To up my game, there will be an ACTUAL AWARD for the winner of the ring of eight TDs. To be eligible to win an Amazon gift card, you must participate in all eight TDs. Winner will be the one with the lowest total score.
Each TD in the ring will have at least one visual question, at least one aural question, at least one sports question, and one before and after question.
Standard TD rules apply. For each question below, there are a number of choices. Choose one as your answer. Think Different is scored by the number of people who submit the same answer. It's best to be the only person who chooses a particular answer. The most common answer is called the sheep. You don't want to be a sheep. Incorrect answers get the sheep score plus five points. Low score wins. Bonus questions will allow you to reduce your score by up to 27 points.
You may drop one question and sheep one question. (To sheep means to accept the highest score on a question without fear of giving an incorrect answer.) No research! Your answers must come from your head; not your reference library, search engine or your neighbor who writes for a quiz show. This TD closes Monday, July 2 at 9:00 AM EDT.
Submit your answers here
The wording on the submission form is for identification of the questions only. If there is any conflict between the submission form and this TD, this page prevails.
For information only, here's the area code map from the classic period and from today. Note how simple the classic map is compared to today's area code map.
Finally, I would like to put a halt to people asking questions about the questions in the forum. Providing more clarification isn't fair to people who submit early. Please advise me privately if I have made some error in constructing the TD, but do not expect me to provide more information about the clues. If you're not sure something is a correct answer, don't use it. There must be some you're absolutely sure about.
On with the TD...
901 - TENNESSEE
Listen to this clip and name one of these songs by Elvis Presley, the most famous musical son of Memphis. (LETTER AND TITLE REQUIRED)
WARNING: A LETTER IS REQUIRED WITH EVERY AURAL QUESTION. EVERY GAME, THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE RULED INCORRECT BECAUSE THEY FORGOT THE LETTER OR GOT IT WRONG.
902 - NOVA SCOTIA & PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
The Maritime Provinces of Canada are noteworthy for the number of shipwrecks that have happened there. Answer one of these questions about shipwrecks.
- What shipwrecked vessel was named for a former head of the FCC?
- During World War I, the USS California was sunk by a torpedo off Fire Island in what state?
- Give either the old or new name of the ship that burned and capsized in the Hudson River on February 9, 1942, while it was being converted for transporting troops.
- Lady Sherbrooke sank in 1831 off Port-aux-Basques in what's now this Canadian province, killing 246. (The captain was executed for sinking the ship for insurance money.) BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT THE NAME OF THE PROVINCE!
- In 1914, the SS Admiral collided with the SS Princess Victoria near Point No Point on the Kitsap peninsula of what state?
- A former mayor of this city and most of his family were killed when his boat exploded on Lake Minnetonka in July 1885.
- Name either of the two passenger ships that collided near Nantucket on July 25, 1956. (Will be scored separately.)
- In 1960, the Greek ship Ithaka ran aground near what Manitoba ocean port?
- What ship was torpedoed on May 7, 1915, off Ireland?
- The SS Mont-Blanc, loaded with explosives, collided with the SS Imo on December 6, 1917, killing 2000 people in what city?
- And then there's this Norwegian ship that sank in Nunavut in 1930 but was raised in 2016 and sent back to Norway.
903 - TEXAS
This is not a classic area code, but it's a good place to offer a rare 16-point mega visual bonus. Name as many of these as you can. It can make up for a Pep Boys or Latvia sheep!
For an extra -1 point, what do these items have in common?
904 - FLORIDA
The classic 904 is the Florida panhandle. Answer one of these questions about panhandles. (LETTER REQUIRED)
- A. It's a 378 mile drive from Coeur d'Alene, the largest city in this state's panhandle, to the capital.
- B. What northeastern state is less than two miles wide at its narrowest point near Hancock?
- C. What southern state's capital is in its panhandle?
- D. What is the largest city of the northern panhandle of Texas?
- E. What state contains the iconic panhandle known as the Cherokee Strip?
- F. What state has a northern panhandle and an eastern panhandle?
- G. What state's easternmost point is in the panhandle known as the Arrowhead?
- H. What state's panhandle contains some of its largest cities, including Stamford?
- I. The Canadian city of Edmunston sits across from Madawaska, Maine in which province's panhandle?
- J. What Canadian province's panhandle contains 9200 foot Mt. Aylesworth in Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park?
905 - ONTARIO
Name one of these Canadian landmarks. Stuff in the background is not fair game.
906 - MICHIGAN
From panhandles to peninsulas. Have a look at one of these satellite photos and name the peninsula shown. A satellite photo may show multiple peninsulas; or peninsulas extending from larger peninsulas. For example, a satellite photo of Florida would also show the Pinellas Peninsula but the correct answer would be the Florida peninsula. Figure out what the main peninsula of the photo is and answer that.
907 - ALASKA
Name a port on the Alaska Marine Highway System, also known as the inside passage. This is a network of ferries that starts at a gold rush port not far from a Canadian territorial capital and ends at a northern Canadian seaport.
908 - NEW JERSEY
This is not a classic area code either. But it is a good place for a Before & After bonus. Take up to nine points off your score for answering these before and after:
- What former governor of Wisconsin who served in a Bush cabinet comes in both red and green varieties?
- What Lerner and Loewe song celebrates the main campus of the University of Illinois?
- What Dionne Warwick hit leads into a movie starring Steve Martin and John Candy?
- Name the first woman on the Supreme Court who is a relative of Superman
- What Batman star was the longtime husband of Julie Andrews?
- What ambassador who served under Ike would you traverse between Huron and Erie?
- What sitcom starring Bea Benadaret served as the base for the notorious Timothy McVeigh?
- What author of "The Power and the Glory" and "Our Man in Havana" won the first two Super Bowls, and then some
- Name the former senator from Massachusetts who became a senator from Illinois, had a hit record, and got a senate office building named for him
909 - CALIFORNIA
Answer one of these questions about the cities of the Golden State.
- What city is the home of Disneyland Park and that angelic baseball team that keeps changing its name?
- What's the largest U.S. city named for a male saint?
- Name either of the two California cities containing the grave of a president. (Will be scored separately.)
- What California city did CCR get stuck in again?
- What L.A. suburb that shares its name with a European place is home to the Huntington Library?
- In what Bay Area community is the main campus of the University of California?
- Those of you from Rio Linda might know that it's a suburb of what city?
- What would be the literary significance of a bread emporium being established in a city on I-5 near the Oregon border called Yreka Bakery?
- Name the golfer whose nickname is on the California state flag.
912 - GEORGIA
The most famous son of the 912 is President Jimmy Carter, who at 93, is only slightly behind GHW Bush as the oldest president to ever live. Answer one of these questions about Carter.
- Since his name is James Earl Carter Junior, it might not be legitimate to ask his father's name. But what was his mother's first name?
- Name any of Carter's four children. (Will be scored separately.)
- Who served as vice president under Carter?
- Give Carter's wife's maiden name, first and last.
- What budget director ran into ethical problems early in Carter's first year and was forced to resign?
- What secretary of state resigned after disagreeing with Carter about invading Iran to rescue the hostages?
- Decades before the "me too" movement, what former Carter cabinet member declined to seek reelection to the Senate after nine women came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct?
- Was Carter's first official position serving on the school board, health board, or library board?
- What service academy did Carter graduate from as a nuclear engineer?
- Since leaving the presidency, Carter has built hundreds of homes under the sponsorship of what charity?
913 - KANSAS
The Kansas Jayhawks are legendary. Name any college footballer (American football) AND his school.
914 - NEW YORK
In the early 1960s, Westchester County (the classic 914) was the setting for two top ten sitcoms, The Lucy Show and the Dick Van Dyke Show. Identify one of these people closely associated with one of Dick or Lucy. Remember, we need the actor's name and not the character's name.
915 - TEXAS
Answer one of these questions about Texas companies.
- What company was founded by Cecil H. Green, J. Erik Jonsson, Eugene McDermott, and Patrick E. Haggerty?
- What Houston-based energy trading company spiraled massively out of control and crashed in the early 2000s in a scandal that also took down its CPA firm, Arthur Andersen?
- What soft drink was invented in Waco in 1886 and still has a bottling plant and museum there?
- What largest U.S. airline has its headquarters and main base at Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport?
- Give the two word name of the world's largest oil company, which moved its headquarters from New York and is now based in Irving.
- What billionaire sold his company to IBM but was forced off the board after the CEO found him too annoying? (He went on to annoy George H.W. Bush out of office.)
- What Dallas-based company emerged from the 1983 breakup of its parent only to take over the parent in 2005 and Time Warner in 2018?
- What San Antonio-based credit union, usually known by its four initials, is the largest in the country?
- What retailer based in Grapevine is the largest source for used XBOX, PlayStation, and similar media?
- What company based in Round Rock is one of the country's largest manufacturers of PCs, monitors, and printers?
916 - CALIFORNIA
The classic 916 is where gold was discovered in 1848, and nothing's been the same since. Answer a question about gold rushes.
- In what country did a gold rush lead to Ballarat in the 1850s?
- A 1799 gold rush took place at Reed's Mine in Cabarrus County in which southern state?
- What southernmost island of the Americas hosted a gold rush in 1883?
- In 1850, there was a gold rush in the Queen Charlotte Islands. What modern Canadian province are they part of?
- A 1695 gold rush helped Portugal solidify its control of what South American country?
- At whose mill near Sacramento was gold discovered in 1848?
- What river of far northwestern Canada was the scene of a major gold rush beginning in 1896?
- Gold was discovered in 1874 near where Homestake still has a mine in the city of Lead in which midwestern state?
- In what country was the Witwatersrand gold rush, a cause of the Boer War?
- The 1853 gold rush in the forbidding Kern River canyon in what state led to many deaths?
- The Porcupine mines established during a 1909 gold rush are still operating near Timmins in which Canadian province?
For the first time in the ring, we are going out of order, because I want to finish with an aural about New York City instead of some lame question about North Carolina.
918 - OKLAHOMA
You know how to do Before and After. Combine two clues into an overlapping answer. Example: Current supreme court justice who wrote the Declaration of Independence: Clarence Thomas Jefferson.
- What Oklahoma panhandle leads to a lurid form of card playing?
- What WaPo columnist never met a man he didn't like?
- What substance also known as nacre was appointed ambassador to Luxembourg under Truman and was parodied in a Broadway show starring Ethel Merman?
- Who reminds everyone that orange juice isn't just for breakfast anymore, but can still be quaffed while hosting the Today Show?
- Who fooled around and fell in love and led the fight against apartheid as an Anglican priest?
- Who graduated from being Opie and Richie but had trouble living down the Spruce Goose?
- Who is frequently in the tabloids along with Angelina and pulls over to have tires changed in the middle of the race?
- What "Odd Couple" television actor was also a quarterback for the Eagles and Vikings?
- What Yankees legend only rarely signed autographs but looks great over the fireplace?
- Who was pursued relentlessly by Inspector Javert and served as UN ambassador under Reagan?
919 - NORTH CAROLINA
It was first in flight. Name a major scheduled airline of the United States. Or a major scheduled airline that is defunct. (A lot more are defunct than flying.) What's major and what's minor? If you're not sure it's major, don't use it.
917 - NEW YORK
Listen to this clip and give the artist and title of one of these songs by a famous singer from New York City and/or song about New York City. It's the most important city in the tri-state area. (LETTER AND ARTIST AND TITLE REQUIRED)
WARNING: A LETTER IS REQUIRED WITH EVERY AURAL QUESTION. EVERY GAME, THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE RULED INCORRECT BECAUSE THEY FORGOT THE LETTER OR GOT IT WRONG.
Finally, many thanks to badgerfellow for inspiring this TD ring