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Trivia Bits by Stan Newman

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  • Trivia Bits, November 22
    STAN'S WEEKLY TRIVIA CHALLENGE CONTEST NO. 112 The opening of the 1960s sci-fi TV series "Lost in Space" featured a countdown. The opening of what classic sitcom featured a "count-up" — to the number 8? HOW TO WIN: Send …

  • Trivia Bits, November 21
    You may be familiar with the term "runcible spoon" as a spoon-like utensil that has the tines of a fork (aka "spork"), or a spoon with a serrated edge for eating grapefruit or squash. But the term was coined by British poet …

  • Trivia Bits, November 20
    Eponym of the week: Ohio-born Charles F. Richter. Receiving his Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Caltech in 1928, he immediately went to work at Pasadena's new Seismology Laboratory, where, with co-worker Beno Gutenberg, he developed the Richter …

  • Trivia Bits, November 19
    More on non-stop flight records: The world's longest-distance non-stop passenger flight was 13,422 miles, from Hong Kong to Heathrow (eastbound) by a Boeing 777 in 2005, taking 22 hours and 40 minutes. Surprisingly, the record for the longest-time …

Trivia Bits, September 10

25 Years Ago in TV Guide: The Sept. 3, 1983, issue had a multi-article tribute to "All in the Family," which was ending its 13-year run, including four years of the successor "Archie Bunker's Place." Producer Norman Lear recalled that he had to shoot three pilot episodes (the first two for ABC), before CBS finally agreed to put the series on the air.

Like "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "America," the music for "Hail to the Chief," the official anthem of the president, wasn't composed by an American. The composer was Englishman James Sanderson, who wrote the tune circa 1810 for a theatrical adaptation of Sir Walter Scott's poem "The Lady of the Lake." But Sanderson does have an unexpected American connection, sort of. He was born in the northeast English town of Washington.

The Dalai Lama is the spiritual and political leader of the Tibetan people.
"Lama" is the Mongolian word for "priest." What does "Dalai" mean?
A) Beloved
B) Eternal
C) Ocean
D) Red

Previous answer: Actor Jack Lemmon was born in the elevator of the suburban Boston hospital that his mother had just arrived at.

TRIVIA FANS: Send the trivia questions you've always wanted answered, or original TriviaBits ideas of your own, with your full name and hometown, to Stan Newman at StanTrivia@aol.com or on a postcard to P.O. Box 69, Massapequa Park, NY 11762.

Stanley Newman is the editor of the Newsday Crossword and author/editor of more than 125 books on crosswords, word games and trivia, including "15,003 Answers: The Ultimate Trivia Encyclopedia" (Random House). To find out more about Stanley Newman visit StanXwords.com, or e-mail him at StanTrivia@aol.com.
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Originally Published on Wednesday September 10, 2008

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Click on the title to read Stanley Newman's article from Newsday, "Exercise Your Puzzle Muscles", which explores the ways that puzzles can keep you mentally fit as you age.

Also, see the Editors's Note from this edition of Newsday recounting the history of the Newsday crossword puzzle and Stanley Newman's pivotal role in revolutionizing it.
 
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