Date: Thu, 23 Oct 1997 21:16:08 -0500
From: Brenda & Myron
Subject: 20 Questions 20 five
Since I use this quiz as a practice exercise for writing trivia questions, I
thought I'd try my hand at the multiple part question. I have chosen a sort of
familiar theme format for this, but I should add that you need not get any of
the tossups correct before answering the bonuses. The questions exist
independently of each other.
The questions score ten points per answer, with names scoring 5 points for
first name and five points for last name (a nod to Peter's Potpourri quizzes,
my obvious inspiration for this quiz format.)
-A perfect score for this quiz is 500 points.
-Players may use any means they choose to get answers.
This quiz, because it is twice as large as the regular quiz will run until
11:59 PM CST, Wednesday, November 5, 1997.
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Date: Sun, 16 Nov 1997 18:41:03 -0600
From: Brenda & Myron
Subject: ANSWERS--20 Questions 20 five
What have we learned? Two things. Write your questions to avoid possible
multiple answers. Also, no matter how much you may respect another quizmaster,
don't borrow his scoring system. It's best to come up with your own. Read on
for more information, as well as answers and results to:
20 Questions 20 five: Starters and Bonuses
(10 points)
1. Who is the only person to be named both Time Magazine's "Man of the Year"
and Sports Illustrated's "Sportsman of the Year"?
BILLY JEAN KING, who is neither a "man" nor a "sportsman." Deliberate gender
insensitivity for the purpose of not giving away the answer. She was
co-sportsPERSON of the year in 1970, and was one of twelve women honored by
Time in 1975.
(40 points)
2. The John Denver Memorial Question. Name John Denver's four Billboard Hot
100 number one songs.
SUNSHINE ON MY SHOULDERS, ANNIE'S SONG, THANK GOD I'M A COUNTRY BOY, and I'M
SORRY. Fist multiple answer problem. Although I would argue that since there
are 40 possible points, 10 points per answer, and since Denver had 4 number 1
songs, "Leaving on a Jet Plane" by Peter, Paul, and Mary (which he wrote) is
left out. But the way the question is written it's certainly acceptable. I'm
pretty lenient.
(10 points)
3. In what year did the Seattle Pilots play Major League Baseball?
1969
(20 points)
4. The Disney animated film "Hercules" will be released in Greece as "Beyond
the Myth of Hercules" because some Greek scholars don't like the liberties
Disney took with the mythology. For instance, Hercules isn't commonly
known for battling the Minotaur and he didn't fight Medusa either. Who
are more commonly known for battling and killing these two?
THESEUS killed the Minotaur, and PERSEUS killed Medusa. My source on this is
the respected journal of mythological scholarship USA TODAY. There may be
alternate myths, but these two are most commonly given the honors.
(10 points)
5. Who is the author of "Chess Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes" and "The Chess
Mysteries of the Arabian Knights"?
RAYMOND SMULLLYAN
(60 points)
6. Supply the (desired information) regarding these fictional Presidents of
the United States:
a) Julia Mansfield (tv show, actress)
b) Thomas J. Whitmore (movie, actor)
c) Lancelot R. Gilligrass (book, author)
a) HAIL TO THE CHIEF, PATTY DUKE
b) INDEPENDENCE DAY, BILL PULLAM
c) CHARLIE AND THE GREAT GLASS ELEVATOR, ROALD DAHL
(10 points)
7. Who was the last of the 5 Marx Brothers to die?
ZEPPO (1901-1979), real name Herbert. Next problem. Not a single person
answered "Zeppo Marx." Everyone said "Zeppo." Should I give 10 points for
just the first name? I did, but I probably shouldn't have, even if the last
name is mentioned in the question itself.
(20 points)
8. Give the dates of occurance of these fictional annual events:
a) "The Lottery" in Shirley Jackson's short story of the same name
b) "Whacking Day," Springfield's hallowed snake-skull-cracking day.
a) JUNE 27
b) MAY 10, my wife's birthday.
(10 points)
9. "Boy, Girl, Boy, Girl," "Sick, Sick, Sick," and "The Explainers"are
collections of cartoons by what cartoonist?
JULES FEIFFER
(30 points)
10. Name the authors who created a) Sniglets, b) Droodles and
c) Imponderables.
a) RICH HALL, b) ROGER PRICE, and c) DAVID FELDMAN.
(10 points)
11. The cover of the Crash Test Dummies album "God Shuffled His Feet" is
based on a painting by what artist?
TITIAN (The painting is "Bacchus and Ariadne") Same problem as number 7. The
name Titian must be a form of the full name Tiziano Vecellio, but it seems like
everyone just refers to him by the short name Titian. You got 10 points for
one name again. I think I probably wimped out.
(30 points)
12. What are the three U.S. States whose names contain neither the letter A
nor the letter N ?
OHIO, MISSOURI, MISSISSIPPI. Occasional 51st state candidate Puerto Rico also
contains neither an A nor an N.
(10 points)
13. Aibohphobia, according to Michael Donner, is the fear of what?
PALINDROMES Source for this coined word is "I Love Me, Vol. I", Michael
Donner, editor, although it probably has earlier citations.
(60 points)
14. Given the members, name these musical groups who take their names from
titles of movies, and the directors of those movies:
a) John Linnel, John Flansburgh
b) Taime Downe, Greg Steele, Brent Muscat, Eric Stacy, Mark Michals
(note: this is not the only lineup for this group)
c) Roland Gift, David Steele, Andy Cox
a) THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS, directed by ANTHONY HARVEY. There are more members
now, but these two are the recognizable core of the group.
b) FASTER PUSSYCAT(! Kill! Kill!), directed by RUSS MEYER
c) (All the) FINE YOUNG CANNIBALS, directed by MICHAEL ANDERSON
(10 points)
15. Who is the only of the six main members of the cast of FRIENDS whose
name is spelled without repeating any letters of the alphabet?
LISA KUDROW. I have no idea what her middle name is, but because I like this
question so much, I suspect she doesn't have one.
(20 points)
16. Who are the hosts of of the PBS game shows WHERE IN THE WORLD IS CARMEN
SANDIEGO and WHERE IN TIME IS CARMEN SANDIEGO?
GREG LEE and KEVIN SHINICK. It's my own fault for not also asking who plays
The Chief on these two programs (Lynn Thigpen). To say she's not a host of the
show would be mighty insulting I think, so she was accepted.
(10 points)
17. Fairchild, Rainmaker, Grunge, Freefall and Burnout form what comic book's
superhero team?
GEN-13 (actually to the 13th power, but how am I gonna indicate that?) A
multiple part question asked the other way, for variety.
(20 points)
18. In the comic strip Foxtrot, what is the name of Andy Fox's newspaper
column, and what pseudonym does she use for writing it?
ON THE HOME FRONT, ERMA LANDERS
(10 points)
19. What film is Bill Murray's directoring debut?
QUICK CHANGE. He co-directed with Howard Franklin. According to the Internet
Movie Database, it's the only film he's directed.
(100 points)
20. What are the five uniform numbers currently retired by the Minnesota
Twins, and who are the five players in whose honor they were retired?
3-HARMON KILLEBREW, 6-TONY OLIVA, 14-KENT HRBEK, 29-ROD CAREW, 34-KIRBY
PUCKETT. This question should have been written so as to avoid the alternate
answer "Jackie Robinson," but I was asleep at the switch.
Anyway, after all that, we still had a record turnout, and I thank everyone for
playing. Lotta compliments on this quiz, so I'm definately being too hard on
myself about the mistakes.
So who scored highest? Who do you think?
Delphi Trivia Club 500
Dave Zahn 440
Michael Welch 420
Ray Wills 410
Donna R. 310
Anubis 290
Dave Elvis 260
Mark Olson 200
Lori Bailey 190
Marc Dashevsky 150
peter@showtell.com 150
Kaberi Chakrabarty 105
Sybergirl Vickie 80
Steve Silberberg 60
Keith Willoughby 60
Scott Vesnys 10
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20 Question 20 six is ready to play.
Cordially,
Myron M. Meyer
The Man Who