WEEK OF OCTOBER 13, 2008
Word of the week: "silent rave." It is a dance party where all the attendees listen to the same music played simultaneously on their personal headphones, each attached to their own portable music players. Thus no one "just walking in" can hear the music, which is the "silent" part of the term.
Singer James Brown had five well-known nicknames: "The Godfather of Soul," "The Hardest Working Man in Show Business," "Mr. Dynamite," "Mr. Please Please," and "Soul Brother No. 1." Is there any celebrity (past or present) with more well-known nicknames? If you can think of any, please let us know.
About two or so years ago, the euro overtook the dollar as the currency with the highest value in circulation around the world. As of December 2006, there were over $810 billion worth of euros. Currently the monetary unit of 15 European nations, the latest three adoptees are Slovenia, Cyprus and Malta. The euro is also legal tender in the Western Hemisphere, in French possessions such as French Guiana and Martinique.
Long-running series: We believe the longest-ever title of an American prime-time TV series was this mouthful from 1951: "Your Kaiser Dealer Presents Kaiser-Frazer 'Adventures in Mystery' Starring Betty Furness in 'Byline.'" Kaiser-Frazer was an automaker; Ms. Furness later became special assistant for consumer affairs for Lyndon Johnson, and a TV consumer advocate.
Due to Hindu beliefs, no beef or pork is served at any of the McDonald's restaurants in India. Much of the menu there is vegetarian -- even the mayonnaise and "soft serve" ice cream are specially formulated to have no eggs. But there are Big Macs (called "Maharaja Macs"), available in chicken, lamb and veggie (potatoes, peas and carrots).
Big Apple NPR pop-music show host Jonathan Schwartz recently mentioned after playing a Sinatra version of "Mood Indigo" that it was one of only four Duke Ellington tunes Sinatra ever recorded. Your humble trivia author e-mailed Schwartz, who kindly responded with the others: "I'm Beginning to See the Light," "I Like the Sunrise" and "I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)."
Eponym of the week: Scottish golfer Thomas McCann, whose name was "borrowed" by American shoe manufacturer Ward Melville in 1922 for his Thom McAn chain of shoe stores and the shoe brand of the same name. Our Internet searching could find no additional information about Mr. McCann, other than the existence of a documentary film "Shoe Boy," about a man's search to learn more about Mr. McCann.
Herman Swanson of Borger, Texas, asked us to identify the 1930s radio comedian who portrayed Baron Munchausen, telling far-fetched stories in a thick German accent. That would be vaudevillian Jack Pearl, who, when confronted with skepticism by his straight man, would answer with the catchphrase that became a national idiom, "Vass you dere, Charlie?"
As mentioned in Sol Steinmetz's new book "Semantic Antics," "crafty" and the synonymous "cunning" were adjectives of praise long before they took on their more pejorative meanings. Hundreds of years ago, both words meant "skillful." Today, "charmingly cute" is in current dictionaries under "cunning," the sense in which Teddy Roosevelt often used it in his letters when discussing his children.
Welsh-born actor Christian Bale is the first non-American to portray Batman on film. Eighteen years before he first portrayed the Caped Crusader in "Batman Begins," he was the British schoolboy who is separated from his parents in Steven Spielberg's "Empire of the Sun." Unexpected connection: Bale's former stepmother is feminist icon Gloria Steinem.
TRIVIA
1) In what year did human beings make the first confirmed surface visit to the North Pole?
A) 1889
B) 1909
C) 1938
D) 1968
2) New York City is known as "The Big Apple." "The Big Apricot" is a nickname of Metropolis, home of the Daily Planet and Superman. But what city is known as "The Big Guava?"
A) Honolulu, Hawaii
B) Tampa, Fla.
C) Sydney, Australia
D) Gotham City
3) What country has the most lakes within its borders, about 50 percent of the world's total?
A) Canada
B) United States
C) Russia
D) Finland
4) In the world of science, columns, needles and plates are three common varieties of:
A) Snowflakes
B) Stalactites
C) Deserts
D) Dental work
5) If you're not familiar with the Texas-based rock band Max Q, you should be, because it is notable for being composed entirely of people who have:
A) Won the Nobel Prize
B) Been to outer space
C) Served in the U.S. Congress
D) Played on the PGA tour
ANSWERS
1) The first confirmed surface visit to the North Pole was in April 1968, by a four-man snowmobile expedition led by American insurance salesman and adventurer Ralph Plaisted. Previous claims by Robert Peary and Frederick Cook were never independently verified.
2) Coined by a local columnist in the 1970s, "The Big Guava" is a nickname for Tampa, Fla. (Thanks to Trip Payne of Boca Raton, Fla.)
3) About 50 percent of the world's lakes are located in Canada.
4) Columns, needles and plates are three common varieties of snowflakes, named for their basic shapes. Other snowflake varieties include prisms and dendrites.
5) The Texas-based rock band Max Q is composed entirely of NASA astronauts. "Max Q" is a term for the maximum atmospheric pressure on a spacecraft during ascent.
STAN'S WEEKLY TRIVIA CHALLENGE CONTEST NO. 107
Movie tough guy George Raft appeared in both the first and last films (more than 40 years apart) of what Hollywood legend?
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. 107, 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. 100
Calvin Coolidge won every election he ever competed in, except for his defeat for a seat on the Northampton, Mass., school board in 1905. Winner: Valerie Joseph, of Walnut Creek, Calif.
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.
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