© 2024
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
An update has been released for the Android version of the WAMC App that addresses performance issues. Please check the Google Play Store to download and update to the latest version.

Any Questions #356: "Alliterative Answers"

WAMC's Ian Pickus and resident quizzer Mike Nothnagel are "swapping spots" this week for a show about alliteration. Last week's challenge
Start with the phrase ONE-HORSE TOWN. Change one letter to a V, and you can rearrange the result to spell the last name of a scientist and the last name of a U.S. president. What are the names?
Answer: If you change the S to a V, you can spell Hoover and Newton.

THIS WEEK'S CATEGORY: Alliterative terms
On-air questions: On June 22, 1990, the checkpoint booth at the border crossing between east and west known as Checkpoint Charlie was removed, although the crossing remained active until October of that year, when East and West Germany reunited. Today, Checkpoint Charlie is a Berlin tourist attraction. In honor of Checkpoint Charlie, all of today’s answers will be alliterative.

1. There have been four U.S. presidents with alliterative names. Three of them served between 1913 and 1933. Who was the fourth?
2. Writing about a 2005 film remake, Roger Ebert wrote that the movie “succeeds in spite of Johnny Depp’s performance, which should have been the high point of the movie.” Ebert was referring to Depp’s portrayal of what character, who first appeared in a 1964 children’s novel?
3. Although their feats would be eclipsed in 1998 by Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, the first true challenge to Babe Ruth’s single-season home run record of 60 was mounted by two teammates in 1961. One finished with 61 homers on the last day of the season, while the other ended at 54. What were their last names?
4. The highest-ranking entry on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Greatest Artists of all-time that fits this category comes in at No. 12. Formed in Hawthorne, California in 1961, the group was founded by three brothers, their first cousin, and a neighborhood friend. What is the name of this group?
5. Jenny McCarthy, Sarah Ferguson, Oprah Winfrey, Lynn Redgrave and Jessica Simpson are among the spokespeople for what company known for its food points system that was founded in 1953 in Queens?

Extra credit
1. Who is the only permanent member of the emo band Dashboard Confessional, which reformed in 2015 after being active from 1999-2011?
2. Yankees pitcher Carsten Charles “CC” Sabathia said he dropped 25 pounds by giving up what children’s cereal, with which he shares initials?

This week's challenge
Start with the name ROGER MARIS. Drop the S and you can spell a six-letter furnishing where you might notice a three-letter word. What are the words?

ANSWERS
On-air questions

1. Ronald Reagan (Reagan and Gerald Ford both lived to age 93, Jimmy Carter’s current age, and George H.W. Bush is the first president ever to make it to 94).
2. Willy Wonka (the novel was called “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” unlike the 1971 film starring Gene Wilder).
3. Maris and Mantle (their roommate during the home run chase, 12-year major league veteran Bob Cerv, died last year at age 91)
4. The Beach Boys (their first studio album keeps the alliterative title: “Surfin’ Safari”)
5. Weight Watchers

Extra credit
1. Chris Carrabba
2. Cap’n Crunch
 

A lifelong resident of the Capital Region, Ian joined WAMC in late 2008 and became news director in 2013. He began working on Morning Edition and has produced The Capitol Connection, Congressional Corner, and several other WAMC programs. Ian can also be heard as the host of the WAMC News Podcast and on The Roundtable and various newscasts. Ian holds a BA in English and journalism and an MA in English, both from the University at Albany, where he has taught journalism since 2013.
Related Content