Toronto, for a
> change, when he suggested a certain NFL team would be ripe for
> relocation to our burg. Officials of which city vehemently
> denied the rumour?
>
> 4. The defending NBA champions were eliminated in the second
> round of playoffs in 4 straight games by the Dallas Mavericks.
> Name the soon-to-be-ex champs.
Los Angeles Lakers

> 5. Name the singer whose album "Fumbling Toward Ecstasy" was
> turned into a ballet debuted this week by Ballet Alberta.
>
> 6. Which Canadian entertainment icon was in Toronto this week
> signing copies of her new book "From this Moment On"?
>
> 7. This new 30-story thrill ride at Canada's Wonderland was
> scheduled to debut with the opening of the park this weekend.
> It has been delayed due to the lousy spring weather. Name it.
>
> 8. Which horse won the Kentucky Derby?
Animal something

> 9. Forzani Group -- the Canadian retail sports chain which
> includes Athlete's World, Sportchek, and Nevada Bob's among
> other stores -- was purchased for $771 million by which
> Canadian retail giant?
>
> 10. In another buyout this week, Microsoft is spending
> $8.5 billion to acquire which communications company?
Skype

--
Go to http://MarcDashevsky.com to send me e-mail.

== 7 of 8 ==
Date: Thurs, May 26 2011 7:12 pm
From: swp

On May 26, 11:47 am, m...@vex.net (Mark Brader) wrote:
> * Game 1 (2011-05-09), Round 1 - Current Events
>
> 1. There is a lovely little town north of Islamabad, named for
> the British army major who founded it in 1853, a town where a
> certain Osama Bin Laden was living until his demise last week.
> Name that town.

abbottabad

lying on her resume

> 3. Toronto rolled out its new bike-sharing program last week.
> Eventually there will be 1000 bikes at 80 stations.
> Name the program.

bixi

norway

> 5. Within half a percentage point, what percentage of eligible
> voters actually voted in last Monday's federal election,
> according to Elections Canada?

50 ; 100

> 6. French soccer, a.k.a. football, was rocked last week by
> allegations that its national team coach had made a secret
> agreement with other coaches and officials to do what?

establish a percentage of non-white players

al jazeera

> 8. The leader of the Apache tribe asked the U.S. president for
> a formal apology last week for the government's use of a code
> name to refer to Osama Bin-laden. What was the code name?

geronimo

> 9. Which on-line gaming network was the target last week of a
> security breach that stole the private credit card data of 100
> million users? Name either the network or the parent company.

sony

john glenn

us air ; southwest airlines

> 2. Which party won a majority in the Scottish parliament for
> the first time, a victory which could lead to a separation
> referendum?

tea party

new orleans

> 4. The defending NBA champions were eliminated in the second
> round of playoffs in 4 straight games by the Dallas Mavericks.
> Name the soon-to-be-ex champs.

la lakers

> 5. Name the singer whose album "Fumbling Toward Ecstasy" was
> turned into a ballet debuted this week by Ballet Alberta.

sarah maclauglin

> 6. Which Canadian entertainment icon was in Toronto this week
> signing copies of her new book "From this Moment On"?

shania twain

> 7. This new 30-story thrill ride at Canada's Wonderland was
> scheduled to debut with the opening of the park this weekend.
> It has been delayed due to the lousy spring weather. Name it.

the abominator

> 8. Which horse won the Kentucky Derby?

animal kingdom

sears ; kmart

> 10. In another buyout this week, Microsoft is spending
> $8.5 billion to acquire which communications company?

skype

swp

== 8 of 8 ==
Date: Thurs, May 26 2011 10:40 pm
From: Joshua Kreitzer

On May 26, 10:47 am, m...@vex.net (Mark Brader) wrote:
>
> * Game 1 (2011-05-09), Round 1 - Current Events
>
> 1. There is a lovely little town north of Islamabad, named for
> the British army major who founded it in 1853, a town where a
> certain Osama Bin Laden was living until his demise last week.
> Name that town.

Abbottabad

Netherlands; Sweden

> 5. Within half a percentage point, what percentage of eligible
> voters actually voted in last Monday's federal election,
> according to Elections Canada?

63%; 64.5%

> 8. The leader of the Apache tribe asked the U.S. president for
> a formal apology last week for the government's use of a code
> name to refer to Osama Bin-laden. What was the code name?

Geronimo

> 9. Which on-line gaming network was the target last week of a
> security breach that stole the private credit card data of 100
> million users? Name either the network or the parent company.

Sony

Alan Shepard

Delta; American

> 2. Which party won a majority in the Scottish parliament for
> the first time, a victory which could lead to a separation
> referendum?

Scottish National Party

Buffalo

> 4. The defending NBA champions were eliminated in the second
> round of playoffs in 4 straight games by the Dallas Mavericks.
> Name the soon-to-be-ex champs.

Los Angeles Lakers

> 5. Name the singer whose album "Fumbling Toward Ecstasy" was
> turned into a ballet debuted this week by Ballet Alberta.

Suzanne Vega

> 6. Which Canadian entertainment icon was in Toronto this week
> signing copies of her new book "From this Moment On"?

Shania Twain

> 8. Which horse won the Kentucky Derby?

Animal Kingdom

> 10. In another buyout this week, Microsoft is spending
> $8.5 billion to acquire which communications company?

Skype

--
Joshua Kreitzer
gromit82@hotmail.com

==============================================================================
TOPIC: Rotating Quiz #16 RESULTS
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia/t/720e6665521c09c9?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 2 ==
Date: Thurs, May 26 2011 1:43 pm
From: swp

On May 20, 9:17 pm, "Chris F.A. Johnson" <cfajohn...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 2011-05-20, swp wrote:
>
> ...
>
> > By rule, Chris gets to host the Rotating Quiz #17 because he answered
> > first.
>
> > And next time, I will refrain from questions about 80 year old movies,
> > comic book villains, and answers involving Japanese words. OK, maybe
> > not the comic book villans.
>
> 80-year-old movies are fine; comic books hold no interest for me.
>
> > over to you Chris!
>
> I'll have the questions up in a day or so.

um... is this thing on?

swp

== 2 of 2 ==
Date: Thurs, May 26 2011 1:57 pm
From: "Chris F.A. Johnson"

On 2011-05-26, swp wrote:
> On May 20, 9:17?pm, "Chris F.A. Johnson" <cfajohn...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On 2011-05-20, swp wrote:
>>
>> ...
>>
>> > By rule, Chris gets to host the Rotating Quiz #17 because he answered
>> > first.
>>
>> > And next time, I will refrain from questions about 80 year old movies,
>> > comic book villains, and answers involving Japanese words. ?OK, maybe
>> > not the comic book villans.
>>
>> ? ?80-year-old movies are fine; comic books hold no interest for me.
>>
>> > over to you Chris!
>>
>> ? I'll have the questions up in a day or so.
>
> um... is this thing on?

Almost done; I just got caught up in a new contract.

It should be up tomorrow.

--
Chris F.A. Johnson <http://cfajohnson.com>
Author: =======================
Pro Bash Programming: Scripting the GNU/Linux Shell (2009, Apress)
Shell Scripting Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach (2005, Apress)

==============================================================================
TOPIC: Calvin's Quiz #131
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia/t/0b588fe8987c87c2?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 6 ==
Date: Thurs, May 26 2011 3:54 pm
From: Calvin

1 What is the name given to the beam placed above a window or door?
2 What wood are cricket bats traditionally made from?
3 Nova Scotia is a province in which country?
4 The original bullet train connected Tokyo with which other Japanese city?
5 Which make of car is featured in the 1985 film Back to the Future?
6 How many dots are there on a pair of dice?
7 Which Australian married Billy Connolly in 1989?
8 In which country is the city of Salzburg located?
9 On which date did WW One officially end?
10 What were the names of the two rival gangs in the musical 'West Side
Story'?

cheers,
calvin

== 2 of 6 ==
Date: Thurs, May 26 2011 4:19 pm
From: "Chris F.A. Johnson"

On 2011-05-26, Calvin wrote:
>
>
> 1 What is the name given to the beam placed above a window or door?

Transom

> 2 What wood are cricket bats traditionally made from?

Willow

> 3 Nova Scotia is a province in which country?

Canada

> 4 The original bullet train connected Tokyo with which other Japanese city?
> 5 Which make of car is featured in the 1985 film Back to the Future?

De Lorean

> 6 How many dots are there on a pair of dice?

> 7 Which Australian married Billy Connolly in 1989?
> 8 In which country is the city of Salzburg located?

Austria

> 9 On which date did WW One officially end?

1911-11-11

> 10 What were the names of the two rival gangs in the musical 'West Side
> Story'?

Sharks and Jets

== 3 of 6 ==
Date: Thurs, May 26 2011 4:28 pm
From: msb@vex.net (Mark Brader)

"Calvin":
> 1 What is the name given to the beam placed above a window or door?

Lintel.

> 2 What wood are cricket bats traditionally made from?

Ash. And if not, it ought to be. :-)

> 3 Nova Scotia is a province in which country?

Canada.

> 4 The original bullet train connected Tokyo with which other Japanese city?

Hmm. Osaka?

> 5 Which make of car is featured in the 1985 film Back to the Future?

DeLorean.

> 6 How many dots are there on a pair of dice?

42.

> 7 Which Australian married Billy Connolly in 1989?

I'll guess Olivia Newton-John.

> 8 In which country is the city of Salzburg located?

Austria.

> 9 On which date did WW One officially end?

If you're talking about the armistice, that was 1918-11-11. If you
actually mean what you said, the date of the Versailles Treaty, I'm
not sure: it was something like 1919-06-20, and that's my guess.

> 10 What were the names of the two rival gangs in the musical 'West Side
> Story'?

Jets and Mods?

--
Mark Brader "Well, it's not in MY interest -- and I represent
Toronto the public, so it's not in the public interest!"
msb@vex.net -- Jim Hacker, "Yes, Minister" (Lynn & Jay)

My text in this article is in the public domain.

== 4 of 6 ==
Date: Thurs, May 26 2011 5:48 pm
From: "Rob Parker"

> 1 What is the name given to the beam placed above a window or door?

lintel

> 2 What wood are cricket bats traditionally made from?

willow

> 3 Nova Scotia is a province in which country?

Canada

> 4 The original bullet train connected Tokyo with which other Japanese
> city?

Nagoya (?)

> 5 Which make of car is featured in the 1985 film Back to the Future?

Chrysler

> 6 How many dots are there on a pair of dice?

> 7 Which Australian married Billy Connolly in 1989?

Arrrrgh - I know this!!!

> 8 In which country is the city of Salzburg located?

Austria

> 9 On which date did WW One officially end?

11-11-1918

> 10 What were the names of the two rival gangs in the musical 'West Side
> Story'?

Jets & Sharks

Rob

== 5 of 6 ==
Date: Thurs, May 26 2011 6:43 pm
From: Marc Dashevsky

In article <op.vv31wbzoyr33d7@04233-jyhzp1s.staff.ad.bond.edu.au>, calvin@phlegm.com says...
>
> 1 What is the name given to the beam placed above a window or door?
transom

> 2 What wood are cricket bats traditionally made from?
ash, spruce

> 3 Nova Scotia is a province in which country?
Canada

> 4 The original bullet train connected Tokyo with which other Japanese city?
Kyoto

> 5 Which make of car is featured in the 1985 film Back to the Future?
Delorean

> 6 How many dots are there on a pair of dice?
42

> 7 Which Australian married Billy Connolly in 1989?
> 8 In which country is the city of Salzburg located?
Austria

> 9 On which date did WW One officially end?
November 11, 1918

> 10 What were the names of the two rival gangs in the musical 'West Side Story'?
Sharka and Jets

--
Go to http://MarcDashevsky.com to send me e-mail.

== 6 of 6 ==
Date: Thurs, May 26 2011 10:13 pm
From: John Masters

On 2011-05-26 23:54:01 +0100, Calvin said:

> 1 What is the name given to the beam placed above a window or door?

Lintel

> 2 What wood are cricket bats traditionally made from?

Willow

> 3 Nova Scotia is a province in which country?

Canada

> 4 The original bullet train connected Tokyo with which other Japanese city?

Yokohama

> 5 Which make of car is featured in the 1985 film Back to the Future?

DeLorean

> 6 How many dots are there on a pair of dice?

> 7 Which Australian married Billy Connolly in 1989?

Pamela Stevenson

> 8 In which country is the city of Salzburg located?

Austria

> 9 On which date did WW One officially end?

Nov 11 1918

> 10 What were the names of the two rival gangs in the musical 'West Side Story'?

Jets and Hawks
--
I once absent-mindedly ordered Three Mile Island dressing in a
restaurant and, with great presence of mind, they brought Thousand
Island Dressing and a bottle of chili sauce.
(Terry Pratchett)

==============================================================================
TOPIC: *RESULTS* of Rare Entries contest MSB71
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia/t/9f368f6df23a05af?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 2 ==
Date: Thurs, May 26 2011 7:43 pm
From: msb@vex.net (Mark Brader)

Once again, I wrote:
| As usual, for each of the items above, your objective is to give a
| response that (1) is correct, and (2) will be duplicated by as FEW
| other people as possible. Feel free to use any reference material...

There were only 21 entrants this time. The winner is DAN TILQUE.
Lukewarm congratulations! In second place was Erland Sommarskog,
and in third place, the entrant whose email address is
rthearle@hotmail.com.

These are their slates of answers (some abbreviated). As always, you
should be reading this in a monospaced font for proper tabular alignment.

DAN TILQUE ERLAND SOMMARSKOG rthearle@hotmail.com
[0] Conservative Quebecois Liberal
[1] Daily Star Independent British Worker
[2] Cadmium Cerium Cerium
[3] Determiner Verb Exclamation
[4] Pu-239 491 Jeanne Dielman, ...
[5] Germany/Luxembourg Argentina/Paraguay Finland/Sweden
[6] Stan Lee Sid Roland Rommerud Evan Hunter
[7] Washington Jackson Garfield
[8] Bermuda Ex-USSR countries Flack & Robertson
[9] Mythological Hypothetical Ideal

| Please do not quote the questions back to me, and do send only
| plain text in ASCII or ISO 8859-1: no HTML, attachments, Micros--t
| character sets, etc., and no Unicode, please. (Entrants who fail
| to comply will be publicly chastised in the results posting.)

Erland Sommarskog and Pete Gayde are duly chastised.

To review the scoring:

| Low score wins; a perfect score is 1.
|
| If your answer on a category is correct, then your score is the number
| of people who gave that answer or an answer I consider equivalent. If
| wrong, or if you skip the question, you get a high score as a penalty.
| The scores on the different questions are *multiplied* to produce a
| final score. ... It is also possible that I may consider one answer
| to be a more specific variant of another: in that case it will be
| scored as if they are different, but the other, less specific variant
| will be scored as if they are the same.

See the questions posting for the penalty score formula.

Here is the complete table of scores.

RANK SCORE ENTRANT Q0 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9

1. 72 Dan Tilque 9 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 2
2. 96 Erland Sommarskog 3 2 4 2 2 1 1 1 1 1
3. 120 rthearle@hotmail.com 5 1 4 1 2 1 1 3 1 1
4. 720 Stephen Perry 9 WR 2 2 1 2 2 1 1 1
5. 1152 John Gerson 9 2 1 1 1 4 2 2 1 4
6. 1296 Dan Unger 3 2 3 3 2 2 1 2 3 1
7. 1440 Peter Smyth 5 2 3 WR 1 4 1 1 1 1
8. 1920 Nick Selwyn 4 1 5 3 1 1 1 2 4 4
9. 2160 Ted Schuerzinger 4 1 5 3 WR 1 1 3 1 2
10. 2700 Alan Curry 5 1 5 6 3 1 2 3 1 1
11. 3456 Kevin Stone 9 2 1 6 1 1 2 2 WR 1
=11. 3456 Duke Lefty 3 1 4 6 1 WR 2 3 1 1
13. 4800 Bruce Bowler 5 WR 3 1 1 WR 2 1 4 1
14. 5832 Haran Pilpel 9 2 1 6 3 1 2 3 3 1
15. 7776 Joshua Kreitzer 9 2 3 3 2 4 3 2 1 1
Grip 9 1 2 3 1 WR 1 2 3 4
Pete Gayde 4 2 5 3 1 2 3 2 4 2
Rob Parker 5 2 4 WR 1 2 2 2 1 4
Dave Filpus 4 1 5 6 3 1 3 2 WR 2
334152@gmail.com 9 WR 3 2 2 4 2 3 4 1
Lejonel Norling 9 2 3 6 2 1 2 WR WR 1

Scores of 10,000 or worse are not shown.

And here is the complete list of answers given. Each list shows correct
answers in the order worst to best (most to least popular).

| 0. Pick one: "Conservative", "Liberal", "New Democratic", or
| "Quebecois".

9 Conservative
5 Liberal
4 New Democratic
3 Quebecois

The above table is in order of the parties' standings before the
election, but for the first time ever, the NDP won more seats than
the Liberals and now stand in second place.

| 1. Name a newspaper which at some time in the 20th century
| was published daily (at least 5 days per week) in London,
| in English, for national distribution for sale in Great
| Britain. (Papers that were given away rather than sold do
| not qualify.)

2 Daily Chronicle (-1930)
2 Daily Express
2 Financial Times
2 Independent (1986-)
2 Morning Star (1930-)
1 British Worker (1926)
1 Daily Herald (1911-64)
1 Daily Mail
1 Daily Mirror (1903-)
1 Daily Star (1978-)
1 Daily Telegraph
1 Sun (1964-)
1 Times
WRONG:
1 Evening Standard
1 Globe (-1921)
1 Hendon and Finchley Times

The three wrong answers are or were, as far as I can determine,
London papers rather than national ones.

I was reluctant to accept the British Worker, a temporary publication
during the General Strike of 1926. On page 1 it prominently called
itself an "Official Strike News Bulletin" and not a newspaper, but
I decided I had to consider it as one anyway. Besides, it did carry
occasional small items besides the strike news, such as weather.

| 2. Name a chemical element whose name in English starts with C.

5 Cobalt
4 Cerium
3 Chromium
3 Copper [= Kupfer]
2 Carbon
1 Cadmium
1 Caesium
1 Calcium
1 Chlorine

There are 11 correct answers and 9 of them were given. The two
that weren't are the two radioactive elements that start with C:
californium and curium.

The question was "name an element", not "give a word", so there was
no point in naming it in a foreign language. Of course "cesium" would
have been scored as equivalent to "caesium" if anybody had given it.

| 3. Give a single word in English, used in the grammar of English
| to designate a part of speech.

6 Conjunction
3 Adverb
3 Preposition
2 Determiner [= Determiners]
2 Verb
1 Exclamation
1 Interjection
1 Pronoun
WRONG:
1 Infinitive
1 Predicate

Almost 1/3 of the field picked "conjunction", and nobody picked "noun"
or "adjective". *Hmmm!*

"Exclamation" and "interjection" are, I believe, alternative terms
with the same meaning; since the question was "give a word", not
"name a part of speech", they count separately.

"Infinitive" is a verb form; the corresponding part of speech is
"verb". And a "predicate" is a part of a sentence and not a part
of speech.

| 4. Name a movie title containing at least three different
| (unequal) digits, *excluding* digits that form part of a
| date or time. The title must be the primary title of the
| movie in the Internet Movie Database <http://www.imdb.com>.
| The movie must be a feature film telling a fictional story,
| not a short or documentary. See also rules 4.2 (for "movie")
| and 4.3.3 (for "digit"). Of course rule 4.3.4 does *not* apply
| (since this is about characters, not words or numerals).

3 Murder at 1600 (1997)
2 4.3.2.1. (2010)
2 491 (1964)
2 Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
1 1, 2, 3, Whiteout (2007)
1 102 Dalmatians (2000)
1 31 North 62 East (2009)
1 976-EVIL (1988)
1 GP506 (2008)
1 Highway 301 (1950)
1 Pu-239 (2006)
1 Salï¿½, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)
1 The 601st Phone Call (2006)
1 The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009)
1 U-571 (2000)
WRONG:
1 Girl No. 217 (1945) (primary title "Chelovek No. 217")

Answers here were fairly well divided, with only a minor collision
on "Murder at 1600", incidentally one of three on the list that I've
seen. All were correct except one, where the entrant did not use the
IMDB's primary title. The "1 2 3" in "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3"
is derived from a time of day, but it's a train number, so this is
not a wrong answer.

Several entrants failed to render the titles correctly as they appear
in the IMDB -- for example, 4.3.2.1. was given by one entrant as
4.3.2.1 -- but nothing in this question explicitly required me to
be stricter than usual about spelling, so I treated these answers
as correct. The renderings shown above are the correct ones.

| 5. Name two adjacent countries (see rule 4.1.1) now existing,
| whose entire mutual border is (or formerly was) an *inland
| water border* (i.e. consisting of lakes and/or rivers), or an
| inland water border plus one or more offshore continuations
| of the border into seawater.

4 Argentina, Uruguay (Uruguay, de la Plata)
2 DR Congo, Tanzania (L. Tanganyika)
2 Moldova, Romania (Prut, Danube)
1 Argentina, Paraguay (Pilcomayo, Brazo Sur, Paraguay, Paranï¿½)
1 Armenia, Iran (Aras)
1 Azerbaijan, Turkey (Aras)
1 Benin, Niger (Mï¿½krou, Niger)
1 Botswana, Zambia (Zambezi)
1 Central African Republic, DR Congo (Bomu, Ubangi)
1 Finland, Sweden (rivers)
1 Germany, Luxembourg (Our, Sauer)
1 Guyana, Suriname (Corentyne)
1 North Korea, Russia (Tumen)
WRONG:
1 Croatia, Hungary
1 Israel, Jordan
1 Malawi, Tanzania

Gotta love that Rio de la Plata.

The Croatia-Hungary border follows a river for most of its length but
then diverges from it and crosses the Danube. The Malawi-Tanzania
border is similar. For Israel and Jordan it was not necessary to
trace the border to know that it was wrong; the two countries share
shoreline on both the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba, and since the
former is below sea level, the two cannot be connected by water.

| 6. Name an author who wrote 50 or more works of fiction featuring
| the same major character. You must name the character, but
| this does not form part of your answer.

3 Erle Stanley Gardner (Perry Mason)
2 G.K. Chesterton (Father Brown)
2 Georges Simenon (Jules Maigret)
2 Prentiss Ingraham (Buffalo Bill)
2 Rex Stout (Nero Wolfe)
2 W.E. Johns (Biggles)
1 Evan Hunter (Steve Carella)
1 Gus Edson (Dondi) (comic strips)
1 John Swartzwelder (Bart Simpson) (TV episodes)
1 Luis Senarens (Jack Wright)
1 Sid Roland Rommerud (Klas Bergendahl)
1 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes)
1 Stan Lee (Spider-Man) (comic books)
1 Tom Batiuk (John Darling) (comic strips)

Answers here were well divided and all were apparently correct.
The only one I'm not sure about is Evan Hunter; according to various
sources he wrote 55 novels about the detectives of the 87th Precinct
and his usual lead characters such as Carella appear in *almost* all
of them. If any one of the major characters appears in 50 or more
of the books, Hunter is a correct answer, and I gave the entrant the
benefit of the doubt.

I deliberately worded the question so that visual media such as TV
episodes would be acceptable, and all the entrants who made such
choices scored a 1. Where no medium is mentioned in the answer list,
it was novels and/or short stories.

| 7. Give a surname that is shared by (1) someone who has been
| president of the US and (2) someone who has been nominated
| for an Oscar in one of the four acting categories.

3 Adams (John 1797-1801, John Q. 1825-29; Amy 2005 2008 2010,
Nick 1963)
3 Garfield (James 1881; John 1938 1947#)
2 Arthur (Chester 1881-85; Jean 1943#)
2 Grant (Ulysses 1869-77; Cary 1941# 1944#, Lee 1951 1970 1975*
1976)
2 Hayes (Rutherford 1877-81; Helen 1931/32#* 1970*)
2 Taylor (Zachary 1849-50; Elizabeth 1957# 1958# 1959# 1960#*
1966#*)
2 Washington (George 1789-97; Denzel 1987 1989* 1992# 1999#
2001#*)
1 Harding (Warren 1921-23; Ann 1930-31)
1 Harrison (William 1841, Benjamin 1889-93; Rex 1963# 1964#*)
1 Jackson (Andrew 1829-37; Glenda 1970#* 1971# 1973#* 1975#,
Samuel L. 1994)
1 Kennedy (John 1961-63; Arthur 1949 1951# 1955 1957 1958, George
1967*)
WRONG:
1 Carter (Jimmy 1977-81; none)

If I didn't goof, * indicates Oscar wins and # indicates nominations
or wins for acting in a leading role.

The answer "Carter" was an unintentional trap. Helena Bonham Carter
has been nominated for an Oscar twice (1997#, 2010), but she has a
double-barreled surname -- it's Bonham Carter, not Carter.

Answers were fairly well divided. As far as I know, there are two
correct answers that weren't given: "Ford" (Gerald 1974-77; Harrison
1985#) and "Johnson" (Andrew 1865-69, Lyndon 1963-69; Ben 1971*,
Celia 1946#).

| 8. Usually each athlete in the Olympic games is said to compete
| as part of a "team" representing one independent country.
| Name such a team at any past Olympics that did *not*
| represent one then-independent country (again, see rule
| 4.1.1). (You must mention which year you have in mind,
| but this does not form part of your answer.)

4 Australasia (Australia + New Zealand, 1908)
3 Palestine (1996)
1 Australia (1920)
1 Bermuda (1936)
1 Edwin Flack and George Robertson (1896, tennis)
1 Puerto Rico (1948)
1 Rhodesia (1928)
1 Saarland (1952)
1 Sweden-Denmark mixed team (1900, tug of war)
1 Trinidad and Tobago (1948)
1 Unified Team of ex-USSR countries (1992)
1 Unified Team of Germany (West + East + Saarland, 1956)
1 US Virgin Islands (1968)
WRONG:
1 Cuba (1900) (individual contestants)
1 East Timor (2000) (individual contestants)
1 United Arab Republic (1960) (then independent country)

In each case, the dates shown beside the answers represent the earliest
relevant year I know about.

When scoring this question, I learned that my word "usually"
in the question actually applied only to the period from the 1908
games onward. Before that, all contestants competed as individuals
and not as representatives of their countries, and in team events,
athletes from different countries might compete on the same team.
This accounts both for the two correct answers from before 1908 and for
the fact that Cuba (which became independent in 1902) was incorrect.

The East Timorese athletes who competed in 2000 (before East Timor's
independence was recognized) also entered as individuals, unlike
those from Palestine.

| 9. Give an adjective, in English, which can be applied to an
| object or person being described or discussed, in order to
| express the fact, claim, or possibility that this object or
| person never actually existed.

4 Imaginary
2 Fictitious
2 Mythological
1 Conjectural
1 Fabulous
1 Hypothetical
1 Ideal
1 Mythic
1 Mythical
1 Notional
1 Ostensive
1 Phantasmic
1 Phantom
1 Spurious
1 Supposed
1 Unauthenticated

There sure are enough of them, aren't there? The collision on
imaginary" was impressive, but my favorite answer was "unauthenticated".

--
Mark Brader | "...not one accident in a hundred deserves the name.
Toronto | [This occurrence] was simply the legitimate result
msb@vex.net | of carelessness." -- Washington Roebling

My text in this article is in the public domain.

== 2 of 2 ==
Date: Fri, May 27 2011 12:23 am
From: "Peter Smyth"

"Mark Brader" wrote in message
news:LqGdnTcMtZFRkkLQnZ2dnUVZ_sSdnZ2d@vex.net...

>| 3. Give a single word in English, used in the grammar of English
>| to designate a part of speech.
>
> 6 Conjunction
> 3 Adverb
> 3 Preposition
> 2 Determiner [= Determiners]
> 2 Verb
> 1 Exclamation
> 1 Interjection
> 1 Pronoun
> WRONG:
> 1 Infinitive
> 1 Predicate
>
>Almost 1/3 of the field picked "conjunction", and nobody picked "noun"
>or "adjective". *Hmmm!*
>
>"Exclamation" and "interjection" are, I believe, alternative terms
>with the same meaning; since the question was "give a word", not
>"name a part of speech", they count separately.
>
>"Infinitive" is a verb form; the corresponding part of speech is
>"verb". And a "predicate" is a part of a sentence and not a part
>of speech.

http://www.writing.engr.psu.edu/exercises/diagnostic2.html
http://www.helium.com/items/174150-essential-grammar-understanding-parts-of-speech
http://www.upwritepress.com/_blog/Write_for_Business_-_Blog/post/Understanding_Grammar_Parts_of_Speech_Infinitives/

all say that an infinitive is a part of speech so I think this should be
ruled correct.

Peter Smyth

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Friday, May 27, 2011

rec.games.trivia - 22 new messages in 6 topics - digest

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