# 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:** 1809
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2017, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36168 "2017-09-26T16:35:20Z")
His television anthology, “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”, was well known for its title sequence. The camera fades in on a simple line-drawing caricature of Hitchcock’s rotund profile. As the program’s theme music, Charles Gounod’s _Funeral March of a Marionette_, plays, Hitchcock appears in silhouette from the right edge of the screen, and then walks to center screen to eclipse the caricature. He then almost always says “Good evening.” ---
**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:** [September 26, 2017, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36169 "2017-09-26T17:31:53Z")
The scripts for Hitchcock’s movies The Birds and Marnie were written by Evan Hunter, who had just achieved fame with his book The Blackboard Jungle. Hunter would later write the book Hitch and Me about the experience. ---
**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:** [September 26, 2017, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36170 "2017-09-26T17:41:33Z")
In _The Birds_, a movie that Peter O’Toole was _ **not** _ in :), the 150 year old Potter School behind St. Theresa’s Church five miles south of Bodega Bay was vacant at the time of the filming. After Alfred Hitchcock’s crew repaired the exterior it was used for several scenes. Today it is a private residence and is sometimes open for tours. Images: [https://www.google.com/search?q=potter+school+bodega+bay+birds&client=safari&hl=en-us&tbm=isch&prmd=msivn&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwim9ObwssPWAhVSwGMKHaADDTAQ\_AUIECgD&biw=768&bih=928](https://www.google.com/search?q=potter+school+bodega+bay+birds&client=safari&hl=en-us&tbm=isch&prmd=msivn&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwim9ObwssPWAhVSwGMKHaADDTAQ_AUIECgD&biw=768&bih=928) ---
**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:** [September 26, 2017, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36171 "2017-09-26T17:49:55Z")
The term “Potter’s field” comes from Matthew 27:3-27:8 in which Jewish priests take 30 pieces of silver returned by a remorseful Judas and buy Akeldama, later renamed Haceldama, meaning the field of blood. The site was a source of potters’ clay. After the clay was removed, such a site would be left unusable for agriculture and thus might as well become a graveyard for those who could not be buried in an orthodox cemetery. This may be the origin of the name. ---
**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:** [September 26, 2017, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36172 "2017-09-26T17:59:29Z")
**Potter Valley** , California is located 18 miles north-northeast of Ukiah CA. **Potter** , California is a former settlement in Modoc County, California. It was located 12 miles northwest of Lookout CA. **Lookout** , California is a census-designated place in Modoc County, California. Formerly called Whitley’s Ford for James W. Whitley, a local hotelier, the name Lookout recalls how Native Americans used nearby hills as observation points. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2017, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36173 "2017-09-26T18:48:29Z")
Harry Morgan’s role as Colonel Sherman Potter on M_A_S\*H was actually his second role in the show. He originally played eccentric Major General Bartford Hamilton Steele in Season 3. ---
**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:** [September 26, 2017, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36174 "2017-09-26T19:10:52Z")
The TV series _Remington Steele_ (1982-87) is best known for having launched the career of Pierce Brosnan. Stephanie Zimbalist, who had top billing, was already an established actress at the time. Every episode title has the word “Steele” in it ---
**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:** [September 26, 2017, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36175 "2017-09-26T22:10:28Z")
Efrem Zimbalist Jr. served in the US Army during WWII and was awarded the Purple Heart for a leg wound received during the battle of Hürtgen Forest on the German-Belgian border. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2017, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36176 "2017-09-26T22:27:26Z")
A zimbalist is a person who plays the cymbals in a German oompah-oompah band. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2017, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36177 "2017-09-26T23:38:00Z")
The Avedis Zildjian Company, simply known as Zildjian, is an American-based cymbal manufacturer founded in Constantinople (present-day Istanbul, Turkey) by Armenian Avedis Zildjian in the 17th century. It is now based in Norwell, Massachusetts. Being nearly 400 years old, Zildjian is one of the oldest companies in the world. Zildjian also sells drum-related accessories, such as drum sticks and cymbal carriers. It is the largest cymbal manufacturer in the world. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36178 "2017-09-27T00:04:11Z")
“Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” was a 1953 song written by Irish lyricist Jimmy Kennedy, who also wrote the words to “Teddy Bear’s Picnic” and “My Prayer”, the hit by The Platters a few years later. Although the recoreding by The Four Lads never rose above Number 10 on the charts, several lines-from the lyrics have become indelible catch phrases. ---
**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:** [September 27, 2017, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36179 "2017-09-27T01:55:03Z")
They Might Be Giants is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. They have done a popular cover of the song "Istanbul (Not Constantiople). The recording was used as a music video for the Warner Brothers cartoon _Tiny Toon Adventures._ Here’s the video if you’ve never seen it: [THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsQrKZcYtqg) ---
**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:** [September 27, 2017, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36180 "2017-09-27T04:58:09Z")
Constantinople was dedicated on 11 May 330 AD. Before that it was called Byzantium. According to Pliny the Elder, the first known name of a settlement on the site of Constantinople was Lygos, a settlement founded between the 13th and 11th century BC. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36181 "2017-09-27T12:41:06Z")
William Butler Yeats’ poem “Sailing to Byzantium” begins “That is no country for old men.” ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36182 "2017-09-27T12:46:59Z")
There have been three major league baseball players who had exactly the same name as a female media personality: Brett Butler, Robin Roberts and Terry Moore. A close miss for Evan/Eva Longoria. Another close miss would be Babe/Baby Ruth, the latter of whom was the daughter of President Cleveland, after whom the candy bar was named. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36183 "2017-09-27T13:22:56Z")
(The Baby Ruth story is the official one but has always been highly dubious). In 1968, the year after Carl Yastrzemski’s Triple Crown / MVP season with the Boston Red Sox, the Arnold Bread Company of Greenwich, Connecticut introduced “Big Yaz Bread” in the New England market. The company is now owned by Bimbo Bakeries USA. ---
**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:** [September 27, 2017, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36184 "2017-09-27T14:30:03Z")
Carl Yastrzemski won the Triple Crown in 1967, leading that American League in batting average (.336), home runs (44), and runs batted in (121), a milestone which was not accomplished again in the Major Leagues until Detroit Tiger Miguel Cabrera achieved the feat 45 years later in 2012. ---
**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:** [September 27, 2017, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36185 "2017-09-27T14:41:01Z")
Had he not been vacationing in Hawaii, Babe Ruth could have become manager of the Detroit Tigers. During the 1933-34 baseball offseason, Detroit team owner Frank Navin knew he had a talented young team, built around Charlie Gehringer and young slugger Hank Greenberg. Ruth was near the end of the line and the New York Yankees were ready to part ways with him. Navin decided to offer the Yankees some cash to acquire the rights to the great slugger, who wanted to become a manager desperately. But Ruth was in Honolulu on an extended vacation, and Navin was unable to meet with him, so the deal fell through. ---
**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:** [September 27, 2017, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36186 "2017-09-27T14:51:29Z")
On November 20, 1951, baseball scout Ed Scott signed Hank Aaron to a contract with the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League where he played three months. While with the Clowns he experienced some overt racism. His team was in Washington, D.C. and as Aaron tells it: ``` "We had breakfast while we were waiting for the rain to stop, and I can still envision sitting with the Clowns in a restaurant behind Griffith Stadium and hearing them break all the plates in the kitchen after we finished eating. What a horrible sound. Even as a kid, the irony of it hit me: here we were in the capital in the land of freedom and equality, and they had to destroy the plates that had touched the forks that had been in the mouths of black men. If dogs had eaten off those plates, they'd have washed them." ``` ---
**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:** [September 27, 2017, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36187 "2017-09-27T15:45:13Z")
“The Curious Case of Sidd Finch” was published in Sports Illustrated’s April 1, 1985 issue. It told of this curious baseball pitching phenom kid discovered by the NY Mets organization. Finch grew up in an orphanage in Leicester, England and was adopted by a foster parent. He never played organized baseball but he eventually learned how to pitch, and he could throw it at 168 MPH. Yes, _ **168** _ MPH. The article was an April Fool’s Day hoax written by George Plimpton, published during the 1985 Spring Training preseason. It was written so convincingly that, from Wikipedia, > [@](#): > > Mets fans were overjoyed at their luck in finding such a player, and flooded Sports Illustrated with requests for more information. The sports editor of one of New York’s newspapers complained to Jay Horwitz, the public relations director of the Mets, for allowing Sports Illustrated to have the scoop. Two (unnamed) general managers called Commissioner of Baseball Peter Ueberroth to ask how their batters could face Finch safely. Meanwhile, the St. Petersburg Times sent a reporter to find Finch, and a radio talk show host claimed he saw Finch pitch. [The entire short story was republished by SI in 2014 as they celebrated their 60th anniversary](https://www.si.com/mlb/2014/10/15/curious-case-sidd-finch). To this day I remember sitting in my college library in 1985 and reading that great story! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657.md?page=1808) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657.md?page=1810)