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 se7en.
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, May 14 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...
701 - NORTH DAKOTA
A shocking 36 percent of North Dakotans claim Scandinavian ancestry, the highest in the country. Name one of these famous Americans of Scandinavian descent.
BONUS - For -1 each, name these Scandinavian delicacies:
- What tortilla-like soft flatbread is primarily made from potatoes?
- What cured whitefish dish is made from cod soaked in lye?
- What Scandinavian country is famous for a heavily-spiced pork sausage whose main ingredient is potatoes?
- What Norwegian pizelle-like cookie is rolled into a tube or cone and sometimes filled with cream?
702 - NEVADA
Name a casino on the Las Vegas strip. A casino will be considered a strip casino if it is more or less along Las Vegas Boulevard south of St. Louis Ave., regardless of what its address is or whether it actually fronts onto the strip. Nothing west of I-15 will be considered strip. (As always, don't use an answer you're not sure of.)
BONUS - What body of water, formed by Hoover Dam, is the source of both power and drinking water for the Vegas Valley?
703 - VIRGINIA
Answer a question about George Washington.
- Who painted many famous portraits of Washington, including the one on the dollar bill?
- What is the capital of the state named for the Father of Our Country?
- What is the name of Washington's estate on the Potomac?
- In what city was Washington first inaugurated on April 30, 1789?
- What political party did Washington affiliate with, particularly in his second term?
- What animal product were Washington's teeth made of?
- How many children did Washington father?
- Under what calendar was Washington born February 11, 1731?
- True or False: The Georgetown section of Washington was named for George Washington.
- Name the only foreign country Washington ever visited
704 - NORTH CAROLINA
Name one of these tele-evangelists. If more than one person is in the photo, name either. Will be scored separately.
705 - ONTARIO
Listen to this clip and name the famous Canadian music artist who's performing. (LETTER 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.
BONUS - What are the Canadian pop music awards called?
706 - GEORGIA
Name a winner of the Masters golf tournament.
BONUS - What color jacket do winners of the Masters and employees of National Car Rental wear?
707 - CALIFORNIA
Answer a question about wine.
- In what European language is wine known as krasi?
- What 60 Minutes commentator once scoffed that people who know a lot about wine usually don't know much about anything else?
- In what country of the Caucusus is wine believed to have been invented?
- What color wine is produced from pinot noir, merlot, gamay, and cabernet sauvignon?
- What is the occupational title of the person who makes wine barrels?
- What New England state (which still has a pentagonal JCPenney store) has the highest per-capita consumption of not only wine but total alcohol in the U.S.?
- What country is famous for its Niagara and Okanagan grapes?
- What derogatory three-letter term is used to describe wines such as Thunderbird, Wild Irish Rose, and Mad Dog 20/20?
- In a fancy restaurant, what would be the French-derived title of the person who maintains the wine list?
- What European country is the world's leading producer of wine?
708 - ILLINOIS
Chicago is one of the most important corporate centers in the U.S., and Downstate has a large number of well-known companies also.
- Give the one-word name of the company that for decades was the largest retailer in the US; built its headquarters in the world's tallest building at that time; and now oversees its demise from Hoffman Estates.
- What insect-named maker of heavy equipment that recently moved its headquarters from Peoria to Deerfield is the second largest manufacturing company in the Prairie State?
- Matt Damon starred in the movie "The Informant" about an extortionate whisteblower at this Illinois agribusiness giant. His scheme unraveled because of a change in area code! (Initials are fine.)
- Like a good neighbor, this Bloomington-based insurer is there.
- What major airline is headquarted in the Willis Tower, not far from the arena to which it owns the naming rights?
- This one-word company advertises its location as the corner of Happy and Healthy, but its headquarters is actually in Deerfield.
- What Oak Brook-based chain is famous for its golden arches?
- What one-word brand name was number one in tube radios and flip phones before those businesses went kaput?
- What Goose Island-based Mars subsidiary makes Skittles, Starburst, Big Red, Doublemint, Hubba Bubba, and Excel (the last of which is not software).
- Nothing runs like this Moline-based company famous for its green farm machinery.
709 - NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR
RMS Titanic sank in 1912 not far off the coast of Newfoundland. Identify one of these people associated with the disaster. Some are real people who lived or died that night; some are people who made movies about the sinking. If the person acts, name the person and not the character. If opting for the cell with two people, name both.
712 - IOWA
One of the most famous sons of the 712 is the crooner who was born in Wall Lake, Iowa. Listen to this clip and name one of these Andy Williams hits. (LETTER 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.
713 - TEXAS
Name an astronaut who walked on the moon or orbited it as part of the Apollo program.
714 - CALIFORNIA
Name a current or former ride at Disneyland, the iconic amusement park established in 1955 by Walt Disney himself.
715 - WISCONSIN
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.
- Western Wisconsin college city who starred in "The Mod Squad," "My So-Called Life," and "Romeo + Juliet"
- What governor, GWB cabinet member, and unsuccessful presidential contender comes in both green and red varieties?
- Avant garde prairie architect to which most get transferred if they stay in the USAF long enough
- 1984 Christopher Cross hit memorializing the author of "Little House on the Prairie"
- Public opinion is polarized over whether this Milwaukee-born rocker known for "Fly Like an Eagle" and "Rock'n Me" is better because of great taste or less filling
- What leader of the Green Mountain Boys hosted "Password" for many years?
- Birthplace of Jimmy Carter who became the mother of modern art in America and retired to Santa Fe and painted there
- Author of "The Power and the Glory" and "Our Man in Havana" who won the first two Super Bowls, and then some
- Milwaukee-set sitcom (in its early years) famous for "Two Mules for Sister Sarah," "Being There," "Steel Magnolias," and "Terms of Endearment"
- What Packers QB wrote "Mountain Greenery," "With a Song in My Heart," "Where or When," "It Never Entered My Mind," and "Bewitched"?
716 - NEW YORK
Buffalo's spectacular and mammoth art deco city hall is one of the tallest city halls in the country and a true landmark. Identify one of these city halls. (Name of city)
717 - PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia was the most important business center of colonial America. It isn't anymore. But that doesn't mean I couldn't come up with 10 questions about Pennsylvania businesses.
- For decades, the country's top-selling magazine was headquarted in Radnor and was published in over 140 regional editions
- What Camp Hill-based drug store chain is America's third largest? (Hint: It's smaller than CVS and Walgreens.)
- Name either five-letter partner in the 2015 merger that created one of the country's largest food companies, based in Pittsburgh. (Will be scored together.)
- What iron alloy powerhouse was founded by Andrew Carnegie? (For a few decades, it was known by three initials, but it has gone back to its original name.)
- This is easy! This is simple! This is awesome! And it's the largest company headquartered in Philadelphia.
- What brand of glass whose name implies that you can expose it to all kinds of fire and heat and it shouldn't break is made in Charleroi?
- Manny, Moe, and Jack invite you to shop at this Philadelphia-based chain
- What chocolate company belongs on this list?
- What famous lighter company is based in Armour?
- What did PPG formerly stand for?
718 - NEW YORK
The 718 is the outerboroughs of New York City. Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. Although much more populous (6.9 million versus 1.6 million in Manhattan), they aren't as important as Manhattan. (Hell, doesn't the name outerborough do an excellent job of signalling that?) Name a landmark in the outerboroughs.
719 - COLORADO
The worst of the worst go to the ADMAX maximum security prison in Florence, Colorado. From the information given, identify one of these scourges of humanity who currently reside or once resided at ADMAX.
- American citizen who turned rogue during the war in Afghanistan and led an uprising of Taliban prisoners
- Because of this wretch, we all have to take our shoes off at airport security
- Bomber of the Atlanta Olympics and murderer of one or more abortion providers
- He was housed at ADMAX after being convicted in Denver for the Oklahoma City bombing and before becoming the first federal prisoner executed in 40 years
- The only person convicted of the September 11 attacks
- Founder of the World Church of the Creator, serving 40 years for trying to arrange the murder-for-hire of a federal judge over an intellectual property dispute
- His brother turned him in after the New York Times published his voluminous manifesto in 1996
- He thought he was clever enough to plant a pressure-cooker bomb behind a line of children at the Boston Marathon in 2013 but not clever enough to get out of town
- Doctor who poisoned his patients
- He beat the death penalty twice after the Oklahoma City bombing