# 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:** 3
**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, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/41 "2013-01-07T12:42:23Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Then you’d be wrong. Yes, the way it is originally worded, Gore does not have physical possession of an Oscar. I would give him partial credit for one because of the category (documentary) and because of his role (writer and star.) ---
**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, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/42 "2013-01-07T14:05:59Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > I would give him partial credit for one because of the category (documentary) and because of his role (writer and star.) But in a trivia contest that would be unequivocally wrong, and that’s what this thread is about. 🙂 ---
**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, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/43 "2013-01-07T14:45:06Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > But in a trivia contest that would be unequivocally wrong, and that’s what this thread is about. 🙂 It depends on the wording: Does Al Gore have an Oscar? Unequivocally, no. Did Al Gore win an Oscar? I would argue, yes. ---
**Author:** ![singher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58f4c7/32.png) [@singher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singher)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/44 "2013-01-07T14:57:43Z")
I would say that most people get the answer of Who discovered america wrong: As I know it from an excerpt from a science magazine: > [@](#): > > In 1497, the Italian explorer AmerigIn 1497, the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci discovered a new country, and it was named America by the map maker, Martin Waldseemuller. > > However, it was later realized that Amerigo’s friend, the Spanish explorer, Christopher Columbus, had been there a few years earlier in 1492. But it was too late to rename the country Columbia. > > More recently evidence has appeared showing that in fact it was the Chinese Admiral Cheng Ho who discovered America in 1421. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/45 "2013-01-07T15:01:16Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > So you are saying that Al Gore has an Academy Award? Al Gore _invented_ the 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, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/46 "2013-01-07T15:16:20Z")
> [@singher](#): > > I would say that most people get the answer of Who discovered america wrong: > > As I know it from an excerpt from a science magazine: Iirc, I thought it was some viking that actually did it first? However, I also thought that native American Indians came from Asia when there was a land bridge? However, this can’t be verified? ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/47 "2013-01-07T15:26:38Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > Calling the continents “the America” IS NOT the same thing as calling the regions by the name of a specific country in that region! Dude, if you’re gonna try to be clever with a “gotcha” question, you have to understand that this is the Dope. Unless your idea is air-tight, which, frankly, it NEVER IS with you, you’re gonna have a bad time. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/48 "2013-01-07T16:18:16Z")
I have a trivia question for you… Why is drewtwo99 the only poster who has contributed a serious controversial trivia question to this thread so far? ---
**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, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/49 "2013-01-07T16:22:35Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > I have a trivia question for you… > > Why is drewtwo99 the only poster who has contributed a serious controversial trivia question to this thread so far? And why are people still arguing about that trick question about presidents? ---
**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:** [January 7, 2013, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/50 "2013-01-07T16:30:07Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > 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. What to use with hotel, historic etc would be controversial, although not really a typical trivia question. Don’t think there’s really a right answer for that given changing styles in grammar. ---
**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, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/51 "2013-01-07T16:32:18Z")
> [@Busy\_Scissors](#): > > What to use with hotel, historic etc would be controversial, although not really a typical trivia question. Don’t think there’s really a right answer for that given changing styles in grammar. Oh it’s definitely the right answer. You can check any grammar book printed within the last ten years. ---
**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:** [January 7, 2013, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/52 "2013-01-07T16:45:39Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > Oh it’s definitely the right answer. You can check any grammar book printed within the last ten years. What’s the right answer? An hotel or a hotel? Don’t think there is one mesel. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/53 "2013-01-07T16:54:03Z")
It depends on how you stress “hotel”. If the emphasis falls on the 2nd syllable, us “an”, if not use “a”. It would vary by the speaker, because some people say HOtel, and other people say hoTEL. But the hard and fast rule is that if a word begins with an “h” sound, use “a” if the first syllable is stressed and “an” if 2nd syllable or later is stressed… I think ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/54 "2013-01-07T16:54:56Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > . . .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. . . . Do you have a cite for this? For the record, I’ve always belived that this was the way it was worded, but I’m having a hard time finding any old timey reference books that attest to this rule. ---
**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, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/55 "2013-01-07T17:51:54Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Do you have a cite for this? For the record, I’ve always belived that this was the way it was worded, but I’m having a hard time finding any old timey reference books that attest to this rule. New Interchange is the one I usually point to for laughs, but I’ve seen it in even the early editions of the Azar books. ---
**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, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/56 "2013-01-07T17:52:22Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > 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.) How you worded it is how I, and most people asking the question, would mean it. ---
**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, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/57 "2013-01-07T17:54:15Z")
> [@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. > > Pretty sure the canonical answer is “half vulcan, half human?” It’s from The Office(UK). ---
**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, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/58 "2013-01-07T17:54:17Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > 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. If we celebrated Independence Day September 3rd, I’d agree with you. (Yes I know this is descending into pedanticness) ---
**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, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/59 "2013-01-07T17:58:09Z")
> [@hrhomer](#): > > Dude, if you’re gonna try to be clever with a “gotcha” question, you have to understand that this is the Dope. Unless your idea is air-tight, which, frankly, it NEVER IS with you, you’re gonna have a bad time. Cite EVERY TIME I’ve had leaky logic! And if you can’t get EVERY LAST ONE STFU! ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231/60 "2013-01-07T18:19:46Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > Cite EVERY TIME I’ve had leaky logic! And if you can’t get EVERY LAST ONE STFU! Oh, I think he was just being a little hyperbolic. But. . . [this OP](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15198200&postcount=1) turned out to have some leaky logic. Although you had lots of company. (And I might have been one, too, had I been following those threads.) Doesn’t change the point(lessness) of the “Martin van Buren” answer, though. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-trivia-questions/646231.md?page=4)