WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 29, 2008
Word of the week: "exonumia." From the Greek for "outside of money," it is items such as medallions and tokens that resemble money, but are not legal tender. For example, the U.S. Mint regularly issues commemorative medals in the shape of coins. Some recent subjects include the Dalai Lama and the Tuskegee Airmen.
Thanks to Patricia Awisus of Port Townshend, Wash., for letting us know about www.tinyurl.com, a Web service that provides short aliases for long webpage names. She read our recent Bit with the URL of the Sporting News Baseball Record Book now available online, and shrunk it down for us to: www.tinyurl.com/3feowc.
What was "Life" like 50 years ago? The cover story of the Sept. 22, 1958, issue was the retirement of comedienne Gracie Allen, ending the "Burns and Allen" sitcom after an eight-year run. A full-page ad for Budweiser cited the 101 words on the label of each can and asked, "Ever read it?" Is that word count still correct? If you've got a Bud handy, please give it a read and let us know.
Did you know that the Titanic had two sister ships? The other two "Olympic-class" liners of the White Star Line were the Olympic and the Britannic. Although the Olympic twice collided with other ships, it was in service from 1911 to 1935 and became known as "Old Reliable." The Britannic, however, was in service for less than a year. It sank in November 1916 after hitting a mine.
Janice Anderson of Pleasant Hill, Calif., wants to know who invented the typewriter, and how the arrangement of keys was decided upon. Pennsylvania-born Christopher Sholes was the primary inventor of the first commercially successful typewriter, patented in 1868. The key arrangement is generally believed to have been designed to separate commonly used combinations of letters, to keep the machine from jamming.
When did people start naming hurricanes? According to the National Hurricane Center, West Indies hurricanes were named for the particular saint's day on which the storm occurred for hundreds of years, through the early 20th century. Later, latitude-longitude positions were used. The use of women's names became the practice during World War II, because of a storm named Maria in the 1941 novel "Storm" by George R. Stewart.
Eponym of the week: German chemist Robert Bunsen. The Bunsen burner, familiar to high-school chemistry students, was named for him, though it was invented in 1865 jointly by him and his assistant. Its popularity in the lab comes from the simplicity of its design, which burns a continuous stream of flammable gas with maximum heat, while minimizing its luminosity.
In Margaret Mitchell's iconic novel "Gone With the Wind," Melanie Wilkes is pregnant for 21 months, based on the timing of the Civil War battles that are mentioned in the book. This was changed for the 1939 film adaptation, in which Melanie has a nine-month pregnancy. By the way, the novel was on the New York Times best-seller list for quite a while -- 21 months.
According to the U.S. Golf Association, circa 1890 "bogey" meant what "par" means today -- the ideal score on a hole for a skilled golfer. The word was derived from "bogey man," originally a British term for an elusive individual. Around 1910, "par" began to be used instead, and "bogey" was relegated to "one over par." We'll discuss "birdie" some other time.
What's the world's largest desert? Sorry, it's not the Sahara, which is the world's largest sandy desert. Based on the strict definition as a region that gets little rainfall, the world's largest desert is the entire continent of Antarctica, which gets an average of only two inches of precipitation each year. By the way, Antarctica is the world's highest continent, with an average elevation of about 7,000 feet.
TRIVIA
1) Abstract expressionist painter Jackson "Jack the Dripper" Pollock was born in what city named for an American icon?
A) Lincoln, Neb.
B) Edison, N.J.
C) Cody, Wyo.
D) Houston, Texas
2) The British call it an "adjustable spanner." Americans call it a:
A) Drawbridge
B) Dog collar
C) Marionette
D) Monkey wrench
3) According to Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, the first use of the phrase "Evil Empire" is credited to:
A) A Ronald Reagan speech
B) The film "Star Wars"
C) An Isaac Asimov short story
D) A 1917 New York Times article
4) The famous Mercury Theatre "War of the Worlds" radio adaptation of the H.G. Wells novel, directed and narrated by Orson Welles, made headlines worldwide. The program was broadcast in 1938, on the day before:
A) April Fool's Day
B) Flag Day
C) Halloween
D) Christmas
5) Where do the feathers on the costume of "Sesame Street" character Big Bird come from?
A) Swans
B) Turkeys
C) Ostriches
D) They're man-made
ANSWERS
1) Abstract painter Jackson Pollock was born in Cody, Wyo.
2) "Adjustable spanner" is the British term for a monkey wrench.
3) Bartlett's Familiar Quotations credits George Lucas with the phrase "Evil Empire," as used in the 1977 film "Star Wars."
4) Orson Welles' "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast aired on his weekly Mercury Theatre program on Oct. 30, 1938, the day before Halloween.
5) Previous answer: The feathers of Big Bird's costume are turkey tail feathers that are dyed yellow.
STAN'S WEEKLY TRIVIA CHALLENGE CONTEST NO. 105
Before the International Olympic Committee (IOC) awarded the 1976 Summer Games to Innsbruck, Austria, what two nations turned down IOC offers to host?
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. 105, 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. 98
The only U.S. state capital that is not the seat of the county in which it's located is Lansing, Michigan, mostly in Ingham County. (Ingham's county seat is Mason.) Winner: Pat Alfrey of Grangeville, Idaho.
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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