Mastermind: Dave Gaspar, The Brick
“Mastermind” is a regular magazine column in which we quiz a Beijing personality on general knowledge as well as on a subject in which they consider themselves to be a specialist. " Throughout the quiz, "√" is given for a right answer and "×" is given for a wrong answer.
Contestant: Dave Gaspar, Bar Manager, The Brick
Specialist Subject: American Fast Food
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
1. In what state was the first game of baseball played?
I want to say Missouri, but I have no idea. ×
2. Which author created the character “Jeeves,” now commonly known as the mascot for Ask.com?
I don’t know any authors. The only author I know is Phil Jackson who wrote a book about basketball. And he had a ghost writer, so I have no idea. No – I should’ve said Dan Brown. ×
3. The comic strip character Charlie Brown owns what species of dog?
Beagle? √
4. What is the lowest number on the FM dial?
Oh, for real? I haven’t listened to a radio since the last time I owned a car, which was eight years ago. So I’m going to say, like, 91.1. ×
5. What do you call a group of owls?
I should know this because I bet it’s a super cool name. The “who.” ×
SPECIALIST SUBJECT
6. There are two chains generally credited as being America’s first fast food restaurants. What are they?
Well, one is White Castle. And the other maybe has something to do with A&W because they were the first “roadside”? √
7. Lou Groen invented this McDonald’s sandwich after discovering that his hometown of Cincinnati was almost 90 percent Roman Catholic.
Oh man, I don’t know. A burger with a cross pick in it? Or one with a wafer they give you when you go to church? I have no idea. ×
8. Which fast food chain came up with the slogan in the late 1950s, “Service With the Speed of Sound?”
Oh, that’s easy. Sonic. They’re the first ones to introduce roller skating. √
9. What is the variant of the McDonald’s Happy Meal designed for preteens called?
Really? I don’t know what it’s called, but they probably put some sort of contraceptives inside for a prize because that’s what I would do. ×
10. In the 1960s, Richard D. Burke designed an iconic red roof and trapezoidal windows for this fast food chain.
I can only think of Wendy’s. I don’t know, I don’t look at roofs, I’m not an architect. Burger King, is that red? Pizza Hut – it’s Pizza Hut! √
FINAL SCORE: 4/10
VERDICT: Dave needs to brush up on his McD trivia, but he has an excuse: His hometown is near Montpelier, Vermont, the US’s only capital city without a McDonald’s.
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Check out the answers to Mastermind in the Beijinger's February issue here:
