Trivia Quiz?

[phkrause]

On 2/7/2017 at 5:01 PM, phkrause said:

Why Was Dickens Forced to Drop Out of School at an Early Age?

Dickens was born February 7, 1812, into a family that might be considered middle-class by today's standards. But his family's hold on middle-class status was very tenuous, depending to a large extent on his father's position as a clerk in the Royal Navy Pay Office. Dickens's father was not good with money and soon found himself deeply in debt. Just before Charles's 12th birthday, his father was sent to debtor's prison, and young Dickens was forced to drop out of school and take a menial job at a shoe blacking factory to help support his family. The boy's 60-hour work weeks in the factory left an indelible impression upon him, which would later be reflected in the author's compassion and advocacy for the poor and disadvantaged.

 

On 2/7/2017 at 5:01 PM, phkrause said:

Why Was Dickens Considered an Eccentric?

While some of the characters in Dickens' books are eccentric, Dickens himself might be considered even more eccentric. He was known to look in mirrors and comb his hair repeatedly throughout the day. Magnetic fields obsessed him, and his bed always had to face north/south. He also put a secret door in his house with fake book spines with custom titles. Titles included "History of the Middling Ages," the nine-volume "The Life of a Cat," "The Art of Cutting the Teeth" and "Captain Parry's Virtues of Cold Tar."

 

On 2/7/2017 at 5:01 PM, phkrause said:

Which of His Novels Did Dickens Love Most?

While literary critics usually single out Great Expectations or Bleak House as the finest of all the novels Dickens wrote, the author made it clear that David Copperfield was by far his favorite. It is also the novel that draws most heavily on the author's life experiences as a child and young adult. In the preface of one edition of the novel, Dickens revealed that "like many fond parents, I have in my heart of hearts a favourite child. And his name is David Copperfield."

 

On 2/7/2017 at 5:01 PM, phkrause said:

How Many Books Did Charles Dickens Write?

Dickens published 14 complete books during his lifetime, including David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities and A Christmas Carol. He also wrote Oliver Twist, Great Expectations and The Old Curiosity Shop. Some of his books appeared in serial format in magazines that were published weekly or monthly. His final novel, Edwin Drood, was only partially completed when he died June 9, 1870, from a stroke.

[phkrause]

On 2/7/2017 at 5:28 PM, phkrause said:

Who is not a character from a Charles Dickens novel?

Nicholas Nickleby Oliver Twist David Copperfield Atticus Finch

Answer: Famed British author Charles Dickens was born on this day in 1812. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. Over the course of his writing career, Dickens wrote the beloved classic novels Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, Nicholas Nickleby, David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations. However, Atticus Finch is a fictional character in author Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize winning novel, To Kill a Mockingbird and is not a Dickens character.

[phkrause]

The painting Luncheon of the Boating Party was created by which impressionist painter?

A. Claude Monet
B. Pierre-Auguste Renoir
C. Edgar Degas
D. Edouard Manet

[phkrause]

The statue known as the "Venus de Milo" is missing which of the following body parts?

Ears Head Arms Feet

[phkrause]

The entrance to which museum lies below a glass pyramid?

The Smithsonian Institution The Louvre Metropolitan Museum of Art The British Museum

[phkrause]

Listen up and Answer These Trivia Questions

On February 8, 1922, President Warren G. Harding had a radio installed at the White House. Harding was known for his promotion of technology, and his relationship with radio, both as a listener and as a politician, broke a lot of barriers for future candidates and presidents. Try your luck with these trivia questions about this pivotal moment in White House technology...

Why Was This Such a Big Deal?

What Else Did Harding Do That Had an Effect on Radio Today?

What Other Broadcast First Did Harding Accomplish?

Harding Almost Beat His Own Radio Record on What Date?

[phkrause]

On 2/8/2017 at 8:12 PM, phkrause said:

The painting Luncheon of the Boating Party was created by which impressionist painter?

A. Claude Monet
B. Pierre-Auguste Renoir
C. Edgar Degas
D. Edouard Manet

B. Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Pierre-Auguste Renoir painted Luncheon of the Boating Party.

Source: various web sites.

[phkrause]

23 hours ago, phkrause said:

The statue known as the "Venus de Milo" is missing which of the following body parts?

Ears Head Arms Feet

Answer: One of the most famous examples of ancient Greek sculpture, the Venus de Milo is immediately recognizable by its missing arms and popularly believed to represent Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty, who was known to the Romans as Venus. It is a marble sculpture, slightly larger than life size at 6 feet 8 inches high. Venus de Milo is widely renowned for the mystery of her missing arms. It is currently on permanent display at the Louvre Museum in Paris. The statue is named after the Greek island of Milos, where it was discovered.

[phkrause]

22 hours ago, phkrause said:

The entrance to which museum lies below a glass pyramid?

The Smithsonian Institution The Louvre Metropolitan Museum of Art The British Museum

Answer: The Louvre Pyramid is a large glass and metal pyramid designed by architect I.M. Pei, surrounded by three smaller pyramids, in the main courtyard of the Louvre Palace in Paris. The large pyramid serves as the main entrance to the Louvre Museum. Completed in 1989, it has become a landmark of the city of Paris. The pyramid and the underground lobby beneath it were created because of a series of problems with the Louvre's original main entrance, which could no longer handle the enormous number of visitors on an everyday basis.

[phkrause]

22 hours ago, phkrause said:

Why Was This Such a Big Deal?

Radio was an up-and-coming medium for recreational and informational broadcasts in 1922. Previously, it had just been used for maritime communications not meant for public use. When stations began broadcasting for fun and profit, rather than for shipping coordination, radio quickly became the cool new medium, sort of like how the World Wide Web was perceived a couple of decades ago.

For the president to install a radio in the White House at that time was a huge deal because it was about as close to an official endorsement of the technology as one could get. Now the technology was important enough to be permanently added to the White House, and the head of the country showed that he relied on it for news and entertainment. Radio was no longer just a fad.

 

22 hours ago, phkrause said:

What Else Did Harding Do That Had an Effect on Radio Today?

Harding knew that radio was only going to grow in popularity; he could already see stations popping up everywhere. The world of radio in the early 1920s was anything but calm, with frequencies assigned upon request to anyone who was interested. The problem with that was that there were only so many frequencies available. Radio broadcasts back then were on AM frequencies, which, when environmental conditions were right, could broadcast over wide, wide ranges, leading to conflict and frustrating interference between stations that might have had a huge geographical distance between them but that shared the same frequency. Plus, the sheer number of stations starting up made for very crowded airwaves.

Harding submitted a bill to introduce federal regulation. He didn't live to see it bear fruit, but in 1926, a few years after Harding's death, another bill was introduced that eventually led to the Radio Act of 1927, which created the Federal Radio Commission. The FRC later became the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, which still helps regulate the airwaves today.

 

22 hours ago, phkrause said:

What Other Broadcast First Did Harding Accomplish?

Attempts to combine the worlds of the presidency and of broadcasting only increased during Harding's term. On June 14, 1922, Harding became the first president to be heard on the radio. He wasn't making a speech created for the radio; he was only delivering an address at a memorial dedication ceremony honoring Francis Scott Key. But that broadcast opened up the world of radio to anyone making political speeches and led the American public to expect to hear their president over the air.

 

22 hours ago, phkrause said:

Harding Almost Beat His Own Radio Record on What Date?

But that dedication ceremony wasn't the first brush with broadcasting for Harding. His inauguration in 1921 was almost broadcast over the radio. Unfortunately, the live broadcast of the ceremony didn't work, but a radio announcer was able to report over the radio that the inauguration was happening. That might not sound like such a feat now, when everything is broadcast on multiple media, but back in the 1920s, it was a technological feat to hear news over the radio as it was happening, rather than waiting to read about it in the papers the next day.

[phkrause]

What was the name of the chosen bride on Fox's 2000 show Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?

A. Trista Sutter
B. Zora Andrich
C. Ali Fedotowsky
D. Darva Conger

[phkrause]

What do the three white dots on the Domino's Pizza logo represent?

3 original toppings 3 original stores 3 founders of the company 3 types of cheeses

[phkrause]

Take A Bite Out of These Trivia Questions

National Pizza Day is observed annually on February 9th. Try your luck with these somewhat cheesy trivia questions in honor of National Pizza Day. 

Where Was the First Pizzeria in the United States?

(Where else?? But Little Italy in NYC)

What Are the Favorite and Least Favorite Toppings?

What World Records Have Been Set for Pizza?

Do Pizza Ingredients Vary Around the World?

[phkrause]

Where did the world’s first pizzeria open in 1830?

Rome, Italy Naples, Italy New York, USA Venice, Italy

[phkrause]

21 hours ago, phkrause said:

What was the name of the chosen bride on Fox's 2000 show Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?

A. Trista Sutter
B. Zora Andrich
C. Ali Fedotowsky
D. Darva Conger

D. Darva Conger

Out of 50 prospective brides, multimillionaire Rick Rockwell chose Darva Conger, who annulled the marriage less than two months later.

Source: various web sites.

[phkrause]

21 hours ago, phkrause said:

What do the three white dots on the Domino's Pizza logo represent?

3 original toppings 3 original stores 3 founders of the company 3 types of cheeses

Answer: Happy National Pizza Day! The very first Domino's logo was created in the 1960’s. The three dots on the logo symbolize the three original Domino's locations that were open at the time. The founders had planned to add a new dot with the addition of every new store, but this idea quickly faded, as Domino's experienced rapid growth. Domino's Pizza opened its first franchise location in 1967 and by 1978, the company expanded to 200 stores. Domino's is now located in 82 countries, making it the second-largest franchised pizza chain after Pizza Hut.

[phkrause]

20 hours ago, phkrause said:

Where Was the First Pizzeria in the United States?

February 9 is celebrated as National Pizza Day, and Americans can thank Lombardi's, founded by Gennaro Lombardi, which opened the first pizzeria in New York in 1905 to serve Neapolitan-style pizzas. Located in the Little Italy section of Manhattan, it's still in business today. Back in earlier times, pizzas were made by bakeries as a way to use ovens after the morning bread baking was completed. After Lombardi opened the pizzeria in 1905, it was a walk in and carry out establishment. Chairs and tables weren't added until the 1930s.

 

20 hours ago, phkrause said:

What Are the Favorite and Least Favorite Toppings?

According to a poll taken in 2016, the most popular topping remains pepperoni. This is followed by sausage, mushrooms, plain cheese, onions, olives and bacon. Ham or Canadian bacon, pineapple and peppers complete the 10 favorite toppings. Poll respondents seem united that anchovies tops the list of least favorite toppings. Otherwise, the least favorite toppings are a repeat of some of the top favorites with mushrooms, pineapple, onions and olives being among the most disliked. Pepperoni, peppers and sausage are listed as well as any kind of meat. The list of most disliked toppings ends with plain cheese pizza.

 

20 hours ago, phkrause said:

What World Records Have Been Set for Pizza?

Some pizza chefs go above board to create the most scandalously expensive pizzas in the world. The current record is held by the Louis XIII, created by Chef Renato Viola. Toppings include Norwegian lobster, buffalo mozzarella, three types of caviar and red acciaroli prawns from Cilento, Italy. Sprinkled with pink sea salt obtained from near the Murray River in Australia, the pizza is served at your home for $12,000. The world's largest pizza was prepared in Rome, Italy, in 2012. It measured 13,580.28 feet squared. The record for the world's longest pizza is currently held by a pizza chef in Naples, Italy. Taking more than 11 hours to prepare and using portable wood-fired ovens to cook, it measured over a mile long.

 

20 hours ago, phkrause said:

Do Pizza Ingredients Vary Around the World?

The Danes like to put horse meat on their pizzas, while in Costa Rica, shrimp and coconut are popular toppings. Russians like to add sardines, mackerel, tuna, onion, red herring and salmon. Brazilians prefer topping their pies with peas, quail eggs, carrots, raisins and beets. The Japanese tend to make smaller pizzas and top them with squid, cabbage, noodles and pork. Okonomiyaki sauce and fried eggs are usually placed on top of the noodles.

In Australia, try kangaroo pizza, or if kangaroo doesn't suit your palate, try emu or crocodile pizza. Chicken tandoori is a popular dish in India and serves as a tasty pizza topping there, along with paneer (cottage cheese) and pickled ginger and all topped off with lots of mayo. In Great Britain, try haggis pizza, topped with cavolo nero (black kale), haggis (a pudding made of sheep organs, oatmeal, onion and spices), mozzarella and black chili jam.

[phkrause]

20 hours ago, phkrause said:

Where did the world’s first pizzeria open in 1830?

Rome, Italy Naples, Italy New York, USA Venice, Italy

Answer: Antica Pizzeria Port'Alba is a pizzeria located in Naples, Italy, and is considered to be the world's first pizzeria. Since its creation in 1830, the eatery's ovens have been lined with lava rocks from nearby Mount Vesuvius. At the time of its creation, one popular pizza was the Mastunicola, topped with lard, sheep milk cheese, and basil. A payment system, called pizza a otto, was developed that allowed customers to pay up to eight days after their meal. Antica Pizzeria Port'Alba is still in business today.

[phkrause]

Which film won the most Academy Awards in 1998?

A. L.A. Confidential
B. As Good As It Gets
C. Titanic
D. Good Will Hunting

[phkrause]

Who was the first honorary U.S. citizen?

Mahatma Gandhi Nelson Mandela Marie Curie Winston Churchill

[phkrause]

It's Your Move with These Trivia Questions

On February 10, 1996, a major milestone in both chess and computing was reached. In Game 1 of Deep Blue vs. Garry Kasparov, a computer beat a human chessmaster for the first time. How well do you know this landmark in history?

How Many Victories Did Garry Kasparov Enjoy?

Who Built Deep Blue?

Who Won Deep Blue Vs. Kasparov?

 

[phkrause]

The Nile River runs through which of the following countries?

India Brazil Israel Egypt

Egypt for sure!!

[phkrause]

23 hours ago, phkrause said:

Which film won the most Academy Awards in 1998?

A. L.A. Confidential
B. As Good As It Gets
C. Titanic
D. Good Will Hunting

C. Titanic

It was sink or swim that year, and Titanic definitely swam with 14 nominations and 11 wins.

Source: various web sites.

[phkrause]

23 hours ago, phkrause said:

Who was the first honorary U.S. citizen?

Mahatma Gandhi Nelson Mandela Marie Curie Winston Churchill

Answer: In 1963, Winston Churchill became the first of only eight people in history to be made an honorary citizen of the United States. A person of exceptional merit may be declared an honorary citizen of the U.S. by an Act of Congress or by a proclamation issued by the President of the United States, pursuant to authorization granted by Congress. Eight states had already granted honorary citizenship to Churchill, before President John F. Kennedy, acting under authorization granted by an Act of Congress, proclaimed Churchill an Honorary Citizen of the U.S.

[phkrause]

23 hours ago, phkrause said:

How Many Victories Did Garry Kasparov Enjoy?

At the time of Deep Blue vs. Kasparov, Garry Kasparov was the true master of chess, at a human level. By 1996, he was the top-ranked chess player in the entire world. Kasparov is an intimidating force in chess. From 1986, the beginning of his professional career, until his 2005 retirement, he was number one in the world for 225 out of 228 months. He was rated the best chess player in human history in 1999, and held that record until 2013, when he lost to Magnus Carlsen. He also has the record for most consecutive professional tournament victories, with 15, and the most Chess Oscars, where chess journalists vote on the best player, with 11. No human could beat him. But what about a computer?

 

23 hours ago, phkrause said:

Who Built Deep Blue?

Deep Blue had spent years being engineered. Feng-Hsiung Hsu, Thomas Anantharaman, and Murray Campbell were recruited by IBM after they graduated from Carnegie Mellon, Deep Blue's predecessor, Deep Thought, had gone up against Kasparov in 1989 and been soundly beaten by Kasparov. So they went back to the drawing board with a new chess-playing supercomputer.

Grandmaster Joel Benjamin was recruited to teach Deep Blue chess, and IBM's team spent the intervening seven years putting Deep Blue up against both chess grandmasters and other chess computers. Still, going into that February game, the team was forced to admit that Deep Blue, for all its training and the engineering of IBM's team, had never actually beaten a world champion at the game. More than ego was at stake: IBM was hoping to prove that machines could demonstrate the same depth of thought as humans and literally beat them at their own game. But could it happen?

 

23 hours ago, phkrause said:

Who Won Deep Blue Vs. Kasparov?

The first game in the series had Deep Blue as White and Kasparov playing Black and began in Philadelphia, PA. Much to the surprise of everyone involved, including the Deep Blue team, Deep Blue took the first match with an uncontested win.

That said, though, Kasparov ultimately won the series, winning the second game, forcing the next two to a draw, and winning the fifth and sixth games of the match, leading to an ultimate score of 4-2. Deep Blue would have its revenge, however. In 1997, they squared off again, and this time Deep Blue won the series, 3 ½ to 2 ½. Kasparov was rattled: At one point, he claimed that the computer was acting too much like a human for IBM to not have interfered with the match at some level.

The Deep Blue games were a landmark. They proved that computers could operate at the same level as humans in games designed by and for human beings, and also reminded us to have a little humility. There's always somebody smarter out there, after all, even if we have to build them to find it.