Three of a Kind, Part 54 Trivia Quiz

Answer: snow

Suzanne Somers played the ditzy, naive, gorgeous, stereotypical "dumb blonde" Chrissy Snow. The premise of the series (1977-1984) was that a guy -- Jack Tripper -- lives in a platonic relationship with Chrissy and a third roommate, Janet Wood. Their Santa Monica apartment is managed by Stanley Roper (and later by Ralph Furley, played by Don Knotts). Somers left the series at its height and was replaced by Jenilee Harrison, playing Chrissy's first cousin, Cindy Snow.

Clarence Eugene "Hank" Snow (1914-1999) was a Canadian-American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He was born in Nova Scotia to a poor family that struggled through the Great Depression. Snow began his musical career playing a Hawaiian steel guitar. After learning that he did not wish to be a sailor nor a fisherman, he devoted himself to music. His first recording contract was with RCA Victor of Montreal, Quebec. He remained with RCA Victor when he moved to Nashville to become "the Singing Ranger." His work on the Grand Ole Opry gave him national exposure. This led to a career in which he recorded 140 albums, put 85 singles on the Billboard country charts, and was admitted to several halls of fame: the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame, and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. His weighty autobiography, "The Hank Snow Story," was published by the University of Illinois Press in 1994.

Alexander Ostrovsky adapted a Russian folk tale, "Snegurochka" (the Snow Maiden), to the stage in 1873. Pyotr Tchaikovsky composed incidental music for the play. This music (Opus 12) was among the composer's favourites among his own work. This incidental music was composed for both choir and orchestra. Another production, "The Snow Maiden: A Spring Fairy Tale," is a four-act opera, the libretto of which is based on the same story as Ostrovsky's, with a musical prologue by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.

Answer: turkey

The sudden, all-at-once, immediate, and complete stopping of the use of an addictive or habituating substance is sometimes called "going cold turkey." This method is not for all people nor for all substances. The risk is that withdrawal symptoms may be too severe to endure. Gradual reduction under medical supervision is often the wiser course. The etymology of "cold turkey" is unclear. It might refer to the cold skin of a butchered and dressed turkey. It might refer to "talking turkey" as this relates to telling the truth to one's self, friends, and family.

Norman Thomas Stearnes (1901-1979) was born in Nashville, Tennessee. There are two stories about how he came to bear the sobriquet "Turkey." One is that he had a curious baserunning style in which he flapped his arms like a bird. The other is that he had a pot belly as a child which other children thought looked like a turkey. Because American professional baseball was segregated, Stearnes played in the "Negro Leagues" for his entire 18 year career. His records as a hitter were numerous and he was posthumously elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000, the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2008, and the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.

In an episode (Season 2, Episode 8) of "The West Wing" titled "Shibboleth," President Bartlet is required by tradition to "pardon" one of two Thanksgiving turkeys. The turkeys, both male, named Eric and Troy, are delivered to Press Secretary C.J. Cregg who is supposed to recommend which one will live out his days happily in a children's zoo. The president cleverly avoids the potential crisis by drafting the one in jeopardy into the military service of the United States (where he is presumably safe).

Answer: yellow

In the late 19th century, two newspaper titans went to war against one another. Joseph Pulitzer's New York "World" and William Randolph Hearst's New York "Journal" struggled to exceed the other's circulation. To accomplish this end, both sensationalised the news, exaggerated, embellished, fabricated, and set the results under large, dramatic and emotion-charged headlines. This was often done at the cost of fact-checking, accuracy, and journalistic integrity. Reporting on the events leading up to the Spanish-American War may have epitomised yellow journalism. Without the colourful label, this sort of misinformation and manipulation remains present in the manufacturing of "fake news," tabloid reporting, and unchecked online sensationalist websites.

The sixth-longest river system in the world is that of the Yellow River of China. Also known as the Huanghe River, the system drains 795,000 km2 (307,000 sq mi). The river takes its name from the yellow sediment which it picks up on the Loess Plateau. Many ancient Chinese histories identify its basin as the cradle in which the oldest Chinese societies were born. For example, the Xia dynasty was founded there in about 2100 BCE. Its flow has decreased so substantially that the Chinese government has worked to reverse this trend.

In L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" (and the novels to follow and the films based thereon), the "Road of Yellow Bricks" figures significantly. It first appears in "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" in the third chapter. According to this source, the road starts in Munchkin Country in the Eastern Quadrant and ends in the Emerald City, the capital of the Land of Oz. In the 1939 motion picture, the Munchkins sing to Dorothy, "Follow the Yellow Brick Road." Musician Elton John and lyricist Bernie Taupin combined to create "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" in 1973. In the 1975 Broadway musical "The Wiz" and in the 1978 movie based on it, the song is "Ease on Down the Road" by Diana Ross and Michael Jackson.

Answer: mixer

Major League second baseman Joe Morgan (1943-2020) once said, "I believe you learn social skills by mixing with people." Vernā Myers once wrote, "Diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance." A mixer -- dance, scavenger hunt, cocktail party, charades, or other social event -- is calculated to introduce strangers to one another in a quick and efficient way. The underlying idea is to help people move on toward acquaintanceship and ultimately to forming a team.

In 1946, American jazz musician and songwriter Bulee "Slim" Gaillard (1916-1991) wrote and recorded a novelty song called "Cement Mixer." It ran, "Cement Mixer! Put-ti, Put-ti / A puddle o'vooty, puddle o'gooty, puddle o'scooty." Gaillard wrote and released "Flat Foot Floogie (with a Floy Floy)" further demonstrating his ability to invent language. He called his language "Vout-o-Reenee" for which he wrote his own dictionary. The lyrics to "Cement Mixer" aptly describe the process of mixing cement: "First you get some gravel, Pour it in the vout / To mix a mess o' mortar you add cement and water / Who wants a bucket of cement?"

Modern jet engines make a godawful racket ('tho not as much noise as the earlier ones produced). In order to accommodate the demand for noise minimisation, engineers have developed a device called an "exhaust mixer" or a "flow mixer" for turbofan engines. It mixes cooler, slower bypass air with the hotter, faster exhaust before squirting them both out of the exhaust nozzle. Remarkably, this produces less noise.

Answer: ship

Nautical terminology has been used in the context of space travel for many years. Jules Verne's 1865 novel "From the Earth to the Moon" employed this language, probably because of the parallels between navigating outer space and sailing across uncharted oceans. Terms like captain, spaceship, bridge, hull, and deck are examples. This language continued to be used both in fiction (e.g. "Star Trek") and in the real-world programmes of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

David Crosby and Stephen Stills (of Crosby, Stills & Nash) and Paul Kantner (of Jefferson Airplane) collaborated on writing the song "Wooden Ships." They wrote it while on board Stills' boat, the Mayan, moored in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Because it was a shared endeavour, each musical group recorded its own version; Crosby, Stills & Nash's May 1969 release was the more popular. Both bands performed the song at the 1969 Woodstock Festival. The lyrics reflect the nuclear tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. Its setting is post-apocalyptic: the world is in radioactive waste; no one is the victor.

In the Greek philosopher Plato's work "The Republic" (488a-489d), he compares the legal civic entity of a city-state to a nautical vessel. He uses this "ship of state" metaphor to argue against direct democracy and in favour of governance by a philosopher-king. The metaphor was not original to Plato; the application of it to advance this argument was original to him. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow borrowed it to title his poem "O Ship of State" (1849). Winston Churchill borrowed the first few lines from Longfellow to encourage the British during the Second World War.

Answer: tank

A gas tank, fuel tank, petrol tank, or fuel cell is a safe container designed to hold any flammable liquid which can be used to power an engine. The most common contents are gasoline (petrol), diesel oil, kerosene, naphtha, propane, butane, methane, ethanol, and the like. Fuel tanks are found in automobiles, butane lighters, Primus stoves, the Space Shuttle, diesel locomotives, model aeroplanes, and conventional battleships.

Tank MacNamara was a defensive lineman in the National Football League, having played his college football at NCAA Division I Enormous State University (the Sandcrabs). The local professional sports teams include the MLB Bashers, the NHL Igloos, and the NBA Stuffers. The biggest sports sponsor is Heavy Beer. All of this is examined at length in the syndicated daily comic strip "Tank MacNamara".

Francis E. Izzo's short story "Tank" was first published in March of 1979 in "Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine"; it has been reprinted in at least five anthologies. The protagonist, Davis, is addicted to and champion of every pinball machine in the arcade. He sneers at video games, wins them easily, and goes back to the little silver ball. The arcade introduces a new booth game which looks like a military tank. Using early virtual-reality technology, the first-person shooter captivates Davis to his great surprise.

Answer: crypt

Bobby "Boris" Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers recorded and released "The Monster Mash" in 1962. "He did the Monster Mash / it was a graveyard smash / it caught on in a flash / he did the Monster Mash." Pickett (1938-2007) was a songwriter and comedian. He grew up in the local movie theatre managed by his father on a steady diet of horror movies.

In the 2009 motion picture "The Crypt," a gang of six criminals breaks into and enters catacombs with burglarious intent. The inhabitants are not content to see their jewellery looted. Phantasmagoric undead seek to prevent the felons from surviving.

The premium cable television channel HBO produced an anthology TV series called "Tales from the Crypt." It was based on a 1950s comic book series also titled "Tales from the Crypt." From 10 June 10 1989 to July 19, 1996, a living corpse (voiced by John Kassir) called the Cryptkeeper hosted the programme.

Answer: hood

"Hood" and "bonnet" refer generally to the same part of an automobile's body. This part is a panel covering the engine compartment. It is often made of metal but may be crafted from fibreglass, glass or even wood. Hinges in the hatch enable access to the engine. What is called a "hood" in the US is called a "bonnet" in the UK and the Commonwealth. "Hood" derives from the Old English "hod" meaning a head covering (think: a monk's hood). "Bonnet" derives from the Old French "bonet" meaning a cap or hat. Curiously, both terms descend from words for headgear.

Hood Canal is located at 47.8°N 122.7°W, separating the Kitsap Peninsula from the Olympic Peninsula in western Washington State. The canal (which is not a canal at all) is like a fjord in Puget Sound (also called the Salish Sea). Canals have inlets and outlets at both ends. Hood Canal is shaped rather like a crochet hook with a terminus at Belfair. The U.S. Navy's base at Bangor houses Trident submarines when they are not travelling the world's seas underwater. The Hood Canal Bridge (the third-longest floating bridge in the world) must open to permit the submarines to enter and depart. The salt water of the Canal supports annual salmon spawns, spot prawn runs, geoduck clams, and Dungeness crab. Pods of killer whales (orcas) prey on salmon and seals. The canal was named in 1792 by Captain George Vancouver of the British Royal Navy after Admiral Lord Samuel Hood.

Hood is a back clipping (a word shortened from a longer word by removing syllables at the end) of hoodlum. Both refer to persons, usually younger, engaged in criminal behaviours. By association, these words are used pejoratively for anyone, especially younger persons, who engage in antisocial behaviour, or dress and/or groom themselves in the fashion of urban gang members. There is some crossover between these terms and people who wear hooded (hoodie) sweatshirts to prevent their identification by victims or police.

Answer: heart

Hearts is a trick-taking card game (like Whist and Spades) in which players seek either to avoid taking any card in the suit of hearts and the queen of spades, or to take all of these (called "running" or "shooting the moon"). The game appeared in the United States in the 1880s. There are numerous variants: Black Lady (US), Black Maria (UK), Spot Hearts, Discard Hearts, Domino Hearts, Omnibus Hearts, Chasse Coeur, three different sorts of Greek Hearts, Double Game of Hearts, Eagle Game of Hearts, Joker Hearts, Auction Hearts, Black Jack (not Blackjack), Cancellation Hearts, Heartsette, Partnership Hearts, and Royal Hearts. Arguments about which variant is best are interminable.

Elton John and his writing partner Bernie Taupin wrote "Don't Go Breaking My Heart." They did so under the pseudonyms "Ann Orson" and "Carte Blanche", respectively. It was first recorded by John and Kiki Dee (25 June 1976). There is a bit of MoTown in it: "Don't go breakin' my heart / I couldn't if I tried." The second famous duet performance was by John and Miss Piggy on "The Muppet Show" in 1977. John was the executive producer of the animated motion picture "Gnomeo & Juliet" (2011). The film (and its soundtrack on Buena Vista Records) includes "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" by Elton John and Kiki Dee.

The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus recalls and celebrates God's boundless and passionate love for humanity. Primarily in the Roman Catholic Church, but also by some Anglicans and some Western Rite Orthodox, the proper feast is kept on the third Friday after the Feast of Pentecost. Anglican Franciscan religious celebrate it as The Divine Compassion of Christ. First observed in the eleventh century, its popularity was widened by a French nun, Margaret Mary Alacoque, in the seventeenth century. In addition, the entire month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart, as are the first Fridays of nine consecutive months. Another devotion is to spend an hour in prayer and meditation on the Sacred Heart every Thursday evening.

Answer: Betty

Betty White (1922-2021) enjoyed a 70-year career as an actress, producer, comedian, singer, and author. She was married to game-show host Allen Ludden for 20 years until his death from stomach cancer. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Sue Ann Nivens on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" (1973-1977), Rose Nylund on "The Golden Girls" (1985-1992), and Elka Ostrovsky on "Hot in Cleveland" (2010-2015). Because of her lifelong philanthropic work with animals, Washington State University awarded her an honourary degree as a doctor of veterinary medicine. Her life was commemorated by the issuance of a first-class Forever postage stamp by the United States Postal Service in 2025.

The earliest version of the ballad "Betty and Dupree" was written anonymously. It describes a 1921 armed robbery of an Atlanta, Georgia, jewellery store just before Christmas. Frank Dupree set out to obtain a diamond ring for his girlfriend Betty. Unfortunately, he killed a Pinkerton agent and wounded a customer in the process. Dupree fled first to Chattanooga, Tennessee, and then to Detroit, Michigan, where he was arrested on warrants. He was executed in 1922, the last condemned man to be hanged before the installation and use of "Old Sparky" in the Georgia State Prison in Milledgeville. The original song was recorded by 'Kingfish' Bill Tomlin in 1931. In 1958, Chuck Willis wrote and recorded a rock adaptation of the traditional version. The song has been covered by Josh White, Brownie McGhee, Muddy Waters, The Limeliters, Harry Belafonte, Sam the Sham, Peter, Paul & Mary, Washboard Willie, Memphis Piano Red, Mickey Gilley, Guitar Slim, Taj Mahal and The Hula Blues Band, Grateful Dead, and Little Pink Anderson.

Gary Delainey is the author of and Gerry Rasmussen is the illustrator of the Canadian comic strip "Betty." [This ought not be confused with the American comic strip "Betty" (1919-1943) by Charles A. Voight (1887-1947).] While Delainey and Rasmussen were working together in 1976 on a strip called "Bub Slug," they introduced a character named Betty. She gained her independence from Bub in 1991 and has appeared in her own stand-alone strip since. Betty is an average woman balancing her family and a career. She is married to the aforementioned Bub.