fflo | Entries tagged with best wrong answers

There seemed to be fewer hunters for these this season in LearnedLeague.

And I'm disappointed that some of my nominations didn't make the ballot, including the 4 answers below I thought were funny for the question

In typography, a symbol called a "pilcrow" indicates what?

-- AN EDITOR IS PRESENT

-- ERUDITION

-- STOP READING, OR YOU'RE GOING TO GET INTERROBANGED

-- UNSPOKEN THOUGHT

I laughed aloud at many answers among those to the question In a 1997 action thriller starring Harrison Ford, his character instructs Gary Oldman's Ivan Korshunov to deboard from the titular conveyance (and then assists him in doing so) using what precise four-word statement? (correct answer: GET OFF MY PLANE!) that I won't even list them here.

So here are my honorable mentions:

(A) The affable-looking anthropomorphic dog created by American artist Phillip Banks, who wears a grey crew neck sweater, blue jeans, and red Converse sneakers, and who lowkey DGAF, has what two-word name? BARK RUFF-ALO

(B) A 2000 album by Madonna, the 1971 follow-up to Tapestry by Carole King, a 1993 release by 311, and a 2025 LP by Playboi Carti all share what plainly descriptive and literal title? CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS

(C) According to a mega-hit released in 2007 by Flo Rida featuring T-Pain, what did Shawty get? TALLER, EVENTUALLY

(D) Led Zeppelin, Cream, and The Jeff Beck Group were all successful acts that were founded in the 1960s by former guitarists of what other band? OOPS! ALL GUITARISTS!

(E) This passage, about 3.5 cm long and 2–3 mm wide, has bony and cartilaginous parts, runs at an oblique angle, and is named for a 16th-century Italian anatomist. What is it? A PIECE OF BUCATINI THAT WENT UP MY NOSE

(F) According to the lyrics and title of a signature song by country legend Loretta Lynn in 1966, "You ain't woman enough to" what? It's also what Dolly Parton begs Jolene to please not do in Jolene. BE PLAYED BY SISSY SPACEK IN A MUSICAL BIOPIC

And my runners-up:

(3) In the geographical mnemonic HOMES, what does the "H" stand for? FOR THE WAY YOU HOOK AT ME

(2) What is the term for the cooking technique, a method of butterflying, in which a bird (usually a chicken) is split and flattened, with the backbone removed (and also sometimes the sternum)? FOGHORN LEGHORN'S RECUR—I SAY, RECURRING NIGHTMARE

And my #1:

(1) Laurel, Mississippi, provides the primary setting (and indirectly, the title) for what HGTV renovation series starring local husband-and-wife team Ben and Erin Napier? AS I LAY DRYWALLING

LearnedLeague is wrapping up, and I shall now (again) share the subset of the 90 nominations that I'm considering, culminating in my top 3. Enjoy!

Honorable Mentions:

The Japanese phrase 新幹線, which translates literally to "new main line" and colloquially to "bullet train", is often rendered in Latin characters as what single word, which first came into use in the mid-20th century?

PRINCESS MONORAIL

What was the name of the moderate "minority" faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party of the early 20th century, which (unlike their "majority" counterparts) favored a slower and more progressive transformation of society (which, in fact, is not what turned out to occur)?

MIDDLEOFTHEROADSHEVIKS

Identify the car company founder who achieved auto racing immortality with his innovation of placing the car's engine at the rear of the chassis. Despite that, he (and his name) may be more closely associated with his role in developing a performance version of the British Motor Corporation's Mini in the early 1960s.

V. W. BUGG

"Mr. Television" was the moniker of what early TV star, who was the first host of the televised Texaco Star Theater in June 1948, became the permanent host later that year, and hosted the show (which was eponymously renamed in 1953) on Tuesday nights at 8:00 pm until 1956?

CHARLES ENTERTAINMENT TELEVISION

and my 2 runners-up:

Cuisses de grenouille is the name of a French culinary delicacy known in English as what?

CUISSES *OF* GRENOUILLE

Ötzi, the Copper Age person who was found in a region of the Ötztal Alps bordering Austria and Italy in 1991, is frequently referred to by what nickname, based on the condition in which he was found (which contributed to his preserved state, despite being over 5,000 years old)?

PEAT ROSE

and my fave:

A significant marker in the gradual transition from Middle English to Modern English, an occurrence centered on the mid- to late-15th century, is a phenomenon whose cause is still not fully understood. This phenomenon is widely known as the Great [BLANK] Shift (fill in the blank).

CTRL + ALT +

Time to vote again in LearnedLeague's seasonal Best Wrong Answers (in my second season of serving as one of the screeners for nominees for these).

I'll start with my almost-runners-up:

(1) Simon Pagenaud, Takuma Sato, Hélio Castroneves, Marcus Ericsson, and Josef Newgarden are the most recent winners of what Spectacle? BRITAIN'S MOST SURPRISING BISCUIT (2) In Shakespeare's Hamlet, in Act 5, Scene 2 (the play's final scene, just after Hamlet's dying words), a character referred to as "Ambassador" states, "The sight is dismal, / And our affairs from England come too late. / The ears are senseless that should give us hearing / To tell him his commandment is fulfilled, / That [BLANK]. / Where should we have our thanks?" What statement, itself the title of a 1966 play, fills in the blank? T-SHIRTS ARE ON SALE IN THE LOBBY (3) Among English playwright Peter Shaffer's numerous theatrical successes are two plays, from 1973 and 1979, that were later adapted to film and that both, coincidentally, have titles in Latin. What is the title of either of these plays? ROSENCRANTZ ET GUIDENSTERN MORTUI SUNT (4) The sheep-milk cheese that is arguably Spain's most famous shares a location of origin with a literary hero who is also arguably Spain's most famous. What is the name of that cheese? DON CHEETO-TE (5) A 1982 book written by Myra Williams (formerly Myra Lewis, second-cousin and former 13-year-old wife of Jerry Lee Lewis) and a 1989 Jerry Lee Lewis biopic starring Dennis Quaid both had what four-word title, which was first popularized as a phrase by Jerry Lee himself in 1958? 13 YEAR OLD WIFE?! (6) Balkhash, Athabasca, Ladoga, Eyre, Kivu, and Poopó are all names, most prominently, of what? 6 DWARVES NOT CAST IN SNOW WHITE (7) Balkhash, Athabasca, Ladoga, Eyre, Kivu, and Poopó are all names, most prominently, of what? BOTTLES IN AARON RODGERS' MEDICINE CABINET

Then next are my actual runners-up:

(8) A story from the Old Testament during which, on the Day of Atonement, a priest would confess the sins of the Israelites over a particular animal's head and then drive the animal into the wilderness, is the source for what word common today? BAAAAANISHMENT (9) The six dots in the logo of what television series match the six umbrellas in its opening credits? BETTER CALL PARASOL (10) The scientific prefix "oo-" typically indicates what, per the prefix's Greek etymology? A CHILDLIKE SENSE OF WONDER

And my top 3:

(C) Scott Kelly's 2017 memoir Endurance documents his year (or so) spent where? A MEETING THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN AN EMAIL (B) What password, used in countless TV shows, movies, books, and other media, first appeared in the 1932 Marx Brothers movie Horse Feathers? •••••••• (A) Texas-based private company Intuitive Machines developed a commercial robot named Odysseus that, as of late February 2024, is located where? IT'S RIGHT BEHIND ME, ISN'T IT

Here we are again, the end of a LearnedLeague season--- and this is the first one for which I was a "searcher" for candidates for Best Wrong Answer. After a team of us nominate a bunch, the Commish picks the final candidates. Then sometimes I share here the ones I'm considering voting for.

A lot of my fellows liked these, but they're not in my running:

Throughout the 1980s, in millions of American homes one could find a handheld device on which was printed the name "Jerrold". What was this device?

MISPRINTED GERALD FORD SIGNS

According to a song written by Merle Travis and recorded by Tennessee Ernie Ford in 1955, you load 16 tons, what do you get? (Full answer required.)

$3 OFF YOUR NEXT ORDER FROM DOMINO'S

My runners-up:

According to one story in Greek mythology, what sprang from the body of Medusa upon her death at the hands of Perseus, and was later captured by Bellerophon, helping him defeat the hybrid Chimera? (Proper name required.)

BILLY MAYS HERE WITH ANOTHER FANTASTIC PRODUCT

Products that have been featured on advertisements on Saturday Night Live include Colon Blow, The Love Toilet, Mom Jeans, and a "toy sensation" that was produced by Wacky Products Incorporated and its parent company, Global Chemical Unlimited. It contains a liquid core that, if exposed due to rupture, should not be touched, inhaled, or looked at, and includes an unknown glowing substance that fell to Earth, presumably from outer space. What is the three-word name of this toy, which is not to be taunted?

TICKLE ME OPPENHEIMER

Soulful alto Alison Moyet and former Depeche Mode songwriter Vince Clarke formed what electronic music duo in the 1980s? (Either their full name, by which they were known in their native England, or their shortened name, by which they were known in the United States, is acceptable.)

TWENTY-THREE CENTIMETER NAILS

According to a famous quote attributed to the ancient Greek philosopher Protagoras, what "is the measure of all things"?

A BANANA FOR SCALE

In an endless runner video game popular on Android and iOS devices since its release in 2012 (and reportedly the most-downloaded mobile game of the 2010s), the playable character, per the game's title, surfs through what environment?

UPDATED TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Fourth Wing and Iron Flame are titles of the best-selling "romantasy" books released in 2023. Give either the name of the series of which these are the first two installments, or the name of the books' American author.

THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE MALFUNCTION

It breaks my heart a little not to have enough votes to cast one for each of these:

According to a famous quote attributed to the ancient Greek philosopher Protagoras, what "is the measure of all things"?

ABOUT YEA BIG

What did the television characters Willow Rosenberg, Samantha Stephens, and Sabrina Spellman, along with a set of sisters from San Francisco with the last name of Halliwell, have most notably in common?

THE GENE THAT MAKES CILANTRO TASTE LIKE DISHSOAP

Finally, my winners, starting with third place and proceeding to first:

In an annual message to Congress in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt identified four basic human rights he proclaimed as "Four Freedoms". Two were freedoms "of" (freedom of speech, freedom of worship), and two were freedoms "from"—name either of the latter two.

TGI FRIDAY'S WAITERS SINGING HAPPY BIRTHDAY

EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL, PLUS ALSO THE GIRL

AN OCEAN OF PREDATORY MICROTRANSACTIONS

Time again to vote on Best Wrong Answers in LearnedLeague. Here are the nominees I'm considering, out of 90 offered up to us:

While its name comes from a word for "barley", orgeat syrup is characterized by the dominant flavor of what ingredient, which puts it in a category with frangipane, mandelbrot, marzipan, and biscotti?

HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP

The Indian city of Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan state, has been known since 1876 as the "[BLANK] City" because Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh II had buildings of the city painted this color—at the time deemed the "color of hospitality"—in preparation for a visit by Albert, the Prince of Wales. (Fill in the blank.)

#E3256B

Former Oakland/Los Angeles Raider star Ray Guy, who passed away in November 2022, is the only inductee in the Pro Football Hall of Fame who primarily played what position?

DEVIL'S ADVOCATE

The Taylor Swift albums Fearless, Red, and Speak Now have been re-recorded by the artist and released in 2021, 2021, and 2023, respectively, with a re-recorded 1989 planned later this year. These new releases retain the originals' titles, with what parenthetical phrase appended?

PRODUCED IN THE SAME FACILITY AS PEANUTS

What is the name of the only arena currently serving as the primary home of an NBA franchise that is not named after a corporate sponsor?

RECLAIM THE MEANS OF PRODUCTION SPORTS DOME

Wagons with cloth covers stretched over hoops, used by emigrants venturing west in 19th-century North America, were sometimes called prairie schooners, and also by a term that referred to a river in Pennsylvania's Lancaster County, where some of the wagons were manufactured. What is that term?

THE MAGIC SCHUYLKILL BUS

Rotation of the forearm so that one's palm faces upward, with the radius and ulna parallel, is supination. What is the opposite term, for rotation of the forearm so that the palm faces downward and the radius and ulna are crossed?

A CAST AND 8 WEEKS OF PHYSICAL THERAPY

I've gotta throw a vote to #63, for solidarity. Trying to remember which ones made me lol. I think #34 & #10. Those are strong candidates, to me.

Here are 3 also-rans, but fun to see how some folks played with it:

Name the musical artist, one of the most successful of all time in the genre of urban contemporary gospel with 19 Grammy awards and over 40 Dove and Stellar awards (gospel and Christian music awards), who over the years has recorded with the ensembles God's Property, The Family, and One Nation Crew.

LIL JON THE BAPTIST

50 SAINT

BOYZ II AMEN

Hey.

Woke up with a kinda bad headache today, but it's finally gone away. So here I am, ready to share more Best Wrong Answers from LearnedLeague. (The season just ended.)

There are a little over 100 nominees for Best Wrong Answer altogether for us to choose from in the voting. We'll start with my also-rans.

The ancient cities of Argos, Sparta, and Megalopolis were located on what Greek peninsula, connected to the mainland by the Isthmus of Corinth? THE FETAVERSE Sternutation is the medical term for a convulsive reflex closely associated, by name, with what secondary Disney character? WILD BILL HICCOUGH Sternutation is the medical term for a convulsive reflex closely associated, by name, with what secondary Disney character? THE INVOLUNTARY HULK "Houston, [REDACTED] Base here. The Eagle has landed." What word is redacted from this quote from July 20, 1969, and is also the name of the "Sea" where the lunar module made its landing on that day? SOUND STAGE 12-B What is the two-word term, a phrase from Italian that idiomatically means "from the beginning" and is often abbreviated "D.C.", which indicates in musical notation that the previous section of music should be repeated? DOITAGAIN CORRECTLYTHISTIME Olympic gymnastics are divided into three categories: artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, and a third introduced in 2000 and known as what? Belarus's Ivan Litvinovich and China's Xueying Zhu won gold in this category in Tokyo in 2021. THE FLOOR IS LAVA GYMNASTICS The "Pop-o-Matic" die container was an innovation introduced in 1965 with what board game, now produced by Hasbro? MINDLESS PLASTIC TOKEN RACE

Next up in my runner-up. Bummer I couldn't pick 4 winners.

American chemist Stephanie Kwolek developed the first liquid crystal polymer fiber, leading to the development of poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide, which has a myriad of applications (e.g., tires, cables, helmet, ballistic body armor). This polymer is better known by what brand name owned by DuPont (Kwolek's employer for 40+ years)? FLEX SEAL

And now, my top 3:

#3: Of the actual historical people after whom elements of the periodic table are named, two are women. One is Marie Curie, while the other was a Viennese-born Swedish physicist who was a co-discoverer of nuclear fission in 1938. What is her name, commemorated in element 109? MOLLY B. DE NIM #2: The policy with respect to Latin America during the early Franklin D. Roosevelt administration had what popular name, which today may be more associated with State Farm Insurance, but in the 1930s reflected America's intended hands-off approach and military withdrawal from the region? ACCIDENTAL DEATH AND DISMEMBERMENT #1: H.R.3684, a $1 trillion bill that was passed by the 117th Congress after a bipartisan vote in the US House of Representatives on November 5, 2021, is officially known as the [REDACTED] Investment and Jobs Act. What word has been redacted? WOEFULLY INADEQUATE

Just voted for the Best Wrong Answers in this season's LearnedLeague.

First, here are my runners-up:

Bundles of rods bound with straps or thongs, which were a sign of administrative or regal authority in and around ancient Rome, gave their name millennia later to what political ideology?
STICKTATORSHIP

Name the award-winning play whose story transpires over a few weeks during the summer at the home of Beverly and Violet Weston of Pawhuska, Oklahoma.
A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE PORCH

Over the twelve seasons of what drama TV series did the characters John Kelly, Bobby Simone, Danny Sorenson, and John Clark, Jr. each form, in turn, one half of the main duo?
CSI: HIGH TURNOVER UNIT

Abalone, Aggravation, Ker-Plunk, and Wahoo are all board games that customarily use what as game pieces?
FIGURINES OF THE 1972 DETROIT LIONS

Identify the book, in possession of Trinity College in Dublin since 1661, that is named after the abbey in County Meath where it was kept for centuries prior (and perhaps where it was created).
ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT'S MEATH, COUNTY

There are six distinctly named phase changes of matter: freezing (liquid to solid), melting (solid to liquid), condensation (gas to liquid), vaporization (liquid to gas), deposition (gas to solid), and what sixth, which is solid to gas?
BURRITO SUPREME

What is the nine-letter word often used for the lowest classification of female singing voice in operatic and classical singing, with a range from F below middle C to the second F above middle C?
AALLTTOOO

Now, my top 3:

#3 A method for measuring wind force at sea, based on the effects of the wind on a canvas of a full-rigged frigate, was developed in 1805 by what French-descended, Ireland-born rear admiral of the Royal Navy?
PIERRE LICKYOURFINGERANDRAISEITABOVEYOURHEAD

#2 What is the name of the 36-mile-long river, flowing between Lakes Erie and Ontario, which forms part of the border between the state of New York and the province of Ontario?
DELICIOUS POUTINE

#1 "Ultamate Rewards" is a loyalty points program offered by a multi-billion-dollar retailer, with stores in all 50 states, that sells (per the company's name) what type of products/supplies?
WHITE-OUT AND OTHER TYPO CORRECTION ACCESSORIES

I've got to decide which 3 of these 4 to vote for, and in what order, as it's the end of another season of LearnedLeague.

(1) In 1895's Moore v. United States, what term did the U.S. Supreme Court define as "the fraudulent appropriation of property by a person to whom such property has been entrusted, or into whose hands it has lawfully come"?

YOINKING

(2) The literary characters Gelert, Argos, Gaspode, and Tock are all what, most distinctively?

CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR ATTITUDE LATELY

(3) In American football, an official pointing an extended arm toward the defensive team's goal, with the hand flat (or pointing a finger) and perpendicular to the ground, is giving the signal for what?

GET THAT CAT OFF THE FIELD

(4) In China in the third century CE, immediately following the end of the Han dynasty, supremacy was fought for among the Wei in the north, the Wu in the southeast, and the Shu Han in the west. This period is best known by what name, which is cited in a classic of Chinese literature attributed to Luo Guanzhong.

THE GREAT BRAWL OF CHINA

It's between (3) & (4) on which gets cut. I just like the other two too much. I could be picky with (4) on the pun being in English only, obviously. Kinda like I disqualified this one cuz it's obviously not invisible---

An invisible demarcation that runs, in part, through the Bering Strait, around Kiribati to the east, and between Samoa and American Samoa, is best-known by what three-word term?
FLOATING GARBAGE PATCH

---or how I decided I could be picky (for not involving the idea in the end of the question) about this one, which'll probably get a lot of votes without my help:

What was the name of the pop-vocal quintet formed in the late 1960s featuring Marilyn McCoo and Florence LaRue which, despite its name, was visible to humans and did not appear to involve the unification of the forces of gravity and magnetism?
ULTRAVIOLET FEMMES

Still, maybe (4)'s better than (3), which is just silly.

Then again, I like silly. That silly, anyway.

I'm sharing with you friends my favorites in the running for Best Wrong Answer in this past season of LearnedLeague. Ken Jennings didn't play this season, and that seemed to me a tip-off that he might be taking over Jeopardy!, and yes he is, interimly, but I guess he also has another show coming. Anyway, the league is still invitation-only but has announced that it'll have a cap, and so there may be a waiting list for people we jump in. Probably will be, soon. I guess it's just gotten really big. A lot to manage.

First I'll give you my runners-up, and then the three I'm voting for.

Runners-up:

Name the heavy metal band, which formed in 1994 as "Burn the Priest", whose current name comes from the section within the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Mass known as Agnus Dei? APPLY UNGUENT TO THE PRIEST The cuneiform system of writing, and by some historians, modern human civilization itself, is credited to what people, who lived in southern Mesopotamia in the 4th and 3rd millennia BCE, in city-states such as Ur, Eridu, and Uruk? FLINTSTONES The oldest surviving of a certain type of hole still in use in the United States is widely believed to be in the West Virginia town of White Sulphur Springs, and dates from 1884. What type of hole is it? HEADPHONE JACK Roughly equivalent to "congressional districts" in the United States, what is the standard term used in the United Kingdom for the 650 electoral areas through which members of the House of Commons (MPs) are elected? CUMBERBATCHES Of the Spanish islands known as the Balearic Islands, the largest in area is Mallorca, and the second-largest is Menorca. What island is third? WAIT THERES MORE CA A famous short story from 1922 by Katherine Mansfield centers around what type of "Party", and the protagonist Laura Sheridan's desire to cancel the party due to the death of a neighborhood workman (which leads her to ponder the meaning of life and death)? GENDER REVEAL AND START A WILDFIRE PARTY First appearing in 1905, reaching their heyday at the turn of the decade, and largely supplanted by the teens, the first theaters in the United States to exhibit films exclusively were known by what name (derived in part by the standard price of admission)? 20TH CENT-URY FOX What is the term used for the kind of company that designs and distributes typefaces? The word, which describes such companies as Hoefler & Co., Font Bureau, and Colophon, is a legacy from pre-desktop publishing days, when such companies manufactured metal and wood typefaces for printing presses. THERES A NEW SERIF IN TOWN

My votes:

Aa and pahoehoe are different types of what substance? SCRABBLE VOWEL DUMPAGE What is the name of Malaysia's national oil and gas company, whose headquarters are located on Jalan Ampang within the Kuala Lumpur City Centre? FOUR SEASONS TOTAL OIL AND GAS Twenty20 is the name of a novel format that was developed in 2003, and since then has become by some measures the most popular format, for what sport? COMPETITIVE HINDSIGHT

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