First — Answers

Here are the answers to today’s questions.

There is no theme with these questions but the five answers are linked to something written in this post prior to the questions.

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One

What is American novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald’s first name?

Answer: Francis.

Francis Scott Fitzgerald, an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer, is best known for his novels depicting the Jazz Age. He achieved transient success in the 1920s and is now regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century.

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Two

What title was shared by both of these: a 1966 single by Cream from their album Fresh Cream, and a 1988 track from Belinda Carlisle’s album, Heaven on Earth?

Answer: I Feel Free.

I Feel Free by Cream, released in 1966, blends blues rock and psychedelic pop. It reached number 11 on the UK singles chart and was the band’s debut single in the US. In 1987, American singer Belinda Carlisle recorded a cover of the song for her second studio album Heaven on Earth.

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Three

John Updike’s 1960 novel was the first in a series of books with titles which included the nickname of the main character. What was the title of that 1960 novel?

Answer: Rabbit, Run.

Rabbit, Run, a 1960 novel by John Updike, follows Harry ’Rabbit’ Angstrom, a former basketball player trapped in a loveless marriage and a boring job. The novel spawned several sequels and a novella, exploring Rabbit’s life against the backdrop of major events in the latter half of the 20th century.

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Four

This character is normally known by a nickname but Popeye named them in 1933 as ‘Schooner Seawell Georgia Washenting Christiffer Columbia Daniel Boom’. What is the nickname?

Answer: Swee’Pea.

Swee’Pea, a character in E.C. Segar’s comic strip Thimble Theatre/Popeye, is named after the sweet pea flower. He debuted in 1933 and, despite ageing, remained a crawling baby who could speak and fight.

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Five

In what sport are these the major prizes at the world championships. Swaythling Cup (men’s team), Corbillon Cup (women’s team), St. Bride’s Vase (men’s singles) and Geist Prize (women’s singles)?

Answer: Table tennis.

These world championship prizes are described by Wikipedia as 

• Team competition:
  • Swaythling Cup for men’s team, donated in 1926 by Gladys, Baroness Swaythling, mother of the first ITTF president, Ivor Montagu. 
  • Corbillon Cup for women’s team, donated in 1933 by Marcel Corbillon, president of the French Table Tennis Association. The original Cup was won by German team in 1939, and disappeared during Berlin occupation after World War II; the current Corbillon Cup is a replica made in 1949.
• Singles competition:
  • St. Bride Vase for men’s singles, donated in 1929 by C.Corti Woodcock, member of the exclusive St. Bride Table Tennis Club in London, after Fred Perry of England won the title in Budapest.
  • Geist Prize for women’s singles, donated in 1931 by Dr. Gaspar Geist, president of the Hungarian Table Tennis Association for women’s singles, donated in 1931 by Dr. Gaspar Geist, president of the Hungarian Table Tennis Association.

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First

The post title provided the first letter of each of the answers. The reason for the title ‘First’ was a personal one: today marks the anniversary of me starting out in my chosen career — 15 June 1970 — long before I entered the trivia world that has provided a second career.