Tuesday Trivia

1. What is the longest word in the English language with all the letters in alphabetical order?
2. The word “girl” appears only once in what world-famous literary work?
3. Which French novelist and playwright dabbled in the art of hypnotism?
4. In what year was the first public library opened in America?
5. Which celebrated Victorian novelist toyed with the names “Small Sam” and “Puny Pete” before settling on the well-known character name he chose?

Last Week's Answers

The first published drawings of what famous children's book author-illustrator appeared in a physics text entitled Atomics for the Millions?

Maurice Sendak. The text was written by one of his high-school teachers. Sendak received a passing grade and small fee for his efforts.

In the book Gone With the Wind, how many months actually pass during Melanie's' pregnancy?

Approximately 21 based on the battles mentioned in the text. When this was pointed out to author Margaret Mitchell, she reportedly replied that “a Southerner's pace is slower than that of a Yankee.”

What Alfred Hitchcock movie title is drawn from Shakespeare's Hamlet?

North by Northwest, in which Cary Grant feigns madness. The title is taken from Hamlet's words: "I am but mad north-northwest; when the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw.”

What did writer Edgar Allan Poe and singer Jerry Lee Lewis have in common pertaining to their choice of wives?

Both married a 13-year-old cousin.

How did Voltaire rid himself of tiresome guests?

Voltaire got rid of boring guests by pretending to faint.