Ken Jennings's Trivia Almanac (58 page)

APRIL 6

1644
T
HOSE
P
URITAN KILLJOYS
in England’s “Long Parliament” ban the Maypole, calling it “a heathenish vanity, generally abused to superstition and wickedness.”

POLE POSITION

1.
For whom is the left-field foul pole at Boston’s Fenway Park officially named?

2.
What has two poles as a result of Amperian currents?

3.
The point on land closest to the North Pole belongs to what nation?

4.
What were the first modern Olympic pole vaulters’ poles made of?

5.
What holiday is celebrated with an aluminum pole, the Airing of Grievances, and Feats of Strength?

6.
What common object is designed to recall the bloodstained bandages of medieval times?

7.
What former sitcom costars play the two lead boys in 2004’s

The Polar Express
?

8.
Who renamed the Antarctic Plateau “King Haakon VIII’s Plateau” in 1911?

9.
What kind of pole hosts “See You at the Pole” gatherings?

10.
Who has been the pole sitter at a record six Indy 500s, from 1979 to 1991?

1963
T
HE
P
ORTLAND GARAGE BAND
The Kingsmen lays down a sloppy version of a Richard Berry song during a one-hour recording session. A Boston DJ plays the raucous song as his “Worst Record of the Week” and it catches on with listeners, surprising the Kingsmen by becoming a huge national hit.

HEY HEY, MY MY

What double-word song title was a hit single for these artists?

Easy

1.
The Archies

2.
Billy Idol

3.
Paula Abdul

4.
The Mamas and the Papas

5.
Amy Grant

Harder

1.
The Thompson Twins

2.
Neil Diamond

3.
Santana

4.
Elvis Costello

5.
David Bowie

Yeah, Good Luck

1.
The Castaways

2.
Naked Eyes

3.
The New Christy Minstrels

4.
Run-D.M.C.

5.
The Beau Brummels

1966
R
IOTS ERUPT ON THE STREETS
of Kowloon after the colonial government approves a five-cent hike in the fare on Hong Kong’s famous Star Ferry.

FERRY TALES

1.
Who ferries the dead across the river Acheron in Greek myth?

2.
What state is
today
home to Harpers Ferry, but is not the state in which it was located at the time of John Brown’s raid?

3.
What color is New York’s Staten Island Ferry?

4.
What British pop group did Bryan Ferry lead after Brian Eno’s 1973 departure?

5.
What late actor was named in tribute to the lessons taught by the ferryman Vasudeva in Hermann Hesse’s novel
Siddhartha
?

APRIL 7

1859
I
N HIS STORE,
the English chemist John Walker sells the first “friction lights,” which he invented accidentally last year by mixing potassium chlorate and antimony sulfide. Today we call them “matches.”

MATCH POINT

“Match” wits with these five questions.

1.
What musical was based on Thornton Wilder’s play
The Matchmaker
?

2.
What two
Rocky III
costars won the final match of the very first WrestleMania?

3.
What future game show host was the first regular panelist on
Match Game ’73
?

4.
What match play event, similar to the Ryder Cup, pits a U.S. team against a
non-
European international team?

5.
In 1996, who became the first U.S. presidential hopeful ever to opt out of accepting federal matching funds for his campaign?

1926
V
IOLET
GIBSON,
the mentally deranged sister of Irish peer Baron Ashbourne, shoots Italian dictator Benito Mussolini in the streets of Rome. The bullet passes through both of Il Duce’s nostrils, and one bandage later, the parade continues as planned.

I SHOT THE SHERIFF

Who was assassinated by each of these people?

Easy

1.
James Earl Ray

2.
Leon Czolgosz

3.
Charlotte Corday

4.
Gavrilo Princip

Harder

1.
Dan White

2.
Ramón Mercader

3.
Nathuram Godse

4.
Carl Weiss

Yeah, Good Luck

1.
Yigal Amir

2.
Talmadge Hayer

3.
Giuseppe Zangara

4.
Khalid Islambouli

1969
T
HE FAMILIAR SILHOUETTE
Major League Baseball logo makes its debut, as players wear it on their uniforms for the first time. Though popular legend says the player in the logo was modeled on Harmon Killebrew, the league refuses to name names.

CLUB SCENE

What’s the only Major League Baseball team whose official logo features…

Easy

1.
A bell

2.
An earring

3.
A crown

Harder

1.
A compass

2.
A hat

3.
Barley

Yeah, Good Luck

1.
Home plate

2.
A bridge

3.
A weapon