# 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:** 1759
**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 12, 2017, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/35167 "2017-06-12T13:20:54Z")
Bob “Bingo” Russell (Gary Cole), Democrat of Colorado, was the second Vice President to serve with President Josiah Bartlet (Martin Sheen) on the TV political drama _The West Wing_. Matthew Perry made several appearances on the show as a deputy White House counsel. ---
**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:** [June 13, 2017, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/35168 "2017-06-13T01:41:00Z")
The 10 most common anglophone last names in Canada are: 1 Smith 2 Murphy 3 Lam 4 Martin 5 Brown 6 Roy 7 Tremblay 8 Lee 9 Gagnon 10 Wilson The 10 most common francophone last names in Canada are: 1 Tremblay 2 Gagnon 3 Roy 4 Côté 5 Bouchard 6 Gauthier 7 Morin 8 Lavoie 9 Fortin 10 Gagné Note that “Gagnon” is common to both lists. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/35169 "2017-06-13T03:21:19Z")
John Smith, of Pocahontas fame, was the first person to use the term “New England” to refer to the area of the northeastern United States. ---
**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:** [June 13, 2017, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/35170 "2017-06-13T13:25:30Z")
New England states Vermont and Maine were not part of the original 13 states. Vermont was #14, and Maine #23. ---
**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 13, 2017, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/35171 "2017-06-13T15:48:22Z")
The pine tree was a common symbol on New England flags before and during the American Revolution. > **[Flag of New England](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_New_England)** > > New England has no official flag. However, there have been many historical or modern banners used to represent the region in its history. While there are some variations, common designs include a plain colored field (usually red) with a pine tree in the canton. The eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) is the most common and prominent symbol of New England and is featured on many of the region's flags. > The flag of New England has two prominent symbols: a pine tree and red color. Other features, li... ---
**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:** [June 13, 2017, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/35172 "2017-06-13T15:53:00Z")
Pine is an unincorporated community and a U.S. Post Office in Jefferson County, Colorado. Every summer the residents hold the annual Rhubarb Festival. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/35173 "2017-06-13T16:41:24Z")
The smallest post office in the US is[a shed in Ochopee, Florida](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ochopee_Post_Office), serving the surrounding populations of Miccosukee and Seminole Indians. The building used to be a storage facility for irrigation pipes of an adjacent tomato farm. ---
**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 13, 2017, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/35174 "2017-06-13T17:08:51Z")
The second-smallest U.S. Post Office is in Salvo, N.C.: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvo\_Post\_Office](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvo_Post_Office). Benjamin Franklin is considered the first U.S. Postmaster General, having been appointed to that office by the Continental Congress on July 26, 1775, almost a year before independence was declared. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/35175 "2017-06-13T17:24:02Z")
In Australian slang, “Salvos” are members of the Salvation Army. In the US, they’re “Sally Anns”. ---
**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:** [June 13, 2017, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/35176 "2017-06-13T21:51:46Z")
“Down by the Salley Gardens” is poem by William Butler Yeats. In a note on the poem, he said that he was trying to reconstruct an old song he had heard being sung by a woman in the village of Ballisodare in Sligo. Salley or **sally** comes from the Gaelic word saileach (derived from Latin salix) which means willow. Thus the “Salley Gardens” are willow gardens. Slender shoots of willow were used to bind thatched roofs and so it was common to find small willow plantations close to villages in Ireland. As well as providing willow shoots for thatching, they doubled up as a meeting place for young lovers. ---
**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:** [June 13, 2017, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/35177 "2017-06-13T22:33:23Z")
“Willow Weep for Me” is a popular song composed in 1932 by Ann Ronell, who also wrote the lyrics. It was successfully performed by many singers, including Billie Holiday, and was a hit as recently as 1964 by the British duo [Chad & Jeremy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ta_ak-JZZL0), who took it to #15 on the Hot 100 and to #1 on the Adult Contemporary charts. ---
**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 14, 2017, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/35178 "2017-06-14T02:06:55Z")
In his short story “The Santaland Diaries,” about his experiences as a Macy’s Department Store elf during the maddeningly busy Christmas season, David Sedaris impersonates Billie Holiday singing “Away in a Manger” (at 4:42 here): [A Holiday Favorite: David Sedaris' 'Santaland Diaries' : NPR](http://www.npr.org/2015/12/25/459850365/a-holiday-favorite-david-sedaris-santaland-diaries) ---
**Author:** ![ozziemaland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f07891/32.png) [@ozziemaland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ozziemaland)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/35179 "2017-06-14T03:05:17Z")
On September 14, 1911, Prime Minister of Russia Pyotr Stolypin was mortally shot at the Kiev Opera House. TheTsar and his two oldest daughters were there, along with 90 men posted as interior guards. Stolypin was shot twice, once in the arm and once in the chest by Dmitry Bogrov. Bogrov was caught and hanged 10 days after the assassination. A judicial investigation was halted by order of the Tsar, giving rise to suggestions that the assassination was planned by conservative monarchists who were afraid of Stolypin’s reforms. Bogrov, while simultaneously acting as an anarchist revolutionary, had been an agent of the The **Department** for Protecting the Public Security and Order (secret police) since 1906, informing on the activities of Socialist Revolutionaries, Social Democrats and anarchists. ---
**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:** [June 14, 2017, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/35180 "2017-06-14T05:20:13Z")
Many theories surround the death of **Pyotr** Ilyich Tchaikovsky. There is no definite evidence as to whether he accidentally or deliberately drank a glass of water tainted with cholera, whether he contracted cholera in some other way, or whether he committed suicide by taking arsenic, on the orders of the Tsar, or of an informal “court of honor”. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/35181 "2017-06-14T16:36:35Z")
Tsar Peter the First, or Great (_Pyotr Velikiy_) worked for four months in the Dutch East India Company shipyard in Zaandam, Netherlands, the largest in the world, as part of an effort to learn how to bring Russia into the modern industrial world. The Tsar helped with the construction of an East Indiaman especially laid down for him: _Peter and Paul_. ---
**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 14, 2017, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/35182 "2017-06-14T17:32:09Z")
Three “Great” European monarchs are usually considered “enlightened despots” of the Enlightenment, using their autocratic powers for the public good: Peter the Great and Catherine the Great of Russia, and Frederick the Great of Prussia. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/35183 "2017-06-14T19:00:08Z")
The first appearance in the literature of a superhero saying “I will use my powers only for good” is obscure, but Superman writer J. Michael Straczynski had Captain Iron say it: “I am Captain Iron and I will use my powers only for good, never for evil. I will fight injustice wherever I find it. I will help those who cannot help themselves. I am a spirit of justice and I am a spirit of vengeance and I will kick the ass of the unrighteous. I will be gentle, for the world is hard and I will be caring, for the world is harsh and I will be strong and I will endure pain and I will die bravely and I will make it all better again. So that the children will never have to look up in pain and wonder why they lost so much. Why so many had to die. Why they are still even alive because … because no one should ever have to ask that question.” ---
**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:** [June 14, 2017, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/35184 "2017-06-14T19:32:57Z")
J. Michael Straczynski, better known for his TV (Babylon 5) and Movie (Thor and World war Z) writing, began his career by selling scripts for the cartoon _He-Man and the Masters of the Universe._ ---
**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 14, 2017, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/35185 "2017-06-14T20:01:18Z")
Michael S. Dukakis, like Bill Clinton, was defeated when he first ran for reelection as governor of his state (Massachusetts for Dukakis; Arkansas for Clinton), but then ran again and won back his seat. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/35186 "2017-06-14T21:12:58Z")
After Richard Nixon, fresh from losing the Presidential election to John F. Kennedy, ran for election for Governor of California and lost, he told the press, “you don’t have Nixon to kick around any more, because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657.md?page=1758) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657.md?page=1760)