The rules are easy:
1. I'll post something.
2. Everyone answers either "BS" (or something similar) if you think that whatever I've written isn't true, or "No BS" (or something similar) if you think that whatever I've written is true.
I'll keep a running score of the people who answer correctly each round. And please don't use the internet to look up the correct answer (at least 'til after you've posted a response). =)
OK, first up:
Before former FBI Assistant Director Mark Felt revealed that he was Deep Throat, the Watergate scandal's whistleblower, some (including Time magazine) speculated that Ben Stein...
...was Deep Throat.
BS or no BS!
I call BS.
Ben Stein's money on the other hand....
-Rob
I'll call no BS. I think I remember that Ben was part of the administration back then. Plus I think Jon would start with an interesting no BS over an easily dismissed BS story.
No BS
Not BS
And have no fear I'll start doing regular updates of the Random Trivia. Things got a little crazy for me the past two weeks.
It's...
Ben Stein was a speechwriter for President Nixon, and in the '70s, there was some speculation that he was the Deep Throat informant. Mr. Stein's denied that Deep Throat even existed: "Oh, I don't think there was a Deep Throat," he told the Philadelphia City Paper in 1998. "That was a fake. I think there were several different sources and some they just made up."
And I'm gonna win your trivia thread, Colossus Prime. >:)
Scores
Colossus Prime --- 1/1
No.6 --- 1/1
Sentinel --- 1/1
Rob --- 0/1
2:
Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, better known as Sting...
...was originally cast as James Bond for 1987's The Living Daylights, but the film's producers replaced him with Timothy Dalton about two months before the film's shooting began (in the summer of '86) because Sting's previous three films (Dune, Plenty, and The Bride) had been massive flops at the box office.
BS or NO BS!
I'll call BS on this one just on gut reaction.
I call BS.
-Rob
BS
Total BS. =)
Scores
Colossus Prime --- 2/2
Sentinel --- 2/2
Rob --- 1/2
No.6 --- 1/1
3:
In early 1985, Hasbro entered negotiations with Major League Baseball's all-time home run leader at the time, Hank Aaron...
...to join G.I. Joe as a physical training instructor. "Hammerin' Hank" would've appeared multiple times in the second season of Sunbow's G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero cartoon and would've had a figure produced for the fifth series of Joe figures, in 1986. However, after months of discussions, Mr. Aaron suddenly completely nixed the the deal, much to Hasbro's surprise, for reasons he's never specified.
Hasbro then worked out a deal with NFL star William "the Refrigerator" Perry to become the Joe team's PT instructor, but didn't have enough time for the Fridge to be included in the cartoon.
BS or no BS.
BS
Absolutely BS.
I must call BS.
-Rob
BS
Yep, complete and total BS. ;b
Scores
Colossus Prime --- 3/3
Sentinel --- 3/3
Rob --- 2/3
Blanka --- 1/1
No.6 --- 1/1
4:
The average distance between Neptune and the Sun is almost 4.5 billion kilometers (or almost 2.8 billion miles), so Neptune only completes a single orbit around the Sun a little under (on average) every 165 years.
BS or no BS.
I'll go no BS here.
I had heard that there was a similar GI Joe story that involved Sylvester Stallone appearing as Rocky Balboa in the line but he pulled out and that's how we got Big Boa. Not sure if there's any truth to that one either though.
Rocky Balboa is true, even appearing in an issue of G.I. Joe Order of Battle. Big Boa was planned to be his nemesis.
http://www.yojoe.com/archive/unproduced/rockybalboa.shtml
http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/11/12/comic-book-legends-r...
Also, Big Van Vader was discussed as being Sgt. Slaughter's nemesis, but that fell through.
4 = True, er...No BS
In fact, Neptune has only completed a single orbit around the Sun since Neptune was discovered, a little over 165 years ago.
Totally not BS.
-Rob
Yep, that's no BS. =)
I wish that ARAH Rocky figure had finally been produced for the 25th Anniversary line. Ah well, maybe some day.
Scores
Sentinel --- 4/4
Colossus Prime --- 3/3
Rob --- 3/4
Rann --- 1/1
Blanka --- 1/1
No.6 --- 1/1
5:
The first product that was ever scanned and sold using a UPC bar code was a 10 cent pack of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit gum, at a Marsh supermarket in Troy, Ohio, in June, 1974. The pack’s now on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, DC.
BS or no BS.
No BS?
5 = No BS
On June 26, 1974 at 8:01am Sharon Buchanan, a checker at Marsh's supermarket in Troy, Ohio scanned first product with a bar code. It was a 10-pack (10 5-stick packets) of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit chewing gum.
Today, the pack of gum is on display at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History.
You're ruining the game for me.
Sorry! I confessed that I googled the details, but I had heard about the chewing gum in the Smithsonian before...
...and I did see a program about Neptune on TV the other night.
That's no BS. =)
And yeah, try not to use the internet to find the answers to these, at least 'til you've already ventured a guess. I like seeing if I can fool people at this (I'm not a very good liar, or so I've been told, by...well, pretty much everybody I've ever attempted to lie to). :b
...and I did see a program about Neptune on TV the other night.
Was it The Universe, on The History Channel? I think that's what I saw it on a few nights ago (DVR is awesome and it's increased my television-watching phenomenally).
Scores
Sentinel --- 5/5
Colossus Prime --- 3/3
Rob --- 3/4
Rann --- 2/2
Blanka --- 1/1
No.6 --- 1/1
6:
The creators of the 2002 Mike Young Productions Masters of the Universe cartoon wanted to make Tri-Klops...
...a female (a ninja, and maybe even a potential love interest for Man-At-Arms), but Mattel nixed the idea, citing the company's belief that female action figures don't sell nearly as well as male action figures.
BS or no BS!
Oh man I hope that's BS.
I don't even want to think of my two favorite characters dating.
BS
BS
Complete and total BS. :b
Scores
Sentinel --- 6/6
Colossus Prime --- 4/4
Rob --- 3/4
Rann --- 2/2
BumblebeeZ3 --- 1/1
Blanka --- 1/1
No.6 --- 1/1
7:
The all-time top-selling game for the PlayStation 2 is Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, with over 17 million copies sold for that console alone.
BS or NO BS.
I'll call bs but I think my lucky streak is over.
I'm guessing NO BS
No BS. I want to believe.
-Rob
No BS
Jon, I love your mix of things that feel really obvious to ones like this where it could go either way.
No BS? (Not a big vid game fan...)
Yeah, I like to mix up the formats a little. =)
Anyway, the GTA: San Andreas thing's NO BS (according to the Guinness World Records 2009 Gamer's Edition, pp. 108–109.). So Sentinel's streak does indeed end. :b
Scores
Sentinel --- 6/7
Colossus Prime --- 5/5
Rob --- 4/5
Rann --- 3/3
BumblebeeZ3 --- 2/2
Blanka --- 1/1
No.6 --- 1/1
8:
Major League Baseball Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt…
…spent his entire career playing for the Philadelphia Phillies, and hit 548 home runs as a Philly from 1972 to 1989. And that accomplishment's the Major League Baseball record for the most home runs hit by a player who only ever played for a single team.
BS or no BS!
I am ready to believe you. No BS.
-Rob
No BS?
What I know about sports could fit on the head of a pin.
I'm guessing no BS
I doubt whether I could possibly care less, nor know less about any "professional" sports...that would include the Olympics.
I'll go with the majority and guess No BS.
But hey! I know that Chuck Connors played both pro baseball & basketball before he went Hollywood...
It's no BS. =)
Scores
Sentinel --- 7/8
Colossus Prime --- 5/5
Rob --- 5/6
Rann --- 4/4
BumblebeeZ3 --- 3/3
Blanka --- 1/1
No.6 --- 1/1
Next:
Bela Lugosi, probably most famous for playing the title role in the 1931 film Dracula....
...passed away in 1956 and was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. For over three years after his passing, one Richard Keller, a retired schoolteacher then living in El Monte, California, wrote around 1,300 letters to various people (ranging from Lugosi's widow to Catholic priests in the area to numerous public officials, including the governor of California at the time, Goodwin Knight) pleading that Lugosi's body be exhumed and staked, for fear that Lugosi might be an actual vampire and therefore might not actually be dead. Keller was eventually banned from entering Holy Cross Cemetery by Culver City officials after he started threatening to exhume and stake Lugosi's body himself. When Keller passed away in 1961, his oldest son revealed that Keller had once killed a stray dog for exhibiting what Keller called "demonic tendencies," and that he strongly suspected that in his father's final years, his father had exhumed, staked, and reburied at least two human corpses that he had believed to be vampires.
BS or NO BS.
I never heard this yarn...and although I don't doubt that such morons exist, I say BS.
BS on this one. But if it is bs, kudos to Jon for going an awful long way for it.
I call BS.
Martin Landau is a vampire, though.
-Rob
While plausible, I'm going to say BS.
That is roughly 260 letters per year assuming a full five years.
It's actually...
BS.
Bela Lugosi did pass away in 1956 and was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California, and Goodwin Knight was the governor of California at the time. James Keller, would-be vampire slayer, is a complete fabrication, though.
I've always read that Lugosi was buried in a Dracula cape, though. ;b
Next up!
Of all the wrestlers who've held the WWWF/WWF/WWE Championship, John Cena...
...has held it for the most total combined days, clocking in at 1,602 total.
BS or no BS.
Aw jeez...wrestling is not my favorite topic...so I'm just guessing...
I'll guess BS.
BS. It just seems like its the longest because he's boring.
I'm going to guess a sad no BS
Like wrestling this answer is staged. I call BS.
-Rob
It’s BS. John Cena’s won the title a record ten times, but he’s only held it for a total of 1,058 days – behind only Bob Backlund (2,138 total days), Hulk Hogan (2,185 total days), and Bruno Sammartino (a whopping 4,040 days)
Andre the Giant and Rey Mysterio Jr. are tied for the shortest total days, less than one each.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_WWE_Champions.
Next:
Even counting its 1982 and 1997 theatrical re-releases, The Empire Strikes Back only grossed about $290,475,000 at the domestic box office, making it the only one of the six Star Wars films not to break $300 million at the box office in the US.
BS or no BS.
BS, or not BS...there is no try.
And no BS in this one.
-Rob