"The Big Bang Theory" Miscellanea (2) Quiz

Answer: Master's degree

It's been pointed out in several episodes that Howard 'only' has a Master's degree (in engineering), while his three best friends all have PhDs. One example of Howard being singled out as having less education occurred in season two's "The Griffin Equivalency", when the guys' boss, Dr. Gablehouser, entered Raj's office while Howard, Leonard and Sheldon were there, and they all greeted each other:

Raj: "Dr. Gablehouser."
Dr. Gablehauser: "Dr. Koothrappali."
Leonard: "Dr. Gablehouser."
Dr. Gablehouser: "Dr. Hofstadter."
Sheldon: "Dr. Gablehouser."
Dr. Gablehouser: "Dr. Cooper."
Howard: "Dr. Gablehouser."
Dr. Gablehouser: "*Mister* Wolowitz."

Answer: Football

Leonard, who was dating Penny at the time, wanted to learn about football so that he could hang out with her and her friends while they watched games and have something to contribute to the conversation. It was then revealed that Sheldon knew a surprising amount about the game, having grown up in Texas with a sports-loving father.

Sheldon also mentioned that he knew a lot about frying meats that aren't chicken as if they were chicken, another popular thing to do in Texas.

Answer: The Flash

In "The Middle Earth Paradigm", it was agreed that the only fair solution was that none of them could be The Flash. Raj decided to go as Thor, Howard dressed up as Robin Hood (but looked like Peter Pan), Leonard called dibs on being Frodo from "The Lord of the Rings" and Sheldon had the confusing costume of the Doppler Effect.

As a side note, Sheldon also donned his Flash costume in the season two episode "The Work Song Nanocluster" when he got really hyper after drinking coffee for the first time.

Answer: "To eat them or to make them leave our boyfriends alone"

At the beginning of the episode titled "The Cushion Saturation", Leonard and his friends had been playing paintball. Later, in his apartment, Penny saw the paintball gun and picked it up. Leonard told her she should play with them sometime, and Penny turned him down saying that in Nebraska they only shoot things if they want to eat them or make them leave their boyfriends alone.

She then accidentally shot paint at the couch, right on Sheldon's 'spot'. They panicked, knowing Sheldon would freak out and Leonard suggested that Penny tell Sheldon she was trying to get the couch to leave her boyfriend alone.

Answer: Gynecologist

This is mentioned in a few episodes, usually when Raj tries to play 'the poverty card' and says something about growing up poor in India. One of his friends then points out that his father is a gynecologist and his family is well-off. For example, in "The Griffin Equivalency", Raj was selected to be in People magazine and said that his story was "a heartwarming and personal narrative... a humble boy from New Delhi overcame poverty and prejudice and journeyed to America..." Howard then said, "Poverty? Your father is a gynecologist.

He drives a Bentley!" Raj then tried to defend his story, saying that the Bentley "is a lease!"

Answer: The Lord of the Rings

In "The Precious Fragmentation", they bought a box full of random items at a garage sale, which ended up containing a ring used as a prop in "The Lord of the Rings" films. Since there were only a small handful of the rings made for the movie, it was a collector's item of great value. Since the four guys couldn't agree on what to do with it, Leonard gave it to Penny to keep safe until they decided. Penny returned it to him after Sheldon attempted to steal it from her while she slept, and she awoke and punched him in the face. Though Leonard then told everyone that he had sent the ring to director Peter Jackson, it was later shown that he actually hid it in his bedroom.

Sheldon found out and the episode ended with them physically fighting over it.

Answer: Leonard and Penny's potential relationship

Schrodinger's cat was a thought experiment proposed by Erwin Schrodinger, in which he put a cat and a vial of poison inside a box and sealed it. The point of the experiment was to propose that, without looking inside the box, there was no way to know if the poison had been released, therefore no way to know if the cat was dead or alive. Schrodinger said that while the box was sealed, then, the cat could be thought of as both alive and dead at the same time.

In the first season finale, "The Tangerine Factor", Sheldon used the experiment as a metaphor when Penny asked him for advice about whether she should date Leonard or not. The metaphor illustrated that the only way to know whether it was a good idea or bad idea would be to go on a date and find out. When Leonard picked up Penny for their date, they kissed and Penny said, "Well the cat's alive, let's go to dinner!"

Answer: America's Next Top Model

At the beginning of the episode, Penny went over to watch "America's Next Top Model" at Leonard and Sheldon's place because her cable had been cut off. Howard and Raj were there and took great interest in the beautiful women on the show. After Penny told them that all the contestants lived together in a house somewhere in L.A., Howard and Raj made it their mission to locate the house and get inside.

They actually succeeded, after having military spy planes and NASA satellites locate the house for them.

They got inside under the guise of being repairmen. What happened once they got inside, though, was never revealed.

Answer: Stu the Cockatoo is New at the Zoo

In the second season episode "The Friendship Algorithm", Sheldon wanted to befriend Barry Kripke because he heard that Kripke controlled access to a special computer that Sheldon wanted to use. Sheldon had trouble convincing Kripke to become his friend, so he went to a bookstore to find a book to help him.

The clerk pointed him towards the children's section where he found the book "Stu the Cockatoo is New at the Zoo". Sheldon managed to win Kripke over by proposing that they engage in a shared interest together.

Sheldon found rock climbing to be the least objectionable of Kripke's suggestions, so off they went. It seemed to work, despite Sheldon fainting when he got halfway up the rock climbing wall, and Sheldon decided to 'let Raj go' from his circle of friends to make room for Kripke.

However, it was then revealed that Kripke had no control over access to the computer, so Sheldon abandoned his new friendship and let Raj back in.

Answer: Mayim Bialik

Mayim Bialik, best known for her starring role on "Blossom" (1990-1995), joined the cast of "The Big Bang Theory" as a recurring character beginning in the third season finale, "The Lunar Excitation", continuing into the fourth season. She played Amy Farrah Fowler (nearly always called by all three names), Sheldon's 'perfect match'. Howard and Raj had set up an online dating profile for Sheldon just for fun, and surprisingly, the site returned a match for him. Howard and Raj blackmailed Sheldon into meeting Amy, who turned out to be exactly like Sheldon, only female.