INVENTORS & INVENTIONS
The French Benedictine monk Dom Perignon (pair•een•YON) did not invent this beverage, but he did improve the production of it.
Champagne
“Three grey geese in a green field grazing” is an example of what figure of speech?
Alliteration
Sonny the Cuckoo Bird is “cuckoo” for this breakfast cereal.
Cocoa Puffs
Name the 1930’s film that included this line: “If I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own backyard.”
The Wizard of Oz
His first #1 hit was “Heartbreak Hotel,” and his last was “Suspicious Minds.”
Elvis Presley
Ernie Kovac’s wife, a singer and actress, holds a patent for a cigar holder ring that she invented. What was her stage name?
Edie Adams
“Question: What does a house wear? Answer: A dress.” This is not so much an example of a joke as it is this three-letter figure of speech.
Pun
TV sports fans enjoyed many years watching Larry Bird playing forward for this basketball team.
The Boston Celtics
This 1941 film was loosely based on the life of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst.
Citizen Kane
His first film was East of Eden, and his last was Giant.
James Dean
Elisha Otis made this people-conveyor much safer.
The elevator
“Crazy as a loon” and “drive like a maniac” are examples of this figure of speech.
Simile (not a metaphor, which does not use the words “like” or “as”)
Placido Flamingo (an operatic bird), Gulliver (a seagull), and H. Ross Parrot were all characters on this kids’ TV program.
Sesame Street
Katharine Hepburn played Tracy Lord and Cary Grant played her ex-husband C. K. Dexter Haven in this 1940 romantic comedy.
The Philadelphia Story
Her first husband was Roger Vadim, and her last was Ted Turner.
Jane Fonda
George Nissen, an American gymnast, was inspired by the safety nets used by circus trapeze artists when he invented this device.
The trampoline
“Jumbo shrimp” or “freezer burn” are examples of this figure of speech – George Carlin’s favorite.
Oxymoron
Burgess Meredith played this Batman character on TV; Danny DeVito played the same character on film.
he Penguin
Nominated for 12 Academy Awards, this 1951 film won four, including a Best Actress award for Vivien Leigh and the first of four consecutive Best Actor awards for Marlon Brando.
A Streetcar Named Desire
Her first novel was Sense and Sensibility, and her last was Persuasion.
Jane Austen
Today, bottle caps are lined in plastic; but when William Painter invented them in the 1890s, this material was used for the lining.
If you remember your grammar school English, you might know that the phrase “the buzzing of the bee” is an example of this figure of speech.
Onomatopoeia
Felix and Oscar dated these neighbors on TV’s The Odd Couple.
The Pigeon Sisters (Cecily and Gwendolyn)
Although Dalton Trumbo wrote this 1953 romantic comedy starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck, he didn’t get the credit for another 50 years, because he had been blacklisted for denouncing Senator Joseph McCarthy.
Roman Holiday
His first elected office was Jackson County Judge in Missouri, and his last was President of the United States.
Harry Truman