# 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:** 1887
**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:** [February 13, 2018, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/37729 "2018-02-13T02:32:38Z")
> [@gkster](#): > > Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), widely used in Chinese cooking, was suspected of causing headaches, vague pains and possible allergic reactions all lumped under the heading of “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome”. However, the early studies that followed these claims had essential flaws, including that participants knew whether or not they were consuming MSG. Subsequent research has found that the vast majority of people, even those claiming a sensitivity to MSG, don’t have any reaction when they don’t know they are eating it. Whoa, that’s kinda wild. In play: The Mayo Clinic says that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has classified MSG as a food ingredient that’s “generally recognized as safe,” but its use remains controversial. For this reason, when MSG is added to food, the FDA requires that it be listed on the label. MSG is said to increase umami, or savory taste and is one of the five basic tastes together with sweetness, sourness, bitterness, and saltiness). Umami has been described as brothy or meaty. ---
**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:** [February 13, 2018, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/37730 "2018-02-13T02:55:44Z")
A master sergeant (MSG) is the military rank for a senior non-commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries. In the United States Army they rank above sergeant first class and below sergeant major. The rank is indicated by a shoulder patch showing three chevrons with above three inverted arcs, commonly referred to as “rockers”. ---
**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:** [February 13, 2018, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/37731 "2018-02-13T05:51:25Z")
The USMC equivalent rank to the Army’s SFC, Sergeant First Class (E-7), is Gunnery Sergeant or “Gunny”. It is abbreviated as GySgt. Above that, at E-8, there are two possibilities, either a First Sergeant or a Master Sergeant. The 1stSgt is a personnel manager, while the MSgt is a technical specialist who stays in his/her M.O.S. Above those ranks, at E-9, are Sergeant Major and Master Gunnery Sergeant. The SgtMaj is the next rank in the personnel manager path after 1stSgt, and the MGySgt is the next rank in the technical specialist path after MSgt. After that, at E-10, is only one person who holds that rank at any time, and that is SMMC — the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/37732 "2018-02-13T15:52:49Z")
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also known as the United States Marines, is a branch of the United States Armed Forces. It was originally formed as the Continental Marines of the American Revolutionary War, on November 10, 1775. The Corps was disbanded in 1783, but was resurrected on July 11, 1798, and has been in existence ever since that date. The current Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps is Ronald Green, who has held the post since February 20, 2015. ---
**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:** [February 13, 2018, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/37733 "2018-02-13T16:19:27Z")
The Eagle, Globe and Anchor, well-known insignia of the U.S. Marine Corps, was adopted in 1868 and revised in 1955. During the Civil War, the Marine insignia was a hunting horn with the letter “M” in it. > **[Eagle, Globe, and Anchor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle,_Globe,_and_Anchor)** > > The Eagle, Globe, and Anchor (commonly referred to as an EGA) is the official emblem and insignia of the United States Marine Corps. The current emblem traces its roots in the designs and ornaments of the early Continental Marines as well as the United Kingdom's Royal Marines.\[citation needed\] The present emblem, adopted in 1955, differs from the emblem of 1868 only by a change in the eagle. Before that time many devices, ornaments, ribbons, and distinguishing marks followed one another as In 17... ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/37734 "2018-02-13T18:06:03Z")
Insignia is the house brand used by Best Buy for its own line of cheap televisions. Other Best Buy house brands are Dynon, Rocketfish, Modal, Platinum, Init, Pacific Sales, and Magnolia Home Theater. ---
**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:** [February 13, 2018, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/37735 "2018-02-13T18:14:32Z")
The BBC once mistakenly used the insignia of the videogame _Halo_’s United Nations Space Command for a story about the UN Security Council. > **[BBC mistake computer game logo for United Nations Security Council symbol](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/9296664/BBC-mistake-computer-game-logo-for-United-Nations-Security-Council-symbol.html)** > > The BBC mistakenly aired the logo from a computer game rather than the United Nations in what seems to be an example of when a Google search goes wrong. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/37736 "2018-02-13T18:24:56Z")
[The United States Space Command](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Space_Command), which existed 1985-2002, was a Unified Combatant Command of the United States Department of Defense, created in 1985 to help institutionalize the use of outer space by the United States Armed Forces. The Commander in Chief of U.S. Space Command (CINCUSSPACECOM), with headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, also functioned as the Commander in Chief of the binational U.S.-Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Command (CINCNORAD), and for the majority of time during USSPACECOM’s existence also as the Commander of the U.S. Air Force major command Air Force Space Command. Military space-operations coordinated by USSPACECOM proved to be very valuable for the U.S.-led coalition in the 1991 Persian Gulf War. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/37737 "2018-02-13T19:03:27Z")
The capital city of Colorado, Denver, is known as the Mile-High city because of its elevation of 5,280 feet. However, Denver is just the third-highest state capital. The highest state capital is Santa Fe, New Mexico (7260 feet), and the second-highest is Cheyenne, Wyoming (6062 feet). The lowest state capital is Honolulu, Hawaii, which sits at sea level. Second-lowest is Sacramento, CA, which sits at just 25 feet above sea level, despite being 60+ miles from the ocean. ---
**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:** [February 14, 2018, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/37738 "2018-02-14T02:24:15Z")
In 1808, the Spanish explorer Gabriel Moraga discovered and named the Sacramento Valley and the Sacramento River. The Spainards found the area to be beautiful and abundant with life, and named it the “Most Holy Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ”, referring to the Catholic sacrament of the Eucharist. ---
**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:** [February 14, 2018, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/37739 "2018-02-14T02:54:15Z")
The city of Moraga CA, some 25 miles E of San Francisco, is named for Joaquin Moraga, whose grandfather was José Joaquin Moraga and second in command to Juan Bautista de Anza. José Joaquin Moraga was the father of Gabriel Moraga, and Moraga Street in San Francisco is named after him. Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School is located in Moraga CA. The artistic and beautiful 16th Avenue Tiled Steps (gImages: [https://www.google.com/search?q=16th+Avenue+Tiled+Steps&rlz=1C1EJFA\_enUS783US783&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi88b6Hs6TZAhVY6WMKHQa6CnoQ\_AUICygC&biw=1498&bih=940](https://www.google.com/search?q=16th+Avenue+Tiled+Steps&rlz=1C1EJFA_enUS783US783&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi88b6Hs6TZAhVY6WMKHQa6CnoQ_AUICygC&biw=1498&bih=940)) is an extension of Moraga Street going to the top of Grandview Park, a local hilltop in The City where the views are, uhh, grand (IMHO). ---
**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:** [February 14, 2018, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/37740 "2018-02-14T06:18:40Z")
The Casa de los Azulejos (Spanish for House of Tiles) is a landmark 18th-century palace in Mexico City. It is striking due to its facade, which is covered on three sides by blue and white tile from Puebla state. It was built in the 1700s by the Count del Valle de Orizaba. Currently it is the flagship restaurant of Sanborns, a major Mexican chain. ---
**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:** [February 14, 2018, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/37741 "2018-02-14T07:11:48Z")
The 3 highest mountains in North America are: [ol] [li]20,310’: **Denali** in AK USA, named by the Koyukon Athabaskan peoples of the Koyukuk and Yukon rivers[/li][li]19,551’: **Mount Logan** in YT CAN, named after Canadian geologist Sir William Edmond Logan[/li]18,491’: **Pico de Orizaba** in Veracruz and Puebla MEX, which gets its name from it overlooking the valley and city of Orizaba. It is also known as **Citlaltépetl** , which comes from the Náhuatl citlalli (star) and tepētl (mountain) and thus means “Star Mountain”[/ol] ---
**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:** [February 14, 2018, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/37742 "2018-02-14T14:21:16Z")
A"in’t No Mountain High Enough,"written by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson, was first successful as a 1967 hit single recorded by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, and became a hit again in 1970 for Diana Ross, her solo number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was nominated for a Grammy Award. ---
**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:** [February 14, 2018, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/37743 "2018-02-14T14:47:00Z")
The first Grammy Awards ceremony was held on May 4, 1959, to honor and respect the musical accomplishments by performers for the year 1958. Count Basie, Domenico Modugno, Henry Mancini, Ella Fitzgerald and Ross Bagdasarian Sr. each won 2 awards. ---
**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:** [February 14, 2018, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/37744 "2018-02-14T14:49:53Z")
Composer Robert Lopez, best known for co-creating The Book of Mormon and Avenue Q, and for composing the songs featured in the Disney animated film Frozen, is the youngest of only twelve people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award, and the quickest (10 years) to win all four. ---
**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:** [February 14, 2018, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/37745 "2018-02-14T15:45:42Z")
Robert Lopez won his show business grand slam in 2014 and was, as **Anne-Xmas** tells us, the youngest and fastest to win it. He is also the most recent of the 12. The first to do it, in 1962, was composer Richard Rodgers, 17 years after winning his first of the grand slam, a 1945 Oscar. ---
**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:** [February 14, 2018, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/37746 "2018-02-14T16:05:46Z")
Robert of House Baratheon, monarch of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros in the books of George R.R. Martin (adapted by HBO as _Game of Thrones_), loved food and wenching, and was estimated to have fifty-some illegitimate children. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/37747 "2018-02-14T16:15:17Z")
The producers of _The Game of Thrones_ have been engaged by Disney to produce the 10th through 12th episodes of the _Star Wars_ film series, which now appears will never reach a conclusion. ---
**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:** [February 14, 2018, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/37748 "2018-02-14T17:06:13Z")
The Peacock Throne was a famous jeweled throne that was the seat of the Mughal emperors of India. It was commissioned in the early 17th century by emperor Shah Jahan and was located in the Red Fort of Delhi. The original throne was subsequently captured and taken as a war trophy in 1739 by the Persian emperor Nadir Shah, and has been lost since. A replacement throne based on the original was commissioned afterwards and existed until the Indian war of Independence in 1857. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657.md?page=1886) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657.md?page=1888)