# What is your favorite trivia question (and answer)? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 9, 2013, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028 "2013-07-09T11:04:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/201 "2013-07-25T23:33:51Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **RealityChuck** : > > Lou Gehrig set a record for playing in 2130 consecutive games. What baseball player was present both the day he began his streak and the day he ended it? Surely the answer to this one is Lou Gehrig? ---
**Author:** ![f.coli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eada6e/32.png) [@f.coli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/f.coli)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2013, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/202 "2013-07-26T00:32:07Z")
The Book of Revelation is also called the Book of the Apocalypse, from an ancient Greek word. What does the ancient Greek word mean? Revelation My all time favorite: Where is the Mohorovicic discontinuity? Between the earth’s crust and mantle ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2013, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/203 "2013-07-26T00:42:28Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > IMDB says the pilot episode for THE INCREDIBLE HULK was terrific enough to eventually merit a theatrical release in the late '70s, putting Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno up on the big screen in half-a-dozen countries. The question could be modified to say ‘made as a feature film’, but you have a good point. Also qualifying to predate the first answer by using your definition would be the 1979 Captain America TV movie which had a 1981 theater release in Colombia. And not qualifying would be the 1944 Captain America movie, although if the question were poorly phrased it might pass. ---
**Author:** ![agnesnitt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d78d45/32.png) [@agnesnitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/agnesnitt)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2013, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/204 "2013-07-26T02:35:08Z")
I admit up front, this is a trick question. In this wireless world we live in, accurate knowledge of the speed of light is critical to calculations in almost every communications system. Who was awarded the Nobel Prize for discovering the speed of light? No one. Albert Michelson, the Nobel prize winner most closely associated with the speed of light actually won the prize for improving the design of interferometers. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2013, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/205 "2013-07-26T11:34:25Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > The question could be modified to say ‘made as a feature film’, but you have a good point. Also qualifying to predate the first answer by using your definition would be the 1979 Captain America TV movie which had a 1981 theater release in Colombia. And the _Amazing Spider-Man_ pilot – with one of the _Sound of Music_ kids as Peter Parker! – got a theatrical release in France and Germany back in '78. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2013, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/206 "2013-07-26T18:35:35Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Don’t forget the [riddle](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1C0Tw80Fgk&t=30s) that the Clive Owen character poses to the Denzel Washington character in the excellent movie _Inside Man_. > _Which weighs more: all the trains that pass through Grand Central Station in a year or the trees cut down to print all U.S. currency in circulation?_ > > Neither, they are tied at zero each. Trains don’t pass through Grand Central station: it’s the terminus for all lines it serves. U.S. currency is made from linen and cotton, not paper. Subway trains pass through Grand Central The 4 5 6 trains and the 7 train all “pass through”. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2013, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/207 "2013-07-26T18:40:59Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Subway trains pass through Grand Central The 4 5 6 trains and the 7 train all “pass through”. I believe the actual catch with the “Grand Central Station” part of the riddle that Grand Central Station is a post office. I could’ve sworn we already covered this in this thread. ETA: a quick search didn’t turn it up. I wonder where I got this idea. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2013, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/208 "2013-07-26T18:47:42Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I wonder where I got this idea. [Here’s the thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=692746) where it was being discussed recently. N.b.: I don’t remember which explanation the movie character uses. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2013, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/209 "2013-07-26T20:13:25Z")
I did a Google search for “Inside Man” riddle and the best answer seems to be at the IMDB (which is not the most reliable source). Here is their quote: Which weighs more: all the trains that pass through Grand Central Station in a year - or the trees cut down to print all U.S. currency in circulation? Here’s a hint. It’s a trick question. Their answer is “they both weigh the same”. Although they were tempted to say “they both weigh nothing” which probably made no difference anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2013, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/210 "2013-07-26T22:00:09Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > … but the center of the earth is still the center of gravity, no? Yes, but it’s not where the plumb bob points. Excluding small-scale bumpiness like mountains, a plumb bob always points at a 90 degree angle with the ground (if it didn’t, then it would mean there were sideways forces, and the ground would flow in that direction until it evened out). But except at the poles and equator, the center of the Earth isn’t directly below you. That’s largely due to centrifugal forces. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/211 "2013-07-27T02:23:49Z")
Who is the man that would risk his neck for his brother man? Can you dig it? 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/212 "2013-07-27T03:33:43Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > Which is precisely why it’s not valid as a Scrabble word, no matter what the Official (R) Dictionary™ says. > Proper, correct, English spelling of that word is “coomb”. [slightly hijacky pedantry] If the Official Scrabble Dictionary has it as a valid Scrabble word then… guess what? It’s a valid Scrabble word. Crazy how that works, isn’t it? [/slightly hijacky pedantry] ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/213 "2013-07-27T04:10:48Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > Who is the man that would risk his neck for his brother man? > > Can you dig it? 🆒 Don’t you say that! ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/214 "2013-07-27T17:14:40Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > Yes, but it’s not where the plumb bob points. Excluding small-scale bumpiness like mountains, a plumb bob always points at a 90 degree angle with the ground (if it didn’t, then it would mean there were sideways forces, and the ground would flow in that direction until it evened out). But except at the poles and equator, the center of the Earth isn’t directly below you. That’s largely due to centrifugal forces. I had to picture this in my head for a while before it made sense, but I get it now. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2013, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/215 "2013-07-29T20:41:21Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > Yes, but it’s not where the plumb bob points. Excluding small-scale bumpiness like mountains, a plumb bob always points at a 90 degree angle with the ground (if it didn’t, then it would mean there were sideways forces, and the ground would flow in that direction until it evened out). The underlined point threw me, trying to distinguish the ground from the small scale bumpiness like mountains. But the plumb line defines vertical, which is perpendicular to horizontal, e.g. water level, so I see what you mean. ---
**Author:** ![Yumblie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/76d3ee/32.png) [@Yumblie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumblie)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/216 "2013-07-30T04:43:04Z")
> [@agnesnitt](#): > > I admit up front, this is a trick question. > > In this wireless world we live in, accurate knowledge of the speed of light is critical to calculations in almost every communications system. Who was awarded the Nobel Prize for discovering the speed of light? > > No one. Albert Michelson, the Nobel prize winner most closely associated with the speed of light actually won the prize for improving the design of interferometers. A related trivia tidbit: What did Albert Einstein win his Nobel Prize for? His explanation for the photoelectric effect, which showed that light is quantized. The theory of relativity (including E = mc[sup]2[/sup]) was considered too controversial at the time, but there was plenty of experimental evidence for the photoelectric effect. Another neat bit of trivia: Who is the only person to have won Nobel prizes in two different sciences? Marie Curie, in physics and chemistry. Her daughter Irene Curie also won a Nobel prize in chemistry. Quite a distinguished family. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/217 "2013-07-30T09:56:08Z")
In astronomy, what’s special about the distance of ~300 light years, i.e., ~100 parsecs? It’s the farthest that the distance to stars can be measured directly, i.e., by parallax using the diameter of the Earth’s orbit as a baseline. After ~300 ly, indirect means have to be used. When limited strictly to Earthbound observations, what is the sole unambigious proof that the Earth rotates on its axis? The Foucault pendulum. The _only_ explanation for why it behaves as it does is the Earth twisting beneath it from west to east. Where on Earth does the Sun appear to pass directly overhead two days a year? Anywhere in the zone between the the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, once heading north and once heading south. The tropical zone is roughly 46.5 degrees wide. At the tropics themselves, the Sun is directly overhead only once a year, at the Summer and Winter solstices, respectively. ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/218 "2013-07-30T10:11:26Z")
What is the active ingredient in absinthe? Alcohol. ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/219 "2013-07-30T12:42:33Z")
> [@Cartoonacy](#): > > …the first actor to wear the Superman costume was Ray Middleton, at the 1940 New York World’s Fair. Actually, t[here is some uncertainty about that](http://www.newsfromme.com/?s=Ray+Middleton) (link goes to a search result page at [newsfromme.com](http://newsfromme.com), based on the search “Ray Middleton” The first couple of articles don’t get too much into it, but the following ones do. Articles are in reverse chronological order.) As to the OP - my favorite trivia question was “What’s the ancient name of the capital of Jordan?” Philadelphia ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/220 "2013-07-30T14:58:50Z")
What are The Skipper’s and The Professor’s real names? Jonas Grumby and Roy Hinkley [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028.md?page=12)