Here are the answers to my earlier questions.
These questions all relate to today, February 17th.
Image Wikimedia Commons
One
A singer born in 1991 released their debut album, +, in September 2011. Who is the singer?
Answer: Ed Sheeran.
Ed Sheeran’s debut studio album, + (Plus), was released on 9 September 2011 and marked his commercial breakthrough. The album, produced by Jake Gosling, Sheeran and No I.D., received positive reviews and sold over 4 million copies worldwide.
Two
In 2008, Kosovo declared independence from which country?
Answer: Serbia.
Kosovo, a self-declared independent country in the Balkans, declared independence from Serbia in 2008. While recognised by the US and most EU members, its independence is not universally accepted. In 2010 the International Court of Justice ruled Kosovo’s declaration didn’t breach international law but Serbia rejected the decision. Despite lacking full international agreement, Kosovo has established structures akin to an independent nation under international supervision. The EU oversees police judicial and customs activities.
Three
In what decade did the opera Madama Butterfly premiere at La Scala, Milan, and who composed it?
Answer: 1900s; Giacomo Puccini.
Madama Butterfly is a three-act opera by Giacomo Puccini, based on John Luther Long’s short story and Pierre Loti’s novel. The original two-act version premiered in 1904 at La Scala but was poorly received, leading Puccini to revise it into the successful three-act version.
Four
What entertainer and actor born in Kew in 1934, links a housewife, the voice of Bruce in 2003 and, a novennium later, a Great Goblin?
Answer: Barry Humphries.
Barry Humphries, an Australian actor, was best known for his character Dame Edna Everage. He also created other characters, appeared in films, and wrote books. The housewife from the question was of course Dame Edna. Bruce was the shark from Finding Nemo (2003) and the Great Goblin, the king of the caverns, was played by Humphries in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012).
Five
In 1965, the Ranger 8 probe was launched on a mission to photograph among other things Mare Tranquillitatis. Where is Mare Tranquillitatis?
Answer: Moon
Ranger was a series of nine unmanned probes launched by NASA between 1961 and 1965 to explore the Moon. While the first five probes failed, the last three, Ranger 7, 8 and 9, successfully transmitted over 17,000 high-resolution photographs of the lunar surface. These images included the Sea of Tranquility (Mare Tranquillitatis), which would become the 1969 landing site of Apollo 11.
Quizology Online 