# 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:** 2029
**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:** [October 15, 2018, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/40569 "2018-10-15T13:33:49Z")
In medieval Gaelic and British culture, a bard was a professional story teller, verse-maker and music composer, employed by a patron to commemorate one or more of the patron’s ancestors and to praise the patron’s own activities. Originally a specific, lower class of poet,as opposed to the the higher rank known as \* fili\* in Ireland and Highland Scotland. ---
**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:** [October 15, 2018, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/40570 "2018-10-15T13:40:00Z")
Bard College is a liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. It was founded in 1860 by John Bard. a Christian philanthropist, and his wife, Margaret Johnston Bard. John Bard was born in Hyde Park NY. He was a grandson of Samuel Bard, a prominent doctor, a founder of Columbia University’s medical school, and physician to George Washington. Yes, _that_ George Washington. ---
**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:** [October 15, 2018, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/40571 "2018-10-15T14:15:47Z")
Desiccated beef produced for the United States Army during the Civil War was soon dubbed “desecrated beef” by disgusted soldiers. Chester Arthur, future President of the United States, served as quartermaster general of the New York militia during the Civil War and was by all accounts very successful in the post. ---
**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:** [October 15, 2018, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/40572 "2018-10-15T14:34:41Z")
The term quartermaster appears to derive from the title of a German royal official, the Quartiermeister. This term meant “master of quarters” (where “quarters” means lodging/accommodation). Or it could have been derived from “master of the quarterdeck” where the helmsman and Captain controlled the ship. The term was then adopted by some European armies and navies. The first use in English was as a naval term, entering English via the equivalent French and Dutch naval titles quartier-maître and kwartier-meester in the fifteenth century. The term began to refer to army officers in English around 1600. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/40573 "2018-10-15T15:38:52Z")
The naval rank of Admiral, comes from the Arabic _Amir al Bahr_ meaning _Leader of ships_. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/40574 "2018-10-15T15:44:43Z")
The naval rank of Admiral, comes from the Arabic _Amir al Bahr_ meaning _Leader of ships_. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/40575 "2018-10-15T15:49:05Z")
The Admiral Corporation was a Chicago-based manufacturer of home electronics and appliances from the 1930s until the 1970s, when it was purchased by Rockwell International. The Admiral brand name has gone through several owners since, and appears to be currently owned by Whirlpool. ---
**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:** [October 15, 2018, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/40576 "2018-10-15T16:14:31Z")
Alfred Thayer Mahan (1840 – 1914) was a US naval officer and historian, whom John Keegan called “the most important American strategist of the nineteenth century.” He is known for the quote, “Good men with poor ships are better than poor men in good ships." ---
**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:** [October 15, 2018, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/40577 "2018-10-15T16:26:33Z")
Thayer School of Engineering, established in 1867 with funds from Brigadier General Sylvanus Thayer, is part of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. In 2016 Thayer became the first US national research university with a graduating class of engineering undergraduates that was over 50% female. ---
**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:** [October 15, 2018, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/40578 "2018-10-15T16:46:38Z")
Chester Arthur held the rank of brigadier general during the Civil War, but never saw combat. His lovely wife Nell died in 1880, early in the year was elected Vice President, and did not live to see him become President in 1881. He never remarried. > **[Nell Arthur](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nell_Arthur)** > > Ellen Lewis Arthur (née Herndon; August 30, 1837 – January 12, 1880), known as Nell Arthur, was the wife of the 21st president of the United States, Chester A. Arthur. She died of pneumonia in January 1880; her husband was elected vice-president that November. He succeeded to the presidency in September 1881 when President James A. Garfield was assassinated. > Ellen Lewis Herndon, called "Nell," was born in the town of Culpeper Court House, Virginia on August 30, 1837, the daughter of William ... ---
**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:** [October 15, 2018, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/40579 "2018-10-15T19:42:44Z")
Chad Mitchell Trio’s song “Hang on the Bell, Nellie” is a parody of Rose Hartwick Thorpe 1867 poem [Curfew Must Not Ring Tonight](https://www.edhelper.com/poetry/Curfew_Must_Not_Ring_Tonight_by_Rose_Hartwick_Tho.htm).The poem, a favorite of Queen Victoria’s, was one of the most popular of the 19th century, but later faded into obscurity.An 8-foot monument in Litchfield, Michigan along State Highway 99 honors the connection to that town and the poem and author. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2018, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/40580 "2018-10-16T00:17:50Z")
The word “curfew” comes from the French phrase “couvre-feu”, which means “fire cover”. It was later adopted into Middle English as “curfeu”, which later became the modern “curfew”. Its original meaning refers to a law made by William The Conqueror that all lights and fires should be covered at the ringing of an eight o’clock bell to prevent the spread of destructive fire within communities in timber buildings. ---
**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:** [October 16, 2018, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/40581 "2018-10-16T00:45:17Z")
**Eight O’Clock** Coffee was created by The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (later A&P) in 1859, in the latter company’s founding year. The brand has been owned by Tata Global Beverages since 2006. ---
**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:** [October 16, 2018, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/40582 "2018-10-16T01:24:44Z")
A&P was founded by George Gilman and was originally known as ‘Gilman & Company’. It was the nation’s first grocery store chain, growing to 1,600 stores in 1915. From 1915 through 1975, A&P was the largest grocery retailer in the United States. In 1930, A&P became the world’s largest retailer, reaching $2.9 billion in sales with 16,000 stores. A&P ceased supermarket operations in November 2015. ---
**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:** [October 16, 2018, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/40583 "2018-10-16T01:40:14Z")
John Updike’s widely anthologized short story, “A&P”, was published in _The New Yorker_ in 1961. In one passage, the narrator, a checkout clerk at an A&P, imagines the store 30 years ahead, apparently anticipating a Soviet takeover, “maybe in 1990 when it’s called the Great Alexandrov and Petrooshki Tea Company or something.” ---
**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:** [October 16, 2018, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/40584 "2018-10-16T02:48:36Z")
Arthur C. Clarke’s _2001: A Space Odyssey_ and _2010: Odyssey Two_ both posit that the Soviet Union remained a world power at least through the years mentioned in their titles; there is evidence of the same in the recent unrelated film _Blade Runner 2049_. In reality, the Communist nation collapsed in 1991. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2018, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/40585 "2018-10-16T04:02:50Z")
One difference between the novel _2010: Odyssey Two_ and the film _2010: The Year We Make Contact_ is the portrayal of computer scientist (and creator of the HAL 9000 computer) Dr. Chandra. In the novel, Dr. Chandra’s full name is Dr. Sivasubramanian Chandrasegarampillai, and he is of Indian descent. In the film, he is simply Dr. R. Chanda, and the character is played by American actor Bob Balaban. ---
**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:** [October 16, 2018, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/40586 "2018-10-16T04:07:51Z")
In a 2006 poll conducted by Zogby International, 60% of poll respondents in the US were able to identify Homer as the father of Bart Simpson, while only 21% could name one of Homer’s epics, the _Iliad_ or the _Odyssey_. 73% of those polled were able to name all three of The Three Stooges, while only 42% could name the three branches of government. ---
**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:** [October 16, 2018, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/40587 "2018-10-16T05:00:53Z")
Apollo 13 call signs were, for the Lunar Module it was _ **Aquarius** _, and for the Command Module it was _ **Odyssey** _. _Aquarius_ reentered the atmosphere over the South Pacific between the islands of Fiji and New Zealand, and she sleeps with the fishes. _Odyssey_ is currently on display at the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson KS. ---
**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:** [October 16, 2018, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/40588 "2018-10-16T13:28:36Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > …In the novel, Dr. Chandra’s full name is Dr. Sivasubramanian Chandrasegarampillai, and he is of Indian descent. In the film, he is simply Dr. R. Chanda, and the character is played by American actor Bob Balaban. Still Dr. Chandra, not Chanda: [2010 (1984) - Bob Balaban as Dr. R. Chandra - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086837/characters/nm0000837?ref_=tt_cl_t4) In play: In early drafts of the screenplay for _2001: A Space Odyssey_, the shipboard computer aboard the spacecraft USS \*Discovery \*was named Athena, not HAL, and it had a benign female personality, in keeping with the quasi-Homeric inspiration of the film. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657.md?page=2028) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657.md?page=2030)