Trick Questions

[feppytweed]

Into how many regions is the country of Bolivia divided?

google is NOT your friend!!!

[Polycarp]

Translate this Romeo and Juliet quote to modern English:

Juliet: Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?

"Wherefore" = Why?

As in, "Romeo, why the heck did you have to be Romeo?" i.e., why did things work out that I, a Capulet, fell for you, a Montague, when our families are doing a Hatfield-McCoy routine?

(Which makes the idea of writing a "The Wiz"-style pastiche of R&J set in Appalachia all but irresistible!)

[Cunctator]

Translate this Romeo and Juliet quote to modern English:

Juliet: Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?

I thought it meant (in modern English) "why is your name Romeo?"

[feppytweed]

yeah, like a "why do you have do be a Montague?" kind of thing

[Cunctator]

Using a privilege granted in 1964, both members of a married couple rise, one after the other, to address the U.S. Senate. Who are they, and why can they?

Any hints, Polycarp? It's quite intriguing.

[Nightwatch Trailer]

"Wherefore" = Why?

As in, "Romeo, why the heck did you have to be Romeo?" i.e., why did things work out that I, a Capulet, fell for you, a Montague, when our families are doing a Hatfield-McCoy routine?
This is basically what I learned it meant. I remember one of my English instructors was annoyed by productions of the play in which it was actually interpreted to mean "where"...so Juliet would be all "Where are you, Romeo - hiding in the bushes?" while searching the ground beneath her balcony.

[Polycarp]

Any hints, Polycarp? It's quite intriguing.

It's a heterosexual couple, who have been in the news rather regularly for over a decade now.

[Nightwatch Trailer]

And here's an easy one...herpetology is the study of what?

[feppytweed]

snakes.........................and their STDs

[Askance]

Several people basically got the mirror one right - mirrors don't reverse left and right, but front and back.

Krakatoa, East of Java (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064555/combined) - but how far?

[Cunctator]

Krakatoa, East of Java (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064555/combined) - but how far?

Krakatoa is actually west of Java. So I suppose the distance east is however many thousands of kilometres it takes to go all the way around the world at that parallel of latitude from Java to Krakatoa.

[Mycroft H.]

And a question in the spirit of the OP –

From what country in Europe did the Pennsylvania Dutch originate?

[Cunctator]

It's a heterosexual couple, who have been in the news rather regularly for over a decade now.

I'll take a stab. Bill and Hillary Clinton? Hillary would be able to address the Senate anyway in her capacity as a Senator from New York. Perhaps Bill Clinton has that privilege as an ex-president?

Failing that, isn't the current Secretary of Labour married to a senator? Perhaps the role of the Secretary of Labour carries the right to address the Senate?

[Polycarp]

I'll take a stab. Bill and Hillary Clinton? Hillary would be able to address the Senate anyway in her capacity as a Senator from New York. Perhaps Bill Clinton has that privilege as an ex-president?

Correct. Ex-Presidents were granted the privilege of the floor in the Senate in 1964; Harry Truman (who had been a Senator for ten years before becoming Vice President in January 1945) was the first ex-President to do so. And Hillary, of course, has the right to speak in her own right as Senator.

(I find it amusing that the spouses of the two major candidates for President in 1996 are both now Senators.)

[Loopus]

From what country in Europe did the Pennsylvania Dutch originate?
Germany. They're the Pennsylvania "Dutch" because of a faulty translation of the German word Deutsch... which means "German."

When were women given the right to vote in the United States?

[Othersider]

Since nobody's attempting the bra size question, the answer is 28 to 29 inches.
Scary as it may be, I actually knew that.

(I find it amusing that the spouses of the two major candidates for President in 1996 are both now Senators.)
I do too, but imagine if they ran for president, how much more odd that would be.

[LucyInDisguise]

Correction: engine.


EAGLE: Contact light! O.K., engine stop . . . descent engine command override off . . .

HOUSTON: We copy you down, Eagle.

EAGLE: Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed!
Sooooooooooooo close it's spooky.

The fourth word spoken on the surface of the moon:
...
Buzz Aldrin: Contact light.
Neil Armstrong: Shutdown.
Aldrin: Okay. Engine stop. ACA out of Detent.
Armstrong: Out of Detent. Auto.
Aldrin: Mode Control, both Auto. Descent Engine Command Override, Off. Engine Arm, Off. 413 is in.
Charlie Duke (Houston CapCom): We copy you down, Eagle.
Armstrong: Engine arm is off ... Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.
Duke: Roger, Tranquility. We copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We're breathing again. Thanks a lot.
...

Gotcha ...

[LucyInDisguise]

I believe it's Milla Jovovich
What the ...

Where did that 'a' come from??? :smack:

::shrugs, slinks off in search of a good, reputable proof-reader::

[Polycarp]

Into how many regions is the country of Bolivia divided?

google is NOT your friend!!!

Nobody seems to have tackled this one, and it may be out of lack of clarity in the question.

Bulldogs, is "region" the official name of the political subdivision here? Or are you talking ecology, or ethnology, or climate, or what?

[LucyInDisguise]

Sorry, forgot to toss out a couple of new ones ...

How many states did the riders have to cross in the first year that the Pony Express was in operation?

What was the offical name of the war the United States entered into after the attack on Pearl Harbor?

[feppytweed]

Bulldogs, is "region" the official name of the political subdivision here? Or are you talking ecology, or ethnology, or climate, or what?

political. i don't know if region is the official term, but you could break out a thesaurus or something...

[mkl12]

Into how many regions is the country of Bolivia divided?

google is NOT your friend!!!

The answer I fount with google is:

9 departments
subdivided into 324 sections

[mkl12]

Into how many regions is the country of Bolivia divided?

google is NOT your friend!!!

The answer I found with google is:

9 departments
subdivided into 112 provinces, 324 municipalities
and 1.384 cantons

[Ilsa_Lund]

Sorry, forgot to toss out a couple of new ones ...

How many states did the riders have to cross in the first year that the Pony Express was in operation?



Zero.

[Kaitlyn]

Sorry, forgot to toss out a couple of new ones ...

How many states did the riders have to cross in the first year that the Pony Express was in operation?


Zero or two, depending upon how you count.

The only states the Pony Express operated in were Missouri and California ended, in between were territories, not states. Since they didn't cross MO or CA, the answer is technically zero.

1. Bob is six feet tall. Bob walks around the Earth at the equator, which for the purposes of this question, we'll assume to be exactly 24,000 miles. Bob's feet traveled exactly 24,000 miles. How much farther did the top of Bob's head travel than his feet?

2. What fictional character has been the subject of more movies than any other in cinema history?

[Nightwatch Trailer]

snakes.........................and their STDs
More precisely all reptiles and amphibians, but yeah.
2. What fictional character has been the subject of more movies than any other in cinema history?
I know I've seen the answer to this before...is it Sherlock Holmes?

[Kaitlyn]

More precisely all reptiles and amphibians, but yeah.

I know I've seen the answer to this before...is it Sherlock Holmes?

No. Sherlock Holmes is tops in English language movies, though. Think Hong Kong.

[Gorsnak]

1. Bob is six feet tall. Bob walks around the Earth at the equator, which for the purposes of this question, we'll assume to be exactly 24,000 miles. Bob's feet traveled exactly 24,000 miles. How much farther did the top of Bob's head travel than his feet?

Assuming a perfect circle, that Bob can walk on water, and that there's a trench across South America, Africa, etc., with the bottom right at sea level, and probably a few other things I haven't thought of, 2pi times 6', or just shy of 38 feet. This answer won't change regardless of the size of the sphere Bob walks around. If he walks around a 10' diameter globe using magnetic boots, his head will also move about 38 feet further than his feet.

To what does the name of the city of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan refer?

[Cunctator]

To what does the name of the city of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan refer?

Is it a corruption of the native word for a local geographical feature like a mountain or river?

[Ilsa_Lund]

Why is the Lincoln Memorial so named?

[feppytweed]

Nine departments is correct indeed. I thought it was ten, but i remembered that Litoral, a region found on my wall hanging that names the regions, was lost to Chile in the Pacific war. Good job, mkl.

also, sorry about excluding other reptiles and amphibians. when i was in elementary, a guy with a bunch of snakes came, and called himself a herpetologist, so that kinda stuck in my head.

[Askance]

Krakatoa is actually west of Java. So I suppose the distance east is however many thousands of kilometres it takes to go all the way around the world at that parallel of latitude from Java to Krakatoa.

Perfectly correct.

What are the singular forms of the words kudos, nachos, and caries?

[Cunctator]

What are the singular forms of the words kudos, nachos, and caries?

I thought kudos was from the Greek and was already singular. I think caries (if it's from the Latin) would be correct as either a singular or a plural form. I don't know about nachos.

[roger thornhill]

I thought kudos was from the Greek and was already singular. I think caries (if it's from the Latin) would be correct as either a singular or a plural form. I don't know about nachos.
Riding in on Cunctator's shirt-tails, I'd say they are all singular already.

[roger thornhill]

No. Sherlock Holmes is tops in English language movies, though. Think Hong Kong.
Think Suen Ng Hung (Cantonese), think Sun Wu Kong (Mandarin), think Son Goku (Japanese), think Ton Ngo Khong (Vietnamese)...

Think the King of Heaven...

Think The Monkey King (http://www.geocities.com/misteryang/monkey/mkwho.html)!

[Kaitlyn]

Think Suen Ng Hung (Cantonese), think Sun Wu Kong (Mandarin), think Son Goku (Japanese), think Ton Ngo Khong (Vietnamese)...

Think the King of Heaven...

Think The Monkey King (http://www.geocities.com/misteryang/monkey/mkwho.html)!

Hmm. I wasn't thinking of shorts, but you're correct if you include those. Including shorts, more than 500 theatrical films starting the Monkey King have been made in Eastern cinema.

If you consider only feature length films, the answer would still be Eastern--Wong Fei Hung.

-----

And of course, 38 feet is the correct answer to Bob walking around the world.

[roger thornhill]

If you consider only feature length films, the answer would still be Eastern--Wong Fei Hung.
That's stretching the definition of "fictional character" a bit, as Wong was born not so far from here, in fact near my father-in-law's ancestral village. (http://www.kungfucinema.com/articles/2001-04-08-01.htm)

If by "fictional character" one means legends grew up around him and fiction was written about him, then maybe so. But, in that case, then I'd imagine Jesus Christ would be in with a shout. Think Life of Brian, think Biblical epics. It also depends how strictly one defines "subject".

[Kaitlyn]

That's stretching the definition of "fictional character" a bit, as Wong was born not so far from here, in fact near my father-in-law's ancestral village. (http://www.kungfucinema.com/articles/2001-04-08-01.htm)

If by "fictional character" one means legends grew up around him and fiction was written about him, then maybe so. But, in that case, then I'd imagine Jesus Christ would be in with a shout. Think Life of Brian, think Biblical epics. It also depends how strictly one defines "subject".

Well, I seriously doubt Drunken Master 2 has anything to do with the real Wong Fei Hung. The movies about him are certainly fiction films that at best, draw on his legend, and at worst, just borrow his name.

But that's just quibbling. You're right. So I'll amend that to the character who is featurued in the most feature length films.

[roger thornhill]

Right, after all that nitpicking, I better keep the ball rolling!

Who was the first Korean player to play in the top flight of English football, and which club did he play for?

[Kaitlyn]

Dammit, if Mrs. Six were here, I could ask her. She actually cares about stuff like sports and follows Korean football leagues.

[Left Hand of Dorkness]

As in, "Romeo, why the heck did you have to be Romeo?" i.e., why did things work out that I, a Capulet, fell for you, a Montague, when our families are doing a Hatfield-McCoy routine?

As The Complete Works of William Shakespeare [abridged] (http://www.reducedshakespeare.com/shakespeare.html) correctly points out, Romeo later in the scene offers a solution to Juliet, an alternative name by which she may know him: [http://www.clicknotes.com/romeo/T22.html]Call me butt-love![/url], he pleads.

Daniel

[Left Hand of Dorkness]

Oy vey.
Call me butt-love! (http://www.clicknotes.com/romeo/T22.html)

Daniel

[LucyInDisguise]

Zero or two, depending upon how you count.

The only states the Pony Express operated in were Missouri and California ended, in between were territories, not states. Since they didn't cross MO or CA, the answer is technically zero.
Though nearly every trivia site on the net gives the answer as 'two', I've long held the answer to be 'zero' for just the reason you sited.

I like the way you think. :D

::applauds quietly in awe::

[BJMoose]

To what does the name of the city of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan refer?
The conversational habits of some of my kin.




Why is the Lincoln Memorial so named?
Because the Lincoln-Mercury division of the Ford Motor Company bought naming rights.



Aside to Left Hand of Dorkness: Hiya, buttlove!



Yes, I'm feeling snarky today. What's it to ya??

[Left Hand of Dorkness]

Aside to Left Hand of Dorkness: Hiya, buttlove!

Yes, I'm feeling snarky today. What's it to ya??
Hee. I hear The Reduced Shakespeare Company is looking for an actor to play the part of Juliet; sounds like you got it down!

Daniel

[Cunctator]

What unusual distinction did Hester Grenville (1720-1803) have in relation to the British Prime Ministership in the late 18th and early 19th centuries?

[Askance]

Riding in on Cunctator's shirt-tails, I'd say they are all singular already.

Yes, precisely, although to be strictly correct caries is also the plural of caries. It just bothers me to see them used in the plural all the time:

Hey, who ordered these nachos?

Ugh.

[Askance]

What unusual distinction did Hester Grenville (1720-1803) have in relation to the British Prime Ministership in the late 18th and early 19th centuries?

Well she was related to most of them: she was William Grenville's aunt, Pitt the Elder's wife, and so Pitt the Younger's sister-in-law.

[Mycroft H.]

Good answer Loopus. Here's another one in the spirit of the OP.

The Battle of Hastings took place in England in 1066. What is the town or village that is closest to the battle site? (Hint - the location is part of the name.)

The village of Battle. It grew up near an abbey that was constructed on the site of the battlefield. The battle was actually named for the district of Haestingas. What is now the port of Hastings was a minor fishing village at the time, about 5 miles away.


Any answers for the women’s right to vote and Lincoln Memorial questions?

[Knowed Out]

What is wrong with this proof?

a = b

a × a = a × b

a² = ab

a² – b² = ab – b²

(a + b)(a – b) = b(a – b)

a + b = b

a + a = a

2a = a

2 = 1

[Eutychus]

That's an old one. If a=b then in line 5 you're dividing by a-b which is zero and thus an undefined operation.

[LookingAround]

Off the OP's rules but seemingly the best place too put this, my son's teacher gave him a "trick" question the other day "How many states are in the United States Of America" and surprisingly enough the answer was not 50.... Why not?!? And is she wrong?

[Cunctator]

Well she was related to most of them: she was William Grenville's aunt, Pitt the Elder's wife, and so Pitt the Younger's sister-in-law.

Almost. She was the wife, mother, sister and aunt of four different prime ministers.

[Nightwatch Trailer]

Off the OP's rules but seemingly the best place too put this, my son's teacher gave him a "trick" question the other day "How many states are in the United States Of America" and surprisingly enough the answer was not 50.... Why not?!? And is she wrong?
The United States of America...one?

[RadioWave]

Off the OP's rules but seemingly the best place too put this, my son's teacher gave him a "trick" question the other day "How many states are in the United States Of America" and surprisingly enough the answer was not 50.... Why not?!? And is she wrong?There are 46 states and four commonwealths (Massachusetts, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky). If you're wondering what the difference is between a state and a commonwealth, there isn't much of one but that doesn't mean the teacher can't distinguish between them anyways.