Tough Questions

I've been doing the tuesday trivia offered on the Ken Jennings blog (of Jeopardy fame) for the last few weeks now and it is really hard. No "googling" is allowed in coming up with your answers, only stuff you just know. Most people I know consider me to be pretty good at trivia so I thought it would be fun. Now with that being said.... So far in 3 weeks I have gotten a total of 1 question right out of 21.

Here was this week's quiz and my answers, I have since "googled" the questions to determine if I got any right, and only my answer to question one is correct, bringing my grand total of correct responses up to two. Although I am still not sure about question six, as I can't find the correct answer. If anyone knows please clue me in.

THIS WEEK'S QUIZ

1. What classic American toy was originally invented as a wallpaper cleaner?

Play Doh

I actually heard about this somewhere so it wasn't a guess, but I don't remember where

2. What's the more common name of Leontopodium alpinum, subject of the last song Oscar Hammerstein II ever wrote?

The Lion King

The "Leon" part of the first word had me thinking about Lions, and I'm assuming that this is the Hammerstein of "Rogers and Hammerstein" so I was thinking that maybe the Lion King was based on something he wrote?

3. Whose official title, until he lost power in 1979, proclaimed him "Conqueror of the British Empire?

Mao Tse Tung

The only world leader I could think of that lived around that time that I figured would be arrogant enough to have that title. Although I couldn't think how China ever conquered the British Empire or any of their colonies but it was the best guess I had. Turns out that Tung died in '76

4. What novel was adapted into successful silent movies called "On the Barricade" and "The Bishop's Candlesticks"?

War and Peace

The only old novel I could think of, so a bad guess

5. What ballroom dance is named for the vaudeville actor who originated it at the New York Theater in 1914?

The Tango

A complete guess and way off at that. I had no idea

6. Inside what world landmark can you see a plaque bearing the equation "y = -127.7 ft x cosh(x/127.7 ft) + 757.7 ft"?

The Statue of Liberty

Still not sure if this one is wrong. The question says "World" landmark but the equation has "ft" or "feet" in it which is strictly an American form of measurement, so I knew that it had to be American or American made. This was my best guess after considering the Washington Monument

7. What unusual distinction is shared by these famous folks? Lucille Ball, Joseph G. Cannon, Mia Farrow, KD Lang, John Lennon, Eddie Mathews, and Marilyn Monroe.

They were all born on Feb. 29^th (leap year)

Another complete guess, but wrong. I still have no idea what the answer is but I know my guess was incorrect. Wikipedia has given me no insights into what these people might have in common.