Below you will find the Owl Chatter Midterm Exam. There are 25 multiple choice questions. It’s an open book test. A prize will be awarded to the highest score. In the event of a tie, the winner will be chosen at random while I’m drunk.
Please submit your answers via email to: aliveson@aol.com. Deadline: 11:59pm, Sunday, January 15, 2023. Answers are based on the material presented in Owl Chatter through the Jan 8, 2023 post. (If the chatter conflicts with reality, the chatter wins.)
Have fun class! Results will not be posted, except for announcing the winner. So any morons out there shouldn’t worry about being embarrassed by low scores. You might as well try — there’s a good chance nobody else will.
Owl Chatter Midterm Exam
- The NYT crossword puzzle grid of Sunday 12/22/22 was controversial because its design appeared to show:
a. A Christian Cross
b. A symbol disrespectful to Muslims
c. A swastika
d. A Jewish Star of David
- The word “sockdolager” played a role in:
a. Washington’s crossing the Delaware
b. Jefferson’s drafting the Declaration of Independence
c. Lincoln’s assassination
d. The moon landing
- Complete this phrase: Happy as a clam ———-
a. in high water
b. in cold water
c. on the beach
d. in the sun
- Who is a patron saint of Owl Chatter?
a. Ana de Armas
b. Arthur Sullivan
c. Joe DiMaggio
d. Taylor Swift
- Which song did Taylor Swift write in response to a bad review?
a. Red
b. Mean
c. Shake It Off
d. Sticks and Stones
- What type of institution was named to honor Portia, the Shakespearean character in The Merchant of Venice?
a. a nursing school
b. a business school
c. a medical school
d. a law school
- A “smew” is a:
a. bird
b. rodent
c. cactus
d. fish
- A lawyer named Sue Yoo is an example of a(n)
a. metonym
b. homonym
c. holonym
d. aptronym
- Who was born on Pi Day (March 14th)?
a. Groucho Marx
b. Albert Einstein
c. Isaac Newton
d. Marie Antionette
- Marathon runner Lonah Chemtai Salpeter runs as a citizen of what country?
a. Kenya
b. The U.S.
c. Israel
d. Ghana
- Ai Weiwei created an artwork out of 100 million what?
a. pebbles
b. sunflower seeds
c. shoelaces
d. dried leaves
- Where would you find a “second line””
a. Chicago.
b. Disneyland
c. Los Angelas
d. New Orleans
- Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia means:
a. fear of long words
b. fear of large mammals
c. fear of loud noises
d. None of the above
- “I’m not really a waitress” is:
a. a line in a movie
b. a line in a song
c. a shade of nail polish
d. the name of a book
- “Nugatory” is a word used by whom in Owl Chatter lore?
a. William F. Buckley
b. Pat Moynihan
c. Rodney Dangerfield
d. Lisa Simpson
- Vuvuzela is:
a. A country in South America
b. A skin blemish caused by the sun
c. A popular Peruvian casserole
d. A horn that produces one note when blown into
- Hall of Famer Rod Carew was born:
a. in a taxi
b. in a hospital room
c. on a train
d. in a baseball stadium
- Cellist Charlotte Moorman won fame for playing the cello:
a. With her feet
b. In Hanoi during the Vietnam War
c. On top of the Washington Monument
d. Topless
- What part of Mary in The Pieta had to be replaced by using a block from her back after vandalism?
a. Fingers
b. Nose
c. Elbow
d. Foot
- Melville’s “Moby Dick” was based on an actual whale whose name was:
a. Whitey
b. Big Whitey
c. Mocha Dick
d. Larchmont
- What color is the Esperanto flag?
a. Green
b. Red
c. Taupe
d. There is no flag
- In the 2012 Olympics, gymnast Aly Raisman used what music for her gold-medal-winning “floor final?”
a. Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off”
b. The Norwegian National Anthem.
c. The Beatles’ Let It Be
d. Hava Nagila
- The late Don Christopher of Gilroy, CA, was known as “The [what] King?”
a. Garlic
b. Turnip
c. Pumpkin
d. Avocado
- What was Cincinnati Reds pitcher Tom Browning wearing when he pitched his perfect game?
a. Two wedding rings from two marriages
b. A Jewish “Chai” pendant
c. Red underwear
d. No underwear
- What opera did Puccini die before completing?
a. Tommy, the Rock Opera
b. Turandot
c. La Boheme
d. Madama Butterfly
The Wellington Files 