# Best trivia questions for fun-time discussion **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [April 1, 2009, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-trivia-questions-for-fun-time-discussion/491572 "2009-04-01T13:54:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-trivia-questions-for-fun-time-discussion/491572/21 "2009-04-01T19:03:25Z")
What film took the longest time between its original release and winning an Oscar? **Limelight**. Won the Best Original Score Oscar for 1973, 21 years after its original release. The film was not shown in Los Angeles until 1972, so it wasn’t eligible when it first came out in 1951. What US president has an entire province (and a city in that province) named after him in a country outside the US? Rutherford B. Hayes. The Presidente Hayes province and the city of Villa Hayes in Paraguay are named for him. He arbitrated a land claim in Paraguay’s favor; they named the land after him. Though it looks like someone else actually made the recommendation and he signed off on it. ---
**Author:** ![hammos1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ba8739/32.png) [@hammos1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammos1)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-trivia-questions-for-fun-time-discussion/491572/22 "2009-04-01T19:39:43Z")
> [@Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](#): > > It follows that in the long run, Mercury is usually the closest planet to Neptune. No it doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![hammos1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ba8739/32.png) [@hammos1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammos1)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-trivia-questions-for-fun-time-discussion/491572/23 "2009-04-01T19:53:40Z")
To elaborate on my somewhat abrupt challenge, each of the 6 other planets spends at least a third of its time inside that circle of 30.5AU radius- indeed, for the inner planets it’s closer to half. But let’s say 1/3 to give Mercury a chance. The probability of \*none \*of the other six planets being closer to Neptune than Mercury would then, at any given point in time, be (2/3) to the power 6, or about 8%. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-trivia-questions-for-fun-time-discussion/491572/24 "2009-04-01T19:58:36Z")
> [@Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](#): > > (1) Every other planet has an orbit which takes it outside that radius for the majority of the time, so for any individual planet it’s true that Mercury is usually closer to Neptune than that planet is. (2) > It follows that in the long run, Mercury is usually the closest planet to Neptune. Hi **AABE**. I’ve taken the liberty of numbering two bits of your earlier reply. Let’s suppose for the time being that (1) is given. Surely (2) only follows if all the other planets are usually outside Neptune’s radius _at the same time_? Isn’t it possible that even if any _particular_ planet is usually outside Neptune’s radius, there may still be one or more that are, _at any given time_, closer to Neptune that Mercury? Hi **hammos1** , in the spirit of friendly discussion, I’d love to hear what _you_ think is the flaw with **AABE’s** assertion? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-trivia-questions-for-fun-time-discussion/491572/25 "2009-04-01T21:03:59Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Okay. I’ll start with just one and see if “Daddy’s answer” is needed. > > What are two things a hog won’t eat? Okay. I’m going to go ahead and provide “Daddy’s answer” to this, because I have been unable to find a real answer online. Maybe I haven’t framed the search criteria close enough or maybe there is no real answer. It won’t be the first time I found out that either Daddy didn’t know, Daddy was funning with me, or there just isn’t a valid answer. His answer: a cucumber and another hog. FWIW, I had a chance to use this last week at a dinner. At least I got a laugh since we had cucumbers in the salad. ---
**Author:** ![Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alive_At_Both_Ends)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-trivia-questions-for-fun-time-discussion/491572/26 "2009-04-01T23:10:39Z")
> [@ianzin](#): > > Hi **AABE**. I’ve taken the liberty of numbering two bits of your earlier reply. Let’s suppose for the time being that (1) is given. Surely (2) only follows if all the other planets are usually outside Neptune’s radius _at the same time_? > > Isn’t it possible that even if any _particular_ planet is usually outside Neptune’s radius, there may still be one or more that are, _at any given time_, closer to Neptune that Mercury? First, a definition. By “usually closest” I mean that Mercury spends more time as the closest planet to Neptune than any other individual planet does. Stand with me on Neptune, and measure the distance to each of the 7 other planets. Now list them in order of increasing distance. One planet must head the list, that one being the currently closest. Now repeat this at regular intervals to produce a constantly updated list. My assertion is that Mercury heads the list more often than any other planet - say Jupiter for example. (Clearly \*some \*planet must head the list more often than the others.) Could it be Jupiter? No, because Mercury is closer for the majority of the time. Similar reasoning eliminates all other planets other than Mercury. ---
**Author:** ![Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alive_At_Both_Ends)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-trivia-questions-for-fun-time-discussion/491572/27 "2009-04-01T23:17:47Z")
BTW, I got this from Scientific American sometime in the 1970’s. If I’m wrong, so were they. I’m sure **ianzin** ’s astronomer friends can give us the definitive answer. ---
**Author:** ![Busy\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-trivia-questions-for-fun-time-discussion/491572/28 "2009-04-01T23:20:14Z")
Classic geography one; name the most Northerly, Southerly, Easterly and Westerly of the US states. Alaska, Hawaii, Alaska, Alaska Who is the only Nobel Laureate to have an entry in Wisden? Samuel Beckett, played the occasional knock for Trinity College Dublin What’s the only card game that can be legally played for a wager in a British public house? Cribbage. Probably an urban myth but I’ve heard it loads of times ---
**Author:** ![Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alive_At_Both_Ends)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-trivia-questions-for-fun-time-discussion/491572/29 "2009-04-01T23:35:40Z")
> [@Busy\_Scissors](#): > > What’s the only card game that can be legally played for a wager in a British public house? > > Cribbage. Probably an urban myth but I’ve heard it loads of times Not an urban myth - I’ve seen the signage in many pubs listing it as one of a handful of games that may legally be played for “small stakes”. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-trivia-questions-for-fun-time-discussion/491572/30 "2009-04-02T00:10:25Z")
> [@Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](#): > > BTW, I got this from Scientific American sometime in the 1970’s. If I’m wrong, so were they. I’m sure **ianzin** ’s astronomer friends can give us the definitive answer. Maybe it would be better to say ‘overall’ rather than ‘usually.’ ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-trivia-questions-for-fun-time-discussion/491572/31 "2009-04-02T00:18:09Z")
Which Labour politician’s name and rank makes this anagram: I’m Tory plan B (without the apostrophe)? Which Conservative politician’s name makes this anagram: I’m an evil Tory bigot (again without the apostrophe)? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-trivia-questions-for-fun-time-discussion/491572/32 "2009-04-02T01:50:17Z")
What Olympic gold medalist wrote a non-sports book that sold more than 50 million copies? Dr. Benjamin Spock won a gold medal in rowing at the 1924 Olympics and wrote _Baby and Child Care_. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-trivia-questions-for-fun-time-discussion/491572/33 "2009-04-02T02:18:27Z")
Who is the only person to serve as a U. S. Senator after having served as the chief executive officer of a foreign nation? Sam Houston. Senator from Texas after having been President of the Republic of Texas. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-trivia-questions-for-fun-time-discussion/491572/34 "2009-04-02T02:59:07Z")
What product used to have the advertising tagline “Whitens teeth and freshens breath”? Milk Bone dog biscuits. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-trivia-questions-for-fun-time-discussion/491572/35 "2009-04-02T10:45:50Z")
> [@Busy\_Scissors](#): > > Classic geography one; name the most Northerly, Southerly, Easterly and Westerly of the US states. > > Alaska, Hawaii, Alaska, Alaska Alaska’s only most Easterly if you cheat and take the International Date Line to be relevant to this question. If you cut the map such that all of the Aleutians are on the same side of the world (and that’s how most people think of them, since nobody would cross Eurasia just to get to the next island in the chain) then Maine is the Easternmost state. (If Puerto Rico ever becomes a state, it will be Easternmost and Southernmost. But that hasn’t happened yet.) ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-trivia-questions-for-fun-time-discussion/491572/36 "2009-04-02T11:01:10Z")
I can recommend [the QI book.](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Book-General-Ignorance-Quite-Interesting/dp/0571233686/ref=pd_sim_b_3) Examples: What is the largest living thing on the planet? The honey fungus mushroom - one organism covers over 2,200 acres in Malheur National Forest, Oregon. What’s the largest thing a Blue Whale can swallow? A grapefruit … the whale is adapted to eat krill What noise does the largest frog in the World make? None - the 3 foot long Goliath frog from Africa is mute Which animal has two penises? The European or Black Earwig Where do most tigers live? The USA - there are more in captivity than are left in India What was the first invention to break the sound barrier? The whip ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-trivia-questions-for-fun-time-discussion/491572/37 "2009-04-02T12:47:31Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > Which Labour politician’s name and rank makes this anagram: I’m Tory plan B (without the apostrophe)? Not really fair as Tony Blair is no longer PM > [@](#): > > Which Conservative politician’s name makes this anagram: I’m an evil Tory bigot (again without the apostrophe)? Virginia Bottomley! ---
**Author:** ![Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alive_At_Both_Ends)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-trivia-questions-for-fun-time-discussion/491572/38 "2009-04-02T12:53:05Z")
Who was the only former US president to renounce his allegiance to the USA? John Tyler, who served in the Confederate Congress during the Civil War. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-trivia-questions-for-fun-time-discussion/491572/39 "2009-04-02T12:54:59Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Okay. I’ll start with just one and see if “Daddy’s answer” is needed. > > What are two things a hog won’t eat? Yo momma’s cooking and yo momma’s pussy? > [@Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](#): > > Not an urban myth - I’ve seen the signage in many pubs listing it as one of a handful of games that may legally be played for “small stakes”. This certainly used to be true but I have a feeling that since the Gambling Act (of 2006?), poker can now be played in pubs for small stakes (total prize pot of less than £200?) without a gambling licence. I could be wrong about the requirement for the licence, though. > [@scifisam2009](#): > > Which Labour politician’s name and rank makes this anagram: I’m Tory plan B (without the apostrophe)? > > Which Conservative politician’s name makes this anagram: I’m an evil Tory bigot (again without the apostrophe)? The first one is Tony Blair, MP - I used to know the second one, too, but I’ve forgotten and can’t work it out. ---
**Author:** ![hammos1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ba8739/32.png) [@hammos1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammos1)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-trivia-questions-for-fun-time-discussion/491572/40 "2009-04-02T13:10:32Z")
> [@Dead\_Cat](#): > > The first one is Tony Blair, MP - I used to know the second one, too, but I’ve forgotten and can’t work it out. Virginia Bottomley. This factoid appears on her Wikipedia page! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-trivia-questions-for-fun-time-discussion/491572.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-trivia-questions-for-fun-time-discussion/491572.md?page=3)