Ken Jennings's Trivia Almanac (28 page)

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FEBRUARY 17

1801
T
HE
H
OUSE OF
R
EPRESENTATIVES
breaks an electoral tie by electing Thomas Jefferson to the presidency over his opponent, Aaron Burr.

THE TIES THAT BIND

1.
A chess game can end in a draw if no piece has been captured or pawn moved in how many moves?

2.
Who kicked last-second, tiebreaking field goals to win two different Super Bowls?

3.
Who was the last vice president never to cast a single tiebreaking vote in the Senate?

4.
Almost twenty years later, what show tied, but couldn’t surpass,
Hill Street Blues
’s record of twenty-six Emmys for a drama?

5.
What’s both the NBA and NHL record for number of overtime periods in a game?

1933
B
LONDIE
B
OOPADOOP
marries Dagwood Bumstead, who is disinherited by his billionaire father for wedding the carefree flapper.

THE BLOND LEADING THE BLOND

1.
What band’s
Greatest Hits
album set a U.S. record by going twenty-nine times
platinum
?

2.
Williams, Adams, or Roberts—what’s the last name of the
Evil Dead
series protagonist
Ash
?

3.
Who was the National League’s Rookie of the Year the year after his teammate, Darryl
Strawberry
?

4.
What was the one-syllable catchphrase of Little Orphan Annie’s dog,
Sandy
?

5.
What drink is made from fermented water, yeast, and
honey
?

2004
A
N ENTERPRISING CELL PHONE
owner tries to auction off his phone number on eBay. Bidding tops $100,000 before Verizon yanks the sale. Why so much interest? The number was 867-5309, immortalized by Tommy Tutone in 1982.

ADD IT UP

Remember the annoying postgrunge fad of numbered band names? Finish these equations by filling in the acts’ missing digits.

1.
UB_____ ÷____ Non Blondes = Mack____

2.
(Level___ ×____ Inch Nails)-Eiffel___-____Pac =_____

3.
Andre____ + (____ Mary Three × Maroon___ × Matchbox____ ×____ cc) =____ Maniacs

4.
(____ Cent + Sum ____) × U ___= Blink-____

5.
Plus-____ + Boys____ Men + B-_____ s = _____Degrees

FEBRUARY 18

1762
T
HE
M
USICAL PRODIGY
Marianne Davies gives the very first performance of Benjamin Franklin’s new instrument, the “glass armonica,” in London’s Spring Gardens. Franklin invented the instrument after hearing of a British man who could play Handel’s
Water Music
on a set of tuned wineglasses.

I, GLASSES

1.
Photographer Andres Serrano ignited a media firestorm in 1989 by placing what object in a glass of his own urine?

2.
What did Pieter van Musschenbroek create at a namesake Dutch university in 1746 by lining a glass jar with silver foil?

3.
What did Bob Hope use to hold his lemonade in
The Road to Utopia
and his milk in
Son of Paleface
?

4.
What jazz legend’s singing shattered the glass in the famous “Is it live or is it Memorex?” ads?

5.
What whiskey cocktail lends its name to the short glass also called a “lowball”?

1930
E
LM
F
ARM
O
LLIE,
a Guernsey cow from Bismarck, Missouri, becomes the first cow ever to fly—and be milked—in an airplane. The publicity stunt was later adapted into the opera
Madame Butterfat.
No, really.

AGAINST MY BUTTER JUDGMENT

1.
What four-letter clarified butter is commonly used in Indian cuisine?

2.
What former I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! spokesperson was born with the last name Lanzoni?

3.
Who satirized the threat of nuclear war in
The Butter Battle Book
?

4.
The viceroy butterfly is so named because of its mimcry of what other species?

5.
In what movie does Marlon Brando utter the infamous line “Get the butter”?

6.
What was the first name of Rome’s Chef di Lelio, who attracted American diners by doubling the butter in his restaurant’s fettucini?

7.
What novel’s long-promised sequel is called
Buttercup’s Baby
?

8.
What synthpop instrumental was, appropriately, the biggest hit for Hot Butter?

9.
Because of his butterfly tattoo, what was Henri Cherrière’s nickname at Devil’s Island prison?

10.
Whose famous horse was named Buttermilk?

1952
J
UICE
N
EWTON
is born Judy Kay Cohen in New Jersey.