Ken Jennings's Trivia Almanac (111 page)

JULY 5

1687
N
EWTON’S
F
IRST
, S
ECOND
, and Third Laws of Motion are published for the first time, when Sir Isaac revolutionizes math and science in his
Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica.

ORDINAL SINS

Can you put these answers back in the right order?

1.
What’s another name for a quaver?

2.
What world’s currency is the Linden dollar?

3.
What position was only ever held by Louisiana-born Varina Howell?

4.
Loma Linda, California, is the largest U.S. city where mail is delivered on Sundays, because of what organization’s strong presence there?

5.
What baseball position has produced fewer Hall of Famers than any other?

6.
What’s the name of Ron Kovic’s bestselling autobiography?

7.
What mythical title has been given to poets from Sappho to Anne Bradstreet?

8.
What retailer was Claire Danes’s employer in
Shopgirl
and the site of Winona Ryder’s shoplifting arrest?

9.
What body controversially found the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional in the 2002
Newdow
case?

10.
What was the last horror film to earn a Best Picture Oscar nomination?

1937
T
HE CANNED-“MEAT” PRODUCT
Spam first hits grocery store shelves.

NO ACCOUNTING FOR TASTE

In honor of Spam, a quiz on other matters of questionable taste.

1.
What U.S. president loved Fresca so much he had a soda tap installed for the Oval Office?

2.
What was the first rap single to hit number one on
Billboard
’s Hot 100?

3.
At the 2001 Oscars, what animal did Björk dress as?

4.
What Sacramento-born “Painter of Light” calls himself “America’s most-collected living artist”?

5.
In 1983, the Minnesota North Stars passed up Cam Neely, Steve Yzerman, and Pat Lafontaine to draft what American, the only high school player ever to go number one in the NHL?

1994
W
HEN UMPIRES CONFISCATE
Albert Belle’s bat on suspicion of being corked, the Cleveland Indians go into full
Mission: Impossible
mode, sending pitcher Jason Grimsley wriggling into an overhead crawl space to switch bats. But Grimsley’s subterfuge is easily detected: he accidentally replaces Belle’s bat with one labeled as Paul Sorrento’s.

YOUR CHEATIN’ HEART

1.
What sports event did Rosie Ruiz win by cheating in 1980?

2.
What January 6, 1994, act got Shane Shant a four-year prison sentence?

3.
What did “Black Sox” pitcher Eddie Cicotte do in the first at-bat of the 1919 World Series to signal that the fix was in?

4.
What future NBA head coach hit the free throws that seemingly won the U.S. the gold medal at the disputed 1972 Olympic basketball finals?

5.
According to 2001 revelations, what famous event in sports history was made possible by a Polo Grounds telescope?

JULY 6

1885
N
INE-YEAR-OLD
J
OSEPH
M
EISTER
, having been bitten by a rabid dog, becomes the first recipient of Louis Pasteur’s rabies vaccine. Later in life, he will serve as caretaker at the Pasteur Institute in Paris.

A SHOT IN THE ARM

1.
An ongoing parents’ lawsuit blames the vaccine additive thiomersal for causing what syndrome?

2.
The MMR vaccine immunizes against what three illnesses?

3.
What nickname for the antipolio National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis was coined by entertainer Eddie Cantor?

4.
What rock group’s name is a homophone for a Sinclair Lewis novel about a vaccination pioneer?

5.
What disease does the “tine test” detect?

1916
A J
AMES
M
ONTGOMERY
F
LAGG
painting of Uncle Sam debuts in
Leslie’s Weekly
magazine with a caption reading “What are you doing for preparedness?” Seven months later, paired with a new caption (“I want YOU for U.S. Army!”), it will become one of the most famous images in American history.

SAY UNCLE

1.
In the song “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah,” what kind of animal sits on Uncle Remus’s shoulder?

2.
Dallas
’s Patrick Duffy is the uncle of what Cy Young winner who now pitches for the Giants?

3.
Worst…uncle…ever. What Shakespeare title character orders the murder of two of his own nephews?

4.
What two long-running 1980s TV shows featured characters called “Uncle Jesse”?

5.
What familiar product is Rich Uncle Pennybags the mascot for?

6.
What two American leading men can call director Francis Ford Coppola “Uncle Francis”?

7.
In
Uncle Tom’s Cabin,
Eliza’s famous flight across the ice floes takes place on what frozen river?

8.
What’s the avian name of the acronymic evil organization on
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
?

9.
In U.S. Army history, who was “Uncle Billy”?

10.
The Oscar for humanitarian work is named for what actor, Leslie Nielsen’s uncle?

1979
A
FTER SPENDING FIFTEEN MONTHS
in a Seattle hospital, Jon Brower Minnoch, the heaviest man ever, announces that he’s lost 924 pounds—he’s down to a svelte 476.

MISTER BIG

1.
What acoustic track was the only number one hit for 1990s hard-rock band Mr. Big?

2.
Mr. Big is the largest chocolate bar produced by what British confectioner?

3.
Drug lord Mr. Big is the villain of what James Bond novel and film?

4.
Boris and Natasha’s sometime superior Mr. Big works for the government of what fictional nation?

5.
What was Big’s real first name revealed to be in the last episode of
Sex and the City
?