Merry Christmas! Have Some Trivia!

To celebrate the 2000th entry at this blog of mine, here is some trivia for you to enjoy. Please use the Comment feature to respond with your guesses/answers sometime on Christmas Day or Boxing Day. Comments won't show up until Dec 27th thanks to the magic of Comment Moderation.

Update: Answers are now posted below, but with Spoiler white space around them so that you can reveal them at your leisure by dragging the cursor over that area. Congratulations to those who picked up some Blog Points by submitting their guesses!

Part A: General Information
A1) Which country gave the Statue of Liberty to the U.S. as a gift? (Answer: France)
A2) According to a time-honoured saying, what is "an ounce of prevention" worth? (Answer: A pound of cure)
A3) Who said, "Democracy is the worst form of government - except for all the rest"? (Answer: Winston Churchill)
A4) What unique characteristic is found in a hermaphrodite? (Answer: Includes both male and female sex organs)
A5) Which Bob Dylan song has seen cover versions of it released by Jimi Hendrix, U2 and Neil Young, among others? (Answer: "All Along the Watchtower")
A6) The Periodic Table symbol for platinum is "Pt". What is the corresponding symbol for copper? (Answer: Cu)
A7) If the air temperature is 75 degrees Fahrenheit, what does that correspond to in Celcius? (Answer: 23 or 24 degrees)
A8) Arrange the following units of distance in ascending order: mile, league, furlong, kilometre. (Answer: Furlong, kilometre, mile, league)
A9) How many electoral college votes are currently required in order to win the U.S. Presidential election? (Answer: 270)
A10) Who went into hiding after death threats were issued as a result of his 1988 book, The Satanic Verses? (Answer: Salmon Rushdie)
A11) Which Canadian city was the scene of history's largest accidental explosion, in 1917? (Answer: Halifax)
A12) What are the only two root words in the English language containing "uu" in them? (Answer: "Vacuum" and "continuum")
A13) Who wrote the 1957 novel, Dandelion Wine? (Answer: Ray Bradbury)
A14) How many times was Richard Milhouse Nixon the Republican candidate for President of the United States? (Answer: 3)
A15) What is the actual name of the title character in Victor Hugo's novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame? (Answer: Quasimodo)
A16) At what hugely-historic event were author George Plimpton and former NFL player Rosey Grier both famously present, in June of 1968, and what did they do? (Answer: The assassination of Bobby Kennedy; they wrestled the gun away from Sirhan Sirhan)
A17) What are the names of the two feuding families in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet? (Answer: Capulet and Montague)
A18) According to the Canada 2006 Census, how many Canadian cities had a population of one million or more in 2006? (Answer: 6)
A19) How many men have walked on the moon? (Answer: 12)
A20) In what year did Hawaii become America's 50th state? (Answer: 1959)


Part B: Sports
Note: The "four major American professional sports leagues" below refer to the MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL.
B1) Where was Plexico Burress carrying the gun that resulted in his injury and suspension from the NFL this season? (Answer: In his sweat pants)
B2) Which of the four major American professional sports leagues currently has the most teams? (Answer: The NFL, with 32)
B3) How many yards long is the field of play in a regulation CFL football field? (Answer: 110)
B4) What score constitutes a perfect game in 10-pin bowling? (Answer: 300)
B5) Whose 1961 home run total of 61 was almost always referred to as having "an asterisk beside it in the record books"? (Answer: Roger Maris)
B6) How many consecutive Super Bowls did the Buffalo Bills lose in the 1990s? (Answer: 4)
B7) In which two European cities did the NHL kick off their 2008/09 season? (Answer: Stockholm, Sweden and Prague, Czech Republic)
B8) How many Stanley Cup Finals series went the full 7 games in the 1990s? (Answer: Just 1, the 1994 Rangers/Canucks series)
B9) What's the difference between a no-hitter and a perfect game in baseball? (Answer: No-hitter = no hits allowed; perfect game = no batter reaches base)
B10) Who are the current defending champions in each of the four major American professional sports leagues? (Answer: MLB = Philadelphia Phillies, NBA = Boston Celtics, NFL = NY Giants, NHL = Detroit Reg Wings)
B11) Which MLB team currently holds a 6-0 record all-time in post-season play? (Answer: Florida Marlins)
B12) Which pitcher served up the Joe Carter home run ball that won the 1993 World Series? (Answer: Mitch Williams)
B13) In what year will the Toronto Maple Leafs next win a Stanley Cup? (Answer: Any prediction will suffice)
B14) Across the four major American professional sports leagues, the state of California has an amazing 15 franchises. Three other states have 8 or more franchises across the 4 leagues. Name them. (Note: Where team names directly conflict with location of home games, go with the team names.) (Answer: New York has 9 (Mets, Yankees, Knicks, Bills, Giants, Jets, Islanders, Rangers, Sabres), Florida has 9 (Marlins, Rays, Heat, Magic, Buccaneers, Dolphins, Jaguars, Lightning, Panthers), and Texas has 8 (Astros, Rangers, Mavericks, Rockets, Spurs, Cowboys, Texans, Stars))
B15) Which former NBA all-star claimed in his book, A View From Above, that he'd had sex with 20,000 women? (Answer: Wilt Chamberlain)
B16) What's the difference between a "safety squeeze" and a "suicide squeeze" in baseball? (Answer: Safety = runner on 3rd waits for batter to make contact; suicide = runner on 3rd leaves with the pitch))
B17) In terms of series wins and losses, what is the Chicago Bulls' record in the NBA Finals? (Answer: 6-0)
B18) What is the fewest number of games, from the start of an NHL season, in which 50 goals have been scored by one player? (Answer: 39, by Wayne Gretzky)
B19) Which franchise has lost the most NBA Finals series? (Answer: LA Lakers, 15 times)
B20) Who captured the 2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship in a thrilling overtime win? (Answer: Kansas University Jayhawks)


Part C: Movies
C1) Who directed Batman Begins and The Dark Knight? (Answer: Christopher Nolan)
C2) In which U.S. state does the 1996 film Fargo take place? (Answer: North Dakota)
C3) Which actor delivered a special gold watch to a young boy in a memorable scene in 1994's Pulp Fiction? (Answer: Christopher Walken)
C4) What character did Samuel L Jackson play in his cameo appearance at the end of Iron Man? (Answer: Nick Fury)
C5) According to a bit of Hans Solo dialogue in the original Star Wars movie, what are parsecs a measure of? (Answer: Time (rather than distance, which is what they really measure))
C6) For which movie did Steven Spielberg win his first Academy Award for Best Direction? (Answer: Schindler's List)
C7) In which 2002 horror film did Naomi Watts play a journalist investigating a videotape that supposedly caused people to die shortly after watching? (Answer: The Ring)
C8) Name the six actors, in descending order of their # of appearances (highest to lowest), who've portrayed 007 in the 22 official James Bond films. (Answer: Roger Moore (7), Sean Connery (6), Pierce Brosnan (4), Daniel Craig (2), Timothy Dalton (2), George Lazenby (1))
C9) Who directed 2008's Miracle at St. Anna? (Answer: Spike Lee)
C10) Which western won the 1992 Best Picture Academy Award? (Answer: Unforgiven)
C11) Name three films written and directed by John Sayles. (Answer: Any three will do, with some of the better-known ones including Lone Star, Eight Men Out, Limbo, The Secret of Roan Inish, Passion Fish and even The Brother From Another Planet)
C12) For which film did Cher win her only Best Actress Academy Award? (Answer: Moonstruck)
C13) Who plays Harry Lime, in 1949's The Third Man? (Answer: Orson Welles)
C14) How did Alfred Hitchcock make his traditional cameo appearance in the 1944 film, Lifeboat? (Answer: In the "Before & After" photos of a Weight Loss ad in a newspaper)
C15) Who was the lead actor in the 1990 comedy, Quick Change? (Answer: Bill Murray)
C16) In what chronological order (oldest to newest) did the following three classic movies debut: Casablanca, Citizen Kane and The Wizard of Oz? (Answer: The Wizard of Oz (1939), Citizen Kane (1941), Casablanca (1942))
C17) What's the latest installment released to date in the Michael Apted 7-Up series of documentaries? (Answer: 49-Up)
C18) In which movie did Jack Nicholson tell a diner waitress that he'd like her to "hold the chicken" for his chicken salad sandwich? (Bonus Question: Where did he eventually tell her to hold it?) (Answer: Five Easy Pieces; Bonus: between her legs!)
C19) Which TV star of the 1950s, 60s and 70s terrified audiences in the title role in 1951's The Thing from Another World? (Answer: James Arness, star of Gunsmoke)
C20) Where was the missing money said to be hidden in the film, It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World? (Answer: Under a giant "W" in Santa Rosita)


Part D: TV
D1) What was the name of Norm's never-seen wife on Cheers? (Answer: Vera)
D2) Which program featured such characters as Count Floyd, Sammy Maudlin and Mayor Tommy Shanks? (Answer: SCTV)
D3) How does Spider-Man catch crooks, according to the 1967 Spider-Man cartoon's theme song? (Answer: "Just like flies")
D4) On what date in 2009 is the "digital TV transition" occurring in the United States, after which no analogue broadcasts will be made by the networks? (Answer: Feb 17th to 18th)
D5) Which longtime member of the St. Elsewhere cast went on to big screen aclaim, including in such films as Glory and Philadelphia? (Answer: Denzel Washington)
D6) Which of ABC, CBS and NBC is the oldest television broadcaster? (Answer: NBC)
D7) To which weeknight will Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles be moving in early 2009? (Answer: Fridays)
D8) According to Mr Owl, how many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll centre of a Tootsie Pop? (Answer: 3)
D9) From which hugely-popular sitcom was The Jeffersons spun off? (Answer: All in the Family)
D10) Name any two of the four lead actresses in TV's The Golden Girls. (Answer: Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan, Estelle Getty)
D11) With which other CBS prime time program did CSI cross over in October of 2007? (Answer: Without a Trace)
D12) Which of the following shows debuted first: Fantasy Island, Laverne & Shirley or The Love Boat? (Answer: Laverne & Shirley)
D13) With what image does the pilot episode of Lost open? (Answer: Jack Shepherd's eye)
D14) Which lead actor from the original Battlestar Galactica has a recurring role in the current version? (Answer: Richard Hatch)
D15) Who plays the "Mac" role on the "Hello, I'm a Mac, and I'm a PC" commercials? (Answer: Justin Long)
D16) Who was the spokesman for Alpo dog food who originally claimed in a TV ad that it was so good that he fed it to his own dogs? (Answer: Lorne Greene, as readers of my 2nd AgileMan book know!)
D17) What was the name of Steve Austin's boss in The Six Million Dollar Man, as played by Richard Anderson? (Answer: Oscar Goldman)
D18) Which ficitional character implored shoppers, "Please don't squeeze the Charmin!", in numerous TV commercials? (Answer: Mr Whipple)
D19) With whom did Tom Davis famously team up, as both writing and performing partners, in the early days of Saturday Night Live? (Answer: Al Franken, possibly the next Senator from Minnesota!)
D20) Name either of the actors who filled the titles roles in the 1976 TV mini-series, Rich Man, Poor Man. (Answer: Richard Strauss and Nick Nolte)


Part E: Comic Books
E1) Which X-Men member claims to be "the best at what I do, and what I do ain't pretty"? (Answer: Wolverine)
E2) Who is Marvel's "Man Without Fear"? (Answer: Daredevil)
E3) Which Marvel character was featured in the first comic I ever bought? (Answer: Captain America)
E4) Which one of the following was not a founding member of the JLA: Aquaman, Flash, Green Arrow, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman? (Answer: Green Arrow)
E5) What was DC Comics' big fall event (comic mini-series and crossover) for 2008? (Answer: Final Crisis)
E6) On what day of the week was Solomon Grundy born? (Answer: Monday)
E7) What was Marvel Comics' big summer event (comic mini-series and crossover) for 2008? (Answer: Secret Invasion)
E8) What device does a Green Lantern use to charge up his ring every 24 hours? (Answer: His power battery)
E9) What were the heroes fighting each other over in Marvel's Civil War? (Answer: The new law requiring all superpowered Americans to register with the U.S. government)
E10) Who were the two main villains when Superman met Spider-Man for the first time? (Answer: Lex Luthor and Doctor Octopus)
E11) Who were the two young men who originally came up with the concept for Superman? (Answer: Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster)
E12) What is Thor's mortal identity? (Answer: Dr Don Blake)
E13) What were the two biggest deaths in Crisis on Infinite Earths, in terms of character name recognition? (Answer: Supergirl and the Flash)
E14) Which former DC Comics superhero has operated under the name of "Oracle" for the past decade or two? (Answer: Batgirl)
E15) Which two muck monsters (one Marvel, one DC) were introduced within a month of each other in 1971? (Answer: Man-Thing and Swamp Thing)
E16) Who was a sidekick to both the Hulk and Captain America back in the 60s? (Answer: Rick Jones)
E17) Who is the female lead character in V for Vendetta? (Answer: Evey)
E18) Name the planet-eating entity responsible for transforming Norrin Radd into the Silver Surfer. (Answer: Galactus)
E19) Who killed Gwen Stacy? (Answer: Norman Osborn, aka the Green Goblin)
E20) In which Marvel miniseries did Spider-Man's black costume debut? (Answer: Secret Wars)