Summer Olympics Quiz ANSWERS

And now the answers to the Olympics quiz:

1) Which of these sports has never been a medal event at a Summer Olympic Games?

D. Lawn Bowling (Bocce)

Lawn Bowling or 'Bowls', was a demonstration sport in the 2nd Olympic Games in 1900 in Paris, but never has been a medal event. The early 1900s saw medals awarded in such diverse sports as Golf (1900 & 1904), Croquet (1900), Motorboat Racing (1908), and yes, even Tug of War (1900-1920).

2) The USA has won more medals at the Summer Olympics than any other nation. How many has it won?

D. 2188

894 of those have been gold medals. Incidentally, the former Soviet Union (1952-1988) still remains in 2nd place overall with 1010 medals, and Great Britain trails far behind in 3rd place with 668.

3) What is the only year that the USA did not participate in the Summer Olympic Games?

E. 1980

In response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, 61 nations joined the USA in boycotting the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow. Not to be outdone, 13 nations joined the Soviet Union in boycotting the 1984 Olympics held in Los Angeles. The only country boycotting both the Moscow and Los Angeles games? Iran.

4) In 1956, Melbourn, Australia hosted the games, but due to Australian quarantine laws on foreign horses, the equestrian events were held 5 months earlier where?

A. Stockholm

Only the second time that events were held outside of the host nation. In the 1920 games in Antwerp, Belgium, the final races of the 12-foot dinghy sailing event were held in the Netherlands. The only two competitors were Dutch.

5) The 2008 Beijing Olympics will be the final appearance of baseball and softball as Olympics events. When did each of these sports first appear as medal events?

B. 1992 & 1996

A demonstration sport as far back as 1904, baseball first was granted medal event status in Barcelona in 1992. Four years later in Atlanta, women's softball joined the ranks. Leading the medal counts in baseball, Cuba claims 3 of the 4 gold medals awarded. In softball however, the USA looks to remain undefeated in Beijing, having won every gold medal ever awarded in the event.

Summer Olympics Quiz

This Friday will be the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China. In honor of this occasion, this week's quiz will be dedicated to the history of those games:

1) Which of these sports has never been a medal event at a Summer Olympic Games?

A. Golf
B. Croquet
C. Motorboat Racing
D. Lawn Bowling (Bocce)
E. Tug of War

2) The USA has won more medals at the Summer Olympics than any other nation. How many has it won?

A. 839
B. 1293
C. 1644
D. 2188
E. 2851

3) What is the only year that the USA did not participate in the Summer Olympic Games?

A. 1904
B. 1928
C. 1948
D. 1972
E. 1980

4) In 1956, Melbourn, Australia hosted the games, but due to Australian quarantine laws on foreign horses, the equestrian events were held 5 months earlier where?

A. Stockholm
B. Rome
C. Los Angeles
D. Munich
E. London

5) The 2008 Beijing Olympics will be the final appearance of baseball and softball as Olympics events. When did each of these sports first appear as medal events?

A. 1936 & 2000
B. 1992 & 1996
C. 1992 & 2000
D. 1936 & 1996
E. 1996 & 2000

Is It Good Eats? ANSWERS

This quiz proved to be harder than even I had imagined, but for your own amusement as well, the answers include the feature of each real episode as well.

1) Wake Up Little Sushi - REAL - Sushi
2) Alton Crown Affair - REAL - Crown of Lamb
3) Okraphobia - REAL - Okra
4) It's Up, and It's Gouda! - BOGUS
5) Bird is the Word - BOGUS
6) Steak Your Claim - REAL - Steak (very first episode of Good Eats)
7) Withering Bites - REAL - Dried Fruit
8) Send in the Clams - REAL - Clams
9) Starfish Wars - BOGUS
10) Rice, Rice Baby - BOGUS (the actual rice episode was "Do The Rice Thing")
11) Chops Ahoy - REAL - Pork Chops
12) Field of Greens - REAL - Greens
13) Fry Hard - REAL - Fish and Chips
14) Pretzel Logic - REAL - Pretzels
15) Ifs, Ands and Butts - BOGUS
16) Your Pad Thai or Mine - REAL - Pad Thai
17) Let Them Eat Foam - REAL - Angel Food Cake
18) Ginger and Rosemary Ann - BOGUS
19) Melondrama - REAL - Melons
20) House of the Rising Bun - REAL - Sweet Yeast Breads
21) Summer of Salmon - BOGUS
22) Churn Baby Churn - REAL - Ice Cream
23) Grand Salami - BOGUS (but he really needs a salami episode)
24) Puff the Magic Pastry - REAL - Puff Pastry
25) Great Balls O' Meat - REAL - Meatballs
26) It's About Thyme - BOGUS
27) The Icing Man Cometh - REAL - Icing and Frosting
28) Please Sir, Can I Have S'More? - BOGUS
29) Mission: Poachable - REAL - Poached Fish
30) This Spud's For You - REAL - Potatoes

Is it Good Eats?

For those fans of Alton Brown and Good Eats like myself, it's easy to appreciate the creativity of the show's writing, which extends all the way into 12 seasons (and counting) of creative episode titles. Today's quiz challenges you to separate fact from fiction. Enjoy!

Below are the titles of 30 episodes of Good Eats... or are they? Some of them are completely bogus. Can you find which 10 titles are definitely not Good Eats?


1) Wake Up Little Sushi
2) Alton Crown Affair
3) Okraphobia
4) It's Up, and It's Gouda!
5) Bird is the Word
6) Steak Your Claim
7) Withering Bites
8) Send in the Clams
9) Starfish Wars
10) Rice, Rice Baby
11) Chops Ahoy
12) Field of Greens
13) Fry Hard
14) Pretzel Logic
15) Ifs, Ands and Butts
16) Your Pad Thai or Mine
17) Let Them Eat Foam
18) Ginger and Rosemary Ann
19) Melondrama
20) House of the Rising Bun
21) Summer of Salmon
22) Churn Baby Churn
23) Grand Salami
24) Puff the Magic Pastry
25) Great Balls O' Meat
26) It's About Thyme
27) The Icing Man Cometh
28) Please Sir, Can I Have S'More?
29) Mission: Poachable
30) This Spud's For You

Name That Show - Answers

The answers to the Name That Show quiz:

1) Hawaii 5-0
2) Mission: Impossible
3) Sesame Street
4) SportsCenter
5) Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous
6) Matlock
7) Magnum, P.I.
8) Let's Make a Deal
9) Knight Rider
10) The A-Team

Name that Show!

If you've never flipped through the TV listings on the digital cable, you've probably never noticed some of the funny descriptions for classic (and not-so-classic) television shows. Rather than just highlight some of my favorite, try yourself with one of my random quizzes. Try your hand at figuring them out and I'll post the answers in a future blog.

1) Book 'em, Danno. This is one of the longest running crime dramas in TV history.

2) Elite special agents undertook top-secret assignments in crackerjack episodes.

3) A landmark series set in an ethnically diverse urban neighborhood where every day is a sunny one.

4) A hip, Emmy-winning daily scrapbook of homers, touchdowns and slam dunks.

5) Exotic locations and unapologetically shameless adoration of celebrities.

6) Grandpa Simpson's favorite series: a courtroom drama about a cagey Atlanta defense attorney.

7) CBS reworked its successful "Hawaii Five-O" formula into a hit spun around a charismatic private investigator.

8) Ludicrously costumed contestants from the studio audience "dealt" with host Monty Hall for prizes.

9) A former cop gets a new identity and teams with a talking supercar to fight crime.

10) An adventure series about soldiers of fortune with bad attitudes and firepower to burn.