Hiya Skeleton Crew,

Most every Friday I send out a themed mini-quiz type of thing to the paid subscribers. But for CYBER MONDAY I figured I’d give everyone a special surprise & send the mini-quiz to the whole list!

I’ll be on vacay this month, but stay tuned tomorrow for the November leaderboard results. I’m also thinkin I might send out a few trivia re-runs from years past, since I’m guessin most of youse either (1) weren’t subscribers back in 2023 or whenever I started this thing, or (2) don’t necessarily remember every li’l thing I ever asked ya ’bout.

Trivia 1

What MLB pitcher got in hot water with his team, the White Sox, back in 2016 after he cut up a buncha his team’s throwback-style jerseys so they wouldn’t hafta wear ’em? He apparently thought the jerseys were too baggy & were gonna hurt the team’s chances of winnin.

Nowadays this fella’s playin with the Braves—this was after a stint with the Red Sox for a few years there, too—& he’s havin a bit of a career renaissance, seein as how he won the NL Cy Young & the NL Comeback Player awards in 2024.

Trivia 2

The real-life tales of the Bixby brothers, Borgstrom brothers, Sullivan brothers, & Niland brothers all have a special kinda resonance with what 1998 movie?

Trivia 3

What does Investopedia define as “a central bank lending facility meant to help commercial banks manage short-term liquidity needs”? The term comes from back in the day when commercial banks had to actually send a real-life person to interact with a bank teller at the reserve bank if they wanted to avail ’emselves of this facility.

Trivia 4

Abbie Hoffman wanted you to do what to This Book that he published in 1971? Additionally, System of a Down wanted you to do it to This Album that they released in 2002, and the “League of Noble Peers” wanted you to do it to This Film they released in 2006.

Trivia 5

Although they’re not the only—or even the first!—to release a live album that was recorded at the Nippon Budokan, what band’s got the only one that landed on Rolling Stone’s first pass at their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time?

Trivia 6

What musician went by the stage name Mrs. John Murphy for a li’l bit while she was in the Pixies, & also by Tammy Ampersand when she was in the Amps while her other band The Breeders was on hiatus?

Trivia 7

In the Kubler-Ross model, what’s the third Stage of Grief, comin in after anger?

Trivia 8

What statistics term did I redact with a big ol’ red rectangle in this xkcd comic?

This statistical concept also popped up in another xkcd comic I still remember, where some scientists tested to see if specific-colored jelly beans cause acne.

Trivia 9

Although some of us old-timers might remember when it was called Volume and sold Pro Wings, what retailer’s current name fits in perfectly with the theme of this mini-quiz? They used to be a mall mainstay, but I’m pretty sure hardly any of their brick & mortar stores are ’round anymore—not after they filed for bankruptcy back in 2017 & then AGAIN in 2019.

Answer 1

It was Chris Sale who cut up the White Sox outfits in a not-super-well-received tantrum. (He was suspended for five days, oops!)

Answer 2

All those brothers I mentioned were situations where a buncha soldier bros from the same family were all killed in the same war, & the plot of Saving Private Ryan is ’bout an attempt to avoid just that scenario from happenin to Private Ryan’s family.

Answer 3

Real FedHeads (that’s what us Federal Reserve fans call ourselves) know all ’bout the discount window.

Answer 4

If ya took him at his book’s title’s word, Abbie Hoffman wanted ya to steal his book Steal This Book. Same with System of a Down’s Steal This Album! & the 2006 documentary Steal This Film.

Answer 5

Cheap Trick’s At Budokan is the At Budokan that everyone remembers, even though I guess apparently some group called the Ian Gillan Band beat ’em to the punch by a year or so.

Answer 6

What’s the deal with Kim Deal? (It’s that she’s a talented musician who’s famous for her work with the Pixies & the Breeders, that’s at least part of her deal.)

Answer 7

It’s bargaining that comes after denial & anger but before depression & acceptance. What a slog, eh?

Answer 8

That Randall Munroe (the guy who writes xkcd) loves science-y jokes, so of course he’d have at least one or two strips that’re ’bout p-values somehow.

Answer 9

The multiply-bankrupt retailer I needed ya to answer was Payless (ShoeSource), & the hidden theme I had for ya on this Cyber Monday was a buncha answers that had to do with savings or discounts or whatever ya wanna call it! (Namely: Sale, Saving, Discount, Steal, Cheap, Deal, Bargain, Value, Payless)