WEEK OF OCTOBER 6, 2008
Word of the week: "synecdoche," pronounced "si-NECK-duh-key." It is a figure of speech where, for example, a part of something is used to represent the whole, as in "50 head" for cattle. You're going to see a lot of the word this month, when the film "Synecdoche, New York" gets its American release. The film is set in Schenectady, New York, and uses synecdoche as a plot device.
What's the world's oldest political party still in existence? Well, we're not exactly sure. The U.K.'s Conservative Party dates back to around 1830. But so does America's Democratic Party, though it has its roots in the older Democratic-Republican Party. The venerable Encyclopaedia Britannica appears not to bestow the title "oldest" on either one. If you can help, please let us know.
We got to wondering recently whether the cities in New Jersey and California named Menlo Park have any connection, and where the name came from. Our research revealed that Menlo Park, Calif., came first, founded around 1854 by two brothers from the Irish village of Menlough. New Jersey's Menlo Park was established about 20 years later, and took its name from the Golden State town.
H.B. Pemberton of Seattle asks, "What is the Major League record for the most consecutive hits in a baseball game?" For a team, the record is the 12 straight recorded by the St. Louis Cardinals in a 1920 game against the Boston Braves. For an individual player, it's seven, first done by Detroit Tiger Cesar Gutierrez in a 12-inning game in 1970.
Weird Wide Web: Visit www.instant-origami.com, then click on any of eight objects such "the mask" and "the octopus," and you'll see a short video of two hands fashioning a piece of paper into said object a manner that's ... let's just call it unexpected. Our favorite: the timeless simplicity of "the snowball."
According to Joseph Nathan Kane's excellent "Presidential Fact Book," there have been three cases of presidential descendants marrying each other. Two descendants of John Adams married each other in 1853, a great-grandson of James Garfield married a great-granddaughter of Benjamin Harrison in 1961, and you may remember Julie Nixon's wedding to David Eisenhower in 1968.
Eponym of the week: Charles Grey, who was British prime minister from 1830 to 1834. As the 2nd Earl Grey, the Earl Grey variety of tea (containing oil from the rind of the bergamot orange) was named for him. But it's not known for sure exactly why. Several stories are "out there," from Grey providing the recipe to a tea merchant, to the son of an Indian raja being rescued from a tiger by one of Grey's servants.
Your humble Brooklyn-born trivia author remembers the dinosaur-logo Sinclair gas stations of his youth, and has long thought the brand went the way of the dinosaur. But on a recent trip to Denver, we were surprised to see a Sinclair station with the old logo. Through Web research, we found out that over 2,000 Sinclair stations exist today in the West and Midwest, with a new corporate owner.
Surprisingly, the words "faucet" and "false" are closely related. "Faucet" is derived from an old French term meaning "force in" or "make a breach in," literally "to falsify." "Faucet" was originally a term for a tap from a barrel or cask. The French word for "false" is the familiar "faux" as in "faux pas" (literally "false step") and "faux fur."
Be careful what you wish for: We have a shocking revelation to share with you today. The Magic 8-Ball toy is biased toward affirmative answers. Of the 20 messages on its internal icosahedron, five are noncommittal (like "Ask again later" and "Cannot predict now"), ten are affirmative (from "Signs point to yes" to "It is certain") and only five are negative (from "Outlook not so good" to "My reply is no").
TRIVIA
1) Fans of the Indiana Jones film series know that Henry Jones Jr., got the nickname "Indiana" from a pet dog he had as a child. But where did George Lucas, who created the character, get the name Indiana?
A) From his own pet dog
B) From his mother's birthplace
C) From his favorite baseball team
D) By throwing a dart at a map of the U.S.
2) According to "The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Cats and Dogs," which of these would be the best music to help relax a dog that has noise anxiety?
A) A Sinatra ballad
B) A Pavarotti aria
C) A Bach Brandenberg Concerto
D) A Rolling Stones tune
3) According to the latest available statistics, three of the 10 most populous cities in Africa are located in what country?
A) Egypt
B) Nigeria
C) Kenya
D) South Africa
4) During the Middle Ages, the principal textile from which fabrics were made was:
A) Wool
B) Cotton
C) Silk
D) Linen
5) What was the line of work of the man whom writer H.L. Mencken called "The most dangerous man in America?"
A) Humorist
B) Politician
C) Industrialist
D) Race-car driver
ANSWERS
1) George Lucas, who created the Indiana Jones film character, got the name Indiana from his pet Alaskan malamute dog. More on the origin of Indiana Jones in a future column.
2) According to "The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Cats and Dogs," relaxing music with a regular beat, such as a Bach Brandenberg Concerto, is best to help relax a dog that has noise anxiety.
3) According to the latest available statistics, three of the 10 most populous cities in Africa are in Nigeria: Lagos (#1), Kano (#9) and Ibadan (#10). All three cities have over 3 million people.
4) During the Middle Ages, the principal textile from which fabrics were made was linen, manufactured from the fiber of the flax plant.
5) For the power his comments had on the American public, humorist Will Rogers was called "The most dangerous man in America" by writer H.L. Mencken.
STAN'S WEEKLY TRIVIA CHALLENGE CONTEST NO. 106
The three-word title of what long-running network TV series uses no vowels other than E?
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. 106, 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. 99
The familiar supermarket brand name that is also the name for something often found under the hood of an automobile is V8. Winner: Claire Jerome of Brownsville, 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.
COPYRIGHT 2008 STANLEY NEWMAN
DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS SYNDICATE
