# 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:** 944
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18864 "2014-02-18T01:13:35Z")
While it is often reported that Ronald Reagan was in the running to play Rick from **Casablanca** , he was never seriously considered for the role. The rumor may have started as a publicity handout designed to get his name in the papers. ---
**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:** [February 18, 2014, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18865 "2014-02-18T02:46:05Z")
Ronald Reagan’s first starring role was in the film “Love is in the Air”. One of his costars was actor William Hopper, who is best known for his role as investigator Paul Drake in the “Perry Mason” TV series. ---
**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 18, 2014, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18866 "2014-02-18T04:35:50Z")
Ronald Reagan’s Secretary of the Interior, James Watt, was a lightning rod for conservationist and animal-protection critics. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18867 "2014-02-18T04:46:49Z")
James Watt did not invent the steam engine; he vastly improved a previous steam engine invented by Thomas Newcomen. ---
**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:** [February 18, 2014, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18868 "2014-02-18T06:04:08Z")
In 2007, TIME Magazine named James G. Watt the 6th worst Cabinet member of all time. Their worst of all time was US Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer, noted for his “Palmer raids” in which mass detentions of leftist Americans were perpetrated. ---
**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 18, 2014, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18869 "2014-02-18T06:41:43Z")
Scottish engineer James Watt developed the concept of horsepower, and the SI unit of power, the watt, was named after him. ETA: The most common conversion factor, especially for electrical power, is 1 hp = 746 watts. ---
**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 18, 2014, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18870 "2014-02-18T14:54:26Z")
USS _Enterprise_ Capt. James T. Kirk’s early sweethearts included Ruth, whose last name is not disclosed on _Star Trek_; Dr. Carol Marcus, and Dr. Janice Lester. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18871 "2014-02-18T14:57:42Z")
Shirley Bonne, who played Ruth as mentioned above, starred as Eileen in the TV Sitcom _My Sister Eileen_ (1960-1961). ---
**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 18, 2014, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18872 "2014-02-18T15:16:18Z")
Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia, associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, seldom agree in their decisions, but are close personal friends and are both opera buffs. ---
**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 18, 2014, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18873 "2014-02-18T15:26:40Z")
Since 1789 there have been 17 Chief Justices of the US Supreme Court, from John Jay (1789-1795) to John Roberts (since 2005). William Howard Taft was Chief Justice from 1921 to 1930. ---
**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:** [February 18, 2014, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18874 "2014-02-18T15:32:34Z")
Unlike the US Supreme Court, where the Chief Justice is almost invariably appointed straight to position of Chief Justice, the practice in Canada is normally to appoint one of the more senior puisne justices of the Supreme Court to the position of Chief Justice, alternating between anglophone and francophone justices. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18875 "2014-02-18T15:35:10Z")
In their song “Short Skirt, Long Jacket”, Cake yearns for “a girl with uninterrupted prosperity / Who uses a machete to cut through red tape / With fingernails that shine like justice / And a voice that is dark like tinted glass” ---
**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 18, 2014, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18876 "2014-02-18T15:41:10Z")
The Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis has many stained glass windows and is known for its large mosaic installation, which is the largest in the world, its burial crypts, and the addition of an outdoor sculpture to promote racial harmony. ---
**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 18, 2014, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18877 "2014-02-18T17:29:58Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > Since 1789 there have been 17 Chief Justices of the US Supreme Court, from John Jay (1789-1795) to John Roberts (since 2005). William Howard Taft was Chief Justice from 1921 to 1930. Since Salmon P. Chase, the correct title has been “Chief Justice of the United States.” For more: [Who’s America’s top judge? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2975/who-is-america-s-top-judge) In play: The seat of the Episcopal Bishop of Ohio, currently the Rt. Rev. Mark Hollingsworth Jr., is Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland, Ohio. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18878 "2014-02-18T17:37:40Z")
Trinitites are rare minerals created by fusion of surface sands, by the test of the first plutonium bomb at the Trinity site at Alamagordo, New Mexico on 7/16/45. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18879 "2014-02-18T22:49:28Z")
Since the Cold War began, between 11 and 50 nuclear weapons have gone missing and cannot be accounted for. ---
**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 18, 2014, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18880 "2014-02-18T23:32:46Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Since the Cold War began, between 11 and 50 nuclear weapons have gone missing and cannot be accounted for. Really? Cite? In play: Tom Clancy dedicated one of his books to President Ronald Reagan, who, Clancy wrote, “won the Cold War.” ---
**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:** [February 19, 2014, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18881 "2014-02-19T00:11:07Z")
The term “cold war” was coined by George Orwell in 1945 in his essay “You and the Atomic Bomb”. ---
**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 19, 2014, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18882 "2014-02-19T00:16:17Z")
During World War II, Wendover Air Force Base was a training base for B-17 and B-24 bomber crews. It was the training site of the 509th Composite Group, the B-29 unit that dropped the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2014, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18883 "2014-02-19T01:41:35Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Really? Cite? There’s tons of cites, some less tin-foil-hat than others, few that actually agree with each other. [Here’s one which gave actual numbers:](http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/a-nuclear-needle-in-a-haystack-the-cold-war-s-missing-atom-bombs-a-590513.html) > [@](#): > > \*When an American B-52 bomber crashed into the ice off Greenland, the conventional explosives in the bombs exploded, causing a large area to become radioactively contaminated by the plutonium that was released in the process. But what the US government kept secret for decades was that a reconstruction of the bomb components found at the site had revealed that a nuclear warhead was missing. It had apparently drilled its way through the ice in North Star Bay. It was never found. > > The loss of an atom bomb is not as rare an occurrence as one would hope. **“The American Defense Department has confirmed the loss of 11 atomic bombs,”** says Otfried Nassauer, an expert on nuclear armament and the director of the Berlin Information Center for Transatlantic Security. **“It is believed that up to 50 nuclear weapons worldwide were lost during the Cold War.”** \* In play: 509 is the area code for Spokane, Washington. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657.md?page=943) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657.md?page=945)