Ken Jennings's Trivia Almanac (85 page)

MAY 25

1862
S
TONEWALL
J
ACKSON WINS
the first Battle of Winchester, Virginia. All told, the Shenandoah Valley town will change hands seventy-two times during the Civil War.

SWITCHING TEAMS

1.
Though his seat had been held by a Republican for a record 144 years, who reshaped the Senate by becoming an independent in 2001?

2.
What was pioneering transsexual Christine Jorgensen’s first name before her surgery?

3.
The last major league team to switch from the AL to the NL, and the last NFL team to switch from the AFC to the NFC, both originated in what city?

4.
What nation switched sides in World War II on September 8, 1943?

5.
Seafloor spreading at midoceanic ridges is how scientists first discovered the periodic reversal of what?

1961
P
RESIDENT
K
ENNEDY GIVES
his famous speech to Congress, vowing to land a man on the moon within nine years. In a less-quoted addendum, he vows that “a man will play golf on the moon” within eleven years and “man will become, frankly, pretty bored with the moon” within fifteen.

SPACE RACE

1.
What proper noun was the first word spoken to the world from the surface of the moon?

2.
For whom is the Cosmonauts Training Center in Star City, Russia, named?

3.
The only two sitting U.S. senators ever to go into space shared what pair of initials?

4.
Which space shuttle is named for the ship on which Robert Scott first sailed to Antarctica?

5.
What does
Mir,
the name of the Russian space station, mean in Russian?

6.
Before the 2004 launch of SpaceShip One, who was the last American ever to go into space alone?

7.
Who did the American media nickname “Muttnik”?

8.
Who’s the only character to have a speaking role in both
The Right Stuff
and
Apollo 13
?

9.
Did Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon with his left or right foot?

10.
Why did the Shire of Esperance, in Western Australia, issue the United States a $400 fine for littering in 1979?

1980
“S
UICIDE
I
S
P
AINLESS,
” better known as “that theme from
M*A*S*H,
” belatedly tops the British pop charts. Robert Altman’s fourteen-year-old son had written the lyrics to the song, earning him much more in royalties than his father ever got for directing the film.

SAME OLD SONG

What TV shows have used these pop songs as their themes?

Easy

1.
“Who Are You,” the Who

2.
“Cleveland Rocks,” the Presidents of the United States of America

3.
“Love and Marriage,” Frank Sinatra

4.
“Bad Boys,” Inner Circle

5.
“With a Little Help from My Friends,” Joe Cocker

Harder

1.
“How Soon Is Now?,” Love Spit Love

2.
“Woke Up This Morning,” A3

3.
“Reflections,” Diana Ross and the Supremes

4.
“Save Me,” Remy Zero

5.
“A Little Less Conversation,” Elvis Presley

Yeah, Good Luck

1.
“Stand,” R.E.M.

2.
“Even a Dog Can Shake Hands,” Warren Zevon

3.
“Here with Me,” Dido

4.
“Bad Reputation,” Joan Jett

5.
“Yakety Sax,” Boots Randolph

MAY 26

1896
T
HE
D
OW
J
ONES
Industrial Average is first published.

KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES

1.
What is Indiana Jones’s real first name?

2.
What famed musician is the father of singer Norah Jones?

3.
What empress gave John Paul Jones a navy job after his American military career ended?

4.
What was the nickname of 6-foot, 9-inch Cowboys defensive end Ed Jones?

5.
On what “Special” Illinois Central route was Casey Jones the engineer?

1959
C
HARLIE
B
ROWN PASSES OUT
chocolate cigars as his sister is born in the panels of
Peanuts.
The precocious Sally ages faster than her castmates—she will begin kindergarten in August 1962, having barely turned three.

BROTHER FROM ANOTHER PANEL

In what newspaper comic strip would you find these siblings?

Easy

1.
Billy, Dolly, Jeffy, PJ

2.
Alexander, Cookie

3.
Michael, Elizabeth, April

4.
Peter, Paige, Jason

5.
Honi, Hamlet

Harder

1.
Arn, Karen, Valeta, Galan, Nathan

2.
Zoe, Hammy, Wren

3.
Huey, Riley

4.
Chip, Dot, Ditto, Trixie

5.
Hans, Fritz

Yeah, Good Luck

1.
Clayton, Katy, Nick

2.
Skeezix, Corky, Judy

3.
Jughaid, Tater

4.
Norman, Patrick, Penny

5.
Chad, Jeremy

Bonus Question:
Which set of “siblings” above is actually made up of first cousins?

1968
D
RIVERS IN
I
CELAND
switch from driving on the left to driving on the right—the only casualty is one cyclist’s broken leg. Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Portugal, and Sweden also switched in the twentieth century, leaving the British Isles the only place in Europe that still drives on the left.

BLOC PARTY

What unusual distinction is shared by these countries and no others?

1.
Brazil, Colombia, Congo, Ecuador, Gabon, Indonesia, Kenya, São Tomé and Príncipe, Somalia, Uganda

2.
Argentina, Australia, China, Nepal, Russia, Tanzania, the U.S.

3.
Finland, Greece, Honduras, Israel, Micronesia, Somalia

4.
Austria, Burma, Egypt, Ghana, Norway, Peru, South Korea, Sweden

5.
Austria, Bosnia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Switzerland, the U.S.

6.
Chad, Finland, Iran, Ireland, Oman, Spain

7.
Afghanistan, Australia, Burma, Canada, French Polynesia, India, Iran, Nepal, New Zealand, Sri Lanka

8.
Benin, Bolivia, Chile, Ivory Coast, Malaysia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Philippines, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Tanzania

9.
Cyprus, Egypt, Lebanon, the Sudan, Syria, the U.K.

10.
Argentina, Brazil, France, Italy, Germany, the U.K., Uruguay