# Controversial Trivia Questions **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 6, 2013, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231 "2013-01-06T04:33:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2013, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/21 "2013-01-06T23:34:11Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > **Bryan** -Seriously, how many people do you know (without an anti-American axe to grind) who refer to ANY other country as America? Also, President is most commonly used to refer to the POTUS (though I suppose a Oh-esque interpretation is conceivable, but most of those people are doing that to yank people’s chains) I’ve heard numerous people say “the Americas” in reference to the western continents, and have done so myself, so… no, I wouldn’t assume an “anti-American axe to grind” (though I would have phrased it in this context as an “anti-U.S. axe to grind”). Heck, a couple of years ago I was on a European vacation and visited a spa in Northern Italy. I can’t remember how, but I ended up talking to a couple of (I assume) locals in the locker room and one asked if I was American. “No, ha-ha,” I replied in that I thought was a tone of taking mock offense. “I’m Canadian, ha-ha, not American.” They looked at me in confusion, and I realized shortly afterward that I might have come off as some kind of a jerk. For all I know, to them “America” refers generically to the western continents, and they certainly didn’t need a lecture (even a brief not-serious one) on geography. I have no problem with the idea of being “from the Americas” and, if one wants to simplify, an American. I am not and have never been, though, a citizen of the United States of America, which I recognize as a fairly specific qualifier on “America”. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/22 "2013-01-07T00:05:59Z")
“What race is Mr. Spock?” 😃 “I’ll say what I said then. Look at the ears” ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/23 "2013-01-07T00:21:30Z")
Calling the continents “the America” IS NOT the same thing as calling the regions by the name of a specific country in that region! ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/24 "2013-01-07T00:52:15Z")
Are you sure? Read it _carefully_. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/25 "2013-01-07T01:06:20Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > I still gotta go with any answer that has Al Gore winning the Oscar. He didn’t but many still believe he did despite indisputable evidence. His film, An Inconvenient Truth, did win an Oscar for Best Documentary. While these are technically awarded to the Director, I would give Gore credit since he also wrote it. > [@Mahaloth](#): > > “What race is Mr. Spock?” > > 😃 > > “I’ll say what I said then. Look at the ears” Pretty sure the canonical answer is “half vulcan, half human?” ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/26 "2013-01-07T01:09:11Z")
I think the “american president” question is kind of off topic. It would be in the category of “trick questions” rather than just regular trivia questions without a twist. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/27 "2013-01-07T01:39:11Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > Pretty sure the canonical answer is “half vulcan, half human?” That’s arguably his _species_ (well, his blend of species). If we view “race” as synonymous with species (i.e. “the human race”) it would be okay, but it’s common to view race as a loosely-defined subset of species, thus his mother was Caucasian (or at least was portrayed by a Caucasian actress) and we don’t have enough information about Vulcan racial divisions, including if they’re even considered to exist. ---
**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:** [January 7, 2013, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/28 "2013-01-07T01:54:27Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > His film, An Inconvenient Truth, did win an Oscar for Best Documentary. While these are technically awarded to the Director" thay’re given to the producer; Best Director is the only Oscar given to the director (unless the director is eligible in another category). ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/29 "2013-01-07T01:54:27Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > That’s arguably his _species_ (well, his blend of species). If we view “race” as synonymous with species (i.e. “the human race”) it would be okay, but it’s common to view race as a loosely-defined subset of species, thus his mother was Caucasian (or at least was portrayed by a Caucasian actress) and we don’t have enough information about Vulcan racial divisions, including if they’re even considered to exist. I did a paper on this back college that once other races are discovered in the universe, the “ethnicity?” section on a standard form would only have two boxes: Human Other ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/30 "2013-01-07T02:49:52Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > **Rick** -Why is my definition of “American” one nobody would agree on? Because George Washington was American. So was John Adams. So was Thomas Jefferson. Nobody seriously believes that while he was President of the United States, James Madison was British and not American. It’s a question that deliberately alters the definition of “American” to something essentially nobody thinks it is. If you actually asked “Who was the first U.S. President who was a citizen of the United States of America **at birth** ” the answer could correctly said to be Martin Van Buren. That’s assuming you use July 4, 1776 at the starting point for American independence, which is a little arbitrary but it’s the one traditionally used (would Van Buren’s parents have though him “American”? Was it documented as such?) Also true of Martin Van Buren; he is the only U.S. President for whom English was, technically, a second language. (He was raised in a Dutch household.) ---
**Author:** ![H3Knuckles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ba8739/32.png) [@H3Knuckles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/H3Knuckles)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/31 "2013-01-07T03:09:20Z")
I just thought people reading this thread might enjoy[this comic-strip](http://xkcd.com/169/). Haven’t read XKCD in a long time, but I always liked this one. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/32 "2013-01-07T04:17:32Z")
Plus Martin van Buren is incorrect. The Treaty of Paris which gave the US its independence was signed on 3 September 1783 and van Buren was born 5 December 1782. The first president born in the United States of America is John Tyler. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/33 "2013-01-07T04:24:08Z")
_What is the longest river in …?_ questions are controversial. Is the Mississippi the longest river in North America? Not really; the Mississippi-Missouri (or better yet, the Mississippi-Missouri-Jefferson) is longer – using different names for different parts of a river doesn’t prevent it from being a single river! Similarly, is the Nile really the longest river in the world? From Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean Sea the length of the Nile is only 5584 km, which is surpassed by the Amazon _if_ you combine the Amazon with its longest tributary as was done with the Mississippi-Missouri. _BUT_ if rivers that feed _into_ Lake Victoria are treated as “tributaries” of the Nile, then the Nile gets back to first place after all! ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/34 "2013-01-07T04:33:41Z")
A golden oldie: when do you use “a” and when you do use “an” in English? In the first chapter of nearly every grammar book printed before 10 years ago, the common answer was “a” before consonants, and “an” before vowels. But, look at these examples: a home vs an hour a universe vs an unusual universe a ewe vs an owl Actually, the first letter has nothing to do with a/an usage, it’s the first sound in the following word that determines which one is used. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/35 "2013-01-07T04:33:47Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > His film, An Inconvenient Truth, did win an Oscar for Best Documentary. While these are technically awarded to the Director, I would give Gore credit since he also wrote it. So you are saying that Al Gore has an Academy Award? ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/36 "2013-01-07T04:35:01Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > So you are saying that Al Gore has an Academy Award? I’d give him credit for winning one. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/37 "2013-01-07T04:46:17Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > I’d give him credit for winning one. So you’re saying that he does have one even though he was never awarded one. Or said another way, you don’t have to be awarded an Academy Award to have an Oscar? So what other non-winners have an Academy Award? I hope Val Kilmer for _Tombstone_. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/38 "2013-01-07T05:03:41Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > So you’re saying that he does have one even though he was never awarded one. Or said another way, you don’t have to be awarded an Academy Award to have an Oscar? So what other non-winners have an Academy Award? I hope Val Kilmer for _Tombstone_. Sure. Best Documentary should be considered for the entire team, as they don’t have separate awards for Best Screenwriter-Documentary. As Gore wasn’t just an actor in the film but the writer as well, I think he deserves a share of the credit. For some of these awards, I would say the credit should be shared. I don’t think it’s an unusual practice either, if a movie wins Best Picture, I’m sure the producers would put it on their resume as well as the director. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/39 "2013-01-07T12:18:40Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > I’d give him credit for winning one. Then you’d be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/40 "2013-01-07T12:33:59Z")
Does the Academy distribute certificates or documents of some kind to the writer(s)/producer(s)/director(s) of the winning documentary? Who received and now has physical possession of the actual statuette? Davis Guggenheim? Did anyone else who’d worked on _An Inconvenient Truth_ get Academy recognition? I honestly don’t know. Has any other documentary writer claimed to have won an Academy Award when their documentary did? Is there a precedent or a convention on this? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231.md?page=3)