# 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:** 1830
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2017, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36588 "2017-11-07T21:32:31Z")
Giuseppe Verdi wrote \*Aida \*on a commission from the Khedive of Egypt for the ceremonies celebrating the opening of the Suez Canal. ---
**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:** [November 8, 2017, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36589 "2017-11-08T01:54:05Z")
Ferdinand de Lesseps, who developed and managed the construction of the Suez Canal, also attempted to build a canal in Panama in the 1880’s, but failed due to malaria epidemics and the attempt to build the canal at sea level (like Suez), rather than using locks as the eventual American-built canal did (and does) use. ---
**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:** [November 8, 2017, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36590 "2017-11-08T14:22:45Z")
While the United States was embroiled in the Civil War from 1861 to 1865, Egypt was digging out the Suez Canal from 1859 to 1869. The Suez Canal predated the Panama Canal, which opened in 1914, by 45 years. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2017, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36591 "2017-11-08T14:48:28Z")
Construction on the Transcontinental Railroad, connecting Omaha and Sacramento via the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads, began while the American Civil War was still raging. The labor force initially consisted mainly of paroled Confederate prisoners, but when most of them went home after the war, their numbers were replaced mainly by Irish (on the UP) and Chinese (on the CP) immigrants. ---
**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:** [November 8, 2017, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36592 "2017-11-08T15:01:22Z")
The Confederate States Constitution differed from the United States Constitution, among other ways, in perpetually protecting slavery, limiting the president to a single six-year term, and providing him with a line-item veto. ---
**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:** [November 8, 2017, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36593 "2017-11-08T17:11:08Z")
The Constitution of the State of Alabama, at 310,296 words, is 12 times longer than the average state constitution, 44 times longer than the U.S. Constitution, and is the longest and most amended constitution still operative anywhere in the world. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2017, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36594 "2017-11-08T17:23:07Z")
The world’s oldest constitution still in use today is that of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It was originally written by John Adams, essentially single-handed. ---
**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:** [November 8, 2017, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36595 "2017-11-08T17:57:52Z")
The USS _John Adams_ (SSBN-620), was a _Lafayette_-class submarine commissioned in 1964 and decommissioned in 1989. It was the second warship of the United States Navy to be named for John Adams (1735-1826), second President of the United States (1797-1801), and his son John Quincy Adams (1767-1848), sixth President (1825-1829). Both names were used, with the captain of the crew which had possession of the sub using the name _John Adams_ and the off-crew captain using the name _John Quincy Adams_. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2017, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36596 "2017-11-08T18:08:02Z")
John Quincy Adams was the only President ever elected who had won neither the popular nor the electoral vote. He was chosen by the House over Andrew Jackson in 1824, in what Jackson denounced as the “Corrupt Bargain” organized by Speaker Henry Clay (himself the fourth-place electoral finisher). Clay became Adams’ Secretary of State for his troubles. Resentment by Jackson and his supporters propelled him to victory 4 years later. ---
**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:** [November 8, 2017, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36597 "2017-11-08T18:22:24Z")
Immediately after finishing a duet of “Jackson” in a 1968 concert in London, Ontario, Johnny Cash asked June Carter to marry him, refusing to let the band start a new song until she answered. ---
**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:** [November 8, 2017, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36598 "2017-11-08T20:29:26Z")
[[June Carter was comedienne, singer, and dancer in the Grand Ole Opry of 1952.](https://youtu.be/APsF3Va2xVg?t=3m4s)] ---
**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:** [November 9, 2017, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36599 "2017-11-09T01:11:51Z")
The Opryland Hotel, now officially known as the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, is located in Nashville Tennessee, near the Grand Old Opry house. It is the largest hotel in Tenessee with over 2,800 rooms and and 289,000 square foot exhibit hall. ---
**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:** [November 9, 2017, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36600 "2017-11-09T14:56:08Z")
Maj. Gen. George Henry Thomas earned the nickname “the Sledge of Nashville” for his crushing victory over the Confederate army led by Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood there in mid-December 1864. ---
**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:** [November 9, 2017, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36601 "2017-11-09T15:02:29Z")
Mt. Hood, near Portland, OR, was named by Lt. William Broughton, a member of George Vancouver’s exploration expedition. Lt. Broughton named the mountain after Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood, a British Admiral at the Battle of the Chesapeake. ---
**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:** [November 9, 2017, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36602 "2017-11-09T16:12:46Z")
David Glasgow Farragut, first admiral of the United States Navy, began his naval career as a midshipman at the age of nine. He served for sixty years. ---
**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:** [November 9, 2017, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36603 "2017-11-09T17:06:17Z")
Admiral Farragut is best known for his quote “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.” at the battle of Mobile Bay in 1864. However the torpedoes were actually a type of mine, not the self-powered devices used today and the actual full quote was “Damn the torpedoes, Four bells, Captain Drayton, go ahead. Jouett, full speed.” ---
**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:** [November 9, 2017, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36604 "2017-11-09T17:33:35Z")
Admiral David Farragut is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx. It is one of the largest cemeteries in New York City and is a designated National Historic Landmark. Others interred there are Billy Bang, Otto Preminger, Duke Ellington, Grantland Rice, Oscar Hammerstein I, Joseph Pulitzer, Fiorello La Guardia, and Collis Potter Huntington who was one of the Big Four of the Central Pacific Railroad. The Big Four are buried in: ✞ Leland Stanford, CPRR President — at Stanford Mausoleum, Stanford CA (_ **born in Watervliet NY!** _) ✞ Collis Potter Huntington, CPRR Vice President — at Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx NY ✞ Mark Hopkins Jr., CPRR Treasurer — at Sacramento Historic City Cemetery, Sacramento CA ✞ Charles Crocker, Construction Supervisor, President of CPRR subsidiary Charles Crocker & Co. — at Mountain View Cemetery, Oakland CA (_ **born in Troy NY!** _) ---
**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:** [November 10, 2017, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36605 "2017-11-10T01:56:45Z")
One author buried in New York City’s Woodlawn Cemetery is Elizabeth Cochran Seaman, well known in her time by her pseudonym Nellie Bly. As a newspaper reporter she was celebrated for her exposés of the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz, the conditions at the Women’s Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell’s Island (where she lived undercover for ten days) and her 1888 trip around the world in 72 days. The most famous author buried in Woodlawn is Herman Melville. During his lifetime his best-known novels were _Typee_ and _Omoo_. His masterpiece, _Moby-Dick,_ did not gain full recognition until after his death. ---
**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:** [November 10, 2017, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36606 "2017-11-10T04:50:38Z")
Herman Melville wrote _Moby-Dick_ in 1851 when he was 32. Melville served 18 months working on the whaling ship _Acushnet_ in 1841 when he was 22. Besides that, the sinking of the whaleship _Essex_ in 1820 after being rammed by a sperm whale, and the 1830s death of the tough albino sperm whale named Mocha Dick with some 20 harpoons in him all fed into Melville’s classic work. It wasn’t until 70 years after its release, and 30 years after Melville’s death, that the novel’s appreciation grew substantially. ---
**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:** [November 10, 2017, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/36607 "2017-11-10T15:24:32Z")
The Mocha coffee bean is originally from Mocha, Yemen. The plant was brought from Yemen in 1914 and was first planted in Arehalli Village State of Mysore (Now Karnataka State) in India during the British rule. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657.md?page=1829) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657.md?page=1831)