KNOW-IT-ALL Trivia Quiz

Answer: a VW Beetle

The blue whale is the largest living animal on Earth; its heart alone is about the size of a Volkswagen Beetle. The blue whale is 80 to 100 feet long and weighs 100 to 200 TONS. In contrast, the Tyrannosaurus Rex, one of the largest carnivorous dinosaurs, was 14 to 16 feet tall and weighed 7 to 8 tons, a mere lightweight by comparison; the Brachiosaurus, one of the largest herbivorous dinosaurs, was 40 to 50 feet tall and weighed in at 35 to 50 tons. To compare the other choices vs. the weight of the blue whale's heart (and the VW Beetle) @ 2000 lbs: the Great Dane is about 200 lbs.; cows can vary from 400 to 1600 lbs.; a semi-truck comes in at about 15,000 pounds.

Answer: 21st Amendment

The 21st Amendment which repealed Prohibition was ratified in 1933. Prohibition was approved under the 18th Amendment in 1920 and "banned the manufacture, sale and transportation of alcohol", which led to speakeasies, bathtub gin and the rise of gangsters.

As far as the incorrect choices: the 5th Amendment provides protection against self-incrimination; the 12th Amendment set up the Electoral College; the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote. (I guess 2 out of 3 isn't bad!)

Answer: reading about poetry

You would be reading a book about poetry (as unlikely as that may seem). These words refer to metrical feet and stressed and unstressed syllables. For those of you who haven't stopped reading or fallen asleep, here are some examples: a spondee is two long or stressed syllables like football or bathrobe or James Dean; a trochee is stressed and unstressed syllables like happy or Dopey; an iamb is stressed and unstressed syllables like behold or Saint John.
Now if you've got all that we can move on to dactyls and anapests (jk).

Answer: The Grapes of Wrath

Although all the choices were novels written by John Steinbeck, Tom Joad is the lead character in "The Grapes of Wrath". The story was about the dust bowl in Oklahoma and a family's trip to California for work and a better life. The book was published in 1938 and made into a movie in 1940 starring Henry Fonda. Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962 and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for "The Grapes of Wrath" in 1940.

The only other writers to win a Nobel and a Pulitzer Prize: Sinclair Lewis, Eugene O'Neill, Pearl Buck, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Saul Bellow and Toni Morrison.

Answer: Shirley MacLaine

Shirley MacLean Beaty was born in Richmond, Virginia in 1934. This multi-talented author, singer, actress and dancer played the lead roles in "Irma La Douce" in 1963 (opposite Jack Lemmon), "Sweet Charity" in 1969 (directed by Bob Fosse) and "Madame Sousatzka" in 1988 (as a renowned Russian piano teacher).

Her career spans over fifty years, with a Best Actress Academy Award for 1983's "Terms of Endearment".

Answer: Tiffany and Co.

The Vince Lombardi Trophy has been handcrafted by Tiffany and Company in Parsippany, New Jersey since 1967. Tiffany's is a luxury jewelry retailer whose headquarters are located at Fifth Avenue in New York City. The company was founded by Charles Tiffany and John Young in 1837; but don't try to get breakfast at Tiffany's (unless you rent the video or read the book!).

Answer: chlorine gas

Although singly, ammonia (NH3) and bleach (NaOCL) are used in common household cleaning products, when mixed together they will form extremely toxic vapors, including chlorine gas (Cl2). These vapors can cause damage to the eyes, nose, throat and lungs and, if inhaled, can cause death by asphyxiation. MacGyver probably used this combination in some episode where he had to escape from prison...

Answer: Triple Crown winners

If you noticed the category, you probably answered the question correctly. The horses named in the question are all early winners of the prestigious Triple Crown of racing, i.e., the Kentucky Derby (at Churchill Downs in Lexington, KY), Preakness (at Pimlico in Baltimore, MD) and Belmont Stakes (at Belmont Park in Elmont, NY). Sir Barton was the first winner in 1919. Eleven years later Gallant Fox became the second horse to win (in 1930), while War Admiral won the Triple Crown in 1937. And finally, after 37 years, in 2015 American Pharoah became the 12th horse to belong to this exclusive club.

Answer: The Jeffersons

It's from the theme song of the TV comedy "The Jeffersons" (1975-1985), and the catchy song is called "Movin' on Up"; the song was written and sung by Ja'net Dubois (from "Good Times"). The show featured George, the dry cleaner, his wife Weezy and his son Lionel (played by two different actors, like Darrin from "Bewitched" and Becky from "Roseanne).

It was a spin-off from "All in the Family" about an upwardly mobile black entrepreneur, and his interactions with his family and neighbors.

Answer: Queen Elizabeth II

King George VI was 'King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth' from December 1936 when his brother, Edward VIII, abdicated the Throne, until George died in 1952. George VI was the first Head of the Commonwealth, the last Emperor of India, and the focal point of the 2010 movie "The King's Speech".

He was left-handed and the father of the future Queen Elizabeth II; Elizabeth was born in 1926, married Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, had her coronation in 1952 and her Diamond Jubilee in 2012. Queen Elizabeth's grandson William is left-handed.