Today's Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Between
1 classic MTV show that launched a movie franchise: JACKASS
"Jackass" is a reality show that originally aired on MTV from 2000-2001. The show features a group of men performing stunts, usually during which they are injured to some degree. The leader of the group is called Johnny Knoxville who performs in the stunts and also created the show. Not my case...
15 Firm in a way: AL DENTE
The Italian expression "al dente" literally means "to the tooth" or "to the bite" and refers not only to pasta but also to vegetables that are cooked soft yet crisp.
16 „Fifty Shades of Grey“, zB. : EROTIK
Our word “erotic” derives from the name Eros, the Greek god of love, which means “awakening of sexual desire”. Eros was referred to in Latin as "Amor" (meaning "love") and "Cupid" (meaning "desire").
Fifty Shades of Gray is an incredibly popular erotic novel by British author E.L. James. Fifty Shades of Gray is the fastest selling booklet of all time. Two more titles complete the trilogy: "Fifty Shades Darker" and "Fifty Shades Freed".
17 Certa tarifa justa: CORN DOG
The hot dog on a stick (corn dog) dates from at least 1947 and probably earlier. The name hot dog comes from the mass of corn surrounding the hot dog and its resemblance on a stick with an ear of corn.
18 Surrounding crystals and incense say: NEW-AGEY
The New Age movement is a Western philosophy with roots dating back to the early 19th century. Focused on attaining the highest human potential as an individual, the movement embraces many traditional Eastern spiritual practices but eschews all religious teachings. New Age music is composed with the intention of supporting this philosophy. It's rather very minimalist, very tonal and harmonic. It is often used as a background for relaxation or meditation.
20 Causa da Morte No Romance by Sherlock Holmes "The Sign of the Four": POISON DART
According to author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, his character Sherlock Holmes is based on Dr. Joseph Bell, for whom Doyle worked in Edinburgh. However, Bell did write a letter to Doyle in which he said, "You are Sherlock Holmes himself and you know it."
22 "___ Meets Godzilla" (Classic Short Film): BAMBI
Bambi Meets Godzilla is considered one of the most respected animated films in the world. It's only two minutes of footage, but apparently everyone loves it...
29 Part of the Constitution establishing the executive branch: ARTICLE II
Article II of the US Constitution establishes and defines the powers of the executive branch of the federal government. The article expressly assigns these powers to the Office of the President of the United States.
32 Where I-80 crosses the Missouri River: OMAHA
Interstate 80 is the second longest highway in the United States (after I-90). It runs east-west from San Francisco, California to Teaneck, New Jersey. I-80 largely follows the route of America's first road, the historic Lincoln Highway.
34 narration through various TV episodes: STORY ARC
A story arc is a continuous story in a television show that spans multiple episodes. Story arcs are also found in comics, books, video games, and other forms of media.
38 Observing a crow's nest: EARTH
A crow's nest is a structure on the main mast of a ship that serves as an observation point. The first crow's nest was erected in 1807 and was simply a barrel tied to the tallest mast. The structure is said to have got its name from the crows or ravens that the Vikings carried with them on their travels. Birds were released and used as navigational aids, the crow or crow invariably heading straight for the nearest land.
41 Elevator in a resort : T-BAR
A T-bar is a chairlift where skiers are pulled uphill in pairs, with each pair standing (not sitting!) on either side of a T-shaped metal bar. . There is also a J-Bar which is a similar device but with each J-Bar being used by one skier at a time.
44 trio of numbers: AREA CODE
Area codes were introduced in the 1940s, when the "click" when dialing a number caused mechanical wear on various devices. To minimize overall mechanical wear and tear, high call volume areas were given the most efficient (fewer clicks) area codes. This resulted in New York getting the 212 area code, Los Angeles 213, and Chicago 313.
49 "Then again...", in texts: OTOH...
On the other hand (OTOH)
51 Ankle Bones: TARSI
The tarsi (also "tarsi") are the bones of the hock and correspond to the carpal bones in the wrist.
55 Protagonist in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: ARTHUR DENT
One of the themes of Douglas Adams' novel The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is the search for "the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything". The supercomputer called Deep Thought has pondered this question for 7.5 million years and concluded that the answer is...42.
58 Mary ___ Evans, real name of George Eliot: ANN
"George Eliot" was the pseudonym of the English writer Mary Anne Evans. As one might think, Evans chose a male pseudonym to better reflect his work in the Victorian era. Eliot wrote seven novels, including Adam Bede (1859), The Mill on the Floss (1860), Silas Marner (1861), and Middlemarch (1871-72).
65 game controller that uses gesture recognition: WIIMOTE
"Wiimote" is an alternative name for the Wii Remote, the controller for the Nintendo Wii game console.
66 Johannes Gutenberg, for example: PRINTER
The printing press was invented by the German goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg in the mid-15th century. Books were printed before the printing press was invented, but the techniques used were clumsy and slow. Gutenberg introduced the concept of movable and reusable type, which revolutionized book production. Fifty years after the introduction of the Gutenberg press, over twenty million volumes were being produced in western Europe.
67 voice actor for Carl in "Up": ED ASNER
Ed Asner is best known for his role as the irascible but lovable Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its spin-off drama Lou Grant. Off the screen, Asner is known for his political activism. He served two terms as President of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and was heavily involved in the SAG strike of 1980. When Lou Grant was canceled in 1982, despite decent ratings, there was much talk of the cancellation being an actor's move Network against Asner personally. In fact, one of Asner's collaborators, Howard Hesseman (who played Johnny Fever), found out that his show WKRP in Cincinnati was also canceled... same day.
Up was the tenth film to be released by Pixar Studios and features the gorgeous animation we've come to expect from Pixar. The film won two Oscars. The main voice actor is Ed Asner, whose animated role as Carl Fredricksen was created to resemble Spencer Tracy, since Tracy appeared in his latest film, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.
Under
1 ___ deGrom, two-time Cy Young Award winner (2018 & 2019): JACOB
Jacob deGrom is a baseball pitcher who made his major league debut in 2014 with the New York Mets. Aside from his performance on the field, DeGrom was known for sporting exceptionally long hair for a few seasons. The 2016 season even gave away a Jacob DeGrom hair hat as a giveaway at games.
Cy Young was a major league pitcher from 1890 to 1911. Young is known for fielding the first perfect game in modern baseball. Shortly after his death in 1955, the Cy Young Award was created and given to the top pitcher of each baseball season.
2 Hello or goodbye: ALOHA
The Hawaiian word "Aloha" has many meanings in English: affection, love, peace, compassion and mercy. More recently, "aloha" means "hello" and "goodbye", but not until the mid-19th century.
3 Obsolete storage medium: CD-ROM
"CD-ROM" means "Compact Disk Read-Only Memory." The name implies that you can read disc information (such as a standard music CD) but not write on it. You can also buy a CD-RW, which stands for "Compact Disc - Rewritable", with which you can read data and also rewrite it over and over again with a suitable CD drive.
4 "Perigo!" Jennings cool: KEN
Ken Jennings is a remarkable man, the person who has had the longest winning streak on the TV series Jeopardy. He also made more money from game shows than anyone else. He was slapped after 75 appearances on the show, having amassed over $2.5 million in previous episodes.
6 What red can mean: STOP
The first traffic lights date back to 1868 when they were installed in front of the Houses of Parliament in London. They were similar to the signals already used on trains, with shaped wings and red and green gas lamps for night use. This first system was operated manually by a police officer on the base. Unfortunately, just a year after the light was installed, a police officer was killed when the gas system exploded.
7 ___ Lily: BLESSING
The state flower of Utah, the seg lily is a perennial found throughout the western United States.
8 Dojo-Meister: SENSEI
"Sensei" is a Japanese form of address for authority figures, from lawyers to martial arts teachers.
The Japanese word "dojo" literally means "place of the way". Originally the term referred to training rooms located in or adjacent to temples. Teaching in a dojo was not limited to martial arts, but in the western world we use dojo to mean a training center for judo, karate and the like.
9 stack black on white: OREOS
Oreos were the best-selling cookies of the 20th century, and nearly 500 billion have been sold since their introduction by Nabisco in 1912. At that time, the cream filling was made with lard, today vegetable oils are used. If you bite into an Oreo sold outside of America, you may notice a difference from the homemade cookie, as the foreign version has coconut oil added to give it a different flavor.
10 "___ Abbey" : DOWNTON
In the hugely successful historical drama Downton Abbey, Robert Crawley, the Earl of Grantham or Lord Grantham, is the patriarch of the Downton family. The character is played by Hugh Bonneville. Lord Grantham married American Cora Levinson (played by Elizabeth McGovern). Lord and Lady Grantham had three daughters and no sons. The lack of a male heir implied that the Grantham estate would go to a male cousin and outside the immediate family. The Grantham daughters are Lady Mary (played by Michelle Dockery), Lady Edith (played by Laura Carmichael) and Lady Sybil (played by Jessica Brown Findlay). Lady Sybil had the audacity to marry the family chauffeur, who was an Irish nationalist. The shame of it all...
23 poor performance? : BIRDS
The following terms are routinely used in golf for scores relative to par:
- Bogey: One over par
- Par
- Birdie: one under par
- Eagle: two under par
- Albatross (also "double-headed eagle"): three under par
- Condor: vier unter Par
Nobody has ever recorded a condor during a professional tournament.
24 Like Planet Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back: ICY
The fictional planet Hoth is suggested in the Star Wars film The Empire Strikes Back. Hoth is an icy planet and home to a secret Rebel Alliance base.
26. Classic protagonist honored with US and Swedish entry: GARBO
Greta Garbo famously lived a reclusive life in New York City after retiring from the entertainment business. Commentators often linked her need for privacy to a line she uttered in the great 1932 film Grand Hotel. Her character Grusinskaya, the Russian ballerina, said: "I want to be alone (...) I just want to be alone".
35 Abseits: TABOO
The word taboo was introduced into English by Captain Cook in his book A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean. Cook described "taboo" (probably an imitation of a Tongan word he heard) as sacred and forbidden.
40 ___-Magnon (first human): CRO
At Abri de Cro-Magnon in south-west France, remains of early humans were found 35,000 years ago, giving these early humans their name. The Cro-Magnon remains are the oldest human relics discovered in Europe.
43 companies with a lot of advertising? : GROUP
Groupon is a deal-of-the-day website that started in 2008. The concept behind the business is exemplified by the company name, a portmanteau of "group coupon". Every day, a discount coupon is offered to members of the site who register, knowing that the coupon requires a minimum number of "takers" to be valid. If too few buyers apply, the voucher expires. If enough buyers register, the coupon is redeemed and the retailer benefits from the high sales volume. Groupon was very successful for a few years and predictions were made that the company would reach $1 billion in revenue faster than any other company in history. That forecast changed dramatically and the CEO was fired in February 2013.
47 Hay, say: FOOD
'Fodder', meaning 'animal fodder', is an Old English word for 'food'.
Hay is dried grass stored as animal feed. Straw consists of the dried stalks of grain plants, the residue left after the grain and chaff have been removed. Straw can also be used as animal feed, as well as fuel, fodder and straw.
52 Someone with dreadlocks, maybe: RASTA
Dreadlocks are matted strands of hair that are usually shaped on purpose. However, if you let the hair grow out without combing it, twisted and tangled dreadlocks will naturally form. The hairstyle is associated with the Rastafarian movement, where 'fear' is a very positive term meaning 'fear of the Lord'.
54 Like neon: INERT
Neon was discovered in 1898 by two British chemists, Sir William Ramsay and Morris Travers. They cooled a sample of air and turned it into a liquid. They then heated this liquid and separated the evaporating gases. In addition to nitrogen, oxygen and argon (already known), the pair of scientists discovered two new gases. They called the first "Krypton" and the second "Neon". "Krypton" is Greek for "the hidden" and "neon" is Greek for "new".
56 „Brooklyn Nine-Nine“ org. : NYPD
The New York Police Department (NYPD) is the largest city police force in the country. The roots of the department date back to 1625, when there was an eight-man vigil in the days when New York was still known as New Amsterdam. Several disparate forces with police responsibilities were merged into the New York City Police Department in 1844, marking the end of the 200-year-old Night's Watch.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a sitcom set in the NYPD's 99th Ward in Brooklyn. The star of the show is Saturday Night Live alumnus Andy Samberg, who plays Detective Jake Peralta.
57 prefix with watts: TERA-
The prefix "tera-" means one trillion and comes from the Greek word "teras" meaning "monster".
60 Josh: KIND
When the verb "to josh," meaning "child," was coined as an American slang term in the 1840s, it was spelled with a capital J. It's likely that the term somehow came from the proper name "Joshua," but no one seems to remember why.
61 His headquarters contains a sculpture with an unsolved encrypted message: CIA
"Kryptos" is an intriguing sculpture that stands on the grounds of the CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia. The work contains four encrypted messages created by sculptor Jim Sanborn and Ed Scheidt, then President of the CIA Cryptographic Center. Interestingly, only three of the messages have been decrypted so far.
63 titles allegedly rejected by Stephen Hawking: SIR
Stephen Hawking was a theoretical physicist from Oxford, England. Hawking owes much of his fame in the popular science world to his incredibly successful book, A Brief History of Time. A Brief History of Time sold more than 10 million copies and was a Sunday Times of London bestseller list for over four years. Hawking does a wonderful job explaining many aspects of the cosmology without losing the average reader. There is only one equation in the whole book, and that equation is "E = mc2". Hawking's life story is told in the excellent 2014 film The Theory of Everything.
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