Ken Jennings's Trivia Almanac (186 page)

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NOVEMBER 6

1962
R
ICHARD
N
IXON LOSES
his race for governor of California, leading to his sadly empty promise “You won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore.”

JUST FOR KICKS

1.
How far must an untouched onside kick in football travel to be recovered by the kicking team?

2.
In the movie
They Live,
Roddy Piper says he’s come to “kick ass” and enjoy what other activity?

3.
What’s the only Olympic martial art in which kicking is allowed?

4.
Who “tested” and “approved”

Kix cereal?

5.
According to Cole Porter’s “I Get a Kick out of You,” what two rhyming substances provide him “no kick”?

1990
R
ICHMOND
C
OUNTY
, N
EW
Y
ORK,
aka Staten Island, votes to begin the process of seceding from New York City. The movement will later be defused by the election of Rudolph Giuliani, who will win the mayor’s office on the strength of his Staten Island support.

TOWN AND COUNTY

What major American city is the seat of each of these counties?

Easy

1.
Cook County

2.
Dade County

3.
Cuyahoga County

4.
Fulton County

5.
Wayne County

Harder

1.
Harris County

2.
King County

3.
Maricopa County

4.
Allegheny County

5.
Broward County

Yeah, Good Luck

1.
Bexar County

2.
Clark County

3.
Hennepin County

4.
Multnomah County

5.
Marion County

2001
A
MERICA MEETS
J
ACK
B
AUER,
as
24
debuts on Fox. The pilot’s final scene, in which a terrorist blows up a Boeing 747, is heavily edited, airing as it does just two months after the 9/11 attacks.

NUMB3RS

What numbers complete these TV series’ titles?

Easy

1.
Adam___

2.
Beverly Hills___

3.
Route___

4.
Reno___

5.
Babylon___

Harder

1.
Room___

2.
Cleopatra___

3.
Blake’s___

4.
Mystery Science Theater___

5.
Sealab___

Yeah, Good Luck

1.
Jake___

2.
Level___

3.
Code___

4.
Number___

5.
James at___

NOVEMBER 7

1628
P
HILIP
S
TANHOPE IS CREATED
the first earl of Chesterfield. His descendants will receive an even greater honor in the 1850 s, when a type of straight-armed sofa is named for the family.

SOFA SO GOOD

1.
What movie was Tom Cruise promoting when he indulged in his couch-jumping episode on
Oprah
?

2.
Whose famous couch was a gift from the grateful Madame Benvisti in 1890?

3.
What’s pictured in the painting that hangs above
The Simpsons’
couch?

4.
What’s the largest of the Midwest’s “Quad Cities”?

5.
In what anthem is Cheap Trick shocked to discover “Mom and Dad…rolling on the couch”?

1949
I
N
A
RTICLE
12 of its new constitution, the nation of Costa Rica abolishes its army.

YOU AND WHAT ARMY?

1.
What country is a member of NATO despite having no standing army?

2.
What landlocked nation still has a naval ensign despite having lost its access to the sea in 1884’s War of the Pacific?

3.
Members of what nation’s security force must, by law, be citizens of Switzerland?

4.
What island nation’s 1,200-man army was disbanded after a 1983 invasion?

5.
What country, by law, refers to its military as “Self-Defense Forces”?

2000
A
LABAMA BECOMES THE
last state in the Union to vote its antimiscegenation law off the books. Shockingly, 40 percent of voters opposed the repeal.

BLACK AND WHITE AND WED ALL OVER

Give the other half of these famous interracial marriages.

Easy

1.
Lisa Marie Presley

2.
Iman

3.
Connie Chung

4.
John Rolfe

5.
Heidi Klum

Harder

1.
Ben Harper

2.
Idina Menzel

3.
Les Moonves