Gimme some good trivia questions!

[Swiss Bezerker]

Name three countries that have an element in the periodic table named after them.

(India, America, France, Germany... just check a periodic table near you)

Name three African countries that participate in the 2006 Winter Olympics.

(South Africa, Kenya and Madagascar are the only ones, I think)

1) Ironicly, francium is the most unstable element
2)ethiopia also competed

 

[SuperBeaverInc.]

Senegal and Algeria too.

 

[Nate128]

Name 4 Division 1 men's college basketball teams whose nicknames do not end in an "s" or have a color in them.

1)The Stanford Cardinal
2)Hofstra Flying Dutchmen
3)Marshall Thundering Herd
4)Notre Dame Fighting Irish
5)Illinois Fighting Illini

I know there are more but I just cannot think of them at the moment

 

[Cuivienen]

What is the absolute minimum number of votes necessary to become elected President of the United States?

Spoiler Answer :

11

Spoiler Why? :

If only one person votes in each of the below states and they all vote for the same candidate, that candidate wins 271 electoral votes and the Presidency.

California - 55
Texas - 34
New York - 31
Florida - 27
Pennsylvania - 21
Illinois - 21
Ohio - 20
Michigan - 17
New Jersey - 15
North Carolina - 15
Georgia - 15

 

[YNCS]

Name the only commissioned American aircraft carrier named for a living president.

(USS George H.W. Bush gets christened next month, thus the adding of "commissioned")

USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) was christened while Reagan was still alive. Also, while it's a submarine, USS Jimmy Carter (SSN 23) is in commission.

 

[WillJ]

@Cuivienen: Not really true, since the electoral college isn't automatic; it is an actual body of people that can vote however the heck they want. Even if only 11 citizens of those specific states vote and they all vote for one guy like you say, the electoral college could still elect the other guy. The college's votes are what matter, not the populace's, and a candidate needs 271 of them. So the answer's 271, not 11.

 

[WillJ]

Here's some:
----
In the United States, what day has the most suicides?

February 24 (Valentine's Day) [Christmas has the second most]
----
for "Quick Thinking" (wouldn't work if too much time is given): What's the only letter in the English language with more than one syllable?

A: W
----
No one, before or since, has had a better academic record at Harvard Law than this Jewish U.S. Supreme Court justice.

A: Louis D. Brandeis
----
As determined by the 2000 census, what is the largest minority in the United States?

A: Hispanics
----
Almost everyone (98%) on this planet practices one of how many religions (allowing for these religions to often be labeled as "major")?

A: 22 [perhaps the contestant should be allowed a margin of error]

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

Actually, WillJ, it's not true that there are a lot of suicides around Christmas - the only holiday with a higher rate than average is New Years's.

So says Snopes.

@Nate128: Isn't the Stanford 'Cardinal' referring to a color? And don't forget the Naval Academy Midshipmen.

 

[LLXerxes]

@Nate128: Isn't the Stanford 'Cardinal' referring to a color? And don't forget the Naval Academy Midshipmen.

Cardinal I believe is for a tree.

Syracuse Orangemen doesn't end with an 'S'

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

The Cardinal tree? Never heard of it. And the Orangemen are at least implicitly referring to a color, since the Dutch who settled the part of New York where one finds Syracuse used it as a symbol.

 

[WillJ]

Actually, WillJ, it's not true that there are a lot of suicides around Christmas - the only holiday with a higher rate than average is New Years's.

So says Snopes.

Thanks for the correction.

Cardinal I believe is for a tree.

Yeah, I think you're right.

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

Thanks for the correction.

Well, that's why we have Snopes, after all. It's incredible how much 'common knowledge' has no basis in fact. Good thing someone is around to figure out if it is true or not, then let us know.

 

[Sidhe]

1) Ironicly, francium is the most unstable element
2)ethiopia also competed

Some transition elements exist for microseconds.

The fact that there is about a teaspoon of francium on and in the Earth means it's very difficult to establish that

 

[mitsho]

Which is the only country to have a quadratical flag (as opposed to all the other rectangular ones)?

Spoiler :

Switzerland

Which is the only country to not be a member of the UN?

Spoiler :

Vatican City

...

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

Which is the only country with a non-quadrilateral flag?

Nepal has what looks like two stacked triangles

 

[pboily]

Syracuse Orangemen doesn't end with an 'S'

Isn't it just the Syracuse Orange, now?

 

[LLXerxes]

And the Orangemen are at least implicitly referring to a color, since the Dutch who settled the part of New York where one finds Syracuse used it as a symbol.

WTH? No, orangemen is not referring to a group of people who happened to use the color 'orangemen' as a name. Unless that's your idea of colored references, in which you have a stupid question because you're sitting here eliminating every little detail.

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

No, I mean that they are called "orangemen" in reference to the Dutch. I don't remember if the Orange from which William et al came had any connection to the color or if it was a coincidence. At any rate, I guess Syracuse can fit into the 'exceptions' group even though their name does sort of have a reference to a color.

 

[Cuivienen]

@Cuivienen: Not really true, since the electoral college isn't automatic; it is an actual body of people that can vote however the heck they want. Even if only 11 citizens of those specific states vote and they all vote for one guy like you say, the electoral college could still elect the other guy. The college's votes are what matter, not the populace's, and a candidate needs 271 of them. So the answer's 271, not 11.

Popular votes, and assuming that the electoral college goes with the popular vote. I believe all of those states have laws binding the electors to the popular vote (31 states do), so the popular vote is what matters.

 

[WillJ]

Popular votes, and assuming that the electoral college goes with the popular vote. I believe all of those states have laws binding the electors to the popular vote (31 states do), so the popular vote is what matters.

Okay, fair enough.

Although I thought those laws merely fined electors who didn't go with the popular vote ... their votes would still stand. Am I wrong here?