# 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:** 1535
**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 16, 2016, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30687 "2016-07-16T18:59:50Z")
On December 7, 1999, the Recording Industry of America honored the Eagles with the Best Selling Album of the Century for Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) ---
**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:** [July 16, 2016, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30688 "2016-07-16T19:59:41Z")
Producer Sam Spiegel started his career using the pseudonym “S. P. Eagle,” going back to his real name in the 50, He is the only producer to win three best picture Oscars by himself. ---
**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 16, 2016, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30689 "2016-07-16T20:04:12Z")
In a letter written to his daughter in 1784, Benjamin Franklin despaired of the use of the Bald Eagle on the Great Seal of the United States. Among other things, he wrote: “For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly. You may have seen him perched on some dead Tree near the River, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the Labor of the Fishing Hawk; and when that diligent Bird has at length taken a Fish, and is bearing it to his Nest for the Support of his Mate and young Ones, the Bald Eagle pursues him and takes it from him.” ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2016, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30690 "2016-07-16T21:18:36Z")
Chris Farley’s SNL character Matt Foley was a motivational speaker who was “35 years old, eating a steady diet of government cheese, thrice divorced, and living in a \*van \*down by the _river_!” In most sketches, whenever a member of his audience announces a personal accomplishment, Foley responds with mockery or belligerence: “Well, la-dee-frickin-da!”, “Whoop-dee-frickin-doo!” Farley named the character after one of his Marquette University rugby union teammates, who is now a Catholic priest in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights. ---
**Author:** ![Nelson\_Pike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Nelson\_Pike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nelson_Pike)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30691 "2016-07-17T04:03:17Z")
As a naive college freshman in 1967 I was soon introduced to two unfamiliar scatological epithets: yippee sh_t and woop-de sh_t. They must have fallen into disuse because, come to think of it, I have not heard either in over 40 years, and the people I hang out with, although very nice and good company, are not known for shrinking from the use of coarse language. ---
**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 17, 2016, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30692 "2016-07-17T04:36:30Z")
The word “shit” has existed, in written form at least, since at least the 14th century, and is derived from Old English, which had the noun _scite_ (meaning dung) and _scitte_ (diarrhea) and _bescitan_, which means “to cover with excrement.” Also, scholars are fairly certain that it was used by preliterate Germanic tribes in the time of the Roman empire, meaning that the word “shit” is, quite literally, barbaric. ---
**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 17, 2016, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30693 "2016-07-17T05:28:14Z")
The name Barbara comes from Greek βαρβαρος (barbaros) meaning “foreign”; this is also the root of the words barbarian and barbaric. According to legend, Saint Barbara was a young woman killed for her Christian faith by her father Dioscorus, who was then killed by a bolt of lightning. She is the patron of architects, geologists, stonemasons and artillerymen. Because of her renown, the name came into general use in the Christian world in the Middle Ages. In England it became rare after the Protestant Reformation, but it was revived in the 19th century. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30694 "2016-07-17T09:24:41Z")
The inventor of plywood was the father of the inventor of dynamite. ---
**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 17, 2016, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30695 "2016-07-17T10:09:20Z")
Plywood usually has an odd number of plies to reduce warping. In most cases, only about 50-75% of the usable volume of wood in a tree is converted into plywood. ---
**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 17, 2016, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30696 "2016-07-17T11:59:27Z")
Warping (or kedging) is a method of moving a sailing vessel, typically against the wind or out from a dead calm, by hauling on a line attached to a kedge anchor. In small boats, the anchor may be thrown in the intended direction of progress and hauled in after it settles, thus pulling the boat in that direction, while larger ships can use a boat to carry the anchor ahead, drop it and then haul. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30697 "2016-07-17T13:01:43Z")
Paradoxically, Anchorage Alaska is the only such place name in the world that is of maritime association The inland city of Anchorage, Kentucky, grew from the so-named site of the estate of a noted sea captain. The French and Spanish equivalents of anchorage (Ancrage and Fondeadero) are not used anywhere as place names. The prairie ghost town of Anchorage Texas was briefly occupied by settlers who “anchored” there. ---
**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 17, 2016, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30698 "2016-07-17T13:41:35Z")
Alaska is more than twice the ize of Texas. Alaska could split its state in two, and Texas would the the third largest state. In Alaska they sell t-shirts of the two states, a big Alaska and a little Texas, and Alaska is patting Texas on the head. The caption: “Hi there, little guy.” ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30699 "2016-07-17T15:02:45Z")
Area-wise, Juneau, Alaska is the largest state capital. ---
**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 17, 2016, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30700 "2016-07-17T16:05:18Z")
Joe Juneau found gold in Alaska in the 1880s and lugged about 1,000 pounds of gold ore to Sitka. He returned for more gold and searched for it during the Klondike Gold Rush in the 1890s. He is buried in Juneau. His cousin, Solomon Juneau, founded Milwaukee WI. ---
**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 17, 2016, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30701 "2016-07-17T16:18:11Z")
Joseph “Joe” Juneau was originally from Canada, born in the Quebec town of Saint-Paul-l’Ermite, north of Montreal. In the vote to name the city (originally named Harrisburg for another miner) Juneau reportedly bought drinks for fellow miners to persuade them to name the city in his honor. He won, with 47 out of 72 votes. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30702 "2016-07-17T16:52:03Z")
The “other miner” mentioned above was actually Joseph Juneau’s partner, Richard Harris. They were led to the first gold strike by an Alaska Native by the name of Chief Kowee, a Tlingit chief. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30703 "2016-07-17T17:42:44Z")
Joé Juneau (zho-AY), a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, played in the National Hockey League for the Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, Buffalo Sabres, Ottawa Senators, Phoenix Coyotes and the Montreal Canadiens. ---
**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 17, 2016, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30704 "2016-07-17T18:06:58Z")
Cool, my dad used to teach at RPI Troy, then RPI at Hartford. Amos Eaton was the first senior professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, then known as Rensselaer School. When the school first opened, in Troy, it attracted students from far away due to Eaton’s reputation. Amos Eaton eventually published works in agriculture, botany, engineering, geology, surveying, and zoology. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30705 "2016-07-17T20:48:11Z")
The Homeric city of Troy, Greece was long considered to just be part of the legend of _The Iliad_ and _The Odyssey_. Little credence was given to Troy being an actual, physical place. Excavations that began in the 1860s, notably by Heinrich Schliemann, eventually established the city as an historic site. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/30706 "2016-07-17T21:28:10Z")
Schliemann’s excavations of Troy, Greece, turned out, paradoxically, to be in Turkey. At least one poster here has been there and viewed the site, and can confirm that it is indeed in Turkey. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657.md?page=1534) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657.md?page=1536)