Finished Brainiac

I enjoyed the Ken Jennings book. Don is right, it's more about the history of trivia than his own personal journey as the winner of more games of Jeopardy! than anyone else in history, but it does tell of his experience on the show. I now know that Fred Worth wrote the trivia encyclopedias that most of the first game of Trivial Pursuit was taken from, and that he was not compensated for it. I also now know that the biggest trivia contest in America takes place every April in Stephens Point, Wisconsin. Jennings has thought a great deal about the nature and construction of a good trivia question and breaks all trivia questions down into these 9 types:

The Plain Vanilla Recall
What was the name of Captain Ahab’s whaling ship?

Plain Vanilla with Hot Fudge
This Golden State produces 90 percent of America’s broccoli.

The Superlative
What land mammal has the longest tail?

The Unique One
What’s the only planet in the solar system named for a goddess, not for a god?

The Huge Number
How far is it to the sun from the earth?

The Meaningless Coincidence
What did the four Best Supporting Actress Oscar winners from 1978 to 1981 all have in common? (besides being female)

The Elusive Everyday Detail
How many rays make up the Statue of Liberty’s crown?

The Trick
What fitting name was given to a dinosaur discovered near Muttaburra, Australia?

The Puzzler
Of the Social Security Administration’s top ten boys’ names in 2000, what two, ending in the same letter, are also on the list of the twelve apostles?