Wednesday, January 4, 2012

ANSWER: Games

Bishop

The canonical chessmen date back to the Staunton chess set of 1849. The piece's deep groove symbolizes a bishop's (or abbot's) mitre. The groove originates from the original form of the piece, an elephant with the groove represented the elephant's tusks (see photo in the history section). The British chose to call the piece the bishop because the projections at the top resembled a mitre.

Matt: WRONG
Record: 431-373

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

QUESTION: Games

Which chess piece was originally called "the elephant"?

ANSWER: Places

Westward Ho!

Westward Ho! is a seaside village near Bideford in Devon, England. The A39 road provides access from the towns of Barnstaple, Bideford and Bude. It lies at the south end of Northam Burrows and faces westward into Bideford Bay, opposite Saunton Sands and Braunton Burrows.

The village name comes from the title of Charles Kingsley's novel Westward Ho! (1855), which was set in nearby Bideford. The book was a bestseller, and entrepreneurs saw the opportunity to develop tourism in the area.

Matt: WRONG
Record: 431-372

QUESTION: Places

What's the only place in Britain that ends with an exclamation point?

ANSWER: Clowns

Rodeo Clown

Typically, rodeo clowns work in groups of two or three, with two free-roaming rodeo clowns and sometimes a third, often more clownish-behaving team member, who is known as the barrel man. The barrel man uses a large padded barrel that he can jump in and out of easily, and the barrel helps to protect the rodeo clown from the bull.

Matt: CORRECT
Record: 430-371