WAMC's Ian Pickus and resident quizzer Mike Nothnagel get cracking on their next 300 shows.
Last week's challenge
Start with the phrase GOOGLE EARTH. Drop one letter, and you can rearrange the result to spell two five-letter words, one for a building and one for a natural formation, both of which you might see on Google Earth. What are the words?
Answer: If you drop the A, you can spell HOTEL and GORGE.
THIS WEEK'S CATEGORY: TREES
On-air questions: On June 2, 1981, one of the most infamous episodes of The Barbara Walters Special aired on ABC. During an interview with Katharine Hepburn, Walters asked Hepburn, "What kind of tree are you, if you think you're a tree?" Over the years, Walters has endured spoofs and criticism over what has been perceived as a ridiculous question. What is forgotten, however, is that it was Hepburn who brought up the subject of trees by saying she'd become something strong, offering a tree as a possibility. In honor of that famous exchange, this week each correct answer will contain a type of tree.
1. Commemorating Jesus' entry into Jerusalem and marking the start of Holy Week, what feast day is frequently celebrated with processions of people carrying branches of the day's namesake tree, sometimes woven into crosses or other shapes?
2. What 1984 film, the first in what is as of 2010 a nine-film franchise, was inspired by director Wes Craven's experiences being bullied by a boy named Fred and by reports he saw of Southeast Asian refugees being unable to sleep after suffering terrifying dreams?
3. In the film Austin Powers in Goldmember, a ticker along the bottom of a television news broadcast indicates that what team has won the Stanley Cup, a reference to the favorite NHL team of the film's Canadian star and co-writer Mike Myers?
4. Originally a gospel group formed in the 1950s, what quartet renamed themselves after a Tennessee town they frequently performed in, switched their focus to country music in the 1970s and won two awards in 1981 for "Elvira", one of the group's signature songs?
5. What nursery rhyme is believed by some to have originated as a counting rhyme, citing the use by 19th century shepherds in the northwest of England of the words hevera, devera, and dick for the numbers eight, nine, and ten?
Extra credit
1. It was officially called the Hughes H-4 Hercules, and the protoype model (made largely of wood, partly because of wartime restrictions on aluminum) was tested only once in November of 1947, but it was much more commonly known by what nickname?
2. What actor's name completes this analogy? Leonard Nimoy : Zachary Quinto :: William Shatner : _____
This week's challenge
Start with the name MAPLE LEAFS. Change one letter to an L and you can rearrange the letters to spell a two-word phrase (four letters, six letters) for what you might do at a really boring sporting event. What is the phrase?
ANSWERS
On-air questions
1. Palm Sunday
2. A Nightmare on Elm Street
3. Toronto Maple Leafs
4. The Oak Ridge Boys
5. "Hickory Dickory Dock"
Extra credit
1. The "Spruce Goose"
2. Chris Pine
