WEEK OF OCTOBER 20, 2008

Word of the week: "quidnunc," a person who is interested in all the latest gossip, aka "busybody" and "yenta." The Latin question "Quid nunc?" means "What now?" By the way, the word "gossip" is derived from "god-sib," the godparent of one's child or the parent of one's godchildren. It has nothing to do with the "sipping" at the office water cooler, often a center for gossip.

We recently got to wondering what presidential campaign button might have needed the fewest letters to name the ticket's two candidates. This year's 10-letter Obama/Biden is beaten by the eight-letter Dole/Kemp in 1996. If you count initials-only buttons, the champ is LBJ/HHH in 1968. Were there JFK/LBJ buttons in 1960? We couldn't find pictures of any online. If you can help, please let us know.

Who was Charles Joseph Bonaparte, and why should you care about him? A grandnephew of Napoleon I, C.J. served in Teddy Roosevelt's cabinet as secretary of the Navy and attorney general. In the latter capacity, Mr. B. created the Bureau of Investigation in 1908, now known as the F.B.I. (Thanks to Ken Clark of Kent, Wash.)

Prime Time: In addition to England, the other nations through which the Earth's prime meridian of longitude passes through are France and Spain in Europe, and Algeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, Togo and Ghana in Africa. The moon's prime meridian lies in the center of the side visible from Earth. Mars has one, too, defined by the crater Airy-0, which was named for a 19th-century Greenwich astronomer.

One of the "coolest" places to visit year-round in New York City must be the Ed Sullivan Theater, home of "Late Show With David Letterman." By the host's directive, the temperature in the studio is kept somewhere around 58 degrees, presumably to keep the audience awake and involved. At 65 degrees, the nearby Central Park Zoo's penguin house seems downright toasty by comparison.

Having written much in recent years on acronym redundancies (like ATM machine and IRA account), we were surprised to discover that there's a name for phrases like these. Coined in 2001 by New Scientist magazine, it's RAS syndrome. And, as you might hope, the term is itself a "victim" of the syndrome, since RAS stands for "redundant acronym syndrome."

Eponyms of the week: California-born brothers Allan and Malcolm Loughead, who in 1916 co-founded the Loughead Aircraft Manufacturing Company. Never heard of them or it? Apparently tired of having their company name mispronounced as "Loghead," they decided to change it to match the correct pronunciation of "Loughead." The new name: Lockheed.

Of the 11 horses that have won the Thoroughbred Triple Crown to date, only two have been father and son: Gallant Fox (1930) and Omaha (1935). Omaha has the unenviable distinction of being the only Triple Crown winner not selected to be that year's Horse of the Year. The winner that year was the four-year-old Discovery, winner of 11 of the 19 races entered in 1935.

The familiar Formica brand of plastic surface is made from paper or fabric laminated with melamine resin. Formica was invented in 1912 by two Westinghouse researchers, and first used as an electrical insulator. The product's name is short for "formerly micarta," after another electrical insulating material. It has nothing to do with the Formica that's a genus of ants.

With the help of Hal Fittipaldi of Allentown, Pa., your humble trivia author has compiled a list of 20 performers in John Wayne films who had one or more Billboard Top 40 tunes in the U.S. The first half of the list: Paul Anka, Ann-Margaret, Frankie Avalon, Pat Boone, Walter Brennan, Red Buttons, Glen Campbell, Johnny Crawford, Bing Crosby and Fabian. Look for the second half next week.

TRIVIA

1) According to the International Olympic Committee, what is the longest continuous corporate sponsor of the Olympic Games?
A) Eastman Kodak
B) Kellogg's
C) Coca-Cola
D) IBM

2) Completed in 1942, Washington State's Grand Coulee Dam is the largest hydroelectric power facility and the largest concrete structure in the United States. But what exactly is a coulee?
A) A Native American leader
B) A deep ravine
C) A type of evergreen tree
D) A snow-covered mountain

3) The 1939 Frank Capra film "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" stars James Stewart in the title role as an idealistic freshman senator. We figure it was no coincidence that Senator Smith's first name in the film is the last name of a U.S. president. What is it?
A) Washington
B) Jefferson
C) Jackson
D) Lincoln

4) The Japanese word that means "it is sour" means something a little different in English. What's the word?
A) Karaoke
B) Sushi
C) Honcho
D) Haiku

5) The world's busiest artificial waterway, in terms of the number of ships using it, is located in:
A) Africa
B) Central America
C) Europe
D) Asia

ANWSERS

1) According to the International Olympic Committee, Coca-Cola is the longest continuous corporate sponsor of the Olympic Games, since 1928.

2) A coulee is a deep ravine that has been formed by running water.

3) James Stewart portrays freshman U.S. senator Jefferson Smith in the 1939 Frank Capra film "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."

4) "Sushi" literally means "it is sour" in Japanese.

5) Previous answer: The world's busiest artificial waterway is Germany's Kiel Canal, which links the North and Baltic Seas. In 2007, it handled an average of 118 ships per day.

STAN'S WEEKLY TRIVIA CHALLENGE CONTEST NO. 108
Who was the only U.S. president to command troops and come under enemy fire while in office?

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. 108, 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. 101
The first American whose last name begins with "O" to be honored on a U.S. postage stamp was Georgia founder James Oglethorpe, in 1933. Winner: Ed Howey of Seattle.

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.
COPYRIGHT 2008 STANLEY NEWMAN
DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS SYNDICATE