May26

electoral-vote.com

Dem 47

   

GOP 53

It Was 21 Years and 2 Days Ago Today...

That does not roll off the tongue quite as well as the first line of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," but at least it's factually correct. This weekend, we had an e-mail from reader W.M.T. in Vienna, Austria:

Happy Birthday, Electoral-Vote.com!

Thank you for your daily service, being an island in this ocean of misinformation.

This week was tough enough that we'd actually overlooked it, so we thank W.M.T. for the kind words AND the reminder.

Last year, on the actual 20th anniversary, we had a little true/false game that was meant to illustrate how much things have changed, and how much they haven't. If we are ever going to pay that off, then this is the week.

For most of the weekend, we actually intended to give the answers and the initials/cities of the readers who got the most questions right. However, we decided it will work a little better if we just give the questions again today, and then the answers tomorrow. It will be a little fresher in readers' minds, that way. So here, again, are the questions:

1. Politics: Which of these is true?
    •   On May 24, 2004, the Republicans had the federal trifecta
    •   On May 24, 2004, Alberto Gonzales was Attorney General
   
   
2. Supreme Court: Which of these is true?
    •   On May 24, 2004, three current justices were already on the Supreme Court (Thomas, Roberts, Alito)
    •   On May 24, 2004, only one current justice was already on the Supreme Court (Thomas)
   
   
3. International Affairs: Which of these is true?
    •   On May 24, 2004, Kim Jong-il was still leading North Korea
    •   On May 24, 2004, Kim Jong-il was dead, and had been succeeded by Kim Jong-un
   
   
4. The News: Which of these is true?
    •   On May 24, 2004, The Washington Post's 1A headline was "Bush Seeks to Reassure Nation on Iraq"
    •   On May 24, 2004, The Washington Post's 1A headline was "Lehman Brothers File for Bankruptcy"
   
   
5. The Economy: Which of these is true?
    •   On May 24, 2004, the average gallon of milk cost $3.16
    •   On May 24, 2004, the average gallon of gas cost $3.16
   
   
6. Tech: Which of these is true?
    •   On May 24, 2004, Facebook was just a few months old
    •   On May 24, 2004, the iPhone was just a few months old
   
   
7. Television: Which of these is true?
    •   On May 24, 2004, the highest-rated program in the U.S. was American Idol
    •   On May 24, 2004, the highest-rated program in the U.S. was Seinfeld
   
   
8. Film: Which of these is true?
    •   On May 24, 2004, The Passion of the Christ crossed the $350 million mark at the box office
    •   On May 24, 2004, Gladiator crossed the $200 million mark at the box office
   
   
9. Music: Which of these is true?
    •   On May 24, 2004, Britney Spears, Madonna and Paul McCartney were all on tour
    •   On May 24, 2004, Michael Jackson, The Presidents of the United States of America and Johnny Cash were all on tour
   
   
10. Sports: Which of these is true?
     •   On May 24, 2004, Oriole Cal Ripken's consecutive games streak was still underway
     •   On May 24, 2004, Oriole Cal Ripken had concluded his streak at 2,632 games
    
    
11. Books: Which of these is true?
     •   On May 24, 2004, the #1 book in the country was The Da Vinci Code
     •   On May 24, 2004, the #1 book in the country was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
    
    
12. Electoral-Vote.com: Which of these is true?
     •   On May 24, 2004, our map had Michigan going for George W. Bush and Iowa going for John Kerry
     •   On May 24, 2004, our map had Minnesota going for George W. Bush and Missouri going for John Kerry

Tiebreaker Question: How many bills had George W. Bush vetoed as of May 24, 2004?

We've reactivated the quiz; the link is here. We've also set it up so that people who already submitted answers can submit a fresh set of guesses. No fair using the Internet, though—just make your best guesses! We'll leave it active until 10:00 p.m. PT tonight (Monday), and then we'll have the answers tomorrow. (Z)