This is a branch-off from Gadarene’s genuinely Relatively Difficult Trivia Challenge, in which I got no answer right (at least as of yet) but was encouraged for my efforts. It was also suggested that I come up with the next round . . .
I think this should be a continous thing (or at least until we get sick of it), so I’ve started this thread. The rules should be that whoever answers correctly can then put forth a new question of their own. Use of any means of research (other than torture) is allowed, so it will help to come up with simple questions that contain common words that are a little tougher to do searches on. ( e.g. from Gadarene : ‘What’s Big Jelly doing?’, ‘How many more did Tuffy get?’)
Unfortunately, I’m going on a trip out of the country soon, so I can’t entirely fulfill my obligation right now. I’ve got two questions that I hope won’t be too hard, as I’m leaving in exactly one week. I’ll post hints Thurs. or Fri. and answers before next Monday if no one gets these. And those who’ve actually answered Gadarene’s questions are welcome to kick off this thread as well.
What book did they start with?
“Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” What is the connection to US General H. Norman Schwarzkopf?
well, you’re at least right that you did as well here as there …
your answer is actually tangentially related to the correct answer, but I wouldn’t try to track it down with just that to go on.
I didn’t know Stormin’ Norman was a free-mason!
I admit the second one is sort of vague; unless you have an eidetic memory, it’s the sort of thing you wouldn’t immediately get. However, if you make the correct connection, the answer can be found with most search engines extremely quickly. (If I think about this question being asked of me and I didn’t know the answer, I would be able to find the correct answer in under two minutes online with a search engine).
2 - Under Allen W. Dulles, the new Director of Central Intelligence, Kermit Roosevelt (grandson of President Franklin D.) was looking for someone to help him in overthrowing the Iranian government of Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh. He found that someone in a former head of the New Jersey State Police who had moonlighted by commanding the Iranian Imperial Guard during World War II. Together, along with MI-6, Roosevelt and this police chief successfully overthrew Mossadegh in 1953. Pro-Shah troops, at the urging of their American former commander, protected the pro-Shah demonstrators and attacked anti-Shah forces until a government acceptable to the United States was formed.
Kermit Roosevelt would disappear in to the shady world of spydom. Allen W. Dulles informed President Kennedy of the planned invasion at the Bay of Pigs on Inauguration Day, the day Kennedy made his famous “ask not” speech. By November, Dulles resigned over it. The police chief was General H. Norman Schwartzkopf, Sr., Stormin’ Norman’s old man.
All right, so it’s a little contrived, but it’s still pretty whacked, isn’t it?
I suppose to avoid any nasty litigations, I should say that I don’t really know if he’s a free-mason or not. I searched Google for JFK and Schwarzkopf and there was at least one or two hits where I saw the word “mason” in the description. From there, pure whimsy took over.
Gadarene – You’re sort of on the right track, but it’s a little bit more out there.
Note to all, esp. Evilbeth – remember exactly what it is you’re trying to connect.
Also, I haven’t yet determined how intentional one portion of the connection is (no, it’s not something entirely arbitrary, it’s just potentially open to argument. There are enough sources on ‘my side’, so to speak, that one can find the answer.)
Scratch that, I just found out a primary source in which a direct assertion is made that the connection was NOT intentional. Still, there is likely something to the idea; the debate is still open.
(unless you do what I did and start with the eighth book of the series and not realize it until about three months after you’d finished the book. But it wasn’t my fault, they didn’t label it!)
“Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” What is the connection to US General H. Norman Schwarzkopf?
Well…Schwarzkopf asked himself this. Then he joined the army. By gum, it’s just crazy enough to work!
Biblical Writers: Genesis
Gutenberg & Co.: The Bible
Encyclopedia Britannica: A
The Kindergarden teachers of Orange County, FL, in 1982: Rockets (for earlier generations, this could be Fun With Dick and Jane or something)
English majors at Rollins College: The Norton Anthology of Western Literature, Vol. 1
The Straight Dope: The Straight Dope
People who read Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
