Dr. Shapiro's Question of the Day VI by ShapiroA

Champion(s):

dklee


Runner(s)-Up:

TWright17
There are sewers aplenty yet to dig


Quiz Description

This is the sequel to Dr. Shapiro's Question of the Day V and its predecessors. As it says there: I teach middle and high schoolers in San Francisco. Every day, I wear a puzzle or trivia question on my shirt. This quiz is a selection of past questions with no particular commonality, except that each one has been solved by at least one kid. (N. B.: I work with some pretty clever kids.) Some of these are riddle-like and may not be pinned quite to trivia standards. I'll be as fair as I can; you are guaranteed full satisfaction or your money back.

Full Results:

Rank Player Total %ile 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Money Value (% Incorrect): 25 22 83 68 18 04 40 40 25 58 75 43
1 dklee 450 98 15
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2 TWright17 396 94 15
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3 LeeS 394 91 15
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4 BentleyG 344 87 15
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5 KonkelT 341 83 15
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6 NathanL 334 80 15
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7 MisterLally 326 76 15
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8 Rational-Shrieking 313 73 15
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9 flutist319 308 69 15
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10 SingerJ2 300 66 15
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11 readyj 275 62 00
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12 TaylorMA 271 58 15
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13 GoldfarbDavidJ 246 55 15
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14 KlionskyG 238 50 00
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14 BoulierJ 238 50 15
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16 Timm 229 44 15
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17 KCrest 209 41 00
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18 IvixorB 202 35 15
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18 SheChameleon 202 35 15
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20 HortonR 184 30 00
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21 RobertK 177 25 15
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21 melvillean 177 25 15
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23 CoenM 170 19 15
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24 LynchT 150 16 15
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25 SokolM 144 12 00
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26 MoskowitzJim 111 8 15
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27 LanceJ 107 5 00
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28 DouglasLovesVixey 0 1 00
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Questions:

I'm thinking of two verbs which differ by a single letter. One is an injury to paper, the other to a cookie. What are they?

Click to Reveal Answer
CRUMPLE, CRUMBLE

A former publication called Paideia helped middle schoolers prepare for what event? Opening my old copy at random to a military-themed page, I find words like "skirmish" (beginner), "camouflage" (intermediate), and "aiguillette" (advanced).

Click to Reveal Answer
(SCRIPPS NATIONAL) SPELLING BEE

Name the two countries furthest from [the school where I teach]. Both are about 11,000 miles away (45% of Earth's circumference), and they start with the same two letters.

Note: Though arguably a correct answer, France does not count.

Click to Reveal Answer
MADAGASCAR, MAURITIUS

After coming back from the farmer's market one day, I showed my 2-year-old daughter one of my purchases and asked her "What are these?" She answered as if I had asked "Whose are these?" But her answer would also have been appropriate if I'd asked "¿Que son estos?"

What had I bought? Give your answer in English.

Click to Reveal Answer
POTATOES (papa's / papas)

I was recently surprised to see a certain word in a 19th century book. I think of the word as a modern device used for exercise, but it turns out it was once a human-powered device for grinding grain into flour. The monotonous effort it requires was even used as a 19th century punishment. What is this device?

Click to Reveal Answer
TREADMILL

Numeric keypads in the left and middle forms shown here are common. At what type of recreational establishment did I see a keypad in the right form (the triangle)?

Click for additional information

Click to Reveal Answer
BOWLING ALLEY

"In recent weeks since the rise of the B.1.617.2 variant, all _____ employees who have been hospitalized with COVID were not fully vaccinated."

If the B.1.617.2 variant doesn't ring any bells, that's no accident. This sentence comes from an August 2021 memo issued within what company, which chose its nomenclature advisedly?

Click to Reveal Answer
DELTA (AIR LINES)

The French movie Visages/Villages was released in the US under another title. Technically, this wasn't necessary; "visage" and "village" have the same meanings in English as in French. But Visages/Villages doesn't exactly roll off the tongue in English, so the title was translated as "____s/_____s". This title rhymes, much like the original does in French. What is this English title?

Click to Reveal Answer
FACES/PLACES

I saw a clever bumpersticker: "________ help people out". What profession goes in the blank? I've had close contact with a member of this profession twice, in 1983 and 2019, though I don't remember the first time.

Click to Reveal Answer
MIDWIVES (will also accept DOULAS, OBSTETRICIANS or similar)

In the Māori language, most countries' names are borrowed directly and altered slightly to fit Māori sounds: e.g. Argentina is Āketina, Guatemala is Kuatamāra, Indonesia is Initonīhia, etc. But one country doesn't fit the pattern; instead of borrowing its name, the Māori call it Wīwī. What country? (As a hint, other Māori place names include Kiana o Wīwī and Porinīhia Wīwī.)

Click to Reveal Answer
FRANCE

It's Thursday, which means today is the day BroomBear comes to me. A loud ruckus announces BroomBear's arrival, and everybody gets out of BroomBear's way -- but when BroomBear leaves, everything is a little better than before. BroomBear is not a nightmare nor an imaginary friend. Who or what is BroomBear?

Click to Reveal Answer
STREET SWEEPER

Me: [Singing a nursery rhyme to my daughter]
My wife M: Ugh, that song is so morbid!
Me: It is?
M: Well, it's about a child at their sibling's funeral, isn't it?
Me: ??
M: And they think he's going to wake up?
Me: ???!! ... Welp, one of us is very wrong

Reader, she was the wrong one. In her defense, there are morbid nursery rhymes. And "morning" does sound like "mourning", which was the root of the misconception. What was the song?

Click to Reveal Answer
ARE YOU SLEEPING? (FRÈRE JACQUES)