Trivia People

The cast of “Seinfeld,” from left, Michael Richards as “Cosmo Kramer,” Jerry Seinfeld as “Jerry Seinfeld,” Julia Louis-Dreyfus as “Elaine Benes” and Jason Alexander as “George Constanza.” (NBC photo)

25 years ago today, the first episode of “Seinfeld” with its complete core cast debuted on NBC.

Here are some things you may not have known about the show:

First: The pilot episode, titled “The Seinfeld Chronicles” featured the characters of Jerry Seinfeld, George Costanza and Jerry’s wacky neighbor named Kessler. For the episode that aired on May 31, 1990, Kessler’s name had been changed to Kramer and the character of Elaine Benes was introduced,

Second: After the pilot, NBC ordered four more episodes, at the time the smallest series order ever by a major network. The first non-pilot episode earned a 24 share, meaning 24 percent of TVs in operation were tuned in.

Third: The show didn’t enter the Top 10 in the ratings until its fifth season, when it was the third-ranked show. It never ranked below second in its final four seasons.

Our question: What is the only movie that Jerry Seinfeld has played a character with a name that wasn’t “Jerry Seinfeld”?

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The 1911 Indianapolis 500

Today is the 104th anniversary of the first Indianapolis 500-Mile Race.

Here are some things you may not have known about the first Indy 500.

First: After a season in which attendance declined unacceptably, track owners decided to have just one event in 1911. The idea of a 500-mile race won out over a 24-hour race, and other endurance events.

Second: To qualify, cars had to maintain a speed of at least 75 miles per hour over a quarter mile. The starting order was set by entry date, rather than qualifying speed.

Third: The race was won by Ray Harroun, who completed the 500 miles in 6 hours, 42 minutes and 8 seconds, averaging 75.602 miles per hour.

Our question: Who has won the most Indianapolis 500s?

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Edmund Hillary, left, and Tenzing Norgay. (Photo by Jamling Tenzing Norgay via Wikimedia Commons)

Today marks the 62nd anniversary of the first successful ascent of Mount Everest.

Here are some things you may not have known about the expedition:

First: The 1953 British expedition was under tremendous pressure to succeed. The French and Swiss had received approval to try to climb Everest in 1954 and 1955, respectively. The next opportunity for the British would have been 1956 at the earliest.

Second: Edmund Hillary did not command the expedition. In fact, he wasn’t even on the expedition leader’s first choice of teams to attempt the summit. Tom Bourdillon and Charles Evans reached the south summit, about 300 feet short of the ultimate summit on May 26.

Third: Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit at 11:30 a.m. and buried some candy and a cross in the snow. The news was relayed by coded telegraph, which reached London on June 2, the morning of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation.

Our question: What is the second-tallest mountain in the world?

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The Dionne Quintuplets with Ontario prime minister Mitchell Hepburn in 1934. (Photo from Library and Archive of Canada via Wikimedia)

Today marks the anniversary of the 1934 birth of the Dionne Quintuplets in Ontario, Canada.

Here are a few things you may not have known about the first quintuplets known to have survived infancy.

First: The five sisters were identical quintuplets. In order of birth, their names were Yvonne, Anette, Cecile, Emilie and Marie. Their parents had five older children and went on to have three sons after the quintuplets.

Second: Their father planned to put the children on display at the Chicago Worlds Fair, but didn’t follow through after accusations of child exploitation. That didn’t stop the Ontario government, however, who took the quints from their parents and raised them in a facility designed to allow spectators to watch the children. The quintuplets attracted 51 million tourist dollars to the province.

Third: Annette and Cecile are the only two of the quintuplets alive today. Emilie died in 1954 after an epileptic seizure, Marie died in 1970 of a blood clot, and Yvonne died in 2001 of cancer.

Our question: What is the largest number of babies born at one time known to have survived infancy?

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A 1910 Ford Model T.  (Photo by Harry Shipler via Wikimedia Commons)

On May 27, 1927, the last Ford Model T rolled off the assembly line in Highland Park, Michigan.

Here are some things you may not know about the Model T.

First: It debuted in 1908, but it wasn’t the first car built on modern assembly line. That honor goes to the Oldsmobile Curved Dash in 1901. Henry Ford didn’t begin using his conveyer-belt style assembly line on the Model T until 1913.

Second: The price for a Model T Runabout in the first year of production was $825 (worth roughly $22,000 today). Eventually the price dropped to just $260 by 1925, which would be about $3,500 today.

Third: Henry Ford was famous for saying, “Any customer can have a car painted any color he wants so long as it’s black,” however this wasn’t always the case. The Model T was available in gray, blue, green and red. By 1912 it was only available in midnight blue. Between 1914 and 1927, black was the only option.

Our question: What was the name of the model that replaced the Model T?

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John Wayne is a publicity photo for 1961’s  “Comancheros” (20th Century Fox)

May 26 marks the 108th anniversary of the birth of western movie star John Wayne.

Here are a few things you may not have known about him:

First, most people know his real name was Marion Mitchell Morrison, however even that was not the name his parents gave him at birth. His original middle name was Robert, but his parents changed it after deciding to name their next son Robert.

Second: Wayne earned a football scholarship to the University of Southern California, but lost the scholarship after breaking his collarbone in a surfing accident.

Third: After earning his first starring role in 1930’s “The Big Trail,” the studio decided to give him a stage name. The original suggestion of “Anthony Wayne,” after the Revolutionary War general “Mad” Anthony Wayne, was rejected as “too Italian” sounding. The studio bosses eventually settled on John Wayne, letting the actor know his new name after the meeting.

Our question: For which two movies was John Wayne nominated for best actor Oscars?

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Theatrical poster for “HMS Pinafore.” (Library of Congress via Wikipedia).

137 years ago, Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera “HMS Pinafore” made it debut on the London stage.

Here are a few things you may not have known about Gilbert and Sullivan and their works.

One: Composer Arthur Sullivan and lyricist W.S. Gilbert produced 14 comic operas in 25 years of working together. Aside from “HMS Pinafore,” the most notable are “The Pirates of Penzance” and “The Mikado.” These are still commonly produced today.

Two: “The Mikado” was the duo’s longest running show, with 672 performances and is the most-produced work by Gilbert and Sullivan.

Three: “HMS Pinafore” satirized nautical dramas of the time, including their overblown patriotism. It is also a criticism of the class system, which prevented the captain’s daughter, Josephine, from marrying sailor Ralph Rackstraw.

Our question: What was the name of the theater that showcased Gilbert and Sullivan’s later works and gave its name to their style of opera?

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Brooklyn Bridge as seen from Manhattan. (Photo by Postdlf via Wikipedia)

Today is the 132nd anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City.

Here are a few things you may not know about the first steel-wire suspension bridge and the borough of Brooklyn.

One: When the bridge was built, Brooklyn was not a part of New York City. It consolidated with New York in 1898. If Brooklyn were still an independent city, it would be the fourth-most populous city in the United States, behind Chicago and ahead of Houston.

Two: The Bridge was originally called the New York and Brooklyn Bridge and East River Bridge. It officially became known as the Brooklyn Bridge in 1915.

Three: The anchorage for the bridge on the Manhattan side contained large underground vaults, which, because they maintain a constant temperature of about 60 degrees, were rented out as wine storage. The revenue from the rental was used to offset the cost of building the bridge.

Our question: What day of the year is Coney Island’s annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating contest held?

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Bonnie Parker, left, and Clyde Barrow fool around with a gun. (Photos via FBI)

May 23, 1934, marked the end of the road for Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow.

Here are some things you may not know about the outlaws.

One: Parker married at the age of 16. Although she split with her husband after three years, she never divorced and was wearing her wedding ring when she and Barrow were ambushed in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.

Two: Barrow was arrested for the first time at age 16, for failing to return a rental car on time. Later while in prison on other charges, Barrow cut off two of his toes in an effort to earn less harsh treatment. He was paroled six days after the amputation.

Three: After a group of Texas and Louisiana police officers killed the duo, souvenir hunters collected shell casings, pieces of Parker’s dress and locks of Parker’s hair. One person tried to cut off Barrow’s ear, while another tried to amputate his trigger finger.

Our question: Who directed the 1967 film “Bonnie and Clyde” starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway?

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Today is the 35th anniversary of the release of Pac-Man to arcades in Japan.

Here are a few things you may not have known about Pac-Man:

One: The original Japanese title for the game was “Pakkuman” which is said to resemble the sound of a mouth opening and closing while eating. Later the name was changed to “Puck Man,” but then changed again to the present name, when the creators realized the word Puck could be vandalized into a profanity.

Two: By 1982, an estimated seven billion coins had been spent to play the game in arcades. It has been estimated that the game earned $2.5 billion in quarters through 1999.

Three: Pac-Man was the most popular game for the Atari 2600, despite the fact that the game did not compare well to the arcade version. Five million copies of Pac-Man went unsold, which helped contribute to the video game crash of 1983.

Our question: What other game is widely blamed for helping cause the video game crash of 1983?

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