Here’s a review of this week’s questions: 

  1. As hot as today’s headlines! Who is the Reds superstar who made a little girl cry when he was ejected from a game against San Diego, only to invite her back the next day and give her an autographed baseball with a special apology written on it?
  2. The binturong, a mammal native to the dense rainforests of Southeast Asia, holds a special connection to the city of Cincinnati. What is another name for this animal?
  3. Every fall, the Cincinnati region bellies up to the kneipe (pub) to celebrate Oktoberfest on both sides of the river. The epicenter of the action is this authentic German beer hall, the first of its kind in the U.S., located in Newport, KY. What is its name?

Here are the answers:

  1. All-Star first first baseman Joey Votto, who has called Cincinnati home since his rookie season in 2007, has made quite an impression on Reds fans, maybe none more than 6 year-old Abigail Courtney. Abigail’s parents moved from Ohio to California and raised their young daughter to become as big a Reds fan as the folks back home in the Buckeye State. After driving two hours to the ballpark, Abigail was devastated when her favorite player was ejected from the game after arguing with an umpire. Abigail’s mom said her daughter was inconsolable. “She wasn’t calming down,” her mom said. “She kept saying, ‘They made Joey leave.’ ‘They made Joey leave.’ She cried for two full innings.” The story has a happy ending, though, because the next day Abigail was invited back to the ballpark, where she had her autograph book signed, posed for pictures with Votto, and received a signed ball that read, “I am sorry I didn’t play the entire game.”
  2. The Bearcat, which is neither bear nor cat, has a pretty cockeyed history as the mascot for the University of Cincinnati. First the animal itself; Binturongs have the face of a cat, the body of a bear, and a tail like a monkey. They have long, low, stocky bodies covered with coarse, shaggy black fur tipped in gray, so they sometimes appear speckled. They are robust animals, growing to be 2-3 feet long (double that if you include the tail) and between 25 and 50 pounds. The Bearcat that represents UC’s athletic teams started out as a play on words shouted in support of star player Leonard “Teddy” Baehr. When UC beat Kentucky in November of 1914, the student newspaper proclaimed, “They may be Wildcats, but we have a Baehr-cat on our side.” The name, as well as artistic depictions of the “animal” eventually evolved into a beast who looks nothing like Lucy and Lucille, the actual Binturongs living in the Cincinnati Zoo.
  3. Modeled after the original Hofbräuhaus in München (Munich, Germany), Newport’s Hofbrauhaus offers craft beer, authentic German food and entertainment. Every year in October, the town of Newport, across the river from downtown Cincinnati, parties it up Munich-style with an Oktoberfest celebration that features a large variety of beers crafted by German breweries, live folk music and dance performances, authentic cuisine and more. So, raise your gi-normous “bier” stein and shout out “Ein Prosit der Gemütlichkeit” (a toast to your good health) while supporting a great local establishment!

Thanks for playing!