Ken Jennings's Trivia Almanac (187 page)

NOVEMBER 8

1971
“S
TAIRWAY TO
H
EAVEN”
is released on that Led Zeppelin album with the funky runes that I can’t type here. But the iconic song is never released as a single, because Zeppelin refuses to cut down its eight-minute running time.

HOW LONG? HOW LONG MUST WE SING THIS SONG?

Name the artists who tried our patience with these ten-minute-plus epics.

Easy

1.
“The End”

2.
“Shine On, You Crazy Diamond”

3.
“Rapper’s Delight”

4.
“I’d Do Anything for Love”

5.
“In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”

Harder

1.
“Marquee Moon”

2.
“Sister Ray”

3.
“Three Days”

4.
“Voodoo Chile”

5.
“2112”

Yeah, Good Luck

1.
“Telegraph Road”

2.
“Pass the Hatchet, I Think I’m Goodkind”

3.
“Brownsville Girl”

4.
“The Diamond Sea”

5.
“Third Eye”

1975
D
ANIEL
R
UETTIGER,
of
Rudy
fame, makes his one-play appearance in a Notre Dame football game—and records a sack against Georgia Tech.

VARSITY BLUES

Which college sport is central to these movies?

1.
Flubber

2.
Back to School

3.
We Are Marshall

4.
Love Story

5.
Without Limits

1975
T
HE
L
AND
S
HARK,
cleverest of all sharks, makes his
Saturday Night Live
debut. “Plumber, ma’am.” (Pause.) “Candygram.”

SKIT AIN’T OVER TILL IT’S OVER

Name the
SNL
characters—not cast members—behind these catchphrases.

Easy

1.
“Schwing!”

2.
“Superstar!”

3.
“You look mahvelous.”

4.
“Could it be…Satan?!”

5.
“We’re going to pump…you up!”

Harder

1.
“Never mind!”

2.
“You look like a rabbit.”

3.
“I’m jus’ keeeding!”

4.
“Touch him! Touch my monkey!”

5.
“Yeah, that’s the ticket.”

Yeah, Good Luck

1.
“We are two wild and crazy guys!”

2.
“I must say.”

3.
“Oh no!”

4.
“A van down by the river!”

5.
“Bum lookers!”

NOVEMBER 9

1967
T
HE FIRST ISSUE OF
Rolling Stone
magazine is published, using a mailing list that Jann Wenner stole from a Bay Area radio station.

(LIKE A) ROLLING STONE

These are fifteen songs from
Rolling Stone
’s list of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time,” with only the parenthesized parts of the song title shown. Can you restore the rest of the title?

Easy

1.
(I Can’t Get No)

2.
(When He Walked Me Home)

3.
(Don’t Fear)

4.
(That’s What I Want)

5.
(Are Made of These)

Harder

1.
(Slight Return)

2.
(Walkin’ in the Sand)

3.
(This Bird Has Flown)

4.
(What’s So Funny ’Bout)

5.
(Falletinme Be Mice Elf Again)

Yeah, Good Luck

1.
(We’re Gonna)

2.
(To Stop Now)

3.
(The Way I Love You)

4.
(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me)

5.
(I Feel Like Being a)

1992
C
HARLES FRASER-SMITH,
the British gadgeteer upon whom Ian Fleming based his quartermaster character, Q, dies.

RIGHT ON Q

1.
What former child star is the superintendent of Broadway’s
Avenue Q
?

2.
Whose sayings may have been collected in the hypothetical “Q Document”?

3.
Hissy, Slimy, or Coily—what’s the name of the snake who bedevils video game character Q*Bert?

4.
What does it mean when a
Q
is appended to the end of a company’s stock ticker symbol?

5.
What does the
Q
stand for in the 1982 film
Q: The Winged Serpent
?

6.
What playing card appears in the title of Stacey Q’s biggest pop hit?

7.
What NBA team plays at “the Q”—Quicken Loans Arena?

8.
What were called “Baby Gays” when they were invented in 1928?

9.
What movie title character never says a word, leaving the talking to his sidekick, Timothy Q. Mouse?

10.
Two Arab nations, Iraq and Qatar, have the letter
Q
in their names. What two African nations do as well?

1993
C
RAYOLA UNVEILS SIXTEEN
new crayons, with colors chosen in a nationwide contest. Winners include asparagus, timberwolf, and macaroni and cheese.

HARD PALETTE

What color of the rainbow is closest to these shades?

Easy

1.
Crimson

2.
Azure

3.
Lilac

4.
Teal

5.
Saffron

Harder

1.
Mauve

2.
Viridian

3.
Fuchsia

4.
Cyan

5.
Chartreuse

Yeah, Good Luck

1.
Cerulean

2.
Cerise

3.
Malachite

4.
Heliotrope

5.
Titian