Random Acts of Trivia Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bryan Cranston

Before Bryan Cranston was cooking meth in the New Mexico desert, he was best known as Hal, the bumbling dad and Grateful Dead fan on "Malcolm in the Middle". Then along came "Breaking Bad" and Cranston's portrayal of high school chemistry teacher-turned-drug kingpin Walter White became one of television's most famous character transformations. He would go on to win four Primetime Emmy Awards for the role.

The show's success was due in no small part to Cranston's ability to make Walter sympathetic, terrifying, and even darkly funny, sometimes all within the same scene. His gradual descent from mild-mannered family man to ruthless criminal mastermind has been called one of the greatest arcs in television history. Fans still debate whether Walter was a tragic figure or a monster. Personally, I'd vote for a bit of both (yeah, I'm THAT guy).

Answer: Tittle

Now you know! That tiny dot above the lowercase "i" (and its cousin above the lowercase "j") is officially called a tittle. The term comes from Latin, meaning "small stroke" or "mark," which is exactly what it is... a wee, often-overlooked detail that's been hanging out quietly since medieval handwriting styles first dotted the letter to avoid confusion with letters like "m" or "u". Without it, "minimum" could easily become mush when written. (That's the thing people used to do with a pen or pencil.)

It's also part of the phrase "every jot and tittle," meaning every small detail, a saying that dates back to translations of the Bible in the 16th century. While some people may prefer to call it "the dot thingy," tittle is the correct, proper, and frankly more satisfying word if you want to impress your friends and befuddle your enemies.

Answer: One

A Möbius strip is what happens when a nerd gets bored, has a strip of paper, and a pair of scissors. You take the strip, give it a half-twist, and tape the ends together. The result is a surface with only one side and one edge. If you try to trace along what you think is "one side," you'll end up right back where you started without ever lifting your finger or crossing an edge. Congratulations, you've just violated all your presumed notions about geometry, and it didn't cost a penny.

The Möbius strip was first described independently by German mathematicians August Ferdinand Möbius and Johann Benedict Listing in 1858, and it's since appeared in everything from art to conveyor belts to magic tricks. It's also been used as a metaphor for infinity, paradox, and the feeling of trying to fold a fitted sheet.

Answer: Battle of Verdun

The Battle of Verdun was a very nasty battle that took place during World War I. From February 21 to December 18, 1916, the Battle of Verdun raged on the Western Front in France for a punishing 302 to 303 days, making it not only the longest battle ever fought by France, but the longest battle of modern history.

This wasn't a leisurely afternoon at the front. This was brutal attritional warfare. The German plan, devised by General Erich von Falkenhayn, was all about bleeding the French dry in men and materiel by forcing them to frantically defend a symbolically vital fortress town. The French took the bait, and responded with equal brutality. Their determined defense turned Verdun into a symbol of national resilience, and the rallying cry "They shall not pass!" captured a country's stubbornness.

No significant territorial gains were made by either side, of course, making the French the default winner for successfully defending the city. Land barely changed hands during the time, because it the Western Front of World War I, and trench warfare sucked. What did change was the scope of human suffering: casualties numbered in the hundreds of thousands, with destroyed corpses littering fields of mud cratered with shell holes.

Answer: Coolio

In 1995, Coolio delivered "Gangsta's Paradise", a track so smooth and ominous it made suburban teenagers feel like hardened street poets for about four minutes. The song sampled Stevie Wonder's "Pastime Paradise" and was featured in the Michelle Pfeiffer movie "Dangerous Minds".

It went on to win a Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance, became the top-selling single of 1995 in the U.S., and wrote Coolio's name into '90s music history. The only people who didn't seem happy about it were parents trying to figure out why their kids suddenly started wearing bandanas everywhere.

At this point, I should probably point out that while I'm pretty familiar with the song, I probably know the Weird Al version, "Amish Paradise", somewhat better. ("As I walk through the valley where I harvest my grain, I take a look at my wife and realize she's very plain....") So, yeah.

Answer: Koosh Ball

The Koosh Ball made its debut in 1987 and immediately stood out among other toys, if for no other reason than because it looked like a cross between a sea anemone and a pom-pom having a very good hair day. Its rubber filaments made it easy to catch, even for small hands, and virtually impossible to throw with much precision or violent intent. The Koosh became a playground must in the 1990s, and it came in endless color variations, even finding its way into video games and pop culture references.

Invented by Scott Stillinger, the ball was designed as a safe, gentle plaything for kids learning to catch and throw. It also happened to be endlessly fidgetable, predating the sensory toy craze by decades. In short, the Koosh was the original "stress ball" for an entire generation, only way cooler.

Answer: Rabies

The first injectable vaccine was developed by Louis Pasteur in 1885 to prevent rabies. Before Pasteur's breakthrough, rabies was a terrifying and almost always fatal disease transmitted by the bite of infected animals, typically dogs. Pasteur's method involved cultivating the rabies virus in rabbits, then weakening it so it could be safely injected to stimulate immunity without causing illness.

Smallpox was actually the first disease to be vaccinated against, but the smallpox vaccine, developed by Edward Jenner in 1796, was administered by scratching the skin and rubbing in cowpox rather than by injection. Jenner's work laid the foundation for vaccination, but the first injectable vaccine came much later with Pasteur's rabies vaccine, making it a milestone in medical history and saving many lives.

Answer: The Great Depression

Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered that famous line during his first inaugural address on March 4, 1933. The United States was in the depths of the Great Depression. Banks were failing, unemployment was sky-high, and breadlines had become part of daily life. FDR's point was that panic could make the situation even worse by causing people to withdraw more money from banks, hoard goods, and avoid investment, essentially fueling the very collapse they feared.

The phrase wasn't entirely new (variations date back to at least the 19th century), but FDR's use of it struck a chord with a nation in crisis. It set the tone for his presidency, which launched a wave of New Deal programs aimed at restoring economic stability and public confidence. The line has since become one of the most quoted, if not often misapplied, statements in U.S. political history.

Answer: Ottawa

Every winter, the Rideau Canal in Ottawa transforms into the world's longest naturally frozen skating rink. Spanning about 7.8 kilometers (4.8 miles), it attracts skaters from all over the globe who glide, stumble, and fall past historic buildings, markets, and snowswept parks. Opened in 1826, the canal originally served as a military supply route, but now it's more about skating, hot chocolate, and dodging the occasional renegade puck.

Answer: Robert Walpole

Robert Walpole is generally regarded as the first Prime Minister of Great Britain, serving from 1721 to 1742. Although the title "Prime Minister" wasn't officially used at the time, Walpole was the dominant political figure who effectively acted as the head of government during the reigns of Kings George I and George II. His long tenure and ability to manage Parliament set the foundation for the office as we know it today.

Walpole's political style involved a careful balance of politics, negotiation, and power plays. So, the usual. He earned the nickname "the first Lord of the Treasury", a position that eventually became synonymous with the Prime Ministership. Despite his unofficial title, Walpole shaped the British parliamentary system, turning what was once a loosely organized government role into a central, enduring political office.