Author: ianrandalstrock

Tough Trivia, 4/27/21

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Today’s Tough Trivia question: In this history of the Supreme Court, only one person has resigned from the Court, and then later been reappointed to it. Who was it, and why did he resign the first time?

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1024px-USS_Nimitz_(CVN-68)
USS Nimitz in 2009.

Yesterday’s question was: There are 24 active aircraft carriers in the world (of the horizontal take-off and landing type, not counting those which are strictly vertical take-off, or helicopter carriers). Five countries have one (France, India, Russia, Spain, and Thailand [though the fighter wing was retired from service in 2006]), four countries have two (Australia [though they don’t have any carrier-based fixed-wing aircraft], China, Italy, and the UK), and the United States has eleven. Name the active US aircraft carriers… in the order they were commissioned.

The answer is:

CVN-68, USS Nimitz (named for Admiral Chester W. Nimitz), commissioned in 1975.
CVN-69, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, commissioned in 1977.
CVN-70, USS Carl Vinson (named for the US Representative [represented Georgia, 1914–1965] and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee [1955–1965]), commissioned in 1982.

1280px-USS_Gerald_R._Ford_(CVN-78)_underway_on_8_April_2017
USS Gerald R. Ford in 2017.

CVN-71, USS Theodore Roosevelt, commissioned in 1986.
CVN-72, USS Abraham Lincoln, commissioned in 1989.
CVN-73, USS George Washington, commissioned in 1992.
CVN-74, USS John C. Stennis (named for the US Senator [represented Mississippi, 1947–1989] and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee [1969–1981]), commissioned in 1995.
CVN-75, USS Harry S Truman, commissioned in 1998.
CVN-76, USS Ronald Reagan, commissioned in 2003.
CVN-77, USS George H.W. Bush, commissioned in 2009.
CVN-78, USS Gerald R. Ford, commissioned in 2017.

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Ian’s Tough Trivia is a daily feature of this blog. Each day, I post a tough question, as well as the answer to the previous day’s question. At some point, I’ll offer a prize for whoever has the most correct answers, and another for whoever participates most often (I’ll take into account people coming in after the start: regular participation starting later is just as good as regular participation starting earlier). There may also be a prize for the funniest or most amusing wrong answer. Simply comment on this post with your answer. I’ll approve the comments after the next question is posted. Sure, you can probably find the answers by searching the web, but what’s the fun in that?

Financial support in the form of tips is very much appreciated: paypal.me/ianrandalstrock

Tough Trivia, 4/26/21

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Today’s Tough Trivia question: There are 24 active aircraft carriers in the world (of the horizontal take-off and landing type, not counting those which are strictly vertical take-off, or helicopter carriers). Five countries have one (France, India, Russia, Spain, and Thailand [though the fighter wing was retired from service in 2006]), four countries have two (Australia [though they don’t have any carrier-based fixed-wing aircraft], China, Italy, and the UK), and the United States has eleven. Name the active US aircraft carriers… in the order they were commissioned.

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18869-3Friday’s question was: Currently, the US Mint produces and circulates six coin denominations: cent, nickel, dime, quarter, half dollar, and dollar. But those aren’t the only denominations the US has minted: in past years, there were several other denominations. How many others can you name? Bonus points if you know which years they circulated.

The answer is:

Half cent, 1793–1857.
Two cents, 1863–1873.
Three cents, 1865–1889.
Half dime (worth five cents, but considered a different denomination than the nickel), 1792–1873 (the nickel entered circulation in 1866).
s-l1000Twenty cents, 1875–1878.
Gold dollar, 1849–1889.
Quarter eagle ($2.50), 1849–1889.
Three dollars, 1854–1889.
Half eagle ($5.00), 1795–1929.
Eagle ($10.00) ,1795–1933.
Double eagle ($20.00), 1849–1933.

***

Ian’s Tough Trivia is a daily feature of this blog. Each day, I post a tough question, as well as the answer to the previous day’s question. At some point, I’ll offer a prize for whoever has the most correct answers, and another for whoever participates most often (I’ll take into account people coming in after the start: regular participation starting later is just as good as regular participation starting earlier). There may also be a prize for the funniest or most amusing wrong answer. Simply comment on this post with your answer. I’ll approve the comments after the next question is posted. Sure, you can probably find the answers by searching the web, but what’s the fun in that?

Financial support in the form of tips is very much appreciated: paypal.me/ianrandalstrock

Audio-visual short stories

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I’ve just realized why I like (some) music videos: they’re a visual/musical form of short stories, which are my thing as a writer and a reader. Case in point: I’d previously seen this video—“We’re Good” by Dua Lipa—and focused on the singer and song. But just now, for some reason (it was on tv), I finally noticed the story. It’s wonderful! The expressions on that poor lobster’s face (and the reasons for them). I love it. It’s a scant three minutes, but you get an entire story: you know the characters, you know why they’re in the situation they’re experiencing, you know the reasons for their feelings, and you get a satisfying ending. Give it a watch (it’s only three minutes). And yes, I like the song, too.

Lamenting the Lack of News

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I just watched the last 15 minutes of the local ABC news at noon broadcast, and I was disappointed that there was no news in it (though I guess at this point, I should be inured to the fact that programs which bill themselves as “news” are less and less actual news). There was a long piece that was just an ad for tonight’s episode of 20/20, and an even longer piece that—well, it was fairly recursive, so in that respect it was interesting, but it was not in the least newsworthy. Sandy Kenyon, their entertainment reporter, had a long story talking about a morning talk show’s (Live with Kelly and Ryan, I think is the title) preparations to do a special edition of their program in which they’ll be talking about a third special television program (the Oscars). What it actually makes me wonder is if they had teasers earlier in the broadcast for that story, which would have been wonderfully rabbit-hole-like. Throw in a couple of commercial blocks, and voila! Fifteen minutes of what is ostensibly a one-hour news program with no news. Guess that means in the future, I can turn the channel at 12:45 and not be any less informed about events of the world.

Tough Trivia, 4/23/21

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Pierre_de_Coubertin_Anefo2
Pierre de Coubertin

Yesterday’s question was: Baron Pierre de Coubertin (1863–1937) founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894, which lead to the first modern Games in Athens, Greece, in 1896. The Games were held every four years, and were only cancelled during the World Wars, in 1916, 1940, and 1944, and postponed in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In 1924, the number of sports in competition expanded with the commencement of the winter Olympics (first held in Chamonix, France). The years of the winter and summer games were split following 1992, with the then-next winter Olympics held in 1994. So, the questions are: Which five countries hosted the most Olympic games? And how many different countries have hosted the Olympics? Bonus: which years were the Olympics held in the United States?

The answer is:

1. With eight already in the books and one planned, far and away the most popular country to host the Olympics is the USA. The summer games were held in St. Louis in 1904, Los Angeles in 1932 and 1984 (and planned for LA in 2028), Atlanta in 2002. The winter games were in Lake Placid in 1932 and 1980, Squaw Valley in 1960, and Salt Lake City in 2002.

2. France has hosted the games five times, with another one planned: Paris in 1900 and 1924 (and planned again for 2024), and winter games in Chamonix (1924), Grenoble (1968), and Albertville (1992).

3. Three countries are tied, hosting the Olympics four times. Germany in Berlin in 1916 and 1936, Munich (West Germany, during the Cold War) in 1972, and winter games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1936.
Italy has hosted three times, with one more planned: Rome in 1960, and winter games in Cortina d’Ampezzo in 1956, Turin in 2006, and Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo planned for 2026.
Japan has hosted three times, with one coming up soon: Tokyo in 1964, winter games in Sapporo in 1972 and Nagano in 1998, and the 2020 Summer Olympics planned for Tokyo have been postponed due to the pandemic.

Twenty-three different countries have hosted Olympics: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, France, Germany (and West Germany), Greece, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Russia (and the USSR), South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the USA.

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Today’s question is:

Currently, the US Mint produces and circulates six coin denominations: cent, nickel, dime, quarter, half dollar, and dollar. But those aren’t the only denominations the US has minted: in past years, there were several other denominations. How many others can you name? Bonus points if you know which years they circulated. (Remember, Tough Trivia takes the weekend off, so the answer will be posted Monday.)

***

Ian’s Tough Trivia is a daily feature of this blog. Each day, I post a tough question, as well as the answer to the previous day’s question. At some point, I’ll offer a prize for whoever has the most correct answers, and another for whoever participates most often (I’ll take into account people coming in after the start: regular participation starting later is just as good as regular participation starting earlier). There may also be a prize for the funniest or most amusing wrong answer. Simply comment on this post with your answer. I’ll approve the comments after the next question is posted. Sure, you can probably find the answers by searching the web, but what’s the fun in that?

Financial support in the form of tips is very much appreciated: paypal.me/ianrandalstrock

 

Tough Trivia, 4/22/21

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Yesterday’s question was: Elizabeth II, queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, is the fourth-longest-reigning confirmed monarch in the world (after France’s Louis XIV, Thailand’s Bhumibol Adulyadej, and Liechtenstein’s Johann II). Can you name the five British monarchs whose reigns were the longest?

The answer is:

1. Elizabeth II, who took the throne upon her father’s death, on February 6, 1952, more than 69 years ago. Born in April 1926, when her grandfather, George V, was king. Her uncle became King Edward VIII in early 1936, and abdicated later that year, making her father King George VI. She’ll pass Johann II on May 7, 2022, and Bhumibol Adulyadej 35 days later. If she lives until May 27, 2024 (when she will be 98 years, 36 days old), she will surpass Louis XIV’s record as the longest-reigning monarch of any sovereign state.

425px-Queen_Victoria_by_Bassano2. Victoria, Elizabeth’s great-great-grandmother, who reigned from June 20, 1837, to January 22, 1901 (63 years, 216 days). Born in June 1819, her father, Prince Edward, was the fourth son of the reigning King, George III. She was fifth in the line of succession at her birth (after George’s four oldest sons). Her father died seven months after her birth, and the king died a week later, putting her third in the succession (she was now the niece of King George IV). In 1830, George IV died, and the throne passed to his brother, William IV, with Victoria next in line. Upon William’s death, Victoria became queen, a month after her eighteenth birthday.

800px-Allan_Ramsay_-_King_George_III_in_coronation_robes_-_Google_Art_Project3. George III, Victoria’s grandfather, who reigned from October 25, 1760, to January 29, 1820 (59 years, 96 days). He was 22 years old when his grandfather, George II, died. His father, Frederick, Prince of Wales, died in 1751.


800px-JamesIEngland4. James VI of Scotland, also known as James Charles Stuart, and later as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns. He took the Scottish throne on July 24, 1567—barely a year after his birth—and died on March 27, 1625 (57 years, 246 days). The kingdoms of Scotland and England were united under James on March 24, 1603.


1024px-Henry_III_funeral_head5. Henry III, also known as Henry of Winchester, was born in Winchester Castle on October 1, 1207, the eldest son of King John. His father died October 28, 1216, making the nine-year-old Henry King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine. He held the throne until his death on November 16, 1272 (56 years, 19 days).

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Today’s question is:

Baron Pierre de Coubertin (1863–1937) founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894, which lead to the first modern Games in Athens, Greece, in 1896. The Games were held every four years, and were only cancelled during the World Wars, in 1916, 1940, and 1944, and postponed in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In 1924, the number of sports in competition expanded with the commencement of the winter Olympics (first held in Chamonix, France). The years of the winter and summer games were split following 1992, with the then-next winter Olympics held in 1994. So, the questions are: Which five countries hosted the most Olympic games? And how many different countries have hosted the Olympics? Bonus: which years were the Olympics held in the United States?

***

Ian’s Tough Trivia is a daily feature of this blog. Each day, I post a tough question, as well as the answer to the previous day’s question. At some point, I’ll offer a prize for whoever has the most correct answers, and another for whoever participates most often (I’ll take into account people coming in after the start: regular participation starting later is just as good as regular participation starting earlier). There may also be a prize for the funniest or most amusing wrong answer. Simply comment on this post with your answer. I’ll approve the comments after the next question is posted. Sure, you can probably find the answers by searching the web, but what’s the fun in that?

Financial support in the form of tips is very much appreciated: paypal.me/ianrandalstrock

Tough Trivia, 4/21/21

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Yesterday’s question was: Colors in fireworks are usually generated by pyrotechnic stars. Pyrotechnic stars are pellets of which may contain metal powders, salts, or other compounds that, when ignited, burn a certain color or make a certain spark effect. Burning the proper metal can produce any of the colors of the rainbow. Which metals produce which colors?

The answer is:

Red: lithium or strontium
Orange: calcium
Yellow: sodium
Green: barium
Blue: copper
Indigo: cesium
Violet: potassium or rubidium
Gold (not ordinarily a rainbow color): iron
White (also not a rainbow color): aluminum, beryllium, magnesium, or titanium

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qe2
Queen Elizabeth II

Today’s question is: Elizabeth II, queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, is the fourth-longest-reigning confirmed monarch in the world (after France’s Louis XIV, Thailand’s Bhumibol Adulyadej, and Liechtenstein’s Johann II). Can you name the five British monarchs whose reigns were the longest?

***

Ian’s Tough Trivia is a daily feature of this blog. Each day, I post a tough question, as well as the answer to the previous day’s question. At some point, I’ll offer a prize for whoever has the most correct answers, and another for whoever participates most often (I’ll take into account people coming in after the start: regular participation starting later is just as good as regular participation starting earlier). There may also be a prize for the funniest or most amusing wrong answer. Simply comment on this post with your answer. I’ll approve the comments after the next question is posted. Sure, you can probably find the answers by searching the web, but what’s the fun in that?

Financial support in the form of tips is very much appreciated: paypal.me/ianrandalstrock

Tough Trivia, 4/20/21

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Yesterday’s question was: Only one US President has also served as Speaker of the House of Representatives. Who was it? Similarly, only one US President has also served on the Supreme Court. Who was that?

The answer is:

11polk
James Knox Polk

James Knox Polk (1795–1849) represented Tennessee in the House of Representatives from 1825 to 1839, and served as the 13th Speaker from December 7, 1835 to March 3, 1839. He did not seek re-election in 1838, and instead was elected Governor of Tennessee, serving one two-year term (1839–41). He lost the election of 1841.

When the 1844 campaign season opened, Polk hoped to win the Democratic nomination for Vice President under former President Martin Van Buren. Former President Andrew Jackson, however, had a break with his former protégé Van Buren, and supported Polk for the top slot. On the ninth ballot, Polk won the nomination, and in the election, Polk took 49.5% of the popular vote, and 170 of the 275 electoral votes. He was, however, the first president to win the election while losing his state of residence (Tennessee) and his birth state (North Carolina). Polk kept his campaign promise, and served only one term as president. He died in June 1845, a scant three months after leaving office.

27taft
William Howard Taft

William Howard Taft was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on September 15, 1857. His father, Alphonso, served as the 31st Secretary of War (March 8–May 22, 1876), the 34th Attorney General (May 22, 1876–March 4, 1877), the US Minister to Austria-Hungary (1882–1884), and the US Minister to Russia (1884–1885). William attended Yale and then practiced law. In 1887, at the age of 29, he was appointed to a judgeship on the Superior Court of Cincinnati, and then later elected to a full five-year term on the court. His professional goal was always a seat on the Supreme Court, and in 1889, Ohio Governor Foraker suggested Taft for the vacancy on the Supreme Court (he was 32). President Benjamin Harrison chose someone else, and in 1890, appointed Taft Solicitor General of the United States. In 1892, he resigned when he was appointed to a newly created judgeship on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. In 1900, President William McKinley asked Taft to resign, in order to head the commission to organize a civilian government in the Philippines, which he did. In July 1901, Taft became the civilian governor of the Philippines. In late 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt offered Taft a seat on the Supreme Court, but Taft refused, saying his work as governor was not yet done. In January 1904, Roosevelt appointed Taft the 42nd Secretary of War. Roosevelt offered Taft Supreme Court appointments in 1905 and 1906, but by this time, Taft had come to terms with the likelihood he would be the next Republican nominee for President (a position both Roosevelt and Taft’s wife Helen had been pushing him toward). Taft did indeed win the nomination, and handily won the election.

During his one term as President, his policies diverged from those of his friend and mentor, Theodore Roosevelt, and when Roosevelt returned to the United States, he challenged Taft for the nomination. Taft was renominated, so Roosevelt formed his own party to run for the presidency, split the Republican vote, and Taft became the only incumbent President to place third in his bid for re-election. After his presidency, Taft returned to Yale as a professor.

Chief Justice Douglass White died on May 19, 1921, and President Warren Harding considered several others to replace him before finally settling on Taft, who had told him months earlier that he wanted the position. On June 30, 1921, Harding officially nominated Taft, and the Senate confirmed his appointment the same day, by a vote of 61–4, without any committee hearings and only a brief debate in executive session. Taft was sworn in on July 11, the only person to serve as both President and Chief Justice. In failing health, he resigned February 3, 1930, and died on March 8.

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Today’s question is: Colors in fireworks are usually generated by pyrotechnic stars. Pyrotechnic stars are pellets of which may contain metal powders, salts, or other compounds that, when ignited, burn a certain color or make a certain spark effect. Burning the proper metal can produce any of the colors of the rainbow. Which metals produce which colors?

***

Ian’s Tough Trivia is a daily feature of this blog. Each day, I post a tough question, as well as the answer to the previous day’s question. At some point, I’ll offer a prize for whoever has the most correct answers, and another for whoever participates most often (I’ll take into account people coming in after the start: regular participation starting later is just as good as regular participation starting earlier). There may also be a prize for the funniest or most amusing wrong answer. Simply comment on this post with your answer. I’ll approve the comments after the next question is posted. Sure, you can probably find the answers by searching the web, but what’s the fun in that?

Financial support in the form of tips is very much appreciated: paypal.me/ianrandalstrock

Walter Mondale, 1928-2021

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42mondaleVice President Walter Mondale (1977-81) has died at the age of 93. Half of the longest-lived President-and-Vice President team, he had served as the Attorney General of Minnesota, and was Vice President Hubert Humphrey’s successor in the Senate for 12 years before Jimmy Carter chose him to run for the Vice Presidency. After their one term in the White House, Mondale served for three years as the US Ambassador to Japan under President Clinton.

Before his death, Mondale wrote a good-bye letter to his staff (available here).

Axios has some more words about him at this link.

And CNN’s announcement is here.

Politico’s obituary is long and good.

Mondale is #5 on the list of longest-lived Vice Presidents, and #1 on the list of longest-retired Vice Presidents (as his President, Jimmy Carter, is on the list of Presidents). He was the first major party Presidential candidate to choose a female running mate, when he put New York Representative Geraldine Ferraro on the ticket in 1984 (though they lost to Ronald Reagan’s landslide re-election). He also stepped in to run for Senator in Minnesota in 2002, when the party’s nominee, incumbent Paul Wellstone, died in a plane crash two weeks before election day. 

 

Tough Trivia, 4/19/21

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Friday’s question was: Cent, nickel, dime, quarter, half dollar, and dollar. The US has six circulating coin denominations. List them in order of the longevity of the current design. Bonus points if you can name whose face is on each obverse, and what design is on the corresponding reverses.

The answer is:

proofset2017Dime, 1946. The year after he died, the Mercury dime was phased out in honor of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, with a new torch, oak branch, and olive branch design on the reverse.

Half dollar, 1964. John Kennedy was assassinated in late 1963. In 1964, he bumped Benjamin Franklin off the half dollar, appearing with the seal of the President on the reverse. In 1976, the seal was replaced with an image of Independence Hall for the Bicentennial, but then the seal returned in 1977.

Nickel, 2006. In 1938, Thomas Jefferson’s portrait first appeared on the nickel, paired with his home, Monticello, on the reverse. In 2004 and 2005, there were four special designs honoring the bicentennial of Lewis & Clark’s expedition. In 2006, Monticello returned to the reverse with a new portrait of Jefferson on the obverse.

Cent, 2010. Abraham Lincoln’s portrait was placed on the obverse in 1909, with a wheat stalk reverse design. In 1959, the reverse was changed to an image of the Lincoln Memorial. In 2009, there were special reverse designs honoring Lincoln’s bicentennial. And in 2010, the current shield design first appeared on the reverse.

Quarter, less than three months ago. In 1932, George Washington first appeared on the obverse of the quarter, with a heraldic eagle on the reverse. In 1976, the quarter (and half dollar and dollar coins) had a special Bicentennial reverse design: a colonial military drummer. The eagle returned in 1977. In 1999, the State Quarter Series debuted, with a redesigned obverse, and five different reverses minted during the year, representing each of the states. After ten years, the Mint realized the changing designs were popular, and continued, covering DC and the territories in 2009, and then representing national parks and landmarks starting in 2010 (still, with five new designs each year).

Dollar, 2009 (sort of). In 2000, the smaller-than-a-half dollar sized, silver colored dollar coin with Susan B. Anthony’s portrait was replaced by the same-sized, gold colored dollar coin with Sacagawea on the obverse and a bald eagle in flight on the reverse. Starting in 2009, the reverse was changed to several different Native American themes. Since 2012, the Mint has only produced these coins for collector sets and stockpiles, because of their unpopularity. At the same time (2007–2016, plus more coming), the Mint produced Presidential dollar coins, with images of deceased Presidents on them. Again, for circulation, but since 2012, newly minted coins have not been released into circulation because of a lack of demand. Finally, beginning in 2018, the Mint began producing American Innovation dollars, with the State of Liberty on the obverse, and four different images (representing four different states) on the reverse. The Mint claims these are coins for circulation, but the lack of demand keeps them from entering circulation as normal.

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Today’s question is: Only one US President has also served as Speaker of the House of Representatives. Who was it? Similarly, only one US President has also served on the Supreme Court. Who was that?

***

Ian’s Tough Trivia is a daily feature of this blog. Each day, I post a tough question, as well as the answer to the previous day’s question. At some point, I’ll offer a prize for whoever has the most correct answers, and another for whoever participates most often (I’ll take into account people coming in after the start: regular participation starting later is just as good as regular participation starting earlier). There may also be a prize for the funniest or most amusing wrong answer. Simply comment on this post with your answer. I’ll approve the comments after the next question is posted. Sure, you can probably find the answers by searching the web, but what’s the fun in that?

Financial support in the form of tips is very much appreciated: paypal.me/ianrandalstrock