Yes, you have heard of him.
O. Henry was the pen name of American writer William Sydney Porter whose short stories are known for their clever twist endings.
Among his most famous stories are:
* "The Gift of the Magi" about a young couple who are short of money but desperately want to buy each other Christmas gifts. Unbeknownst to Jim, Della sells her most valuable possession, her beautiful hair, in order to buy a platinum fob chain for Jim's watch; while unbeknownst to Della, Jim sells his own most valuable possession, his watch, to buy jeweled combs for Della's hair. The essential premise of this story has been copied, re-worked, parodied, and otherwise re-told countless times in the century since it was written.
* "The Ransom of Red Chief", in which two men kidnap a boy of ten. The boy turns out to be so bratty and obnoxious that the desperate men ultimately pay the boy's father $250 to take him back.
* "The Cop and the Anthem" about a New York City hobo named Soapy, who sets out to get arrested so he can avoid sleeping in the cold winter as a guest of the city jail. Despite efforts at petty theft, vandalism, disorderly conduct, and "mashing" with a young prostitute, Soapy fails to draw the attention of the police. Disconsolate, he pauses in front of a church, where an organ anthem inspires him to clean up his life—whereupon he is promptly charged for loitering and sentenced to three months in prison, exactly what he originally set to do.
* "After Twenty Years", set on a dark street in New York, focuses on a man named "Silky" Bob who is fulfilling an appointment made 20 years ago to meet his friend Jimmy at a restaurant. A beat cop questions him about what he is doing there. Bob explains, and the policeman leaves. Later, a second policeman comes up and arrests Bob. He gives Bob a note, in which the first policeman explains that he was Jimmy, come to meet Bob, but he recognized Bob as a wanted man. Unwilling to arrest his old friend, he went off to get another officer to make the arrest.
More on Wikipedia.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Why You Gotta Lie About Bacon?
Matthe shepard doesn’t care (342 points)
Alex's boyz (325)
Bufff and blue balls (322)
Jackie is as sick as bea arthur (275)
Bacon causes swine flu (218)
Welsh kings
This little piggy went to mexico
These nuts
Alex's boyz (325)
Bufff and blue balls (322)
Jackie is as sick as bea arthur (275)
Bacon causes swine flu (218)
Welsh kings
This little piggy went to mexico
These nuts
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Oh, that's a lot of misplaced pig jokes...
Specter plays for the other team (370 points)
Play to win (351)
Arlen specter gadget / Seriously swine flue team name sucks (306) Tie
I will smash your face into jelly / Eric just got back from Mexico and all he got us was this lousy swine flu (283) Tie
And in firs place…sicili's bitches
Swine flu, so now will you sleep with me?
It's a bird, its' a plane, it's airforce one
Frog baby tastes like chicken
Crack daze chandelier
Team cleve
How do you cure swine flu? "Oink ment"
Arlen specter: I'd rather have swine flue than be a republican
Da big time playas
2 alex's. 1 cup. Go caps
Syndrom of a down
Thank god my swine flu isn't contagious
Tarheels
Play to win (351)
Arlen specter gadget / Seriously swine flue team name sucks (306) Tie
I will smash your face into jelly / Eric just got back from Mexico and all he got us was this lousy swine flu (283) Tie
And in firs place…sicili's bitches
Swine flu, so now will you sleep with me?
It's a bird, its' a plane, it's airforce one
Frog baby tastes like chicken
Crack daze chandelier
Team cleve
How do you cure swine flu? "Oink ment"
Arlen specter: I'd rather have swine flue than be a republican
Da big time playas
2 alex's. 1 cup. Go caps
Syndrom of a down
Thank god my swine flu isn't contagious
Tarheels
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
You're So Literal
Common Literary References You Probably Make Every Day-
Big Brother - the name of the omnipresent dictatorship in George Orwell's "1984". This term has come to suggest the government is over-monitoring its people and is used quite commonly by pundants, but its origins are literary.
Catch 22 - Aka a situation where, no matter what choice you make, something bad is going to happen. Joseph Heller actually created this term when he wrote his novel "Catch-22". And, no, 22 does not have a specific meaning behind it. First he wanted to go with "18", but another World War II novel had already been printed with that number in the title (Leon Uris's "Mila 18"). Next Heller tried "11" but the Rat Pack movie "Ocean's 11" had just come out a year earlier. At some point he started randomly picking numbers and ended up with 22. Why any number at all? Heller wanted to say that, when bureaucracy gets bad enough to cause such extremem problems, it will also been giving those problems numbers.
Women; can't live with them, can't live without them - From "Lysistrata", a Greek comedy written by Aristophanes circa 411 BCE. While translations vary, the most common is "These impossible women! How they do get around us! How true the saying: 'Can't live with them, or without them.'"
Lolita - Using the word "Lolita" to describe a sexually-advanced underage girl actually comes from the novel "Lolita", written by Vladimir Nabokov in 1955.
Yahoo - Coined by Jonathan Swift in "Gulliver's Travels". The main character ends up in a country ruled by horses how boss around deformed, brutish, primitive humans, called Yahoos.
From 11points.com which is quickly becoming my new favorite site.
Big Brother - the name of the omnipresent dictatorship in George Orwell's "1984". This term has come to suggest the government is over-monitoring its people and is used quite commonly by pundants, but its origins are literary.
Catch 22 - Aka a situation where, no matter what choice you make, something bad is going to happen. Joseph Heller actually created this term when he wrote his novel "Catch-22". And, no, 22 does not have a specific meaning behind it. First he wanted to go with "18", but another World War II novel had already been printed with that number in the title (Leon Uris's "Mila 18"). Next Heller tried "11" but the Rat Pack movie "Ocean's 11" had just come out a year earlier. At some point he started randomly picking numbers and ended up with 22. Why any number at all? Heller wanted to say that, when bureaucracy gets bad enough to cause such extremem problems, it will also been giving those problems numbers.
Women; can't live with them, can't live without them - From "Lysistrata", a Greek comedy written by Aristophanes circa 411 BCE. While translations vary, the most common is "These impossible women! How they do get around us! How true the saying: 'Can't live with them, or without them.'"
Lolita - Using the word "Lolita" to describe a sexually-advanced underage girl actually comes from the novel "Lolita", written by Vladimir Nabokov in 1955.
Yahoo - Coined by Jonathan Swift in "Gulliver's Travels". The main character ends up in a country ruled by horses how boss around deformed, brutish, primitive humans, called Yahoos.
From 11points.com which is quickly becoming my new favorite site.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
I Love the Smell of Trivia in the Morning...
Buff and blue balls (268 points)
Alex's boy (251)
Stephanie tanner (235)
Boyles villagers (207)
Katie's Crabs (144)
Kris allen's boyfriend
The Killers
Alex's boy (251)
Stephanie tanner (235)
Boyles villagers (207)
Katie's Crabs (144)
Kris allen's boyfriend
The Killers
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
It's My Earth Day Too, Yeah Yeah
Earth Day - celebrated April 22 - is a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the environment. It was founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teaching event.
The United Nations celebrates an Earth Day each year on the March equinox, which is often March 20, a tradition which was founded by peace activist John McConnell in 1969.
Senator Nelson chose the date of April 22nd in order to maximize participation on college campuses for what he conceived as an environmental "teach-in". This date did not fall during exams or spring breaks and did not conflict with religious holidays such as Easter or Passover. More students were likely to be in class, and there would be less competition with other events mid-week, so he chose Wednesday, April 22.
When asked whether he had purposely chosen Lenin's 100th birthday, Nelson explained that as a year had only 365 days a year and more than 3.7 billion people in the world, every day was the birthday of ten million living people. “On any given day, a lot of both good and bad people were born,” he said. “A person many consider the world’s first environmentalist, Saint Francis of Assisi, was born on April 22.“[ "The Man from Clear Lake: Earth Day Founder Gaylord Nelson", University of Wisconsin Press]
April 21 was the birthday of John Muir, who founded the Sierra Club.
April 22 is also the birthday of Julius Sterling Morton, the founder of Arbor Day which was started in 1872. Arbor Day became a legal holiday in Nebraska in 1885, to be permanently observed on April 22.
Learn more on Wikipedia or Take Action at Earth Day Network.
The United Nations celebrates an Earth Day each year on the March equinox, which is often March 20, a tradition which was founded by peace activist John McConnell in 1969.
Senator Nelson chose the date of April 22nd in order to maximize participation on college campuses for what he conceived as an environmental "teach-in". This date did not fall during exams or spring breaks and did not conflict with religious holidays such as Easter or Passover. More students were likely to be in class, and there would be less competition with other events mid-week, so he chose Wednesday, April 22.
When asked whether he had purposely chosen Lenin's 100th birthday, Nelson explained that as a year had only 365 days a year and more than 3.7 billion people in the world, every day was the birthday of ten million living people. “On any given day, a lot of both good and bad people were born,” he said. “A person many consider the world’s first environmentalist, Saint Francis of Assisi, was born on April 22.“[ "The Man from Clear Lake: Earth Day Founder Gaylord Nelson", University of Wisconsin Press]
April 21 was the birthday of John Muir, who founded the Sierra Club.
April 22 is also the birthday of Julius Sterling Morton, the founder of Arbor Day which was started in 1872. Arbor Day became a legal holiday in Nebraska in 1885, to be permanently observed on April 22.
Learn more on Wikipedia or Take Action at Earth Day Network.
Oh Witty Team Names, How I Love You!
Capt. Watermellon (291 points)
Ruck the fangers, go caps (272)
Sloan blazer (252)
The gravy robbers (239)
If that somali pirate is legal then so is your sister (228)
Tina turner overdrive comeback tour
Hey snyder, keep campbell. We'll give you a dirty sanchez for free
Is that ibrophen in your panties or are you happy to see me
Off to men
Abby Normal
Obama 1 pirates 0
Craigslist not so happy ending
Boooooooooo
Is it football season yet?
Watching the nationals is torture enough
Grilled maji taco
Etting runk on the reg
Superior mediocrity
Has Bo Paid All His Taxes?
Playground Menaces
Last place wannabes
Kings
Ruck the fangers, go caps (272)
Sloan blazer (252)
The gravy robbers (239)
If that somali pirate is legal then so is your sister (228)
Tina turner overdrive comeback tour
Hey snyder, keep campbell. We'll give you a dirty sanchez for free
Is that ibrophen in your panties or are you happy to see me
Off to men
Abby Normal
Obama 1 pirates 0
Craigslist not so happy ending
Boooooooooo
Is it football season yet?
Watching the nationals is torture enough
Grilled maji taco
Etting runk on the reg
Superior mediocrity
Has Bo Paid All His Taxes?
Playground Menaces
Last place wannabes
Kings
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
Question of the Week
We will be having trivia this week. Woo hoo!
Here is your question of the week:
(Movies) In what 2002 film did Kate Bosworth star as a surfer girl determined to rule at the Pipemaster's Invitational?
Here is your question of the week:
(Movies) In what 2002 film did Kate Bosworth star as a surfer girl determined to rule at the Pipemaster's Invitational?
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Where Do Tweedledee and Tweedledum Come From?
The words Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee make their first appearance in print in an epigram by John Byrom (1692–1763);
Some say, compar'd to Bononcini
That Mynheer Handel's but a Ninny
Others aver, that he to Handel
Is scarcely fit to hold a Candle
Strange all this Difference should be
'Twixt Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee!
Starting in the early nineteenth century, collections of nursery rhymes began to include:
Tweedledum and Tweedledee
Agreed to have a battle;
For Tweedledum said Tweedledee
Had spoiled his nice new rattle.
Just then flew down a monstrous crow,
As black as a tar-barrel;
Which frightened both the heroes so,
They quite forgot their quarrel.
The third (and only source I knew of prior to today) is Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass. Carroll, having introduced two fat little men named Tweedledum and Tweedledee, quotes the above nursery rhyme, which the two brothers then go on to enact. The Tweedle brothers never contradict each other, even when one of them, according to the rhyme, "agrees to have a battle". Rather, they complement each other's words.
More at Wikipedia.
Some say, compar'd to Bononcini
That Mynheer Handel's but a Ninny
Others aver, that he to Handel
Is scarcely fit to hold a Candle
Strange all this Difference should be
'Twixt Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee!
Starting in the early nineteenth century, collections of nursery rhymes began to include:
Tweedledum and Tweedledee
Agreed to have a battle;
For Tweedledum said Tweedledee
Had spoiled his nice new rattle.
Just then flew down a monstrous crow,
As black as a tar-barrel;
Which frightened both the heroes so,
They quite forgot their quarrel.
The third (and only source I knew of prior to today) is Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass. Carroll, having introduced two fat little men named Tweedledum and Tweedledee, quotes the above nursery rhyme, which the two brothers then go on to enact. The Tweedle brothers never contradict each other, even when one of them, according to the rhyme, "agrees to have a battle". Rather, they complement each other's words.
More at Wikipedia.
Monday, April 6, 2009
On This Day in History
The 1896 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad or the first modern olympics were held in Athens, Greece, from April 6 to April 15, 1896.
The Games had the largest international participation of any sporting event to that date. Panathinaiko Stadium, the first big stadium in the modern world, overflowed with the largest crowd ever to watch a sporting event. The most successful competitor of 1896 was German wrestler and gymnast Carl Schuhmann, who won four gold medals.
Events at the first modern Olympics included cycling, fencing, gymnastics, shooting, swimming (held in the open ocean because the organizers had refused to spend the money for a specially constructed stadium), tennis, weightlifting, and wrestling.
The first place winners in each event received silver medals, an olive branch and a diploma. Athletes who placed second received copper medals, a branch of laurel and a diploma. Third place winners did not receive a medal.
The concept of national teams was not a major part of the Olympic movement until 10 years later. As such, there is some conflict with regard to which nations competed. The following 14 are most likely to have been recognized by the Olympic Committee: Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States.
More on Wikipedia.
The Games had the largest international participation of any sporting event to that date. Panathinaiko Stadium, the first big stadium in the modern world, overflowed with the largest crowd ever to watch a sporting event. The most successful competitor of 1896 was German wrestler and gymnast Carl Schuhmann, who won four gold medals.
Events at the first modern Olympics included cycling, fencing, gymnastics, shooting, swimming (held in the open ocean because the organizers had refused to spend the money for a specially constructed stadium), tennis, weightlifting, and wrestling.The first place winners in each event received silver medals, an olive branch and a diploma. Athletes who placed second received copper medals, a branch of laurel and a diploma. Third place winners did not receive a medal.
The concept of national teams was not a major part of the Olympic movement until 10 years later. As such, there is some conflict with regard to which nations competed. The following 14 are most likely to have been recognized by the Olympic Committee: Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States.
More on Wikipedia.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Reminder: No Trivia This Week
Just a friendly reminder: there is no trivia this week!
See you next week!
See you next week!
Friday, April 3, 2009
An Easter Related Questions
Why are eggs and bunnies associated with Easter?
Religious implications aside, Easter is essentially a celebration of springtime – a time in which big rabbits make a whole lot of little rabbits and birds lay a whole lot of eggs, thus symbolizing rebirth.
The more complicated question is, why does the Easter bunny lay eggs? This strange story originated as an Anglo-Saxon legend in which Eostre (the goddess of spring) turned a frozen bird into a hare to help it survive the harsh winter. The story was passed down through generations, and by the 1700s, Dutch settlers in America were telling their children that if they were good, the Easter bunny would come to their house and lay a beautiful nest of colorful eggs. No one is sure why, but these kids really wanted colored eggs, so they went to great lengths to lure the magical bunny into their hones to lay her nest. Eventually, this led to our current celebration Easter.
Thanks to MentalFloss. More Easter related trivia to come.
Religious implications aside, Easter is essentially a celebration of springtime – a time in which big rabbits make a whole lot of little rabbits and birds lay a whole lot of eggs, thus symbolizing rebirth.
The more complicated question is, why does the Easter bunny lay eggs? This strange story originated as an Anglo-Saxon legend in which Eostre (the goddess of spring) turned a frozen bird into a hare to help it survive the harsh winter. The story was passed down through generations, and by the 1700s, Dutch settlers in America were telling their children that if they were good, the Easter bunny would come to their house and lay a beautiful nest of colorful eggs. No one is sure why, but these kids really wanted colored eggs, so they went to great lengths to lure the magical bunny into their hones to lay her nest. Eventually, this led to our current celebration Easter.
Thanks to MentalFloss. More Easter related trivia to come.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
A Plethora of Teams
H I Jay Ray L M N O P (314)
MK and Pete won't find better friends in Colorao (278)
Sham pow…you know cause he punched a hooker / better watch your ass tomorrow--april Fool's beyotch (272) Tie
My Girlfriend gave me Conflicker (267)
At least fargo aint pregnant
New Eastern Mostors Pitchman - Barack Obama
The original team
You'll love my nuts
Pants!!!
Tag teaming the Jonas Brothers
Jayhawks
G7
Check please
For sale
Kate can't drive
Paid to do it 72 times
Tiger's like my herpes, he's making a stong comback
My Friday Nights are finally free now that BSG is over
Deadly accurate pecota projections
Marshmellow Peeps
You can't derelict my balls el bcapitain
Polar Bear and Astronauts
Totes McGotes
Team Rockbottom doesn't know how to keep reservations
MK and Pete won't find better friends in Colorao (278)
Sham pow…you know cause he punched a hooker / better watch your ass tomorrow--april Fool's beyotch (272) Tie
My Girlfriend gave me Conflicker (267)
At least fargo aint pregnant
New Eastern Mostors Pitchman - Barack Obama
The original team
You'll love my nuts
Pants!!!
Tag teaming the Jonas Brothers
Jayhawks
G7
Check please
For sale
Kate can't drive
Paid to do it 72 times
Tiger's like my herpes, he's making a stong comback
My Friday Nights are finally free now that BSG is over
Deadly accurate pecota projections
Marshmellow Peeps
You can't derelict my balls el bcapitain
Polar Bear and Astronauts
Totes McGotes
Team Rockbottom doesn't know how to keep reservations
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