# Trivia Dominoes II — Play Off the Last Bit of Trivia — continued! (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** Thread Games\ **Created:** [January 25, 2020, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-ii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia-continued-part-1/846950 "2020-01-25T08:18:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 485
**Author:** ![knoodler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ccd318/32.png) [@knoodler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/knoodler)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-ii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia-continued-part-1/846950/9688 "2025-01-03T16:43:32Z")
Eric Fleming was the star of TV’s _Rawhide_ for seven seasons before being replaced by his younger costar, Clint Eastwood. No reason for his departure was given at the start of the show’s eighth and final season. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-ii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia-continued-part-1/846950/9689 "2025-01-03T19:27:53Z")
Marty McFly uses the alias “Clint Eastwood” when he goes back to the Old West in Back to the Future III. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-ii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia-continued-part-1/846950/9690 "2025-01-03T21:22:55Z")
A top Romney campaign staffer ran to the bathroom to throw up when Clint Eastwood’s primetime semi-comedic improvisation with a chair at the 2012 Republican National Convention ran very long and was an obvious flop. ---
**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 3, 2025, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-ii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia-continued-part-1/846950/9691 "2025-01-03T21:26:46Z")
The electric chair at Sing Sing prison (now the Ossining Correctional Facility) is nicknamed “Old Sparky.” ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-ii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia-continued-part-1/846950/9692 "2025-01-03T22:22:12Z")
In the television sitcom _MASH_, “Sparky” was the nickname of a radio telephone operator with the U.S. Army in Korea, with whom Radar (and, in later seasons, Klinger) often spoke when looking for information and favors. Sparky was typically not ever shown, or even heard, and was only identified by Radar’s or Klinger’s side of the telephone conversation. However, in the character’s very first appearance – the Season 1 episode “Tuttle,” Sparky is briefly shown, and his rank and surname are given: Sergeant Pryor. > **[Sergeant "Sparky" Pryor](https://mash.fandom.com/wiki/Sergeant_%22Sparky%22_Pryor)** > > 'Sergeant "Sparky" Pryor' is the unseen and unheard person on the other end of the 4077th's phone line, and serves as the 4077th's only immediate connection to the rest of the world. Usually it is Radar (and later Klinger) that calls him for trading,... ---
**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 3, 2025, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-ii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia-continued-part-1/846950/9693 "2025-01-03T23:05:45Z")
Asteroid 22369 Klinger named after Max Klinger. No, not the one from M_A_S\*H but rather a German artist. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2025, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-ii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia-continued-part-1/846950/9694 "2025-01-04T03:40:01Z")
Jamie Farr, who played Max Klinger, got his start in acting by being cast on _The Red Skelton Show_ in 1955. Farr played the character of Snorkel, whose large nose gave him an inhumanly strong sense of smell. ---
**Author:** ![knoodler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ccd318/32.png) [@knoodler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/knoodler)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2025, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-ii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia-continued-part-1/846950/9695 "2025-01-04T05:15:59Z")
Originally Gary Larson titled his iconic comic strip “Nature’s Way” but after being picked up by the San Francisco Chronicle the name was changed to “The Far Side.” ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2025, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-ii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia-continued-part-1/846950/9696 "2025-01-04T05:25:50Z")
In the past few decades, the spiked tail of stegosaurian dinosaurs has become informally known by scientists and researcher as the “thagomizer,” in homage to a particular _The Far Side_ cartoon by Gary Larson, drawn in 1982, which depicts a caveman lecturer describing the tail, and how it is named for “the late Thag Simmons.” > **[https://i.redd.it/rn1wsrfzvsl81.jpg](https://i.redd.it/rn1wsrfzvsl81.jpg)** ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2025, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-ii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia-continued-part-1/846950/9697 "2025-01-04T13:52:10Z")
Ted Simmons played for 21 seasons in the major leagues, primarily as a catcher. Most of his career was spent with the St. Louis Cardinals, and he also played for the Brewers and Braves. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2020, more than 30 years after his retirement following the 1988 season. Simmons is one of 20 catchers in the HOF; the latest catcher to be inducted was Joe Maurer, who joined the Hall in 2024. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2025, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-ii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia-continued-part-1/846950/9698 "2025-01-04T14:04:51Z")
Gary Carter was the catcher for the Montreal Expos from 1974 to 1984. He was the first Expo inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame. ---
**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 4, 2025, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-ii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia-continued-part-1/846950/9699 "2025-01-04T15:41:35Z")
The Gaelic Athletic Association has a special hurling competition in 1984 called the Centenary Cup to celebrate its 100th anniversary. Cork ultimately won the Cup. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2025, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-ii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia-continued-part-1/846950/9700 "2025-01-05T04:23:19Z")
The first use in space of NASA’s Manned Maneuvering Unit, or personal orbital rocket backpack, was in February 1984. An astronaut played by George Clooney used a similar device in the movie _Gravity_. > **[Manned Maneuvering Unit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manned_Maneuvering_Unit)** > > The Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) is an astronaut propulsion unit that was used by NASA on three Space Shuttle missions in 1984. The MMU allowed the astronauts to perform untethered extravehicular spacewalks at a distance from the shuttle. The MMU was used in practice to retrieve a pair of faulty communications satellites, Westar VI and Palapa B2. Following the third mission the unit was retired from use. A smaller successor, the Simplified Aid For EVA Rescue (SAFER), was first flown in 1994,... ---
**Author:** ![knoodler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ccd318/32.png) [@knoodler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/knoodler)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2025, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-ii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia-continued-part-1/846950/9701 "2025-01-05T04:47:14Z")
In the 2014 Golden Globes ceremony George Clooney was identified by host Tina Fey for his appearance in _Gravity_, which she described as “a story in which George would rather float away in space and die rather then spend another minute with a woman his own age.” ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-ii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia-continued-part-1/846950/9702 "2025-01-06T04:11:13Z")
George Clooney’s first wife, American actress Talia Balsam, was 2 years older than him. His second wife, British international human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin Clooney, is 17 years younger than him. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-ii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia-continued-part-1/846950/9703 "2025-01-06T04:22:52Z")
Actor Martin Balsam was a prolific actor on stage, film, and television. He was a member of the Actors’ Studio, and won a Tony Award (for _You Know I Can’t Hear You When the Water’s Running_ in 1968) and an Academy Award (for _A Thousand Clowns_ in 1965). Balsam was married to actress Joyce Van Patten from 1959 to 1962, with whom he had a daughter, Talia Balsam. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-ii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia-continued-part-1/846950/9704 "2025-01-07T20:57:14Z")
Martin Balsam was the first person cast to provide the voice of the malfunctioning, murderous supercomputer HAL 9000 in Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 sf epic, _2001: A Space Odyssey_. The role eventually went to Canadian stage actor Douglas Rain. For more: [I met Keir Dullea tonight!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-met-keir-dullea-tonight/589324) ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2025, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-ii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia-continued-part-1/846950/9705 "2025-01-08T02:38:58Z")
Rain was in the original repertory cast for the Stratford Fedtival and performed in 33 seasons. He died at age 90 in 2018. ---
**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 8, 2025, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-ii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia-continued-part-1/846950/9706 "2025-01-08T02:44:17Z")
Ringo Starr considers his drumming on _Rain_ to be his best work. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2025, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-ii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia-continued-part-1/846950/9707 "2025-01-08T02:49:51Z")
In 1978, Ringo Starr starred in a made-for-TV comedy movie, _Ringo_, which was loosely based on Mark Twain’s novel _The Prince and the Pauper_. In the film, Starr played a fictionalized version of his rock-star self, as well as his downtrodden lookalike, Ognir Rrats (“Ringo Starr” spelled backwards). The film also starred Carrie Fisher, Art Carney, John Ritter, Vincent Price, Angie Dickinson, Mike Douglas, and Ringo’s former bandmate in the Beatles, George Harrison. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-ii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia-continued-part-1/846950.md?page=484) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-ii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia-continued-part-1/846950.md?page=486)