The Nika riots took place in January of 532 AD in Constantinople, reaching their apex during chariot races at the Hippodrome. What Byzantine emperor was nearly overthrown during the riots?

 

On January 6th, 1994, Nancy Kerrigan was whacked in the knee with a baton by a man named Shane Stant. Tonya Harding’s husband and her bodyguard hired Stant to do so. Who was Tonya’s bodyguard?

There was a sequel made to National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. The made-for-TV special aired on NBC on December 20, 2003, and is known as one of the worst movies every made. What was it called (I will not accept Christmas Vacation 2)?

After Mark Antony had this man assassinated on December 7th, 43 BC, Antony had the man’s head cut off and gave it to his wife, who then stuck her hairpins in his tongue, just to drive home the point, I guess. Who was he*?

*You can find the answer on the brand new edition of This Week in Worthless Knowledge.

Born on December 3, 1368, this French King was originally known as the Beloved. But in 1892, he lost his damn mind. He soon believed that he was made out of glass, and now he is better known as the Mad. Who was he?

There are some who argue that the real “first Thanksgiving” was celebrated on September 8th, 1565, by the Spaniards and the Timucuans, in what city?

William Tell was forced to shoot an apple off his son’s head because the Vogt (or overlord) of the canton of Altdorf demanded that he do so after Tell refused to bow to his hat. Who was this big time jerk?

What would be the odds of shooting an apple off a loved one’s head? Nat and I got into a heated debate about it on this week’s podcast. We also discussed which was the bigger choke, the Incas vs. the Spaniards or Oilers against the Bills? 

The terrible book Moby Dick (which we discussed in our latest podcast*) was based on the disastrous voyage of what whaling ship in 1820?

If you don’t have itunes, you can listen to it here.

On November 2, 1958, Charles van Doren testified before Congress that he had been given the answers on the game show 21. Who did he defeat,  a man who was also part of the fix?

The first recorded use of the word zombie in the English language was written in 1819 by the same man who wrote the Goldilocks and the Three Little Bears. WHo was he?