12 October 2005

I'd never been called a trivia bully before last night. But, with another win posted by the team back to calling itself No Onions, that's what the emcee deemed us. Fair enough; I'll take the name-calling if it means I have a $7 tab at the end of the night.

(Though, to be fair, I should have been at the inaugural BU women's varsity ice hockey game - a 2-2 tie with Quinnipiac - but passed given back pain that made sitting in a cold rink for 3 hours seem like a bad idea. Not that sitting in a pub for three hours is much better, but I could at least delude myself.)

It wasn't as easy as last week, as we had to come from behind to win on the final question, and even then I had to go back and clarify my answer. But a win's a win.

Anyway, for those who like to play along:

Prior to Ottawa, what four cities served as capital of Canada? Kingston (Ontario), Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City (Paul) - I didn't figure Quebec would have any given the British versus French thing, but our lack of knowledge has us go with Toronto and Montreal by default. We guessed Halifax, which seemed like a good idea at the time. Guessing St. John was less of a good idea. Had we thought about it perhaps we'd have gone with Quebec City. Kingston... no.

To what land east of Eden did Cain go to after killing Abel? Nod (Greg) - We had no idea. Guessed Babylon because we heard another team say it. We're going to hell.

Tachophobia is the fear of what? Speed (Scott) - we got this one, so I will not be haunted by the Ghost of Classics Professors Past

What are the top four wine-producing countries in the world? US, Italy, France (Greg); Spain - We got the first three, and did as Greg did in going with Australia. Not a bad idea; they're apparently fifth. I had suggested Spain, but Australia seemed just as likely. Not that I didn't lord it over my team briefly when Spain turned out right.

Who was the first actress depicted on a US postage stamp? Grace Kelly, aka Princess Grace of Monaco (Greg) - I was a little surprised that an early actress didn't get the stamp treatment previously, but I suppose there was a time when getting a stamp was reserved for those who made Serious Accomplishments. We went with the Princess, thankfully.

What rock group formed in the 1960s had a first album called England's Newest Hitmakers? The Rolling Stones (Jack) - There seemed to be some thematic elements to last night's game, including two questions involving these guys.

Louis Washkansky was involved in what scientific first in 1967? First recipient of a human heart transplant (James) - this was the final question of the night, where I had to clarify things a bit regarding the nature of the operation. It probably helped that I realized I needed to do this on my own rather than having the guys running the game ask (or, more likely, judge us wrong). As with so many epiphanies, it came when I was in the bathroom.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, the answer to #6 is the Rolling Stones. For everything else the best I'd have is a semi-informed guess.

Greg said...

2. Nod

5. Italy, France, US, Australia
6. I'm thinking Grace Kelly.

James said...

I believe Mr. Washkansky was the first recipient of a human heart transplant.

Greg said...

well, this is interesting: according to the IMDB, it's Grace Kelly, but Wikipedia lists Ethel Barrymore (on a Barrymore family stamp) and Judy Garland getting stamps before Grace.

Mark said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Mark said...

Wikipedia also lists Vivian Leigh as being honored before Grace (1990 versus '93).

Both the Garland and Leigh stamps were part of a set honoring Oscar-nominated films of 1939, so I suppose the argument would be that those stamps represented Dorothy Gale and Scarlett O'Hara, not the actresses themselves.

You don't have that argument with the Barrymore stamp, though it is a group stamp rather than just her. So I suppose she's the first, while Grace Kelly would be the first to get her own stamp. Thankfully, this wasn't an issue.

Anonymous said...

5. Argentina - Plent of decent wines that can be had for less than $10.

OTC

Anonymous said...

I was wrong, but since I cheated I won't post the correct answer.

OTC

Paul Crowley said...

I'm glad nobody scooped #1 so I can show off all the great Canadian history I have learned living North of the border. The capital moved quite a bit in the early days (Kingston, ONT, Montreal, QUE, Quebec City, QUE and Toronto, ONT or York as it was known before we burned it to the ground in 1813). They tell an interesting tale up here that when the provincial governors were tired and broke from moving the capital back and forth, they deferred to Queen Victoria, then still a girl, to choose the capital city. Legend has it that she blindly pointed to a spot on the map of Canada and that is how Ottawa was selected. Both sides were not very happy with the selection of Ottawa, which sits right on the broder between English speaking Ontario and French speaking Quebec, but as they say, the rest is history.

Scott Monty said...

3. Speed. Remember Prof. Valerie Warrior? She'd cringe at you not remembering the Greek roots (think tachometer).

For want of anything better to post, here's a breakdown of if I've been to the most populous 100 cities in the US, and if so for how...