Seize the Hour — Answers

Here are the answers to my earlier questions.

Having finished our A to Z quizzes from the last few days, we now return to the date with questions about today, March 31st.

One

On this date Daylight Saving Time was introduced for the first time in the United States.

1. In what year did this occur?
2. True or false: Ancient Rome also adjusted their clocks to achieve similar results as daylight savings. 

Answers

1. 1918

2. True

In the U.S., it was seen as a wartime implementation and was abandoned after 1918. It was again used during World War II. It came into general annual use in the 1960s. Ancient Romans used water clocks with varying scales for different months, adjusting the length of hours based on the season. A specific hour which lasted 44 minutes at the winter solstice would be 75 minutes long at the summer solstice.

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Two

Born in 1809, Edward FitzGerald, an English poet and writer who is best known for his 1859 translation of the work of ‘the Astronomer-Poet of Persia’. He published this in 1859 as the Rubáiyát of ——. What two word name is that of the Persian astronomer-poet which completes the title of FitzGerald’s 1859 translation?

Answer: Omar Khayyám.

Edward FitzGerald’s 1859 translation of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám gained popularity in the 1860s and 1870s, becoming a cultural phenomenon in the English-speaking world. The work inspired numerous translations and became something of a cult in the later part of the 19th century. Omar Khayyam (1048–1131) was a Persian polymath who made significant contributions to mathematics, astronomy, philosophy and literature. 

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Three

Born in 1984, Martins Dukurs, a Latvian sportsman, is a six-time world champion and double Olympic silver medallist. He holds the record for the most World Cup titles with 11. In which sport has Dukurs achieved this success?

Answer: Skeleton.

Martins Dukurs, born on 31 March 1984, is a former Latvian skeleton racer and current coach. Competing since 1998, he is a six-time world champion and double Olympic silver medallist (2010, 2014). Dukurs holds the record for the most World Cup titles, with 11, including eight consecutive from 2010 to 2017 and three from 2020 to 2022.

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Four

Born in Scotland on this day in 1971, an actor links these two roles. The first is a character from a 1996 film also born in Scotland, in Leith, Edinburgh. The second is not Scottish but a character in a 2009 film who said ‘Have you come to make me a martyr?’. Who is the actor?

Answer: Ewan McGregor.

Ewan McGregor is a Scottish actor and filmmaker known for his roles in Trainspotting, Star Wars, and Moulin Rouge!. He has received numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe and a Primetime Emmy Award, and has also directed films and appeared in theatre productions.

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Five

On this date, the U.S. Virgin Islands became American possessions. 

1. By what name had they been known immediately prior to this?
2. In what decade did this occur?

Answers

1. Danish West Indies

2. 1910s

The United States purchased the three islands from Denmark for $25 million in 1917, recognising their strategic importance in controlling the main passage through the Caribbean to the Panama Canal. Previously controlled by Denmark–Norway from 1754 to 1814 and then by the Kingdom of Denmark from 1814 to 1917, the islands were sold under the 1917 Treaty of the Danish West Indies. Adjusted for inflation, this amount would be $628 million in 2025. Since the purchase, the islands have been an organised, unincorporated U.S. territory. 

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