Sippity doodad: The drinking straw is an ancient invention. Its first known use was by the Sumerians, to drink their beer without ingesting those undesirable byproducts of fermentation. Baseball concessionaire Harry Stevens is believed to be the first to sell bottled soda with a straw circa 1894, which he found increased his sales. Why? Fans could now sip without taking their eyes off the game.

Robert De Niro dancing on piano keys? It almost happened. "Big" co-writer Anne Spielberg (Steven's sister) revealed on an episode of AMC's "Backstory" that De Niro was offered and accepted the male lead role, but things didn't work out for some reason. Tom Hanks got the part, of course.

Trivia fans would be most likely to recognize the name Pepe from Warner Bros.' French toon skunk Pepe Le Pew, who in turn was named for Pepe le Moko, Charles Boyer's character in the film "Algiers." But in the Spanish language, Pepe is a nickname for:
A) Roberto
B) Pablo
C) Jose
D) Felipe

Previous answer: According to the state's Department of Natural Resources, Michigan ranks first in the nation in the number of registered snowmobiles.
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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