1707: The birth of English author Henry Fielding, whose seminal work, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, was adapted into an Oscar-winning film starring what actor?
1876: The first National League baseball game was played between the Boston Red Caps and the Athletics of what city?
1937: The birth of this American actor, who has earned Oscars for One Flew Over theCuckoo’s Nest, Terms of Endearment, and As Good As It Gets.
1978: The first appearance of this duo on Saturday Night Live.
1984: The death of this landscape photographer and conservationist, whose most famous photographs include Winter Sunrise, Evening, and The Tetons and the Snake River [featured image].
1904: The birth of this theoretical physicist and Manhattan Project director.
1864: The passage of the Coinage Act of 1864, which authorized the minting of the two-cent coin and added this phrase that eventually became our national motto.
1970: The celebration of the first Earth Day. Copywriter Julian Koenig, who conceived the event’s name, was also responsible for what famous tagline for Timex watches?
ROUND TWO – COMMON THREAD
The Aleutians are a chain of 14 islands just southwest of which US state?
This sex educator and activist founded Planned Parenthood and played a key role in the development of the birth control pill.
Although they are colloquially known as black boxes, flight data recorders are typically this bright color, making them easier to find after a crash.
This city, located in the Fars province in modern-day Iran, was the ancient capital of the Persian Empire.
This actress’s most iconic character has a hairstyle inspired by Mexican revolutionary Clara de la Rocha.
Complete this lullaby lyric: “Hush, little baby, don’t say a word, Mama’s gonna buy you a…”
Name that year: Steve Jobs introduced the world to the personal computer, Prince released his masterpiece album Purple Rain, and 14 Eastern Bloc countries, including the USSR and E. Germany, boycotted the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Piloerection, the involuntary raising of muscles in the hair follicles, is commonly known as what?
The seventh deadly sin, alphabetically.
What is the common thread?
ROUND THREE – APRIL SHOWERS (NAME THE MOVIE BASED ON A RAINY SCENE)
ROUND FOUR – ENGINEERING MARVELS
This 20th-century West Coast marvel has been destroyed in countless films, including Superman (1978), The Core, X-Men: The Last Stand, Pacific Rim, and San Andreas.
The world’s tallest building is the Burj Khalifa, a skyscraper in this UAE city.
Construction on this concrete marvel, built in the Black Canyon on the Colorado River, was completed on March 1, 1936, more than two years ahead of schedule.
A large celebration planned for the opening of this marvel was scrapped due to the outbreak of WWI in 1914.
This ancient Egyptian marvel, constructed around 2650 BC, aligns with the cardinal directions to within about a tenth of a degree, a feat that would challenge even modern builders.
The iconic Brooklyn Bridge connects the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn via which river?
ROUND FIVE – TRUE CRIME
True crime author Michelle McNamara coined this nickname for serial killer Joseph James DeAngelo for her book I’ll Be Gone in the Dark.
The best-selling true crime book of all time was co-written by Vincent Bugliosi, prosecuting attorney in the Manson family murder trials. What is the name of this book, which shares its title with a Beatles song?
Ann Rule kicked off her true crime career with The Stranger Beside Me, her account of what serial killer who turned out to be her friend and former co-worker at a Seattle crisis hotline?
The first true crime book to win a Pulitzer Prize was Norman Mailer’s The Executioner’s Song, which details the events surrounding the execution by firing squad of what alliterative killer?
The Five by Hallie Rubenhold tells the stories of the five canonical victims of what Victorian-era serial killer?
There are several theories as to the identity of this serial killer, but the only suspect officially named by police was convicted child molester Arthur Leigh Allen, who died of a heart attack in 1992 before he could be charged.
ROUND SIX – WHO’S ON FIRST
Which event happened first? a) Watergate break-in b) Moon landing c) JFK assassination
Which back-to-back Oscar winner came first? a) Jason Robards b) Spencer Tracy c) Tom Hanks
Whose death happened first? a) Elizabeth I b) Genghis Khan c) Pope Pius VI
Which ship sank first? a) USS Arizona b) SS Edmund Fitzgerald c) RMS Titanic
Which novel was published first? a) Animal Farm by George Orwell b) Catch-22 by Joseph Heller c) Ulysses by James Joyce
Which US President served first? a) Herbert Hoover b) William McKinley c) Woodrow Wilson
Which African nation became sovereign first? a) Chad b) Mozambique c) Namibia
Which television series debuted first? a) All in the Family b) The Brady Bunch c) Cheers
ROUND SEVEN – SHAKESPEARE IN POP CULTURE
The abrasive Kat Stratford, the main character in 1999’s 10 Things I Hate About You, was inspired by the heroine of which Shakespearean comedy?
The Lion King shares a basic plotline – uncle causes king’s death, nephew vows to exact revenge on uncle – with this Shakespeare tragedy (though, fortunately, the ending was altered dramatically).
In 1989’s Dead Poets Society, Neil Perry wins the role of Puck in this Shakespeare comedy.
Among the many adaptations of Romeo and Juliet is this Leonard Bernstein musical, adapted into a 1961 film that won 10 of the 11 Oscars for which it was nominated, including Best Picture.
She’s the Man, in which Amanda Bynes’s Viola Hastings passes herself off as her twin brother Sebastian to play for a boys’ soccer team, is a modern retelling of this Shakespearean romantic comedy subtitled “or, What You Will”.
In what 1998 Oscar-winning film does Joseph Fiennes portray the Bard?
ROUND EIGHT – BLESS YOU, BOYS!
In the team’s inaugural year (1894), the Detroit Tigers were known as what?
What Tigers shortstop was the MVP of the 1984 World Series?
Set by Cy Young in the early 1900s, the record for most wins by a pitcher – 511 – is considered unbreakable. Only two current players, both of whom have played for the Tigers, even have 200 career wins. Name them.
Nicknamed “the Georgia Peach”, this center fielder received the most votes on the inaugural ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936.
He was the last Tiger to win the AL MVP Award, which he achieved in 2012 and 2013.
Upon retiring from play in 1974 after 22 seasons, this right fielder became the Tigers’ television color commentator, then worked as a front-office assistant until his death in 2020.
PB & Julie + Julie C. Trivia 