# 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:** 1524
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30467 "2016-07-06T13:16:24Z")
In some years, US independence ought to be celebrated on July 5, and occasionally on the 6th. A year, astronomically, is the duration between summer solstices. The US Declaration of Independence was signed 14 days after the solstice (22:43, June 20, 1776) and an exact year passes on a a date which falls 14 days after the solstice. In 2106, the solstice happened to be just eight minutes earlier than in 1776. But in most years, July 4 is only 13 days after the solstice, so is a day short of marking the passage of a full year. The same thing would happen of reckoned according to the winter solstice or the equinoxes, but a year is not exactly 365 days, so it is most accurate to use a nearby date. ---
**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 6, 2016, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30468 "2016-07-06T13:21:01Z")
[del]One of the laws of physics that is fundamental to fluid mechanics was discovered by Archimedes while he was taking a bath. Archimedes noticed that the water level of the bath tub rose when he git in, and he realized that the amount of water displaced was equal to the volume of his submerged body. One of the first applications of this principle was when Archimedes was asked to determine if a crown made for King Hiero II had been made out of gold, as commissioned and paid for, or if cheaper metals had been substituted instead. Archimedes could not disassemble or otherwise deconstruct or melt the crown to inspect it, so he used the water displacement method and divided the volume of water displaced by the crown by its mass, to determine the crown’s density. In so doing he was able to determine that the goldsmith had in fact been dishonest, and had substituted cheaper and lighter metals for the gold.[/del] Ninja’d! **jtur88** ’s is in play: > [@jtur88](#): > > In some years, US independence ought to be celebrated on July 5, and occasionally on the 6th. A year, astronomically, is the duration between summer solstices. The US Declaration of Independence was signed 14 days after the solstice (22:43, June 20, 1776) and an exact year passes on a a date which falls 14 days after the solstice. In 2106, the solstice happened to be just eight minutes earlier than in 1776. But in most years, July 4 is only 13 days after the solstice, so is a day short of marking the passage of a full year. The same thing would happen of reckoned according to the winter solstice or the equinoxes, but a year is not exactly 365 days, so it is most accurate to use a nearby date. ---
**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 6, 2016, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30469 "2016-07-06T13:27:13Z")
The term “_solstice_” is derived from the Latin words _sol_ (sun) and _sistere_ (to stand still), because the sun’s relative position in the sky at noon does not appear to change much during the solstice and its surrounding days. During the rest of the year, the Earth’s tilt on its axis—roughly 23.5 degrees—causes the sun’s path in the sky to rise and fall from one day to the next. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30470 "2016-07-06T13:35:56Z")
The pagan celebrations for the equinoxes and solstices are Yule (winter solstice), Ostara (spring equinox), Litha (summer solstice), and Mabon (autumn equinox). These events are put in the middle of the seasons, not at the beginning. ---
**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 6, 2016, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30471 "2016-07-06T13:48:15Z")
Halfway between the winter solstice and the vernal equinox is the Gaelic festival of **Imbolc**. The festival between the vernal equinox and the summer solstice is **Beltane**. **Lugnasadh** marks the festival between the summer solstice and the autumnal equinox, and **Samhain** marks the festival between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice. Together with the pagan celebrations posted by Annie, these festivals mark the eight points of the _Wheel of the Year_: \*\*Yule Imbolc Ostara Beltane Litha Lugnasadh Mabin Samhain \*\* ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30472 "2016-07-06T13:51:04Z")
Correct. Only Samhain (pronounced So-ween) is considered the start of the year. It occurs on November 1st. Imbolc is February 1st, Beltane is May 1st, and Lugnasdah is August 1st. They are the major celebrations; the equinoxes and solstices are minor. Happy Lugnasadh, everyone! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30473 "2016-07-06T13:51:06Z")
Ninja’ed. Try, try again. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30474 "2016-07-06T13:53:29Z")
The earliest May Day celebrations appeared in pre-Christian times, with the Floralia, festival of Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers, held on April 27 during the Roman Republic era, and with the Walpurgis Night celebrations of the Germanic countries. As Europe became Christianised, the pagan holidays lost their religious character and May Day changed into a popular secular celebration. ---
**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 6, 2016, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30475 "2016-07-06T14:02:48Z")
In Hawaii, May Day is also known as Lei Day. ---
**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:** [July 6, 2016, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30476 "2016-07-06T14:27:50Z")
Russia stages two big May parades in Red Square: one on May 1 (Labor Day) and one on May 9 (Victory Day). This year’s Victory Day Parade was the largest ever, celebrating the 71st anniversary of the end of the most devastating war in human history. ---
**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 6, 2016, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30477 "2016-07-06T14:34:59Z")
HMS _Victory_, Lord Nelson’s flagship at the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar, was launched in 1756. Preserved in a Portsmouth drydock since 1922, she is flagship of the First Sea Lord and is the world’s oldest warship still in commission. > **[HMS Victory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Victory)** > > HMS Victory is a 104-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, she is the world's oldest naval ship still in commission. With 245 years' service as of 2023, ordered in 1758, laid down in 1759 and launched in 1765 - she is best known for her role as Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805. > She additionally served as Keppel's flagship at Ushant, Howe's flagship at Cape Spartel and Jervis's flagship at Cape St Vincent. After 1824, she was relegated to the ro... ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30478 "2016-07-06T14:48:51Z")
On the British edition of the board game Monopoly, Illinois Avenue is called Trafalgar Square. On the original US edition, Illinois is the westernmost state whose name corresponds with a Monopoly property. They are based on streets in Atlantic City, New Jersey, which were named before statehood was achieved by states further west. ---
**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 6, 2016, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30479 "2016-07-06T14:53:05Z")
The name Trafalgar is of Arabic origin, either _Taraf al-Ghar_ (‘cape of the cave/laurel’), or possibly _Taraf al-Gharb_ (‘cape of the west’). Cape Trafalgar is about 40 miles northwest of the Strait of Gibraltar. ---
**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:** [July 6, 2016, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30480 "2016-07-06T15:41:21Z")
The Rock of Gibraltar, with its adjacent naval base, is one of the most geographically strategic points in Europe. Its loss in World War II would have been devastating to the Allies. Hitler wanted to conquer it but could not get the cooperation of Spain’s Generalissimo Franco. Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, head of Hitler’s military intelligence, led the negotiations with Franco. Only relatively recently has it become generally known that Canaris was disloyal: he encouraged Franco not to join the Axis, and told Hitler that Gibraltar could not be taken without 15-inch assault cannons. Hitler abandoned plans to take Gibraltar, and thus the British Navy continued to be the dominant naval power in the Mediterranean. ---
**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 6, 2016, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30481 "2016-07-06T16:31:40Z")
A 1909 advertisement for Prudential Life Insurance [shows the Rock of Gibraltar and states, “The Prudential has the strength of Gibraltar”](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prudential_Financial#/media/File%3APrudential_advert_1909.jpg). Prudential has been using the Rock of Gibraltar as its logo for over a century, including a slogan, “Get a piece of the rock.” From some angles, another famous rock has a [similar looking outline](https://www.google.com/search?q=perce+rock&client=safari&hl=en-us&prmd=misvn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjFprOln9_NAhVSfiYKHe5zCzwQ_AUICCgC&biw=1024&bih=672#imgrc=SXKop_2QoQS8QM%3A), the Percé Rock (or, pierced rock), at the tip of Quebec’s Gaspé Peninsula. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30482 "2016-07-06T19:07:09Z")
_Dear Prudence_ appeared on the Beatles “White Album” and was inspired by Prudence Farrow, one of Mia’s 6 siblings and a devotee (by some accounts lover) of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The song has been covered by several famous and not famous rock bands, John’s son Sean Lennon, and several acoustic guitar and sitar versions. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30483 "2016-07-06T19:58:14Z")
The word “farrow” has two unrelated barn-yard usages. Either a litter of pigs, or a cow that is not pregnant. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30484 "2016-07-06T21:33:14Z")
Keep America Beautiful was founded in 1953 by a consortium of American businesses, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and concerned individuals. It came about in reaction to the growing problem of highway litter following the construction of the Interstate Highway Systemalong with an increasingly mobile and convenience-oriented American consumer. The original goal of the organization was to reduce litter through public service advertising (PSA) campaigns. ---
**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 6, 2016, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30485 "2016-07-06T22:32:02Z")
The US Airways Airlines merged with American last October. US Airways was formed from America West Airlines, Piedmont Airlines, Allegheny Airlines, and PSA. PSA was formed in 1949 and headquartered in San Diego where it had a hub at Lindbergh Field. Right next to Lindberg Field is MCRD, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, one of the two enlisted boot camps for the Marine Corps. The other is at Parris Island, SC. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30486 "2016-07-06T22:52:23Z")
A production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera will open in Paris at the Théâtre Mogador in October, performing the world wide, award winning, money making musical for the first time in French. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657.md?page=1523) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657.md?page=1525)