A Pick from the Pair Quizzyland Tour

Answer: Tortoises

Scientifically speaking, all tortoises are turtles in that they belong to the Testudines order of reptiles. But not all turtles are tortoises. One main difference is that tortoises are land-dwelling reptiles with thick block-like feet. Turtles, on the other hand, have webbed feet and spend much of their time in water. Tortoises rarely if ever enter the water and cannot swim.

Answer: Each number is listed in alphabetical order

In the number 8,549,176,320, eight is the first number, of the digits zero through nine, alphabetically, while zero is the last number alphabetically.

Answer: They are stand-up comedians

All three are famous American stand-up comedians. Bargatze and Cho were both born in Tennessee. Bargatze is known for his family friendly deadpan humor and in 2024 sold more tickets (over a million) than any other stand-up comedian in the world. Cho was born to Korean parents in Knoxville.

He uses his southern upbringing and accent effectively in his shows. In 2023 he became the first Asian-American to be invited to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Gaffigan is known for finding humor in his role as a father and through his observations found in everyday life.

He has also found success as an actor, author, and commentator on the "CBS Sunday Morning" news show.

Answer: Singing on a street corner

Busking is the act of performing in a public place, usually seeking donations. It includes many forms of entertainment including singing, dancing, miming, juggling, living statues and more. This form of entertainment goes back to ancient civilizations. Famous buskers and former buskers include Abby the Spoon Lady, Catfish the Bottle Man, US founding father Benjamin Franklin and rock star Rod Stewart.

Answer: Three

The English nursery rhyme first appeared in the mid 1700s. It is often sung to a variation of the children's tune "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". While no one knows the origin of the rhyme, it has proven controversial. Some believe it has racial overtones and references slavery, while earlier historians believe it has its roots in farmers protesting the wool tax. Like most other nursery rhymes, there is no collaborating evidence to support either theory.

Answer: Aeronautics

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the US government agency that is responsible for the nation's space program that provides research in aeronautics and space exploration. The agency was established in 1958 in response to the Soviet Union's early success in space exploration.

It was designed to create a civilian space program separate from its military counterpart. NASA propelled the US to the forefront of space exploration culminating with the US landing three men on the moon in 1969.

Answer: Zero degrees longitude

The Prime Meridian is a geographic reference line that was officially established in 1884. The line runs through Greenwich, England and runs about 20,000 km from north to south, dividing the earth into the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. While arbitrarily set by international agreement, the longitudinal line is important in helping the world with navigation and keeping time.

It passes through three continents, and eight countries, but two-thirds of the line passes over water. In Greenwich, at the Royal Observatory, the line is marked by a metal line in the observatory's courtyard.

At night, the line is marked by a bright laser beam.

Answer: USS Missouri

The USS Missouri was built in 1944 and sent to the Pacific Theater during WWII. The ship overcame many kamikaze attacks and was part of the battles of Okinawa and Iwo Jima. It was selected to be the place where the Japanese would sign the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, ending WWII. The ceremony took place in Tokyo Bay in September of 1945.

After WWII the ship remained active until after the Korean War. It was deactivated for about thirty years before being reactivated and modernized in 1984. It participated in the Gulf War in 1991 before being decommisioned, eventually being placed at the Pearl Harbor Memorial. The nickname comes from the fact that MO is the US postal abbreviation for Missouri.

Answer: A barber in Ohio

Merle Robbins, a barber from Reading, Ohio developed "Uno" to simplify the game "Crazy Eights", with all its rule variations. To avoid confusion, Robbins came up with rules that assigned certain functions to different cards. For example, a king meant play would reverse.

Instead of marking up a regular deck of cards, the family sold their house to develop and print a new deck of cards. Robbins sold the new game out of his barber shop. The game grew in popularity and Robbins eventually sold the game to an Illinois businessman.

The new owner redesigned the cards to what we have today and eventually sold Uno to Mattel Inc. who made it an international success.

Answer: A lady

Da Vinci's "Lady with an Ermine" was painted in the late 1400s. It is one of only four of his paintings featuring a woman. The lady has been identified as a mistress of the artist's employer at the time, an Italian nobleman named Ludovico Sforza. The portrait, which features the lady holding an ermine-like creature can be viewed in the Czartoryski Museum in Krakow, Poland.

"The Pink Lady" was a sixty foot tall painting of a nude woman, that was painted above a tunnel in Malibu, California. Local artist Lynne Seemayer secretly removed graffiti from the rockface wall, replacing it with the painting. The painting gained media attention and was dubbed the "Pink Lady" because of the hue of her skin. Government authorities, concerned about drivers being distracted by the painting, covered it with paint. The controversial painting led to the artist receiving death threats as well as offers from art galleries.

Waterhouse's work "The Lady of Shalott" is one of three paintings that the artist created to honor Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem of the same name. The painting is housed at the Tate Britain art museum in London.

Answer: Schindler's Ark

The 1982 historical fictional work, "Schindler's Ark" was written by Keneally at the urging of Leopold Page, a Holocaust survivor. The book tells the story of Oskar Schindler who saved the lives of over 1200 Jews during WWII. The book was released in the US under the name "Schindler's List".

After the book's successful release, Page, who was acquainted with movie director Steven Spielberg's mother, urged Spielberg to produce a movie based on the novel. The movie "Schindler's List" was released in 1993 and was a commercial and critical success winning seven Academy Awards and seven British Academy Film Awards.

Answer: Jaws

Scheider was an actor and boxer who came to prominence in the 1970s and 80s. Some of his roles were in "The French Connection", "Klute" and "All that Jazz". However, his most famous role may be that of Police Chief Martin Brody in the 1975 thriller about a man-eating great white shark in "Jaws".

The film grossed over 100 million dollars and claimed the number one spot in movie ticket sales for over four months. The iconic line, "you're gonna need a bigger boat", was often used by the crew on the set because the support boat used to film water scenes on the set was cramped. The line became a mantra for the cast and crew for anything that went haywire. Scheider fatefully used the phrase when the audience first sees the shark in the movie. The line became an instant Hollywood classic quote. Scheider also starred in the TV show "SeaQuest DSV" from 1993 to 1996.

Answer: Pause

"Upon the Housetop" was written by an Ohio-born clergyman and abolitionist named Benjamin Hanby. The Christmas song is considered one of the first songs to focus on Santa Claus. It has been recorded by many singers, but singing cowboy Gene Autrey's version, released in 1953, is considered the most famous rendition.

Some music historians believe inspiration for the song came from Clement Moore's famous poem "'Twas the Night Before Christmas (1822). Both works mention the reindeer pausing on the roof.

Answer: Margaret Truman

Margaret was the only child of President Harry and Bess Truman. After graduating from George Washington University, she began a career in music as a classically trained soprano. From 1946 to 1956 she performed in concert halls, appeared on television shows, and recorded several albums. After marrying New York Times editor Clifton Daniel, Truman pursued a career as a journalist and radio host. During her time as a journalist, she also wrote many works of non-fiction including biographies of her mother and father. In 1980 the first of over twenty crime novels were published bearing her name. Most of her mystery books were written with the help of a ghost writer. She died in 2008 at the age of 83 and her cremains and the cremains of her husband are buried next to her parents at the Truman Presidential Library in Missouri.

Alice Roosevelt was the eldest child of Theodore Roosevelt and his first wife. Alice was a Washington DC socialite known for her partying lifestyle.

Answer: In the beginning God...

Genesis is the first book in the Hebrew and Christian Bible. In Hebrew the name of the book is a Hebrew word that means "in the beginning". The name Genesis comes from the Greek word meaning "origin". This is fitting as the book emphasizes the origin of the world, humankind, sin, death, nations and languages, among other things.

The book was written to the Hebrews to contrast their God with the polytheistic idolatry culture that was prevalent in neighboring nations. It is part of the Torah (Books of law) that are comprised of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament section of the Christian Bible.

Answer: Drilling a hole in a human skull

Trepanning is a medical procedure that involves boring a hole in a human skull. In ancient practices, it was often used on those who acted "abnormally" to help evil spirits escape from the brain. In modern usage, trepanning is used for reasons such as helping relieve pressure on the brain caused by head injuries.

The practice led to advances in craniotomy procedures as well as improvements in biopsies of bone marrow that are used to identify certain illnesses. The procedure still has significant risks, but neurosurgeons have been able to better use lessons learned from this ancient procedure to enhance health.

Answer: Chicago White Sox

The scandal happened during the 1919 World Series when eight players on the Chicago White Sox team were accused of purposely losing games in exchange for money. It resulted in the establishment of a commissioner to oversee baseball. The eight players were acquitted in a trial held in Chicago, but the new commissioner, a federal judge named Kenesaw Mountain Landis, banned the eight players from baseball indefinitely.

The Cincinnati Reds won the World Series 5 games to 3.

Answer: The Andy Griffith Show

The book "The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family" was written by brothers Ron and Clint Howard. Ron played the son of a small-town sheriff in the popular TV sit-com "The Andy Griffith Show". Almost as popular as the show is its whistling theme song, "The Fishin' Hole". The opening of the show featured a young Opie (Ron Howard) and his "paw" Andy walking down a dirt road to go fishing while the catchy tune was whistled in the background. In the memoir, published in 2021, Howard describes his relationship to the song as complicated. He stated that the tune brought back warm memories of his time on the show but that in high school, classmates, fans from other schools (when he played basketball) and even some adults, would whistle the song in a derisive way. He endured the whistling even though he felt bullied by it.

Howard went on to later star in the sit-com "Happy Days" and as an adult became a highly successful film director.

Answer: Wreck it Ralph

Ralph was a fictional video game character who desired to swap his role as a video villain to become a hero. His attempt to become a hero leads to a whole series of misadventures that involve him being trapped in a racing video game. The film was an amazing success, bringing in almost 500 million dollars and winning the Annie Award for Best Animated Feature. The movie spawned a new "Wreck it Ralph" franchise, including a sequel in 2018 and theme park rides.

At the time of the film's release, Nintendo released a "Wreck it Ralph" video game. The game allowed its players to join Ralph in his adventures that happened after the movie. The "Wreck it Ralph" franchise has grossed over a billion dollars.

Answer: Kentucky Fried Chicken with a strawberry flavored sponge cake

Christmas in Japan is celebrated as a secular holiday, with less than three percent of the population identifying as Christian. The first KFC restaurant was opened in Japan in 1970. No one knows for sure how chicken became a Christmas Eve staple in Japan, but one story is that, in 1974, a manager put together a "Kentucky for Christmas" Party Box meal after hearing some foreign guests lamenting that they would not have turkey at Christmas.

For whatever reason, KFC saw an opportunity and began marketing its chicken as Japan's Christmas Eve meal. KFC reports that about a third of its chicken sales in Japan happen on Christmas Eve. Another Japanese Christmas treat is the Christmas Party Cake. The treat is a sponge cake filled with strawberries and whipped cream and is often included in a KFC party box.