Joey's Trivia

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Week of September 8 – Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?

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An official NFL football field is a rectangle that is 120 yards (110 meters) long and 53 yards, 1 foot (49 meters) wide.

The football is an oblong sphere and is 11 to 11.5 inches (28 to 29 centimeters) long. It has a lengthwise circumference of about 28.5 inches (72.4 centimeters) and a widthwise circumference of about 21.5 inches (54.6 centimeters) in the middle of the ball.

An NFL roster allows for no more than 53 players on a team. At any one time, only 11 players per team are allowed on the field.

A player cannot remove his helmet on the field unless it is to adjust his equipment. This rule is dubbed the “Emmitt Smith rule” because Smith, who holds the record for most rushing touchdowns, was famous for ripping off his helmet to celebrate a touchdown.

Twelve new footballs, sealed in a special box and shipped by the manufacturer, will be opened in the officials’ locker room two hours prior to the starting time of the game. These balls are to be specially marked with the letter “K” and used exclusively for the kicking game.

Goalposts extend 10 feet (3 meters) high

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Week of October 28 – History of Superstitions

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Don’t Spill the Salt.  Salt is a preservative and it’s also known to be good for our wellbeing. Since salt is known to be a preservative and to fight decay, which is the providence of the devil, it’s no wonder that this spice became synonymous with good luck.  Spilling salt is said to be unlucky. However, if you do spill salt, the best way to ward of the effects of bad luck is to throw a pinch of salt over your left shoulder.

Why the left shoulder and not the right?  Our left side was thought by our ancestors to be our wicked side. It was said that evil lurked over your left shoulder, thus by throwing salt in that direction, you can dispel some of the ill effects of the spilled salt.

Why is a Horseshoe Associated with Luck? Apparently, iron is associated with strength. In fact, one superstition says that iron can ward off evil spirits. The shape of a horseshoe is also associated with luck because it’s a half circle or ‘U’, which in many cultures is the shape associated with good fortune and fertility.

Knock on Wood – Almost everyone is aware of this superstition. When things are going well in our lives, we often touch or knock on wood in the hopes that our luck will continue. The belief that things will eventually go wrong is an old one. The superstition that knocking on wood will ward against evil spirits goes back to the druids. In pagan times, wood was regarded as holy. After all, the gods created the wood, and so it must be holy, right?  Today, this belief stubbornly holds on, and very few of us haven’t done it at some point in their lives.

Broken Mirror is Worth Seven Years of Bad Luck – This is another persistent yet popular superstition. Almost everyone has heard the belief that if you break a mirror you’re going to get seven years of bad luck.

Out of all of the superstitions, this is probably the oldest one. Ever since man could see themselves in the reflective surface of water, we have believed that our reflection is a part of us or our spirit self. It only makes sense that if we break that reflection, we also break a part of ourselves, which inevitably leads to bad luck.

Why is it Unlucky to Open an Umbrella Indoors- You could boil this superstition down to a safety hazard turned superstition. When umbrellas first began using the spring mechanism that we take for granted today, they were very unpredictable. The person opening the umbrella never knew if the spring would work properly, and a lot of fingers were squished between the spring and the top of the umbrella frame.  On top of this, people were never sure how big the umbrella would be once unfurled. As a result, there were a lot of accidents within the house when the user opened the umbrella, only to realize too late that the umbrella was too big for the room. When such a mishap occurred, people used to exclaim that the umbrella user was unlucky. After all, only someone who was extremely unlucky could smash living rooms or have their fingers pinched unmercifully by the spring mechanism.

 

 

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Week of May 20 – Hodge Podge Trivia

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On average People Touch their Face approx 300 times per hour.

The Main ingredient in Worcestershire Sauce is Anchovies.

Americans consume 500 Million Twinkies a year…that’s 1,000 a minute or 16 every second.

A few thousand years ago tropical rainforests covered 12% of the Earth’s land now its about 5%.

If you add up the numbers 1-100 consecutively (1+2+3+4+5 etc) the total is 5050.

The 3 Wise Monkeys have names: Mizaru (See no evil), Mikazaru (Hear no evil), and Mazaru (Speak no evil).

Walter Hunt invented the Safety Pin in 1849 – he sold his rights to it for $400

Pablo Picasso’s full name: Pablo Diego Jose Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santisma Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso.

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Week of April 22 – 100 years ago this month

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RMS Titanic was a passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean  April, 15 1912 after colliding with an iceberg  during her maiden voyage from Southhampton, UK to New York City, US.  The sinking of the Titanic caused the deaths of 1,514 people in one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history.  Titanic sinks at 2:27 AM off Newfoundland as band plays on.

Fenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located in Boston, MA, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball  since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two “classic” Major League ballparks still in use, the other being Chicago’s Wrigley.

Electric starter 1st appeared in cars.

The Greek athlete Konstantinos Tsiklitiras breaks the world record -in standing long jump jumping 3.47 meters.

16th Boston Marathon won by Mike Ryan of NY in 2:21:18.2

Chinese republic proclaimed in Tibet

Steamers collide in Nile, drowning 200


 

 

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Week of April 1 – Origin of words and phrases

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“Raining Cats and Dogs:”  The origin of this saying dates back to the 1600s. Poor drainage systems on buildings in the 17th century caused gutters to overflow, spewing out along with water, garbage and a few unexpected critters. It is possible that animals such as rodents lived in the thatched roofs and when it rained heavily, the dead carcasses would fall––undoubtedly unpleasant! As far as large dogs falling from the sky…well…that one will have to remain a mystery.

“To be Stumped:” Being “stumped” comes from the pioneering days when the land was cleared to lay down train tracks. When the workers came across a tree stump, it would cause a dilemma or “to be stumped.”

“Wrong Side of the Tracks:”-Before there were cars, trains were an important means of transportation. Of course, pollution wasn’t a big concern so when a train rolled by, heavy black smoke and soot went with it. Usually the wind blew the black smoke to one side of the tracks and only the poorest of people would endure living in that hard to breathe environment. No one wanted to be on “the wrong side of the tracks.

“Vis-à-Vis'” the first meaning was the literal translation from the French, i.e. “face to face. ”  Another meaning is a small two seater carriage in which passengers sit face to face.  These carriages are similar to the four seater version that Queen Elizabeth uses each year to tour the course at the Royal Ascot race meeting.  Also defined as “in relation to” or “with respect to”  For example:  the position of our organization vis-à-vis global warming to support efforts to reduce carbon emissions.   

“Everything but the kitchen sink: – comes from World War Two when everything possible was used to contribute to the war effort…all metal was used for the U.S arsenal. The only objects left out were porcelain kitchen sinks. 

“Don’t  throw the baby out with the bath water” – What’s one to do when they only have one basin of bath water and a litter of children to be bathed? Easy! Use the same bath water and dump it out when your last child gets lost in it! Back in the pre-running water days, the order of the household determined which family member got to take the bath first. The man (or head of the household) naturally went first, followed by the children and the baby last. The water would become so dirty that when a baby was bathed in it, he could possibly be lost or even tossed out! 

 

 


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