WAMC's Ian Pickus and resident quizzer Mike Nothnagel are in a New York state of mind.
Last week's challenge
Start with the last names of two women who have been honored with the title of dame: ANDREWS and RIGG. Change one letter to an A (not the one that's there, of course) and you can spell a five-letter word that names something both women have received, and a six-letter word that describes one of the women. What are the words?
Answer: If you change one of the Gs to an A, you can spell AWARD and SINGER.
THIS WEEK'S CATEGORY: THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING
On-air questions: On May 1, 1931, the Empire State Building in New York City was officially opened when President Herbert Hoover pressed a button in Washington, D.C., and switched on the building's lights. (Ironically, the first time that tower lights were used atop the building was to signal Franklin Roosevelt's victory over Hoover in the 1932 presidential election.) To commemorate its opening, this week our quiz is about the Empire State Building.
1. After a centipede bites through its stem, the title fruit of the 1961 book James and the Giant Peach rolls off the Cliffs of Dover, is flown across the Atlantic by hundreds of seagulls, and is impaled on the antenna of the Empire State Building. What children's author wrote this series of events?
2. The colored lights atop the Empire State Building are often chosen to commemorate holidays, special events, or other noteworthy occasions. On February 1, 2015, the lights were used as a "virtual scoreboard" as they changed colors to reflect which team was currently winning what sporting event?
3. According to an urban legend, a penny dropped from the top of the Empire State Building would be traveling so fast when it hit the ground that it would embed itself in the sidewalk. This theory was debunked by showing that the penny's terminal velocity wouldn't be nearly fast enough, if the updrafts and lower floors didn't prevent it from hitting the ground at all on a 2003 episode of what Discovery Channel series?
4. Filmed from the 41st floor of the Time-Life Building between 8:06 p.m. on July 25 and 2:42 a.m. on July 26, 1964, Empire is a silent black-and-white movie consisting entirely of a single stationary shot of the Empire State Building. The film was directed and produced by what pioneering American pop artist?
5. Two days after the death of actress Fay Wray in August of 2004, the Empire State Building stood in complete darkness for 15 minutes. While her acting career spanned some 57 years, Wray is perhaps best known for her role in what 1933 movie, which features a climactic scene atop the Empire State Building?
Extra credit
1. Along with models of other notable buildings, there is a 7.6-foot-tall model of the Empire State Building on display at the National Building Museum. The model is constructed from 12,000 what?
2. The Empire State Building is currently the fifth-tallest building in the United States. Two of the four taller buildings are also in New York City, while the other two are in what city?
This week's challenge
Start with the phrase EMPIRE STATE. Change one letter to an N, and you can rearrange the letters to spell a two-word phrase (seven letters, four letters) for a measurement standard used at the Empire State building. What is it?
ANSWERS
On-air questions
1. Roald Dahl
2. The Super Bowl
3. Mythbusters
4. Andy Warhol
5. King Kong
Extra credit
1. LEGO bricks
2. Chicago (the Willis Tower and the Trump International Hotel and Tower)
