Extremely Difficult Trivia About "Dawn of the Dead" (1979)

      Well the Month of Morbidity is almost over, so I thought I'd end with talking about one of my very favorite movies, the original "Dawn of the Dead."  (For the record, I thought the 2004 remake was surprisingly decent, but George Romero's 1979 version is still the king, by far.)  In my opinion, this one is the best of the "Dead" series, and the best movie Romero ever made, which is high praise.  Anyway, it'll be the usual format, with the questions first, and the answers at the end.  Many SPOILERS ahead, obviously, so you're warned.  And these questions are the very definition of trivia--ultimately unimportant details, so don't feel bad about not knowing some or even all of them.  Finally, Happy Halloween to all those that observe and celebrate it.

Questions:

1)   In what city does the movie open in?

2)   In the opening scene at the television station, what is the name of the person being interviewed?

3)   And who is interviewing this guest?

4)   What is the name of the television station itself, as in its 4 letter call sign code?

5)   Franny gets into an argument with one of the station employees, someone who wants to leave the rescue station listings onscreen, even though some of them aren't still open and safe.  Who is this scummy person, who cares more about ratings than people's safety?

6)  What time of night does Steven tell Franny to meet him on the roof, to fly to safety?

7)   Who is the leader of the housing project that the SWAT team is entering?

8)   What is the name of the first person seen killed on screen?  (Hint, it's the rookie SWAT member who briefly talks with Roger.)

9)   One of the SWAT members goes crazy upon entering the housing project, killing zombies and innocent living people at random, before being executed by Peter.  What is this crazed SWAT guy's name?

10)  What is the number of this housing project?

11)  What is the name of the first zombie we see take a bite out of someone?  (We hear his wife say his name right before he attacks her.)

12)  What is the make and model of the helicopter that Steven is flying?  

13)  What is the six digit registration number of the helicopter?  (It's written on the side of the craft, and prominently on the bottom as well.)

14)  Why flying, our set of heroes see some large groups of living people congregating in the countryside, including some National Guardsmen and safety personnel.  What town are the firefighters from?  (It's written on their hats.)

15)  What brand of beer are these congregating people drinking?

16)  In the office/lounge building at the local airport, Peter drinks some coffee from a machine.  What is the charge per cup?

17)  Also in this building, we briefly see a candy machine.  What are the listed prices for these?

18)  The power is still on at the shopping mall our group goes to, and remains on for the rest of the movie.  What does Peter speculate is the reason for this?

19)  Why does Roger scold Franny for disparaging Spam?

20)  In the mall office, where the group finds the mall keys and light controls, you can briefly see a poster with a high school football schedule.  Name the school.

21)  Several times the group passes by a tavern/bar within the mall.  What is this establishment's name?

22)  The group spends a lot of time in a department store within the mall, which has separate escalators and the elevator.  What is this store's name?

23)  What brand of liquor is the group seen drinking?  

24)  According to Steven, at the beginning of the film, Franny is about how many months pregnant?

25)  According to Fran's angry retort, where was the group originally headed for before they stopped at the mall?

26)  Our group is seen watching a borrowed black and white television set.  What is its make and model?

27)  And what channel are they watching?

28)  What company's trucks do Peter and Roger use to block the four mall doors?

29)  While they're doing this, on the CB radio Roger refers to Peter with a nickname.  What is it?

30)  A grocery store is located across the parking lot from the main mall building.  What is it?  (Hint, it was a large American chain in the 1970's, and beyond.)

31)  We witness a zombie exhibiting tool use in the movie, which is a sign of intelligence.  Briefly explain it.

32)  Where on his body is Roger bitten by the zombies?

33)  What is the make and model of the gray car the group uses to ride around inside the mall?

34)  A young male zombie in a baseball uniform sits and watches Franny through the glass.  What is written on the back of his shirt?

35)  According to Peter, he's seen how many guys get bitten by a zombie?

36)  Also according to Peter, how long did these guys then live after the bite?

37)  After the group has destroyed all the zombies in the mall, Peter tells them the famous quote of his grandfather, "When there's no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the Earth."  (It's the movie's tagline.)  Where was his granddaddy from?

38)  The group is later watching a television broadcast of a scientist talking.  According to him, what percentage of the available food on a human corpse does a zombie typically use?

39)  What two controversial suggestions does this scientist then make?

40)  The group watches this on their second, color television.  What make is it?

41)  Roger evidently was in the military before he was a police officer.  What evidence for this is seen?

42)  What brand of tennis ball does Peter use, and what color are they?

43)  Later we see the group has three large glass carafes filled with liquor, each labeled.  What are the three types of liquor?

44)  The apparent leader of the biker gang at the end is wearing what kind of military helmet?

45)  What brand of beer is the biker gang seen drinking?

46)  True or false?  The word "zombie" is never said by a character in the movie.

47)  Writer/Director George Romero and his then wife, assistant director Christine Forrest, each have 2 brief acting roles in the movie.  What are they?

48)  Why does the biker wearing the sombrero test his blood pressure at the sit down machine while the zombies are swarming his group at the end?

Answers:

1)   Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  (Although it was really shot in Pittsburgh, PA, and surrounding towns.)

2)   Dr. Foster.

3)   Berman.

4)   WGON.

5)   Givens.

6)   9:30.

7)   Martinez.

8)   Rod (or possibly Roy) Tucker.  It's hard to hear when he's saying his first name, so that's why I included the alternate.  Other online sources also seem divided on Rod or Roy.  The actor who played the guy is named Rod Stouffer in real life, so maybe it's more likely his character was also named Rod.

9)   Wooley.

10)  107, evidently the building's address.

11)  Miguel.

12)  It's a Bell 206B Jet Ranger II.

13)  N90090.

14)  Monroeville, PA.  The same town where the mall was and still is located.

15)  Iron City Beer, a Pittsburgh local favorite.  Romero had done a television commercial for Iron City years before.

16)  20 cents.  Coffee was cheap in the late 1970's!

17)  15 cents each.  Candy was cheap, too.

18)  He guesses it might be run on nuclear power.

19)  Because it has its own key opener built into the can, unlike other food containers.

20)  Gateway.

21)  The Brown Derby.

22)  Penney's.

23)  Jack Daniels whiskey.

24)  About 3.5 to 4 months.

25)  Canada.

26)  It's a JC Penney Solid State set.

27)  10.

28)  B & P.  Not the infamous Gulf-polluting British Petroleum, but the Baltimore & Pittsburgh trucking company, based out of a town near Monroeville, PA.  According to online sources, it went out of business the same year the film came out.

29)  Too Tall Too Slow.

30)  A & P.

31)  A zombie uses a crowbar as a club to smash the window to get at Roger while he's hotwiring a truck.

32)  His lower left leg, and his lower left arm.  Later, when Roger's entering the car inside the Mall, a zombie re-opens his leg wound with its fingers, but doesn't quite bite him again.

33)  It's a Volkswagen Scirocco Mark I.  There was some debate online, but it's probably a 1978 model.

34)  Bach's Arco Pitcairn.

35)  Half a dozen, or six.

36)  None lasted longer than 3 days.

37)  Trinidad.

38)  5%.  Meaning they're almost always able to revive and walk around themselves after.

39)  It's kind of garbled, but he apparently wants to feed the zombies, (or possibly eat them?) and then he suggests we nuke major cities, since many zombies are congregating there.

40)  A color Panasonic, of unknown model and year.

41)  When Peter and Steven bury Roger we see dog tags on the surface of the grave.

42)  Wilson tennis balls, and they're orange.

43)  Gin, scotch, and bourbon.

44)  A Nazi SS helmet.

45)  Miller.

46)  False.  At the end, while talking to Steven on the radio, Peter mentions that thousands of zombies will come in after the bikers move the truck and open one of the doors.  I think this is the one and only time, though.

47)  They're seen in the television station scenes at the beginning, playing a director (George) and a producer (Christine).  George is the bearded and scarfed guy, and Christine is sitting next to him, talking about how she can't pull rescue station locations out of her ass.  Later they both play a biker.  Christine is the "elf biker chick" and George is "Nick," the biker in the Santa Claus suit.

48)  There's no logical reason for this!  But it does make for a cool, grisly death scene.  

  

  

  

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--A Dutch/American Pumpkin Spice Liqueur

      I'm taking a bit of a chance here today, with this blog topic.  I'm well aware that some folks hate pumpkin-spiced consumables, and feel that these are way overdone, in the autumn season and in the month of October especially.  But I couldn't resist.  I've probably mentioned this before, but I don't mind the proliferation of pumpkin-flavored foods and drinks during the Halloween season.  Sometimes they're good, sometimes not, but I don't see what the big deal is.  If you don't like the flavor, it's easy enough not to eat it.  I think every person dislikes some edible or drinkable, so avoiding the ones you hate seems like a minor inconvenience.  However, clearly many people disagree with me.  Anyway, today's focus is a pumpkin-spiced liqueur from Bols.

     Bols bills itself as the oldest distillery in the world, claiming a start date of 1575, in Amsterdam.  While no source seems to directly contradict this, it seems slightly questionable, or at least the history is kind of vague.  We're not told what the name of the founder(s) is, other than that they were presumably surnamed Bols.  The first surviving reference to the business isn't from until 1640.  The most famous member of the Bols clan, Lucas Bols, was then born in 1652.  He led the company to an enormously productive period, aided by capital earned from his being a major shareholder in the very lucrative (but controversial in other ways) Dutch East India Company.  The next highly significant historic company event occurred in the early 1800's.  Bols was struggling mightily.  In part due to the blockade enacted by Napoleon.  Also, the last Bols direct heir, Herman, died in 1813.  Therefore, in 1816 the business was sold to Gabriel Theodorus van't Wout, although he kept Bols as the company's name.  Bols rebounded but in 1868 it was sold again, this time to the Moltzer family.  Again, the firm prospered--among other things they received many royal warrants from surrounding European nations.  They also opened Bols distilleries in other countries, including France, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, Belgium, South Africa, Argentina, and the U.S., from the 1920's to 1947.  In 1954 the Moltzers sold out, and Bols became a publicly traded company.  Otherwise, Bols attempted its first non-alcoholic products (soft drinks, mineral waters, bitters) in 1983, and became the dominant producer of genever (the Netherlands' traditional drink, a juniper-flavored liquor that was a precursor to gin) in 1986 with the purchase of the Henkes company.  The next several decades saw Bols join with and then separate from several other firms until its final sale to ABN AMRO Capital and the group led by Huub van Doorne in 2006.  Bols makes over 30 kinds of liquors, including advocaat, apricot brandy, blue Curacao, creme de cassis (see my post on August 21, 2021), butterscotch schnapps, mango liqueur, sloe gin, and triple sec.  Finally, according to its website, Bols initial liquor flavors, way back in 1575, were cumin, cardamom, and orange.

Bols pumpkin spice liqueur:  Had an orange color, not shockingly.  The odor was slight, but rather like vanilla and pumpkins.  As usual, I didn't have much in the way of mixers, so I just tried it straight, and chilled.  It did taste a bit boozy--its alcohol content is 21%.  But it was pretty good overall.  If you like pumpkin flavor in general, you'll probably like this.  (And I guess if you don't, this probably will also be disappointing.)  I appreciated that they tried a different kind of liquor flavor.  It turned out well enough.  Not my favorite drink or anything, but more than okay.  Also, I guess you can use this to annoy friends who vocally hate pumpkin spiced things.

     Just one final tidbit--the Dutch traditional drink genever (which has many alternate spellings), is also sometimes known as "Dutch Courage."  Which is also a term used to describe alcohol in general, as in someone whose bravery is thought to have come out of a bottle, and not from their own strength of character.

 

Extremely Difficult Trivia About "The Shining" (1980)

      Today I'm tackling one of the most lauded horror movies, 1980's "The Shining."  (Personally I think it's a bit overrated--for more on that you can read my post on October 20, 2018, which covers 17 movies I think are overrated.)  This is also the movie which has so many interpretations and alleged hidden meanings that an entire documentary was made about, 2012's "Room 237."  (I've also heard that while some of the theories in this documentary seem reasonable, others are ridiculous and silly.  But to be fair I haven't seen it.)  So, because so many people have evidently watched "The Shining" countless times, maybe even frame by frame, perhaps more folks will know the answers to the incredibly difficult questions I'll be posing here.  But I'll take that chance, and see if I can stump even the most ardent fanatics.  As usual, there are obviously many SPOILERS ahead.  And if you're a normal, moderately rabid horror fan don't feel bad about not knowing many or all of these questions, since they're just unimportant details.  Also as usual, I'll ask the questions first, and then provide the answers below.

Questions:

1)    What's the name of Mr. Ullman's secretary?

2)    And what's the name of the other hotel employee who sits in on Jack and Ullman's interview, and will later show Jack around?  (I think he's the on-season caretaker.)

3)    According to Ullman, what exact dates are the Overlook's open, on-season period?

4)    How long, in miles, is the single stretch of road that connects the Overlook to its nearest town, Sidewinder?

5)    Ullman tells Jack about a previous off season caretaker, Grady, who killed his wife and two daughters with an axe.  When did this tragedy occur?

6)    We see some children's character decals in the Torrance's apartment, around Danny's bedroom.  What comic strip and then movie are these characters from?

7)    Right before Danny blacks out while brushing his teeth we see he's wearing a shirt with a number on the shoulder.  What is the number?

8)    During his talk with the doctor, Danny says his friend Tony lives in two parts of Danny's body.  What are they?

9)    What town and state is the Torrance apartment located in?

10)   What state does Wendy say that the Torrances originally were from?

11)   During their tour, Wendy admires the Native American designs in one of the hotel's main rooms.  Ullman says they're based on two tribes' traditions.  What are these two tribes?

12)   According to Ullman, how many Presidents have stayed at the Overlook?

13)   What is Danny doing in the Game Room when he first sees the ghosts of Grady's daughters (in real life, not a vision)?

14)   How high, in feet, are the hedge maze's walls?

15)   What year did construction start on the Overlook, and when was it finished?

16)   What is the name of the massive room in the hotel that Ullman says can comfortably accommodate 300 people?

17)   According to Ullman, why is there no alcohol left in the Overlook during the off season?

18)   "Wendy" is actually a nickname.  What is her actual, full first name?

19)   How many sirloin steaks are in the hotel's freezer for the use of the winter caretakers?

20)   What does Danny say is his favorite food?

21)   During Halloran's talk with Danny, Danny is wearing a jacket with writing on the back.  What does is say?

22)   We see Jack wearing a t-shirt for bed wear with writing on it.  What does it read?

23)   What brand of cigarettes does Jack smoke while he's writing?

24)   Wendy watches a Denver television new segment which mentions that a 24 year old woman has been missing for 10 days, while out on a hunting trip with her husband.  What is that missing woman's name?

25)   What is the Overlook Hotel's CB radio call sign?

26)   And then what is the United Forest Service's CB radio call sign?

27)   When Jack first sees Lloyd the Bartender, how much money does he say he has?

28)   What kind and brand of alcohol does Lloyd serve Jack?

29)   Jack praises Lloyd's bartending skills, and mentions three cities while doing so.  What are these cities?

30)   According to Jack when did he accidently hurt Danny?

31)   According to Wendy while talking to the doctor, how long has Jack been sober?

32)   We see Dick Halloran watching the news at his winter home.  What channel is he watching?

33)   What are the names of the three newscasters mentioned during this broadcast?

34)   Grady accidently spills a drink on Jack's clothing in the ballroom.  What kind of drink was it?

35)   Grady identifies himself to Jack, but gives a different first name than Ullman did earlier.  What are the two first names?

36)   Grady mentions that one of his daughters did something that warranted "correction."  What was it?

37)   Dick Halloran flies from his winter home in Florida to Denver.  What airline does he use?

38)   What airport does he fly into?

39)   What garage does Halloran rent the Snowcat from?

40)   Who does Halloran talk to on the phone to arrange this rental?

41)   What Denver radio station is Halloran listening to while he drives to Sidewinder?

42)   The radio broadcast mentions that two passes are closed due to the winter weather.  What are they?

43)   What cartoon are Wendy and Danny watching before she confronts Jack?

44)   Staying on television programming, at one point we see the Torrances watching a movie.  What is it?

45)   What is the name of Jack's immense writing room?

46)   What brand of typewriter does Jack use?

47)   What real Major League Baseball player's signature is on the baseball bat wielded by Wendy?

48)   During their heated argument, Jack says he's responsible for looking after the hotel until what month and day?

49)   Everyone remembers what Jack says after he breaks open the apartment's bathroom door with an axe, and sticks his face in the hole--"Here's Johnny!"  But what does he say when he axes open the door to their caretaker apartment before this?

50)   At the end, we see an old photo on the wall in which Jack is inexplicably within a crowd scene at the Overlook.  What was the exact date of this ball?

51)   Near the end, Wendy sees four separate ghostly manifestations.  Briefly describe them.

52)   One of the actors or actresses in the movie claimed that director Stanley Kubrick loved playing chess with them, as this person was the only one available who could give Kubrick a challenge.  Who was it?

Answers:

1)    Susie.

2)    Bill Watson.

3)    May 15th to October 30th.  So the caretaker's first day is apparently on Halloween!

4)    25 miles.

5)    The winter of 1970.

6)    We see "Snoopy" from the "Peanuts" comic, and "Dopey" from Disney's "Snow White."

7)    #42.

8)    Tony lives mostly in Danny's mouth, but sometimes he hides in Danny's stomach.

9)    Boulder, Colorado.

10)  Vermont.

11)  The Navajo and the Apache.

12)  4.

13)  He's playing darts.

14)  13 feet.

15)  It was begun in 1907, and finished in 1909.

16)  The Gold Ballroom.

17)  Insurance reasons.

18)  Winifred.

19)  50.

20)  French fries with ketchup. 

21)  Flyers.  (But it doesn't look like the NHL Philadelphia Flyers.)

22)  Stovington.  (Which is the name of the school in Vermont where Jack used to teach.)

23)  Marlboro.

24)  Susan Robertson.

25)  KDK 12.

26)  KDK 1.

27)  $60.  Two 20's and two 10's.

28)  Jack Daniels whiskey.

29)  Timbuktu, Mali, and Portland, Maine, and Portland, Oregon.  (As in Lloyd's the best from these places to the other places.)

30)  3 years ago.

31)  5 months.  So evidently Wendy or Jack is lying.  Since she told the doctor that Jack quit drinking the day after hurting Danny.  Presumably Wendy doesn't want to admit that Jack continued to drink well after this accident.

32)  Channel 10, or WPLG out of Miami, Florida.

33)  Glenn Rinker, Ann Bishop, and award-winning weather expert Walter Cronice.

34)  Advocaat.  Which is a Dutch drink made with eggs, sugar, and brandy.  Kind of like spiked eggnog, it sounds like.

35)  Ullman says it's Charles, but Grady says it's Delbert.  Some viewers think this is a mistake, but knowing Kubrick's fanatical attention to detail, it's probably not.  It's probably showing that Grady existed as a butler at the Overlook in 1921, and then as a caretaker in 1970.  Like Jack was somehow at the Overlook in the distant past (see Question #49), and also as a caretaker in the late 1970's.

36)  She stole a book of matches and tried to burn the hotel down.

37)  Continental.

38)  Stapleton International Airport.  Which in reality closed in 1995, and was replaced by the Denver International Airport.

39)  Durkin's.

40)  Larry Durkin.

41)  Radio 63, KHOW.

42)  The Wolf Creek and Red Mountain passes.

43)  Roadrunner.

44)  "Summer of '42" (1971)

45)  The Colorado Lounge.

46)  It's an Adler, which is a German brand.  It's probably either a 1960's J4 or a Tippa S model--there's online debate about that.  It was a popular portable typewriter brand of this time.  Also, it changes color as the film progresses.

47)  Carl Yastrzemski, the Hall of Fame Boston Red Sox player.  Presumably a nod to novel author Stephen King, since King's a major Red Sox fan.

48)  May 1st.  Which, as we know from Question #3, doesn't match with Ullman's stated date of May 15th.  Apparently Jack misremembered.  He IS crazy, after all.  Or, alternately, maybe May 1st is the real last day for the winter caretaker, and the hotel needs about 2 weeks to get it ready for guests.

49)  He says the more boring, "Wendy, I'm home."

50)  July 4th, 1921.  So, presumably more of the weird duality thing, like with Grady.

51)  a)  The guy in the bear or dog suit orally pleasuring a man in a tuxedo in one of the bedrooms.

      b)  A jolly man holding a drink despite sporting a horrendous head wound, who says, "Great party, isn't it?"

      c)  Cobwebs and dressed human skeletons in one of the ballrooms.

      d)  Blood pouring out of the elevator.  (The Simpsons did a great joke about this in their parody.)

52)  Tony Burton, who played the small role of Larry Durkin.  Burton's arguably most recognized for playing Tony "Duke" Evers, Apollo Creed and then Rocky's corner man/trainer, in the "Rocky" movie series.

     For any readers jonesing for a post about a consumable, next week's will be about one of these, and it's appropriate for the Halloween season.

 

 

Worst Individual Hitting Performances Ever in a World Series

      The playoffs just started for Major League Baseball, which got me to thinking about the final playoff series, the World Series, which of course determines the champions of the sport.  These series get the most attention, and players' reputations can be made, or hindered by how well they do in them.  I've already covered some unlikely World Series heroes in my post on October 30, 2013, so I thought it would be fun and interesting to explore who were the duds.  Mainly, which players had the worst World Series, as judged by their ineptitude at the plate.  Therefore, I pored over my baseball encyclopedia, and the Baseball Reference website, and determined the answer to this question.  Clearly, I had to decide on a minimum number of at bats, since a guy going 0 for 4 in a Series is obviously not as damaging as another guy going 0 for 16.  Anyway, I decided on 15 at bats for my cutoff, as this seemed to be a decent amount of action in a best of 7 Series.  (I realize a handful of early 1900's Series were actually best of 9 games, but you get what I mean.)  Also, I decided to not just look at batting average, but players' OPSs, which stands for on base percentage plus slugging average.  In the past few decades, I think even casual, non-statistically oriented fans recognize that getting on base without getting a hit, usually via a walk, is much more valuable than players who don't walk much, and are therefore making more outs at the plate.  Anyway, so I determined my list by ranking players who had the worst overall OPSs.  I'll also include each player's slash, or batting average/on base percentage/slugging average, as well as their team, the year that particular Series was played, and their position.  Ties in OPS will be broken using other stats, such as runs scored, rbis, stolen bases, and/or negative stats like caught stealing or errors committed in the field.  Later I'll include some lists of worst overall battings averages in a Series, too, and some contenders for worst Series hitters ever, who played in more than 1.  This first list will go from least worst to worst of the worst.  The setup will be:

OPS, Slash, at bats, other stats, player name, position played, year, and team.

Worst hitting performances in a single World Series:

22)  .125, .063/.063/.063, 16 at bats, 1 run scored, Steve Nicosia, catcher, 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates.

21)  .125, .063/.063/.063, 16 at bats, 1 run, 1 caught stealing, Cody Bellinger, outfielder, 2018 Los Angeles Dodgers.

20)  .125, .063/.063/.063, 16 at bats, 1 run, 1 stolen base, 1 error, Walt Weiss, shortstop, 1988 Oakland Athletics.

19)  .125, .063/.063/.063, 16 at bats, 3 errors (in one inning!), Willie Davis, outfielder, 1966 Los Angeles Dodgers.

18)  .120, .000/.120/.000, 22 at bats, 1 run, Dal Maxvill, shortstop, 1968 St. Louis Cardinals.

17)  .118, .059/.059/.059, 17 at bats, 1 rbi, Dick Sisler, outfielder, 1950 Philadelphia Phillies.

16)  .114, .059/.056/.059, 17 at bats, 2 runs, 1 rbi, Ken Griffey, Sr., outfielder, 1976 Cincinnati Reds.

15)  .111, .056/.056/.056, 18 at bats, Everett Scott, shortstop, 1915 Boston Red Sox.

14)  .111, .000/.111/.000, 16 at bats, 1 run, 1 error, Flea Clifton, third base, 1935 Detroit Tigers.

13)  .105, .000/.105/.000, 17 at bats, Placido Polanco, second base, 2006 Detroit Tigers.

12)  .105, .053/.053/.053, 19 at bats, 1 run, Buck Herzog, third base, 1913 New York Giants.

11)  .105, .053/.053/.053, 19 at bats, 1 run, 1 stolen base, 2 errors, Mariano Duncan, second base, 1996 New York Yankees.

10)  .103, .053/.050/.053, 19 at bats, 2 rbi, Brooks Robinson, third base, 1969 Baltimore Orioles.

9)    .100, .050/.050/.050, 20 at bats, 2 rbi, 1 error, Evan Longoria, third base, 2008 Tampa Bay Rays.

8)    .100, .050/.050/.050, 20 at bats, 1 error, Mike Schmidt, third base, 1983 Philadelphia Phillies.

7)    .087, .000/.087/.000, 21 at bats, 1 stolen base, 1 rbi, Jimmy Sheckard, outfield, 1906 Chicago Cubs.

6)    .087, .000/.087/.000, 21 at bats, 3 errors, Red Murray, outfield, 1911 New York Giants.

5)    .059, .000/.059/.000, 15 at bats, 1 rbi, Scott Rolen, third base, 2004 St. Louis Cardinals.

4)    .056, .000/.056/.000, 17 at bats,  Lonny Frey, second base, 1939 Cincinnati Reds.

3)    .000, .000/.000/.000, 15 at bats, 1 rbi, Wally Berger, outfield, 1939 Cincinnati Reds.

2)    .000, .000/.000/.000, 16 at bats, 1 rbi, 2 errors, Rafael Belliard, shortstop, 1995 Atlanta Braves.

1)    .000, .000/.000/.000, 21 at bats, 2 errors, Billy Sullivan, catcher, 1906 Chicago White Sox.

Let's figure this another way.  Here's a list of the guys who had over 20 at bats, without a single hit.  Most of them were on the previous list.  Hodges missed it because despite not getting even one hit, he did walk 5 times.

0 for 22 at bats, Dal Maxvill, shortstop, 1968 St. Louis Cardinals.

(There's a four way ties for second)

0 for 21 at bats, Billy Sullivan, catcher, 1906 Chicago White Sox.

0 for 21  at bats, Jimmy Sheckard, outfield, 1906 Chicago Cubs.

0 for 21 at bats, Red Murray, outfield, 1911 New York Giants.

0 for 21 at bats, Gil Hodges, first base, 1952 Brooklyn Dodgers.  (In addition to his 5 walks, Gil did score 1 run, and get 1 rbi, but he also committed an error.)

     I didn't figure out who had the worst offensive performances while playing in more than one World Series, since that would have taken a ridiculous amount of time.  But these guys surely would be on any list, perhaps even in this order.  Again, it's least worst to worst of the worst, with a minimum of 20 at bats, and playing in at least 2 Series.

7)  .432, .121/.159/.273, 66 at bats, Cody Bellinger, first base/outfield, 2017, 2018, and 2020 Los Angeles Dodgers.  (Bellinger is still active, and his Dodgers could even play in the Series this year, so this could change.)

6)  .425, .188/.206/.219, 32 at bats, Rafael Belliard, shortstop, 1991, 1992, 1995 and 1996 Atlanta Braves.

5)  .381, .115/.217/.164, 61 at bats, Dal Maxvill, shortstop, 1964, 1967 and 1968 St. Louis Cardinals, 1974 Oakland Athletics.

4)  .321, .133/.188/.133, 30 at bats, Dick Tracewski, shortstop/second base/third base, 1963, and 1965  Los Angeles Dodgers, 1968 Detroit Tigers.

3)  .309, .037/.235/.074, 27 at bats, Pat Burrell, outfield, 2008 Philadelphia Phillies and 2010 San Francisco Giants.

2)  .193, .061/.132/.061, 49 at bats, Marv Owen, third base, 1934 and 1935 Detroit Tigers.

1)  .048, .000/.048/.000, 20 at bats, Lonny Frey, second base, 1939 and 1940 Cincinnati Reds, 1947 New York Yankees.

     So that's it for now.  Enjoy the playoffs, and then the World Series!  Maybe someone this year will qualify for these lists.  For example, catcher Mike Zunino of the Tampa Bay Rays came awfully close last year to qualifying for the first, single series list, and if he plays in another one this year he might qualify for the second, lifetime one.

 

  

Extremely Difficult Trivia About "The Return of the Living Dead" (1985)

     1985's "The Return of the Living Dead" is a horror classic, one of the very rare cases of a movie that is both scary and intentionally funny.  And it even has a cool soundtrack, made up of many punk and metal tunes.  From a historical perspective it was very innovative, too, as it's probably the first movie to have fast moving zombies.  (I say "probably" because some could claim that 1980's "Nightmare City" (aka "The City of the Walking Dead") was first, but that one's ghouls are mostly still alive, and it clearly wasn't as successful and influential as "The Return of the Living Dead.")  Anyway, this will be the usual format, with the questions being asked first, and the answers being provided below.  And as always, these are incredibly detailed questions, so don't feel bad if you can't answer most or all of these.  SPOILERS included, as you might expect.  (Also, this is being posted on a Friday because of some weekend social plans.  But next week's post, and the other upcoming ones, will all be on their regular Saturday posting dates.)

Questions:

1)   The Uneeda Medical Supply sign includes two mottos written on it too.  What are they?

2)   Somewhat unusually, the film states the exact date and time at the beginning.  What are these?

3)   As Frank is showing Freddy the job, they fill a skeleton order from what university's medical school?

4)   What country does Frank say all the medical skeletons come from?

5)   According to Frank, aside from medical schools the Army buys fresh cadavers from Uneeda.  For what purpose?

6)   What is the chemical that revives the dead?

7)   What company manufactured this chemical?

8)   According to Frank, what was the original purpose of this chemical?

9)   Which step on the basement stairs is weak, and later breaks?

10)  On the tanks holding the zombies, there's an emergency telephone number.  What is it?

11)  What is Colonel Glover's Station number?

12)  What comic book is Scuz reading in the car?

13)  What is the make and model of Suicide's car?

14)  Aside from his name, what else is spray painted on the hood of Suicide's car?

15)  And what is written on his driver's side door?

16)  What is the name of the cemetery that the teens visit?

17)  How many zombie containers are in the Uneeda basement?

18)  Aside from the human cadaver, two other kinds of dead creatures are seen to revive in the Uneeda warehouse.  What are they?

19)  There's a joke eye chart on the wall inside of the Uneeda office.  What does it say?

20)  During her dance on the grave stone, Trash is completely naked except for what?

21)  What is the combination for the lock on the door of the Uneeda cadaver room?

22)  About how long have Burt and Ernie known each other?

23)  Initially, Burt lies to Ernie about what is in the moving garbage bags he wants Ernie to destroy.  What does he say is in them?

24)  What piece of military equipment is in the cemetery?

25)  According to Ernie, what body part is the toughest to burn up in the crematorium?

26)  What is the name of Ernie's establishment?

27)  What is the number and street address?

28)  What is the name of the first body seen reviving in the cemetery?

29)  What is the name of the second one?

30)  And what is the name of the third zombie?

31)  Two headstones are visible near where Trash is attacked and dispatched.  What are the names on them?

32)  What does Ernie say is wrong with his vehicle?

33)  What is the rescue number of the first ambulance that reaches the mortuary?

34)  According to the dispatcher, the Uneeda warehouse and Ernie's establishment are located in what district?

35)  What does the sign read above the door to the chapel at Ernie's place?

36)  What is the name and number of the first police car to investigate the situation?

37)  What substance does Ernie use to blind Freddy?

38)  What is written over the door inside of the chapel?

39)  What is written on the back of Freddy's jacket?

40)  What is the Air number of the helicopter investigating the proceedings?

41)  What is the Priority name and number reported to Colonel Glover?

42)  What is Colonel Glover's first name?

43)  Where does he live?

44)  What kind of status is the Uneeda warehouse situation, according to Glover?

45)  What was the Army code phrase name for the missing zombie containers?

46)  What town and state is the zombie uprising taking place in?

47)  Who launches the nuclear missile at the end of the movie?

48)  What is the code phrase this person receives to launch said nuke?

49)  What is the bearing this person uses to launch the missile, and what is the range, in miles?

50)  What local time does the missile hit its target?

51)  What band name is written on the front of Freddy's shirt?

52)  What band name is written on the front of Suicide's shirt?

53)  Why don't the corpses of Scuz and Suicide revive as zombies?

54)  Is Ernie a Nazi, either former or neo?

Answers:

1)   "You need it--we got it" and "None larger."

2)   July 3rd, 1984, 5:30 pm. Eastern Daylight Time.  (It's later revealed that the movie starts on a Friday, but in reality July 3, 1984 was on a Tuesday.)

3)   St. Louis University Medical School, which is real.

4)   India.  Ironically, India banned this industry months after the movie came out in 1985.  Coincidence?  

5)   Ballistics testing.

6)   2 4 5 Trioxin.  Also sometimes rendered 2,4,5 Trioxin

7)   The Darrow Chemical Company.  (Which is fictitious, obviously, although the name is probably based on the real Dow company.)

8)   It was designed as a defoliant, perhaps to spray on marijuana crops or something.

9)   The third step.

10)  1-800-454-8000.  According to the internet, this number in reality was a phone sex line for a while, but now might be for Medicare information.

11)  3.

12)  Weird Trips--the Ed Gein issue.  (Not random--the production designer for the movie did the cover drawing for this comic.)

13)  It's a Cadillac Series 62 convertible.  There's some disagreement about the year, but it appears to be a 1959 or 1960.

14)  "Who Cares?"

15)  "Die" and then "Why."

16)  Resurrection Cemetery.

17)  It's difficult to make out in most shots, but it's 6.

18)  The split dogs, and the butterflies.

19)  "Burt is a slave driver and a cheap son of a bitch who's going bald too haha."

20)  Gray legwarmers.  (Also, according to actress Linnea Quigley, she's not really totally nude--the studio forced her to wear a fake "Barbie patch" covering her genitals.)

21)  22 right, 4 left, 10 right.

22)  About 25 years.

23)  Rabid weasels.

24)  A cannon.  Perhaps Civil War era?

25)  The heart.

26)  The Resurrection Funeral Home.  Or the same as its nearby cemetery.

27)  21702 East Central.  (I checked, and while there's a Central and North Central in that town (see Answer #46), there's no real East Central, not surprisingly.)

28)  William "Willy" Putname.  It's written on his headstone, and this is the bare skeleton zombie.

29)  Montague Davenport.  Which is the name of a real historic British Navy guy.

30)  Lillian Crabtree, who her stone notes was "Sweetness Itself."

31)  Carey Hollister and Susan Thomas.  (Maybe some folks with awesome hi-def televisions can make out more stones, but these are the only two I could read.) 

32)  The clutch is shot.

33)  7.

34)  East Piedmont.  (Again, a fictitious district in that town.)

35)  "Wee Chapel of the Dawn."

36)  Bravo 751.

37)  Nitric acid.

38)  "Beyond this fleeting day, the rest from which no man wakes."

39)  "Fuck You."  (Sorry about the profanity, but that's what it says.)

40)  Air 3.

41)  It's a CLY Priority on a 113.

42)  Horace.

43)  San Diego, California.

44)  A Q-2 status.

45)  The "lost consignment of Easter Eggs."

46)  Louisville, Kentucky.  Clearly a real city.  Although sharp-eyed viewers can see from the buildings in the background of some shots that it was really filmed in Los Angeles, California.

47)  Sergeant Jefferson.

48)  Archimedes.  Hotdog.  Rhubarb.  Niner.  Zero.  Niner.

49)  Bearing Mark 220, with a range of 134 miles.

50)  5:01 am., again, Eastern Daylight Time, and on July 4th, 1984.

51)  It says, "Domo Arigato" and then "Visage."  There was a real band named Visage, and this seems to be a Japanese tour shirt, possibly made up. 

52)  Sniper.  Which was a real band.

53)  There's no definitive answer for this.  Maybe they didn't because, unlike Trash, they were wearing more clothing during the rainstorm, so they didn't get as much 2 4 5 Trioxin on themselves.  Maybe they would have revived if the nuke hadn't hit.  Or maybe it was a mistake or oversight by the filmmakers!

54)  Disturbingly, yes.  His last name is Kaltenbrunner, so he has the same full name as a real Nazi.  Ernie also speaks German while looking out at the rain, and is listening to "Panzer rollen in Afrika," the German Afrika Corps marching song in World War II on his headphones.  He carries a German gun, a Walther P38.  There is a picture of Hitler's girlfriend/wife, Eva Braun in his workroom.  Finally, writer/director Dan O'Bannon confirmed this on a commentary track.