Ken Jennings's Trivia Almanac (63 page)

APRIL 16

1850
M
ARIE
T
USSAUD DIES IN
L
ONDON,
fifteen years after opening her popular wax museum on Baker Street.

WAX ON, WAX OFF

1.
Who starred in more 3-D movies than any other actor, beginning with 1953’s
House of Wax
?

2.
What was first made by suspending paraffin in a solution of water and antifreeze?

3.
In Greek myth, whose death in the Aegean Sea, near Samos, was caused by melting wax?

4.
What would you wax with “Mr. Zog’s Sex Wax—the Best for Your Stick”?

5.
What Indonesian word names the art of successively waxing and dyeing fabric?

1936
D
AGWOOD
B
UMSTEAD WHIPS UP
the first of his namesake sandwiches, using tongue, onion, mustard, sardines, beans, and horseradish.

A BREAD IN THE HAND

Are you the earl of sandwich trivia?

1.
In what state are submarine sandwiches traditionally called “po’ boys”?

2.
Who christened Hawaii “the Sandwich Islands” in 1778?

3.
What play begins with Algernon Moncrieff eating all of Lady Bracknell’s cucumber sandwiches?

4.
What’s sometimes called a “licking stick” or a “tin sandwich”?

5.
Who insisted on calling Iraqi WMDs “BLTs” when he interviewed Pat Buchanan in 2003?

1977
D
AVID
“H
UTCH
” S
OUL BECOMES
David “One-Hit Wonder” Soul when “Don’t Give Up on Us” tops the charts. After that, we gave up on him.

A SENSE OF WONDER

Name the only Top Forty hit that—believe it or not—these music legends ever enjoyed.

Easy

1.
Lou Reed

2.
Devo

3.
Janis Joplin

4.
Carl Perkins

5.
Radiohead

Harder

1.
Jimi Hendrix

2.
Randy Newman

3.
The Grateful Dead

4.
Frank Zappa

5.
T. Rex

Yeah, Good Luck

1.
Iggy Pop

2.
Rush

3.
Bo Diddley

4.
Nina Simone

5.
Warren Zevon

APRIL 17

1852
A
YOUNG
N
EW
M
EXICO BARTENDER,
arrested for wounding a rival in a duel, escapes from jail and flees the territory. Ironically, this fugitive will grow up to become Judge Roy Bean, “the Law west of the Pecos.”

THE MUSICAL FRUIT

Five questions on the unbearable lightness of beans.

1.
What kind of bean produces the Asian-style bean sprouts in the produce section of supermarkets?

2.
How many times are traditional Mexican refried beans fried?

3.
What Indianapolis grocer made his name by selling canned pork and beans to U.S. troops during the Civil War?

4.
What kind of wine accompanies Hannibal Lecter’s liver and fava bean dinner?

5.
What optical component is named for the bean whose shape it resembles?

1952
H
ARRY
T
RUMAN PROCLAIMS
the first “National Day of Prayer.” Hey, I don’t see
you
praying! Get on it! What are you, some kind of Communist?

PRAY IT FORWARD

1.
What German artist made this famous brush drawing?

2.
What prayer is said ten times during each sequence of a Catholic rosary?

3.
What former musician, now a famous TV personality, played bass on Madonna’s “Like a Prayer”?

4.
On what Jewish holiday is the “Kol Nidre” prayer recited?

5.
According to the 1940s jingle, after what two men pitched did Boston Braves fans “pray for rain”?

1961
F
IFTEEN HUNDRED
C
UBAN EXILES
land in the Bahia de Cochinos on the southern coast of Cuba, beginning the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion. (The bay’s “cochinos” are actually Caribbean triggerfish, not Latino pigs.)

PIG LATIN

Each answer in this quiz will be the Pig Latin translation of a common English word, clued in parentheses after each question.

1.
What brainchild of Wisconsin senator Gaylord Nelson was first celebrated on April 22, 1970? (Shortage)

2.
Who was married to her radio comedy partner Phil Harris from 1941 to 1995? (Erect genitalia)

3.
What California region includes Alameda and Contra Costa counties? (Robby Benson’s Disney character)

4.
Wilhelm Roentgen won the first Nobel Prize in Physics for discovering what kind of radiation? (Reagan’s dog)

5.
What company is now known as Quixtar in the U.S. and Canada? (
Make It Big
band)