# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/61 "2013-07-10T12:04:34Z")
Which is the only US state to have never had a foreign flag fly over it? Idaho ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/62 "2013-07-10T12:30:56Z")
> [@Chief\_Pedant](#): > > Originally Posted by Civil Guy > _“If you drop a $5 bill, Lincoln will always land face-up.”_ > > I am struggling to understand either of these. > > I cannot see through a $5 bill which has landed face down because the ground prevents it from being backlighted. The five-dollar-bill has the Lincoln Memorial on the back; you can _just_ see the Lincoln statue inside. Likewise the [penny](http://coins.thefuntimesguide.com/files/us-penny-photo-by-pfala.jpg), although you might need some magnification to see it there. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/63 "2013-07-10T12:33:04Z")
> [@Chief\_Pedant](#): > > I am struggling to understand either of these. The Lincoln on the other side is the _statue_ of Lincoln inside the Lincoln Memorial…example from [on the penny](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:20050228_200242_1_revers_lincoln.999x989.jpg) and [the $5](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Series2006_NoteBack_5.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/64 "2013-07-10T13:40:22Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > What’s the most elastic substance? > > There’s no such thing. Bears explanation. There are measures for the degree of elasticity of a substance, so how can there not be a substance with the greatest elasticity? ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/65 "2013-07-10T13:56:44Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > How many unassisted triple plays have been recorded in major league baseball since 1900? > > 15, per Wikipedia > > mmm Followup: How many have ended the game? And how many of those that ended the game have I personally seen? Two and One And now for my favorite trivial question (and answer): What is your favorite trivia question (and answer)? (What is your favorite trivia question (and answer)?) I apologize if this has been done previously. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/66 "2013-07-10T13:57:02Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > The Lincoln on the other side is the _statue_ of Lincoln inside the Lincoln Memorial…example from [on the penny](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:20050228_200242_1_revers_lincoln.999x989.jpg) and [the $5](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Series2006_NoteBack_5.jpg) aahhh…thanks ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/67 "2013-07-10T14:08:10Z")
> [@wolf\_meister](#): > > Well since some folks are trying to guess the 3 letter word with no vowels and no ‘y’, I might as well give the answer (of course that’s assuming that I’m right). > > **nth** - for example) That was measured to the **nth** degree. When I type it, which I do regularly, it is $n$th, which puts the n in math italics, but the th in ordinary roman. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/68 "2013-07-10T15:28:36Z")
> [@Chief\_Pedant](#): > > I worded the question in [Post 5](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=16455346&postcount=5) this way: > “What commonly used English 3 letter word contains neither a vowel nor a y?” And in the word “cwm,” “w” is unambiguously a vowel, although that word is Welsh, where "w"s are classified as vowels and consonants, depending on how they are used. “Nth” definitely contains a vowel sound, but “n” outside this use (at least not that I could think of, unless you are just talking about “n” itself) is never considered one. I think “nth” is a reasonable answer to the question, although there could be a few quibbles with it, depending on how technical you want to get. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/69 "2013-07-10T19:07:28Z")
For reference, here’s a list of all legal scrabble words containing none of AEIOUY: BRR BRRR CRWTH CRWTHS CWM CWMS HM HMM MM NTH PFFT PHPHT PHT PSST SH SHH TSK TSKS TSKTSK TSKTSKS ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/70 "2013-07-10T19:29:55Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > And in the word “cwm,” “w” is unambiguously a vowel, although that word is Welsh, 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”. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/71 "2013-07-10T19:34:52Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > The Lincoln on the other side is the _statue_ of Lincoln inside the Lincoln Memorial…example from [on the penny](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:20050228_200242_1_revers_lincoln.999x989.jpg) and [the $5](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Series2006_NoteBack_5.jpg) If you’re going to quibble that an image is not the subject then nobody has seen Lincoln since 1865. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/72 "2013-07-10T19:37:15Z")
Which book of the Bible never mentions God? Esther ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/73 "2013-07-10T19:39:41Z")
What is the literal translation of kamikaze? “God wind” or “Divine wind” ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/74 "2013-07-10T20:36:51Z")
If you start in Detroit and drive due south, what is the first foreign country you reach? Canada ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/75 "2013-07-10T21:05:40Z")
What earthly mountain’s top is furthest from the center of the earth? [Chimborazo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimborazo_(volcano)), in Ecuador. ---
**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 10, 2013, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/76 "2013-07-10T21:24:50Z")
Which 3 MLB players who hit over 500 home runs each in their career, started and ended their careers in the same city, playing for different teams in different leagues? Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, and Jimmy Foxx ---
**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 10, 2013, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/77 "2013-07-10T23:02:09Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > These are my favorites to say to other people; I am certain that Dopers already know these. > > What do Warren Beatty and Shirley MacLaine have in common? They are brother and sister > > What do Rip Torn and Sissy Spacek have in common? They are first cousins > > What do Uma Thurman and Gary Oldman have in common? They were married FWIW, I have written a lot of trivia questions in my time, and if I worded those first two the way you have, the answers I’d be looking for would be parents and a set of grandparents respectively. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/78 "2013-07-10T23:18:50Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > If you start in Detroit and drive due south, what is the first foreign country you reach? Or Cuba, depending on where in Detroit you start > [@california jobcase](#): > > Which U.S. state is the farthest east? I’d argue that this is just plain incorrect, and at the best a poorly-defined question. East is a direction based on the rotation of the earth. To be farthest east is to be further in that direction. The fact that a common coordinate system happens to run a discontinuity through a country doesn’t mean that you should call the bit across the discontinuity “easternmost”. ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/79 "2013-07-10T23:21:48Z")
What is the US standard of length? The meter. All the common lengths (inch, foot, yard, mile, etc) are defined in terms of the meter. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028/80 "2013-07-11T00:44:31Z")
Who discovered the Watergate burglary that led to of Nixon’s resignation? Night watchman Frank Wills How? By finding tape covering the latch pin on the entrance door What is the word for describing the plowing of a field (or mowing grass) in the opposite direction for each adjacent pass of the plow/mower, or for writing succeeding lines of text in opposite directions? boustrophedon [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-trivia-question-and-answer/663028.md?page=5)