Library Reference Stumper

Bill Leone, Head of Access Services and creator of the Reference Stumper, presents a
t-shirt to Loyce Szalasny, winner of the Reference Stumper contest.

To solve the "Quote," contestants must identify both the author and the title of the work from which the quote was taken. Look for the "Stumper" each month on the last page of our newsletter, or on this page. Winners receive a T-shirt and have the option of having their picture appear for one month on the library’s web page.

MAY 2008 STUMPER

Quote of the Month: "But the fact is, he's just so freaked out of his mind that he did so well, and it all blew up in his face anyway . . . Like he did this great enterprising thing for himself and his family, and made a fortune in this incredibly tough racket, and got a house on the park without any help from anyone, and he never felt bad for anyone who couldn't do the same thing."

Brain Teaser: The first musical to be based on an American theme, it ran for two weeks and featured bare-legged dancing. What was the name of this musical?

APRIL 2008 STUMPER

Quote of the Month: "What is the difference between summer and winter on Wall Street? The buildings don't wave in the wind, they don't turn from brown to green to gold to gray; the windows don't fall out. The cabs are still yellow; people do the same thing they did last season. There is no dusk, there is no dawn. In the city I know when the moon is full only because there are more murders than usual. In Walleye I know when the moon is full because I can see it."

Brain Teaser: What is the name of the first American book review editor and where did the editorials appear?


The winner chosen will be the first person to answer both parts of the "Stumper" correctly. Answer to "Quote of the Month" must include title AND author.

Participants may submit their responses in 3 ways:
1) E-mail to: leoneb@uhls.lib.ny.us
2) Telephone the Information desk at 458-9274
3) By stopping off at the Access Services desk in the library.

MARCH 2008 STUMPER No Winner

Quote of the Month: "Reason is a means of finding truths through deductive and inductive logic. These truths may be valuable in themselves in helping us to understand who we are (theory of evolution), but they have also, through medicine, for instance, transformed human life. We are free to apply the fruits of reasoned thought to some of our greatest needs, in many areas with enormous success."
Answer: The Closing of the Western Mind by Charles Freeman

Brain Teaser: What was the name of the first television drama program regularly scheduled and what was the name of the first drama it presented?
Answer: “Kraft Television Theater” (5/7/1947); The first drama was “Double Door”

FEBRUARY 2008 STUMPER Winner on 2-14-08: Jo-Ann Benedetti

Quote of the Month: "In the end, though, despite the pseudoscientific patina, intelligent design is not really about science or facts. Most likely, its roots derive not just from religious fundamentalism but from the deep-seated fear that, evolutionarily speaking, we humans may be closer to the savannah than most of us feel comfortable admitting. In particular, many people seem to fear that, if evolution is true, it somehow deflates our sense of moral purpose as humans—the fervent hope that many hold that we might be the special pinnacle of God's earthly creations."
Answer: From Undermining Science: Suppression and Distortion in the Bush Administration by Seth Shulman.

Brain Teaser: The great German composer Richard Wagner owned 2 peacocks. What did he name them?
Answer: Wotan & Fricka from The Wagner Clan by Jonathan Carr, p.4

JANUARY 2008 STUMPER Winner on 1-9-08: Paula Katz

Quote of the Month: "Idealism is concerned with questions that lie outside reasoning, it's quite simple. Reason has triumphed over all the ancient problems of natural science, so the clever fools in France thought they could solve the problem of society—of morality, art—in the same way, by reason and experiment, as if God our Maker was a chemist, an astronomer, a clockmaker . .."
Answer: The Coast of Utopia Part I: Voyage by Tom Stoppard

Brain Teaser: In his Major League career, this native of Albany would play every position except shortstop and catcher. Only Babe Ruth, 20 years later, would post comparable pitching and batting achievements. Who was this baseball player?
Answer: James Bentley “Cy” Seymour

Past Winners

2008
January: Paula Katz
February: Jo-Ann Benedetti

2007
January: Jim and Kathy Ault
February: Beverly Petiet
March: No Winner
April: No Winner
May: No Winner
June: Beverly Petiet
July: No Winner
August: No Winner
September: Judith Wines
October: No Winner
November: No Winner
December: No Winner

2006
January: No Winner
February: Dennis McHugh
March: Jo-Ann Benedetti
April: No Winner
May: No Winner
June: Jo-Ann Benedetti
July: Judith Wines
August: No Winner
September: No Winner
October: No Winner
November: No Winner
December: Beverly Petiet

 2005
January: No Winner
February: No Winner
March: No Winner
April: No Winner
May: No Winner
June: No Winner
July: No Winner
August: Krista Simonsen
September: No Winner
October: Sharon O'Brien
November: No Winner
December: No Winner

2004
January: No Winner
February: Carolyn Fagan
March: No Winner
April: No Winner
May: Carolyn Fagan
June: No Winner
July: Gretchen Paris
August: No Winner
September: Christopher Yurasko
October: No Winner
November: Deborah Canzano
December: Carolyn Fagan

2003
January: No Winner
February: No Winner
March: No Winner
April: No Winner
May: Steven Ellemberg
June: Loyce Szalasny
July: No Winner
August: No Winner
September: Loyce Szalasny
October: Steve Geurds
November: No Winner
December: No Winner

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