Category Archives: Timely Trivia

5 Trivia Questions about Sharks

Posted on by
Reply

To pay homage to Discovery Channel’s Shark Week, I put together a few shark-related questions to open up Round 1 of Trivia last night at Ventnor Sports Cafe. Couldn’t make it? Here’s what you missed:

  1. (Animal Kingdom) Derived from the Greek word for “Skull”, a cephalofoil, is said to help which type of shark in prey manipulation, maneuverability and sensory reception?
  2. (DC Trivia) Every year during Shark Week, the Discovery Channel building “dresses up” as a giant shark. Which DC-metro area city in Maryland is home to this giant shark building?
  3. (Name Game) What golfer is nicknamed “The Shark” and even hosts his official website at shark.com
  4. (Movies) What super-villain made a “simple request” for “sharks with frikin’ laser beams attached to their heads”?
  5. (Music) The song “Pool Shark” by this band contains the lyric “One day i’m gonna lose the war” in reference to the lead singer’s battle with heroin addiction (he later died of a heroin overdose).  

BONUS ‘Jaws’ mini-quiz!

  1. Boat actor 1
  2. Boat actor 2
  3. Boat actor 3
  4. Director
  5. Name the town
  6. Name the boat
  7. Name the author (of the book, that the movie was based on)
  8. Jaws was an attraction at this amusement park
  9. (SPOILER ALERT!) How did the shark die?
  10. Was nominated for Best Picture in 1976, lost to what movie?

Answers

(Hammerhead Shark)(Silver Spring, MD)(Greg Norman)(Dr. Evil)(Sublime)

Jaws mini-quiz Answers

(Roy Scheider)(Robert Shaw)(Richard Dreyfuss)(Steven Spielberg)(Amity Island)(The Orca)(Peter Benchley)(Universal Studios)(exploding SCUBA tank)(One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest)

10 Pop Culture References to Amelia Earhart

Posted on by
Reply

Today’s Google Doodle tells us that Amelia Earhart’s zombie corpse turns 115 today.

In 1932, she became the first woman to fly solo over the Atlantic Ocean. Five years later she disappeared over the Pacific, a mystery that has etched itself in popular culture.

So to celebrate the birthday of an inspiration to women around the globe, here’s the best of Amelia Earhart in movies, music, television and books.

The list:

1. The one that started it all: “Amelia Earhart’s Last Flight” was a song by Red River Dave McEnery (“The Yodelling Cowboy”), who first performed it on a live TV broadcast from the 1939 World’s Fair.

2. Singer Joni Mitchell performed her song “Amelia” for her 1980 live album Shadows and Light and included video footage of Earhart.

3. Fans of PBS’s American Experience know that The Price of Courage was the title of the 1993 documentary of Amelia.

Star Trek Voyager episode “The 37s”

4. According to the Star Trek universe, Earhart was abducted by aliens in 1937 and taken to their home planet where she was put into cryo-stasis before being discovered by fellow female aviator, Captain Janeway, and her crew in the year 2374.

5. I Was Amelia Earhart (1996) by Jane Mendelsohn takes the Earhart story and pumps up the love juices.

6. Oscar winner Hilary Swank slipped under my radar back in 2009 and made Amelia. That’s probably because it was the same year the lovely (7) Amy Adams portrayed Earhart in Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian.

You go girls.

8. Pam Munoz Ryan wrote a children’s picture book called Amelia And Eleanor Go For A Ride (1999), where Amelia and, you guessed it, Eleanor Roosevelt ditch a White House dinner to go on a glorious adventure.

9. Someone on Yahoo! Answers thinks his neighbor is Amelia Earhart and she lives in upstate New York next to the Jell-O factory because she knew the guy who owned it.

10. The following exchange happened in the Friends episode “The One with the Lottery”:

Phoebe: You don’t wanna win the lottery?
Ross: (sarcastically) Uh…sure I do, and I also wanna be King of my own country and find out what happened to Amelia Earhart.
Chandler: Still on Amelia Earhart?
Ross: The woman just vanished!

11. And finally, I bet you didn’t know that Amelia’s flight instructor was the original Snookie.

5 Trivia Questions about some other famous Jacksons

Posted on by
1

Today mark’s the third anniversary of the Michael Jackson’s death. If you remind someone of this, they probably won’t respond with their favorite MJ tune, or their most memorable moment from the King of Pop’s life. No, no. Instead they will most likely tell you where they were and what they were doing when they heard that Michael Jackson had died.This will most likely be a very boring story to the listener. [Hint: it will probably have something to do with the 'Twitter'].

But do you know what’s not boring? Trivia.

The answers are below General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. Also make sure to check out the accompanying ”Name That Jackson!” Picture Round.

    1. (Movies) First appearing in Iron Man 2 and again in the 2011 summer blockbuster Captain America, Samuel L. Jackson played the role of what comic book character in the recent Avengers film.
    2. (Television) The opening sketch of Saturday Night Live’s only remote episode took place in Jackson Square in this city on February 20, 1977.
    3. (US History) Confederate general Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson earned his nickname for standing his ground at this Civil War Battle.
    4. (Sports) What former Washington Redskin was quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars in their 1995 inaugural season and was selected to the Pro-Bowl a total of three times with the team.
    5. (Famous Figures) Michael Jackson was the youngest member of the Jackson 5, who was the oldest? a)Jermaine b)Jackie c)Tito d)Marlon

Answers!

(Nick Fury)(New Orleans)(The First Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Manassas)(Mark Brunell)(Jackie)

Name That Jackson! Picture round answers:

(Paris Jackson)(Jackson Pollack)(Bo Jackson)(Phil Jackson)(Curtis Jackson)(Peter Jackson)(Reggie Jackson)(Jackson Avery)(Percy Jackson)(Action Jackson)

5 Trivia Questions about “Thunder”

Posted on by
Reply

When the Stanley Cup finals were going on, and the Devils were one game away from losing it all, I brought you Movie Devils vs. Movie Kings. Now, it’s the Thunder’s turn to stave off elimination in the NBA finals. And so, in true SayKNOWtoTrivia fashion, here are 5 trivia questions about thunder (UPDATE: You can also check out “15 songs to Beat the Heat”). Answers are below Zeus.

  1. (Word Play) What dinosaur takes its name from the Greek for “thunder lizard”?

  2. (Mythology) In Greek mythology, Zeus released these mythological creatures from the dark pit of Tartarus, in order to provide him with his thunderbolts, which he used to defeat the Titans.

  3. (Geography) The city of Thunder Bay, located at the head of Lake Superior, can be found in what Canadian province?

  4. (Movies) What Hollywood couple met on the set of the 1990 film Days of Thunder?

  5. (Literature) Who wrote the science fiction short story A Sound of Thunder, in which a hunter travels back in time to kill a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and is based on the concept that was later termed the “butterfly effect”.

ANSWERS!

(Brontosaurus)(Cyclops)(Ontario)(Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman)(Ray Bradbury)

Happy Birthday, Genghis Khan!

Posted on by
1

There is apparently some dispute within the historical community regarding the year that Genghis Khan was born. Depending on who you ask, it was somewhere between 1155 and 1162. But somehow, the scholars over at Wikipedia have pinpointed the exact day: today. And if it’s good enough for Wikipedia, it’s good enough for me. So to celebrate, I made some haikus filled with useless knowledge about the Khan-meister. Use the comments section and make your own!

Birth name Temujin
Tatars poisoned his father
He got his revenge

Mongolian Khan
Sacked Beijing, kicked out Xuanzong.
Jin Dynasty? Check.

Killed with cavalry
Ride hands-free, shooting arrows.
Sword, mace, axe, hook, lance.

Fell from horse and died
Biopic starring John Wayne
A box office bomb

Matty’s Mind Meld: NFL Opening Weekend Edition!

Posted on by
1

A good portion of this blog is dedicated to sports and pop-culture. So why not get the best of both worlds with a little Jeopardy-style “before-and-after” to get you revved up for this weekend’s games? In case you are unfamiliar with the premiss of the game, each answer combines the name of a current NFL player with a random piece of trivia. At the very least, you might get some good Fantasy Football nicknames out of this!

  • Example. This dessert made of marshmallow, butter and cereal was invented by a Baltimore Ravens running back. Answer: Ray Rice Krispie Treats

Good luck!

Answers are below so no peaking…

  1. This Baltimore Ravens linebacker took time in the off-season to write about Alice in Wonderland.
  2. One half of this songwriting duo, with Broadway hits such as “Oklahoma”, “The King and I”, and “The Sound of Music”, is the starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers.
  3. This 2010 post-apocalyptic flick starred Denzel Washington as the quarterback of the New York Giants.
  4. This outspoken Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker landed a role in the summer action film Cowboys & Aliens.
  5. This Minnesota Vikings quarterback is from the home planet of Jar Jar Binks.
  6. The main character of this Athenian tragedy, written by Sophocles in 429 BC, was just named the starting quarterback for the Washington Redskins.
  7. This movie starring Piper Perabo features a Cleveland Browns quarterback as a bartender.
  8. Technical term for the clothing incident at the halftime show of Super Bowl XXVIII, involding Justin Timberlake, Janet Jackson, and a Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver.
  9. This Woody Allen movie stars Penelope Cruz as last season’s Comeback Player of the Year.
  10. This boy from South Park went into “Beast Mode” on a critical 4th quarter play to beat the New Orleans Saints in last year’s NFC Wildcard game.
  11. This 2009 George Clooney movie co-starred a 2010 breakout Houston Texans running back.
  12. Michael Moore’s Academy Award winning documentary about a second-year Denver Broncos quarterback.

ANSWERS BELOW!!

(Ray Lewis Carroll)(Aaron Rodgers and Hammerstein)(The Book of Eli Manning)(James Harrison Ford)(Donovan McNaboo)(Oedipus Rex Grossman)(Colt McCoyote Ugly)(Hines Wardrobe Malfunction)(Michael Vicky Cristina Barcelona)(Stan Marshawn Lynch)(Up in the Arian Foster)(Tim Tebowling for Columbine)

Mother’s Day Trivia Part II: Celebrity Baby Name Quiz!

Posted on by
1

This one’s mostly for the ladies……

Name the FAMOUS MOM to these little nuggets of joy. Note that i didn’t always include a last name. I’m crafty like that.

Also make sure to check out Part I of my extra special Mother’s Day Trivia.

  1. Seraphina Rose Elizabeth Affleck
  2. Bruce Anthony Martin
  3. Nahla Ariela Aubry 
  4. Kingston James McGregor
  5. Bronx Mowgli 
  6. Abel James Arnett 
  7. Honor Marie Warren
  8. Lou Sulola Samuel 
  9. Charlie Axel 
  10. Sparrow James Midnight Madden

Sparrow James Midnight Madden?

BABY-MAMA ANSWERS!!!

(Jennifer Garner) (Gwyneth Paltrow)(Halle Berry) (Gwen Stefani)(Ashley Simpson-Wentz)(Amy Poehler) (Jessica Alba)(Heidi Klum)(Ellin Nordegren) (Nicole Richie)

U-S-A U-S-A: 30 Trivia Questions about AMERICA!

Posted on by
4

In light of recent events, it only seems fitting that I dig deep into the SayKNOWtoTrivia vault for some of the best American trivia for you to enjoy. Coincidentally, just like last time, you get 1776 points for each correct answer . Good luck and God Bless America! Answers are below the Flag.

  1. (History) What were names of the first two ironclad ships to engage in battle, during the American Civil War?
  2. (Geography) Boathouse Row, host to several major rowing regattas on the Schuylkill River, is located in what U.S. city?
  3. (Famous Tourist Traps) What ship is submerged under water at the memorial at Pearl Harbor?
  4. (Presidents) What former US president famously stated “Read my lips, no new taxes”?
  5. (Sports) The first Thanksgiving Day football game was started in 1934 by what team?
  6. (US States) What is the wettest state in the country, averaging over 100 inches of rain a year?
  7. (Geography) The system of waterways and basins known as the Puget Sound is located in what US State?
  8. (Politics) This man held the second longest tenure as Speaker of the House, serving from 1977 to 1987.
  9.  (The Weather) What was the term coined by President Obama for the series of blizzards that hit the east coast in February?
  10. (Politics) What Republican Senate candidate shocked the political world, upsetting Democrat Martha Coakley in a special election for Sen. Ted Kennedy’s seat?
  11. (Word Play) What word did Sarah Palin use in a Tweet back in July that sparked a small controversy and became the Oxford American Dictionary’s Word of the year for 2010?
  12. (Politics)Newly appointed Speaker of the House, John Boehner, represents the 8th district of what US state?
  13. (Television) In the Friends Thanksgiving-themed episode entitled “The One With The Rumor”, it was revealed that Ross and Will Colbert were the founders of the “I Hate Rachel Green” club in high school. What movie star guest starred as Will Colbert?
  14. (Famous Figures) What World War II pilot was the first to break the sound barrier in 1947?
  15. (Name Game) Also the name a Boston sports hero, what is the name of the man with the “God-given voice for radio”, who went from homeless to Cleveland Cavaliers PA announcer in the matter of 24 hours when his YouTube video went viral?
  16. (US History)In what city did George Washington make his first inaugural address?
  17. (Televison) What TV character’s arm chair can be found at the National Museum of American History?
  18. (US Landmarks) A statue of Rocky (as in the boxing movie Rocky) is found next to the steps of what city’s Museum of Art?
  19. (Movies) The first African American to win an Oscar was Hattie McDaniel, who earned best supporting actress for what film?
  20. (US States) A self governing entity from 1777 until 1791, this land area became our 14th state, the first to enter the union after original 13 colonies?
  21. (Military) What former president is pictured on the Purple Heart, given to soldiers who were wounded or killed in battle?
  22. (Poetry) What American poet wrote “I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep”? 
  23. (Geography/History) The territory included in the Louisiana Purchase contained small parts of the southern area of two Canadian provinces. Just name one of them.
  24. (Album Covers) In the famous album cover for Born in the USA by Bruce Springsteen, what is in Springsteen’s back pocket?
  25. (Television) What TV star played the role of Matt Santos, the man who was sworn in as President of the United States in the final season of The West Wing?
  26. (US Geography) Which Kansas city’s name means “to dig good potatoes” in the Kansa Native American language?
  27. (US Presidents) The charity known as the March of Dimes was founded as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis by what US President?
  28. (Television) Dan Akroyd opened the only live remote performance of Saturday Night Live as President Jimmy Carter atop the statue of Andrew Jackson in Jackson Square in what city on February 20, 1977?
  29. (Sports) What number car did popular racer Dale Earnhardt drive at the time of his death?
  30. (US History)What American Secretary of State was responsible for the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867 for a total cost of $7.2 million?
  31. (US History) Which Federalist Papers author was born in the British West Indies?
u-s-a u-s-a

F**k Yeah!

(Monitor and the Merrimac)(Philadelphia, PA)(USS Arizona)(George H. W. Bush)(The Detroit Lions)(Hawaii)(Brad Pitt)(Chuck Yeager)(Washington)(Tip O’Neil) (Snowmageddon)(Scott Brown)(Refudiate)(Ohio)(Ted Williams)(New York City)(Archie Bunker)(Philadelphia)(Gone With the Wind)(Vermont)(George Washington)(Robert Frost)(Alberta, Saskatchewan)(Red baseball cap)(Jimmy Smits)(Topeka)(FDR)(New Orleans)(#3)(Alexander Hamilton)

Friday Leftovers: “Royal” Edition

Posted on by
1

Today’s edition of Friday Leftovers is dedicated to SayKNOWToTrivia’s babe of the week, Kate Middleton. For each correct answer, you get 1776 points. Good luck! Answers below the flaming Queen.

  1. (Disease) What disease did Queen Victoria pass on to several of her decedents, earning the nickname the “Royal Disease?
  2. (Sports) What Kansas City Royals All-Star and member of the 3,000 hit club has a section of their Wikipedia page labeled “The Pine Tar Incident”?
  3. (Movies) What was the name of the movie that introduced the “Royale with Cheese” to popular culture in 1994? (BONUS: Name the two CHARACTERS involved in that conversation)
  4. (History) Incorporated by British royal charter in 1670 as a fur trading business, this is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and even functioned as the de facto government in parts of North America before claims by Europeans and the United States.
  5. (Foreign Countries) Prince William and Kate Middleton became engaged in October of 2010, during a 10 day trip in what country?

SUPER ROYAL BONUS!! Since 1707 when the Kingdom of England merged with the Kingdom of Scotland, there have been 12 monarchs of Great Britain and the United Kingdom. For 12 points each, NAME ALL 12!!

 

 ANSWERS!!

(Hemophilia)(George Brett)(Pulp Fiction/Jules+Vincent)(Hudson’s Bay Company)(Kenya)

BONUS: Anne, George I, George II, George III, George IV, William IV, Victoria, Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII, George IV, Elizabeth II