"A Quiz For People Who Know Everything"

mickeyd

Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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I only answered 2 correctly~ the American landmark Q and the Lakers Q. A lot tougher than it appears. Most here will be able to beat my sorry score.

Answers at the end.

(1) There's one "sport" in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends. What is it?

(2) What famous North American landmark is constantly moving backward?

(3) Of all vegetables, only two can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons. All other vegetables must be replanted every year. What are the only two perennial vegetables?

(4) Name the only sport in which the ball is always in possession of the team on defense, and the offensive team can score without touching the ball?

(5) What fruit has its seeds on the outside?

(6) In many liquor stores, you can buy pear brandy, with a real pear inside the bottle. The pear is whole and ripe, and the bottle is genuine; it hasn't been cut in any way. How did the pear get inside the bottle?

(7) Only three words in standard English begin with the letters "dw." They are all common. Name two of them.

(8) There are fourteen punctuation marks in English grammar. Can you name half of them?

(9) Where are the lakes that are referred to in the "Los Angeles Lakers?"

(10) There are seven ways a baseball player can legally reach first base without getting a hit. Taking a base on balls-a walk-is one way. Name the other six.

(11) It's the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form but fresh. What is it?

(12) Name six or more things that you can wear on your feet that begin with the letter "S."




"Answers To Quiz"


1. Boxing.

2. Niagara Falls. The rim is worn down about two and a half feet each year because of the millions of gallons of water that rush over it every minute.

3. Asparagus and rhubarb.

4. Baseball.

5. Strawberry.

6. The pear grew inside the bottle. The bottles are placed over pear buds when they are small, and are wired in place on the tree. The bottle is left in place for the whole growing season. When the pears are ripe, they are snipped off at the stems.

7. Dwarf, dwell, and dwindle.

8. Period, comma, colon, semicolon, dash, hyphen, apostrophe, question mark, exclamation point, quotation marks, brackets, parenthesis, braces, and ellipses.

9. In Minnesota. The team was originally known as the Minneapolis Lakers and kept the name when they moved west.

10. Batter hit by a pitch; passed ball; catcher interference; catcher drops third strike; fielder's choice; and being designated as a pinch runner.

11. Lettuce.

12. Shoes, socks, sandals, sneakers, slippers, skis, snowshoes, stockings.
..Well, now you know! Feel any smarter?

 
For the purposes of number 10 I believe "passed ball" and "catcher drops third strike" are the same thing.
 
I got 2, 5, 6, and 8. Could have had 7, and 11 if I spent some time mulling.
 
2,3,5,6,7,8, and 12 (although one of mine for 12 was different from the answers...it didn't say you had to get those exact 6 items).

I guess I know nature and the English language, but my sports knowledge is basic, not arcane. I thought of "sailing" as the sport, because I have no idea how the leader is determined throughout the race. Sometimes the boat that is ahead is actually losing!
 
I disagree with #1.... you can know 'the score' and also know who is winning... but like most sports you do not know who will eventually win...

#4 could also be cricket... (I think you can score without touching)
 
The only one I got right was 8. There were a couple that I got partially right like #7. I got 1 of the required 2 answers.
 
I had 6 & 7.

Also, I think dweep is a pretty common "dw"-word these days :)
 
Got 2,3,4,5,8,9, and 12 and could probably have gotten 7 if I had thought about it long enough. Also agree with GrayHare that a 'passed ball' is a ball misplayed by the catcher on what would have been a third strike either swinging or called and thus are equivalent. I would be interested if a baseball expert can explain how these would be different in the circumstance being discussed. Great fun.
 
I meant the dweeb variant :facepalm:

Derp

Oh. You mean you're not a gamer who likes to rescue cute, cuddly, defenseless purple baby Dweeps by negotiating a series of dangerous obstacles? (This I learned from Wikipedia.) Darn. :cool:
 
Since "sport" was in quotes, I figured they meant figure skating. The judges score at the end. It's in the Olympics, doesn't that count? Or the currently running Mackinac Sailing Race, the score is calculated based on some parameters of the boat and time, but computers now do it in near real time I think.

For #2, I was thinking Statue of Liberty, but she faces SE.

I've grown asparagus and rhubarb, I should of got those but all I could think of was parsley (herb, not a vegetable, but 'vegetation?).

Didn't get #4, but I think I would have if I thought about it longer.

Got 5,6,7,8 dwindle and dwarf, probably could have come up with dwell, heck, I've used a 'dwell meter'!

#9 should have said "which State", hey, I could just say "The US", or "Planet Earth" and been correct.

No way could I get all of #10. I got a few though (and I'm not a sports person).

Got 11 & 12 - needed snowshoes to complete my list.

-ERD50
 
I only answered 2 correctly~ the American landmark Q and the Lakers Q. A lot tougher than it appears. Most here will be able to beat my sorry score.

Answers at the end.

1. Boxing: (got it)

x2.Niagara Falls (missed it)

x3 perennial vegetables ( didn't have a clue)

4 Baseball (got it)

5 Strawberry (got it)

x(6) pear inside bottle (missed it)

7. Dwarf, dwindle (got it)

8. fourteen punctuation marks in English grammar (got it; eight and stopped)

9. Where are the lakes (got it)

10 ..seven ways a baseball player can legally reach first base without getting a hit. (got it)

(11) Lettuce fruit (got it)

x(12) letter "S." missed it, (only got four)

answered 8 correctly



 
I got three of them (2, 8, 12) and gave myself half a point for knowing asparagus (3).

I would also submit that “dweeb” is a fairly common word and might have been included. That would have given me a total score of 4.5.
 
For the purposes of number 10 I believe "passed ball" and "catcher drops third strike" are the same thing.

They are both errors on the catcher yet are not the same thing (for those of you scoring at home).

I think there needs to be a runner on base for a passed ball to occur and then that runner needs to advance a base for it to be considered a passed ball.

For "catcher drops the third strike" there does not have to be a runner on base (no runner advances) and therefore it would not be considered a passed ball.

Fifty years ago, I would have known this cold--now not so sure.
 
#4 could also be cricket... (I think you can score without touching)

Correct.

On the baseball question, what is it called when the pitcher throws wild and the hitter "steals" 1st base while the catcher is trying to retrieve the ball? (I think that is a legal way to get to to 1st without hitting the ball)
 
They are both errors on the catcher yet are not the same thing (for those of you scoring at home).

I think there needs to be a runner on base for a passed ball to occur and then that runner needs to advance a base for it to be considered a passed ball.

For "catcher drops the third strike" there does not have to be a runner on base (no runner advances) and therefore it would not be considered a passed ball.

Fifty years ago, I would have known this cold--now not so sure.

The question is how is it scored on the official game sheet.... I do not think there is a category for catcher drops third strike and runner goes to first...

Now, I wonder what it is scored if it is a wild pitch and the batter swings at it for a third strike...


Time to look things up!!




Cannot find anything at MLB.... but the rule seems to be....

A pitch that should have been fielded by the catcher but was missed, allowing a runner to advance a base.

Which is what someone does on a dropped third strike... so, it does look like it is the same thing...
 
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I'm pretty sure a dropped third strike is scored as E2. A batter cannot advance to first base on a passed ball. "Error" is the missing answer.
 
Correct.

On the baseball question, what is it called when the pitcher throws wild and the hitter "steals" 1st base while the catcher is trying to retrieve the ball? (I think that is a legal way to get to to 1st without hitting the ball)

That's the dropped third strike
 
That's the dropped third strike

Thanks. I guess I always thought the pitch had to be in the strike zone to be called a strike and a wild uncatchable pitch would be something different. It's all just words I guess.
 
23 LEGAL WAYS T GET TO FIRST BASE (including hitting a single) + as a bonus stealing first base from second base (which may be included in Texas Proud's link)

Can you steal first base?

ESPN The Magazine
Eric Enders, researcher, Baseball Hall of Fame: No. Why? Rules. What rules? Baseball's rules. Oh, them. There are 23 legal ways to get to first. Do tell. Walk, intentional walk, hit by pitch, dropped third strike, failure to deliver pitch within 20 seconds, catcher interference, fielder interference, spectator interference, fan obstruction ... isn't that ... fair ball hits umpire, fair ball hits runner, fielder obstructs runner, pinch-runner, fielder's choice, force out at another base ... aren't those ... preceding runner put-out allows batter to reach first, sac bunt fails to advance runner, sac fly dropped, runner called out on appeal ... wait, which ... error, four illegal pitches, and if a game is suspended with a runner on first and that player is traded prior to the makeup, another player can take his place. That's only 22. Oh, right. Single. Borrring. John Thorn, co-editor, Total Baseball: Two players stole first, Germany Schaefer in 1907 and Fred Tenney around 1900, but they did it from second. The idea was to induce a throw so the runner on third could score. Tricky. I suppose, but it didn't work. And now it's illegal. Pity....
 
Thanks. I guess I always thought the pitch had to be in the strike zone to be called a strike and a wild uncatchable pitch would be something different. It's all just words I guess.

If the batter swings and misses a pitch that is ten feet over his head, then it is still referred to as "dropped third strike", although the implication is a little off. It would be scored as a strikeout and a wild pitch (blaming the pitcher). If the catcher should have caught it with reasonable effort, it would be scored as a strikeout and a passed ball. I don't think in either case it is scored as an "error". All semantics I guess. :)
 
Correct.

On the baseball question, what is it called when the pitcher throws wild and the hitter "steals" 1st base while the catcher is trying to retrieve the ball? (I think that is a legal way to get to to 1st without hitting the ball)

That's the dropped third strike

That's a wild pitch, (assuming the ball as thrown is uncatchable and unstoppable by a catcher). In this case the catcher does not get an error (E-2). It's not considered a dropped third strike--even if the batter swings and misses. Let's say the ball flies 3 feet over the batter's head. He swings and misses. The catcher can't leap fast enough to get to catch the ball. It's considered a wild pitch--assuming the situation on the bases change because of that pitch.
 
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