Ken Jennings

Ken Jennings's Trivia Almanac

From the March 19 page

[Image of Trivia Almanac book cover]

1979 C-SPAN goes on the air, with live coverage of the U.S. House of Representatives. Its very first proceeding is a speech by then-congressman Al Gore—a sure sign of many gripping hours of programming to come!

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD

  1. What famous diplomat represented France at the Congress of Vienna in 1814?
  2. Whose personal library formed the basis for the Library of Congress after the British burned the original collection in the War of 1812?
  3. What organization's flag is a black stripe for the people, a green stripe for the land, and a yellow stripe for riches?
  4. In what city did the First and Second Continental Congress meet?
  5. What nation was led by the Congress Party from 1947 to 1996 almost uninterrupted?

1983 America's drug problem is permanently solved when First Lady Nancy Reagan guests on a very very special episode of Diff'rent Strokes to tout her "Just Say No" campaign.

NEGATIVLAND

  1. What negatively charged particle is the antiparticle of the positron?
  2. What oddly phrased catchphrase earned Whitney Houston a "Big Quote" nomination from VH-1 in 2005?
  3. What vice president referred to his critics as "nattering nabobs of negativism"?
  4. What is 007 enemy Dr. No's first name?
  5. What Herman Melville character constantly answers, "I would prefer not to," whenever his boss asks him to work?
  6. Whose Presidential campaign was targeted by the famous "Daisy Girl" negative TV ad?
  7. What hip-hop artist is featured on Destiny's Child first single, "No, No, No"?
  8. What "imaginary" number is defined as the square root of -1?
  9. What famous double-negative is the first line in Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)"?
  10. What is absent in "negative" blood types like O negative or AB negative?

1994 A record-breaking omelet is made in Yokohama, Japan. You know what they say—you can't make the world's largest omelet without breaking 150,000 eggs.

THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY

  1. What was the first non-original color of cereal pieces added to Trix, in 1980?
  2. What breakfast item is the waitress serving on the cover of Supertramp's Breakfast in America album?
  3. What's the meat on McDonald's original recipe Egg McMuffins?
  4. What American literary character's real name is Lula Mae Barnes?
  5. In 1934, five years before his famous retirement, who became the first athlete to appear on a Wheaties box?
  6. Emilio Estevez was originally cast in what other actor's role in The Breakfast Club?
  7. In France, what's called pain perdu, or "lost bread"?
  8. Corn Flakes, Grape Nuts, or Post Toasties—what cereal was called Elijah's Manna until 1908, when the Bible belt branded the name as sacrilegious?
  9. What nation is the world's largest exporter of coffee?
  10. Who was the only Star Wars character honored with his own breakfast cereal?

ANSWERS

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD

  1. Talleyrand
  2. Thomas Jefferson's
  3. The African National Congress
  4. Philadelphia
  5. India

NEGATIVLAND

  1. The electron
  2. "Hell to the no!"
  3. Spiro Agnew
  4. Julius
  5. Bartleby the Scrivener
  6. Barry Goldwater's
  7. Wyclef Jean
  8. i
  9. "We don't need no education"
  10. Rhesus antigens (Rh or RhD)

THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY

  1. Purple
  2. Orange juice
  3. Canadian bacon
  4. Holly Golightly (Breakfast at Tiffany's)
  5. Lou Gehrig
  6. Judd Nelson's
  7. French toast
  8. Past Toasties
  9. Brazil
  10. C-3PO
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