# Trivia Dominoes: Play Off the Last Bit of Trivia **URL:** \ **Category:** Thread Games\ **Created:** [February 4, 2010, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657 "2010-02-04T08:12:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 144
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/2861 "2010-04-15T01:17:32Z")
Jon Krakauer is also the author of _Under the Banner of Heaven_, an investigative look at the Fundamentalist Church of JC of LDS led by Warren Jeffs and other modern day polygamist churches in the American west and Canada. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/2862 "2010-04-15T01:38:08Z")
Jon Krakauer is also the author of _Into Thin Air_, story of people pushed to the brink of death (and beyond) during a 1996 expedition at Mount Everest. Two famous climbers, Rob Hall and Scott Fischer, lost their lives during the descent in unsuccessful efforts to save climbing clients. ---
**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:** [April 15, 2010, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/2863 "2010-04-15T02:16:09Z")
The incumbent Vice President Al Gore of Tennessee and former HUD Secretary and Congressman Jack Kemp of New York were the Democratic and Republican candidates, respectively, for VP in the 1996 election. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/2864 "2010-04-15T02:17:36Z")
Character actor Brian Blessed, burly English character actor best known perhaps for playing Prince Vultan (the Hawkman) in _Flash Gordon_ or Edmund’s father in the first series of _Black Adder_ or perhaps for his role as Augustus in _I CLAUDIUS_ was a skilled mountain climber when he was younger; though he never reached the top of Mt. Everest he did set records for height reached on Everest for a man of his age and weight. ETA: In 1996 (the year of Kemp and Gore as VP candidates) Blessed played Hamlet’s father in Branagh’s HAMLET. ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/2865 "2010-04-15T05:03:23Z")
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. ---
**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:** [April 15, 2010, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/2866 "2010-04-15T12:36:55Z")
Character actor Donald Meek appeared in over 100 films in the 30s and 40s, including classics like **Stagecoach** , nearly always playing a character who was just as his name implied. ---
**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:** [April 15, 2010, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/2867 "2010-04-15T13:03:52Z")
Donald Trump was a relatively unknown New York City real estate developer long before he rebuilt the Wollman Skating Rink, was parodied in _Doonesbury_, got married a few dozen times and hosted _The Apprentice_. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/2868 "2010-04-15T13:09:35Z")
The Doonesbury character “B.D.” was based by Gerry Trudeau on Brian Dowling, the football quarterback during his time at Yale. Until after his leg amputation while serving in the Iraq War, B.D. was always shown wearing a helmet. ---
**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:** [April 15, 2010, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/2869 "2010-04-15T13:11:50Z")
The very unpleasant mom of Brian Cohen, reluctant hero of _Monty Python’s Life of Brian_, tells a worshipful crowd, “He’s not the Messiah, he’s a very naughty boy!” ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/2870 "2010-04-15T13:16:16Z")
The “Messiah” violin was made by Antonio Stradivari in Cremona, Italy in 1716. Apparently never played (one violinist commented ‘Then your violin is like the Messiah: one always expects him but he never appears’), it is now owned by the Ashmolean Museum of Oxford University. ---
**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:** [April 15, 2010, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/2871 "2010-04-15T13:27:17Z")
J.R.R. Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University from 1925-45, and Merton Professor of English Language and Literature there from 1945-59. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/2872 "2010-04-15T13:38:25Z")
_(I was wondering how you were going to tie in “Lord of the Rings” or “Star Trek” to that one)._😉 In _The Devil’s Dictionary_, Ambrose Bierce commented on English composition style and deplored the use of inelegant monosyllabic words: “The man who writes in Saxon / Is the man to use an ax on.” ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/2873 "2010-04-15T14:40:26Z")
In _The Devil’s Dictionary_, Bierce defined “Conservative” as: (noun) A statesman who is enamoured of existing evils, as distinguished from the Liberal, who wishes to replace them with others. ---
**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:** [April 15, 2010, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/2874 "2010-04-15T14:55:16Z")
Bierce saw action in the Battle of Chickamaugua in the Civil War. His best-known work is “Incident at Owl Creek Bridge,” which was made into a short film that was later broadcast as a **Twilight Zone** episode (Serling was having budget issues, so he bought the broadcast rights – less expensive than shooting a new script). Many TZ fans think the episode was original to the show. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/2875 "2010-04-15T15:00:23Z")
Led Zeppelin’s “The Crunge” was written as a parody of James Brown’s “Sex Machine,” which is why it closes with Robert Plant asking “Where’s that confounded bridge?” ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/2876 "2010-04-15T15:06:41Z")
The 1969 song “Badge” by Cream was titled because either Eric Clapton or Ringo Starr, depending on whose version you believe, misread George Harrison’s handwriting of “bridge” to show a contrasting section in the music. ---
**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:** [April 15, 2010, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/2877 "2010-04-15T15:47:51Z")
Ringo Starr starred in a 1978 made-for-TV comedy entitled “Ringo”, in which Ringo, stressed out by the demands of being a famous rock star, trades places with an ordinary guy who looks just like him, by the name of Ognir Rrats. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/2878 "2010-04-15T16:19:06Z")
That “Prince and the Pauper” concept was borrowed in the 2002 film “Bubba Ho-Tep”, in which Elvis Presley is really an old man in a nursing home under a false name, having switched places with an impersonator who died shortly afterward. He and John F. Kennedy, who turned black after being rescued from his head wound and was dumped there by power-mad LBJ, defeat the mummy terrorizing the nursing home. ---
**Author:** ![Indyellen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/indyellen/32/4176_2.png) [@Indyellen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indyellen)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/2879 "2010-04-15T16:50:25Z")
An episode of the PBS TV show _Wishbone_, “The Prince and the Pooch” was a retelling of “The Prince and the Pauper”, with Wishbone (a Jack Russell terrier) dreaming he is in the classic story. Wishbone plays both roles: Tom Canty & Edward IV of England. ---
**Author:** ![Kingspades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecae2f/32.png) [@Kingspades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kingspades)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/2880 "2010-04-15T17:10:23Z")
A bird’s wishbone is formed by the fusion of the two clavicles; the proper anatomical term is _furcula_, Latin for “little fork.” _( Wow, this thread’s still going? Awesome! )_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657.md?page=143) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657.md?page=145)