THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM
207-780-4249       www.usm.maine.edu/planet
70 Falmouth Street  Portland, Maine 04103
43.6667° N,                    70.2667° W
Founded January 1970
                    "Heavens on the half shell"


THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Friday, January 15, 2016
Quiz: Trivia Tidbits



The etymology of the word "trivia" is anything but trivial.    Trivia
today means unimportant, but often interesting, information.  The word
derives from the trivium of the Artes Liberales, the three "basics"
aspects of lower education in the Roman world: rhetoric, logic and
grammar.  These topics were considered the precursors to the more
rigorous quadrivium:  arithmetic, astronomy, geometry and music.

In the modern world, trivia remains immensely popular.
We cite as examples the wildly popular "Trivial Pursuit" board game
and the comparably successful, but strangely named, "Trivia Crack"
phone app.
Today, we capitalize on trivia's popularity by offering our own trivial quiz.
Questions about everything under the Sun.  And, unlike the "Brain of
Portland" quiz, which a couple subscribers complained was too
difficult, the questions will be, at least comparatively, trivial.


1.  _____________________ is Canada's only officially bilingual province.
       a.  Quebec
       b. British Columbia
       c.  Newfoundland
       d.  Manitoba

2.  To what are Londoners referring when they speak of the "Tube?"
       a.  the tele  (or television)
       b.  Prince Charles
       c.  the subway system
       d.  Buckingham Palace

3.  "Silicon Valley" is the nickname for which valley in California?
       a. Santa Clara
       b. Santa Maria
       c. Santa Cristo
       d. It isn't a nickname for a valley. It is the nickname of only
seven city blocks.

4.  In 1919, 21 people were killed in Boston after 2 million gallons
of what flooded the streets?
       a.  rum
       b.  molasses
       c.  water
       d.  Coke, the relatively new soft drink

5.   "Vintage wine" refers to what kind of wine?
          a.  wine made from grapes harvested only in southern France
          b.  wine that it at least 12 years old
          c.  wine made from grapes that were all harvested in the same year
          d.  wine that costs more than $225 a bottle

6.  Which state has produced the greatest number of US Presidents?
          a.  Virginia
          b. Massachusetts
          c. Connecticut
          d. Texas

7.  Gum is now included in every package of baseball cards.   What
other product was also included (a long time ago) in package of
baseball cards?
         a.   two tickets to a game at the closest major league stadium
         b.   cigarettes
         c.   a puzzle piece (collect 12 to form the image of a player)
         d.   nothing else was included in the package

8.  Romulus and Remus, Rome's two mythical founders, were nursed as
children by __________________
       a. Athena
       b. the Tiber River
       c.  a wolf
       d. Pegasus

9.  Which famous US General, when asked if he'd run for President, was
quoted as having said, "If nominated, I will not accept. If elected, I
will not serve?"
         a.  Douglas MacArthur
         b.  George Patten
         c   William Sherman
         d.  Norman Schwarzkopf

10.  The classic dog name "Fido" derives from a Latin word meaning
_______________
         a. faithful
         b. free
         c. fierce
         d. four legged

BONUS QUESTION:
In 2005, emotion recognition software analyzed _____________________
expression and calculated that it evinced 83 percent happiness; 9
percent disgust and 2 percent anger.



ANSWERS
1.   a.   Quebec
French and English

2. c.  the subway system

3. a. Santa Clara

4.  b.  molasses

5. c.wine made from grapes that were all harvested in the same year

6. Virginia

7. b. cigarettes

8. c. a wolf

9. c. William Sherman

10. a. faithful

11.  The Mona Lisa's