Ken Jennings's Trivia Almanac (41 page)

MARCH 8

1985
K
MART ANNOUNCES
that ex–Charlie’s Angel Jaclyn Smith is its new TV spokeswoman and will design a clothing line for the discount retailer.

TALK ABOUT THE FASHION

Jaclyn was ahead of the curve. Match these celebrities to their personal fashion lines.

1993
B
EAVIS AND
B
UTT
-H
EAD
get their own MTV series. They have appeared in occasional
Liquid Television
shorts, but this is viewers’ first chance to enjoy them in half-hour units. Huh huh—you said “units.”

HUH HUH
—
YOU SAID…

1.
What two authors’ characters are used to name the moon of Uranus?

2.
What country is home to Europe’s largest engineering firm, Siemens AG?

3.
The adventures of what penguin filled out TV’s
Woody Woodpecker Show
?

4.
Who described his plucky boy heroes in formulaic novels like
Ragged Dick; or, Street Life in New York with the Bootblacks
?

5.
On what namesake Asian island were the first
Homo erectus
fossils found?

6.
Who talks to his own ass in Numbers 22?

7.
What team lost the pennant in 1908 thanks to “Merkle’s boner”?

8.
The “horny toad” isn’t really a toad. What kind of animal is it—a frog, a lizard, or a salamander?

9.
In what TV show’s titles did a guest star usually introduce himself as “the new Number Two”?

10.
What islands are home to most of the world’s blue-footed boobies?

MARCH 9

1454
A
MERIGO
V
ESPUCCI,
the Italian explorer for whom two continents will be named, is born in Florence.

MY COUNTRY, ’TIS OF THEE

1.
Israel is named for the Old Testament patriarch born with what name?

2.
What’s the only
other
country named for an Old Testament figure?

3.
What country is named for one of the New Testament apostles?

4.
What country is called, in its native language, “Bharat,” after its legendary founder?

5.
What country is named for the founder of the “Friars Preachers” religious order?

6.
What nation is named for the Hapsburg king of Spain from 1556 to 1598?

7.
What’s the only country named for an Italian who’s
not
Amerigo Vespucci?

8.
What country’s name is the local pronunciation of the name of its British discoverer, Thomas Gilbert?

9.
Which world nation is named for the figure who lived most recently?

10.
What Pacific island chain is named for Philip IV’s Austrian queen?

1954
E
DWARD
R. M
URROW AIRS
his
See It Now
takedown of Joseph McCarthy.

WITCH HUNT

In what movies did these actresses portray witches?

Easy

1.
Billie Burke

2.
Susan Sarandon

3.
Neve Campbell

4.
Nicole Kidman (two answers)

Harder

1.
Tilda Swinton

2.
Christina Ricci

3.
Bette Midler

4.
Ione Skye

Yeah, Good Luck

1.
Veronica Lake

2.
Kim Novak

3.
Cassandra Gava

4.
Angela Lansbury

1985
T
HE NATION’S FIRST
A
DOPT-A
-H
IGHWAY PROGRAM
begins when the Tyler Civitan Club adopts a stretch of Highway 69 north of Tyler, Texas. The Texas Department of Transportation is beginning its “Don’t Mess with Texas” antilittering campaign, which will reduce highway litter in the Lone Star State by an amazing 72 percent.

SIX QUESTIONS OVER TEXAS

1.
In novels and on TV, what fictional Texas town is home to the Hat Creek Cattle Company and Livery Emporium?

2.
Pre-Iraq, George W. Bush used to joke that his biggest mistake was trading what Texas Ranger away for George Bell?

3.
Who was the only two-term president of the Republic of Texas?

4.
How many community cards are there in a hand of Texas hold ’em?

5.
What name is shared by the rivers that run through Denison, Texas, and Hanoi, Vietnam?

6.
What Texas Instruments product does E.T. use to “phone home”?