New Year's Related Tid Bits

* "Auld Lang Syne" was at least partially written by Robert Burns in the 1700's and first published in 1796 after his death. Early variations of the song were sung prior to 1700 and inspired Burns to produce the modern rendition.

* An old Scotch tune, "Auld Lang Syne" literally means "old long ago," or simply, "the good old days."

* Celebrating the new year is the oldest of all holidays and was first observed in ancient Babylon about 4,000 years ago.

* Originally, the new year was celebrated after the first day of spring. The Romans continued to observe the new year in late March, but since their calendar was continually tampered by emperors the senate voted in 153 BC to declare January 1 as the beginning of the new year.

* Using a baby to signify the new year began in Greece around 600 BC. At the time, you could celebrate Dionysus, the god of wine, by parading a baby in a basket to represent the annual rebirth of the god.

* The early Babylonian's most popular resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment.

* In 1904 the first rooftop celebration atop One Times Square, complete with a fireworks display, took place produced by The New York Times to inaugurate its new headquarters.

* The first Ball Lowering celebration at One Times Square was held on December 31, 1907 and is now seen via satellite by more than one billion people worldwide each year.

* The original New Year's Eve Ball weighed 700 pounds and was 5 feet in diameter. It was made of iron and wood and was decorated with 100 25-watt light bulbs.

* In many parts of U.S. it is tradition to eat black-eyed peas on New Year's which have been considered good luck in many cultures. Cabbage is another "good luck" vegetable as it is a sign of prosperity and paper currency.

Question of the Week

Question of the week:
(Animal Planet) What is the only bird which provides us with leather?

Merry Christmas! Have Some Trivia!!!

* The Nutcracker is a fairy tale-ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, composed in 1891–92.

* The ballet was based on the story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" written in 1816 by E. T. A. Hoffmann.

* Tchaikovsky was less happy with The Nutcracker than with The Sleeping Beauty, finished beforehand.

* The of The Nutcracker story has been published in many book versions including colorful children-friendly versions. The plot revolves around a German girl named Clara (sometimes called Marie).

* The work opens with a brief "Miniature Overture" which sets the fairy mood by using upper registers of the orchestra exclusively. The curtain opens to reveal a Christmas Eve at Clara's house. She is given a nutcrakcer by her godfather, Herr Drosselmeyer, which is promptly broken by her brother Fritz.

* After the party ends, Herr Drosselmeyer repairs the nutcracker. Clara then awakens and, at the stroke of midnight, Clara becomes entangled in a fight to help the nutcracker - now alive - defeat the Mouse King.

* In the original story by E.T.A. Hoffmann, the Prince is actually Drosselmeyer's nephew, who had been turned into a Nutcracker by the Mouse King. All of the events following the Christmas party have been arranged by Drosselmeyer in order to break the spell.

* Clara and the Prince travel to a world where dancing Snowflakes greet them and fairies and queens dance, welcoming Clara and the Prince into their world. The score conveys the wondrous images by introducing a wordless children's chorus. The curtain falls on Act I.

For more on all things Nutcracker, see wiki.

Christmas Eve Eve Scores

Bearly Licorce (373 points)
Mr. Bannana Grabber (307)
Cindy Jew Hoos (294)
The DEA Busts High Men (293)
Joseph Was the Real Virgin / Vienna Council (276) Tie
Buddy the Elf - What's Your Favorite Color?
Festivus Miracle
Ortega Makes My Taco Pop
All Smilez
Buy 1 Get 1 Free
One Round Behind
No Name

Beaker Wishes You a Merry Christmas

Question of the Week

Yes the weather outside IS frightful but Trivia is so delightful!

If you are in town this week come out to Rock Bottom on Tuesday. There will be a smattering of both Holiday and regular trivia questions.

Here is your question of the week:

What son of Italian immigrants received a 1953 patent for his invention, the “Model A Ice Resurfacer”?

Christmas Covers

a. Last Christmas (Wham!) – Jimmy Eat World
b. All I Want For Christmas (Mariah Carey) – Heike Has the Giggles
c. Christmas Don't Be Late (Alvin and the Chipmunks) – Rosie Thomas
d. Merry Christmas, I Don't Wanna Fight (The Ramones) – Absosi Seksu
e. White Christmas (Bing Crosby/Irving Berlin) – Louis Armstrong
f. Blue Christmas (Ernest Tubb/Elvis) – Johnny Cash
g. Fairytale of New York (The Pogues) –
h. 2000 Miles (The Pretenders) – Coldplay
i. River (Travis) – Joni Mitchell

Jingle all the way to JRs

If the Shoe Hits (334 points)
Joey's Boyz (321)
Buff and Blue Balls (313)
Baby Jesus Can't Lose (164)
Fetus McMuffin (158)
Big D
What Would the J's Do? Anyone
Drunk Bitches Who Hate Trivia
John O

Fa La La La Rock Bottom

My Little Pony Built My Hotrod (330 points)
Betty Paige Was Still Alive? (319)
Chuck Norris Always Gets Laid on the First Date (281)
All the Hoos in Hooville (270)
Team Licorice Bears (268)
Nightmen
Nick's New Slogan: Throw Your Shoes at the President of the US. Just Do It.
Chesterfield Willows
Jenga All the Way
That's Basist
Fra Gee Lay
Antidouche Bag League
Daymen
Whatchamacarcass
Gwinet Refugees
He Wasn't Playing God He Was Being Judged by Him
I've Got This Thing and it's F'ing Golden
There's No Nation Like Donation

December Schedule for Rock Bottom Trivia

FYI, here is the schedule for the holiday season:

Tuesday, December 16 - Annual Holiday Trivia!
Tuesday, December 23 - Trivia is on; questions with a smattering of holiday trivia.
Tuesday, December 30 - New Years Eve Eve Trivia
Tuesday, January 6 - 2008 in Review Trivia!

Question of the Week

What was the name of the angel that helped James Stewart in "It's a Wonderful Life"?

I Sense a Theme...

a. Praise You – Fatboy Slim
b. Kryie – Mister Mister
c. Crucify – Tori Amos
d. Monkey Goes to Heaven - Pixies
e. Church of the Poison Mind – Culture Club
f. Jesus Take the Wheel – Carrie Underwood
g. Son of a Preacher Man – Dusty Springfield
h. Heaven – Talking Heads
i. Jesus is Just Alright With Me – Doobie Brothers
j. Dear God – XTC
k. Faith – George Michael

Strangest Christmas Tradition Ever

The “Caganer”
In Catalonia, Spain as well as in the rest of the country (and throughout much of Italy), traditional Christmas decorations include a large model of the city of Bethlehem. This are similar to Nativity scenes popular throughout the English-speaking world but show the entire city rather than just the manger scene. These scenes include the caganer who is often tucked away in a corner of the model, typically nowhere near the manger scene. The reason for his position relates to the direct translation of "caganer" which is Catalan for "pooper". Yes and that is exactly the little statue is doing; defecating.


Suggested reasons for this traditional excreting man being included in the religious scene include:
* Tradition
* Humor
* The game of "Finding the Caganer"
* The Caganer, by creating feces, is fertilizing the Earth
* The Caganer represents the equality of all people. After all, regardless of status, race, or gender, everyone defecates.
* The idea that God will manifest when s/he is ready, whether human beings are ready or not.
* The caganer reinforces that Jesus is God in human form. And that includes all the bodily functions.

Of course, you can now purchase Caganers that look like the rich and famous. See Caganer.com

Topical Team Names Strike Again

Drink the Beer (328 points)
DVDA (309)
The Walrus and the Carpenter (294)
The Economy Is So Bad You Can't Even Sell a Senate Seat (283)
The Racing Presidents (268)
Governor Perp Walk
The Scott Farkas Affair
My Other Car Is a White Bronco
I Fist a Girl and I Liked It
The Fearsome Foursome
Neil Goldberg is not Allowed to Choose Team Names Anymore
Jawbreaker Hoodie Mafia
Claudia's Sweaty Boobs
Licorce Bears
Republicunts / Auto Bailout (Tie)
I Hope They Catch the Real Killer …I Mean Kidnapper
Dr Cockblock-t-pus
Rosies a Spy
Obama's Big Caucus
The Nick Team
Greenman

Question of the Week

(TV) Which Teletubby's name is first alphabetically?

67th Annivesary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor

* The attack on Pearl Harbor (or Hawaii Operation) was a surprise strike by the Japanese navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

* The attack occurred on the morning of Sunday, December 7, 1941.

* The attack consisted of two aerial attack waves totaling 353 aircraft, launched from six Japanese aircraft carriers.

* In total, four U.S. Navy battleships sank (two of which were raised and returned to service late in the war) and damaged four more. In addition three cruisers, three destroyers, and one minelayer sank or were damaged and 188 aircraft were destroyed. 2,402 persons were killed and 1,282 were wounded.

* Japanese losses included 29 aircraft and five small submarines, with 65 servicemen killed or wounded.

* The strike was intended to neutralize the U.S. Pacific Fleet thereby protecting Japan's advance into Malaya and the Dutch East Indies.

* Prior to the attack, the U.S. had first halted shipments of airplanes, parts, machine tools, and aviation gasoline then all oil exports to Japan.

* The attack unintentionally occurred before a formal declaration of war which had been scheduled for delivery shortly prior to the attack beginning. While the attack ultimately took place first, Admiral Yamamoto originally stipulated the attack begin thirty minutes after Japan had informed the United States she considered the peace negotiations at an end thus allowing the Japanese to uphold the conventions of war while still holding on to an element of surprise.

* 14 officers and sailors were awarded the Medal of Honor. A special military award, the Pearl Harbor Commemorative Medal, was later authorized for all military veterans of the attack.

For more, see Wikipedia.

Scores de JRs

Gay Marriage Saves the Economy (304)
Isaac's Boyz (281)
Two Jerks and Squirt (262)
We Will Not Get Last Place (239)
Buff and Blue Balls (204)
Plaxico Burress Gun Club
Rumple Foreskin and Friends
The Gys

You're a Mean One, Mr Grinch

* How the Grinch Stole Christmas! was first published in 1957 and was adapted into as a short animated film in 1966.

* Frankenstein’s Monster himself, Boris Karloff, provided the voice of the Grinch and the narration for the movie.

* Dr. Seuss was initially uninterested in animating this or any of his books, but Chuck Jones managed to persuade him.

* The two voice parts sound a bit different because the sound people went back to the Grinch’s parts and removed all of the high tones in Karloff’s voice.
* Tony the Tiger (Thurl Ravenscroft) is the voice behind “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.” He received no credit on screen causing Dr. Seuss to write to newspapers all over America to let them know exactly who had sung the song.

* Dr. Seuss wrote the lyrics to all the songs.

* The lyrics to the song "Fahoo Forays" were made to imitate classical Latin. After the special aired, the studio received letters asking for a translation from people who believed them to be real Latin.

* The Grinch's green color was decided by director Chuck Jones' experiences renting cars in the Washington-Baltimore area which he claimed always turned out to be the exact shade.

* After the Grinch's "change of heart", his pupils change from red to blue.

For all things movie, see IMDB

Still Awesome When Full of Turkey

Yes Yes Take Off Your Dress (319 points)
An Economic Turduckin with a Lame Duck (312)
Greg's Got a New Face (294)
Boxing Day Time Machine to Kill Hitler (269)
Plaxico is my Bodyguard (204)
I Shot Plaxico Burress
Attoca Astros Draft Burress
Booty Sweat / Chesterfield Willows (Tie)
You'll Shoot Your Eye Out
Here for the Consummation Prize
Plaxco Can Catch a Bullet Better than he Can Catch a Football
Jingle Balls
Half Jewish
Geek

Question of the Week

What was the name of the dog in the TV sit-com `Mad About You`?

JRs Pre Turkey Stars

Turkey Lurky Time (325 points)
Joeys Boyz (316)
Buff and Blue (311)
Zina Hilary Aris (226)
Pardoned Turkeys (209)
Peteys Balls
Jason's Pool
Date Rape
Nicks Drinking Stars

Fight! Skate!!

Thankful for Trivia

$810 Billion Bailout and All I Got Was This Lousy Tshirt (308 points)
Jack Bauer says Guys with Glasses Drink (302)
Bonus to Win (288)
What would Brian Boitano Do? (250)
Somali Rogers / Team Boner (234) Tie
Dancing With the Stars is Laaaame!!!
When They Say They're 18 They're Really 12
Blackjack
I Wear Girls' Panties
Half Jewish
Is it Too Late to Bail Out Enron?!
Admiral Ackbar and the Traps
Dirty birds
Posthumosly Pardoned Turkey
Team Name
Delawhere?

Turkey Day Trivia

-The first recorded Thanksgiving ceremony in North America took place on September 8, 1565 when 600 Spanish settlers landed at what is now St. Augustine, Florida, and immediately held a Mass of Thanksgiving for their safe delivery to the New World. After mass came much feasting and celebration.

-On December 4, 1619, 38 English settlers arrived at Berkeley Hundred. The group's charter required their day of arrival be observed yearly as a "day of thanksgiving" to God. On that first day, Captain John Woodleaf held the service of thanksgiving. This site became Berkeley Plantation and is still host to an annual Thanksgiving event. President George W. Bush gave his official Thanksgiving address in 2007 at Berkeley.

-Squanto, a Patuxet Native American who resided with the Wampanoag tribe, taught the Pilgrims how to catch eel and grow corn and served as an interpreter for them. The Pilgrims set apart a day to celebrate at Plymouth immediately after their first harvest, in 1621. At the time, this was not regarded as a Thanksgiving observance but a harvest festival.
-The Pilgrims did not hold a true Thanksgiving until 1623, following a drought, prayers for rain, and a subsequent rain shower. Irregular Thanksgivings continued after favorable events and days of fasting after unfavorable ones. In the Plymouth tradition, a thanksgiving day was a church observance, rather than a feast day.

-The Massachusetts Bay Colony which consisted mainly of Puritan Christians celebrated Thanksgiving for the first time in 1630, and frequently thereafter until about 1680, when it became an annual festival in that colony.

-During the American Revolutionary War the Continental Congress appointed one or more thanksgiving days each year. The First National Proclamation of Thanksgiving was given by the Continental Congress in 1777. George Washington proclaimed a Thanksgiving in December 1777 as a victory celebration honoring the defeat of the British at Saratoga.

-A Thanksgiving Day was annually appointed by the governor of New York from 1817. In some of the Southern states there was opposition to the observance on the grounds that it was a relic of Puritanic bigotry. Still, by 1858 governors of 25 states and two territories had appointed a day of thanksgiving.

-In the middle of the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln, prompted by a series of editorials written by Sarah Josepha Hale, proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day, to be celebrated on the final Thursday in November 1863. Ever since, Thanksgiving has been observed annually in the United States and Lincoln's successors followed his example of annually declaring the final Thursday in November to be Thanksgiving.

-1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt broke with this tradition. November had five Thursdays that year, and Roosevelt declared the fourth Thursday as Thanksgiving rather than the fifth one. In 1940, in which November had four Thursdays, he declared the third one as Thanksgiving, suggesting his plan was to establish the holiday on the next-to-last Thursday in the month instead of the last one. With the country still in the midst of The Great Depression, Roosevelt thought an earlier Thanksgiving would give merchants a longer period to sell goods before Christmas. At the time, advertising goods for Christmas before Thanksgiving was considered inappropriate.

-The U.S. Congress in 1941 split the difference and passed a bill requiring that Thanksgiving be observed annually on the fourth Thursday of November, which was sometimes the last Thursday and sometimes (less frequently) the next to last.

-Since at least 1947 the National Turkey Federation has presented the President of the United States with one live turkey and two dressed turkeys, in a ceremony known as the National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation. The live turkey is pardoned and lives out the rest of its days on a peaceful farm. While it is commonly held that this pardoning tradition began with Harry Truman in 1947, the Truman Library has been unable to find any evidence for this. The earliest on record is with George H. W. Bush in 1989.

To read Thanksgiving Proclamations in full, please see Wikipedia

Question of the Week

(Movies/Music) What pop star sang the song “Reflections” on the soundtrack for Disney’s 1998 film “Mulan”?

Album Art

For all the fun album art spoofs from this week's bonus sheet, check out this list.

Rock Bottom Scores

Octopussy is Totally a Fish (348 points)
Shari and Dae are Freaking Engaged (340)
Damn it Feels Good to be a Gangsta (336)
Licking Jason's Sweet Jesus (325)
Blackberry, iPhones, and Sidekicks (324)
Racing Presidents
Powderworthy
250 pt Bail Out
Team of Rivals
Barnacle Bill
Half Jewish
Fingerbangz Remix
Hip Hip Jorge
We Lost Last Time, Booyah
Ask Me About Inaugural Tickets
Erin Esurance vs Geico Gecko Fight to the Death
Lions and Vols

Question of the Week

(Sports) At 13, she was the youngest player ever to qualify for an LPGA event in 2002?

JR's Winnas

Buff and Blue Balls (342 points)
Joey's Boyz (337)
Going Down Faster Than the Dow (293)
Church of Latter Gay Saints (224)
Teachers Bring on Wednesdays (112)

Songs That Shouldn't Be In Anyone's iPod

1. Thriller (Michael Jackson) – TT
2. Crazy For You (Madonna) – The String Quartet
3. Hip to Be Square (Huey Lewis & the News) – Tropical Jazz Band
4. Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da (The Beatles) – Dick Hyman
5. Light My Fire (The Doors) – Eleazar Martinez & Su Conjunto
6. Do You Know the Way to San Jose (Dione Warwick) - Eleazar Martinez & Su Conjunto
7. Can't Take My Eyes of You (Frankie Valli) - Eleazar Martinez & Su Conjunto
8. Girls on Film (Duran Duran) – Kokolo Afrobeat Orchestra

Never Gets Old

Rock Bottom, Oddly Topical Actually

Yusef's Collapsed Lung (336 points)
The Badgers Plus One (322)
Palin's a GILF (317)
Clicky (307)
Call Justin for a Good Time 202 212 ---- (300)
Gruffers
Renegade, Renaissance, Radiance, and Rosebud
Team Ray Pugh
Obscure Reference
Monk Fight
Jamm
Half Jewish
Racing Presidents
The Cho Litas
The Turkey Basters
Hold Me Closer, Tony Danza
Boston
Women's Right's LOL (formerly Team America)
Dead Hooker Storage

Question of the Week

(Movies) Along with Will Smith, what singer appeared in the 1996 sci-fi thriller Independence Day?

Cover-Licious

a. Major Tom (David Bowie) – The Peptides
b. I Heard it Through The Grape Vine (Marvin Gaye) – Kaiser Chiefs
c. Oh Darling (Beatles) – Huey Lewis
d. Somebody's Watching Me (Rockwell) – Roy G. and the Biv
e. Fortunate Son (CCR) – Todd Snider featuring Patty Griffin
f. Boots of Spanish Letter (Bob Dylan) – Justin Jones
g. Safety Dance (Men Without Hats) – Adventure Kid
h. Teenage Dirtbag (Wheetus) – Adam Brand

Historic Night at Rock Bottom

Looking Forward to Voting Tomorrow (257 points)
The Racing Prez (236)
Half Jewish (132)
Anti Douchebag Leauge (130)
Phil Amber and the Foreigners (123)
Nailin' Palin
Serum
Snacks on Snacks
Blue Baracudas / Last Place Prize (Tie)
Zack and Daniel
Projected Winners
Nat Turner Revival

Question of the Week

Yes, Virginia, there is trivia this week!!

At Rock Bottom this week, we will be watching the results on TV and via online with a dedicated laptop to watch the polls so come out, play trivia, and stay informed as the polls close!

Here is your question of the week:
(History) When G. Washington was inaugurated president in 1789, what city was the US capital?

Presidential Trivia

Presidents Who Were Related to Each Other
* John Adams was the father of John Quincy Adams.
* James Madison and Zachary Taylor were second cousins.
* William Henry Harrison was the grandfather of Benjamin Harrison.
* Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a fifth cousin of Theodore Roosevelt.
* George W. Bush is the son of George Bush.

Before I Became President...
* Twenty-six Presidents were lawyers before becoming president.
* Twelve presidents were generals: Washington, Jackson, W. Harrison, Taylor, Pierce, A. Johnson, Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, B. Harrison, and Eisenhower.

George Washington's salary as president was $25,000. Bush's salary is $400,000.

George W. Bush is our 43rd president, but there actually have only been 42 presidents: Cleveland was elected for two nonconsecutive terms and is counted twice, as our 22nd and 24th president.

Eight Presidents were born British subjects:
* Washington
* J. Adams
* Jefferson
* Madison
* Monroe
* J. Q. Adams
* Jackson
* W. Harrison

Nine Presidents never attended college:
* Washington
* Jackson
* Van Buren
* Taylor
* Fillmore
* Lincoln
* A. Johnson
* Cleveland
* Truman

The college that has the most presidents as alumni (six in total) is Harvard. Yale is a close second, with five presidents as alumni.

18 Presidents Never Served in Congress:
* Washington
* J. Adams
* Jefferson
* Taylor
* Grant
* Arthur
* Cleveland
* T. Roosevelt
* Taft
* Wilson
* Coolidge
* Hoover
* F. Roosevelt
* Eisenhower
* Carter
* Reagan
* Clinton
* G. W. Bush.

The most common religious affiliation among presidents has been Episcopalian, followed by Presbyterian.

The ancestry of all 43 presidents is limited to the following seven heritages, or some combination thereof: Dutch, English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Swiss, or German.

The oldest elected president was Reagan (age 69); the youngest was Kennedy (age 43). Theodore Roosevelt, however, was the youngest man to become president—he was 42 when he succeeded McKinley, who had been assassinated.

The tallest president was Lincoln at 6'4"; at 5'4", Madison was the shortest.

Fourteen Presidents served as Vice Presidents
* J. Adams
* Jefferson
* Van Buren
* Tyler
* Fillmore
* A. Johnson
* Arthur
* T. Roosevelt
* Coolidge
* Truman
* Nixon
* L. Johnson
* Ford
* George H.W. Bush.

Four presidential candidates won the popular vote but lost the presidency:
Andrew Jackson won the popular vote but lost the election to John Quincy Adams (1824); Samuel J. Tilden won the popular vote but lost the election to Rutherford B. Hayes (1876); Grover Cleveland won the popular vote but lost the election to Benjamin Harrison (1888); Al Gore won the popular vote but lost the election to George W. Bush (2000).

James Buchanan was the only president never to marry. Five presidents remarried after the death of their first wives—two of whom, Tyler and Wilson, remarried while in the White House. Reagan was the only divorced president. Six presidents had no children. Tyler—father of fifteen—had the most.

Presidents Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, and Kennedy were assassinated in office.
Assassination attempts were made on the lives of Jackson, T. Roosevelt, F. Roosevelt, Truman, Ford, and Reagan.

Eight Presidents died in office: W. Harrison (after having served only one month), Taylor, Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, Harding, F. Roosevelt, and Kennedy.

Presidents Adams, Jefferson, and Monroe all died on the 4th of July; Coolidge was born on that day.

Kennedy and Taft are the only presidents buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

JRs Faithful

Buff and Blue Balls (345 points)
Joeys Boyz (267)
Obama Set It and Forget It (184)
Turn on the World Series (124)

Where is that Chicken Dinner?

Anti Douchebag League (352 points)
Half Jewish (342)
This is Our First Trivia in These Chairs (328)
Ted Stevens Goes Down a Series of Tubes (322)
V-PILF (302)
Rock Bottom Virgins
The Racing Presidents
November 4th is to McCain as a Microwave is to a Gremlin
The Moose Hunters
Mostermash
Ted Stevens for Cell Block Queen
Whose Nailin Palin?
Midnight Potatoes
Yes , and…?
Stevens/Delay/Craig - Axis of Weasel
Prison: It's a Series of Dudes
craig t . Nelson 18 114
money shot 19 109

Question of the Week

(Food and Drink) These candies were the first wrapped penny candy in America.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Buff and Blue Balls (311 points)
JRs: The Fake America (290)
Joey's Boyz (273)
No Gay Republicans (163)
We Hate Jackie (121)

Random Trivia Friday: Cartoons!

9 Legendary Cartoon Voices

Nancy Cartwright
Nancy Cartwright, AKA Bart Simpson, has also been the voice of Rufus on Kim Possible, Kip Kangaroo on Shirt Tales and, for a few episodes, Chuckie on Rugrats.

Billy West
For five shows, Billy West gave Stimpy a voice on Nickelodeon’s Ren and Stimpy; he’s been Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Pepe Le Pew and Elmer Fudd on various projects since the 1996 movie Space Jam; and he was the voice of Philip J. Fry, Professor Farnsworth, Dr. Zoidberg, Zapp Brannigan, Leo Wong and President Richard Nixon’s Head on Futurama. He’s also the current voice of Buzz, the Honey-Nut Cheerios Bee.

Eleanor Audley
Eleanor Audley is the voice of the psychic whose head is floating in the crystal ball at the Magic Kingdom’s Haunted Mansion. In addition, she supplied the voice for Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty and Lady Tremaine, the wicked stepmother, in Cinderella.

Verna Felton
Verna Felton is another voice actress the Disney company frequently employed. She was one of the fairy godmothers in Sleeping Beauty (Flora), Aunt Sarah in Lady and the Tramp, the fairy godmother in Cinderella, and the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland.

Patrick Warburton
Patrick Warburton has played Kronk from The Emperor’s New Groove, Joe Swanson, the cop on Family Guy, Brock Samson from the Venture Brothers, Buzz Lightyear in Buzz Lightyear of Star Command.

Daws Butler
Daws Butler is probably best known for being the voice of Yogi Bear, but he was also Elroy Jetson, Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw, Snagglepuss, Peter Potamus and Wally Gator. He also provided the voices for both Cap’n Crunch and Snap of elf trio Snap, Crackle and Pop. For a time he held an actor’s studio out of his home, where one of his students was none other than Nancy Cartwright.

Tress MacNeille
Chip and Gadget, of TV's Rescue Rangers, were both voiced by the same person – Tress MacNeille. She now voices more than 17 characters on The Simpsons including Mrs. Skinner, Dr. Hibbert’s wife, Apu’s wife, the crazy cat lady, Lunchlady Doris and Plopper, and the pig from The Simpsons Movie. She was also Babs the Bunny on Tiny Toon Adventures and Dot on Animaniacs.

Information from the ever fabulous Mental Floss

Flock of Covers

a. 1979 (Young Love) – Smashing Pumpkins
b. The Power of Love (The Pigeon Detectives) – Huey Lewis & the News
c. Wake Me Up Before You Go Go (Shawn Mullins) – Wham!
d. Best of You (Stereophonics) – Foo Fighterss
e. Gloria (The Dan Band) – Laura Branigan
f. Here I Go Again (Julian Velrad) – White Snake
g. Fight the Power (Barenaked Ladies) – The Public Enemy
h. I Ran (Tori Amos) – Flock of Seagulls

Winners of Fake America

Racing Presidents (328 points)
Off Night for the Nachos (320)
Wilbert Arenas (311)
I Saw Dan's Penis and All I Got Was This Lousy Case of Syphilis (307)
Say Hi to Your Motha for Me (298)
Our Score Counted By Acorn
Beouwulf Grundel
Fake Virginia Will Soon Have 2 Senators
Proud to be a fake american
Bear Cubs for Obama
Hotter in Person
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner
Nova Commies
Touched by an Uncle
Palm Strike
I am Joe the Plumber
Electric Dream Machine
The Mr. Miagi Experience

Question of the Week

(Sports) What Washington Wizard’s All Star still bears the misplaced ‘w’ in his name from a birth certificate typo?

Help out the Trivia Master

As some of you guys know, Jason is an elementary teacher and in an attempt to help motivate his students, he is looking for small prizes to give them (i.e. stuff from the dollar bin, stickers, McDonald's toys).

Please do not go out and buy anything, but if you have any swag at your home just collecting dust and want to make some third graders happy, please feel to bring it to trivia.

God Only Knows Where He Gets These Songs

a) God Only Knows (Giant Drag) – Beach Boys
b) Redemption Song (Chris Cornell) – Bob Marley
c) Losing My Religion (Daphne) – REM
d) Ghostbusters (Atta Boy Skip) – Ray Parker JR
e) Head Over Heels (Katy Perry) – Tears for Fears
f) I Want a New Drug (Glen Phillips) –Huey Lewis and the News
g) Beds are Burning (D-Sailors) – Midnight Oil
h) St. Elmo's Fire (Inspection 12) – John Parr
i) Self Esteem (Veronica Maggio) – The Offspring
j) Easy Lover – Phil Collins

Halloween Trivia: The Originial Frankenstein Film

* Released in November of 1931

* Bela Lugosi was offered the role of the monster, but refused on the grounds that his character would not speak (he eventually played the role in 1943).

* After bringing the monster to life, Dr. Frankenstein uttered the famous line, "Now I know what it's like to BE God!" When the movie was re-released in the late '30s, censors demanded it be removed on the grounds that it was blasphemy. A loud clap of thunder was substituted on the soundtrack.

* Boris Karloff (who play the monster) offered to remove his partial bridgework as part of the monster make-up process to create the sunken cheek look.

* The machines used to show sparks flying over the monster were later used in the comedy Young Frankenstein (1974).

* The method of animating the creature is never discussed in Mary Shelley's novel; Dr. Frankenstein refuses to divulge how he did it so no one can re-create his actions. However, the use of lightning to resurrect the monster has become the accepted methodology and appears in virtually every Frankenstein movie since.

* At one point the movie was to have included a line of dialogue giving the Monster the name Adam. This was cut when audiences began referring to the monster by the name Frankenstein.

* The Monster in this film does not physically resemble Mary Shelley's character. It was make-up artist Jack P. Pierce who came up with his characteristic movie look. He did keep one detail from the book: the monster was to have yellow skin.

* What are commonly called bolts on the neck of the monster are in reality electrodes.

* The movie's line "It's alive! It's alive!" was voted as the #49 movie quote by the American Film Institute (out of 100).

* Director James Whale happened to spot Boris Karloff in the Universal commissary and offered him a screen-test. Karloff later joked that he was offended by being viewing as such an ugly character, especially since that day he had been wearing his most elegant suit.

* The monster make-up design by Jack P. Pierce is under copyright to Universal through the year 2026, and licensed by Universal Studios Licensing, Inc.

For more, visit IMDB.

Armadillo Facts

Least you think badly of them:
-Contrary to popular belief, the nine-banded armadillo cannot roll itself into a ball to escape predators; only one of the twenty-odd varieties of armadillos (three-banded) is able to roll up. The other types are covered with too many bony plates to allow them to curl.
-Armadillos always give birth to four identical young and are the only mammal known to do so.
-All four young develop from the same egg and share the same placenta.
-Female armadillos can delay implantation of the fertilized egg during times of stress. -Armadillos like to swim, and are very good at it. When they need to float, they gulp air into their intestines to make them more buoyant.
-Like most insect eating mammals, armadillos have a very long, sticky tongue to slurp up bugs as quickly as possible.
-Armadillos have a very low metabolic rate, which means they don't waste a lot of energy producing heat.
-Baby armadillos have soft shells, like human fingernails. They get harder as the animal grows, depositing bone under the skin to make a solid shell.

Information thanks of Armadillo Central

Wait, Do Armadillos Really Carry Leprosy?

Leprosy has been around since ancient times. Still, it is not easy to study because the bacillus that causes it (Mycobacterium leprae) can not be grown in the lab. Because of this, scientists remain unsure as to how people catch the disease.

At one time it was thought that only humans could get leprosy. However, in the late 1960s researchers speculated that armadillos might be a good test animal for leprosy research because the bacillus thrives in cooler parts of the body (feet, nose, ears, etc.) and armadillos have a relatively low body temperature for mammals, they live 12 to 15 years and have litters of almost identical quadruplets. So, several nine-banded armadillos were inoculated with leprosy and came down with full-blown cases of the disease. It was during this research that scientists discovered something odd: some armadillos already had leprosy.

Nine-banded armadillos (there 30 to 50 million in the U.S.) are believed to be the only significant natural reservoir of leprosy apart from humans.

While suspected instances of armadillo-to-human transmission have been reported, leprosy remains uncommon in North America and is in decline worldwide. Fewer than 5 percent of wild armadillos have it.

Information Courtesy of The Straight Dope

JRs... The Few, The Proud...

The Faker McFakersons: the fake team That makes it look like we have more teams so Matt doesn't fire Jason for not having enough teams for trivia tonight (232,538 points?!)
Buff and Blue Balls (311)
Joeys Boyz (242)
Guy Richer (238)

Happy F-ing Birthday

Claudia, whoever you are, I think I speak for the entire trivia blogging community when I say:

Happy F-ing Birthday!

RB Scores

Does This Barrel Make Me Look Fat? (323 points)
Register Early and Often. Acorn. (296)
Money Shots (294)
Mavericks (260)
Five Dollar Four Inchers (252)
Fozzy Bear Goes Wacka Wacka
Can Someone Tell Jamie Lyn Spears That Breast Feeding Is Not a Form of Birth Control ?!
These Wings Give Me Gas
Grasping at Straws
It's Claudia's F-ing Bday
Your Mom Wants My Hog

Question of the Week Clarification

To clarify the question of the week:
Tere are several Mark Twain Museums but Jason is looking for Twain's boyhood home & museum.

Question of the Week

(Literature/Famous Tourist Traps) Mark Twain's boyhood home and museum is located in what state?

It's Time to Meet the Muppets...

The Muppet Show took place at the Muppet Theater, and featured both on-stage acts and frantic backstage activity.

Kermit the Frog served as host of The Muppet Show, and was also the director, assisted by Scooter. The show's orchestra was conducted by Nigel, and musical acts ranged from solo musicians such as Rowlf the Dog, the always enjoyable Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem.


Because it was a puppet show, The Muppet Show had the advantage of being able to include an endless array of characters with only a small number of performers. Recurring figures included Sam the Eagle; Camilla the Chicken; Robin the Frog, (aka Kermit's nephew); and Link Hogthrob, the captain of The Swinetrek, among with hundreds of others, for example:

Beauregard
The lovable janitor at the Muppet Theater (who took over for George the Janitor). Although he tries to be helpful, his efforts result in disaster more often than not. Beauregard's appeared in The Great Muppet Caper as a taxi driver and brought Kermit, Fozzie and Gonzo to the Happiness Hotel.

Janice
The lead guitar player in the Electric Mayhem, Janice also portrays Nurse Janice in Veterinarian's Hospital, and appears in various other sketches. In Michael Frith's original sketch of the character Janice was intended to be a male character, a takeoff on Mick Jagger's emaciated frame. Her name is probably a reference to Janis Joplin.

Jim
The banjo player for the Country Trio, which performed in variety show appearances in the mid 70s and occasionally on The Muppet Show, Jim is based on Jim Henson. His band mates (Frank and Jerry) are likewise based on muppet performers.

Sweetums
A grotesque, hairy ogre, Sweetums who towers above his human and Muppet co-stars. His bulldog-like lower jaw, thick eyebrows, shabby brown shirt, and threatening expression belie his more or less genial nature. Sweetums first appeared on the television special The Frog Prince in 1971. In 1976, Sweetums joined the cast of The Muppet Show and had a featured part in The Muppet Movie. Sweetums' performer uses his right arm to either operate the mouth or the right arm: when the right arm moves, the mouth can't move on its own, and vice versa. The eyes and eyebrows move by remote control.

For all thing Muppet, be sure to visit the Muppet Wikipedia

Hmmmm... What Would Jack Daniels Do?

Buff and Blue Balls (341 points)
Joeys Boyz (321)
Mavericky Mavericks (294)
Team Celine (287)
Too Late to Care (250)
That One
Lipstick on a Pig
Lasers 8
What Would Jack Daniels Do?
The Incredible Edible Wheat
Deez Nutz
Palin's Pro-life Lines

Rock Bottom Winners; Now With More Political Commentary

Debate? What Debate? Mavericks Play Trivia! (332 points)
Bring Out the Gimp (316)
Neil and the Salami Innuendos (299)
Awkward Silence (288)
I Love's Jason's Chubby (260)
It is Over the Line to Talk About Palin's Vote Stealing Baby?
Palin-tology
The Indian and the Pussy Cat
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner
The Techno twins, Slawd and Veeder
Joe Sixpack
Honorable Mention
Team Carl
Chocolate Starfish
Wayne the Main Brain Mclain
Droppin the G's, Doggone It
I May Not Answer the Questions the Way You Want Me To
Even After 30 Kids, Sarah Palin Still Has Better Tits Than My Girlfriend
Praggy All Stars

Question of the Week

(Geography) What capital city’s old section centers on a place called the Gates of the Sun or, in the local language, the Puerta del Sol?

C-c-c-covers

a. Pictures of You (The Cure) – Angie Hart
b. Glycerin (Bush) – Melissa Ferrick
c. Cruel to Be Kind (Nick Lowe) - The Bleeding Hearts
d. Free Bird (Lynard Skynard) – Cat Power
e. Champagne Supernova - Oasis
f. Wuthering Heights (Kate Bush) – China Drum
g. Everyday I write the book (Elvis Costello) – Alison Browne
h. One Angry Dwarf (Ben Folds) - VanVelzen

Random Trivia: Famous Missing Body Parts

Happy Almost Halloween!

John Wilkes Booth’s Neck Bones
A mere 12 days after shooting President Abraham Lincoln, Booth was shot in the back of the neck and killed. His body was eventually buried in an unmarked grave at Baltimore’s Green Mount Cemetery. Howeever, his third, fourth, and fifth vertebrae were all removed during the autopsy in order to grant access to the bullet. They can now bee seen at the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington, D.C.

Einstein’s Brain
Before his death, Einstein considered donating his body to science but as he never committed this wish to writing, his family and friends made plans to cremate him following his death in 1955. The pathologist who performed the autopsy, Dr. Thomas Harvey chose on his own to first remove the famous brain and then tell the family about it later. Naturally, Einstein’s loved ones weren’t thrilled when they found out, but they eventually for scientific study ton continue and the brain was sliced into 240 sections then disbursed to researchers. Today, many of the cerebral sections remain in scientific institutions, with the bulk held at Princeton Hospital. Einstein’s body was cremated as planned and his ashes were scattered in a secret location.

"Stonewall" Jackson’s Arm
Confederate general Thomas Jackson earned his nickname for the way he sat his horse; "like a stone wall" even when bullets were flying during the Civil War. That might be the reason why, during the Battle of Chancellorsville, Jackson was accidentally shot in the arm by one of his own men. The arm was amputated and then buried in the nearby Virginia town of Ellwood. Only eight days later, Stonewall died of pneumonia and the rest of him was buried in Lexington, Va.

Saint Francis Xavier’s Hand
Francis Xavier was a Spanish missionary who was sent to Asia in the 16th century by the king of Portugal. There he became wildly popular, and after his death in 1552, so did his relics. So much so that his body was regularly exhumed in order to obtain more. Today, half his left hand is in Cochin, India, while the other half is in Malacca, Malaysia. One of his arms resides in Rome, and various other cities lay claim to his internal organs.

Saint Catherine of Siena’s Finger
After this holy woman died in 1380, her body became an object of veneration. Pilgrims believed touching her miraculously preserved flesh could heal illnesses and bring them closer to God. Eventually, the Catholic Church laid Catherine to rest but not before one of her followers removed a finger as well as a few teeth and other various body parts. Pope Urban VI took her head. Today, both finger and head are on display at San Domenico Church in Siena, Italy. The rest of her rest beneath the main altar at Santa Maria Sopra Minerva Church in Rome.

Oliver Cromwell’s Head
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader best known for his involvement in making England into a republican Commonwealth. Cromwell died in 1658, but two years later, the reinstated English monarchy exhumed, tried, and hanged his body, then dumped it in an unmarked grave. In addition, as a warning to would-be killers, his head was placed on a pike in Westminster Hall, where it remained for 20 years.

Thomas Hardy’s Heart
In his will, English novelist Thomas Hardy specifically requested to be buried with his beloved first wife. His friends, however, lobbied to have him buried in Poet’s Corner at Westminster Abbey instead. An ugly fight between Hardy fans and family ensued, until they reached a compromise. The author’s heart was removed and buried with his wife; his ashes were preserved in a bronze urn inside the Abbey.

For more famous body parts visit Neatorama. Information Originally from MentalFloss.

RockBottom Champions

Sometimes Nuthin' Is a Mighty Cool Hand (332 points)
As The Questions Get Harder We Get More Adorable (318)
Team Yelp (282)
I spent What Was Left on My 401K on My Bar Tab (280)
Racing Presidents (276)
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner
Reservations Are for Indians and Pussy Cats
Cool Hand Luke
I'll Get Back to You on That
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
Clown Baby
Bail Me Out
Mighty Mallards
Clay Aiken - We Didn't See That One Coming!
Cumming Late or Sometimes Not at All
That Was My Next Guess
Sean Sucks
Miley Cyrus 18 Yet?
AIG
We Took Your Table

Newman's Own

Paul Newman, actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian and auto racing enthusiast, recently passed away. Here's my tribute, in trivia form:

-Newman was born in Shaker Heights, Ohio (a suburb of Cleveland)
-He was the son of Theresa and Arthur Samuel Newman. His father was Jewish and his mother, who practiced Christian Science, was born to a Slovak Catholic family in the former Austria–Hungary.
-Newman had described himself as Jewish, stating that, "it's more of a challenge".
-Newman made his acting debut at the age of 7, playing the court jester in a school production of Robin Hood.

-Newman's first movie was The Silver Chalice (1954), followed by roles in Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)/ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) and The Young Philadelphians (1959).
-Newman appeared in a screen test with James Dean for East of Eden but did not get the role of Aron Trask, for which he was testing.
-That same year Newman would co-star with Eva Marie Saint and Frank Sinatra in a live, color television broadcast of "Our Town".
-Newman would remake this production in 2003, taking on Sinatra's role as the stage manager.


-Newman appeared in such classic films as Exodus (1960), The Hustler (1961), Hud (1963), Harper (1966), Hombre (1967), Cool Hand Luke (1967), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969),The Sting (1973), The Towering Inferno (1974), Slap Shot (1977) and The Verdict (1982)
-Newman's last screen appearance was as a conflicted mob boss in the 2002 film Road to Perdition opposite Tom Hanks.
-He continued to provide voice work for films such Doc Hudson, a retired race car in Disney/Pixar's Cars.

-Newman founded Newman's Own, a line of food products, in 1982.
-He established a policy that all proceeds from the sale of Newman's Own products, after taxes, would be donated to charity.
-As of early 2006, this had resulted in excess of $200 million in donations.
-One beneficiary is the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, a residential summer camp for seriously ill children.

-Newman was an avid auto racing enthusiast, and first became interested in motorsports while training for and filming Winning.
Newman's first raced professionally in 1972, in Thompson.
-He was a common competitor in Sports Car Club of America events for the rest of the decade, eventually winning several championships.
-At the age of 70 he became the oldest driver to be part of a winning team in a major sanctioned race, winning in his class at the 1995 24 Hours of Daytona.

Info from Wikipedia

Question of the Week

(Lyrically Speaking) According to the song “Me and Bobby McGee”, what’s “just another word for nothing left to lose?”

Patience and Fortitude

The New York Public Library (NYPL) is one of the leading public libraries in the world and is also one of America's most significant research libraries. It is unusual in a way because it is composed of a very large circulating public library system combined with a very large non-lending research library system. The library is a privately managed not for profit with a public mission, operating with both private and public financing.

Currently, the library consists of 89 libraries: four non-lending research libraries, four main lending libraries, a library for the blind and physically handicapped, and 77 neighborhood branch libraries in the three boroughs served. All libraries in the NYPL system may be used free of charge by all visitors.



The two famous stone lions guarding the entrance to the main branch of the library were sculpted by Edward Clark Potter. They were originally named Leo Astor and Leo Lenox, in honor of the library's founders. These names were transformed into Lady Astor and Lord Lenox (even though both lions are male; bet Astor didn't like that). In the 1930s they were nicknamed "Patience" and "Fortitude" by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia. He chose these names because he felt that the citizens of New York would need to possess these qualities to see themselves through the Great Depression. Patience is on the south side (the left as one faces the main entrance) and Fortitude is on the north.

More info at Wikipedia.

A Little Treat for You

JR's Scores

We Don't Support Clay Marriage (320 points)
Clay Aiken: Still Gay (274)
Joeys Boyz (261)
Buff and Blue Balls (241)
We're Number Four (200)
karlhein and the SS
Oreo

Interesting...

A contest for the best trivia name...? Interesting...

But who would judge...?

Rock Bottom Scores

Derek Jeter Plays Gold in October (344 points)
The Never Nudes (328)
Ho Chi Minh City (319)
Keep the Stadium, Lose the Yankees (312)
The Racing Presidents (306)
Bernard Pollard Fan Club
Dustin's a Homo-sexicle
We Would Try Harder If There Was a Prize for Best Team Name
FDR Can't Dance but He Sure Can Dream
I Can Haz Bailout
Menage a Trivia
That is Not my Problem Damn It
10 People Isn't a Money Shot That's Boo cock ee
Bristol Palin
Sarah Palin Goes Down Like the Dow Jones
Doggie Dinner Bowl Look
Public Enemy Number 1
Bob
The Krakin

Question of the Week

(Quotes) Who says/said it: “Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars."

Random Trivia Friday: Gangster Nicknames

1. Frank “the Dasher” Abbandando (1910–1942)
Abbandando was a hit man for the New York mob’s Murder, Inc. and may have killed as many as 50 people. The name comes from a particular hit in which he walked up to his victim and pulled the trigger only to have the gun misfire. With his armed victim in pursuit, Frank ran so fast around the block that he came up behind his quarry and coolly shot him in the back. "The Dasher" indeed. Still, even Abbandando couldn’t outrun a stool pigeon inside Murder, Inc. In the end, he was convicted of only a single murder and sent, quickly, to the electric chair.

2. Albert “Lord High Executioner” Anastasia (1903–1957)
Also called “the Mad Hatter” for his love of fedoras, this dapper killer was not a man to be messed with. In the early 1920s, Anastasia was sentenced to death for killing a fellow longshoreman but granted a retrial. The conviction was reversed when four of the witnesses “disappeared.” After helping to kill crime boss Joe Masseria, Anastasia was made head of Murder, Inc. by new boss Lucky Luciano, and was dubbed the mob’s “Lord High Executioner” by the press. While the name stuck, his position didn’t and Anastasia eventually fell out with the other bosses. On October 25, 1957, Anastasia was shot six times while getting a haircut. As one New York paper put it the next day: “He Died in the Chair After All.”

3. Lester “Baby Face Nelson” Gillis (1908–1934)
Gillis wanted to be called “Big George,” but at 5 feet 4 inches, he was stuck with “Baby Face.” Starting as a pickpocket, Lester graduated to enforcer for Al Capone then bank robber and killer. He was known to shoot people for no reason mid-heist. By 1934, Baby Face was the FBI’s Public Enemy No. 1. and on November 27 of that year, he went out with a bang. In a final gun battle with two FBI agents, Nelson killed both G-Men, but ended up with 17 holes himself. Amazingly, Nelson walked back to his getaway car and escaped. Of course, the 17 shots ended up doing the trick. Lester’s body was found in a ditch the next day.

4. Vincent “Mad Dog” Coll (1908–1932)
His first nickname, “the Mick,” was a nod to his Irish roots. His second nickname proved more fitting still. This criminal was a top mob enforcer for New York bootlegger Dutch Schultz. And among his many talents, the versatile Coll specialized in kidnapping and extortion. In fact, he had no qualms about torturing his victims. After falling out with Schultz, Coll touched off a gang war in which at least 20 people were killed, including a five-year-old boy caught in the crossfire. Coll was charged with the shooting, and though he was acquitted, his days on the street were numbered. Mob bosses put a price on Coll’s head, and on February 8, 1932, he was shot more than a dozen times while placing a call in a telephone booth.

5. Tony “the Ant” Spilotro (1938–1986)
For the 15 years after he first hit Las Vegas in 1971 to the day he died, the mob’s chief Vegas enforcer, Tony Spilotro, never spent a day in jail even though he was implicated in at least 24 murders. In one case, he was even said to have squeezed a victim’s head in a vise until his eyes popped out. This scene was recreated bu the movie Casino. Tony hated his "Ant" nickname, which was a reference to his 5'5" stature. In the end, it was the limelight that proved to be his undoing. Tony’s bosses in Chicago figured he was getting a little too much press, so they came up with a quick remedy: Tony and his brother were beaten up, then buried alive in an Indiana cornfield.

6. Aladena “Jimmy the Weasel” Fratianno (1914–1993)
“When the boss tells you to do something,” Fratianno told a reporter in 1987, “you do it. You don’t do it, they kill you.” And that was why he took part in 11 murders. Fratianno, who got his nickname after speedily fleeing a crime scene as a kid, eventually became a government witness in 1977 (after 32 years in the mob). Supposedly ratting on his colleagues because they had a contract on his life. Fratianno spent 10 years in the Federal Witness Protection Program before being kicked out because he was costing taxpayers too much. Still, he died peacefully in his sleep at the age of 79.

From MentalFloss

JR's... Now With Foreign Policy Experience!

I Can See Russia from JRs (290)
Alex's Boyz (282)
We Go Down Faster Than the Stock Market (278)
We Don't Ask bartenders for Answers (260)
Fabulosity (220)
Slap and Tickle
Buff and Blue Balls (Ouch, you hate to see blue balls after the ol' slap and tickle...)
Pig in Lipstick
Where is Juan
Onyx Rod and Trigger

Under the Covers

a. 1999 (Prince) - Infinite Livez vs Stade
b. I Can't Make You Love Me (Bonnie Raitt) – Denison Wittmer
c. Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen) – The Flaming Lips
d. House of the Rising Sun (The Animals) – Muse
e. Life on Mars (David Bowie) – The Flaming Lips
f. Black Star (Radiohead) – Eliza Lumley
g. Your Song (Elton John) – The Streets
h. Shine (Collective Soul) – Dolly Parton

Rock Bottom Scores

Money Shots (304 points)
Chris and Emily are Too Good for Us (298)
Mr. Buttersworth (267)
On My God She Say Nookyoolar Too (265)
Definding Losers (247)
Dark Side of the Room
Team Assmasters and Assblasters
The Racing Presidents
Sarah Palin Supports Drilling in her Daughter's Wetland
At Least We Can Count to Six
Admiral Akbar and the Traps
Lego Wars
Suspicious Polar Bears
Finger and Other Boyd Parts Lickin' Good
I Can't See Russia from my House
Dropkick Yettis
Impeach Trig Palin
Krystal's Birthday
She Likes Trixs
Team Name

Question of the Week

(Music) 2006’s “It’s About Time” was the debut album of this group?

Request from the Trivia Master

From Jason himself:

"Hello kids-

Some folks have constructively suggested I make mention that some teams are just WAY too big for a fair trivia team. In the past I was strict with team sizes. No more than six people per team. Then I started slacking a bit and saying six-ish. But the past few weeks we've had teams at over 10 people per team. A LITTLE too big for a trivia team.

Truthfully, with everything else I'm doing, it's hard for me to police team sizes, just as it is hard for me to make sure people aren't using their cell phones. I have an honor system and believe if you need to cheat at trivia, then you have bigger issues in your life.

So here's the deal, please TRY to keep your teams around six players, no more. Again, I'm not going to police people on this but for everyone's enjoyment and spirit of fairness, please try to respect this suggested size."

A Snoopy Family

Over the course of the Peanuts strip run, it was revealed that Snoopy had been born and raised at the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm. His father used to run with hunting dogs, but would secretly run ahead and warn the rabbits.

Before they were sold, Snoopy and his brothers and sister made a band and one by one each was sold. Snoopy's original owner was a little girl named Lila, who had to return him to Daisy Hill after her family moved to an apartment. Snoopy was then selected by Charlie Brown's parents as a companion for him after another child threw sand in his face while they were playing in a sandbox.

Snoopy is usually depicted as having seven siblings, five of whom appear at some point in the strip: Andy, Belle, Marbles, Olaf, and Spike. Most often seen is Spike, who lives in the desert. Spike is very thin, wears a fedora and has long whiskers (and also shares his name with one of Schulz's childhood pet dogs.)


Andy looks like a disheveled version of Snoopy. Olaf, who wears a fur cap, is round in both body and face. Marbles is the smartest in the group. He has spots on his fur (making him look somewhat like a Dalmatian), wears shoes, and considers some of Snoopy's behavior very odd. Belle, who looks like Snoopy with long eyelashes, is most notable in that there was a Belle stuffed animal available for many years.

Although Snoopy often mentions that he was one of eight puppies, the two other siblings never appeared in the comic strip. According to the animated special Snoopy's Reunion, they are named Molly and Rover.

For everything Snoopy, see Wikipedia

a. Space Oddity – Emile Simon (David Bowie)
b. Man in the Mirror – Alex Arrowsmith (Michael Jackson)
c. That's Life – James Brown (Frank Sinatra)
d. F--k and Run – Cassettes Won't Listen (Liz Phair)
e. The Wind Cries Mary – Cassandra Williams (Hendrix)
f. Stars are Blind – AJ Draper (Paris Hilton)
g. Say it Right – Bloc Party (Nelly Furtado)
h. Lucky – My Brightest Diamond (Radio Head)

Torrance High School, I Looked It Up

Torrance High School, the oldest of four high schools in the Torrance Unified School District in California, is one of the oldest high schools in continuous use in the state and a popular location for television and motion picture production.

It was founded in 1917, sharing its campus with an elementary school. It is most known for its appearance in high-profile television shows, including Beverly Hills 90210 and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.



And the team name was a nod to last week's picture quiz.

(insert "the more your know" song)

More Here

Random Trivia Wednesday: The Nobel Prize

1. Robert Lucas, winner of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Economics for his work on the theory of “rational expectations,” split his $1 million prize with his ex-wife, based on a clause in their divorce settlement from seven years earlier: “Wife shall receive 50 percent of any Nobel Prize.”

2. Physicist Lise Meitner, whose work helped lead to the discovery of nuclear fission, was reportedly nominated for the Nobel Prize 13 times without ever winning.

3. In 2007, two winners had a combined age of 177. At 90, professor Leonid Hurwicz is the oldest person to ever win (one-third of the Prize in Economics); at 87, writer Doris Lessing is the oldest woman (Literature).

4. DNA expert Kary Mullis – 1993 winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry – was scheduled to be a defense witness in O.J. Simpson’s murder trial. However, Simpson lawyer Barry Scheck felt the prosecution’s DNA case was already essentially destroyed, and he didn’t want Mullis’ personal life to distract jurors (he’d expressed an affinity for LSD).

5. In the last ten years, the Nobel Prize in Literature has gone for the first time to authors in Portugal, China, Trinidad & Tobago, Hungary, Austria and Turkey

6. Nobel Laureates include: Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Mother Teresa, Elie Wiesel, Mikhail Gorbachev, Nelson Mandela, Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres, Yitzhak Rabin, Jimmy Carter, Toni Morrison, William Faulkner, T.S. Eliot, Ernest Hemingway, Samuel Beckett, Pierre & Marie Curie, Max Planck and Albert Einstein.

7. Big names who never won: Leo Tolstoy, Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, Marcel Proust, Mangesh Hattikudur, Mark Twain, Gertrude Stein, Paul Tagliabue, Henrik Ibsen, Thomas Edison and Mahatma Gandhi.

8. As part of his divorce settlement, Einstein’s Nobel Prize money went to his ex-wife, Mileva Maric.

9. The first Nobel Laureates collected 150,800 Swedish kronor (about $15,420 today). The stakes have been raised. This year’s prize was $1.5 million – shared in the case of multiple winners.

10. The Curie family is a Nobel Prize machine, winning five: Pierre and Marie for Physics in 1901; Marie solo for Chemistry in 1911; daughter Irene and her husband Frédéric Joliot-Curie for Chemistry in 1935; and Henry Labouisse – Irene’s daughter Eve’s second husband – accepted on behalf of UNICEF in 1965.

11. Alfred Nobel – inventor of dynamite – may have been inspired to create the Nobel Prize after a premature obituary in a French newspaper called him a “merchant of death.”

Rock Bottom Winners

Moneyshots (330 points)
Lance Armstrong Must Have Gotten Tired of Riding Matthew McConaughey (301)
The Racing Presidents (291)
Bristol Palin Baby Daddy / Bullwinkle Died of Autoerotic Asphyxiation (286) Tie
Drink the Beer
Torrance HS - Look It Up
This Space Intentionally Left Blank
Sara Palin was for Brady's Knee Before She Was Against It
Sofa King Awsomer Than Your Mom
Premature E-Jack -o-lantern
Burned Activist Association of America
Rashid's Angel
Is Kim Jong "Ill"
We're Really Great With Kids, the Police Just Disagree

Question of the Week

(Business/Corporations) What does the “E” stand for in the name of the insurance company – GEICO?

My State Capital is Smaller Than Your State Capital

Smallest US State Capitals:
Vermont (Montpelier) - 8,035
South Dakota (Pierre) - 13,876
Maine (Augusta) - 18,560
Montana (Helena) - 25,780
Kentucky (Frankfort) - 27,741
Alaska (Juneau) - 30,987
Delaware (Dover) - 32,135
Maryland (Annapolis) - 36,217
Missouri (Jefferson City) - 39,636

JRs Scores

Joey's Boyz (281 points)
Buff and Blue Balls (261)
Brian (191)
And the Secret Word is -- Abstinence (183)
Shirley Temple of Doom (123)
Matthew Assisted by Ricky

Rock Bottom Scores

Money Shots (324 points)
Jason's Mom is Always the Answer (284)
Racing Presidents (241)
Alaskan Love Children (230)
The Future Mr. Palin (225)
Grandma Palin and the Kids
The Products of Abstinence Only Education

Question of the Week

(TV) On what TV show did Conky 2000 reveal the secret word of the day?

JRs; Small But Powerful!

Buff and Blue Balls (313 points)
Southern Decadence Gets Blown (307)
Joeys Boyz (296)
Stephanie Tanner / Does the Hanoi Hilton Count as a House (138) Tie
Rwhite

Random Trivia Wednesday: Pig Out!

Denny’s Beer Barrel Pub - Clearfield, Pennsylvania
Giant Burger: Denny’s 15-pound, The 20-inch patty comes on a 17-inch bun and includes two onions, a whole head of lettuce, 25 slices of cheese, three tomatoes and lots of mayo, mustard, relish and ketchup. If you and a friend can get the whole thing down in three hours or less, you’ll get the $30 burger for free.
In addition, you can get the 123-pound burger for $379. That includes 80 pounds of meat, a pound of lettuce, ketchup, relish, mustard and mayo, 160 slices of cheese, five onions, 12 tomatoes, two pounds of banana peppers, 33 pickles and, of course, a 30-pound bun.

Beth’s Café - Seattle, Washington
12-Egg Omelets: At Beth’s Café they serve omelets in two sizes; 6 eggs or 12. Either way, it come with all-you-can-eat hashbrowns.

The Big Texan Steak Ranch - Amarillo, Texas
Giant Steak: The Texas King Steak is a whopping 72 ounces or four pounds. It costs $72 unless you can finish the entire meal – including the steak, a buttered roll, shrimp cocktail, a salad, beans and a potato – in which case it’s on the house. More than 7,000 people have succeeded at the challenge since it started in 1960. Frank Pastore, pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds, holds the record having finished the entire meal in nine and a half minutes in 1987.

Pizza Party - Santa Clara, California
Belly Buster Challenge - If you can eat this 20 inch pizza (made with cheese and two toppings) in one hour or less you get 1/2 the price of the pizza back, a t-shirt, a picture immortalizing you on the wall at the restaurant, a certificate and a free extra large pizza every month for the next year.

Pinata’s Mexican Grill - Bethpage, New York
Two 3-Pound Burritos - Pinata’s has a Wall of Shame for those who fail in their attempt and a Wall of Fame for those who succeed. That later has only two picutres on it.

Primanti Brothers - Pittsburgh, PA
5-½-inch tall sandwiches - Assuming you can fit a Primanti Brothers sandwich between your hands, it may still be impossible to wedge one between your teeth. At 5-½ inches tall, its an entire meal between two thick slices of Italian bread. You've got a layer of tomato slices and a half-pound of meat plus a fried egg, a large order of hand-cut fries and a mound of sweet-and-sour coleslaw top off this truly outrageous sandwich. The story begins during the depths of the Great Depression when three Italian immigrants decided to try selling lunch in Pittsburgh's Ship District. They opened up a tiny, no-frills restaurant near the docks without even purchasing plates and silverware. When the dockworkers began to file in on that first night, the brothers piled entire orders - including side items - between two thick slices of bread. The improvised meal allowed each worker to hold an entire feast in one hand while working with the other or so the story goes.

Ben and Jerry's - Over 450 franchise shops worldwide
The Vermonster - Made of 20 scoops of ice cream, four bananas, one fudge brownie, three chocolate chip cookies, four ladles of hot fudge, 18 scoops of toppings and loads of whipped cream.

Information from MentalFloss and the Travel Channel

New Day? Still Rocking!

Instant Replay is for Losers (333 points)
Money Shots (323)
I'm Not Only the Vice President, I'm Also a Member (319)
Beaker's Internet Fan Club (318)
Trivia Newton John (305)
How Come There's No Porn Star Named Magic johnson?
You Can Call Me Whatever You Want Baby
Foe Paw
That's What She Said
Go Balls Deep
Sofa-king Money
A Noun, a Verb, and 9/11
Rap Aint Music (it's Delivery Like Digorno)
Rear Window

Question of the Week

REMINDER: ROCK BOTTOM TRIVIA IS NOW ON TUESDAYS AT 8 PM

Here is your question of the week:
(Name Game) What is the name given to the iconic black-and-white skull and crossbones pirate flag?

12 Sports Cut From The Olympics

1. Cricket
Cricket made both its Olympic debut and swan song at the second modern Games, held in 1900 in Paris. Things got off to a rough start when the Belgian and Dutch teams withdrew from the field prior to the start of play, leaving just a British touring team, the Devon and Somerset Wanderers, to take on the French Athletic Club Union’s squad. The teams apparently weren’t even aware they were playing in the Olympics; they thought the two-day match was just a part of the World’s Fair Paris was hosting at the time. According to one contemporary report, the teams squared off in a cycling arena fit for 20,000 spectators but had only a dozen soldiers as an audience. The English side won the match and received silver medals and miniature Eiffel Towers for their trouble; the French team got bronze medals.

2. Croquet
Like cricket, croquet only saw action at the 1900 Paris Games before fading into Olympic oblivion. The host country made the most of the opportunity claiming all seven medals awarded in the sport. Records are sketchy, but it would seem that across the three events, nine of the 10 competitors were French, which probably facilitated their dominance. Even the players’ first names are lost to history.

3. Basque Pelota
The Paris Games of 1900 saw one last sport make its sole Olympic appearance. Basque pelota, a sport with ancient roots in which teams of two players use a curved basket to fling a ball against a wall in a racquetball-like game, made the Olympic program for Paris. Unfortunately, like cricket, participation was a bit of a downer; only two teams showed up.

4. Golf
Golf made its Olympic debut in 1900, but like the cricket match at those Games, it was poorly organized and lost in the shuffle of the Paris Exposition. Men played a 36-hole stroke-play tournament, which American Charles Sands won with a score of 167. Women played a 9-hole round, which American Margaret Ives Abbott won by two strokes with a 47. However, Abbott apparently never knew she was the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal. She didn’t even know she’d played in the Olympics; she spent her whole life thinking she’d just won a little golf tournament in Paris.
Golf again received a slot on the program at the 1904 Games but didn’t make the cut for any Games after that. Still, certain pros like Greg Norman are agitating for the sport’s inclusion on future programs.

5. Roque
Roque is a croquet variant played with short mallets on a hard rolled-sand court with a wall off of which players can bank the balls. The sport’s official rules tout it as “the most scientific outdoor sport in existence,” but it didn’t hold up so well at the Olympics. Roque debuted at the 1904 Games in St. Louis, Americans swept the medals, and the sport promptly disappeared.

6. Jeu de Paume
Jeu de paume, or “real tennis,” is a tennis precursor that was originally played without racquets; players hit the ball with their hands. By the 1908 Games in London, the sport had evolved to the point where small racquets played a key role, but the largely indoor variant remained separate from what we think of as tennis, which was also played at the Games under the name “lawn tennis.” American railroad scion Jay Gould II claimed the gold, and Charles Sands, who won the gold in golf in 1900, competed but lost in the first round. “Real tennis” made a brief reappearance as a demonstration sport at the 1924 Games before fading away.

7. Lacrosse
Despite lacrosse’s relative popularity in the English-speaking world, it never really caught on as an Olympic sport. It made the program in the 1904 and 1908 Games, and since only five teams combined entered the event over the two Games, every team that played won a medal. Canada won both golds and a bronze (they sent two teams in 1904), while American and British teams claimed the two silvers. Lacrosse was a demonstration sport at the 1928, 1932, and 1948 Games, but it never regained its medal status.

8. Rackets
At the rackets competition of the 1908 Games in London every single entrant was British. The sport itself is very similar to squash, which originated as an offshoot of rackets in the 19th century, and remains popular in the U.K. The seven-man all-British field included John Jacob Astor V of the famed Astor family; he won a gold in doubles and a bronze in singles competition.

9. Polo
Apparently the Olympics could never quite figure out how to handle polo, as it popped on and off the program throughout the first 40 years of the modern Games. Polo was a medal sport at five different Games, with competitions appearing in 1900, 1908, 1920, 1924, and 1936. Only the British team competed in all of these Games, although the U.S. and Argentina both managed to claim gold medals during this time.

10. Water Motorsports
Motorboat racing first appeared as a demonstration sport at the 1900 Games, and in 1908 it received full medal status. Captains in three classes were set to race five laps around an eight-nautical-mile course in the only Olympic event to ever involve motors. However, the English weather didn’t feel like complying and whipped up a ferocious gale. Two boats entered each class, but due to the terrible weather, boats started to fill with water, ran aground, suffered engine problems and had to quit. As a result, only one boat finished each race, meaning that the only Olympic water motorsports medals ever handed out were gold.

11. Tug of War
Unlike some of the other discontinued sports, tug of war had a fair amount of staying power; it made the program for every Olympics between 1900 and 1920. The sport was played in pretty much the same way you remember from grade-school field days, but it was also a magnet for Olympic controversies. Scandal struck again at the 1908 Games when the American squad protested that the police boots worn by the British pullers from the Liverpool Police team were equipped with illegal cleats for extra traction. When the protest failed, the American pullers left the Games in a huff.

12. Rugby
Rugby has enjoyed intermittent medal status as well. It was part of the Games in 1900, 1908, 1920, and 1924 before the IOC pulled the plug. Like many of the other doomed sports, participation was a bit of a problem; none of the four competitions ever included more than three teams. Although rugby hasn’t been on the program since 1924, there have been attempts to bring it back to the Olympics—the sport made the finals for addition to the 2012 Games before losing out to squash and karate.

Info from a very timely article at MentalFloss

Covers? Increíble!

1. The Gambler (Mike Dougherty) – Kenny Rogers
2. Take the Long Way Home (Drew Emmit) - Supertramp
3. Thank You (Chris Cornel) – Led Zeppelin
4. Let the Good Times Roll (All American Rejects) – The Cars
5. Do you Believe in Magic (The Format) – Lovin Spoonful
6. Lollipop (Madison) – Lil' Wayne
7. Where Did Our Love Go (The Night Shall Eat Boys and Girls) – The Supremes
8. That's All (Keene) - Genesis

Random Trivia Wednesday: Poop

Here are some things you might not have known about poop:

1. Bird poop is white because birds can’t pee. Their kidneys work like ours do, but instead of producing urine, birds excrete a white paste which mixes with waste from the intestines unites and is excreted through the bird’s cloaca (yep, that's a multi-purpose hole). And, yes, by multi-purpose, I mean they even mate through it.

2. Eating poop has a name: coprophagy. Coprophagous insects consume and redigest the feces of large animals. The most famous feces-eating insect is the dung-beetle and the most ubiquitous is the fly. Rabbits, hamsters and other related species do not have a complex digestive system. Instead they extract more nutrition by giving their food a second pass through the gut. They produce pellets of partially digested food as well as produce normal droppings, which are not eaten. Young elephants, pandas, koalas, and hippos eat the feces of their mother to obtain the bacteria required to properly digest vegetation as they are born without these bacteria and would be unable to get any nutritional value from plants without them.

3. Cavemen were better equipped to chew and digest many plants and vegetables. They had larger molars and longer digestive tracts better at handling foods rich in indigestible cellulose, like, er, corn, for instance.

4. The word poop comes from the Middle English word poupen or popen, which used to be the root of the word we now call a fart. Clearly poop has onomatopoeic origins.

Need more? See Wikipedia!

Tuesday Trivia at Rock Bottom

Just a reminder, Tuesday trivia at Rock Bottom starts on August 26th. It will still be at 8pm.

No trivia tonight, yes trivia one week from tonight.

Whooooooole Lotta Rock Bottom Scores

We Heart Drunk Trivia MCs and Tequila Shots (330 points)
Musharraf for Condo Board President 322)
Honeymoon Stallion (321)
Drink the Beer (320)
Money Shots / Powderworhty (Tied at 315)
Your Honor, the Gymnasts Told Me They Were 16
A Big Red Dog You Can Believe In
The Attractive Nuisances
Dorthy Zbornak
The Racing Presidents
Admiral Akbar and the Traps
Mark Spitz Took Jason for a Moustache Ride
Tenors Beasting
Knuckle Children
Uncle Peat's Death Core Warriors
Fuzzy Blumpkin
Campus Crusade for Chocolate
Pizetta
Too Cool to Go Back to School
Duranteer
Batman and Friends
Even My Mom Could Make a 23 Yard Field Goal
Wealthy Peanuts

Question of the Week

(Name Game) Lending her name to a famous brand, who was the Greek Goddess of Victory?

News

Just a reminder:
This Monday, the 18th is the LAST Monday trivia at Rock Bottom.
Starting on the 26th, trivia will be at 8 PM on Tuesday.

Also:
To speed things along, check in with Jason before the game starts and give him your team name. He has begun to give people a number on their score sheet to help keep track of scores.

Finally:
August 21st Jason is running a trivia night for charity in DC to help needy kids. Attached is a flier. It cost money to play but the money goes to help those in need. And there ARE prizes and a bar -- in case you need any more reason to go!

Chair or Swear?

From this week's "picture" round: Chair or Swear?
(There goes my PG rating...)

a. Agen – CHAIR
b. Balser – CHAIR
c. Feslijummen - SWEAR (Lukewarm Fart)
d. Fladdermus - SWEAR (Female dog who has sex with everyone)
e. Knöllare - SWEAR (F*%ker, also term for penis)
f. HÄSTVEDA – CHAIR
g. Harola – CHAIR
h. Rövskägg - SWEAR (Butt Beard)
i. Poang – CHAIR
j. Sprutludder – SWEAR – (Sperm C*#t)

Go Go Gadget Scores!!!

Stroking with Phelps for the Gold (261 points)
Track 13 (250)
Buff and Blue Balls (244)
Happy Tuna (174)
Phelps for VP (172)
Joeys Boys (Missing Joey)
Tom's Teeth Hurt
Jim
Huevos de Mono

Happy Birthday, Alfred

- Born August 13, 1899

- He was knighted in 1980, and died the same year.

- Hitchcock directed more than fifty feature films, in a career spanning six decades, from the silent era, through the invention of sound films, and far into the color era

- Hitchcock had a dislike of egg yolk. He once said "I’m frightened of eggs, worse than frightened, they revolt me. That white round thing without any holes … have you ever seen anything more revolting than an egg yolk breaking and spilling its yellow liquid? Blood is jolly, red. But egg yolk is yellow, revolting. I’ve never tasted it."

- Hitchcock also had a serious fear of the police, which was the reason he said he never learned to drive. In an attempt to punish Hitchcock for an instance of misbehavior, Alfred's father detailed in writing that the young Hitchcock had engaged in some form of childish mischief, then handed the description to Alfred, sending him to the local police station. The on-duty police officer immediately locked Hitchcock in an empty cell for a full 10 minutes as a means to reprimand the young boy. This perhaps influenced his signature theme in his movies where an innocent person would become entangled in the web of another guilty person's behaviour.

- According to many people who knew Hitchcock, he couldn't stand to even look at his wife, Alma Reville, while she was pregnant.

- Alma Reville and Hitch had one daughter, Patricia Hitchcock, who appeared in several of his movies: Stage Fright (1950), Strangers on a Train (1951) and Psycho (1960)

- Hitchcock eventually began making his appearances in the beginning of his films, because he knew viewers were watching for him and he didn't want to divert their attention away from the story's plot.

- The famous Hitchcock profile sketch, most often associated with "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (1955), was actually from a Christmas card Hitchcock designed himself while still living in England.

- When finishing a cup of tea while on the set, he would often non-discriminatingly toss the cup and saucer over his shoulder, letting it fall (or break) wherever it may.

- Hitchcock delivered the shortest acceptance speech in Oscar history: while accepting the Irving Thalberg Memorial Award at the 1967 Oscars, he simply said "Thank you."

- Is the "voice" of the "Jaws" ride at Universal Studios.

- A statistical survey he did among audiences revealed that according to moviegoers the most frightening noise in films was the siren of a police patrol-car, followed by the crash of a road accident, cracklings of a burning forest, far galloping horses, howling dogs, the scream of a stabbed woman and the steps of a lame person in the dark.

- Though he was Oscar-nominated 5 times as Best Director, DGA-nominated 6 times as Best Director, and received 3 nominations from Cannes, he has never won in any of these competitive categories.

- Made a live cameo appearance in all of his movies beginning with Rebecca (1940), excluding Lifeboat in which he appeared in a newspaper advertisement; Dial M for Murder in which he appeared in a class reunion photo; Rope in which his "appearance" is as a neon version of his famous caricature on a billboard outside the window in a night scene and Family Plot in which his "appearance" is as a silhouette of someone standing on the other side of a frosted glass door

- Walt Disney refused to allow him to film at Disneyland in the early 1960s because Hitchcock had made "that disgusting movie Psycho

- Always wore a suit on film sets