The category for today’s trivial imponderable is “sports.” Do you know . . . in which weight class did Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay) fight during the 1960 Olympics?
In the 1960 Olympics, Muhammad Ali competed in the light heavyweight class (NOT the heavyweight class).
Source: Sorry, Wrong Answer: Trivia Questions That Even Know-It-Alls Get Wrong, by Dr. Rod L. Evans.
The category for today’s trivial imponderable is “sports.” Do you know . . . which direction a curveball (baseball pitch) curves?
Correctly thrown curveballs curve downward. This type of pitch is actually a drop ball and was originally called an “out drop” pitch. Some pitches do curve to the side, but they are not a properly thrown curveball; rather, they are sliders or roundhouses.
Source: Sorry, Wrong Answer: Trivia Questions That Even Know-It-Alls Get Wrong, by Dr. Rod L. Evans.
Congratulations to Ohio State Buckeyes on their victory over Wisconsin Badgers in the Big Ten Championship game. This should guarantee Ohio State a spot (possibly the top spot) in the College Football Playoff. There continue to be six (6) teams from the Big Ten ranked in the top-25: Ohio State [#1], Wisconsin [#8], Penn State [#10], Michigan [#14], Iowa [#16], and Minnesota [#18].
The other conference champions include:
The upsets this week included:
Utah (#5) losing to Oregon (#13).
The close calls this week (games that were won by a touchdown or less) included:
Oklahoma (#6) defeating Baylor (#7) by seven (7) points in overtime.
Memphis (#17) defeating Cincinnati (#20) by five (5) points.
Appalachian State (#21) defeating unranked Louisiana by seven (7) points.
Top-25 match-ups won by the higher-ranked team included:
Ohio State (#1) defeating Wisconsin (#8).
LSU (#2) defeating Georgia (#4).
Clemson (#3) defeating Virginia (#23).
Oklahoma (#6) defeating Baylor (#7) by seven (7) points in overtime.
Memphis (#17) defeating Cincinnati (#20) by five (5) points.
The category for today’s trivial imponderable is “sports.” Do you know . . . how the word “seed” came to be used in tennis rankings?
“Seed” as a ranking comes from the word “conceded” which referred to players who are conceded, or assumed, to be the best in ranking for a tournament. More casual usage led to ceded, which eventually led to the current word, seed.
Source: Sorry, Wrong Answer: Trivia Questions That Even Know-It-Alls Get Wrong, by Dr. Rod L. Evans.
In the golfing world, shooting a score that is lower than your age is a big deal. Well, today marks the anniversary of the very first occurrence of such an event during the PGA (Professional Golfers Association) tour . . . Sam Snead, age 67, shot a 66 on the fourth day of the Quad Cities Open tournament at Coal City, IL, in 1979.
Some other “firsts” for today throughout history include:
Source: Famous First Facts, by Joseph Nathan Kane, Steven Anzovin, and Janet Podell.
Today is “selection Sunday” and the 2019 March Madness is all set to begin next week! Here is an infographic (courtesy of WalletHub) that show some of the interesting stats and facts from last year’s tournament. Enjoy! I will have a more detailed post tomorrow about “who’s in” and “who’s not.”
And now that winter has arrived, here is an informative infographic (courtesy of Eastern Mountain Sports School) that outlines the good, the bad, and the ugly of this season we call winter. Enjoy!
The category for today’s trivial imponderable is “sports.” Do you know . . . what distinguishes pugilism from boxing?
Pugilism, when distinguished from boxing, is bare-fisted.
Source: Sorry, Wrong Answer: Trivia Questions That Even Know-It-Alls Get Wrong, by Dr. Rod L. Evans.
Happy Saturday! We may be on the downside of the winter season (and spring is officially a little more than a month away), but we are smack dab in the middle of the Winter Olympics so here is a great infographic that shows the number of calories that can be burned by the various Winter Olympic sports. Hmm, snow shoveling made the list . . . I wasn’t aware that this was an Olympic sport. Enjoy!
Source:LiveScience
While the XXIII Winter Olympics official get underway a little later this week, today marks the anniversary of the very first Olympic Games competition to be held in the winter. Yep, 1932, Lake Placid, New York. The games opened on February 4th, by the then Governor of New York, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and included 307 athletes from 17 countries. What is your favorite Winter Olympic sport? I probably would be hard-pressed to single out a favorite, but I have always wished that I had given ski jumping a try (long before the movie “Eddie the Eagle” was released in theaters).
Source: Famous First Facts (6th ed.)by Joseph Nathan Kane, Steven Anzovin, and Janet Podell.
The Gun-Carryin' Librarian 