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As we say goodbye to 2018, let's take a look back. There will be some current events type stuff here, but also a good amount of content that is only loosely related to events of 2018 and wouldn't fall under the "current events" category. Good luck!
Rules/Notes:
- Lowest point total wins; your score for each question is equal to the total number of players submitting that same answer.
- Pay attention to the first sentence in each question - it tells you what is required in your answer. Make sure you put all required information in your answer!
- Roosevelt Rule - In general, when your answer is a person's name, last name will be sufficient unless specifically mentioned, or when more information is required to distinguish your answer.
- You may use one DROP and take zero points for that question.
- You may use one SHEEP to take the sheep answer for that question.
- There will be a BONUS of -6 for anyone who gives correct answers to all 10 questions, utilizing neither their drop nor their sheep options.
- Wrong responses (on Q1-Q10) are the higher of either +10 points or the "sheep" answer +3
- Answers are due on Wednesday, January 9, 2019 at 10 AM noon ET.
- Only the first submission per person is accepted; submit entries by PM or with this google form.
- No outside research or help is allowed. Only your brain and pen and paper if necessary.
Q1. Letter and answer required. Name one of the following people who died in 2018.
(Link if the album doesn't embed above: https://imgur.com/a/t9OxCks)
Q2. Two team names required. Name the two teams that were the 2018 (championship series/game/match ended in 2018) champion AND runner up in one of the listed leagues/events. Unless you specify otherwise, please list the winner first and the runner up second.
- NBA
- WNBA
- NCAA Men’s Basketball
- NCAA Women’s Basketball
- MLB
- NFL
- NCAA football
- NHL
- MLS
- FIFA World Cup
Q3. Movie title required. For movies that are parts of a series, you must give enough of the title to differentiate it from other movies in that series or universe. Name one of the top 10 films released in 2018 by US box office gross (according to Box Office Mojo, researched on 12/31/2018). To help you out, I’ve given you the US box office gross as well as the SECOND actor/actress listed as a star in that movie on IMDB. You do not have to specify the movie's position on the list - you just have to name a movie on this list.
- $700M, Michael B. Jordan
- $679M, Chris Hemsworth
- $609M, Holly Hunter
- $417M, Bryce Dallas Howard
- $318M, Josh Brolin
- $265M, Cameron Seely
- $220M, Henry Cavill
- $217M, Evangeline Lilly
- $214M, Woody Harrelson
- $213M, Michelle Williams
- Nearly bankrupt when Tandy acquired it in 1962, this retailer sold half of its stores to Sprint and closed the rest in 2015, filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February of that year, and again in 2017.
- Primarily a mall retailer, this store claims to have pierced over 100 million ears worldwide.
- On December 26, 2018, this store, ubiquitous in shopping malls, had its stock price fall below $1 per share for the first time since beginning trading on the NYSE in 1929. The store owns private brands such as St. John’s Bay and Worthington.
- Once based in Chicago, this retailer had the largest domestic revenue among US retailers until Wal Mart overtook it in 1989. It merged with Kmart in 2005, and, after years of declining sales, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October of 2018.
- Another defunct chain of toy stores, this retailer was founded by brothers Harry and Joseph Kaufman and ceased operations in 2009 after being sold to Toys “R” Us.
- This is a retailer specializing in electronics and high-tech lifestyle products. Having closed its retail locations by the end of 2008, it was relaunched online and as a catalog in 2009, and its products can also be found in third-party retailers including Target and Bed Bath and Beyond.
- A pizza chain commonly found in mall food courts, its logo features a red and green outline of a pizza slice and “NYC 1956,” referring to its origins in Brooklyn. Michael Scott refers to it as his favorite New York pizza joint in an episode of “The Office.”
- A tea company acquired by Starbucks in 2012, all of its stores were closed by 2018.
- Until it ceased operations in 2016, this company owned the naming rights to Broncos Stadium at Mile High.
Q6. Album name required. See Q12 for a related bonus opportunity. There was a bit of an uproar this past summer when, after updating sales numbers, “Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975)” by the Eagles was named the best-selling album of all time in the US, at 38 million copies sold, supplanting “Thriller” by Michael Jackson (with “only” 33 million copies sold). Regardless, “Thriller” is still the best-selling studio album of all time, both in the US and internationally (as the Eagles’ album is a greatest-hits/compilation album). After “Thriller,” according to Wikipedia, name one of the next 12 all-time best-selling STUDIO ALBUMS (not compilations, live, or greatest hits albums) in the US. Their years and artists are listed below:
- The Eagles, 1976
- Led Zeppelin, 1971
- AC/DC, 1980
- Fleetwood Mac, 1977
- Guns N’ Roses, 1987
- Shania Twain, 1997
- Boston, 1976
- Garth Brooks, 1990
- Metallica, 1991
- Alanis Morrisette, 1995
- Pink Floyd, 1973
- Bruce Springsteen, 1984
Note: you must include the part of the name that makes it fit into this category (e.g. if “Laura Ingalls Wilder” were an answer, you’d have to give the full name, but I’d take “Loren” for “Sophia Loren.”)
- A conservative media host and former speechwriter in the Reagan administration, she currently hosts her nationally-syndicated namesake radio show and another namesake show on the Fox News Channel.
- Former President of Ukraine, from 2010 until his removal in 2014. He is currently wanted for treason and in exile in Russia.
- A Greek keyboardist, pianist, composer, and producer known for his “Live at the Acropolis” concert.
- A controversial (to say the least) British alt-right speaker and former writer for Breitbart, known for his anti-feminist, Islamophobic, and anti-political-correctness views.
- This dish, named after a region of France, is an open pie with eggs, cream, and lardons (or bacon).
- TV actor best known for his role as Dr. Gregory House.
- The third longest river in the world, and the longest to flow entirely within one country.
- Slapstick comedy duo Stan and Oliver (both members, please).
- Fenway Park currently sits on Jersey Street, but from 1977 until May 2018, the two blocks adjacent to Fenway Park were named for this former owner of the Red Sox.
- Actress who taught Humphrey Bogart how to whistle.
Q8. Letter and answer required. On 8/8, ESPN2 brought back “the Ocho,” a shoutout to “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story” starring Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn. Select a letter below and answer the question about your day on 8/8/2018.
- Having a touch of insomnia, you are up watching TV at 3 AM. After showings of “Dodgeball” and actual dodgeball competitions, the Ocho aired the finals of the US Open of WHAT SPORT, where one point is scored each time a team catches its featured object (whose name is trademarked by Wham-O, so it is no longer part of the official name of the game) in an end zone measuring 20 yards by 40 yards?
- Still unable to sleep, at 4 AM, the Ocho aired the East Tour Series of WHAT SPORT, also known as “roundnet,” and once featured on the ABC show “Shark Tank,” where teams hit a miniature volleyball off a trampoline-like object consisting of a netting stretched across a round frame?
- You catch a wink of sleep before your cat wakes you up at 5 AM to feed him. What a jerk. You turn the TV back on and see the ACL Pro Invitational in Cornhole. Some people might call this game “bags,” but they’re wrong (sort of like the people who heard “Yanni” and not “Laurel”). According to the American Cornhole Organization, in a regulation game of Cornhole, within 10%, HOW FAR APART are the two boards (measured between the front edges of the boards)? Answers will be accepted in feet or meters.
- You figure you might as well stay awake, so you decide to get in a quick workout. At 6 AM, you hit the gym and on the treadmill TV, you watch two eating contests sponsored by Johnsonville and Krystal. Name EITHER OF THE TWO FOODS (graded separately) that were consumed during these contests.
- As you're making yourself some breakfast at 7 AM, you watch the World Championship of Table Tennis (because “Ping Pong” is trademarked by Parker Brothers). Within 10%, according to the ITTF, WHAT IS THE AREA of an official tournament-sized table tennis tabletop? Answers will be accepted in square feet or square meters.
- At 8 AM, before heading off to work, you find yourself doing that thing where you're standing in front of the TV, ready to turn it off and leave, but trying to catch a few more seconds of WHAT SPORT, with events including 3-3-3, 3-6-3, and Cycle in individual, doubles, and relay categories?
- During your morning coffee break at 10 AM, you turned on the TV to see Premier League Darts. What is the MINIMUM NUMBER of throws (i.e. number of individual darts) required to win a game of 501?
- At 1 PM, you take a lunch break and watch WHAT SPORT popular on the Indian subcontinent? The object of the game is for an offensive player to run into the opposing team’s half of the court and tag as many opponents as possible without being tackled by the defenders, all on a single breath.
- At 2 PM, you grab another coffee, and you see TSL, a league featuring combat using (replicas of) WHAT FICTIONAL WEAPON?
- At 5 PM, you leave work and go to happy hour, where one of the TVs at the bar is tuned to the Ocho, airing a competition in WHAT SPORT, a different biathlon of sorts, featuring both mental and hand-to-hand combat in alternating rounds until one competitor prevails in either half of the match?
Q10. Letter and month required. I tried to include everything that happened in 2018, but predictably, I failed miserably, so I put the rest here. Given a set of events, give the month in 2018 in which the events occurred.
- Jim Acosta has his hard press pass revoked by the White House. Jeff Sessions fired as Attorney General. George H.W. Bush dies.
- Banksy work “Girl with Balloon” is sold and promptly destroyed by a shredder hidden in the frame of the painting. A gunman opens fire at Tree of Life in Pittsburgh, killing 11. Brett Kavanaugh confirmed as the newest Supreme Court Justice.
- Rex Tillerson fired as Secretary of State. The Shape of Water wins Best Picture. Women are granted driving privileges in Saudi Arabia.
- Donald Trump meets with Kim Jong Un in Singapore. Justify wins the Belmont, and with it, the Triple Crown. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wins a primary against incumbent Joe Crowley.
- Michael Cohen sentenced to 3 years in prison for false testimony and tax fraud. President Emanuel Macron delivers a televised address to the French people in response to the Yellow Vests movement. Hootie and the Blowfish announce their reunion and a 2019 tour.
- Kilauea begins to erupt in Hawaii. Megan Markle marries Prince Harry. Roseanne cancelled after its star actress issues a racist tweet.
- Elon Musk launches his Tesla into space. The Winter Olympics take place in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Jacob Zuma resigns as President of South Africa.
- Scott Morrison succeeds Malcolm Turnbull as PM of Australia. Parker Solar Probe is launched. A smattering of white supremacists gather in front of the White House on the anniversary of the Charlottesville rally – they are dwarfed by thousands of counter-protesters.
- Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, gives birth. Kim Jong-Un meets with Moon Jae-In in the village of Panmunjom.
- The world watches as a Thai youth soccer team is rescued after being trapped for 17 days by rising waters in a cave. The FIFA World Cup winner is crowned. Trump meets with Putin in Helsinki.
- A two-day government shutdown occurs when Democrats filibuster a continuing resolution, ending when Republicans agree to allow debate on the DREAM Act before the CR expires. Women wear black at the 75th Golden Globe Awards to raise awareness for the “Time’s Up” movement against sexual harassment and assault. Oprah receives the Cecil B. DeMille Award.
- National Museum of Brazil catches fire. Christine Blasey Ford testifies against Brett Kavanaugh. Hurricane Florence hits the East Coast.
Q12. Bonus 2 – On Q6, we asked you to name one of the top-selling studio albums of all time in the US, specifically excluding compilations, greatest hits, and live albums. For -2 points each (up to -6 total bonus points, no penalties for wrong guesses), answer any or all of the following about albums that might have otherwise been included on Q6:
a. The 1984 compilation by Bob Marley and the Wailers that went 15x platinum
b. The band that published “Greatest Hits” in 1988, also going 15x platinum, featuring songs from the soundtracks to “Vision Quest” (1985) and “Two of a Kind” (1983).
c. The solo artist that went 17x platinum with his “Greatest Hits” album in 1974, and whose international farewell tour kicked off in September of 2018.