My bad, I was thinking of the United Arab Republic, which surfaced within .0001 milleseconds after I hit the Submit button.
:smack: Because we said no!
For some reason, I was thinking of ALW lyrics before, and so couldn’t place the line. Cripes, I haven’t seen or heard The Fantasticks since about 1978.
Speaking of ALW, Veerle Casteleyn is an actress/dancer famous for appearing in Cats. Max, you’re pulling all this musical-related knowledge I had forgotten to the surface again. Some things are better left forgotten.
Elsewhere:
I can’t get more than 8, dammit.
8.2 Is, was, and ever shall be Camper Van Beethoven, right?
Most of the ones I know hve already been answered. Here are the rest…
I only remember SF2: Tournament Edition’s name. Was the one with the four additional characters called SF2: World Tour? Or am I thinking of something else? 
Oh, and UNITED ARAB EMIRATES is special because it perfectly alternates between vowels and consonents.
Further correct answers given by various people…
Category 1: People with weird names
Identify the following real people (living or dead) with weird names:
1.Veerle Casteleyn
—>A performer famous for being in Cats. (Who, I might add, is attractive beyond measure.)
Category 3: Movies
- Three of the voice actors from another of my favorite movies, The Iron Giant, are quite well known. Name two of them.
—>Vin Diesel, Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick Jr.
Category 5: History
2. Name the top Nazi, generally believed to be Hitler’s chosen successor, who was killed by Czech partisans in 1942.
—>Reinhard Heydrich
5. With what historical event are Ferdinand De Lesseps and Philippe Bunau-Varilla associated?
—>The building of the Panama Canal
Category 7: Fun with Words
- What is special about the country name UNITED ARAB EMIRATES?
—>it is the longest country name which alternates vowels and consonants.
Category 8: Things I actually know about Pop Music
2. What alternative band sang “Take the Skinheads Bowling” and “Where the Hell is Bill”?
—>Camper Van Beethoven
-
What one hit wonder group also sang “Good Ship Lifestyle” and “Drip, Drip, Drip”
—>Chumbawumba -
What is Vanilla Ice’s real name?
—>Robert Van Winkle
Category 11: Musicals
- Why did the kids put jam on the cat?
—>'cause we said no (to quote from The Fantasticks:
Why did the kids put jam on the cat?
Raspberry jam all over the cat?
Why would the kids do something like that?
They did it 'cause we said no)
Category 12: TV Shows
3. Who plays Triumph: The Insult Comic Dog?
—>Robert Smigel
Category 13: Video/Computer Games
2. What early arcade fighting game featured a judge awarding half and full points?
—>Karate Champ
Leaving the follownig unanswered questions:
Category 1: People with weird names
Identify the following real people (living or dead) with weird names:
- Ruth Plumly Thompson
Category 3: Movies
- What was the previous, and first, movie from Peyton Reed, director of the frothy romantic comedy Down With Love?
- Name the Asian character actor who has played a thug in just about every movie imaginable, including The Scorpion King, Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, and Big Trouble in Little China, but whose arguably greatest role was as Genghis Khan in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.
Category 4: The Simpsons
Identify the speaker of the following Simpsons quotes:
- I was so gay… but I couldn’t tell anyone
Category 5: History
- What New York City celebration, on Thursday, May 24, 1883, was later compared in scope and excitement to the ticker tape parade that greeted the returning moon astronauts.
Category 6: Tricky Math
2. Here’s an example of two triangles being drawn using 4 straight lines (the triangles overlap, obviously). {Here there is an illustration of what is basically a capital “A” sitting on a line). What is the greatest number of triangles that could be drawn using 5 straight lines?
-
There’s a famous, and difficult, math puzzle in which you have 13 coins, one of which is counterfeit, and is either lighter or heavier than the others, but you don’t know which. You have a standard balance scale, and are asked to determine which coin is counterfeit using the scale only 3 times. It’s difficult, but solvable. If you had 14 coins, it would be unsolvable. What’s the greatest number of coins for which the problem could be solved if you could use the scale 4 times?
-
The number 12345678901234567899876543210987654321 is a multiple of 11. In fact, it is 11 times 1122334445566778899988776655544332211. Suppose we wanted to add a digit to the middle of it, ie, make it 1234567890123456789?9876543210987654321 and have it still be a multiple of 11. What digit(s), if any, would work?
-
What is the next number in this sequence: 10001, 122, 101, 32, 25, 23, 21, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10…
Category 9: Sports
4. When the NBA named its 50 greatest players of all time, 47 of the 50 assembled at the NBA all star game. Of the three who were absent, one was dead, one was old and infirm, and one was severely criticized for his absence. Name him.
Category 10: Children’s Books
- Name the 3 original books in the “Tripods” series by John Christopher
Category 11: Musicals - What musical includes the lyric “I’ll live inside you forever/ With Satan himself by my side”
Category 12: TV Shows
- What TV show featured “Pea Boy” and “Peggy, the Foul Mouthed Chambermaid”?
- On SNL, what was The Church Lady’s first name?
Category 13: Video/Computer Games
- In the classic text-graphics dungeon adventure games Hack and Nethack, what object is the player attempting to retrieve from the dungeon?
- My all time favorite arcade game is Streetfighter II. Between Streetfighter II itself and Streetfighter Alpha, which came out 5 or so years later and which I never really played, there were four other updates to SF2. Name at least 2 of them
**
The Fantasticks is an unjustly overlooked musical. It’s really a wonderful story, and can be presented well with just a piano in a very very small space.
First of all, how could anyone ever forget about Veerle? And secondly, why would anyone want to?
**
8 is not enough.
I can contribute something here. Well, exactly two things. And I’m not even looking at the math.
Category 3: Movies
- Bring It On
Category 5: History
- The Brooklyn Bridge was opened to traffic.
Happy birthday, Max! I was thirty when you were born. It was a very good year. 
Terrific questions!
Huckleberry Hound, from Behind the Laughter.
I’m pretty sure this is Al Leong.
Category 11: Musicals
2. What musical includes the lyric “I’ll live inside you forever/ With Satan himself by my side”
The song is “Confrontation” from Jeckyll and Hyde
- and really funny when done by David Hasselhoff!
I can get 9, but I don’t know if I’ve reached the max yet. (Take an A, and join both feet to a the opposite leg high enough so the two new lines intersect above the horizontal.)
- My all time favorite arcade game is Streetfighter II. Between Streetfighter II itself and Streetfighter Alpha, which came out 5 or so years later and which I never really played, there were four other updates to SF2. Name at least 2 of them
Turbo and Special Edition? Does Super Puzzle Fighter count?
Category 6, #2:
Ten. In the form of a five-pointed star.
These questions are dropping like flies, now…
Category 3: Movies
- What was the previous, and first, movie from Peyton Reed, director of the frothy romantic comedy Down With Love?
—>Bring It On - Name the Asian character actor who has played a thug in just about every movie imaginable, including The Scorpion King, Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, and Big Trouble in Little China, but whose arguably greatest role was as Genghis Khan in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.
—>Al Leong
Category 4: The Simpsons
Identify the speaker of the following Simpsons quotes:
- I was so gay… but I couldn’t tell anyone
—>Huckleberry Hound
Category 5: History
- What New York City celebration, on Thursday, May 24, 1883, was later compared in scope and excitement to the ticker tape parade that greeted the returning moon astronauts.
—>The opening of the Brooklyn Bridge
Category 6: Tricky Math
2. Here’s an example of two triangles being drawn using 4 straight lines (the triangles overlap, obviously). {Here there is an illustration of what is basically a capital “A” sitting on a line). What is the greatest number of triangles that could be drawn using 5 straight lines?
—>10 (for instance, a five-pointed star) (the easiest way to prove that is that if you arrange your 5 lines such that every line intersects every other line, then every possible combination of 3 lines will form a triangle, so the total number of triangles is 5 choose 3, which is 5x4x3 / 3x2x1, which is 10.)
Category 11: Musicals
2. What musical includes the lyric “I’ll live inside you forever/ With Satan himself by my side”
—>Jekyll and Hyde
Still unanswered:
Category 1: People with weird names
Identify the following real people (living or dead) with weird names:
- Ruth Plumly Thompson
Category 6: Tricky Math
-
There’s a famous, and difficult, math puzzle in which you have 13 coins, one of which is counterfeit, and is either lighter or heavier than the others, but you don’t know which. You have a standard balance scale, and are asked to determine which coin is counterfeit using the scale only 3 times. It’s difficult, but solvable. If you had 14 coins, it would be unsolvable. What’s the greatest number of coins for which the problem could be solved if you could use the scale 4 times?
-
The number 12345678901234567899876543210987654321 is a multiple of 11. In fact, it is 11 times 1122334445566778899988776655544332211. Suppose we wanted to add a digit to the middle of it, ie, make it 1234567890123456789?9876543210987654321 and have it still be a multiple of 11. What digit(s), if any, would work?
-
What is the next number in this sequence: 10001, 122, 101, 32, 25, 23, 21, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10…
Category 9: Sports
4. When the NBA named its 50 greatest players of all time, 47 of the 50 assembled at the NBA all star game. Of the three who were absent, one was dead, one was old and infirm, and one was severely criticized for his absence. Name him.
Category 10: Children’s Books
- Name the 3 original books in the “Tripods” series by John Christopher
Category 12: TV Shows
- What TV show featured “Pea Boy” and “Peggy, the Foul Mouthed Chambermaid”?
- On SNL, what was The Church Lady’s first name?
Category 13: Video/Computer Games
- In the classic text-graphics dungeon adventure games Hack and Nethack, what object is the player attempting to retrieve from the dungeon?
- My all time favorite arcade game is Streetfighter II. Between Streetfighter II itself and Streetfighter Alpha, which came out 5 or so years later and which I never really played, there were four other updates to SF2. Name at least 2 of them
6.5: H
13.1: The Amulet of Yendor (preferably uncursed)
Category 12: TV Shows
4. On SNL, what was The Church Lady’s first name?
Edna (?)
Ruth Plumly Thompson
Wrote OZ books after L. Frank Baum died.
correct and correct (the mathematical sequence is the number 17 expressed in base 2, then base 3, then base 4, etc. So the next item in the sequence would be 17 in base 18, which would be the digit 17, which might well be the letter H (going by the pattern used in hexadecimal)
correct
not correct