Trivia

Answers at bottom of post...

1. Gin is colorless—but what about sloe gin?
2. What famous French painter briefly worked as a laborer on the construction of the Panama Canal?
3. What are you afraid of if you suffer from iatrophobia?
4. Who officially decreed that “God bless you” should be said when someone has a sneezing fit?
5. At what time of the day, on what day of the week, is it most dangerous to drive, according to the National Safety Council?
6. Which of the four female stars of TV’s Sex and The City had a no-nudity clause in her contract?
7. What is corn smut?
8. What was the first federal building erected for public use in the United States?
9. Which sport was being played and what teams were competing when the instant replay was used on TV for the first time?
10. What does a konimeter measure?


Answers:

1. It’s purplish red. The sloe plum used in its manufacture gives the gin-based liqueur both its name and its color.
2. Paul Gauguin, in 1887. He was laid off after two weeks on the job.
3. Doctors, or going to the doctor.
4. Gregory the Great. He became pope in the late sixth century when Rome was besieged by the plague and the afflicted typically suffered spasms of sneezing as they neared death.
5. 2 A.M. on Sunday morning—when drivers who are exhausted and inebriated are on the road, heading home after a night of partying.
6. Sarah Jessica Parker, who played sex columnist Carrie Bradshaw.
7. A spongy black fungus that causes corn kernels to swell. Considered a blight by most U.S. farmers, it is prized as a delicacy in Mexican cuisine, where it’s known as huitlacoche. To make it more palatable to the squeamish, it’s sometimes referred to as Mexican truffles.
8. The U.S. Mint in Philadelphia. That city was serving as the U.S. capital in 1792 when Congress passed the Coinage Act, authorizing the building’s construction.
9. Football was the game, and Army and Navy were the teams playing at Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia on December 7, 1963. CBS replayed an Army touchdown, warning its viewing audience, “This is not live. Ladies and gentlemen, Army did not score again.”
10. The number of dust particles in an air sample.