Sandy Wood
Brain Game: No, it’s not “Part II”
by Sandy Wood - February 19, 2009 - 7:30 AM

bloghead_braingames.jpg

I may have mentioned that I spent some time a few weeks back perusing the IMDb’s many lists of motion picture superlatives, examining both the best and the worst of the world of cinema. Admittedly, I was also looking for some Brain Game fodder, and this is one of my favorites. It sounds like a trivia question, and it is, but some careful thought might lead you to the correct answer… so I think our regulars will agree that it qualifies as a Brain Game. Here it is; good luck!

What two-word sequence appears
an amazing 15 TIMES in the titles
of the 30 biggest U.S. box-office
hits of the past 30 years?

Want a hint? Re-read the title of today’s Brain Game post. Want another? Turn your desk over (or stand on your head, if you’d rather) and read this:

 

a hint

 

Here is the SOLUTION.

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Comments (11)

  1. I got it right away! Woot!

    posted by Seventh on 2-19-2009 at 7:53 am

  2. Sorry to look dumb or anything, but there’s no “of the” in the title of this brain game, nor is there one in the paragraph.
    So this was a little tough for me, considering your first hint is off.

    posted by Kami on 2-19-2009 at 9:44 am

  3. No problem, Kami. The first clue just said to re-read the title, which just makes it clear that the answer is not “Part II.”

    The second clue said that the answer appeared somewhere “in the question being asked.” And it does — it’s in there twice, in fact.

    The question was: “What two-word sequence appears an amazing 15 times in the titles *OF THE* 30 biggest U.S. box-office hits *OF THE* past 30 years?”

    posted by Sandy Wood on 2-19-2009 at 10:06 am

  4. Well done. Didn’t get it but enjoyed the few minutes I considered it.

    posted by Jim on 2-19-2009 at 10:26 am

  5. Yay! I was finally correct on one of these Brain Game posts. Fun trivia.

    posted by Lisa on 2-19-2009 at 10:52 am

  6. It is actually also in the explanatory paragraph, not just the question being asked:

    “examining both the best and the worst OF THE world of cinema”

    posted by Jeff on 2-19-2009 at 12:04 pm

  7. before i read the hints, my guess was “and the” while not the correct answer, a quick search on imdb revealed a whole load of movies with “and the” in the title.

    posted by george on 2-19-2009 at 1:18 pm

  8. Aw geez. I misread. I thought it said, “what two word SENTENCE appears”. All I could think was, “I am”, “It is”, etc., but saw that wasn’t in the question being asked.

    posted by CJ on 2-19-2009 at 3:41 pm

  9. Yeah! This is the first one I’ve gotten right!

    posted by Tex on 2-19-2009 at 5:04 pm

  10. I figured it had to be “of the” “in the” or “and the”.

    Then I read the clues to come to the right answer.

    posted by Nerak on 2-19-2009 at 7:09 pm

  11. I thought it was “Part” or “Number”.

    posted by Sara on 2-19-2009 at 7:26 pm

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