Read Ken Jennings's Trivia Almanac Online
Authors: Ken Jennings
10.
1995
D
IANE
W
HITE, WRITING
in the
Boston Globe,
coins the word “bridezilla.”
ALTAR EGOS
1.
Of whom did Oscar Levant quip “Always a bride, never a bridesmaid”?
2.
What bloodbath followed Henry of Navarre’s 1572 wedding to Marguerite of Valois?
3.
In what film is the real name of “the Bride” revealed to be Beatrix Kiddo?
4.
What literary title character’s wedding is interrupted at the altar by a lawyer’s revelation that the groom is already married to Bertha Mason?
5.
Who was the last bride to marry in the White House?
JUNE 30
1859
C
HARLES
B
LONDIN BECOMES
an instant celebrity for his tightrope walk across Niagara Falls. This nineteenth-century David Blaine crosses blindfolded, on stilts, with a wheelbarrow, and even cooks and eats an omelette en route.
DON’T GO CHASING WATERFALLS
1.
In what 1986 movie does Jeremy Irons scale South America’s Iguazu Falls?
2.
The island in the middle of Victoria Falls is named for what famous man, the first European to see the falls?
3.
What country is home to Angel Falls, the world’s tallest waterfall?
4.
What literary villain died during a struggle at Reichenbach Falls?
5.
What river’s waterfalls led to the naming of the Cascade Range?
1987
M
ADONNA RELEASES
“Who’s That Girl?,” the theme song to her new film, which had originally been titled
Slammer.
WHO’S THAT GIRL?
Name the number one hit from each of these artists with “girl” in the title.
Easy
1.
Rick Springfield
2.
Gwen Stefani
3.
The Temptations
4.
Avril Lavigne
5.
Christina Aguilera
Harder
1.
Pet Shop Boys
2.
The Four Seasons
3.
Hall & Oates
4.
Paula Abdul
5.
Donna Summer
Yeah, Good Luck
1.
The Chi-Lites
2.
Steve Lawrence
3.
Milli Vanilli
4.
Elton John
5.
Charlie Rich
1987
C
ANADA INTRODUCES ITS NEW
bronze-plated dollar coin. Because of the waterbird pictured on the reverse, the coin is quickly nicknamed “the Loonie.”
THE THING WITH FEATHERS
What bird was used as an alias by each of these people?
1.
CIA agent Joe Turner, in a Robert Redford film
2.
Costumed criminal Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot
3.
The new leader of the title gang in
The Warriors
4.
Tom Clancy’s CIA agent in the Kremlin
5.
Michael Arlen’s detective rip-off of
The Saint,
played on-screen by George Sanders
June Answers
JUNE 1
SEASON CYCLE
1.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
2.
Indian (
The World’s Fastest Indian
)
3.
The Dakar Rally
4.
Milwaukee
5.
Macau
COME TOGETHER
1.
Have a pair of twins
2.
Names inspired by movie titles
3.
Sang James Bond themes
4.
Band member committed suicide
5.
Eric Clapton
6.
Drummer sang lead
7.
Hailed from Glasgow
8.
Had an eponymous song on an eponymous album
9.
Changed their name for legal reasons
10.
Duos
11.
Had a hit with a repeated three-word title (“Turn! Turn! Turn!,” “Bills, Bills, Bills,” “Bye Bye Bye,” “Yummy Yummy Yummy”)
12.
Named for a song by another artist
13.
Had hits about Superman
14.
Complete-sentence band names
15.
One-letter album titles (
X, A, i, Z
)
JUNE 2
ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US
Easy
1.
South Carolina
2.
Kentucky
3.
Kansas
4.
Indiana
5.
Maryland
Harder
1.
New York
2.
Texas
3.
New Jersey
4.
North Carolina
5.
Georgia
Yeah, Good Luck
1.
California
2.
Oklahoma
3.
Tennessee
4.
Hawaii
5.
Virginia
ALL YOUR BASS ARE BELONG TO US
Easy
1.
Red Hot Chili Peppers (and Fear)
2.
Led Zeppelin
3.
The Police
4.
The Who
5.
Nirvana
Harder
1.
The Dave Matthews Band
2.
The Smiths
3.
Rush
4.
Primus
5.
Chicago
Yeah, Good Luck
1.
Linkin Park
2.
The Pogues
3.
The Roots
4.
Modest Mouse
5.
The Kinks
WHAT’S ON FIRST?
1.
Kukla, Fran and Ollie