1,000 posts? Time for super-tough trivia!

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Well, this marks my 1,000th post on the SDMB. And what a time it’s been. We’ve shared some laughs, some tears, some arguments, yada yada yada.

But post parties are no longer allowed. Thus, I have taken this opportunity to rack my brain for the most incredibly obscure pieces of trivia I know. These are not easy, fun , useful trivia questions. These are obscure and specific details about things that just happen to have lodged themselves into my brain. I’ll be impressed if more than about a third of them are answered at all.

But one thing I’ve learned in the past 999 posts is that Dopers are an impressive bunch.

So here goes. I have 100 questions, total, but I’ll start with 20, and add 10 more every couple of days, to keep the list manageable.

Oh, and this is somewhat inspired in format by the famous Bricker’s Challenges, but without the wordplay.

  1. What is the last name of Rob Lowe’s character, “Benjamin”, in Wayne’s World? To get full credit, you must explain why this is a trick question

  2. Flaminguez was the greatest what?

  3. Duke (from Doonesbury) was originally married. What happened to his wife?

  4. Write out the following equation in roman numerals using toothpicks: “I - IX = X” (1 - 9 = 10). What is the smallest number of toothpicks that can be moved to make the equation true?

  5. How was Poll different from his 9 “siblings”? (For extra credit, name them)

  6. What was the name of the sexy female super-spy who was hired to infiltrate a special demonstration hosted by the sponge syndicate?

  7. What is the name of the scifi series whose first book is The Breaking of Northwall?

  8. What is the signficance of “Hog… Hug…”?

  9. Raymond Smullyan wrote two similar books of a specific type of puzzle, one with a Sherlock Holmes theme and one with an Arabian Nights theme. What was the type of puzzle?

  10. Who is Princess Prin Prin, aka The Princess of Hus?

  11. What is the name of the bad guys in the classic computer game LodeRunner?

  12. What is accomplished by carving “Elbereth” in the floor?

  13. What is the significance of the following collection of names: Dave, Maxine, Herman, Bob, Johnson, Dennis?

  14. After the network switch, what was Peggy the Foul Mouthed Chambermaid known as?

  15. What were the 4 original model numbers of IBM’s PS/2?

  16. What was the best known boardgame manufactured by the Animal Town Game Company?

  17. What was the license plate on Michael Douglas’s character’s car in the movie Falling Down?

  18. Who did Homer Simpson claim “sold poisoned milk to schoolchildren”?

  19. What is the origin of the name “Emond’s Field”?

  20. According to the rules of Hearts used at the national championships held in Las Vegas in 1999, to what score is a game played?

2

No research.

  1. What is the last name of Rob Lowe’s character, “Benjamin”, in Wayne’s World? To get full credit, you must explain why this is a trick question

Benjamin King. Trick question because the credits list him as Benjamin Oliver.
2. Flaminguez was the greatest what?

Olivero, from the English show “At The Drop of Another Hat”

  1. Duke (from Doonesbury) was originally married. What happened to his wife?

I don’t remember Duke ever being married.

  1. Write out the following equation in roman numerals using toothpicks: “I - IX = X” (1 - 9 = 10). What is the smallest number of toothpicks that can be moved to make the equation true?

One.

  1. How was Poll different from his 9 “siblings”? (For extra credit, name them)

No clue.

  1. What was the name of the sexy female super-spy who was hired to infiltrate a special demonstration hosted by the sponge syndicate?

Mavra Chang. Good thing she ended up with Nathan Brazil, who also hated spongers.

  1. What is the name of the scifi series whose first book is The Breaking of Northwall?

Pelbar.

  1. What is the signficance of “Hog… Hug…”?

No clue.

  1. Raymond Smullyan wrote two similar books of a specific type of puzzle, one with a Sherlock Holmes theme and one with an Arabian Nights theme. What was the type of puzzle?

Chess puzzles cast as mysteries.

  1. Who is Princess Prin Prin, aka The Princess of Hus?

A character from the video game Ghosts n’ Goblins.

  1. After the network switch, what was Peggy the Foul Mouthed Chambermaid known as?

Wasn’t she NBC Bookmobile Lady BEFORE the move to CBS, and Peggy afterward?

  1. What were the 4 original model numbers of IBM’s PS/2?

  2. What was the best known boardgame manufactured by the Animal Town Game Company?

Save the Whales.

  1. What was the license plate on Michael Douglas’s character’s car in the movie Falling Down?

D-FENS

  1. Who did Homer Simpson claim “sold poisoned milk to schoolchildren”?

Sanitation Commissioner incumbent Ray “Old Man” Patterson.

  1. What is the origin of the name “Emond’s Field”?

Jordan’s Wheel of Time. Damn. If only I had gotten through it.

  1. According to the rules of Hearts used at the national championships held in Las Vegas in 1999, to what score is a game played?

I got nothing.

3

She’s re-married and has a kid. Oh, not my wife. :smiley:

If they’re using the same format as the Official US Playing Card Company championships (and I think they are), 100 for the round-robin games, 125 for the playoffs.

4

  1. What is the signficance of “Hog… Hug…”?
    The remaining visible writing on Hogarth Hughes’ destroyed pop gun in The Iron Giant

  2. What is the name of the bad guys in the classic computer game LodeRunner?
    Played this game hundreds of times, never knew they had names. I just looked it up, but I’ll see if anyone knows off the top of their head.

  3. What is accomplished by carving “Elbereth” in the floor?
    I can’t remember if this ever worked for me. Does it add an attack point to your weapon?

5

Ooh, another one…can’t believe I missed it first time around:

  1. In the game NetHack, carving “Elbereth” on a square on the floor prevents monsters from walking over that square. (If you write it with a magic marker, it will never fade, and you’ll have a square that monsters are permanently unable to walk over.)
6

How about - IX ≠ X? One toothpick. Too easy?

I didn’t realize Duke had been married either, and I’ve read a lot of Doonesbury.

7

My one toothpick move would be to go from

I - IX = X

to

X - IX = I

Unless you count slanting a toothpick to a different angle in the same spot to be moving.

8

Nope. The answer is zero. The OP’s question instructs you to actually set up the equation in toothpicks. Thus, standing on the other side of the table will make it true without moving anything except yourself.

9

8086, I’m guessing.

10

  1. What is the last name of Rob Lowe’s character, “Benjamin”, in Wayne’s World? To get full credit, you must explain why this is a trick question
    —>Bricker, oddly, got the trick question part right (the name is incorrectly listed in the credits as “Benjamin Oliver”). However, he did not correctly answer the main part of the question

  2. Flaminguez was the greatest what?
    —>Bricker got this one correct, he was an “Olivero” (very impressive… Flanders and Swann are not on the tips of most people’s tongues, and if they are, it’s not the monologue about the primeval drama of man pitted against the olive)

  3. Duke (from Doonesbury) was originally married. What happened to his wife?
    —>Still unanswered (and yes, he did have a wife, and no, I’m not making it up)

  4. Write out the following equation in roman numerals using toothpicks: “I - IX = X” (1 - 9 = 10). What is the smallest number of toothpicks that can be moved to make the equation true?
    —>Dutchboy208 got this one right. The answer is zero.

  5. What was the name of the sexy female super-spy who was hired to infiltrate a special demonstration hosted by the sponge syndicate?
    —>Bricker correctly named Mavra Chang

  6. What is the name of the scifi series whose first book is The Breaking of Northwall?
    —>Bricker has provided an incomplete answer, “Pelbar”

  7. What is the signficance of “Hog… Hug…”?
    —>PeaSea is correct, it’s a quote from The Iron Giant

  8. Raymond Smullyan wrote two similar books of a specific type of puzzle, one with a Sherlock Holmes theme and one with an Arabian Nights theme. What was the type of puzzle?
    —>Bricker again… these were extremely clever chess puzzles

  9. Who is Princess Prin Prin, aka The Princess of Hus?
    —>Bricker’s claim that she is a character from Ghosts ‘n’ Goblins is, to the best of my knowledge, incorrect, but very close. Princess Prin Prin is actually from Ghouls ‘n’ Ghosts, the sequel. Klov.com claims that the princess in Ghosts ‘n’ Goblins was named Princess Guinevere. However, it’s possible that the Japanese version of Ghosts ‘n’ Goblins featured Prin Prin, so I’ll call this one answered.

  10. What is accomplished by carving “Elbereth” in the floor?
    —>Duke answered this one. In the game Nethack, it prevents monsters from stepping on a square, which generally keeps them from attacking you.

  11. After the network switch, what was Peggy the Foul Mouthed Chambermaid known as?
    —>Bricker’s objection is not correct. Peggy was definitely on NBC, along with her sometime-partner-in-crime, Pea-Boy.

  12. What was the best known boardgame manufactured by the Animal Town Game Company?
    —>Bricker is again correct, it is Save The Whales

  13. What was the license plate on Michael Douglas’s character’s car in the movie Falling Down?
    —>Bricker again: D-FENS

  14. Who did Homer Simpson claim “sold poisoned milk to schoolchildren”?
    —>Bricker was wrong, it was not “Old Man” Patterson

  15. According to the rules of Hearts used at the national championships held in Las Vegas in 1999, to what score is a game played?
    [/QUOTE]

—>Duke is incorrect, it was not sometimes 100, sometimes 125

11

OK, time for more questions, plus I’ll recap the currently unanswered ones…

  1. From what movie does the quote “Malignant this, tool” come?
  2. Fill in the blanks and name the movie: “__________ and ___________. Deadliest of enemies. But slaves under my power.”
  3. In the first season of The West Wing, a recurring plotline concerns Sam (Rob Lowe)'s friend, a call girl who is working her way through law school. She ends up being set up by her supposed friend. The actress who plays the very small part of that supposed friend now has a reasonably major role on a popular primetime show. Name her.
  4. I’m thinking of a film which has achieved some level of cult status. Many, many of the performers in its cast have gone on to be well recognized in other things. Name the film, and each of the actors to whom I’m referring:
    -One went on to play the husband on a top-rated sitcom, and vaulted from there to a quite succesful career as a leading man in film
    -One went on to play one of the lead characters on a popular and long lived TV drama, for which he received 3 best-actor emmy nominations
    -One went on to become a standing joke on JumpTheShark.com
    -One is a quite recognizable character actor who has been referenced by name on The Simpsons, and who once played John Cusack’s sidekick
    -One went on to star in a movie called The Joy of Sex
    -One played a major role in a Jean Claude Van Damme film
    -One has gone on to play a very well-known farmer, the president of the US, a scientist from the future, and a police captain in an oscar-nominated film
    -One had a minor but recognizable role in Saving Private Ryan (this one is tough)
    -One is a true renaissance man who paints fine art, played professional football, and has acted in a variety of movies including a James Bond film and a different classic cult comedy referenced in this quiz, in which he plays a teacher
  5. What is the name of the animated skeletal dinosaur in Speedy in Oz
  6. What book bills itself as “A Misguided Tour of Illiterature, the Fine and Dandy Arts and the Subhumanities”
  7. When Brian asked Graham Chase for romantic advice, what did he pretend he was asking about?
  8. What classic series of children’s books featured such titles as (the blank is the same in each case) “________ and the baseball team from mars”, “_______ plays football”, “_________ the popinjay”, “____________ and the ignormus” and “__________'s cousin Weedly”?
  9. What is the name of the dead world from which the witch comes in The Magician’s Nephew?
  10. J. Barkley Rosser, Sr., held what controversial post during the late '60s? And (this one requires either remembering every fact about myself that I’ve ever posted on the SDMB or some good guessing) why do I, personally, care?

Remaining, unanswered questions:

  1. What is the last name of Rob Lowe’s character, “Benjamin”, in Wayne’s World? To get full credit, you must explain why this is a trick question

  2. Duke (from Doonesbury) was originally married. What happened to his wife?

  3. How was Poll different from his 9 “siblings”? (For extra credit, name them)

  4. What is the name of the scifi series whose first book is The Breaking of Northwall?

  5. What is the name of the bad guys in the classic computer game LodeRunner?

  6. What is the significance of the following collection of names: Dave, Maxine, Herman, Bob, Johnson, Dennis?

  7. After the network switch, what was Peggy the Foul Mouthed Chambermaid known as?

  8. What were the 4 original model numbers of IBM’s PS/2?

  9. Who did Homer Simpson claim “sold poisoned milk to schoolchildren”?

  10. What is the origin of the name “Emond’s Field”?

  11. According to the rules of Hearts used at the national championships held in Las Vegas in 1999, to what score is a game played?

12

Ironically, I have the Flanders and Swann tape at home. And I thought it was actually “Oliverodor,” as in “matador.” I’ll have to listen to the tape again tonight.

13

The only “top of my head” one: Abraham Lincoln

14

18. Who did Homer Simpson claim “sold poisoned milk to schoolchildren”?

Abe Lincoln.

23. In the first season of The West Wing, a recurring plotline concerns Sam (Rob Lowe)'s friend, a call girl who is working her way through law school. She ends up being set up by her supposed friend. The actress who plays the very small part of that supposed friend now has a reasonably major role on a popular primetime show. Name her.

Reiko Aylesworth (of 24 fame).

24. I’m thinking of a film which has achieved some level of cult status. Many, many of the performers in its cast have gone on to be well recognized in other things. Name the film, and each of the actors to whom I’m referring:

Revenge of the Nerds

-One went on to play the husband on a top-rated sitcom, and vaulted from there to a quite succesful career as a leading man in film

John Goodman

-One went on to play one of the lead characters on a popular and long lived TV drama, for which he received 3 best-actor emmy nominations

Anthony Edwards

-One went on to become a standing joke on JumpTheShark.com

Ted McGinley

-One is a quite recognizable character actor who has been referenced by name on The Simpsons, and who once played John Cusack’s sidekick

Curtis Armstrong? Was he mentioned on The Simpsons?

-One went on to star in a movie called The Joy of Sex

Michelle Mayrink

-One played a major role in a Jean Claude Van Damme film

Donald Gibb

-One has gone on to play a very well-known farmer, the president of the US, a scientist from the future, and a police captain in an oscar-nominated film

James Cromwell (2 Presidents, actually)

-One had a minor but recognizable role in Saving Private Ryan (this one is tough)

David Wohl

-One is a true renaissance man who paints fine art, played professional football, and has acted in a variety of movies including a James Bond film and a different classic cult comedy referenced in this quiz, in which he plays a teacher

Bernie Casey

All this trivia and you couldn’t come up with anything for Timothy Busfield or Robert Carradine??

15

  1. Bring It On

  2. Scorpion & Sub-Zero, from Mortal Kombat

  3. Terrybubble

  4. Cvltvre Made Stupid

  5. Freddy the Pig!

  6. Charn?

  7. Benjamin Kane.

  8. Duke’s wife was Sandy. She left him and they got divorced.

16

Good lord did N. Sane and avr8mike just demolish questions 20 through 30. Every one of their answers are exactly correct. Which raises the question… how in God’s name does anyone know the name of the animated dinosaur skeleton from Speedy In Oz?

Sheesh. You people frighten me.

(note: after checking amazon.com, it turns out that Speedy in Oz, which had been out of print for 50-odd years, has now been reprinted in paperback form… so that question wasn’t as ridiculously obscure as I thought it was)

One quick comment on question 3: To the best of my knowledge, we never actually see Duke’s wife. But in one of his very first strips, when he’s still referred to as “Uncle Duke”, Zonker asks him how “Aunt Sandy” is. Later on, when he’s returning to the US after either being governor of American Samoa, or perhaps ambassador to China, he gets home, spends several panels berating Zeke Brenner about the state his house has been left in, and only then asks where his wife is, to which Zeke responds that she split years ago. I don’t recall any other references to her…

Anyhow, here are questions 31-40:

  1. What misreading of handwriting contributed to Grace’s teacher being falsely accused of having an inappropriate relationship with her?

  2. What is the claim to fame of Rex Garrod?

  3. What is the name of the male cat in the Cats who isn’t the subject of a specific song, but is one of the leaders of the Jellicle Cats, and fights Macavity?

  4. What will happen if all the ploys we’ve picked to really work to bring to pass occur?

  5. What, specifically, is an “Interactive Multiplayer”?

  6. What TV show’s eponymous hero had the tagline “Trust me… I know what I’m doing”?

  7. Name two video games that John Connor was seen playing in the arcade in Terminator 2: Judgment Day

  8. One of the main characters in SM Stirling’s excellent Island in the Sea of Time was named after a real, but little-known, historical figure who was in many ways similar. (At least, I assume the naming was intentional… I doubt it’s just a coincidence). Name him.

  9. What is a “Fyunch Click”?

  10. What major, but fictional, contribution did Pug Henry make towards the US success in World War II?

Remaining, unanswered questions:

  1. How was Poll different from his 9 “siblings”? (For extra credit, name them)

  2. What is the name of the scifi series whose first book is The Breaking of Northwall?

  3. What is the name of the bad guys in the classic computer game LodeRunner?

  4. What is the significance of the following collection of names: Dave, Maxine, Herman, Bob, Johnson, Dennis?

  5. After the network switch, what was Peggy the Foul Mouthed Chambermaid known as?

  6. What were the 4 original model numbers of IBM’s PS/2?

  7. What is the origin of the name “Emond’s Field”?

  8. According to the rules of Hearts used at the national championships held in Las Vegas in 1999, to what score is a game played?
    [/QUOTE]

  9. When Brian asked Graham Chase for romantic advice, what did he pretend he was asking about?

  10. J. Barkley Rosser, Sr., held what controversial post during the late '60s? And (this one requires either remembering every fact about myself that I’ve ever posted on the SDMB or some good guessing) why do I, personally, care?

17

  1. Rex Garrod built Cassius for Robot Wars

  2. One is Afterburner . Don’t know the other one.

18

  1. Cvlture Made Stupid , I think.

  2. I believe you’re referring the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer , which was an attempt to take videogaming in the direction of the IBM-compatible PC: selling licenses to use the 3DO (as in video, audio, 3dio) standard to build proprietary videogaming systems around. Only Panasonic and Goldstar took the bait, I think.

19

36. What TV show’s eponymous hero had the tagline “Trust me… I know what I’m doing”?
Sledge Hammer!

20

Here is yet another “1 toothpick” answer to question 4:

I - IX = X

now, moving the second “I” over to the right side of the first ‘X’, we get:

I - X I = X

The absolute value of minus ten = ten.

Granted I know that zero toothpick moves is the correct answer, but I wonder if there are any more “1 move” solutions.