The Place for Trivia

Part 1: Best, Worst state for Republicans in Presidential elections (1948-2008)

2012-03-02T13:41:00.000-08:00

Best, Worst State for Republican nominee vs. Democratic nominee
2008: Wyoming (+32%), Hawaii (-45%)
2004: Utah (+45), Massachusetts (-25)
2000: Utah (+40), Rhode Island (-29)
1996: Utah (+21), Massachusetts (-33)
1992: Nebraska (+17), Massachusetts (+18)
1988: Utah (+34), Rhode Island (-11)
1984: Utah (+49, Minnesota (-.18)
1980: Utah (+52), Georgia (-14)
1976: Utah (+28), Georgia (-33)
1972: Mississippi (+58), Massachusetts (-9)
1968: Nebraska (+28), Rhode Island (-32)
1964: Mississippi (+74), Rhode Island (-62)
1960: Nebraska (+24), Rhode Island (-27)
1956: Vermont (+44), Georgia (-34)
1952: Vermont (+43), Georgia (-39)
1948: Vermont (+24), Texas (-42)

Top Kickers

2011-11-20T19:46:00.000-08:00

FG %, 80+ FG Attempts (2008-present)
89.7% Neil Rackers (Cardinals/Texans)
87.7 Rob Bironas (Titans)
87.6 Ryan Longwell (Vikings)
87.2 Robbie Gould (Bears)
86.9 Jason Hanson (Lions)

Win-Loss

2011-10-02T19:35:00.000-07:00

.650+ Win-Loss%, 180+ Wins (since 1900)
Whitey Ford
Pedro Martinez
Lefty Grove
Roy Halladay
Christy Mathewson
Roger Clemens
Tim Hudson

Top Quarterbacks through age 26

2011-09-04T19:07:00.000-07:00

Top Passer Rating, 1000+ Pass Attempts, through age 26 (1920-present)
97.2 Aaron Rogers (2005-2009, Packers)
94.1 Dan Marino (1983-1987, Dolphins)
89.9 Milt Plum (1957-1961, Lions)
89.4 Ben Roethlisberger (2004-2008, Steelers)
88.1 Ken O'Brien (1984-1986, Jets)

Great Hitters

2011-07-17T12:47:00.000-07:00

.310, 250 HR (eligible, not in the Hall of Fame)
Larry Walker
Edgar Martinez

Active
Todd Helton
Albert Pujols
Miguel Cabrera
Vladimir Guerrero

Retired, not yet eligible
Manny Ramirez

Hall of Fame
Babe Ruth
Lou Gehrig
Stan Musial
Jimmie Foxx
Johnny Mize
Ted Williams
Chuck Klein
Al Simmons
Rogers Hornsby
Hank Greenberg
Joe DiMaggio

Triple Threats

2011-04-08T17:10:00.000-07:00

20+ 3B (since 1950)
1957 Willie Mays (Giants)
1979 George Brett (Royals)
1985 Willie Wilson (Royals)
1996 Lance Johnson (Mets)
2000 Christian Guzman (Twins)
2007 Jimmy Rollins (Phillies)
2007 Curtis Granderson (Tigers)

NCAA Championship Droughts

2011-03-14T19:15:00.000-07:00

Longest Drought Between Championships
(36) Jayhawks 1952-1988
(25) Tarheels 1957-1982
(23) Hoosiers 1953-1976
(21) Spartans 1979-2000
(20) Wildcats 1958-1978
(20) Jayhawks 1988-2008
(20) Bruins 1975-1995

Possible Additions in 2011 (#6 seed or better)
(#4) Wisconsin 1941
(#1) Ohio State: 1960
(#6) Cincinnati 1962
(#6) Georgetown 1984
(#4) Louisville 1986

Best Actor

2011-03-03T22:27:00.000-08:00

Multiple nominations for Best Actor for the same movie
(3) 1935 Mutiny on the Bounty
(2) 1944 Going My Way (Bing Crosby - Winner)
(2) 1953 From Here to Eternity
(2) 1958 The Defiant Ones
(2) 1961 Judgment at Nuremberg (Maximilian Schell)
(2) 1964 Becket
(2) 1969 Midnight Cowboy
(2) 1972 Sleuth
(2) 1976 Network (Peter Finch)
(2) 1983 The Dresser
(2) 1984 Amadeus (F.Murray Abraham)

Oscar Hosts

2011-02-27T20:17:00.000-08:00

Hosted the Oscars solo more than once:
Bob Hope (11): 1940-41, 43, 60-62, 65-68, 78
Billy Crystal: (8) 1990-93, 97-98, 00, 04
Johnny Carson (5): 1979-82, 84
Whoopi Goldberg (3): 1994, 96, 99
Jack Benny: (2) 1944, 47
Jack Lemmon (2): 1964, 85
Steve Martin (2): 2001, 03
Jon Stewart (2): 2006, 08

College Basketball: Top Performers

2011-02-19T19:39:00.000-08:00

25+ Points per game, 8+ rebounds per game, 25+ Games (since 1998)
2001-02 Jason Conley (VMI) 29.3 PPG, 8 RPG
2004-05 Taylor Coppenrath (Vermont) 25.1, 8.9
2006-07 Kevin Durant (Texas) 25.8, 11.1
2007-08 Charron Fisher (Niagra) 27.6, 9.5
2007-08 Michael Beasley (Kansas State) 26.2, 12.4
2007-08 Reggie Williams (VMI) 27.8, 9.7

QBs and the Hall of Fame

2011-01-08T21:35:00.000-08:00

35,000+ Passing yards, 80+ passer rating

Hall of Fame
Joe Montana
Dan Marino
Jim Kelly
Warren Moon
Fran Tarkenton
Dan Fouts

Eligible, not in HOF
Dave Krieg
Boomer Esiason

Active
Brett Favre
Donovan McNabb
Drew Brees
Peyton Manning

All Around Defenders

2010-12-03T21:35:00.000-08:00

8+ Interceptions, 10+ Sacks (2005-2010)
Karlos Dansby (Cardinals 2005-2009, Dolphins 2010)
Adrian Wilson (Cardinals)
Ray Lewis (Ravens)
Brian Urlacher (Bears)
London Fletcher (Bills 2005-2007, Redskins, 2007-2010)

Best NFL coaches without a championship?

2010-12-01T15:11:00.000-08:00

2+ Conference Championship with 0 Super Bowl wins
4 Bud Grant (Vikings)
4 Marv Levy (Bills)
4 Dan Reeves (3 Broncos, 1 Falcons)

NHL: Top Goal Scorers

2010-09-29T11:30:00.000-07:00

100+ Goals, .6+ G/Game (since 1931)
1978-1987: Mike Bossy (573 G, .76 G/G)
1980-1999: Wayne Gretzky (894, .60)
1985-1997, 2000-2006: Mario Lemieux (690, .75)
1992-2003: Pavel Bure (437, .62)
2006-2010: Alex Ovechkin (269, .68)

Of the 4 that have been eligible for the Hall of Fame, only Pavel Bure has come up short. Some people expected that he would be elected in 2010, but it did not happen. Maybe next year.

Running Backs and Receiving Yards

2010-09-21T12:36:00.000-07:00

65+ Rushing yds/game, 25+ Receiving yds/game, 70+ Games (All-Time)

Retired
1979-86 William Andrews
1992-01 Ricky Watters
1994-05 Marshall Faulk
1997-06 Tiki Barber
1997-07 Priest Holmes

Active
2001-present LaDanian Tomlinson
2004-present Steven Jackson
2005-present Frank Gore

Elections where both the House and Senate changed hands

2010-08-16T12:49:00.000-07:00

Elections where both Houses of Congress have changed parties
1800 (Federalists to Democratic-Republicans)
1840 (Democrats to Whigs)
1880 (Democrats to Republicans)
1894 (Democrats to Republicans)
1946 (Democrats to Republicans)
1954 (Democrats to Republicans)
1994 (Democrats to Republicans)
2006 (Republicans to Democrats)
2010 (Democrats to Republicans)?

Best Directors under 38

2010-08-11T09:21:00.000-07:00

Best Director, Academy Awards (Under 38 at time of acceptance)
1929 Lewis Milestone: 33 (Seventh Heaven)
1929 Frank Borzage: 35 (Two Arabian Knights)
1930 Lewis Milestone: 35 (All Quiet on the Western Front)
1931 Norman Taurog: 32 (Skippy)
1935 Frank Capra: 37 (It Happened One Night)
1956 Delbert Mann: 36 (Marty)
1964 Tony Richardson: 35 (Tom Jones)
1968 Mike Nichols: 36 (The Graduate)
1972 William Friedkin: 36 (The French Connection)
1975 Francis Ford Coppola: 36 (The Godfather)
1991 Kevin Costner: 36 (Dances With Wolves)
2000 Sam Mendes: 34 (American Beauty)

Presidents who have turned 50 in office

2010-08-10T10:18:00.000-07:00

Presidents who turned (or will turn) 50 in office
James Polk: November 2, 1845
Franklin Pierce: November 23, 1854
U.S. Grant: April 27, 1872
Grover Cleveland: March 18, 1887
Teddy Roosevelt: October 28, 1908
Bill Clinton: August 19, 1996
Barack Obama: August 4, 2011

Presidential Nicknames: Part I

2010-07-29T10:46:00.000-07:00

George Washington: "Father of His Country"
John Adams: "Atlas of Independence"
Thomas Jefferson: "Sage of Monticello"
James Madison: "Father of the Constitution"
James Monroe: "The Last Cocked Hat"
John Quincy Adams: "Old Man Eloquent"
Andrew Jackson: "Old Hickory"
Martin Van Buren: "The Little Magician"
John Tyler: "His Accidency"
James Polk: "Young Hickory"
Zachary Taylor: "Old Rough and Ready"
Millard Fillmore: "The American Louis Phillipe"
Franklin Pierce: "Young Hickory of the Granite Hills"

More all-around players (ABA/NBA)

2010-05-24T09:01:00.000-07:00

1+ Steal/Game, 1+ Block/Game, 4+ Assists/Game, 100+ G
Julius Erving (1972-1986, ABA/NBA) 2 STL, 1.7 BLK, 4.2 AST
Chris Webber (1994-2008, NBA) 1.4, 1.4, 4.2
Kevin Garnett (1996-present, NBA) 1.3, 1.6, 4.2
Lamar Odom (2000-present, NBA) 1, 1, 4.1
Dwayne Wade (2004-present, NBA) 1.8, 1, 6.6

Running Backs

2010-05-20T23:12:00.000-07:00

3000+ Rushing Yards, 90+ Rushing Yards/Game (All-Time)
Barry Sanders (1989-98; Lions) 15269 yards, 99.8 yards/game
Eric Dickerson (1983-93; Rams, Colts, Raiders, Falcons) 13259, 90.8
Jim Brown (1959-65; Browns) 12312, 104.3
Terrell Davis (1995-01; Broncos) 7607, 97.5
Adrian Peterson (2007-present; Vikings) 4484, 97.5
Chris Johnson (2008-present; Titans) 3234, 104.3

President Hanson?

2010-05-17T10:43:00.000-07:00

He doesn't get a lot of ink in most history books, but John Hanson is considered by some to the actual first President of the United States:

The new country was actually formed on March 1, 1781 with the adoption of The Articles of Confederation. This document was actually proposed on June 11, 1776, but not agreed upon by Congress until November 15, 1777. Maryland refused to sign this document until Virginia and New York ceded their western lands (Maryland was afraid that these states would gain too much power in the new government from such large amounts of land). Once the signing took place in 1781, a President was needed to run the country. John Hanson was chosen unanimously by Congress (which included George Washington). In fact, all the other potential candidates refused to run against him, as he was a major player in the Revolution and an extremely influential member of Congress.

As the first President, Hanson had quite the shoes to fill. No one had ever been President and the role was poorly defined. His actions in office would set precedent for all future Presidents. He took office just as the Revolutionary War ended. Almost immediately, the troops demanded to be paid. As would be expected after any long war, there were no funds to meet the salaries. As a result, the soldiers threatened to overthrow the new government and put Washington on the throne as a monarch. All the members of Congress ran for their lives, leaving Hanson running the government. He somehow managed to calm the troops and hold the country together. If he had failed, the government would have fallen almost immediately and everyone would have been bowing to King Washington.

When they were judges...

2010-05-13T17:53:00.000-07:00

Length of time that recent Supreme Court Justices were judges prior to being nominated:
Sonia Sotomayor: 17 years (District Judge, Southern District NY; COA, 2nd Cir.)
Samuel Alito: 16 years (COA, 3rd Circuit)
Stephen Breyer: 14 years (COA, 4th Circuit)
Anthony Kennedy: 13 years (COA, 9th Circuit)
Ruth Bader Ginsburg: 13 years (COA, DC Circuit)
David Souter: 12 years (NH Superior Court; NH Supreme Court; COA, 1st Cir.)
Sandra Day O'Connor: 6 years (Maricopa County Superior Court; Arizona Court of Appeals)
John Paul Stevens: 5 years (COA, 7th Circuit)
Antonin Scalia: 4 years (COA, DC Circuit)
John Roberts: 2 years (Court of Appeals, DC Circuit)
Clarence Thomas: 1 year (COA, DC Circuit)
William Rehnquist: 0 years

#41: 18 year old players in ML Baseball

2010-04-16T13:49:00.000-07:00

It used to be somewhat common for there to be an 18 year old player in ML baseball, or even younger than 18. There were 7 players who got a plate appearance at the age of 16 (Coonie Blank, Carl Scheib, Rogers McKee, Putsy Caballero, Tommy Brown, Alex George, Jim Derrington) although none since Derrington in 1956. McKee, Scheib and Derrington were the only players to pitch an inning at the age of 16 or younger in too.

Take it up to age 17 for pitchers, and there were 20 more, but none since (future Astros manager) Larry Dierker in 1964. The last year with an 18 year old pitcher in the league was 1978, with 2 pitchers from the Oakland A's: Mike Morgan (who ended up playing with 12 different teams before retiring in 2002) and Tim Conroy (who pitched his final game in 1987).

It is very uncommon for this to happen in today though. Since 1979, there has only been one player to get a plate appearance in the ML, and it's someone you've heard of: Alex Rodriguez in 1994. He made his ML debut on July 8, 1994 and turned 19 on July 27th. In the meantime, he hit .204 with 0 HR over 59 plate appearances.

Please visit Baseball In-Depth

#40 Trivia Carnival, April 15th

2010-04-15T09:54:00.000-07:00

Courtney presents Wedding Theme Ideas - Unique Wedding Theme Ideas And Creative Wedding Ideas-Cajun Wedding Theme posted at Wedding Themes, saying, "Are you a fan of New Orleans and are getting married? Consider a Cajun wedding theme."

Samantha Marks presents How to Use a Lawn Roller posted at backyardsandgardens.com.
Madeleine Begun Kane presents Not Tickled Pink About Girlish Pink Guns posted at Mad Kane's Political Madness.

Aparna presents Spring water that imparts youthfulness posted at Beauty and Personal Grooming, saying, "From ancient times water has been called as an ‘elixir of life’ and not without reason. It has been found that drinking water helps. Not only does it cure hosts of diseases but waters from certain springs are believed to have astounding powers ranging from anti-ageing effects to curing several skin diseases. Now when everyone seems to be in pursuit of the eternal fountain of youth, this topic has gained enough relevance and several researches are being conducted to test the potency of these ‘miraculous spring waters’."

Zhu presents The Mud People Correr Es Mi Destino posted at Correr Es Mi Destino, saying, "A Brazilian tradition: The ¨Bloco Da Lama¨ (Group Of The Mud) celebrates Carnival by covering themselves in mud, dressing up as cavemen and partying on the beach."

Digerati Life presents 5 Money and Currency Facts Your History Teacher Never Told You posted at The Digerati Life, saying, "Thanks!"