WEEK OF OCTOBER 27, 2008

Word of the week: "myrmidon," which is a term for a loyal follower who obeys orders without question or protest. The word is derived from the Myrmidon race of Greek myth, who accompanied Achilles to the Trojan War. The term is frequently seen today in computer and video games, especially role-playing games.

Thanks to flight attendant Kathleen Keutmann of Henderson, Nev., who gave us the answer as to what "cross-check" means, as often heard in cockpit announcements. It's the checking of your neighboring flight attendant's door, as an extra precaution to ensure that the doors are properly armed at departure and disarmed at arrival. Kathleen says this helps to prevent sliding-ramp emergency exits from opening inadvertently.

There are three "degrees of separation" between Vivien Leigh (Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind") and Scarlett Johansson. Leigh was in "Ship of Fools" with George Segal, who was in "Three Days to Vegas" with Patrick Fischler, who was in "The Black Dahlia" with Johansson.

In the late 1820s, Michigan Territory had a large enough population to become a state, but statehood was delayed due to a territorial dispute with Ohio. In order to curry favor with the Jackson administration, from 1829 to 1833 Michigan named nine of its counties after members of Jackson's cabinet. Michigan finally became a state in 1837, during the last months of Jackson's presidency.

Many trivia fans know that the condiment saffron comes from a species of crocus – from its dried stigma specifically. Only about 300 tons of saffron are produced annually; over 90 percent of that comes from Iran. It takes some 50,000 flowers to produce just one pound of saffron, which helps to explain why the retail cost of a pound of saffron in the U.S. is around $1,000.

Some of the records cited in the new 2009 edition of the Guinness World Records book: Samuel L. Jackson is the Highest Grossing Actor, with his 68 films taking in over $7 billion worldwide; at 91.3 inches, the Longest Dog is an Irish wolfhound; 105-year-old Edith Gulliford is the Oldest Bridesmaid; and 61 journalists attended the Largest Underwater Press Conference.

Eponym of the week: Oregonian Henry F. Phillips, for whom the Phillips-head screw and screwdriver were named. The self-centering design became especially useful on automated assembly lines that used electric-powered screwdrivers. Though Phillips received three U.S. patents for his design in 1936, it was so widely copied that by 1946 he had lost his patent protection.

Of Coarse: The next time you're in northeastern Minnesota, visit the Sandpaper Museum in Two Harbors, on the shores of Lake Superior. It's located in the building where 3M was founded in 1902. You knew that 3M's first product was sandpaper, right? Well, the "Mining" M in 3M's name represents the mining of corundum, which is used to make sandpaper.

The vitamin B complex was discovered before vitamin A, and was first called "water-soluble factor B." Vitamin A was discovered shortly thereafter, and was called "fat-soluble factor A," as near as we can tell, to "back-fill" the alphabet. We think vitamins C, D and E were named in that order. But we're sure Vitamin K got its name from the Danish/German "koagulations." If you've got more info on the subject, please let us know.

The second half of our list of 20 performers in John Wayne films who had one or more Billboard Top 40 tunes in the U.S.: Phil Harris, Tab Hunter, Dean Martin, Sal Mineo, Ricky Nelson, Fess Parker, Debbie Reynolds, Tommy Sands, Frank Sinatra and Bobby Vinton. The toughest name on the list is bandleader Phil Harris, who charted 16 times from 1933 to 1952.

TRIVIA

1) As mentioned in a previous column, George Lucas got the first name of his Indiana Jones character from his pet Alaskan malamute. Director Steven Spielberg didn't like Lucas' first choice for the character's last name, which was originally:
A) Wayne
B) Armstrong
C) McFly
D) Smith

2) According to "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows," the longest-running nighttime broadcast network TV series (excluding movies and newscasts) falls into what category?
A) Talk
B) Western
C) Game show
D) Sitcom

3) The correct term for a resident of the Cape Cod region of Massachusetts is:
A) Caper
B) Coddian
C) Cape Codder
D) Coddie

4) You may be familiar with the sign "The buck stops here" that sat on the White House desk of Harry Truman. But there was a different message on the sign's other side, which was:
A) "Call me Harry"
B) "I'm from Missouri"
C) "What'll it cost?"
D) "This meeting is over"

5) If you regularly use something called a "lap dissolve" in your work, you are most likely a:
A) Movie director
B) Chemist
C) Magician
D) Jockey

ANSWERS

1) As George Lucas revealed on the Indiana Jones Trilogy bonus DVD, his original name for Indiana Jones was Indiana Smith, but director Steven Spielberg thought that surname sounded too hokey.

2) According to "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows," the longest-running nighttime broadcast network TV series (excluding movies and newscasts) is NBC's "The Tonight Show," which debuted in September 1954 and is currently in its 54th season.

3) A resident of Cape Cod, Mass., is called a Cape Codder. (Thanks to Paul Dickson, author of "Labels for Locals: What to Call People from Abilene to Zimbabwe.")

4) The message on the reverse side of Harry Truman's "The buck stops here" sign is "I'm from Missouri." The sign can be seen by visitors to the Truman Library in Independence, Mo.

5) "Lap dissolve" is a movie term for a fade-out of a particular scene that is superimposed onto the fade-in of the next scene.

STAN'S WEEKLY TRIVIA CHALLENGE CONTEST NO. 109
Prime-time network television's first-ever cartoon series was hosted by what future TV superstar?

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. 109, 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. 102
The only U.S. president that was defeated for re-election by his own vice president was John Adams, by Thomas Jefferson in the presidential election of 1800. Winner: Mal Manchee of Hereford, Texas.

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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