Once a triviot...

The Global Trivia team: me, Justin, Shaun.

It''s 3:13 in the a. of m. and I just got in the door from helping to run Global Trivia at Commune's bar downtown. The game starts at midnight, and trivia's about the only thing that would get me to spend nearly three hours in a dark bar full of smoking drinkers. Or drinking smokers. I feel so dirty. And not in a good, don't tell Mom kind of way. But you know I love me some trivia.

My friend Justin spent many hours putting together a really clever PowerPoint presentation for our questions. Shaun did eleven questions on "Arts and Crafts" (literary and artistic figures and their nonvocational quirks), then I did eleven on "War and Peace", followed by Justin with "Cities". Many of the questions had multiple parts, so it's quite a production. I may be a little thin-skinned for this; having a drunk or two boo every time they don't know an answer bugs me. But it went well.

I'm really pleased, frankly, with the questions I came up with. I tried to get a mix of easy and hard ones, from a number of countries.

Anyway, here are my questions.

1) Four individuals have won both the popular vote for United States President and the Nobel Peace Prize. For one point each, name them. For a bonus point on each, name the years each one won the Prize.

2) In Tolkien’s The Hobbit, the Battle of Five Armies brought together forces from five races or species. For one point each, name them. For a bonus point, what sixth force arrived at the last moment to turn the tide for the good guys?

3) Now some questions for you fans of Trojans (one point each):

a. What animal did the knights in Monty Python and the Holy Grail build rather than a wooden horse?

b. To what island did Odysseus return, eventually, after the Trojan War?
c. In the final lines of Tennyson’s Ulysses, what four infinitive verbs (such as to run” and “to sleep”) does Ulysses (a.k.a. Odysseus) say he and his men are “strong in will” to do? (One half-point for each.)
d. In what city is the major American university whose teams are called the Trojans?

4)4 4) The semaphore signals for which two letters make up the peace symbol that became popular during anti-Viet Nam War protests in the 1960s? (You must get both for a point.)

5) The flag of Wales displays a mythological creature. For one point each, what color is it, what is the creature, and (according to Arthurian legend) who saw this creature battling another such beast (a symbol of England) in a dream?

6) What city changed hands four times between March 1950 and March 1951?

7) These songs all have titles that include the words “War” or “Peace” or variations of these words (such as “Wartime” or “Peaceable”). In each case, the song title immediately follows the quoted lyric. The number of words in the title is listed in parentheses. For one point each, name the song that has each set of lyrics.

a.“And each time I feel like this inside, there's one thing I wanna know…” (8)
b.“I want to sleep with you in the desert tonight, with a million stars all around, ‘cause I get a…” (3)

c. "Everybody's talkin' 'bout Bagism, Shagism, Dragism, Madism, Ragism, Tagism, This-ism, That-ism, ism, ism, ism. All we are saying is... (4)
d.“Now I've been crying lately, thinking about the world as it is; why must we go on hating, why can't we live in bliss? ‘Cause out on the edge of darkness, there lies a…” (2)

e.“Good God, y’all, what is it good for? You tell me, say it, say it, say it…” (1)
f.“Make no mistake, for your very own sake, here’s a little word for now: take off your shoes and let your thoughts be kind, and have a little…” (3)

8) What three European countries remained neutral in both World Wars? (One point each)

9) The United Nations has recognized October 2 as the International Day of Nonviolence. Whose birthday was selected for this honor?

10) For one point each, in which book of the Bible is the origin of the dove as a symbol of peace, and which book of the Bible is the source of the Byrds’ ‘60s anti-war song Turn Turn Turn?

BONUS: For one point each, name the person who fits each description. Each person’s name has the letters w-a-r or p-e-a-c-e in that order.

a. Won more games than any other left-handed pitcher in major league history.

b. Wrote Vanity Fair.
c. Played “Puddy” on Seinfeld.
d. Pastor who gave the invocation at Barack Obama’s inauguration.
e. Played House's former lover Stacy.
f. In early 2008, was listed by Forbes magazine as the richest person in the world.

g. Starred in the movies Meatballs and My Bodyguard.

h. Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1953 to 1969.