Libsyn Directory

1894: The First Stanley Cup Playoff

Release Date: 03/22/2017

Trivia People

Let’s start with salad, specifically salad dressing, even more specifically salad dressing names. We’ll start with the king of salad dressings in the United States: ranch. Ranch dressing was first created in 1954 by Steve Henson, who owned a dude ranch called Hidden Valley Ranch, near Santa Barbara, California. His customers liked the dressing so much that Henson started selling packets of dried mix so they could have it at home. Bottled, prepared ranch dressing was introduced in 1983. Thousand Island dressing’s origin story is not as clear, although it’s name refers to the Thousand...

570: WInter Olympics

Trivia People

Today is the 14th day of competition at the 23rd Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea. Here are a few things you might not have known about these Olympics and the Olympic Winter Games in general. Ninety-two nations are competing in 102 events in 15 sports during the 19-day competition. The host South Koreans marched with their counterparts from North Korea under a unified Korean flag during the opening ceremony. The two countries combined to field a unified women’s ice hockey team, but otherwise participated separately. This is the third time the Winter Olympics have been held...

569: Disneyland

Trivia People

I hope you’re asking yourself, where has this guy been for the past eight months? Well, my wife and I moved from Yakima, Washington, to Los Angeles in a so-far successful attempt to avoid winter. Also, I’ve recently started a new job, because unlike other podcasters, we’re not rolling in Blue Apron or SquareSpace money yet. So, inspired by my new-ish surroundings, here are five things you may not have known about Disneyland: Walt Disney originally wanted to build an amusement park next to his studios in Burbank, California, north of downtown Los Angeles. However, the proposed site...

Taking a Break -- We Shall Return!

Trivia People

To my listeners: I hope you've noticed there has been a lack of "Trivia Minute" podcasts lately. I have quite a few exciting and positive things going on in my life right now, so I've had to put the podcast on the back burner until things settle down (likely sometime this autumn). My promise: The show will return, so please stay subscribed using whichever podcast service you use. Keep an eye on this space for updates. Thank you for listening! -- Marcus P.S.: All 550-plus episodes will also remain available on

567: Trivia Minute Update: May 5, 2017

Trivia People

We’ll start off with a question: What nation did Mexican forces defeat in the Battle of Puebla, which is marked by Cinco de Mayo celebrations? We’ll have the answer later in the show. Today is Cinco de Mayo, which is celebrated more in the United States than it is in Mexico. It’s also Children’s Day in Japan and South Korea and Constitution Day in Kyrgyzstan. It’s unofficially International Midwives’ Day, Cartoonists Day, and International Tuba Day. It’s the birthday of chef James Beard, who was born in 1903; actor Michael Palin, who is 74, and singer Adele, who is 29. Now,...

Trivia Minute Update: May 4, 2017

Trivia People

We’ll start off with a question: What was the only crime gangster Al Capone was ever convicted of? We’ll have the answer later in the show. Today is International Firefighters Day, Youth Day in Fiji, and Restoration of Independence Day in Latvia. It’s unofficially Star Wars Day, National Day of Prayer and National Orange Juice Day. It’s the birthday of actress Audrey Hepburn, who was born in 1929; actor Will Arnett, who is 47; and golfer Rory McIlroy, who is 28. Now, we’ll spin the wheel to pick a year at random. This week in 1961, the top song in the U.S. was “Runaway” by Del...

Trivia Minute Update: May 3, 2017

Trivia People

We’ll start off with a question: Who was the owner of the Dodgers when they moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles? We’ll have the answer later in the show. Today is World Press Freedom Day, Constitution Day in Poland, and Constitution Memorial Day in Japan. It’s Public Radio Day, Wordsmith Day, and National Raspberry Popover Day. It’s the birthday of singer and actor Bing Crosby, who was born in 1903; musician James Brown, who was born in 1933; and magician Doug Henning, who was born in 1947. Now, we’ll spin the wheel to pick a year at random. This week in 1981, the top song in the U.S....

Trivia Minute Update: May 2, 2017

Trivia People

We’ll start off with a question: The maiden flight of the De Havilland Comet, the first jet airliner, traveled between which two cities? We’ll have the answer later in the show. Today is Flag Day in Poland, National Education Day in Indonesia, and Teachers’ Day in Iran. It’s unofficially National Play Your Ukulele Day, International Scurvy Awareness Day and World Asthma Day. It’s the birthday of Catherine the Great, who was born in 1729; singer Engelbert Humperdinck, who is 81; and soccer star David Beckham, who is 42. Now, we’ll spin the wheel to pick a year at random. This week...

Trivia Minute Update: May 1, 2017

Trivia People

Our T-shirt giveaway came to an end on Sunday. We only had one entry from Doug Barbeau, who wins a Trivia Minute T-Shirt. Thanks, Doug. We’ll start off with a question: Which two of the contiguous 48 states are not served by Amtrak rail service? Today is Constitution Day in Argentina, Latvia and the Marshall Islands. It’s International Workers’ Day, and it’s May Day. It’s unofficially Frequent Flyer Day, National Chocolate Parfait Day, and School Principals’ Day. It’s the birthday of author Joseph Heller, who was born in 1923; musician Judy Collins, who is 78; and film director...

Trivia Minute Update: April 28, 2017

Trivia People

Today's trivia question: Who was the captain of the HMS Bounty? Today is International Workplace Safety Day, National Heroes Day in Barbados, and National Day of Mourning in Canada. It’s unofficially National Cubicle Day, National Superhero Day, and National Blueberry Pie Day. It’s the birthday of author Harper Lee, who was born in 1926; Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, who is 57; and actress Penelope Cruz, who is 43. Now, we’ll spin the wheel to pick a year at random. This week in 1986, the top song in the U.S. was “Addicted to Love” by Robert Palmer. The No. 1 movie was...

More Episodes

On this date in 1894, the first Stanley Cup playoff game was held.

Here are a few things you may not have known about the oldest trophy in North American professional team sports.

The cup was commissioned as the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup by Lord Stanley of Preston, who was then the governor general of Canada. It was awarded for the first time in 1893 to the Montreal Hockey Club based on league standings, not on a playoff victory. As a challenge cup, the team which won the cup the previous year was allowed to defend it the next season if it won its league’s regular-season title.

In 1904, the Ottawa Hockey Club was challenged by a squad of miners from Dawson City in the Yukon Territory. The Dawson team was known as the Klondikers and the Nuggets, and traveled to Ottawa by foot, bicycle, dogsled, narrow-gauge railway, steamship and train. Two days after arriving in the capital, they lost the first game 9-2. Three days later, Ottawa won the second game 23-2, with Frank McGee scoring 14 goals, including eight consecutive goals over the course of nine minutes. No team from west of Winnipeg won the Cup during the challenge era. The first true West Coast team to play for the Cup was the Victoria Aristocrats in 1914.

During the challenge era, the most successful club was the Ottawa Hockey Club with 17 successful challenges or defenses of the Cup.

In 1914, it was determined that the Stanley Cup would go to the winner of a series between the champions of the National Hockey Association and the Pacific Coast Hockey Association. This led to the inclusion of American teams, as the PCHA had teams in Seattle and Portland. The trustees of the Cup announced that the trophy would no longer be awarded to the best team in Canada, but to the best team in the world. Which, apparently, at the time consisted of Canada and the states of Washington and Oregon.

The Seattle Metropolitans were the first American team to win the Stanley Cup in 1917. They played for the Cup again in 1919 and 1920. The 1919 series was canceled when it was tied at two games apiece after an influenza outbreak decimated the Montreal team. Montreal’s coach attempted to forfeit the series to Seattle, but the Seattle coach wouldn’t accept it. The trophy was not awarded that year.

Since 1927, the Stanley Cup has been exclusively the championship trophy for the National Hockey League. The Montreal Canadiens have won the Stanley Cup a record 24 times since 1915. The Cup was not awarded in 2005 as the result of a labor dispute. As a result, in 2006 a settlement was reached which would allow non-NHL teams to challenge for the Stanley Cup if the NHL doesn’t operate for a season.

The cup itself is the bowl that makes up the top 7 inches of the nearly 3-foot tall trophy. The rest of the trophy is made up of rings that are engraved with the names of the players and executives from the winning team. Once a ring is filled with names, the oldest remaining ring is removed and kept at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

Our question: Which player’s name is engraved on the Stanley Cup a record 11 times?

Today is the earliest day on which Easter Sunday can fall, April 25 is the latest. It’s World Water Day and Emancipation Day in Puerto Rico.

It’s unofficially As Young As You Feel Day, National Sing Out Day, and National Goof Off Day.

It’s the birthday of songwriter Stephen Sondheim, who is 87; actor William Shatner, who is 86; and songwriter Andrew Lloyd Webber, who is 69.

Because our topic happened before 1960, we’ll spin the wheel to pick a year at random.

This week in 2001, the top song in the U.S. was “Butterfly” by Crazy Town.

The No. 1 movie was “Exit Wounds,” while the novel “A Painted House” by John Grisham topped the New York Times Bestsellers list.

Weekly question: How much per acre did the United States pay for Alaska in 1867?

Submit your answer at triviapeople.com/test and we’ll add the name of the person with the first correct answer to our winner’s wall … at triviapeople.com. We'll have the correct answer on Friday’s episode.