# What wrong answers have you found in Trivial Pursuit? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 2, 2001, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wrong-answers-have-you-found-in-trivial-pursuit/74688 "2001-08-02T20:11:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2013, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wrong-answers-have-you-found-in-trivial-pursuit/74688/21 "2013-04-14T16:28:11Z")
Mozart did not in fact write “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” He just wrote variations on it. ---
**Author:** ![Reyemile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/46a35a/32.png) [@Reyemile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reyemile)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2013, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wrong-answers-have-you-found-in-trivial-pursuit/74688/22 "2013-04-14T17:03:54Z")
Q: What fictional character has been played by the largest number of actors in TV shows and movies? Their answer: Sherlock Holmes My answer: God ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wrong-answers-have-you-found-in-trivial-pursuit/74688/23 "2013-04-15T00:55:44Z")
Back when I was a little tyke, I read and re-read our battered copies of the Guiness Book of World Records, circa 1968, back when it had lots of interesting information about many topics, not just stunts. One of the sections in the book was geography, and it quite clearly stated that the largest sea in the world was the South China Sea. So we were at a family camp once and my parents were playing in the TP tournament, and I was kibbitzing, and the question came up “what is the largest sea in the world”, and I told them with great certitude that it was the South China Sea. The card said “Mediterranean”. My parents, being mature and level headed, did not care. I’m still bitter about it 30+ years later. That said, I can’t really call it an ERROR per se, given that “sea” is a fairly poorly defined term. In any case, I just googled, and came up with [this list](http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_largest_sea_in_the_world), which claims that the Phillipine sea is the largest, but does claim that SCS \> MS. So there! ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wrong-answers-have-you-found-in-trivial-pursuit/74688/24 "2013-04-15T00:58:06Z")
There are a gazillion of them, but that’s what I get for playing the Genus edition in 2013. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wrong-answers-have-you-found-in-trivial-pursuit/74688/25 "2013-04-15T01:38:14Z")
Not Trivial Pursuit, but another trivia game asked the (paraphrased) question, “What is the real name of Batman’s enemy, ‘The Penquin.’” According the the game, it was “Stinky Potwhistle.” Not being aware of spoiler questions at the time, this puzzled me, and put me right off the game. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wrong-answers-have-you-found-in-trivial-pursuit/74688/26 "2013-04-15T04:03:04Z")
When I was a kid, I studied the cards. (No nobody wanted to play with me) Anyway, found question,“What are residents of the island of Lesbos called?” My 13 year old mind thought,“So _that’s_ where the word came from!” According to TP, the answer is “Lesbosians”. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wrong-answers-have-you-found-in-trivial-pursuit/74688/27 "2013-04-15T04:56:09Z")
> [@Reyemile](#): > > Q: What fictional character … > > My answer: God But He’s not fictional, though. d+r ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wrong-answers-have-you-found-in-trivial-pursuit/74688/28 "2013-04-15T13:18:50Z")
I don’t remember the exact wording, but it was something like, “In MY FAIR LADY, who sings ‘On the Street where You Live’?” Their answer was Rex Harrison (or Henry Higgins) but in fact it’s Freddy. ---
**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:** [April 15, 2013, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wrong-answers-have-you-found-in-trivial-pursuit/74688/29 "2013-04-15T13:45:25Z")
> [@](#): > > Anyway, found question,“What are residents of the island of Lesbos called?” My 13 year old mind thought,“So that’s where the word came from!” According to TP, the answer is “Lesbosians”. Well, that _is_ where the word “lesbian” comes from, due to the classical poet Sappho (see also “sapphic”) who came from that isle. But so far as I know, the correct modern term for an inhabitant of Lesbos is in fact “Lesbosian”. ---
**Author:** ![President\_Johnny\_Gentle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@President\_Johnny\_Gentle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/President_Johnny_Gentle)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wrong-answers-have-you-found-in-trivial-pursuit/74688/30 "2013-04-15T13:51:31Z")
The questions weren’t necessarily incorrect, but I remember getting the Sports expansion in the mid 80s and playing with my father. We gave up on it fairly quickly after discovering a considerable number of questions were of the form “Who wears number 9 for the Vikings?” ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wrong-answers-have-you-found-in-trivial-pursuit/74688/31 "2013-04-15T17:18:13Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > Actually, I think Kelsy Grammer is correct. Remember you have to add Cheers and Frasier together. Actually, at this point, it’s the main voice actors on The Simpsons. Three years as shorts on The Tracey Ulman show, and 25 (with at least one more on the way,) seasons as a sitcom. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wrong-answers-have-you-found-in-trivial-pursuit/74688/32 "2013-04-15T18:59:03Z")
**Chronos** -So we were both right? Cool! ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wrong-answers-have-you-found-in-trivial-pursuit/74688/33 "2013-04-15T20:38:06Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > Actually, at this point, it’s the main voice actors on The Simpsons. > > Three years as shorts on The Tracey Ulman show, and 25 (with at least one more on the way,) seasons as a sitcom. For live action, it’s Richard Belzer as Detective Munch, who beat out Grammar as Crane with this season (21 years as the same character.) ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wrong-answers-have-you-found-in-trivial-pursuit/74688/34 "2013-04-15T20:45:49Z")
There have been actors on soap operas playing the same character [for decades](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_longest-serving_soap_opera_actors#Top_10_across_all_platforms). Even if we restrict it to sitcom, they’ve got a way to go before they beat Peter Salis ([same character 1973-2010](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069602/)) ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wrong-answers-have-you-found-in-trivial-pursuit/74688/35 "2013-04-18T00:49:56Z")
> [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](#): > > For live action, it’s Richard Belzer as Detective Munch, who beat out Grammar as Crane with this season (21 years as the same character.) Bah, he’s a spring chicken - William Roache has played[Ken Barlow](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Barlow_(Coronation_Street))on _Coronation Street_ since 9 December 1960! ---
**Author:** ![Remember\_me](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/82dd89/32.png) [@Remember\_me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Remember_me)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wrong-answers-have-you-found-in-trivial-pursuit/74688/36 "2013-04-18T11:27:39Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > Anyway, in science and nature one read “what is one tenth of a bel?” The answer is of course a decibel. The problem is that decibels are a logarythmic scale of pressure measured in pascals. There is no such thing as a bel, centibel, kilobel, whatever. There is only the decibel. Now that the question of longest serving actors seems to be answered, let’s turn to the next “wrong answers you found in this thread”: 10 decibel equal indeed 1 bel, representing a ratio of 10 between two measures of power, or sqrt(10) for measures of amplitude. This is not restricted to (sound) pressure, but can be assigned to any physical quantity - always taking care, if you handle field or power quantities. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wrong-answers-have-you-found-in-trivial-pursuit/74688/37 "2013-04-18T17:35:26Z")
Something about three words ending in ‘gry’. 🙂 Is there any truth to the story that Trivial Pursuit intentionally placed incorrect answers on some of their questions so that they might be able to prove that other trivia game makers stole their content? ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wrong-answers-have-you-found-in-trivial-pursuit/74688/38 "2013-04-18T22:14:58Z")
In the Genus edition under Science: How many stars are in the Big Dipper? Being a know-it-all amateur astronomy buff, I had to show off that “it could be a trick question, depending on if they are counting both Mizar and Alcor or just Mizar, so either 7 or 8.” “Which one?” “I told you. Normally 7, but if it’s a trick question, then 8” “WHICH ONE?” “Fine… 7” The answer on the back said 6! :smack: I stuffed the dice in my pocket and wouldn’t proceed until everyone went outside and looked up and admitted I was right and I got my wedge. Yeah, I was a real mature 17-year-old. ---
**Author:** ![Reyemile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/46a35a/32.png) [@Reyemile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reyemile)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wrong-answers-have-you-found-in-trivial-pursuit/74688/39 "2013-04-18T23:00:26Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > But He’s not fictional, though. > d+r :rolleyes: Anyway, Santa has probably also been played by more actors that has Holmes. ---
**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:** [April 18, 2013, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wrong-answers-have-you-found-in-trivial-pursuit/74688/40 "2013-04-18T23:10:00Z")
For **ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness** : > [@](#): > > FOOL: … The reason why the > seven stars are no more than seven is a pretty reason. > KING LEAR: Because they are not eight? > FOOL: Yes, indeed: thou wouldst make a good fool. > > _King Lear_, Act I, Scene V [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wrong-answers-have-you-found-in-trivial-pursuit/74688.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wrong-answers-have-you-found-in-trivial-pursuit/74688.md?page=3)