Sunday, May 11, 2008 | 9:51 p.m.

Trivia Bits by Stan Newman

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Stan Newman

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  • Trivia Bits, May 12
    Word of the week: "paraph." It is a handwritten flourish made under a person's signature, once popularly used as a forgery deterrent. Some famous Americans whose autograph often included a paraph: John Hancock, Benjamin Franklin, Sam …

  • Trivia Bits, May 10
    STAN'S WEEKLY TRIVIA CHALLENGE CONTEST NO. 84 What famous name from 19th-century world history was once the president of three countries simultaneously? HOW TO WIN: Send your answer, with your full name and address, either by e-mail to TriviaBits@…

  • Trivia Bits, May 9
    The word "fiasco," as in "spectacular failure," means "flask" in Italian. Specifically, the flask commonly used for Chianti that is enclosed in a straw basket. The word took on its unpleasant connotation as an Italian …

  • Trivia Bits, May 8
    Small-town celebrity birthplace of the week: Byron, in northern Illinois (current population about 4,000). Baseball Hall of Famer and sporting-goods entrepreneur Albert Goodwill Spalding was born there in 1850. Impressionist painter Wilson Irvine …

Trivia Bits, April 10

Small-town celebrity birthplace of the week: Tampico, in northwestern Illinois (current population about 800). President Ronald Reagan was born there in 1911, in a second-story apartment above a bank. Tampico is on the Ronald Reagan Trail of Illinois towns and cities where he lived or frequently visited. (Thanks to Ed Bennett of Pullman, Wash.)

Ever wonder why a nickel is larger than a dime, even though it's worth less? In the early 19th century, the five-cent "half dime" coin had half the silver of a dime, but was too small for many people to handle easily. So in 1866, the U.S. Mint increased the five-cent piece to its present size, changing its metal to a nickel alloy.
Before that, one-cent coins, also made from a nickel alloy, were known as "nickels."

The School of Theater and Film at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is named for a celebrity not primarily known for his work in theater or film. That famous fellow is a member of the:
A) Country Music Hall of Fame
B) Television Hall of Fame
C) College Football Hall of Fame
D) Aviation Hall of Fame

Previous answer: Louisiana native Jenny Craig started her successful weight-loss-program company in Australia, homeland of her husband, Sidney Craig.

TRIVIA FANS: Send the trivia questions you've always wanted answered, or original TriviaBits ideas of your own, with your full name and hometown, to Stan Newman at StanTrivia@aol.com or on a postcard to P.O. Box 69, Massapequa Park, NY 11762.


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Originally Published on Thursday April 10, 2008

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Click on the title to read Stanley Newman's article from Newsday, "Exercise Your Puzzle Muscles", which explores the ways that puzzles can keep you mentally fit as you age.

Also, see the Editors's Note from this edition of Newsday recounting the history of the Newsday crossword puzzle and Stanley Newman's pivotal role in revolutionizing it.
 
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