You Expect Me to Believe That Nonsense? Quiz

Answer: A photo of handcuffs

The original story was reported by San Francisco columnist Herb Caen in 1991, talking about what happened to Steve Barkley of Pebble Beach, CA. Barkley had notified Caen about the ticket and the original story did not include the report of handcuffs--it was just a speeder dealing with a brand new photo radar system who had an interesting idea on how to respond to it.

The photo of the handcuffs led Caen to print an update to the story several days later.

Answer: A bowl of M&Ms with the brown ones removed

Van Halen claims they did not have a problem with brown M&Ms, per se. They claimed they put the request in their rider to make sure the people at the venue actually read it and were willing to do what it takes to make their show go smoothly. Ignore that direction and the question comes up as to what other, more important, directions were ignored.

Answer: Press Your Luck

Larson, an unemployed Ohio man, taped episodes of "Press Your Luck" and watched them frame by frame when he suspected that the "random" patterns to the game board were not truly random. In fact, there were only five separate patterns that were ever used, and once he realized he had them mastered, he used the last of what little money he had to travel to Hollywood for a contestant tryout. There, he so dominated the show that his game had to be shown over two days.

CBS reviewed the footage and watched him closely when he hit the button stopping the spins. When they realized that Larson frequently celebrated before the results of the spins were even announced, they attempted to withhold his winnings for cheating. But there was no rule against memorizing the patterns, so they ended up paying. They then recalibrated the board with many more patterns so that there would be no more chance of a repeat of this.

Answer: He was interviewed on live TV when a producer thought he was the scheduled guest

Guy Goma was mistaken for British technology website editor Guy Kewney, who was scheduled to be interviewed about Apple Computer's court case against the Beatles' record label Apple Corps. Kewney was in a nearby reception room when Goma was sat down in front of a camera and asked about the ramifications the case would have on the music downloading industry. Despite knowing little about the subject, much less the actual case, he improvised well and after a look of initial shock, gave a very credible interview. The video is widely available on the internet.

Incidentally, Goma was interviewed for the IT job shortly thereafter. He was not hired.

Answer: You lose.

In spite of the "Silent Cal" persona, Coolidge was actually a very accomplished public speaker who held a then-record 520 press conferences during his presidency. He once said, "The words of a President have enormous weight and ought not to be used indiscriminately." He certainly made an impression on Dorothy Parker, who, when she learned he had died, quipped, "How can they tell?"

Answer: We've had triumphs. Made some mistakes. We've had some sex...uh...setbacks.

It must be inherited. This Freudian slip was the product of Bush's father, President George H.W. Bush. "For seven and a half years I've worked alongside President Reagan. We've had triumphs. Made some mistakes. We've had some sex...uh...setbacks."

There is a great poem put together with several of George W. Bush's slip-ups, called "Make the Pie Higher". It is available many places online.

Answer: Charles Manson

The connection between the Beach Boys and Charles Manson began when Beach Boy Dennis Wilson picked up two Manson Family women hitchhiking and brought them back to his house for a few hours. Wilson attended a recording session later that night and when he returned, Manson and several Family members were there. Eventually the Wilson house became a communal residence, and Manson began writing music. One such song, released without Manson's credit, was "Learn Not to Love", off their "20/20" album.

Eventually the relationship became a financial disaster for Wilson, as Manson and his family became destructive, and Wilson vacated the home at the end of the lease, forcing Manson and the Family to move elsewhere. Approximately one year later, the Manson Family committed the murders of Sharon Tate and several others.

Answer: They accidentally dialled 911 when they misdialed their ringleader's phone number

The ringleader's phone number had a 921 prefix. Instead, the dealer called the emergency number 911. They hung up immediately, but any emergency call is traced immediately, and police were sent to the location in case the caller hung up under duress.

History repeated itself in 2004 in Florida when another drug dealer misdialed when calling a friend and then hung up. Police came to investigate and smelled methamphetamine.

Answer: A beached whale

How does one remove the carcass of a beached whale? Several tons of rotting flesh was stinking up the beach, and no equipment was available to move it. Since whale meat is soft, it was figured that lots of dynamite would simply cause it to disintegrate.

Instead, several large chunks were sent flying, including a 3 foot by 5 foot chunk that landed on a car a quarter of a mile away, crushing it. The spectacle was filmed by news crews and the video is widely available on the internet.

Answer: Alligator

The video is a classic, since the two family members gave some of the worst answers ever seen on the show. Another question, "Name something that comes with a summer storm", got the answer "snow". As Richard Dawson said, "Remind everyone, to Bob's shame, the answers he gave us".