Poker? I Hardly Know Her
May 13-14, 2022
On-Air Questions and Songs
Unused questions are shown with gray text.
| Number | 1 |
| Realm | It's the First Question... |
| Subrealm | So You Know the Answer! |
| Question | To give your answer, please state questioningly the name of a card game whose variants include Omaha, Billabong, and Texas Hold-Em, and then exclaim a clichéd phrase traditionally following words ending in -er, which expresses lack of familiarity with a feminine object. |
| Answer | Poker? I Hardly Know Her! |
| Song | Poker Face |
| Artist | Lady Gaga |
| Hint | the answer to the first question is always the name of the hosting team |
| Number | 2 |
| Realm | Russian Interference |
| Subrealm | But Not That Kind |
| Question | The first book in the Russian fantasy series Tanya Grotter is unavailable in English translation. Why? |
| Answer | It is a thinly-veiled copy of Harry Potter; lawsuits arose. |
| Song | Rude |
| Artist | Magic! |
| Note | Tanya Grotter attends Tibidokhs School for Behaviorally-Challenged Young Witches and Wizards. The series is an intentional parody of Harry Potter. |
| Number | 3 |
| Realm | Jack of All Trades |
| Subrealm | And Master of All |
| Question | Who, according to some, bowled a perfect game, had eleven holes in one, and wrote over one thousand books? |
| Answer | Kim Jong-Il |
| Song | Kill This Love |
| Artist | Blackpink |
| Hint | He's a famous leader |
| Number | 4 |
| Realm | France |
| Subrealm | Guys, What the Hell |
| Question | In September 1994, a Frenchman was hospitalized in the first known case of acute tungsten poisoning. What was the cause? |
| Answer | drinking wine from a gun barrel |
| Song | Welcome to the jungle |
| Artist | Guns n roses |
| Note | According to Randall Munroe of XKCD: In September of 1994, a French soldier drank wine from a rifle barrel. Fifteen minutes later, he started having seizures. He was rushed to the hospital and treated for "acute tungsten intoxication"—the first known case in medical history. He reportedly made a full recovery, although concentrations of tungsten were present in all his body tissues for weeks. |
| Number | 5 |
| Realm | Sports |
| Subrealm | Across the Pond |
| Question | Sports teams with kangaroos, okapi, and bears as their mascots can be found within 25 miles of what European capital city? |
| Answer | Brussels (Belgium) |
| Song | House of the Rising Sun |
| Artist | The Animals |
| Number | 6 |
| Realm | Knot Theory |
| Subrealm | ...But Knot the Colin Adams Kind |
| Question | In climbing, two specific connectors have the names (blank) (blank) Knot and (blank) (blank) Triangle. In both cases, the first blank is the name of a continent and the second blank is a single word. What is that word? |
| Answer | death |
| Song | Duality |
| Artist | Slipknot |
| Hint | What happens when you don't tie your knot correctly |
| Note | The connectors referenced are the European Death Knot and the American Death Triangle. |
| Number | 7 |
| Realm | History |
| Subrealm | Most Americans can't even pass this test |
| Question | When you take the exam to become a naturalized US citizen, you will be asked up to 10 civics questions, and you must get six of them correct. One of these possible questions is, "Name one problem that led to the start of the civil war." What are the three answers that are considered acceptable? |
| Answer | Slavery, economic reasons, states' rights |
| Song | America |
| Artist | Simon and Garfunkel |
| Number | 8 |
| Realm | Po(o)p Music |
| Subrealm | Oops, I may have left out a letter |
| Question | Roughly how many songs has singer/songwriter Matt Farley written? |
| Answer | Over 22,000 |
| Song | The raffi poop song |
| Artist | Matt Farley (or, the odd man who sings about poop, puke, and pee) |
| Hint | It's a lot |
| Note | do not require the artist name, just song title. Farley has released songs under at least 70 band names. Thousands of his songs celebrate birthdays with different names, and over 500 are "prom proposal" songs with different names. Many songs are about towns, and the lyrics consist of reading Wikipedia articles. According to Farley, one song that contains only the word "poop" repeated over and over generates $500 in streaming revenue every month as of 2018, likely in part because children request it from Alexa or other devices. |
| Number | 9 |
| Realm | Former Child Stars... |
| Subrealm | ...Underground |
| Question | This is a three-point-play! This former child star was booed off stage as part of his culinary-themed cover band. Name the child star; and name his cover band band. Music of course accounts for the third point. |
| Answer | Macaulay Culkin, The Pizza Underground |
| Song | Femme Fatale |
| Artist | The Velvet Underground |
| Hint | Home alone |
| Note | Pizza Underground plays Velvet Underground songs with pizza-themed lyrics and kazoo solos. In 2014 they were booed off the stage in Nottingham, England, after playing for only 15 minutes. |
| Number | 10 |
| Realm | Williams |
| Subrealm | Why Can't They Build Better Floors |
| Question | What artist held a concert in Goodrich Hall in 2007 that caused a floor collapse which cost $450,000 to repair? |
| Answer | Gunther |
| Song | Satellite |
| Artist | Guster |
| Note | Your archivist halped run the ill-fated Worker and Parasite contest out of Goodrich in January 2005. We presented the trophy to the winners on the stage that later collapsed. |
| Number | 11 |
| Realm | Movie Trivia |
| Subrealm | Let There Be Murder |
| Question | What actor featured in the Venom franchise, is the son of a convicted hitman? |
| Answer | Woody Harrelson |
| Song | Wouldn't it Be Nice |
| Artist | The Beach Boys |
| Note | Charles Voyde Harrelson disappeared from his children's life when his son Woody was 7. 13 years later he was convicted of assassinating federal judge John H. Wood Jr., the first federal judge to be assassinated in the 20th century. He was sentenced to two life terms, and died in prison in 2007. |
| Number | 12 |
| Realm | Botany |
| Subrealm | All my houseplants meant an untimely end |
| Question | What plant draws its potentially offensive name from a myth that originated in 13th century Europe? |
| Answer | Wandering Jew |
| Song | Comedy |
| Artist | Bo Burnham |
| Number | 13 |
| Realm | Williams |
| Subrealm | My friends judge my spotify playlists |
| Question | What Williams Alum has participated in Williams trivia, obtained a doctorate in theoretical physics, and makes a living writing comedic (and frequently lewd) music? |
| Answer | Brian Wecht (aka Ninja Brian) |
| Song | Everybody Shut Up (I Have an Erection) |
| Artist | Ninja Sex Party |
| Hint | ninja |
| Note | Brian Wecht '97 is a member of Ninja Sex Party. He has retired from particle physics to focus on his musical career. |
| Number | 14 |
| Realm | Insane Feats of Nature |
| Subrealm | Why would anyone put themselves through this |
| Question | The Barkley Marathons is an ultramarathon trail race held in Frozen Head State Park near Wartburg, Tennessee. It requires runners to run 5 20 mile loops, 100 miles in total, in extremely hard terrains. To "finish", you must complete the entire 5 loops in under 60 hours. Though the race has been going on for 35 years, only 15 people have ever run. What is the start signal to the race? |
| Answer | lighting a cigarette |
| Song | Sick Boy |
| Artist | The Chain Smokers |
| Hint | something popular in the 60s |
| Note | If a runner comlpetes only 3 laps (60 miles), that's known as the "fun run". |
| Number | 15 |
| Realm | Social Media Culture |
| Subrealm | We were all 13 once |
| Question | According to Tumblr users seeking other Tumblr users in real life, what is the correct response to the comment, "I like your shoelaces"? |
| Answer | "Thanks, I stole them from the President" |
| Song | Out of Touch |
| Artist | Daryl Hall & John Oates |
| Number | 16 |
| Realm | I'm Bad at Math |
| Subrealm | And Worse at Rugby |
| Question | What household object has been given as an award for last-place finishers in both mathematics exams at Cambridge and Six Nations rugby? |
| Answer | A wooden spoon |
| Song | Spoonman |
| Artist | Soundgarden |
| Hint | cutlery |
| Number | 17 |
| Realm | Cookie Time |
| Subrealm | Why do they keep increasing the cookie prices? |
| Question | A girl scout brownie troop in Chicago found the perfect place to sell girl scout cookies, and according to one of the Brownie troop leaders, Melissa Soukup, they sold 230 boxes of cookies by standing outside of what location. |
| Answer | a marijuana dispensary |
| Song | Everybody gets high |
| Artist | Missio |
| Number | 18 |
| Realm | Jersey Lore |
| Subrealm | Regina's mafia ties |
| Question | Who is the grandfather of the real housewife of New Jersey Dina Manzo? |
| Answer | Tiny Manzo |
| Song | Tiny Dancer |
| Artist | elton john |
| Note | Tiny Manzo was a mob enforcer who was murdered in 1983. |
| Number | 19 |
| Realm | Religion |
| Subrealm | I don't remember this from Sunday school |
| Question | After an Israelite military leader (who shares his name with a US president) lost a battle, this badass biblical woman saved the day, killing the enemy leader with an unlikely tool. |
| Answer | Yael (or Jael) |
| Song | Power |
| Artist | Kanye West |
| Hint | military leader was barak |
| Note | Yael killed Sisera by driving a tent peg through his skull. |
| Number | 20 |
| Realm | DEEP JERSEY LORE |
| Subrealm | More Regina mafia ties |
| Question | Why did the former manager of the Tick Tock diner in Clifton, NJ plead guilty to hiring a hitman to kill his uncle? |
| Answer | he wanted to get the secrets to the safe of the larger Tick Tock diner in Manhattan |
| Song | Bust Your Kneecaps |
| Artist | The Pomplamoose |
| Hint | Plankton from spongebob be like |
| Note | Georgios Spyropoulos pled guilty in 2014 to hiring a hitman to kill his uncle and former boss, Alexandros Sgourdos. Spyrololous believed Sgourdos was withholding profits and keeping cash in his safe. |
| Number | 21 |
| Realm | Sports |
| Subrealm | Rewarding children |
| Question | Children who attended elementary school in San Antonio, Texas circa 2009, could receive prizes for demonstrating good character in honor of what basketball player? |
| Answer | Tim Duncan |
| Song | School's Out |
| Artist | Alice Cooper |
| Hint | he was on the spurs |
| Note | The DJ at the time this question was read announced that she had won one of the Tim Duncan prizes. |
| Number | 22 |
| Realm | Christianity |
| Subrealm | Abomonations to Nature |
| Question | Angels as depicted in pop culture are vastly different from the angels described in the Bible. The Bible actually describes several types of angels, one of which being Cherubim, which are described as having four faces, each of a different animal. What are the four faces of a biblically accurate Cherub? |
| Answer | Ox, Lion, Eagle, Man |
| Song | A Cruel Angel's Thesis |
| Artist | Yoko Takahashi |
| Hint | 1/2 of the animals are featured in a griffin |
| Note | Song title/ show title good for point |
| Number | 23 |
| Realm | Math |
| Subrealm | Yummy math |
| Question | Pythagoras, the ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician, had some pretty good ideas. He also had some less good ideas. One of the latter was his belief that eating this food was murder, and cannibalism, because he believed this food and humans originated from the same materials. What food was it? |
| Answer | fava beans |
| Song | Beans |
| Artist | Kurt Cobain |
| Hint | legume |
| Note | Pythagoras's relationship with beans was complicated, owing to them being a magical fruit. |
| Number | 24 |
| Realm | Sports With Balls |
| Subrealm | Footy |
| Question | When defender Spencer Prior signed with Cardiff City in 2001, several strange provisions were inserted in his contract, including that he would eat a particular strange food. What was that food? |
| Answer | sheep testicles (also accept sheep brains) |
| Song | Scarborough Fair / Canticle |
| Artist | Simon & Garfunkel |
| Note | "It's simple," explained club presdent Sam Hammam. "With Spencer being non-Welsh, he needs to prove to the people of Wales that he understands the place - then he can become a true leader." |
| Number | 25 |
| Realm | More sports with more balls |
| Subrealm | Surprise victories |
| Question | A soccer team from what unrecognized state beat Real Madrid? |
| Answer | Transnistria or Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic |
| Song | Back in the USSR |
| Artist | The Beatles |
| Hint | Moldova |
| Note | Transnistria is a strip of Moldova on the Ukrainian border, which has declared independence and is backed by Russia. FC Sherriff Tiraspol, representing Transnistria's largest city, pulled off one of the most shocking upsets in Champions League history by beating Real Madrid 2-1 in their home stadium in September, 2021. |
| Number | 26 |
| Realm | A Horny Limo Pimp Shuffle |
| Subrealm | sometimes small things represent larger things, sometimes larger things represent smaller things |
| Question | What do Truman Capote and General Electric have in common? |
| Answer | Phillip Seymour Hoffman |
| Song | Everybody Wants to Rule the World |
| Artist | Tears for Fears |
| Hint | Capote actor also acts in a film of a similar name to where GE is based |
| Note | Phillip Seymour Hoffman played Truman Capote in the 2005 biopic Capote. He also acted in "Synecdoche, New York", which takes place in Schenectady, New York, which was once the headquarters of General Electric. A synecdoche is a figure of speech wherein a part of something represents the whole, or vice versa. So the subrealm was intended as a hint. |
| Number | 27 |
| Realm | War |
| Subrealm | War is bad |
| Question | Which emperors, who were third cousins despite being on opposite sides of a major war, exchanged affectionate telegrams right before and during said war? |
| Answer | Wilhelm II (German Emperor) and Nicholas II (Russian Emperor) |
| Song | Rasputin |
| Artist | Boney M |
| Hint | world war 1 |
| Note | The letters between the two emperors are known as the Willy-Nicky correspondence. The song played here would become an action trivia in the next hour. |
| Number | 28 |
| Realm | UnWhole Milk |
| Subrealm | An Affront to God And Nature |
| Question | Which head-of-state and noted VTOL fighter jet fanatic made dairy farmers and schoolchildren alike furious? |
| Answer | Margaret Thatcher |
| Song | Don't You Want Me |
| Artist | Human League |
| Note | VTOL stands for "Vertical takeoff and landing", a property of the British Harrier jets which helped Thatcher win the Falklands War. The nickname "Margaret Thatcher, the milk snatcher" came from her push to end a free school milk program for children. Dairy farmers were not her biggest fans after that. |
| Number | 29 |
| Realm | Pasta Perfection |
| Subrealm | This is why celebrities shouldn't cook |
| Question | During the height of the 2020 quarantine, a famous Hollywood actor attempted to craft a fast-food version of pasta, nearly blowing up his kitchen in the process. What was the name of the dish he was attempting to bake and patent? |
| Answer | Piccolini cuscino |
| Song | Decode |
| Artist | Paramore |
| Hint | actor known for starring in twilight |
| Note | Ropert Pattinson explained his recipe while doing an interview with a GQ Reporter very early in the Pandemic. He burned his hands, set a latex glove on fire, and blew up his microwave in the process. Piccolini cuscino means "little pillow". The ingredients are: One "filthy" box of cornflakes, a lighter, nine packs of pre-sliced cheese, "Just any sauce", the top half of a bun, "lots of sugar", and pasta in "a sort of squiggly blob". |
| Number | 30 |
| Realm | Low budget film techniques |
| Subrealm | "Still way better than most people would expect" |
| Question | What 2017 film was allegedly baked in an oven before being developed in order to look more "aged"? |
| Answer | The Velocipastor |
| Song | Jurassic Park theme |
| Artist | John Williams |
| Hint | think religion |
| Note | Song title/movie title good enough for point. Wikipedia: "The VelociPastor is a 2017 American comedy horror film written, directed, and edited by Brendan Steere. The plot follows pastor Doug Jones who becomes infected by an artifact, resulting in him turning into a velociraptor when he becomes angry." Steere had the idea for the film after his phone autocorrected "Velociraptor" to "Veloci Pastor". The film was baked at 200 degrees for 10 minutes. |
| Number | 31 |
| Realm | Economics |
| Subrealm | Gay economics |
| Question | Name the economist who shares a death day (though not year) with renowned gay pornstar Titpig Hurley |
| Answer | Keynes |
| Song | September |
| Artist | earth wind and fire |
| Hint | day is in april |
| Note | Steve Hurley died on April 17, 2022 (Easter Sunday), about a month before this contest aired. Articles about his death appeared 4 days later. John Maynard Keynes, the founder of Keynsian Economics, died on April 21, 1946. |
| Number | 32 |
| Realm | Small Islands |
| Subrealm | ...No, Not Tonga Yet |
| Question | What island is the only home of the world's smallest flightless bird? |
| Answer | Impassable Island |
| Song | Walls (No.3) |
| Artist | Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers |
| Note | Accept "Walls" for song title. "Impassible Island" is in Alaska, but "Inaccessible Island" is in the South Atlantic, near Tristan da Cunha. It is the home of the Inaccessible Island Rail, the world's smallest flightless bird. The bird is about 5 and a half inches long. |
| Number | 33 |
| Realm | Pop culture |
| Subrealm | Gay Angels |
| Question | What television star recently identified himself as bisexual at a fan convention, then rescinded his declaration through a lengthy apologetic tweet a couple of days later? |
| Answer | Misha Collins |
| Song | Carry On My Wayward Son |
| Artist | Kansas |
| Hint | from tv show supernatural |
| Number | 34 |
| Realm | Jump |
| Subrealm | Bronze Medal |
| Question | In 2013, MIT did a study of the most translated pages on Wikipedia. With their page having 193 translations, who has the third most translated page on the site behind only Jesus and Barack Obama? |
| Answer | Corbin Bleu |
| Song | Put it to the limit |
| Artist | Corbin Bleu |
| Hint | High School Musical |
| Note | The reason Corbin Bleu's page has so many translations was a mystery for several years. It now appears that most of the translations are the work of one superfan in Saudia Arabia. The rankings have changed since the MIT study; as of 2019 the leaders were Ronald Reagan (248 translations), Jesus (244), Michael Jackson (234), Barak Obama (228), and Corbin Blue in fifth with 213 translations. |
| Number | 35 |
| Realm | Economics |
| Subrealm | Child Economics |
| Question | What nickname did Williams student Whit Jackson, Class of ‘23, earn through his interest and prominence in the cryptocurrency community? |
| Answer | The Bitcoin Kid |
| Song | Rat |
| Artist | Penelope Scott |
| Hint | cryptocurrency |
| Number | 36 |
| Realm | Film |
| Subrealm | High culture |
| Question | What beloved animated character failed to realize he was adopted, despite his father, a goose, belonging to a different species? |
| Answer | Po (of Kung Fu Panda) |
| Song | Kung fu fighting |
| Artist | Carl Douglas |
| Hint | dreamworks (who else) |
| Number | 37 |
| Realm | Food history |
| Subrealm | Culinary nationalism |
| Question | This is a three-point-play! This dish from the Mediterranean consists of meat prepared on a vertical rotisserie. There are regional differences in spices, the kind of meat used, and how it is served, but it's all basically the same food. What are the three different names, from three different languages, of this dish? |
| Answer | Shawarma, doner, and gyro |
| Song | Mamma Mia |
| Artist | ABBA |
| Number | 38 |
| Realm | Prestigious Harvard Profs |
| Subrealm | Groovy |
| Question | Timothy Leary was fired from Harvard for giving what to undergraduates? |
| Answer | psychedelic drugs |
| Song | Lucy in the sky with diamonds |
| Artist | The Beatles |
| Hint | I was gonna go to class before I... (music note) |
| Number | 39 |
| Realm | Television |
| Subrealm | When will it end |
| Question | Having run for 74 year and 70 seasons, what is the longest running TV show in the US? |
| Answer | Meet the Press |
| Song | The world will know |
| Artist | Newsies/Jeremy Jordan |
| Hint | News show |
| Number | 40 |
| Realm | Cuisines of the World |
| Subrealm | Australia |
| Question | What food has been banned from prisons in the Australian state of Victoria over concerns it could be used to make alcohol? |
| Answer | Vegemite |
| Song | Victoria |
| Artist | The Kinks |
| Note | Vegemite is a thick, dark brown Australian food spread made from leftover brewers' yeast extract with various vegetable and spice additives. It was made famous in America by a lyric in the song "Down Under" by Men At Work. |
| Number | 41 |
| Realm | Movies |
| Subrealm | Copyright laws> |
| Question | Ale McHaddo was a producer of a Vídeo Brinquedo movie in which he said this quote: "I don't have regrets but I'm not proud of it,". What movie is he referring to? |
| Answer | Ratatoing |
| Song | Ratatouille Main Theme |
| Artist | Michael Giacchino |
| Hint | Off Brand Disney be like |
| Note | Song title/movie title good enough for point. Video Brinquedo was a Brazilian animation studio that produced a number of low-budget "mockbusters" (i.e. ripoffs) of major studio releases. Ratatoing was released at the same time as Ratatouille. |
| Number | 42 |
| Realm | Ships! |
| Subrealm | That should never have existed |
| Question | This question is a tie-in to the current hour bonus! What is the name of the popular ship between the main characters from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and Regular Show? |
| Answer | Mordetwi |
| Song | Airplanes |
| Artist | B.O.B. |
| Hint | It includes a blue bird and a purple pony |
| Note | Mordetwi is a portmanteau of Mordecai from Regular Show and Twilight Sparkle from My Little Pony. Mordecai is a bluejay, and of course Twilight Sparkle is a pony. |
| Number | 43 |
| Realm | Construction |
| Subrealm | Something practical for once |
| Question | What are at least two purposes for the hollow centers that one frequently sees in cinderblocks? |
| Answer | 1) lighter weight 2) improved insulation 3) "providing an interconnected void into which concrete can be poured to solidify a wall after it is built" |
| Song | Breezeblocks |
| Artist | alt-J |
| Hint | less mass means? |
| Number | 44 |
| Realm | Thanksgiving at Grandpa's |
| Subrealm | Gotta Go Fast |
| Question | Who was the first gaming icon to appear in the Macy's thanksgiving parade? |
| Answer | Sonic the Hedgehog |
| Song | Fast Lane |
| Artist | Bad Meets Evil |
| Hint | Blue Blur |
| Note | Sonic first appeared in the parade in 1993, and is credited by the Guiness Book of World Records as the first video game character to "feature" in the parade. But in fact Pac Man began appearing as a 60-foot balloon 8 years earlier, in 1985. The Trivia community has had trouble resolving the discrepancy. Des Devlin points out: "More confounding yet, many O.G. floats such as Felix the Cat, Mickey Mouse, Pinocchio, Superman and Popeye have all starred in their own video games." |
| Number | 45 |
| Realm | Feminism |
| Subrealm | A step back |
| Question | Who was the designer for the Chipettes in The Chipmunk Adventure and the later seasons of the show? |
| Answer | Sandra Berez |
| Song | The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late) |
| Artist | I don't think there actually is one, this song sprung up from the depths of hell |
| Note | Song title good enough. Sandra Berez is an animator who has worked on a number of TV shows. |
| Number | 46 |
| Realm | Grand Canyon Culture |
| Subrealm | Not So Happily Ever After |
| Question | Brighty the Burro, a feral burro that roamed the Grand Canyon between the 1880s and 1920s was immortalized as a popular children's book icon many years after his death--yet the nature of his demise did not make it into the classic tale beloved by many of America's youth. How did Brighty die? |
| Answer | He was eaten (by travelers stranded on the North Rim) |
| Song | After Ever After |
| Artist | Jon Cozart |
| Hint | Burro Bananas exist |
| Note | Brighty was the subject of the 1953 children's novel Brighty of the Grand Canyon by Marguerite Henry. It was made into a film in 1966. Brighty is honored with a bronze statue in the lobby of Grand Canyon Lodge, a National Historic Landmark, located near Arizona State Route 67 approximately 43 miles south of the junction with U.S. Route 89 alternate route. |
| Number | 47 |
| Realm | Sequels? |
| Subrealm | I'm still waiting |
| Question | In 2006, Bambi 2 and its predecessor Bambi 1 set the record for the longest gap between a movie and its sequel. How long was that gap? |
| Answer | 64 years |
| Song | I just can't wait to be King |
| Artist | lion king soundrack |
| Note | Song title/movie title good enough. The previous record may have been for The Wizard of Oz and Return to Oz, which were released 46 years apart. |
| Number | 48 |
| Realm | Plant biology |
| Subrealm | foraging |
| Question | How much of a fiddlehead fern top is recommended for sustainable harvesting? |
| Answer | One third |
| Song | To life |
| Artist | Fiddler on the roof |
| Number | 49 |
| Realm | Local Ornithology Research |
| Subrealm | Drew Jones rocks |
| Question | What type of bird is tracked through research at Hopkins Memorial Forest in Williamstown? |
| Answer | Northern Saw-Whet Owl |
| Song | Fireflies |
| Artist | Owl City |
| Number | 50 |
| Realm | Pokemon |
| Subrealm | Gotta Catch Em All |
| Question | First released in 1996 in Japan, Pokemon has become one of the biggest video game franchises in the world. The first games in the series were released as a pair of games with two different colors in each title. What were the colors in the original Japanese release? |
| Answer | Red and green |
| Song | PokeRap |
| Artist | pokemon |
| Note | Song title good enough |
| Number | 51 |
| Realm | Classic Candy |
| Subrealm | My sweet tooth is getting out of control |
| Question | H.B. Reese, the original creator of Reese's cups, named some of his preliminary confections after his slew of 16 children. However, his most famous candy was not named after his family member. What was the original name of the Reese's cup? |
| Answer | Penny Cup |
| Song | Reese's Puffs rap |
| Note | do not need an artist, only song name. Penny cups could be purchased for one cent when they were created in 1928. |
| Number | 52 |
| Realm | Presidential transportation |
| Subrealm | ouch |
| Question | In what city did the carriage transporting President Roosevelt collide with a trolley? |
| Answer | Pittsfield, MA |
| Song | Thomas the Dank engine |
| Note | do not need an artist, only song name. The accident happened on September 3, 1902, whle Teddy Roosevelt was president. The accident happened when the carriage driver turned suddenly to cross the trolley tracks. Roosevelt was thrown from the carriage and landed 30-40 feet away. He escaped with a cut on his leg, shredded clothes, and broken glasses. (The cut later required two surgeries.) One secret service agent died (the first Secret Service agent to die on the job) and one horse was killed. |
| Number | 53 |
| Realm | Berkshire vacation |
| Subrealm | but fancy |
| Question | What member of what band created Tourists in North Adams? |
| Answer | John Stirrat from Wilco |
| Song | Jesus Etc. |
| Artist | Wilco |
| Note | Tourists is a hotel in North Adams that opened in 2018. |
| Number | 54 |
| Realm | Environmental concerns |
| Subrealm | burritos |
| Question | What harmful compounds were found in Chipotle to go containers? |
| Answer | PFAs or PFOAs |
| Song | Raining Tacos |
| Artist | Parry Gripp |
| Number | 55 |
| Realm | Williams Celebs |
| Subrealm | It's more than just President Garfield |
| Question | When she isn't on the pitch, the coach of Williams College Women's Rugby is hard at work creating music with the Grammy-nominated band Misty Blues. Who is she, and what Williamstown Theater Festival production inspired her to start singing the blues? |
| Answer | Gina Coleman; A Raisin in the Sun |
| Song | Nothing To Lose |
| Artist | Misty Blues |
| Number | 56 |
| Realm | Doggo |
| Subrealm | A distinguished gentleman |
| Question | Obama's dog Bo is one of the most famous white house pets in the country's history. What breed was he? |
| Answer | Portuguese Water Dog |
| Song | Who let the dogs out |
| Artist | Baha Men |
| Number | 57 |
| Realm | Judaism |
| Subrealm | rabbi(ts) |
| Question | What congregation does the Velveteen Rabbi serve? |
| Answer | Congregation Beth Israel of the Berkshires |
| Song | Sweet Jane |
| Artist | the Velvet Underground |
| Note | Author and blogger Rachel Barenblat is known as the Velveteen Rabbi. She lives in Williamstown. |
| Number | 58 |
| Realm | Geography crosswords |
| Subrealm | unpronounceable |
| Question | What is the longest city name to appear in a published cryptic crossword? |
| Answer | Llanfairpwllgwyngyll |
| Song | the Whale Song |
| Artist | Modest Mouse |
| Note | Llanfairpwllgwyngyll is in (duh) Wales. Its name is sometimes lengthened to Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, which is the longest one-word place name in Europe. It translates as "Saint Mary's Church in a hollow of white hazel near the rapid whirlpool of the church of Saint Tysilio with a red cave". |
| Number | 59 |
| Realm | comedy shows |
| Subrealm | revenge |
| Question | What business does Nathan Fielder help out when creating a sleeper group of Rogue Uber drivers to gain negative driver reviews? |
| Answer | Andy's taxi service |
| Song | I will follow you into the dar |
| Artist | death cab for cutie |
| Note | This was from an episode of Fielder's docu-reality TV series "Nathan for You". |
| Number | 60 |
| Realm | Vision |
| Subrealm | its representation |
| Question | What artist designed the eyes outside of the Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) |
| Answer | Louise Bourgeois |
| Song | Hungry Eyes |
| Artist | Eric Carmen |
| Note | The Eyes were installed in 2001. |
| Number | 61 |
| Realm | political prisoners |
| Subrealm | Elon Musk Replacement |
| Question | Who violated the Espionage Act in 2013? |
| Answer | Chelsea Manning |
| Song | Oblivion |
| Artist | grimes |
| Note | Edward Snowden was also accepted as an answer. |
| Number | 62 |
| Realm | Ancient history |
| Subrealm | Ancient animal guts |
| Question | Ancient Egyptians used catgut, a natural fiber found in the walls of animal intestines, for what dental purpose? |
| Answer | As wires/cords for straightening the teeth–a predecessor to modern braces |
| Song | Walk like an Egyptian |
| Artist | the Bangles |
| Note | Flossing was also accepted. |
| Number | 63 |
| Realm | Williams Celebs |
| Subrealm | We have a lot of them |
| Question | Williams college has had many alumni who have gone on to become very powerful people. One even went on to become the second longest tenured Supreme Court Justice in the history of the US. Who was this Justice and how many opinions did they write? |
| Answer | Justice Stephen Fields; 544 opinions |
| Song | Fields of Gold |
| Artist | Sting |
| Number | 64 |
| Realm | 20th Century Dictatorships |
| Subrealm | Brand Management |
| Question | Nikolai Yezhov was a Soviet secret police official at the height of the Great Purge. He fell out of favor in 1938; beyond being interrogated and killed, what notable thing happened to Yezhov (and many others like him)? |
| Answer | He was edited out of photos with Stalin. |
| Song | Don't Stand so Close to Me |
| Artist | The Police |
| Number | 65 |
| Realm | Music |
| Subrealm | The Music of the Future |
| Question | Which musical act's name translates to "The First Sound of the Future?" |
| Answer | Hatsune Miku |
| Song | Robots |
| Artist | Flight of the Conchords |
| Note | Hatsune Miku is a vocaloid software voicebank. |
| Number | 66 |
| Realm | Virtual Girls |
| Subrealm | In a Virtual World |
| Question | Since the pandemic, Virtual Youtubers (or VTubers) have exploded in popularity online. One of the most popular VTubers is Gawr Gura, a shark anime girl. What talent agency is Gura represented by? |
| Answer | Hololive |
| Song | Miku |
| Artist | Hatsune Miku (produced by Anamanaguchi) |
| Number | 67 |
| Realm | Crocodiles |
| Subrealm | Someone Get These Motherflipping Crocodiles Out of My Motherflipping Province |
| Question | When Tang dynasty writer and politician Han Yu was demoted to a provincial post in Chao Zhou, he found that he had an alligator problem. What did he do from there? |
| Answer | He officially banished them. (He wrote a text, "Sacrificial Text for Crocodiles," in which he told them all to go away; it was kind of a joke, but also a meditation on the nature of power, consciousness, etcetera.) |
| Song | Crocodile Rock |
| Artist | Elton John |
| Number | 68 |
| Realm | Hurricanes |
| Subrealm | In Space? |
| Question | Humans have spent a lot of time trying to make their mark in space. Recently, a volcano made its mark on space by causing winds of over 450 mph to form in the ionosphere. Where was that volcano? |
| Answer | Tonga! |
| Song | Eruption |
| Artist | Van Halen |
| Note | The eruption happened in January, 2022. |
| Number | 69 |
| Realm | Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll |
| Subrealm | Sex and Drugs and Flatt and Scruggs |
| Question | Beyond being musicians, what do foo fighter Dave Grohl and dobro legend Jerry Douglas have in common? |
| Answer | They're both from Warren Ohio |
| Song | Fire |
| Artist | The Ohio Players |
| Note | Warren is near Younstown, in Northeastern Ohio. Roger Ailes, Catherine Bach and director Chris Columbus were/are also from Warren. |
| Number | 70 |
| Realm | What Dat Mouth Do? |
| Subrealm | Nothing Apparently |
| Question | In an interview from 2015, DJ Khaled made waves when he said he wouldn't do what with his wife? |
| Answer | Give her oral sex |
| Song | 34+35 |
| Artist | Ariana Grande |
| Note | DJ Khaled said he does not perform oral sex on women because 'there are different rules for men'. Good luck with that one. |
| Number | 71 |
| Realm | Boats |
| Subrealm | We Love Boats |
| Question | Joseph Hart published a book in 1848 which, while its title implied a nautical theme, actually was the first to propose what literary theory? |
| Answer | Shakespeare didn't write the plays attributed to him (accept any and all variants) |
| Song | Love Story |
| Artist | Taylor Swift |
| Number | 72 |
| Realm | Crime and Punishment |
| Subrealm | in K-Pop |
| Question | In 2008, many K-Pop fans were convinced that members of the group Girls' Generation were flirting with members of boy bands. What punitive measure did they enact? |
| Answer | A "black ocean" - when they got onstage at the Dream Concert (a huge K-Pop event), the entire audience turned their glowsticks off and went silent. This is the first instance of a "black ocean." |
| Song | Under the Blacklight |
| Artist | Rilo Kiley |
| Number | 73 |
| Realm | Languages |
| Subrealm | And the People Who Speak Them |
| Question | Yuen Ren Chao (sometimes transliterated as Zhao Yuanren) half-joked that he was the only speaker of a particular language - what language was it? |
| Answer | National Standard Mandarin (Guoyu, Kuoyu, etc are all acceptable answers). This was an attempt at creating an amalgamation of features of a number of varieties of Chinese; it didn't work very well, because it wasn't a language with any native speakers, so in the future the standard would just be Beijing speech. |
| Song | Orange Crush |
| Artist | REM |
| Number | 74 |
| Realm | Crime and Punishment |
| Subrealm | in the church. |
| Question | In 897, Pope Formosus was put on trial in the papal court, and his papacy was eventually declared null. He couldn't defend himself; why? |
| Answer | He was dead. |
| Song | Speed Trials |
| Artist | Elliott Smith |
| Hint | Why wouldn't he show up to trial |
| Note | Because he backed the wrong horse in turbulent political times, Formosus's remains were exhumed 7 months after his death, sat in a chair, and put on trial in the "Cadaver Synod". |
| Number | 75 |
| Realm | Sequels |
| Subrealm | Why Doesn't Hollywood Make Original Movies Anymore?? |
| Question | James Cameron had a simple but effective pitch for the sequel to Ridley Scott's Alien. What was the pitch? |
| Answer | He wrote "ALIENS" on the board, and then added two lines to make the S into a dollar sign. |
| Song | Your Smiling Face |
| Artist | James Taylor |
| Number | 76 |
| Realm | Sports with Balls |
| Subrealm | dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge. |
| Question | In the 2004 movie Dodgeball:A True Underdog Story, the film created a fake television network called ESPN8 "The Ocho." In 2017, which station rebranded itself into ESPN8 for a single day, playing obscure sports such as dodgeball tournaments? |
| Answer | ESPNU |
| Song | Crank That (Soulja Boy) (clean) |
| Artist | Soulja boy |
| Note | Sports covered included trampoline dodgeball, darts, disc golf, kabaddi, and roller derby. |
| Number | 77 |
| Realm | Williams Celebs |
| Subrealm | Wait. He didn't go to Williams |
| Question | Famous children's book author Eric Carle left a signed copy of one of his books, the very hungry caterpillar, with the college. This book is still in special collections to this day. Why was Carle at the college and left this signed book with the college? |
| Answer | He was awarded an honorary degree |
| Song | Fat |
| Artist | Weird Al yankovic |
| Number | 78 |
| Realm | George Foreman... |
| Subrealm | ...More like George Fivemen |
| Question | George Foreman, professional boxer turned grill spokesperson, has quite the family. With 12 children, 5 of them being sons, he decided he wanted them to all have something in common. What do they have in common? |
| Answer | They're all named George Edward Foreman |
| Song | FourFiveSeconds |
| Artist | Rihanna |
| Number | 79 |
| Realm | More Movies |
| Subrealm | Jealousy |
| Question | Who Framed Roger Rabbit features both Disney characters and Looney Tunes characters. Under what condition did Warner Brothers allow Looney Tunes characters to be used? |
| Answer | Their characters would receive the same amount of screentime as Disney characters - so in the finished movie they all appear in the same scenes. |
| Song | White Rabbit |
| Artist | Jefferson Airplane |
| Number | 80 |
| Realm | Russia |
| Subrealm | Its Literature and Character |
| Question | Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov was intended to be only the first part of a longer work. What was Alyosha, the pious and compassionate protagonist of the first novel, supposed to do in the sequel? |
| Answer | Assassinate the Tsar of Russia. |
| Song | Bulls on Parade |
| Artist | Rage Against the Machine |
| Number | 81 |
| Realm | Modern Fiction |
| Subrealm | Backstory |
| Question | Which critically acclaimed American writer first had a career as a geophysicist? |
| Answer | George Saunders |
| Song | Rock With You |
| Artist | Michael Jackson |
| Number | 82 |
| Realm | Sports with Balls |
| Subrealm | Alright this is the last one |
| Question | The NBA MVP is selected by various sports analyists who each cast a first place, second place, and third place ballot. Who was the first person to get a unanimus vote for MVP? |
| Answer | Steph Curry |
| Song | Basketball |
| Artist | Bow Wow |
| Number | 83 |
| Realm | Disney |
| Subrealm | He actually escaped! |
| Question | Stich's Great Escape! was an infamous disney ride that had mixed reception from the people who rode it. Many guests complained that the chili dog burp smell made them nauseous. Disney eventually chose to shut the ride down. What day was its final operation? |
| Answer | January 6, 2018 |
| Song | Hawaiian rollercoaster ride |
| Artist | Mark Keali'i Ho'omalu |
| Note | Song title good enough |
| Number | 84 |
| Realm | Video Games |
| Subrealm | But first, we need to talk about parallel universes |
| Question | What is the minimal amount of A-presses required to obtain the Watch for Rolling Rocks star in Super Mario 64? |
| Answer | 1/2 |
| Song | Still Feel |
| Artist | Half Alive |
| Hint | It's not a whole number |
| Note | The strategy involves starting the level with the A-button pressed already. It originally took 13 hours to complete. |
| Number | 85 |
| Realm | Math 110 |
| Subrealm | Wait, why are there letters? |
| Question | What is the only number which, when spelled out, has its letters in alphabetical order? |
| Answer | forty |
| Song | Since You Been Gone |
| Artist | Kelly Clarkson |
| Hint | factor of 10 |
| Note | This is a nice bit of trivia! |
| Number | 86 |
| Realm | Math 394 |
| Subrealm | Did Not Get Taught To This One Guy, Apparently |
| Question | In 1897, a bill was proposed which would legally set the square root of 2 to be equal to 10/7. In which state was this bill introduced? |
| Answer | Indiana |
| Song | American Idiot |
| Artist | Green Day |
| Hint | Better known as the Pi Bill |
| Note | The legislature in Indiana briefly fell under the sway of crackpot amateur mathemetician named Edward J. Goodwin. He convinced certain legislators to introduce a bill containing some false matheatical equivalencies, and it passed on February 6th, 1897. Most famously it implied that pi is 3.2, which is why the bill has come to be known as the "pi bill". Fortunately for the state of Indiana, a Purdue University professor named C. A. Waldo happened to be in the legislature that day, with the goal of securing the annual appropriation for his University. He got wind of the bill and coached some senators about it. The bill was subsequently tabled in the senate. |
| Number | 87 |
| Realm | Math ??? |
| Subrealm | Oh no, we messed up |
| Question | We all know that Popeye gets super strong when he eats his spinach. However, spinach isn't the super food Popeye makes it out to be. Erich von Wolf in a study suggested in a published study that it was high in iron. What was wrong with the study when it was released? |
| Answer | There was a missing decimal. Rather than say 3.5mg it said 35mg |
| Song | Decimal Place Value Song |
| Artist | Numberock |
| Hint | How do you make a number smaller? |
| Number | 88 |
| Realm | Amherst |
| Subrealm | They'll never make an A |
| Question | Most of campus likely knows the story of the Ephs response to Amherst searing an A on our football field. In response, Williams placed a B+ on their field because we all know they'd never get an A. Which alum claims credit for coming up with this idea on the Alumni website? |
| Answer | Brian Hirshman '06 |
| Song | abc (nicer) |
| Artist | Gayle |
| Note | Brian has a picture to prove it, and you can find it in the team gallery, because he played in this contest (as he has in many recent contests) as "Putting the B+ in AmB+Herst since winter 2005" |
| Number | 89 |
| Realm | Literature |
| Subrealm | I Just Read The Summary On Wikipedia |
| Question | What Broadway musical is based on a novel known for its length? |
| Answer | Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 |
| Song | Moskau |
| Artist | Dshingus Khan |
| Note | The musical is based on a 70-page section of "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy. |
| Number | 90 |
| Realm | Film Youtubers |
| Subrealm | Everyone's a critic |
| Question | CinemaSins, Honest Trailers, and How it Should Have Ended (all youtubers who discuss movies in some manner) released their episodes on Back to the Future II on the same day. What day was this and why was it significant? |
| Answer | October 21, 2015; It was the day Doc and Marty landed in the future in the movie |
| Song | Year 3000 |
| Artist | Jonas Brothers |
| Number | 91 |
| Realm | Mandela |
| Subrealm | No, not that one |
| Question | The Mandela effect is the phenomenon in which people misremember small details about something. For example, most people remember the Darth Vader line as "Luke, I am your father," which is incorrect. What did Vader actually say? |
| Answer | No, I am your father |
| Song | Starships |
| Artist | Nicki Minaj |
| Number | 92 |
| Realm | Final Fantasy |
| Subrealm | This time Disney's the subclass |
| Question | In 2002, the video game Kingdom Hearts was released. In addition to original characters, the series has characters from various Disney movies and Final Fantasy games. Where did the Final Fantasy and Disney executives first meet to discuss this project? |
| Answer | In an Elevator |
| Song | simple and clean |
| Artist | Hikaru Utada |
| Hint | Both companies worked in the same building |
| Note | Kingdom Hearts was conceived by Shinji Hashimoto and Hironobo Sakaguchi, who worked for video game developer Square in Japan. It happened that Disney shared space in the same office building as Square, and one day Hashimoto ran into a Disney executive in the elevator and proceeded to pitch him the idea. The rest is history. |
| Number | 93 |
| Realm | Sports With Balls |
| Subrealm | Ok This is Actually the last one |
| Question | In 1994, Canada passed an act declaring its national summer and winter sports. What is the nation's summer sport? |
| Answer | lacrosse |
| Song | Hold On, We're Going Home |
| Artist | Drake |