Ken Jennings's Trivia Almanac (8 page)

JANUARY 13

1920
I
N A SCATHING EDITORIAL,
The New York Times
scoffs that rockets will never go to space, since they would “need to have something better than a vacuum against which to react.” The day after
Apollo
11’s 1969 launch, the
Times
will finally publish a retraction: “It is now definitely established that a rocket can function in a vacuum as well as in an atmosphere. The
Times
regrets the error.”

ACTUALLY, IT
IS
ROCKET SCIENCE

1.
The space shuttle’s engines run on what two supercooled liquids?

2.
The U.S.’s first successful ICBM was what rocket named for a Titan of Greek myth, later used to launch John Glenn into orbit?

3.
Most of Robert Goddard’s pioneering rocketry research took place at what western city, now associated with a different kind of spacecraft?

4.
Between 1944 and 1945, almost 1,400 of what rockets fell on London?

5.
What term for a rocket’s propulsive force is calculated by multiplying its exhaust velocity by the burn rate of its fuel?

1962
C
HUBBY CHECKER’S
“T
HE
T
WIST”
hits number one in its second run up the charts—it had already been a number one hit in 1960. It’s still the only song ever to top the Hot 100 twice.

COVER TO COVER

Nine other songs have hit number one in two
different
versions. Name the two-time number one sung by both…

1.
Shocking Blue and Bananarama

2.
Little Eva and Grand Funk

3.
The Jackson 5 and Mariah Carey

4.
Bill Withers and Club Nouveau

5.
Steve Lawrence and Donny Osmond

6.
LaBelle and Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mya, & Pink

7.
Percy Sledge and Michael Bolton

8.
The Marvelettes and the Carpenters

9.
The Supremes and Kim Wilde

10. Bonus Question:
The first two times this happened, the same songwriting team was responsible. Who were they?

1992
M
IA
F
ARROW DISCOVERS
six nude photographs of her daughter Soon-Yi on the mantelpiece of her longtime companion, Woody Allen. Needless to say, this abruptly ends their decade-long, twelve-film collaboration.

WE ARE NOT A MUSE

Who both directed and married these actresses?

Easy

1.
Linda Hamilton

2.
Kate Capshaw

3.
Emma Thompson

4.
Judy Garland

5.
Joanne Woodward

Harder

1.
Frances McDormand

2.
Ingrid Bergman

3.
Brigitte Bardot

4.
Madonna

5.
Geena Davis

Yeah, Good Luck

1.
Giulietta Masina

2.
Arsinée Khanjian

3.
Anna Karina

4.
Gena Rowlands

5.
Nancy Allen

JANUARY 14

1129
A
T THE
C
OUNCIL OF
T
ROYES,
the Catholic Church officially endorses the Knights Templar.

SURELY TEMPLES

1.
Who is worshiped in the “Temple of Doom” discovered by Indiana Jones?

2.
The Khmer words for “city temple” give what building its name?

3.
Anciently, what was the job description of a “hierodule”?

4.
Stone Temple Pilots’ name was inspired by what Clorox brand’s logo?

5.
Who founded the “Peoples Temple” in 1955?

6.
What wonder of the ancient world was destroyed by arson the same night that Alexander the Great was born?

7.
What planet is home to the Jedi Temple?

8.
In what city could you see the Seagull Monument at Temple Square?

9.
What 1992 TV revival featured a duck wearing a Temple University sweatshirt?

10.
What Islamic shrine is today built on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount?

1939
T
HE
T
YRONE
P
OWER WESTERN
Jesse James
opens in New York. A scene in which a horse is forced to leap to its death from the top of a cliff leads to public outrage and eventually the American Humane Association’s “No animals were harmed” disclaimer.

CREATURE FEATURES

What kind of animal is the title character of these movies?

Easy

1.
Babe

2.
My Friend Flicka

3.
Finding Nemo

4.
Mighty Joe Young

Harder

1.
Bringing Up Baby

2.
The Yearling

3.
Oliver & Company

4.
Ben

Yeah, Good Luck

1.
Paulie

2.
Dunston Checks In

3.
Andre

4.
Them!

1951
T
HE
NFL
HOLDS
its very first Pro Bowl, and the American Conference wins dramatically in a tight game, 28–27—probably the first and last time anyone cared about the Pro Bowl.

ALL STARSTRUCK

1.
Who’s the all-time leading scorer in NHL All-Star Game history, with 17 points in just eleven games?

2.
What team had seven of the eight starters on the 1957 National League All-Star team, thanks to ballot stuffing?

3.
What Suns forward beat out Dr. J, Dominique, and Clyde Drexler to win the NBA’s first Slam Dunk Contest?

4.
What college football contest is fought between the Kai and Aina squads?

5.
At just twenty-one, who became the youngest MVP in NBA All-Star Game history?