# 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:** 950
**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 25, 2014, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18984 "2014-02-25T19:48:14Z")
“Cancer” or the Greek word “Canker” means “crab” in Latin, a sea creature which has no connection to the disease. Although no one is certain who coined this term, most sources point to Claudius Galen of Pergamum, a Greek Physician of 2nd Century AD Rome. Claudius Galen thought that the swollen veins surrounding a tumor resembled a crab’s limbs. ---
**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 25, 2014, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18985 "2014-02-25T20:04:58Z")
A. E. Van Vogt’s novel **Empire of the Atom** is a space opera retelling of Roman history, taken pretty blatantly from Robert Graves’s **I, Claudius** ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2014, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18986 "2014-02-25T21:57:02Z")
For **Empire of the Ants** (1977), director Bert I. Gordon created some of the special ant-effects :rolleyes: by shooting magnified images of the Panamanian bullet ant. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18987 "2014-02-26T00:29:41Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > In _Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan_, many of the actors playing Khan’s henchmen were Chippendale dancers at the time of filming. That’s one of my favorite facts learned from this thread. Thanks.😉 In play: Trebizond was a tiny independent state on the Black Sea in what is now Turkey and was just a city and its hinterlands for most of its existence- smaller than many counties and duchies in Europe- but was nevertheless called “The Empire of Trebizond” because it was founded by members of Komnenos imperial family of Byzantium who claimed themselves the true emperors of the Eastern Empire even though they had been driven from Constantinople. ---
**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 26, 2014, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18988 "2014-02-26T01:21:52Z")
Sochi, Russia, is located on the eastern Black Sea coast. Depending on how one defines Europe and Asia, some claim Sochi is in Europe but those who claim the Caucasus Mountains divide the continent claim that Sochi is in Asia. The city was given its current name in 1896 when it was named for the local River Sochi. ---
**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 26, 2014, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18989 "2014-02-26T01:33:57Z")
Soviet strongman Josef Stalin had a retreat in Sochi, Russia which is now open to tourists. ---
**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 26, 2014, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18990 "2014-02-26T01:44:20Z")
The Stalin Tank was a series of armored heavy tanks used by Eastern Bloc countries. Ironically, Stalin almost cancelled Russia’s heavy tank program in 1943 due to their poor performance and high costs, until the IS-1 (Iosif Stalin Tank 1) began deliveries in October of that year. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18991 "2014-02-26T02:49:20Z")
The Robert Harris novel _Archangel_ is about a secret posthumously born illegitimate son of Stalin who has been reared since infancy in Arkhangelsk to one day resume his father’s work. ---
**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 26, 2014, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18992 "2014-02-26T03:22:10Z")
The city of Arkhangelsk was the major seaport of Russia until 1703, when Peter the Great established St. Petersburg ---
**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 26, 2014, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18993 "2014-02-26T03:51:26Z")
Peter the Great executed his eldest son from his first marriage for high treason. The execution was carried out in secrecy. (Thanks, Dad) 😃 ---
**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 26, 2014, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18994 "2014-02-26T04:10:50Z")
Mary Surratt, one of the Lincoln assassination conspirators, was tried and convicted by military tribunal in 1865. She was the first woman to be executed (by hanging) by the United States government. The tribunal recommended that her death sentence be commuted to a life prison sentence; President Andrew Johnson allowed the execution to go forward and later claimed he had never been told of the tribunal’s recommendation. ---
**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 26, 2014, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18995 "2014-02-26T04:16:39Z")
Since 1965, three people have been executed under the death penalty by hanging in the United States. The most recent hanging capital punishment was in 1996 when convicted murderer [Billy Bailey](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Bailey) was hanged in Delaware. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18996 "2014-02-26T15:03:16Z")
Axl Rose, lead singer for Guns N’ Roses, was named William Bailey for a period of his childhood, when his mother remarried. The Baileys attended a Pentecostal church in Lafayette, Indiana up to 8 times a week, and young Axl even taught Sunday school. He later became a habitual delinquent, ending that phase only after moving to Los Angeles to escape charges. ---
**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 26, 2014, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18997 "2014-02-26T16:11:11Z")
Hughie Cannon, who wrote _Won’t You Come Home, Bill Bailey?_ also wrote the standard _Frankie and Johnny_. A later song, _He Done Me Wrong_, recounts Bill Bailey’s death. ---
**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 26, 2014, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18998 "2014-02-26T16:32:09Z")
William Conrad was the original Matt Dillon on the radio version of **Gunsmoke**. When it was adapted for TV, Conrad was not considered for the role because of his corpulence. He continued radio and voiceover work (most notably as the narrator for **Rocky and Bullwinkle** ) until the show **Cannon** was created for him in 1971. ---
**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 26, 2014, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/18999 "2014-02-26T16:45:54Z")
HMS _Victory_, Lord Nelson’s flagship at the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar, was rated for 104 cannon by the Royal Navy. ---
**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 26, 2014, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/19000 "2014-02-26T18:17:22Z")
Cabo Trafalgar (Cape Trafalgar) is on the southern coast of Spain, about a 60-mile drive away from Gibraltar. It is on the Atlantic coast and not the Mediterranean coast. The most prominent structure on the cape is a 34-meter-high lighthouse (51 meters above sea level), the _faro de Cabo Trafalgar_, built in 1860. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/19001 "2014-02-26T20:02:30Z")
The southernmost spot in Africa is Cape Agulhas about 220 Km by car from Cape Town. ---
**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 26, 2014, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/19002 "2014-02-26T20:16:29Z")
The southernmost point of the USA is on the big island of Hawaii. ---
**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 27, 2014, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657/19003 "2014-02-27T00:07:41Z")
Many places can be considered the southernmost point of Europe, including Tarifa, Spain; La Restinga, Canary Islands; and the Greek island of Gavdos [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657.md?page=949) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-dominoes-play-off-the-last-bit-of-trivia/527657.md?page=951)