WEEK OF JULY 14, 2008
Word of the week: "Googlewhack." It is a recently coined verb, to type two words into the Google search engine, without quotation marks, and get only one result. The glory derived from such a discovery must by definition be an anonymous one Web-wise, because the posting of it online would cause a second result from a Google search. (Thanks to Peter Gordon of Great Neck, N.Y.)
"Trivia Wanted" Category of the Month: Celebrity Connections. We love discovering unexpected connections between two famous people from unrelated fields. One of our favorites: Pop singer Olivia Newton-John is the granddaughter of German physics Nobelist Max Born. So if you've got a thing or two to share, and long to see your name and hometown in newspapers throughout this great land, please let us know.
What was Life like 50 years ago? Article subjects in July 1958 issues of the magazine included "Puppeteer for Moppets" Shari Lewis and the (very short-lived) return to fashion of the men's flat-topped straw hat, a.k.a. "boater." A full-page ad suggested taking a "Cantoneasy kitchen holiday" with the Chun King brand of canned chicken chow mein.
In the stage directions for "Peter Pan," author James Barrie reveals that he chose the London neighborhood of Bloomsbury as the home of the Darling family because synonymist Peter Mark Roget once lived there. Barrie, a frequent user of Roget's Thesaurus, explains, "we whom he has helped to wend our way through life have always wanted to pay him a little compliment."
While James Watson, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins shared a 1962 Nobel Prize for their co-discovery of the structure of the DNA molecule, they did not discover the DNA molecule itself. That discovery was made in 1944 by Rockefeller University researcher Oswald Avery and two co-workers. Avery is considered by many to be the most deserving scientist who never won a Nobel Prize.
We're with you in thinking that $4.00 is an awfully high price for a gallon of gasoline, but we can think of one everyday liquid that costs more, and that's bottled water. On a recent day we checked in our local supermarket, we found a six-pack of Evian selling for $9.99. That works out to a lofty $6.32 per gallon.
Eponym of the week: Augustus D. Juilliard. The son of French-born immigrants, he was born at sea in 1836 while his parents were en route to the United States. He became wealthy in the textile-distribution business, and was a patron of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and an early president of the Metropolitan Opera. In 1924, the trustees of his estate established the music school named for him.
Weird Wide Web: Is it really that uninteresting to watch grass grow? Here's your chance to decide for yourself. Visit www.watching-grass-grow.com, and you can view a live webcam feed of a grassy area that's updated every three seconds. Or, for a little extra excitement, you can watch a minute-long movie featuring a full year's worth of it.
When the word "satellite" first appeared in an English dictionary over 300 years ago, it was approximately synonymous with "bodyguard," which is the meaning of the Latin word it's derived from. German astronomer Johannes Kepler first applied the word to moons circa 1611, and Jules Verne used it in an 1880 novel as a man-made device orbiting the earth. (From Sol Steinmetz's fascinating new book, "Semantic Antics.")
Les Paul and Mary Ford had a minor hit in 1955 with "Magic Melody," which ended with the familiar "shave and a haircut" musical phrase, without the final two notes ("two bits"). After receiving complaints about the omission, Capitol Records released the two-second "Magic Melody Part 2," consisting only of those two notes, which is said to be the shortest recorded tune of all time. (Thanks to Ken Clark of Kent, Wash.)
TRIVIA
1) Supermodel Cindy Crawford was discovered by chance at the age of 16, when a newspaper photographer happened to notice her at work on a summer job, which was:
A) Shining shoes
B) Driving a tourist bus
C) De-tasseling corn
D) Umpiring softball games
2) From 1977 to the present, the person who has served most often as music director and conductor of the annual Academy Awards ceremonies is an Oscar winner himself, for composing the score of:
A) "E.T."
B) "The Right Stuff"
C) "The Way We Were"
D) "Forrest Gump"
3) In case you ever wondered, only male crickets chirp. Most species chirp at higher rates as the temperature rises. What do male crickets use to create their distinctive sound?
A) Their legs
B) Their antennae
C) Their wings
D) Their lungs
4) The Hungry Jack brand name can be found in most American supermarkets on boxes of pancake mix and mashed potato mix. The next time you're in Melbourne, look for the very similarly named Hungry Jack's, which is the Aussie name for what familiar U.S. food brand?
A) Spam
B) Burger King
C) Manwich
D) Chunky Soup
5) Which of these European nations is not a member of NATO?
A) Poland
B) Iceland
C) Ireland
D) Germany
ANSWERS
1) Supermodel Cindy Crawford was discovered by chance at the age of 16 when a newspaper photographer happened to notice her at work on a summer job of removing the tassels from corn.
2) Bill Conti, who received a Best Score Oscar for "The Right Stuff," has conducted the Academy Awards orchestra in 19 out of the past 32 years (1977 to 2008).
3) Male crickets chirp by rubbing their forewings together.
4) Hungry Jack's is the name of the Australian franchises of Burger King fast-food restaurants. The name Burger King was unavailable in Australia due to its previous use there by another company.
5) Previous answer: Because of its policy of neutrality, Ireland has never joined NATO.
STAN'S WEEKLY TRIVIA CHALLENGE CONTEST NO. 94
From Abraham Lincoln through the present, who was the only U.S. president elected with a running mate from a different party than his own?
HOW TO WIN: Send your answer, with your full name and address, either by e-mail to TriviaBits@gmail.com, or on a postcard to Stan Newman's Trivia Challenge No. 94, P.O. Box 69, Massapequa Park, NY 11762. Only one submission per person, please. Answers must be received within seven days of publication. One winner will be chosen at random from all correct entries, who will receive a copy of Stan's new book "15,003 Answers: The Ultimate Trivia Encyclopedia," courtesy of Random House. Answer and winner will be announced in a future issue.
ANSWER TO TRIVIA CHALLENGE CONTEST NO. 87
Martin Van Buren, who grew up in a Dutch-speaking family, was the only U.S. president for whom English was a second language. Winner: Bette Brinkley of Lewiston, Idaho.
