42-0-20-(Z 16-102–8-15-39)-13 — Answers

Here are today’s answers.

Today’s questions are not related to the date; instead, they share a theme linked to the title in a subtle or hidden manner.

One

ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha, an appreciation society and their publication Mostly Harmless is connected to what science fiction franchise?

Answer: The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha organises gatherings and social events, produces the magazine Mostly Harmless and sells Beeblebears modelled on Zaphod Beeblebrox. It celebrates The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Douglas Adams’s works.

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Two

What single word can mean nought, a strong-lined fabric, a quick immersion, a bivalve mollusc, a lowering of the head or a bird and in which sport did the meaning ‘nought’ originate?

Answer: Duck: cricket.

All of the above are from definitions of duck.

• Nought: in cricket a batter’s score of zero. Origin mid 19th century: short for duck’s egg, used for the figure 0 because of its similar outline.
• Fabric: a strong cotton or linen fabric. Origin mid 17th century: from Middle Dutch doek ‘linen, linen cloth’; related to German Tuch ‘cloth’.
• Immersion: to dip under water. Origin Middle English: of Germanic origin; related to Dutch duiken and German tauchen ‘dive, dip, plunge’.
• Mollusc: a pure white thin-shelled bivalve mollusc found off the Atlantic coasts of America. Genus Anatina, family Mactridae.
• Lowering head: lower the head or the body quickly. Origin Middle English: of Germanic origin; related to Dutch duiken and German tauchen ‘dive, dip, plunge’.
• Bird: a waterbird with a broad blunt bill. Origin Old English duce, from the Germanic German tauchen ‘dive, dip, plunge’.

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Three

Where is the mythical Snow Lion a celestial emblem?

Answer: Tibet.

The Snow Lion, Tibet’s celestial emblem, symbolises power, strength, fearlessness, joy, east, and earth. Featured on Tibet’s flag from 1916 to 1950, it remains used by the Tibetan Government-in-Exile. Depicted as white with a turquoise mane, it represents hermits and yogis, and is prominent in Tibetan culture.

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Four

What character is named when symbols for sulphur, nobelium, oxygen, phosphorus and yttrium are placed together in order?

Answer: Snoopy

S-sulphur
No-nobelium
O-oxygen
P-phosphorus
Y-yttrium

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Five

What are the three super-states in the novel Nineteen Eighty-four, and in which of these is London located?

Answers: Oceania, Eurasia and Eastasia; Oceania.

In April 1984, Winston Smith lives in Airstrip One (previously Great Britain), a province of Oceania, under totalitarian rule by ‘the Party’ and Big Brother. The Party enforces conformity through surveillance and Thought Police, erasing dissenters as “unpersons”. Winston, an Outer Party member at the Ministry of Truth, secretly rebels against the regime.

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42-0-20-(Z 16-102–8-15-39)-13

The numbers in the title offer clues, perhaps obscure, to each of the questions in the correct order. The information breaks down like this

1. 42: In The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy 42 is the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything.
2. 0: A duck is 0 as explained above, see ‘Nought’ under the second answer.
3. 20: The 20th letter of the alphabet ‘T’ is the initial to this answer.
4. (Z 16-102–8-15-39): Z is the symbol for atomic numbers and 16 is the atomic number for sulphur, 102 is nobelium 8 is oxygen 15 is phosphorus and 39 is yttrium each of which make Snoopy.
5. 13: : ‘It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.’ Thirteen concludes the opening line of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-four.

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