Ken Jennings's Trivia Almanac (195 page)

BOOK: Ken Jennings's Trivia Almanac

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NOVEMBER 23

1867
A
T A
N
EW
Y
ORK BAR,
British singer Charles Vivian founds the Jolly Corks, a fraternal organization that will soon become the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

CORKS CREW

1.
What Chicago quartet’s major-label debut was 2005’s
From Under the Cork Tree
?

2.
On what TV series did Down syndrome actor Chris Burke play Corky Thatcher?

3.
Who’s the only major-league player in the last decade to be suspended for using a corked bat?

4.
On August 22, 1922, who was killed in an ambush outside the County Cork town of Béal na mBláth?

5.
What Benedictine monk invented the method of keeping a champagne bottle corked during fermentation?

1903
C
OLORADO GOVERNOR
J
AMES
P
EABODY
sends troops into Cripple Creek, Colorado, to quell a miners’ strike, beginning the Colorado Labor Wars.

IT’S ALL CREEK TO ME

1.
What two competing American food companies are both headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan?

2.
What 1996 hit was the theme song of TV’s
Dawson’s Creek
?

3.
Spuyten Duyvil Creek, meaning “Devil’s Spout,” forms the northern boundary of what American island?

4.
What’s the unusual title event in the film
The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek
?

5.
What world metropolis is built on the banks of Suzhou Creek?

1970
H
OWARD
C
OSELL IS SO DRUNK
at a
Monday Night Football
game in Philadelphia that he throws up on “Dandy” Don Meredith’s cowboy boots during the second quarter. According to John Madden, Cosell took a cab all the way home from Philadelphia to New York at halftime.

TAXICAB CONFESSIONS

1.
Whose narration for Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” had been written in the taxi on the way to the studio that morning?

2.
What are the names of the cop and taxi driver in
It’s a Wonderful Life
?

3.
What model Ford are most New York cabs?

4.
Judd Hirsch, Jeff Conaway, or Tony Danza—which
Taxi
regular is actually driving across the Queensboro Bridge during the show’s credits?

5.
What author of
A Death in the Family
himself died in a New York taxi in 1955?

NOVEMBER 24

1958
A R
OD
S
ERLING TIME TRAVEL
script called “The Time Element” airs as part of
Desilu Playhouse.
The broadcast is such a hit that CBS picks up Serling’s idea for a genre anthology series called
The Twilight Zone.

PRESENTED FOR YOUR APPROVAL

Can you spoil the endings of these classic
Twilight Zone
episodes?

1.
“To Serve Man.” Benevolent aliens appear on Earth, bearing the title book and promising great technological advances. But when U.N. code breakers finally manage to translate the book…

2.
“Time Enough at Last.” A bookworm reading in a bank vault survives a nuclear holocaust and is thrilled that he finally has ample time to read. Just then…

3.
“The Eye of the Beholder.” A woman with a bandaged face is recovering in a hospital room from one last attempt to cure her disfiguring ugliness. But when the bandages come off…

4.
“The Invaders.” An old woman in a remote cabin is menaced by a flying saucer full of tiny aliens. After destroying the ship with an ax…

5.
“Five Characters in Search of an Exit.” A soldier, a clown, a hobo, a ballerina, and a bagpiper find themselves trapped in a mysterious dark cylinder with no memory of how they got there. The major manages to escape, but…

1976
A
T
S
AN
F
RANCISCO’S
Winterland Ballroom, the Band gives its famous farewell concert,
The Last Waltz.
Since it’s Thanksgiving Day, the crowd enjoys a turkey dinner before the Band takes the stage.

ALL I GOTTA DO IS ACT NATURALLY

What artists were featured in these documentaries/concert films?

Easy

1.
Stop Making Sense

2.
Gimme Shelter

3.
Let It Be

4.
The Song Remains the Same

5.
The Kids Are Alright

Harder

1.
Don’t Look Back

2.
Some Kind of Monster

3.
Shut Up and Sing