Pass the Ginkgo Biloba

At the annual neighborhood Christmas party, I have been elected Quiz Master for several years running.  We've done matching 80s music lyrics to song titles, matching 80s movie lines to movie titles, holiday trivia, anagrams, the Price is Right, and a few others games I might have forgotten.  Forgotten.  That led me to the idea for this year's challenge at the party.  Let's see how much we remember from just this year - 2010.  How hard could it be???  Here we go - test your knowledge, don't cheat, and the answers are at the end of the post, so scroll slowly:

Busy year.  As we age gracefully, however, the memory tends to go first (for some of us, maybe memory goes second).  How much about 2010 do you remember?  Let’s find out.

1.         Who won the World Cup this year?

2.         Who won the Stanley Cup this year?

3.         Who won the Kentucky Derby?

4.         Who was the World Series MVP this year?

5.         How many points did the Saints score in their Super Bowl victory?

6.         In January, who will be the new House Majority Leader?

7.         Who was the most recent Supreme Court Justice to retire?

8.         Sarah Palin has a new book out.  What’s the title?

9.         How many seats did the GOP gain in the House in the 2010 mid-terms?

10.       Who is the Mayor-elect in DC?

11.       In what month was the Gulf oil leak finally capped?

12.       In what month was the earthquake in Haiti?

13.       How many days were the Chilean miners trapped underground?

14.       This year’s Big Blizzard Season set a new snow record.  It beat out the snowy season of 1995-96.  How many inches fell at Dulles during the 19995-96 season? (within 5”)

15.       Who is the Prime Minister of Great Britain?

16.       Who is Taylor Swift dating today?

17.       What was Miley Cyrus doing in a controversial You Tube video this month?

18.       Who is the actress that plays Sue Sylvester?

19.       Name at least 2 movies that starred Angelina Jolie and were released this year.

20.       What was Lady Gaga’s dress made of at the VMAs?

21.       What is the top grossing movie in 2010?

22.       According to iTunes, what was the year’s best selling song?

23.       What movie won Best Picture in March?

24.       What was the first year that Grey’s Anatomy appeared on the air?

25.       What season number of SNL began in September?

26.       For how many months was Conan off the air?

27.       What is the name of Jim and Pam’s baby?

28.       What caused Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg to walk off the set of The View in October?      

29.       What was the Chantilly HS varsity football team’s record this season?

30.       According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, how many Americans were unemployed in November? (within 1 million)

The answers:

1. Spain - only the most watched event of the summer.
2. Chicago Blackhawks - of course, I assume everyone knows this.
3. Super Saver - I do remember a time in my youth when this question would have been easy every year.  Not any more!
4. Edgar Renteria - I admit, I had to look this one up.  I probably should have asked if anyone at the party knew the teams in the WS this year.
5. 31 - Tough one, but equally tough for some was "who did they beat?" (Indy)
6. Eric Cantor - Trick question for people, even before a few beers.  Boehner will be Speaker of the House - Virginia's own Cantor moves to Majority Leader.  I figured since we live near DC we should know that.  I was wrong.
7. John Paul Stevens - I went with this question instead of asking them to pull Kagan and Sotomayor from their memories.  Apparently SC Justices was not a strong suit of party attendees.
8. America By Heart - I thought everyone followed Sarah on her book tour. 
9. 63 - Surprisingly, most people were within one of this number.
10. Vincent Gray - DC is right down the street, so no excuse not to get this one.
11. July - The Feds declared the well "dead" in September, so I allowed much wiggle room on this answer.
12. January
13. 69 (1^st got out after 68 days)
14. 61.9” - A completely unfair question.  I have a mean streak.
15. David Cameron - Only one person knew this.  The crowd couldn't get past Tony Blair.
16. Jake Gyllenhaal - Most of the women got this one - shocker.
17. Smoking from a water pipe - We seem to know more about Hannah Montana than Justice John Paul Stevens.
18. Jane Lynch
19. Salt; The Tourist; Beyond Borders - I knew Jolie was famous, but I couldn't name any of the movies without the Internet.
    
20. Meat - many thought that without adding "raw" to the word meat, I should not accept the answer.
21. Toy Story 3 - No, it was not Avatar.
22. Train’s “Hey, Soul Sister” - This even stumped my 14 year old.
    
23. The Hurt Locker - I am not certain that anyone at the party saw the movie.
    
24. 2005 - Again, the women got this one.
25. 36 - I assumed this was common knowledge, but I go to parties with folks that no longer stay up for SNL.
26. 9 months - I wonder if they would have known what team Coco was?
27. Cecelia - Or Cece, also acceptable.
28. He said Muslims were responsible for 9/11 - Everyone just shouted out "Bill O'Reilly", and received full credit.
29. 10 wins, 3 losses - Local trivia for the parents of Chantilly High kids.
30. 15.1 million - Kind of a bummer final question, I know.

I plan to give the exact same quiz next year, and see how everyone does.  High team score this year was 16 out of 30.  I predict 17 will take the title next year.  How did you do?