# Trivia Dominoes III — Play Off the Last Bit of Trivia **URL:** \ **Category:** Thread Games\ **Created:** [April 12, 2025, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-iii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/1016952 "2025-04-12T05:32:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 98
**Author:** ![knoodler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ccd318/32.png) [@knoodler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/knoodler)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2026, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-iii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/1016952/1941 "2026-06-29T16:23:11Z")
_Glitch_ was a multiplayer online video game that used “currants” as its in-game currency. _Glitch_ was launched in 2011 but shut down after a year due to incompatibility issues (you might say, it glitched too many times), but the internal messaging tool created for its development is notable for being the basis of _Slack_, a major corporate communication platform. ---
**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:** [June 29, 2026, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-iii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/1016952/1942 "2026-06-29T16:28:04Z")
“Slacks,” as a term for pants, dates back to the 1820s, and was originally in reference to less formal, loose-fitting trousers or pants, as opposed to the tight-fitting men’s dress pants of that time. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2026, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-iii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/1016952/1943 "2026-06-29T23:56:34Z")
In the Marine Corps the dress uniform pants are most commonly called trousers. Not pants or slacks, but trousers. From Google AI we get that trousers are believed to have been invented around 1200 B.C. by nomadic tribes in Central Asia. Originally designed for horseback riding, the earliest known wool pants were created to prevent chafing and provide freedom of movement, replacing the robes and tunics worn at the time. ---
**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:** [June 30, 2026, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-iii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/1016952/1944 "2026-06-30T20:29:56Z")
The Marine Corps is the only branch of the United States armed forces to maintain a [mounted color guard.](https://www.mclbbarstow.marines.mil/Agencies/Mounted-Color-Guard/#about-the-mounted-color-guard) The color guard frequently appears in the Tournament of Roses parade, having made its first appearance there in 1985. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2026, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-iii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/1016952/1945 "2026-06-30T22:22:37Z")
There are only 4 cars allowed in the Tournament of Roses parade. They carry the Grand Marshal, Mayor of Pasadena, the Rose Bowl Game Hall of Fame Inductees and the Tournament of Roses President. The cars aren’t held to the same “everything must be covered in a living organism” rule, but they are frequently draped with Instagram-worthy florals. ---
**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:** [June 30, 2026, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-iii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/1016952/1946 "2026-06-30T22:48:50Z")
The television sitcom _The Big Bang Theory_ takes place in and around Pasadena, California. The four main male characters all work at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), which is located in Pasadena; most of the series’ characters also live in Pasadena. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2026, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-iii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/1016952/1947 "2026-06-30T23:12:13Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Pasadena Pasadena translates roughly to “of the valley” in Chippewa, the language of a Native American tribe based not in Southern California but in Michigan. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-iii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/1016952/1948 "2026-07-01T13:22:22Z")
The Chippewa called/call a Big Lake that borders Michigan “Gitchi gumie.” We call it “Lake Superior,” and it is the site of an estimated 550 shipwrecks in the few centuries we’ve been traversing it. The most famous of those shipwrecks is, of course, _Edmund Fitzgerald_, which claimed the lives of all 29 crew members in a storm in the 1970s. The tragedy was immortalized in the Gordon Lightfoot song “The Wreck of the _Edmund Fitzgerald_.” ---
**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:** [July 1, 2026, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-iii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/1016952/1949 "2026-07-01T13:49:57Z")
The bronze bell of the _Edmund Fitzgerald_ was recovered from the wreckage on July 4, 1995, at a depth of 530 feet. A replica bell engraved with the names of the 29 lost crewmen was placed at the actual shipwreck site on the bottom of Lake Superior. The bell is now on permanent display at the [Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum](https://shipwreckmuseum.com/) at Whitefish Point, Michigan. Each November 10th, it is rung 29 times on the anniversary of the deaths of the crew members. (I’ve been to the museum. It’s well worth the drive!) ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-iii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/1016952/1950 "2026-07-01T13:52:02Z")
The SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank on 10 Nov 1975 (the 200th birthday of the Marine Corps). It was owned by Northwestern Mutual Insurance Company, which was the first American insurance company to build its own ship. Edmund Fitzgerald (the man) was the chairman of Northwestern Mutual Insurance Company. He had a long history with the Great Lakes shipping industry. Edmund Fitzgerald’s grandfather captained a ship on the lakes, and his father owned a shipyard. They both had ships named after them. > [@Railer13](#): > > (I’ve been to the museum. It’s well worth the drive!) _It’s on my list of places to go! Especially on a 10 November when they ring the bell 29x to honor the lost crew._ ---
**Author:** ![knoodler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ccd318/32.png) [@knoodler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/knoodler)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-iii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/1016952/1951 "2026-07-01T16:12:15Z")
The Ojibwe (identifed in _The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald_ as Chippewa) are a First Nations people who lived in what is now parts of Quebec and Ontario in southeastern Canada, centered around the Great Lakes, Superior and Huron. At their peak they controlled lands from the St Lawrence River to Lake Winnipeg, and as far south as Michigan and Wisconsin in the states. The earliest recorded meeting between the Ojibwe and Europeans was in 1640, by French Jesuits. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-iii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/1016952/1952 "2026-07-01T16:31:48Z")
The Ojibwe are known historically for their birch-bark canoes, maple sugar harvesting, and the cultivation of wild rice. Their traditional homelands stretch across the Great Lakes region, the northern plains, and into the subarctic. While commonly called “Chippewa” in the US like @knoodler tells us, they refer to themselves as Anishinaabeg, which translates to “Original People” or “True People”. ---
**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:** [July 2, 2026, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-iii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/1016952/1953 "2026-07-02T03:20:59Z")
Lake Erie is the shallowest of the Great Lakes, with an average depth of just 63 feet; its deepest point is 210 feet. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-iii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/1016952/1954 "2026-07-02T05:46:29Z")
Lake Superior contains enough water to submerge all of North and South America under a foot of water. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-iii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/1016952/1955 "2026-07-02T14:40:36Z")
Foods native to South America include peanuts (originating in Peru and Bolivia, east of the Andes), tomatoes (coastal Peru), cacao (the Amazon), and potatoes (the high Andes). ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-iii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/1016952/1956 "2026-07-02T15:05:54Z")
Arguably the longest story ever told by one human is _Peanuts_, the cartoon strip by Charles M. Schulz (1922-2000). Beginning with _Li’l Folks_ in 1947, it was renamed to _Peanuts_ in 1950 by United Features Syndicate. Schulz single-handedly wrote and illustrated 17,897 _Peanuts_ strips over 50 years. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-iii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/1016952/1957 "2026-07-02T15:52:33Z")
Charles Schulz came up with Charlie Brown while working at an art school in Minneapolis. He became friends with a coworker, one Charles F. (Charlie) Brown. The real Charlie Brown was a teensy bit salty, probably jokingly so, about his character being a baldheaded, morose kid, and he famously asked Schulz “why couldn’t you make me more like Superman.” Also, some years later Mr. Brown was pulled over by the police and found himself in a bit of an unfortunate situation when he told the cop his name was Charlie Brown. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-iii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/1016952/1958 "2026-07-02T17:04:12Z")
Charlie Brown was the name of a WWII pilot of a B-17F Flying Fortress named _Ye Olde Pub_. On 20 Dec 1943, a Monday, Brown was a 2nd Lieutenant and only 21 years young. On his first combat mission as an aircraft commander with the 379th Bomb Group, after a successful bombing run on an FW-190 factory in Bremen, Brown’s _Ye Olde Pub_ was severely damaged by flak. Barely able to fly, _Ye Olde Pub_ fell out of formation and limped and struggled to return to his RAF Kimbolton base just west of Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, England (DD coordinates ▲ 52.318, -0.383). Enemy fire had killed _Ye Olde Pub_’s tail-gunner, and all but one of the crew in the rear was incapacitated by wounds or by exposure to the frigid air. 2nd Lieutenant Charlie Brown had a bullet fragment in his right shoulder. _Ye Olde Pub_ had lost 2 engines to enemy fire, and a 3rd engine was damaged and running at about ½ its capacity to generate power. Charlie Brown, nursing his plane west back to RAF Kimbolton, saw a German Bf-109 flying on his wing. Its pilot had been on the ground nursing his damaged radiator when _Ye Olde Pub_ flew low and slow overhead. The pilot scrambled his plane and easily caught up to the limping B-17. He waved to Brown and then flew across his nose and motioned for him to land in Germany. Brown refused. He then escorted Brown and _Ye Olde Pub_ for several miles out over the North Sea. The Luftwaffe pilot saluted, rolled over, and disappeared. **True battlefield chivalry and honor.** Brown barely made it across 250 miles over the North Sea and managed to land at RAF Seething near the coast and southeast of Norwich, Norfolk, England (DD coordinates ▲ 52.51, 1.4145). RAF Seething was home of the 448th Bomb Group, which had not yet flown its first mission. The surviving _Ye Olde Pub_ crew was debriefed on their mission, including the strange encounter with the Bf-109. For reasons unknown, the debriefing was classified “secret” and remained so for many years. The only fatality of _Ye Olde Pub_ was its tail-gunner. Some 43 years later, in 1986 Brown was 64 years old and living in Miami FL. He began to search for the unknown Bf-109 pilot. In 1990, finally, former Oberleutnant Franz Stigler, now 75 and living in Canada, responded to a notice published in a newsletter for German fighter pilots. They first spoke by phone. By comparing time, place, and aircraft markings, it was determined that Stigler was the chivalrous pilot who had allowed Brown’s crew to live. On that day back in 1943, Stigler had downed two other four-engine bombers and needed only one more that day to earn a Knight’s Cross. What’s more, his decision to not finish off _Ye Olde Pub_ was a court-martial offense in Nazi Germany and if revealed could have led to his execution. Stigler recalled that Ye Olde Pub was “the most heavily damaged aircraft I ever saw that was still flying.” He could see the wounded aboard and thought, “I cannot kill these half-dead people. It would be like shooting at a parachute.” Unsurprisingly, they became close friends for their remaining years. They both died in 2008, within a few months of each other. • _I must be getting old and soft in my later years. My eyes are watering as I compose this post. By now, I’m nearly sobbing._ ---
**Author:** ![knoodler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ccd318/32.png) [@knoodler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/knoodler)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-iii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/1016952/1959 "2026-07-02T17:30:53Z")
What a great story. It reminds me of stories about soldiers in trench warfare, who lay down arms to briefly reach out and connect with their opposites, whether for sport or holiday celebration. We’re all human, and we all have the wherewithal to acknowledge our fellow humans as equals, traveling on this wet and rocky ball around the cosmos. ---
**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:** [July 2, 2026, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-iii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/1016952/1960 "2026-07-02T19:37:26Z")
Hear, hear! There’s a [pretty good book about that heartwarming WWII encounter.](https://www.amazon.com/Higher-Call-Incredible-Chivalry-War-Torn/dp/0425255735) > [@Bullitt](#): > > Lake Superior contains enough water to submerge all of North and South America under a foot of water. Wow, that’s great trivia - thanks! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-iii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/1016952.md?page=97) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-iii-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/1016952.md?page=99)