this page is for miscellaneous things to remember, just basically bits of trivia, things i sometimes might wonder about, and if i find out i'd prob'ly forget... and maybe some stuff i think others might wonder about and/or forget...

literature / movies & TV / music / Star Trek / Star Wars / miscellaneous / tek's stuff


literature

Q: where does the "if you prick us do we not bleed" speech come from?
A: it is spoken by Shylock in Act 3, scene i, of Shakespeare's play
The Merchant of Venice.

Q: what's the difference between short stories, novelettes, novellas, and novels?
A: according to the SFWA's rules for the Nebula Awards, a short story contains fewer than 7,500 words; a novelette is at least 7,500, but less than 17,500; a novella is at least 17,500, but less than 40,000; and a novel is 40,000 words or more.

Q: what's the name of the author of The Secret History?
A: Donna Tartt


movies & TV

Q: what are the names of the 3 co-hosts of "Win Ben Stein's Money"?
A: Jimmy Kimmel, Nancy Pimental, and Sal Iacono.

Q: what's that guy's name? the one ya see in practically everything, but remember best as Mickey Abbott on Seinfeld?
A: Danny Woodburn, but I now remember him best as Carl the gnome from Special Unit 2.

Q: what are Wayne & Shuster's full names?
A: Johnny Wayne & Frank Shuster (not Schuster)


music

Q: who played Dorothy in Blues Traveler's "Run-Around" video?
A: Diana Marquis

Q: what's the name of the lead singer of Letters to Cleo?
A: Kay Hanley

Q: what's the name of the lead singer of the Sundays?
A: Harriet Wheeler

Q: what's the name of the band who do that song, "Kiss Me"?
A: Sixpence None the Richer (the lead singer is Leigh Nash)

Q: what's the name of the singer from Cake?
A: John McCrea

Q: what's the name of the singer from Portishead?
A: Beth Gibbons

Q: what's the name of the singer from Mono?
A: Siobhan DeMare


Star Trek

Q: what does PADD stand for?
A: Personal Access Display Device

Q: what does LCARS stand for?
A: Library Computer Access and Retrieval System

Q: what does NCC stand for?
A: nothing, really, but it's sometimes said to stand for "Naval Construction Contract."


Star Wars

Q: what are the corresponding colors and designations of the battle droids of the trade federation in Star Wars Episode 1?
A: command officer=yellow; pilot=blue; security=red


miscellaneous

Q: what's the recipe for blackpowder/fireworks?
A: 75% saltpeter (potassium nitrate), 15% charcoal, 10% sulfur

Q: what are the seven deadly sins?
A: greed, sloth, pride, envy, gluttony, lust, and anger

Q: where does the phrase "23 skidoo" come from? And what does it mean, and stuff?
A: There are a number of theories about its origin and all that. Read a bit about it at
Wikipedia.


tek's stuff

Q: what does T'Vimh mean?
A: the voices in my head

Q: how do you spell the name of my favorite dinosaur?
A: Deinonychus


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