O is for… | Answers

The answers to my earlier post are shown highlighted below.

The three fictional superstates of the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four are Oceania (black), Eurasia (red) and Eastasia (yellow). Areas shown in grey are ‘disputed’.
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One

The map above depicts the three fictional superstates from George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, along with disputed territories (in grey). The black-coloured state encompassing the Americas, Australia and the United Kingdom, among others, is known by what name?

Answer: Oceania

In George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, the world is divided into three superstates—Oceania (black on map), Eurasia (red) and Eastasia (yellow)—engaged in a perpetual war. The origins of these states, which may not even exist, are unclear, emerging from nuclear warfare and civil unrest between 1945 and 1965. In this post-war world, totalitarian ideologies such as English Socialism, Neo-Bolshevism and Obliteration of the Self dominate.


Ogden Nash and Dagmar from the television game show Masquerade Party, 1955
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Two

Some tortures are physical and some are mental, but the one that is both is dental.

The above quote was originally made by which American humorist and poet?

Answer: Ogden Nash

Frederic Ogden Nash, an American humorist, wrote over 500 pieces of light verse, including 20 volumes of poetry and lyrics for musicals and children’s books.


Orienteering pictogram
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Three

A competitive sport in which runners have to find their way across rough country with the aid of a map and compass.
Oxford English Dictionary

What sport is being defined above?

Answer: Orienteering

Orienteering is a sport involving map and compass navigation through unfamiliar terrain. Participants use specially prepared maps to locate control points, with foot orienteering being the oldest and most popular variation. Orienteering features in the programs of global sporting events, such as the World Games and the World Police and Fire Games.


Oberammergau Passion Play 1860 Production.
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Four

A Passion Play, depicting the final phase of the life of Jesus Christ, has taken place in a Bavarian village once every ten years (barring a few exceptions) since the 17 century. What is the village name?

Answer: Oberammergau

The Oberammergauer Passionsspiele, a passion play performed by the inhabitants of Oberammergau, Germany, depicts Jesus’ final days from His visit to Jerusalem to His crucifixion. The play, composed by several individuals and the village inhabitants, is the earliest surviving continuous vernacular drama of the Christian era.


Librarian of the Unseen University, Ankh-Morpork.
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Five

What one creature answers both the following
– In The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett, the university librarian is accidentally turned into one of these
– One is featured in Edgar Allan Poe’s short story The Murders in the Rue Morgue

Answer: Orangutan (or orangutang)

In The Light Fantastic, the second instalment in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld fantasy novel series, the Librarian of the Unseen University undergoes an unexpected transformation into a sentient orangutan. This transformation persists throughout the series, and he actively resists any attempts to revert him to his original state.
The Murders in the Rue Morgue tell how a sailor’s orangutan, imitating him shaving, runs off with his straight razor and later kills a woman and her daughter. The sailor, attempting to catch it, was heard arguing with the animal. The orangutan fled, leaving the sailor to sell it and the police to release their suspect, Le Bon.

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Author: Scott F

As a retired trivia writer, editor and quiz compiler, I wholeheartedly agree with Bertrand Russell’s quote: “There’s much pleasure to be gained in useless knowledge.” Trivia of all sorts has always fascinated me, and for many years, I’ve written and compiled trivia for various media, including traditional TV and radio quiz shows, newspapers and magazines, apps, and other digital platforms.

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