WEEK OF JULY 28, 2008

Word of the week: "scacchic," which is pronounced "SKAK-ik." It is an adjective meaning "pertaining to chess," derived from "scacchi," the Italian word for the board game. Which naturally reminds us of Italian-born actress Greta Scacchi, who, by the way, is fluent in French and German as well as Italian and English.

John Black of Redmond, Wash., asks why the athletic teams of Penn State are called the Nittany Lions, suggesting that a Nittany is "some fabulous, mythical creature that only lives in Pennsylvania." Not exactly, John. The team name comes from nearby Mount Nittany, and the mountain lions that once roamed the area. "Nittany" is derived from an Algonquian word meaning "single mountain."

Trivia Detective Alert: For no apparent reason, we recently thought of these two rhyming phrases with identical meanings: "glad dad" and "happy pappy." Can you think of any other pair of synonymous rhyming words? If you can, please let us know.

Our recent Bit about the many descendants of Mayflower passenger Richard Warren prompted John Alden descendant Muriel Reynolds of Lynnwood, Wash., to inquire about the famous progeny of that Pilgrim. They include actor Alec Baldwin, choreographer Martha Graham, poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Czech statesman Jan Masaryk. An Alden-descendant website, www.alden.org, has much additional info.

Who was Evelyn Beatrice Hall, and why should you care about her? She is the originator of the familiar quote "I disapprove of what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it," often misattributed to Voltaire. She used those words in her 1906 biography of Voltaire, paraphrasing his beliefs. (Thanks to Alan Dunn of Bellingham, Wash.)

According to baseball research organization SABR, the 2007 major-league season saw new records set for the shortest and longest player surnames, thanks to Taiwan-born L.A. Dodger Chin-Lung Hu and Atlanta Brave (now Texas Ranger) Jarrod Saltalamacchia. To answer the question we know you're asking: Yes, his full 14-letter surname does fit on the back of Mr. S.'s uniform.

Eponym of the week: Russian inventor Leon Theremin. Having previously invented the first motion detector, in 1928 he created the theremin, one of the first electronic musical instruments, and the first musical instrument of any kind playable without touching it. Its eerie sounds can be heard on many sci-fi soundtracks, and perhaps most famously in popular music on the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations."

Yankee doodles: Bobby Abreu is the current right fielder for the New York Yankees. Fifty years ago, the Yankee right fielder was Hank Bauer. The two gentlemen have something else in common: the letters in their last name. "Bauer" can be rearranged to spell "Abreu." (Thanks to Fred Piscop of Bellmore, N.Y.)

We remember the first time we encountered the word "canard" (a false rumor). It was in the '60s, often uttered by John Astin's character in the sitcom "The Addams Family." The word means "duck" in French, but that doesn't give much of a clue about its English meaning. "Canard" comes from an Old French word for "cackle," which should make things a little clearer.

Real "movie trivia": In the 2007 film "The Walker," Woody Harrelson asks Lauren Bacall this trivia question: What actor has portrayed the most real-life U.S. presidents? Bacall incorrectly guesses Charlton Heston. Harrelson's character reveals the answer to be Rip Torn, who has portrayed Ulysses S. Grant (in the miniseries "The Blue and the Gray"), Lyndon Johnson (in the TV movie "J. Edgar Hoover") and Richard Nixon (in the miniseries "Blind Ambition").

TRIVIA

1) Which of these cities is closest (in air miles) to Sydney, Australia?
A) Santiago, Chile
B) New Delhi, India
C) Honolulu, Hawaii
D) Tokyo, Japan

2) The 55 delegates to the Philadelphia Convention (aka Constitutional Convention) of 1787 drafted the U.S. Constitution. What famous American presided over the convention?
A) George Washington
B) Benjamin Franklin
C) John Hancock
D) Thomas Jefferson

3) Earlier this year, actress Miley Cyrus, star of the Disney Channel series "Hannah Montana" and daughter of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, had her first name legally changed to Miley from her original first name of Destiny. "Miley" was her childhood nickname, given by her father, because:
A) She resembled his father, Miles
B) She liked to take long hikes
C) She was a cheerful "Smiley Miley" child
D) The first word she spoke sounded like "Miley"

4) You may never have heard of Mount Lee, but you've undoubtedly seen photographs of it and perhaps even beheld it in person without even knowing it. Mount Lee is the site of:
A) Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park
B) The "HOLLYWOOD" sign that overlooks Los Angeles
C) The Pentagon, outside of Washington, D.C.
D) Stonehenge in England

5) Which U.S. state has the most national parks? Two states are currently tied with eight national parks each. One of them is California. What's the other?
A) Texas
B) Arizona
C) Montana
D) Alaska

ANSWERS

1) Tokyo is 4,845 air miles from Sydney, closer than Honolulu, New Delhi or Santiago.

2) George Washington was unanimously elected president of the Constitutional Convention of 1787.

3) Country singer Billy Ray Cyrus nicknamed his daughter Destiny Hope Cyrus "Smiley Miley" as a child because of her sunny disposition.

4) Mount Lee is the site within Griffith Park of the "HOLLYWOOD" sign that overlooks Los Angeles.

5) California and Alaska each have eight national parks, the most of any U.S. state.

STAN'S WEEKLY TRIVIA CHALLENGE CONTEST NO. 96
What was the first Best Song Academy Award winner from a film other than a musical or a comedy?

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. 96, 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. 89
The Dr. Seuss book "Green Eggs and Ham," which uses only 50 different words, has sold over 8 million copies in the U.S. since it was first published in 1960. Winner: George Martin of Amarillo, Tex.

 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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