Can you solve this week's sample Secret Theme round?

Each group of 10 otherwise unrelated tough questions has a theme running through its answers. Can you answer the questions and figure out the themes? Answers will be posted early next week.

1) What 1987 Eddie Murphy concert film grossed over $50 million at the box office?
2) What river has its origin at Ethiopia's Lake Tana?
3) How did Jessica McClure get her 15 minutes' fame in 1987?
4) What NBC TV show, which began in 2005, stars Patricia Arquette as Allison DuBois?
5) What group had a hit album in 1989 with As Nasty as They Wanna Be?
6) What 1991 movie starred Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves and Gary Busey?
7) The elements scandium, yttrium and the 15 lathanoids are collectively known as what sort of elements?
8) What early 17th century English poet wrote "Death Be Not Proud"?
9) On what 1959-1966 CBS Western show did Clint Eastwood's career get a lift?
10) What 1966 hit for The Kinks includes the lyric And his mother goes to meetings / While his father pulls the maid?

... and what theme links the ten answers?

Can you figure out this week's Secret Theme rounds?

Each group of 10 otherwise unrelated tough questions has a theme running through its answers. Can you answer the questions and figure out the themes? Answers will be posted early next week.

12 Steps Down:

1) What word in Judaism refers to obeying any one of the 613 Torah commandments, 7 rabbinical commandments, or more broadly to any act of kindess?

2) What regular character in the early years of Saturday Night Live habitually read letters from (fictional) viewer Richard Feder of Fort Lee, NJ?

3) What group of villains was organized by Doctor Octopus to destroy Spider-Man?

4) What big-budget 2001 movie starred Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett and Kate Beckinsale?

5) What American rock band, formed in 1986, took their unusual name from a skit on the 1980 Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album?

6) What 1999 gay romantic comedy was nominated for Best Picture at Sundance and featured Tori Spelling?

7) What country singer, daughter of another famous country singer, had 11 #1 singles on the country charts in the 1980s?

8) Finish the Jonathan Swift quote: "He was a brave man that first ate..."

9) What Japanese word, now a word in English as well, translates literally as "it's sour"?

10) What German Baroque composer gave us Messiah, Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks?

... and what theme links the ten answers?

Ray's Happy Birthday Bar, Wednesday:

1) For what film did Charlize Theron win the Best Actress Oscar in 2003?

2) How much is a "dime" in high stakes gambling?

3) Which is the only US state with one unified school district?

4) What famous estate in Santa Barbara County, California, estimated worth $100 million, was bought from golf course mogul William Bone in 1987?

5) What record did Mark David Chapman have John Lennon autograph the same day he shot him?

6) From what 1948 film do we get the popular misquote "Badges?! We don't need no stinkin' badges!"?

7) What American politician was shot fatally on September 8, 1935?

8) What 1979 thriller starred Clint Eastwood and Patrick McGoohan?

9) What is the Alaskan brown bear also known as?

10) What international airline now has a "Green" division dedicated to finding a cleaner source of fuel?

... and what theme links the ten answers?

This week's sample Secret Theme rounds

Tough rounds this week, good luck!  Each group of 10 otherwise unrelated tough questions has a theme running through its answers. Can you answer the questions and figure out the themes? Answers will be posted early next week.

Lyon's Den:

1) What band had a #1 song in the US in 1973 with "Frankenstein"?

2) Who played Bobby Wheeler on the sit-com Taxi?

3) Who hosts the Fox News show On the Record?

4) Who has been involved in lengthy court battles regarding the release of his 1998 album Mutations?

5) What US Congressman died in a skiing accident in 1998?

6) What rapper, also known as "The Human Beatbox", had a hit with "The Show" in 1985?

7) What Simpsons voice talent regular is the voice of Ralph Wiggum?

8) What singer, the "Queen of Funk Soul", was born Yvette Marie Stevens?

9) What actress was engaged to Brad Pitt while costarring with him in Kalifornia and Too Young to Die??

10) Who killed Joan Vollmer in Mexico City, 1951?

... and what theme links the ten answers?

Ray's Happy Birthday Bar, Monday:

1) A strike related to what fruit led Cesar Chavez into the labor movement in 1965?

2) What 2003 Academy Award-winning documentary focused on the career of Robert McNamara?

3) What American poet took part in the 1961 inauguration of John F. Kennedy?

4) What former White House press secretary died of colon cancer last weekend?

5) What 1966 Beatles song, according to some their first true psychedelic recording, is the B-side of "Paperback Writer"?

6) Who's trippin' down the streets of the city, smilin' at everybody she sees?

7) What decades-old  CBS News expose of the plight of migrant farm workers was considered a highpoint of American TV journalism?

8) With what team did Dwayne Wade win the 2006 NBA Finals MVP?

9) What 2-minute Cat Stevens song featured use of the word never 16 times?

10) What is the British term for what we call a slot machine?

... and what theme links the ten answers?

This week's sample Secret Theme rounds

Each group of 10 otherwise unrelated tough questions has a theme running through its answers. Can you answer the questions and figure out the themes? Answers will be posted early next week.

Lyon's Den:

1) What multiple-album set won the 1972 Grammy for Best Album?

2) What cocktail is made with gin, cherry brandy, pineapple and lime juices, Cointreau, Dom Benedictine, grenadine and bitters?

3) What order of Catholic priests was founded in France in the 13th century and is also known as the Order of Preachers?

4) On Alltel commercials, what's the name of the Alltel salesman we're not supposed to think is a loser like those of the competing companies?

5) What 1985 film was co-written by Terry Gilliam and Tom Stoppard?

6) What pastel-colored, sugar-coated treats are traditionally eaten at weddings as a "bittersweet" symbol of romantic love?

7) Who directed Pretty Woman, The Flamingo Kid and The Princess Diaries?

8) What 2007 movie starred Jane Fonda and Lindsay Lohan?

9) What ABC drama, which aired 1988-1991, was set at the 510th Evacuation Hospital?

10) What Chilean president was murdered in the 1973 coup?

... and what theme links the ten answers?

Ray's Happy Birthday Bar, Monday:

1) What PBS Kids show is produced by Mississippi Public Television, debuted in 2001 and has won 7 consecutive daytime Emmys?

2) What brand of beer has been brewed by the Oland family in St. John, New Brunswick since 1867?

3) What British actor was Brutus in Julius Caesar (1953), Captain Nemo in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) and Humbert Humbert in Lolita (1962)?

4) Founded in 2000, this is the only NHL franchise which has yet to make the playoffs.

5) What type of single-person, single-mast dinghy has been used as a training sailboat for young people and a racing sailboat for under-15s since 1947?

6) What's the colloquial name for the group of muscles and tendons which stabilize the shoulder?  Baseball pitchers often have trouble with it.

7) Located in Los Angeles, this is the largest indoor theater in the US with over 6,300 seats.

8) Name the highest decoration awarded by the French government.  There are five grades and the award was created by Napoleon in 1802.

9) What's the largest variety of deer found in North America and Asia?  It's also known as a wapiti.

10) What word did the Romans use for "Ireland"?

... and what theme links the ten answers?

Three Secret Theme rounds for your holiday weekend

Each group of 10 otherwise unrelated tough questions has a theme running through its answers. Can you answer the questions and figure out the themes? Answers will be posted early next week.  I went hog wild and am posting three rounds from this week; enjoy.

Lyon's Den:

1) What Cartoon Network show, which debuted in 1997 and ran for 5 seasons, sometimes featured Donny Osmond voicing himself?

2) What 1999 movie starred Adrien Brody playing a kidnapper going by the assumed name "Harry Houdini"?

3) What 1972 film starring Sir Lawrence Olivier and Michael Caine was based upon a Tony-winning mystery-oriented play?

4) Who is Snoopy's older brother in Needles, California?

5) What classic 1981 comedy featured a "stand up philosopher" named Comicus?

6) What kind of anthropomorphic animal was Disney villain J. Worthington Foulfellow?

7) What is the opening song of the musical Oliver!?

8) By what name was American outlaw Harry Alonzo Longabaugh better known?

9) What 1970 Mick Jagger single was the theme from his movie Performance?

10) What's the French word for "again"?

... and what theme links the ten answers?

Ray's Happy Birthday Bar, Monday:

1) What entertainer was born in Portugal in 1909 as Maria da Cunha?

2) What's the only US state with a capital city in the list of ten most populous cities in the country?

3) What NY Knicks point guard has been named three times to The Sporting News' Good Guys in Sports list?

4) What girls' name was not listed even once in US Census records in 1985, but became the second most popular name for girls in the country by 2002?

5) What British naval officer led the Antarctic expeditions Discovery and Terra Nova in the early 20th century?

6) What Norman Lear NBC sit-com, set in the Watts section of L.A., ran for 6 seasons beginning in 1972, and was a Top Ten prime time show for the first five of those seasons?

7) Founded in 1764, this Ivy League university was a Baptist answer to the Episcopal and Congregationalist schools on the East Coast at the time.  Name it.

8) What's the capital of Kansas?

9) What cooking ingredient is the ripe egg masses of fish, sea urchins or shrimp?

10) Who is the only man to have been head coach of the NFL's Saints, Broncos, Bills, Falcons and Cowboys?

... and what theme links the ten answers?

Ray's Happy Birthday Bar, Wednesday:

1) What MLB team has played at Kauffman Stadium since 1973?

2) In what constellation are the stars of the Big Dipper?

3) What national park contains Wheeler Peak, Nevada's highest point, and 5,000 year old bristlecone pines?

4) What artist's last words were reportedly "Le vieux con!" ("Old fool!"), in 1901?

5) Senator John McCain's birthplace raised some questions about his constitutional eligibility to run for president.  Where was he born in 1936?

6) For what 1968 song did June Carter and Johnny Cash win a Grammy?

7) What's the fourth line of "Star Spangled Banner"?

8) What American naval officer, a hero of the Barbary Wars and the War of 1812, is generally considered to have been the first post-Revolution war hero?

9) From what royal house are the monarchs of Spain and Luxembourg?

10) What cathedral, 50 miles from Paris, is considered France's finest example of Gothic architecture?

... and what theme links the ten answers?

Can you figure out last week's Secret Theme rounds?

Each group of 10 otherwise unrelated tough questions has a theme running through its answers. Can you answer the questions and figure out the themes? Answers will be posted later this week.

Drinker's Tavern:

1) What national chain of restaurants, founded in Los Angeles in 1986, claims to serve "The Original Hamburger"?
2) What 1975 album by Bob Dylan and The Band contained recordings made by them between 1967-1975?
3) What rock band, founded in Stockton, CA in 1989, recorded the albums Wowie Zowie and Slanted & Enchanted?
4) According to Abraham Lincoln, what "shall not perish from the Earth"?
5) What track from The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, featuring harpsichord and French horn, was named the 13th best track ever by Mojo and 25th best ever by Rolling Stone?
6) What was the must-have item for kids in 1954, owing to the popularity of the Disney TV show Davy Crockett, Indian Fighter?
7) What was the name of the NASA mission that first sent men to the moon in 1969?
8) In 1992, Elizabeth Taylor did a memorable guest voice on The Simpsons; what character did she play?
9) What violent left-wing American group accidentally blew up three of their own members in a Greenwich Village townhouse in 1970?
10) What unfortunate item was invented and first installed in Oklahoma City by Carl C. Magee in 1935?

... and what theme links the ten answers?

Ray's Happy Birthday Bar (Wednesday):

1) Who won the 2003 World Series MVP award for the Florida Marlins?
2) Who was the protagonist of Victor Hugo's 1831 novel Notre Dame de Paris?
3) What jazz musician is most credited for making the flute a jazz instrument? His 1969 album Memphis Underground is highly regarded.
4) What American labor leader founded both the United Mineworkers and the CIO?
5) Which one of the Cosby Kids of Fat Albert fame had the catchphrase "No class!"?
6) President Harry S Truman had a wooden sign on his desk starting in 1945. One side read "I'm from Missouri!", what did the other side read?
7) What was Moses Malone's 1983 playoff battle cry for the Philadelphia 76ers?
8) Which European country is sometimes referred to as "the hexagon" by its residents in their own language?
9) What was John Wayne's birth name?
10) Who was the Dallas Cowboys' starting punter and/or quarterback on and off 1979-1987?

... and what theme links the ten answers?

Can you figure out this week's Secret Theme rounds, or are you some sort of bananahead?

Each group of 10 otherwise unrelated tough questions has a theme running through its answers. Can you answer the questions and figure out the themes? Answers will be posted early next week.

Lyon's Den:

1) Which current NHL franchise began as the Kansas City Scouts in 1974?

2) What comic strip, many say the world's first daily, was created by Bud Fisher in 1907?

3) What singer has been backed by The Grease Band since 1966?

4) What 1984 movie, set in Nebraska, was based upon a Stephen King story?

5) Singers named Ruth, Anita and Issa are better known collectively as what act?

6) What do you call the type of logically absurd statement which reveals a paradoxical truth which is traced back to Sir Boyle Roche, but also popularized by Yogi Berra and Sam Goldwyn?

7) Who played Richie Valens in the 1987 movie La Bamba?

8) What English county is known as "Bronte Country"?

9) With what single did former New York Doll David Johansen have a huge hit in 1987?

10) In what 1998 movie did Robin Williams play the real-life founder of the Gesundheit! Institute?

... and what theme links the ten answers?

Drinker's Tavern:

1) What powerful Alaskan senator is the longest-serving current US Senator, having been elected first in 1968?

2) What 1981 David Cronenberg sci-fi film claimed that only 237 of Earth's 4 billion people held the most terrifying power ever?

3) According to Mick Jagger, what happens to troubadours for whom traps are laid?

4) How do you say "left" and "right" in Thai (this is easier than you would expect if you think about it...)?

5) What country did fascist Italy invade in 1935-36?  The name of the country at the time helps with the theme.

6) What real-life Western pioneer was depicted in the 1977 live-action Disney movie ___________ and the Mountain Men?

7) The 23rd state broke off from Massachusetts in 1820; name it.

8) What prime time show, which debuted in 2003, follows the careers of Dr. Dylan Walsh and Dr. Sean McNamara?

9) What male first name means "happy" or "fortunate" in Latin?

10) What classic TV character, an employee of fictional WJM-TV, was partial inspiration for Simpsons character Kent Brockman?

... and what theme links the ten answers?

Last week's Secret Theme rounds

Each group of 10 otherwise unrelated tough questions has a theme running through its answers. Can you answer the questions and figure out the themes? Answers will be posted early next week.

Drinker's Tavern:

1) What won Employee of the Month instead of Homer Simpson even though he was the last remaining employee at the nuke plant who hadn't won?
2) From a different Simpsons episode, fill in the quote: "You said you wanted to live in a world without _____ , Jimmy. Well now your car has no battery. ..."
3) What's the phrase in English for China's primary food production region?
4) Britain's Eagle Comics produces Judge Dredd, as well as a few other titles, including a comic about a mutant anti-hero named Johnny Alpha; name it.
5) What Republican lost to Lyndon Johnson in the 1964 presidential election?
6) According to Borat, Kazakhstan is "number one exporter" of what?
7) In what movie classic do two old ladies assert that almost everyone else is "pixelated"?
8) What classic rock band was briefly billed as The New Yardbirds?
9) On internet chat boards, what phrase is commonly used to indicate cranks or conspiracy theorists, often indicated with smileys such as <(:-) ?
10) What groundbreaking 66-satellite network allows subscribers to make and receive calls on a cell phone from anywhere in the world?


... and what theme links the ten answers?

Dirty Frank's:

This was the final Secret Theme that you were cheated out of hearing.

1) What was developed by Wallace Carothers at DuPont in 1935?
2) French brothers Auguste and Louis were groundbreaking motion picture entrepreneurs who started public shows in 1895; what was their surname?
3) According to the 1969 Peter Sarstedt hit "Where Do You Go to My Lovely" (featured heavily in The Darjeeling Limited), what's the name of the woman being addressed in the lyric?
4) What 1988 crime film starred Sean Penn and Robert Duvall?
5) What Sicilian-American, who died in 1962, is considered the father of modern American organized crime?
6) What model was born Eleanor Nancy Gow?
7) What famous TV character claimed his personal heroes were Mickey Mantle and Bette Midler?
8) According to Peter Gibbons, what did the Nazis have that they made Jews wear?
9) In what 1973 film did Jack Nicholson play a character nicknamed Bad Ass?
10) What Madonna hit contains the lyric "Go inside, for your finest inspiration"?

... and what theme links the ten answers?

I want you... to try and figure out this week's sample Secret Theme rounds

Each group of 10 otherwise unrelated tough questions has a theme running through its answers. Can you answer the questions and figure out the themes? Answers will be posted early next week.

Drinker's Tavern:

1) Which conquistador defeated the Aztecs in 1521?
2) What comedienne, famous for decades on stage and on TV, was born Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon?
3) What famous rock club is in Asbury Park, NJ?
4) What, specifically, does Mr. Jinks hate?
5) Whose first film, in 1914, was Making a Living?
6) Who played Jeannie on I Dream of Jeannie?
7) What 2000 film, co-written by Billy Bob Thornton, starred Cate Blanchett, Keanu Reeves, Katie Holmes, Greg Kinnear and Hilary Swank?
8) Poet Julia Ward Howe is best remembered for rewriting the lyric to a song; name the song.
9) You might be surprised to learn that in Spain and South America, this Spanish word means omelette, and not what we're accustomed to it meaning. Name the word.
10) In MacBeth, the only line of consequence of Fleance, son of Banquo, comes in Act II, Scene I. Give me the first four words of that line.

... and what theme links the ten answers?

Dirty Frank's:

1) What NBA star, hailing from Alabama, was league MVP in 1993?
2) Who was the only Democrat elected to the presidency in the period 1860-1912?
3) What 1991 Sylvester Stallone movie was a remake of a 1967 movie?
4) What famous opera singer currently serves as the General Director of both the Los Angeles Opera and Washington National Opera?
5) What famous American was accused of "court packing" in 1937?
6) What poison was Socrates sentenced to drink?
7) What huge corporation was founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin?
8) Who created the comic strip Nancy?
9) In what 1985 movie did Rob Lowe play a character named Billy Hicks?
10) What band had their only national hit, a Top Ten single, in 1966 with "Psychotic Reaction"?

... and what theme links the ten answers?

I dare you to figure out this week's sample Secret Theme rounds!

Each group of 10 otherwise unrelated tough questions has a theme running through its answers. Can you answer the questions and figure out the themes? Answers will be posted early next week.

Ray's Happy Birthday Bar:

1) What Through the Looking Glass character had a semantics argument with Alice, including the quote "When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean."?
2) What common one-syllable computer term is synonymous with "hang", a condition in which the machine goes unresponsive?
3) What '50s doo-wop group had their biggest hit with "Earth Angel"?
4) Guitarist Kristy Wallace is a founding member of The Cramps. What's her stage name?
5) According to Greek legend, what question had to be answered in order to be allowed passage into the city of Thebes?
6) What did British citizen Howard Carter discover in 1922 which made him world-famous?
7) What 1945 best-selling memoir by American author Betty MacDonald resulted in a series of ten "Ma and Pa Kettle" movies?
8) What comedian was the host of Family Feud, 1999-2002?
9) What game show, on air 1972-1991, was the show "where knowledge is king and Lady Luck is queen"?
10) What prime time TV show, on air 1983-87, starred Kate Jackson and Bruce Boxleitner?

... and what theme links the ten answers?

Dirty Frank's:

1) What controversial 1978 book by Edward Said criticized the treatment of the East in Western academia?
2) The '80s sit-com Kate & Allie starred Jane Curtain and..?
3) What TV show featured the recurring segments The Blue Beetle, The $6.39 Man and Love of Chair?
4) What 1980 sci-fi film was the screen debut for both William Hurt and Drew Barrymore?
5) In order to sail from the Gulf of Bothnia to the Kattegat, or vice versa, what body of water must be traversed?
6) What American magazine, still published, was founded in 1857 by such luminaries as Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., Harriet Beecher Stowe, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow?
7) Who created the LOVE statue?
8) At what Philadelphia attraction will you find the new Delaware River Watershed Education Center?
9) What American world middleweight boxing champ was the Ring magazine Fighter of the Year 1983 and 1985, did ads for Pizza Hut and Gillette and now lives in Italy?
10) What 1990 movie starred Melanie Griffith, Matthew Modine and Michael Keaton?


... and what theme links the ten answers?

Can you work out this week's Secret Themes?

Each group of 10 otherwise unrelated tough questions has a theme running through its answers. Can you answer the questions and figure out the themes? Answers will be posted early next week.

Ray's Happy Birthday Bar:

1) What Gary Numan song went Top 10 in the US in 1980?
2) The Coleoptera group of insect species comprises 40% of known insect species and 25% of all known species on Earth; by what more common English name do we know them?
3) What 1972 cowboy movie starred Jeff Bridges as Jake Rumsey?
4) What's the Hebrew word for father?
5) What art and architecture movement was founded by Walter Gropius in Weimar, Germany in 1919?
6) What major US city has a name which translates as "wild onion" or even "bad smell" in a local native language?
7) Which NFL franchise, still with us, has its name drawn from the logo of the Depression-era National Recovery Act?
8) Which James Bond movie featured Honor Blackman as the primary Bond girl?
9) What Auguste Rodin sculpture had the original title Francesca da Rimini?
10) What was the second novel, following Naked Lunch, in William S. Burroughs' Nova Trilogy?

... and what theme links the ten answers?

Dirty Frank's:

1) What 1935 John Steinbeck novel is set in California just before the imposition of Prohibition and was made into a Hollywood film in 1942?
2) What countercultural catalog of alternative energy and agriculture implements was published 1968-1998?
3) Andre the Giant, King Kong, the Grand Canyon and the Great Wall of China have all been termed what?
4) Coca-Cola produced its first diet product in 1963; name it.
5) What was the last album by The Clash, released in 1985?
6) By what name is Grammy-nominated rapper Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. better known?
7) What 1998 film featured Dave Chappelle as Thurgood Jenkins?
8) What part of the upper deck of a ship is reserved for officers, guests and passengers?
9) What 1983 ZZ Top song features the lyric Silk suit, black tie / I don't need a reason why?
10) What's the Hebrew phrase for one to whom the commandments apply? No matter who you are, you've heard the phrase before.

... and what theme links the ten answers?

This week's sample Secret Theme rounds

Each group of 10 otherwise unrelated tough questions has a theme running through its answers. Can you answer the questions and figure out the themes? Answers will be posted early next week.

Drinker's Tavern:

1) What baseball Hall of Famer had a lifelong business relationship with Coca-Cola, accumulating 20,000 shares of stock and three bottling plants by the time of his death?
2) Name the two old hecklers in the balcony of The Muppet Show.
3) What were the first words spoken by Chief Bromden in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest?
4) What PBS show, produced by WGBH Boston, has had only four hosts since its debut in 1975, the first and longest-running being James Underwood Crockett?
5) What Emmy Award-winning prime time TV show uses the Massive Attack song "Teardrop" as a theme?
6) What was Philadelphia mob boss Philip Testa's nickname?
7) In what classic 1931 film did Edward G. Robinson play a mobster named Rico?
8) What Swiss auto manufacturer existed 1896-1919?
9) In 1969, this band featuring Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Cassidy broke off from Jefferson Airplane; name it.
10) What still-popular toy was invented in the early 1950s by George Lerner, becoming a hit upon its sale to Hasbro in 1952?

... and what theme links the ten questions?

Lyon's Den:

1) What rock musician wrote the soundtracks to the movies The Princess Bride, Wag the Dog and Last Exit to Brooklyn, among others?
2) In which Sergio Leone spaghetti western did German actor Klaus Kinski play a bad guy named Wild?
3) What pitcher shared both the 2001 World Series MVP and the Sport's Illustrated Sportsman of the Year award with Randy Johnson?
4) What American poet, who attended the University of Pennsylvania, died in exile in Italy in 1972?
5) What central figure in South American independence movements was at different times the president of Bolivia, Peru and Gran Colombia?
6) What Asian stereotype was played by Gedde Watanabe in 1984's Sixteen Candles?
7) What do you call the flat-bottomed boats commonly pushed along the Thames with poles instead of rowed with oars?
8) In Latin, Portuguese, Spanish and Scandinavian languages this is the word for our sun. What is it?
9) What self-described lesbian folk singer was once the vocalist for the L.A. punk band Nervous Gender, and had the decent-selling major label album I Enjoy Being a Girl in 1989?
10) What was invented by an American named Ron Karenga in 1966?

... and what theme links the ten questions?

This week's sample Secret Theme rounds

Each group of 10 otherwise unrelated tough questions has a theme running through its answers. Can you answer the questions and figure out the themes? Answers will be posted early next week.

Lyon's Den:

1) What American Fortune 500 printing company has produced collectible Lakeside Classics editions of books for its employees at Christmas since 1903?
2) Along with Terrell Owens and Jerry Rice, who was Steve Young's other wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers in the mid- to late-'90s?
3) What American clothing firm was founded in Freeport, Maine in 1912, and has annual sales of nearly $1.5 billion?
4) Who created Winnie the Pooh?
5) By what name is metal guitarist Bruce Anthony Johannesson better known?
6) What American poet served as an ambulance driver in World War I, was falsely arrested as a spy, and wrote a critically acclaimed novel based in the experience, The Enormous Room, published in 1920?
7) What Duke University guard set the ACC's all-time leading scorer record, and was drafted by the Orlando Magic in the first round of the 2006 NBA draft?
8) What rapper released "Bigger and Deffer" in 1987?
9) What theologically liberal faith uses the flaming chalice as a symbol?
10) In All in the Family, when Archie Bunker would start telling old war stories, what specific phrase would he use to set the time and place?

... and what theme links the ten answers?

Dirty Frank's:

1) What 1997 film stars James Woods and Melanie Griffith as criminal junkies?
2) When Japan surrendered to the US in 1945 aboard the USS Missouri, which admiral's flagship was that?
3) What American supermodel, born in 1963, has made far more money by putting her name on over 15,000 consumer products than she ever made modelling?
4) In 1877, Thomas Edison made the first wax recording of a human voice, a recitation. What piece was recorded?
5) What comic strip about a suburban family was created by Mort Walker and Dik Browne in 1954, and is still syndicated?
6) What song won the Grammy awarded in 2007 for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration?
7) In which James Bond movie was Bond attempting to stop a heroin kingpin named Mr. Big?
8) What 2004 documentary about the Tour de France used a German cycling team as a focal point?
9) What magazine targeted at African-Americans began publication in 1951, but did not begin publication in color until 1999?
10) What ten-part 2001 HBO mini-series was based upon the writing of historian and biographer Stephen Ambrose?

... and what theme links the ten answers?

Can you solve this week's Secret Theme rounds?

Each group of 10 otherwise unrelated tough questions has a theme running through its answers. Can you answer the questions and figure out the themes? Answers will be posted early next week.


Lyon's Den:

1) What Manchester-based British band has been together since with some success since 1981, but is largely only known in the US for their 1993 hit "Laid"?
2) What sometimes controversial comic strip has been written and drawn by Tom Batiuk since 1972?
3) What very famous British author was great friends with magician Harry Houdini until the two had a falling out in the 1920s over the validity of psychic phenomena?
4) What founding member of The Rolling Stones played guitar, sitar, dulcimer, autoharp, recorder, organ and numerous other instruments on most of their 1960s output?
5) Name the 1987 movie in which you find this line: "One thing about living in Santa Carla I never could stomach... all the damn vampires."
6) What rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of South Africa is the point at which sailors literally and psychologically hit a turning point when sailing around Africa?
7) What 1982 Van Halen album features original songs as well as covers of Roy Orbison, Martha & the Vandellas and The Kinks?
8) What's the world's fourth-largest country in land area?
9) What NFL Hall of Fame player was inducted in 2000, drafted in the first round of the 1982 draft, and was the first player to rush for over 10,000 yards while gaining over 5,000 receiving yards?
10) What is the nickname of the University of Pennsylvania's sports teams?

... and what theme links the ten answers?

Ray's Happy Birthday Bar:

1) On Seinfeld, the character Sue Ellen Mischke (the "braless wonder") was said to be the heiress to what fortune?
2) By what name is guitarist David Howell Evans better known?
3) What current MLB franchise was the Washington Senators, 1961-71?
4) In British and Commonwealth schools, what single word can be used to mean "head boy" or "head girl"?
5) What did University of Utah researchers Dr. Martin Flieschmann and Dr. Stanley Pons create a huge scientific stir over supposedly witnessing for a short period in 1989?
6) What influential American Evangelical group was founded by James Dobson in 1977?
7) What 1981 sci-fi action flick starred a character named Snake Plissken?
8) Specifically what mammals were declared by an Act of Congress in 1971 to be "living symbols of the history and pioneer spirit of the West"?
9) What NFL franchise was founded as the Portsmouth (Ohio) Spartans in 1929?
10) Which of the four New Testament gospels is not considered "synoptic", but rather intended to evangelize to Greek-reading Jews?

... and what theme links the ten answers?

Can you figure out this week's sample Secret Theme rounds?

Each group of 10 otherwise unrelated tough questions has a theme running through its answers. Can you answer the questions and figure out the themes? Answers will be posted early next week.


Drinker's Tavern:

1) What's the name (acronym) of the Moscow-based Soviet/Russian department store, founded in 1953 and still a tourist attraction?
2) In 1968, Valarie Solanas shot Andy Warhol. She also wrote an anti-male screed; what is its title?
3) What Ohio university is the home of the Falcons?
4) What type of white blood cell is hypothesized to be attacked by the HIV retrovirus, unraveling the immune system?
5) What funny internet catchphrase was popular in 2001-02, drawn from the poor grammar and syntax of the Japanese game Zero Wing for the Sega Mega Drive?
6) What classic 1982 B-movie featured a deformed former Siamese twin named Belial?
7) What does legendary blues guitarist B.B. King name all of his guitars?
8) What 1969 movie starred Shirley MacClaine, Sammy Davis Jr., Chita Rivera, Ricardo Montalban and the choreography of Bob Fosse?
9) What was Walt Disney's first full-length animated feature, released in 1938?
10) What porn publication was founded in 1968 by Al Goldstein? It has won a number of legally important precedent cases and purports to be "The World's Greatest Newspaper."

... and what theme links the ten answers?

Ray's Happy Birthday Bar:

1) What British intellectual lived 1566-1626, is credited with inventing the English language essay, was a leader of the scientific revolution and is believed by some people to have authored the works of Shakespeare?
2) What country singer had a #1 hit on the pop charts and a Grammy for country single of the year for 1961's "Big Bad John"?
3) According to the Bible, what son of Noah is the father of all the peoples of Africa? Egypt is therefore referred to in parts of the book as the "Land of..." him.
4) What British band had an incredible 18 consecutive singles hit the Top 40 in the UK 1977-82? They didn't sell nearly as well in the US, where they are better remembered for their 1978 album "All Mod Cons."
5) What public speaking/leadership organization was founded in 1924 in Santa Ana, California as Smedley Club #1?
6) American meteorologist and mathematician Edward Lorenz just died at the age of 91. What concept did he propose which has a name fitting this round?
7) In 1981 this person had a #2 pop hit with a cover of the Dave Edmunds song "Queen of Hearts"; name her.
8) In what chain eatery was Kid Rock arrested in October 2007 for beating a customer?
9) What colonial major general captured Fort Ticonderoga from the British in 1775?
10) According to the nursery rhyme/kids' song, who "lives in Drury Lane"?

... and what theme links the ten answers?

This week's sample Secret Theme rounds

Each group of 10 otherwise unrelated tough questions has a theme running through its answers. Can you answer the questions and figure out the themes? Answers will be posted early next week.

Dirty Frank's:

I asked a few questions of local interest this week.

1) What African nation has the capital Yamassoukro?
2) What was the name of the White House cat during the Clinton presidency?
3) What was the name of Kevin Arnold's garage band on The Wonder Years?
4) What bassist for James Brown and later Parliament/Funkadelic is largely credited with the creation of the funk sound?
5) What donut-shaped region on the outskirts of our solar system produces most of the comets which pass Earth?
6) What's the name of David Letterman's production company?
7) What local hoagie chain supplies prizes for local sports talk radio station WIP?
8) In the movie This Is... Spinal Tap, what album has a cover offensive to women?
9) What player did Philadelphia Phillies manager Dallas Green say was the toughest athlete to play for him in a list of ten he put together recently?
10) In what suburban Philadelphia town will you find the Philadelphia Athletics Museum?

... and what theme links the ten answers?

Drinker's Tavern:

1) What did Dmitri Mendeleev create in 1869?
2) What groundbreaking 1920 German Expressionist film was directed by Robert Wiene?
3) What Canadian kids' show has been carried on PBS stations since 1994?
4) What empire existed from 1299-1922 in parts of Asia, Europe and Africa?
5) In what 1998 movie did Carrot Top play a surfer/inventor who inherits a billion dollars?
6) What section of the US Department of the Treasury makes paper money?
7) What 1951 live-action Disney movie featured Ronald Reagan and a chimpanzee?
8) What Quad Cities burg is the fourth-largest city in Iowa?
9) What magazine literally and figuratively revealed a lot of Lindsay Lohan in a January 2006 story about her drug and alcohol use featuring a skimpy bikini cover shot?
10) What 1957 Katherine Hepburn/Spencer Tracy romantic comedy featured the pair at odds over a TV marketing department's installation of a computer?

... and what theme links the ten answers?

This week's sample Secret Theme rounds

Each group of 10 otherwise unrelated tough questions has a theme running through its answers. Can you answer the questions and figure out the themes? Answers will be posted early next week.


Dirty Frank's:

I readily admit this one is hard; no one got the theme this week. The top teams have been nailing this round consistently so I thought it was time for a challenge.

1) What classic 1954 Warner Brothers sci-fi film featured giant radioactive ants?
2) In 1870 British-born American chemist Robert Chesebrough patented this household product with a wide variety of uses. He invented it right here in Pennsylvania; name it.
3) What is the #1 TV show in the future according to a running gag in Futurama?
4) What 2007 song was #8 on the pop charts almost completely on the strength of iTunes downloads?
5) According to the Simpsons episode "Homer Bad Man", what is "the rarest gummi of them all"?
6) What US Forest Service character said "Give a Hoot - Don't Pollute!"?
7) On what Fox sit-com which ran 2001-2006 would you find actresses Vanessa & Bryana Thompkins?
8) In what part of the body are your olfactory mucosa?
9) What small mammal is also called the short-tailed weasel or the ermine?
10) What clan of Hobbits is said to exhibit eccentric behavior even for Hobbits? Tolkein's character Peregrin or "Pippin" is a member of the clan.

... and what theme links the ten answers?

Lyon's Den:

1) What 1969 Mel Tillis-penned country-pop tune about a Vietnam vet became a hit for (Kenny Rogers &) The First Edition?
2) What famous African-American singer, winner of a Tony and an Emmy, died in Philadelphia in 1990, although she had no roots here?
3) What 1974 David Bowie album features "Rebel Rebel" and a dystopian future theme?
4) What conservative New York Times columnist writes the "On Language" column and has authored a number of books on English usage and vocabulary?
5) What 1995 erotic thriller starred David Caruso and Linda Fiorentino?
6) What's the nickname of Seattle, Washington?
7) What 1969 Alfred Hitchcock film features Cold War spies?
8) What rap group from Queens, NY had a huge hit in 1993 with "Slam"?
9) What's the name of Swarthmore College's remaining sports teams?
10) What European car maker is owned by GM? Its models of cars released in the US are labelled Pontiacs or Saturns.

... and what theme links the ten answers?