Answers to Trivia Questions
 

Words in the English language:
What two words  have all five vowels in order?	abstemious and facetious.  Abstemious means to take things in moderation, such as eating or drinking.  Facetious means to be joking at an inappropriate time, maybe with a sarcastic comment.
Which eight letter word has only one vowel?	strength
On a standard QWERTY keyboard, what is the longest word that uses only letters on the top line of alphabet letters of that keyboard?	typewriter
What is the longest word without a true vowel?	rhythms
What 15 letter word has no repeating letters?	uncopyrightable
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What is the source of the following English phrases?
The whole 9 yards.	From the length (27 feet or 9 yards) of 0.50 caliber machine gun ammunition belts on fighter planes in the Pacific in World War II.  When a target got "the whole 9 yards", it meant the fighter plan shot its entire 9 yards worth of ammunition at the target.  Thus, to "do the whole 9 yards" means to do something completely, or to the end.
Rule of thumb.	From an old English law which stated that a man could not beat his wife with anything wider than the width of his thumb.
Goodnight, sleep tight.	In Shakespearean times, ropes were used to secure mattresses onto bed frames.  Pulling on the ropes tightened the mattress, making the mattress firmer and tighter.
Jeep	In World War II, from the abbreviation G. P. for General Purpose vehicle.
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.	Developed by Western Union to test its telex/teletype lines.  This sentence uses all 26 letters of the alphabet.
Honeymoon	In Babylon 4,000 years ago, it was the practice for the bride's father to supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink for a month after the wedding.  The mead was a honey beer, and so this period was known as the "honey month", which then became "honeymoon".
Mind your P's and Q's	In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints or quarts.  When customers got unruly, the bartender would tell the customer to mind his own pints and quarts and to settle down, that is, to mind your own business, or to take care well your own affairs.
Wet your whistle	In English pubs many years ago, cups had a whistle baked into the rim or handle of the cup.  When customers wanted a refill, they blew the whistle, and this term then means to get a taste of something, or to try something new.
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Other trivia:
What was the name of John Lennon's first girlfriend?	Thelma Pickles
What is the source of over two-thirds of the world's eggplant?	The state of New Jersey in the USA
What weighs more?  The world's population of humans or termites?	Termites outweigh humans by 10 to 1.
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Sports Trivia:
How many cows are required to supply the hide for a year's supply of American football National Football League's footballs?	Over 3,000, but then the football itself is commonly called the "pigskin".  For what reason, I'm not sure.
Who replaced Commissioner of Major League Baseball, Kenesaw Landis, in 1945, and then paved the way to integrate baseball?	Happy Chandler was Commisioner from 1945 - 1951.
Who was the first Negro/black Major League Baseball player?	Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who joined that team in 1947.
How did the chocolate bar Baby Ruth get its name?	Named after US President Grover Cleveland's daughter, Ruth.
Which player is considered the Babe Ruth of Japan?	Tetsuharu Kawakami of the Yomiuri Giants  T. Kawakami, with Walter O'Malley of LA Dodgers.	Babe Ruth
Which professional baseball player has hit more career home runs than either Babe Ruth or Hank Aaron?	Sadaharu Oh of the Yomiuri Giants who hit a career total 868 home runs vs. 714 for Babe Ruth, and 755 for Hank Aaron.	H. Aaron, S. Oh
Which player has won the most Grand Slam Men's Singles titles, and how many titles has he won?	Pete Sampras of the USA, who won 13 titles.
Which player has won the most Grand Slam Women's Singles titles, and how many titles has she won?	Margaret Smith Court of Australia, who won 24 Grand Slam singles titles.
Which Ivy League school won the first NCAA basketball championship in 1901? (NCAA stands for "National Collegiate Athletic Association")	Yale University
Which school won both the NIT and NCAA basketball championships? And in which year? (NIT stands for "National Invitational Tournament")	City College of New York, in 1950
Which school has won the most NCAA basketball titles, and how many?	UCLA (University of California at Los Angeles), 10 titles
In what year and in which city in the USA did all 4 of its professional teams reach the finals of their respective sports?	1980 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  The Phillies were in the baseball World Series, the Sixers in the basketball NBA finals, the Flyers in the ice hockey Stanley Cup, and the Eagles in the American football Superbowl.
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