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Trivia Bits by Paul Paquet

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Paul Paquet

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  • Trivia Bits, December 1
    Word of the week: "snow," specifically the Eskimo words for "snow." The idea that Eskimos have dozens of words for snow reflects the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis that language is shaped by our experience of the world. Actually, Eskimo …

  • Trivia Bits, November 29
    STAN'S WEEKLY TRIVIA CHALLENGE CONTEST NO. 113 What legendary figure from American history was once known as "Duck Bill" because of the shape of his nose and mouth? HOW TO WIN: Send your answer, with your full name and address, either by e-…

  • Trivia Bits, November 28
    The related words "denim" and "jeans" both have a geographical ancestry. "Denim" is derived from the French fabric "serge de Nimes," Nimes being the city where it was first made. "Jeans" comes from …

  • Trivia Bits, November 27
    Eponym of the week: Japanese engineer Tadao Kashio, who, with his father and three brothers, founded in 1946 what would become the Casio Computer Company. In 1954, Casio debuted its first calculator — the first with a 10-key number pad and a …

Trivia Bits, September 3

Where's the world's most tilted tower? Hint: It's not in Italy. The Leaning Tower of Pisa currently tilts a mere 3.97 degrees from perpendicular. Last November, Guinness World Records certified the 15th-century church tower in the northwest German town of Suurhusen as the champ, with a 5.17-degree tilt. The Suurhusen tower is less than half as tall as the Pisa tower.

One Hundred Years Ago This Month: Henry Ford manufactured his first Model T automobile in September 1908. The last one came off Ford's assembly line in 1927. The Model T was so successful that Ford spent $0 on advertising from 1917 and 1923. Why was it called the Model T? Because it succeeded Ford's Model S.

TNT, aka trinitrotoluene, was discovered by German chemist Joseph Wilbrand in 1863.
Its first practical use was not as an explosive, but as:
A) An insecticide
B) Synthetic rubber
C) A dye
D) Cattle feed

Previous answer: Before his American Top 40 radio shows, deejay Casey Kasem was a dogcatcher in Rochester, N.Y.

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.

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
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Originally Published on Wednesday September 03, 2008

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