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Any Questions #298 - "Bird" People

WAMC's Ian Pickus and resident quizzer Mike Nothnagel are back in action, hoping the quiz takes flight.Last week's challenge
Start with the phrase PERFECT SCORE. Rearrange the letters to spell a five-letter word and a seven-letter word that can each follow "show of" to make a common phrase. What are the words?
Answer: The words are FORCE and RESPECT.

THIS WEEK'S CATEGORY: PEOPLE WHOSE LAST NAMES ARE BIRDS
On-air questions: May 12, 1820 is the birthday of Florence Nightingale, who rose to prominence during the Crimean War for her efforts tending to wounded soldiers. Her rounds at night earned her the nickname "The Lady with the Lamp". She founded a nursing school in London in the 1860s, and the pledge taken by new nurses is called the Nightingale Pledge. May 12 is celebrated around the world as International Nurses Day, and we'll celebrate Nightingale's work this week with questions about famous people whose last names are birds.

1. What fictional character, a resident of Maycomb County, Alabama, was portrayed on screen in 1962 by Gregory Peck, a performance which led the American Film Institute to name the character the greatest hero in American cinema?
2. Who was played by Janet Leigh in a 1960 film, by Anne Heche in a 1998 shot-for-shot remake of that 1960 film, and by Rihanna in the fifth season of a TV series called Bates Motel?
3. Commonly known by his appropriate nickname "The Birdman", which professional skateboarder was, at the age of 43, the first person to successfully complete a trick called the "900" (which involves making two and a half complete revolutions in the air), and at the age of 48, performed what he said was his last 900?
4. After the Great Fire of 1666 in London, who designed some 50 churches – including St. Paul's Cathedral, which many consider to be his masterpiece – and numerous other buildings, among them the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Queen's Apartments at Kensington Palace, and a monument to the Great Fire?
5. 1994's "Leaving Las Vegas", 1996's "If It Makes You Happy", and 2002's "Steve McQueen" are among the many hits by what singer/songwriter and actress, who has made appearances as herself on 30 Rock and One Tree Hill?

Extra credit
1. The portrayal of what fictional character, the main protagonist of five films in a series released between 2003 and 2017, was, according to the actor who plays him, based on Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards and cartoon character Pepe Le Pew?
2. Who wrote in 1729: "A young healthy child well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee, or a ragout."?

This week's challenge
Start with the names FINCH and CRANE. Add a letter and you can rearrange the result to spell the names (one five letters, the other six letters) of two countries. What are they?

ANSWERS
On-air questions

1. Atticus Finch
2. Marion Crane
3. Tony Hawk
4. Christopher Wren
5. Sheryl Crow

Extra credit
1. Jack Sparrow
2. Jonathan Swift

 

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.
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