Hawaii Threads Trivia Contest -- Go Fourth and Multiply

[lavagal]

Re: Hawaii Threads Trivia Contest -- Go Fourth and Multiply

yawn! drumming my fingers. Waiting, waiting, patiently waiting...

[scrivener]

Re: Hawaii Threads Trivia Contest -- Go Fourth and Multiply

HawaiiThreads Trivia Contest!
Here are the answers for Day 5!

Category: Flower Power
What's missing from this list?

White Pinecone
Black-Eyed Susan
Trailing Arbutus
Pink and white lady's slipper
Magnolia
White Hawthorn blossom
Bitterroot

In order, they are the state flowers of Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, and Montana. What's missing is the state flower for the other M state, Michigan. And Michigan's state flower is not the Ford Mustang (which would have been my guess), but the Apple Blossom.

Black-Eyed Susans go to zztype, tutusue, lavagal, liberty, Kalei99, Surfingfarmboy, acousticlady, InfinityProductions, and Leo Lakio for getting that one right. One person sent me a link to more than 5000 flowers that were in the same family; another sent me a list of ALL the state flowers. Good guesses, but not as specific as I was shooting for!

Surfingfarmboy shared a few thoughts about Magnolias and how they are one of his two favorite flowers. I'm partial to tulips myself; what are your favorites?

Category: Flour Power

This very common pantry pest is known to infest cake mixes, flour, dried fruit, dried herbs and spices, and other dry goods. About the size of a grain of rice, it has almost certainly found its way into your cabinets at least once. What is it?

This is a photo of a confused flour beetle, which is my favorite name for an insect ever! However, you can't tell from the description and photo the difference between it and the red flour beetle (the difference is in the antennae, but you can't get a good look at them here), so either answer is correct. Some of you who said "weevil" need to show me some kind of documentation that says a weevil is a confused flour beetle or at least very similar in appearance, okay? I'm happy to correct scores in retrospect, ad infinitum, ad hoc, and even post mortem.

Five-pound sacks go to zztype, CranBeree, tutusue, lavagal, liberty, Kalei99, Mike_Lowery, Surfingfarmboy, InfinityProductions, mel, and Leo Lakio for not being bugged by that one!

Best wrong answer is from jdub: "Looks like a weevil, weevul, boll weevul or whatever. And a guy that perches in the corner at my Saturday gigs at the bar."

----> I just looked them up, and weevils don't look anything LIKE this photo!

Category: Flower Power
When the Kaloko Dam burst in 2006, the Hawaii State DLNR performed a visual inspection of other dams on Kauai, finding fault with every one, but determining that none posed any immediate danger. How many did the DLNR inspect?

54 and 55 are acceptable answers. If you have a link that reasonably gives a different number, please let me see it. Thank you!

Dam the torpedoes, 'cause zztype, CranBeree, lavagal, liberty, Kalei99, Surfingfarmboy, Mike_Lowery, Leo Lakio, and mel got it right! I have a feeling I'm going to get a few arguments about this one.

tutusue asks, "If I lose, I have to take off three items of clothing, right?" Yes, how'd you know? And so do all the other losers!

THESE SCORES EDITED AT 9:44 TO AWARD 1 POINT EACH TO INFINITY PRODUCTIONS AND TUTUSUE for sending links to credible sources giving different numbers of dams. Sheesh. Their sources and my sources were from the exact same government agency. This is why I hate government!

Here are the current standings after five days!
13.5: Kalei99
13: zztype, liberty,
12.5: Surfingfarmboy
12: Leo Lakio
11: acousticlady, tutusue, InfinityProductions
10.5: lavagal
7.5: CranBeree
7: mel
5.5: jdub
4: Mike_Lowery
3: kiwidiva
2: helen
1: Palama Kid

Props to Peshkwe, helen, and jdub, who all struck out but who gave it a noble effort!


New questions, next post!

[scrivener]

Re: Hawaii Threads Trivia Contest -- Go Fourth and Multiply

HawaiiThreads Trivia Contest!
Here are the questions for Day 6!

1. Category: Initially Puzzling
   In the 2006 documentary WordPlay, about the National Crossword Puzzle Tournament, Will Shortz is shown in the middle of his Sunday gig on Weekend Edition. In this puzzle, Shortz gives a clue whose answer begins with the same two letters as the clue AND belongs in the category defined by the clue.
   
   For example, if the clue was PLANETS, the answer was PLUTO, because Pluto belongs to the category of PLANETS (well, not anymore) and because "Pluto" begins with the same first two letters as the word "planets." Another example would be AUTO MAKES ---> AUDI. Get it? PMail me if you need more help understanding the puzzle.
   
   For 1/4 of a point each (with a 2-point maximum), what are some answers for these categories created by my English students?
   
   1. Hawaiian weeds
   2. pirates' activities
   3. ailments
   4. ocean creatures
   5. sharp-toothed predators
   6. shower needs
   7. unreal animals
   8. mammals from the sea
   9. alleged science
   
   
   And for fun, if you can think of some good ones, please send those along, too...maybe we'll do this again, using your contributions.
   
   
   
2. Category: Riddle Me This
   In 1994, this punchline cracked me up for weeks: "They tried to, but it kept coming up 585.9999!" What was the riddle?

Please send me your answers IN PRIVATE MAIL by 9:00 p.m. on Friday, November 9! Good luck, and have fun!

[infinitypro]

Re: Hawaii Threads Trivia Contest -- Go Fourth and Multiply

THESE SCORES EDITED AT 9:44 TO AWARD 1 POINT EACH TO INFINITY PRODUCTIONS AND TUTUSUE for sending links to credible sources giving different numbers of dams. Sheesh. Their sources and my sources were from the exact same government agency. This is why I hate government!

Thank you.

Let's not get into the gov't because we're all having so much fun.

And NO WAYS...Tutusue is braver than I, no clothing removed here.

[tutusue]

Re: Hawaii Threads Trivia Contest -- Go Fourth and Multiply

[...]And NO WAYS...Tutusue is braver than I, no clothing removed here.

Well...the truth be known...mine were removed only to don my jammies! Thanks, Scriv. I thought stomping my cyber foot and demanding a recount caused you to recoil in horror and award me a point to shut me up!

[acousticlady]

Re: Hawaii Threads Trivia Contest -- Go Fourth and Multiply

ahhh - I take it just Flour Beetle doesn't count? I'm confused........

[scrivener]

Re: Hawaii Threads Trivia Contest -- Go Fourth and Multiply

flour beetle was fine, but you gave me two answers, and the other was incorrect, as far as i can tell. sorry.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Hawaii Threads Trivia Contest -- Go Fourth and Multiply

Surfingfarmboy shared a few thoughts about Magnolias and how they are one of his two favorite flowers. I'm partial to tulips myself; what are your favorites?

Fuschia (LOVE the colors!) and Heliconia (Bird of Paradise specifically, because where I grew up, they were "exotic," as well as being my mother's favorite flower.)

Giant sunflowers, on the other hand, creep me out.

[acousticlady]

Re: Hawaii Threads Trivia Contest -- Go Fourth and Multiply

flour beetle was fine, but you gave me two answers, and the other was incorrect, as far as i can tell. sorry.

Oops, one of the sites I was on referred to both names. It said....flour beetle, sometimes called flour weevil..... Oh well, not a big deal. This is for fun right?

[scrivener]

Re: Hawaii Threads Trivia Contest -- Go Fourth and Multiply

Oops, one of the sites I was on referred to both names. It said....flour beetle, sometimes called flour weevil..... Oh well, not a big deal. This is for fun right?

Send me the link.

[tutusue]

Re: Hawaii Threads Trivia Contest -- Go Fourth and Multiply

Oops, one of the sites I was on referred to both names. It said....flour beetle, sometimes called flour weevil..... Oh well, not a big deal. This is for fun right?

Wrong! The winner gets his/her choice of a full meal from this thread. Take this contest seriously...very seriously.

[acousticlady]

Re: Hawaii Threads Trivia Contest -- Go Fourth and Multiply

Send me the link.

I have no clue. It was late and I was looking at a bunch. Probably read it wrong. Almost sent you the latin name for it but decided against it. It really isn't that big of a deal........... I'm not gonna quit and take my ball home

[acousticlady]

Re: Hawaii Threads Trivia Contest -- Go Fourth and Multiply

Wrong! The winner gets his/her choice of a full meal from this thread. Take this contest seriously...very seriously.

Ohhhh..... in that case..........

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Hawaii Threads Trivia Contest -- Go Fourth and Multiply

(The following paragraph is culled from multiple sources) Flour beetles are in the genus Tribolium, family Tenebrionidae, class Insecta, phylum Arthropoda. Because there are so many species and such diversity, the higher classification of weevils is in a state of flux. Weevils are generally divided into two major divisions, the Orthoceri or primitive weevils, and the Gonatoceri or true weevils (Curculionidae). The accepted families are the primitive weevils, Anthribidae, Attelabidae, Belidae, Brentidae, Caridae and Nemonychidae, and the true weevils Curculionidae.

Answers.com, however, lists "flour beetle" & "flour weevil" as synonymous. Will acousticlady join me at the mark of "12?" Only our generous judge can say...

[scrivener]

Re: Hawaii Threads Trivia Contest -- Go Fourth and Multiply

HawaiiThreads Trivia Contest!
Here are the answers for Day 6!

Please give me one more day to straighten out the whole WEEVIL situation. I want to get it right.

Category: Initially Puzzling
In the 2006 documentary WordPlay, about the National Crossword Puzzle Tournament, Will Shortz is shown in the middle of his Sunday gig on Weekend Edition. In this puzzle, Shortz gives a clue whose answer begins with the same two letters as the clue AND belongs in the category defined by the clue.

For example, if the clue was PLANETS, the answer was PLUTO, because Pluto belongs to the category of PLANETS (well, not anymore) and because "Pluto" begins with the same first two letters as the word "planets." Another example would be AUTO MAKES ---> AUDI. Get it? PMail me if you need more help understanding the puzzle.

For 1/4 of a point each (with a 2-point maximum), what are some answers for these categories created by my English students?

1. Hawaiian weeds: Haole Koa
2. pirates' activities: Pillaging
3. ailments: AIDS (a few people said "air sickness" which I really like)
4. ocean creatures: Octopus
5. sharp-toothed predators: Shark
6. shower needs: Shampoo
7. unreal animals: Unicorn
8. mammals from the sea: Manatee
9. alleged science: Allegory

Nice tries, but no dice:
liberty: algology (the study of algae)
tutusue: ungulates (hoofed animals) and Mandurah dolphins
mel: alethiology (the study of truth)
InfinityProductions: algebra

Okay. I think I may have made this mistake in one of the earlier games, but I keep forgetting that "weed" is a subjective term, so anyone who named a plant beginning with HA got the quarter-point. Sheesh.

If you gave an answer other than the one I was looking for that still worked, you got the credit, such as for "airsickness" and "pilfering."

2 points (for at least 8 correct): Palama Kid, zztype, liberty, Mike_Lowery, Leo Lakio, Kalei99, acousticlady, mel, InfinityProductions
1.75 points (7 correct): helen, tutusue, CranBeree
1.5 points (6 correct): lavagal
.75 points (3 correct): Surfingfarmboy

Category: Riddle Me This
In 1994, this punchline cracked me up for weeks: "They tried to, but it kept coming up 585.9999!" What was the riddle?

The riddle had to do with the Pentium FDIV bug, which was discovered in early Pentium processors. Basically, some problems in division (about 1 in 9 billion calculations, according to the article) would return inaccurate answers -- the answers were off by something in the area of 61 parts per million. As you remember, Pentium was Intel's name for what was really the 586 processor (which came after the 386 and 486). So the riddle was:

"Why didn't Intel name its processor the 586?"
"They tried to, but it kept coming up 585.9999!"

Congratulations and a neon-glow mousepad go to Kalei99, the only person to get the riddle correct. Half a point goes to Helen who didn't phrase the concept as a question but knew it was about the Pentium bug!

Leo Lakio: "You have me completely stumped on the riddle, but why do I think it has something to do with microprocessors?"

zztype: "If my sister gets this one, I'll, I'll, I'll, ... I'd better stop now. I might receive an another invitation involving goats. "

Here are the current scores!
16.5: Kalei99
15: zztype, liberty
14: Leo Lakio
13.25: Surfingfarmboy
13: zztype, liberty, acousticlady, InfinityProductions
12.75: tutusue
12: lavagal
9.25: CranBeree
9: mel
6: Mike_Lowery
5.5: jdub
4.25: helen
3: kiwidiva, Palama Kid


Please check your scores and make sure I got them right! Again, I'll deal with the WEEVIL situation tomorrow.

New questions! Next post!