Today’s question continue the sausages theme with more links for you to digest.
One
Two events in a sport link Prestwick, Scotland, in 1860 with Newport, Rhode Island, in 1895. What sport, and what notable events?
Two
The Hudson Strait links what bay to what sea?
Three
According to Wikipedia what character in a long-running film series ‘has been portrayed by Jack Lord, Cec Linder, Rik Van Nutter, Norman Burton, David Hedison, John Terry, and Jeffrey Wright’?
Four
What three words link a Neil Young song from 1972 with a fictional spacecraft?
Five
What British TV quiz programme, first broadcast on 9 and 10 September 2001, links these real-life people: Charles and Diana Ingram and Tecwen Whittock?
There is a simple theme running through today’s questions, which I’m sure you will work out very quickly.
One
What five-letter word means sausages and an area of, for example, St. Andrew’s, Scotland?
Answer: Links.
Sausages in a chain are links, as is a seaside golf course on ‘linksland’. The Oxford English Dictionary definition of the golf variety is shown below.
links /lɪŋks / ▸ plural noun [treated as singular or plural] (also golf links) a golf course, especially one on grass-covered sandy ground near the sea: a couple of days’ golf on a sunny Spanish links. ▪ another term for linksland
– ORIGIN Old English hlinc ‘rising ground’, perhaps related to lean1.
— Oxford English Dictionary
Two
What eight-letter word relates to all of these: Joe Gilmore, a barman at the Savoy Hotel, London in 1969; Apollo 11, 1969; Mr Bean, 1969; Michael Jackson, 1983?
Answer: Moonwalk.
Joe Gilmore created the Moonwalk cocktail to celebrate Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s landing on the Moon in Apollo 11 and their moonwalks. Mr. Bean was Apollo 12’s Alan Bean who, along with his colleague Pete Conrad, also walked on the Moon a few months later. Michael Jackson’s famous Moonwalk was first publicly performed in 1983.
Three
What connects Fort Providence to the Beaufort Sea?
Answer: Mackenzie River.
The Mackenzie River, in Canada’s Northwest Territories, is, with the Slave, Peace and Finlay Rivers, the longest river system in Canada, with the second-largest drainage basin of any North American river after the Mississippi. The Mackenzie’s main stem flows 1,738 km (1,079 miles) from Great Slave Lake at Fort Providence to the Arctic Ocean at the Beaufort Sea, in the Inuvik Region. Historically significant, it supports limited economic development, including oil, minerals, and agriculture.
Four
Dr. John Watson; Bilbo Baggins; Lester Nygaard; Chris Carson. Who is the connection?
Answer: Martin Freeman.
English actor Martin Freeman has won two Emmy Awards, a BAFTA Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. He portrayed Dr. John Watson in Sherlock (2010–2017); a young Bilbo Baggins in the The Hobbit film trilogy (2012–2014); Lester Nygaard in Fargo (2014), and Chris Carson in The Responder (from 2022).
Five
What one title is shared by these: a 1956 film about Vincent van Gogh; an Iggy Pop album from 1977; a 2017 Lana Del Rey album?
Answer: Lust for Life.
Lust for Life is a 1956 biographical film about Vincent van Gogh, directed by Vincente Minnelli and starring Kirk Douglas. Lust for Life was also the title of Iggy Pop’s second solo album, released in 1977. Finally, Lust for Life is Lana Del Rey’s fifth studio album, released in 2017.
Sausages
As explained in the first answer sausages in a chain are links and today’s questions are all about links.
There is a simple theme running through today’s questions, which I’m sure you will work out very quickly.
One
What five-letter word means sausages and an area of, for example, St. Andrew’s, Scotland?
Two
What eight-letter word relates to all of these: Joe Gilmore, a barman at the Savoy Hotel, London in 1969; Apollo 11, 1969; Mr Bean, 1969; Michael Jackson, 1983?
Three
What connects Fort Providence to the Beaufort Sea?
Four
Dr. John Watson; Bilbo Baggins; Lester Nygaard; Chris Carson. Who is the connection?
Five
What one title is shared by these: a 1956 film about Vincent van Gogh; an Iggy Pop album from 1977; a 2017 Lana Del Rey album?
These questions are all about people from the creative arts who were born on today’s date, 17 June.
One
Which Dutch artist, born 1898, created the lithograph Waterfall shown above?
Answer: M.C. Escher.
Waterfall is a stunning visual representation of the concept of perpetual motion, depicting a never-ending cascade of water that flows uphill and back into itself. The piece combines elements of mathematics, physics, and art to create a seamless illusion of movement and transformation, inviting the viewer to contemplate the nature of change and the eternal cycle of life. — MyArtBroker.com
Two
Born in 1882, this composer was commissioned to write three ballets for the Ballets Russes’ Paris seasons: The Firebird (1910), Petrushka (1911), and The Rite of Spring (1913). Who is the composer?
Answer: Igor Stravinsky.
Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) was a Russian composer with French and American citizenship, pivotal in modernist music. His career spanned three periods: Russian, neoclassical, and serial. Known for ballets like The Rite of Spring, he influenced composers like Copland and Glass. Stravinsky died in New York City, leaving six memoirs.
Three
Barry Manilow, who was born in 1943, won the Grammy for Song of the Year in 1977 for a Bruce Johnston-written song. What song did Manilow ironically sing to win this award?
Answer: I Write the Songs.
Barry Manilow won a Grammy in 1977 for I Write the Songs — which, ironically, he did not write — written by Bruce Johnston. Manilow has produced, arranged, and performed for musicals, films, and commercials, including for McDonald’s and Pepsi. Nominated for 15 Grammy Awards, winning once, he has produced Grammy-nominated albums for Bette Midler and others. As a solo artist, he has sold over 85 million records globally.
Four
This English filmmaker, born 1936, received the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival for both The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006) and I, Daniel Blake (2016). He is also known for Cathy Come Home (1966) and Kes (1969). Who is this filmmaker?
Answer: Ken Loach.
Ken Loach is a British director known for his social realism films. Initially studying law at Oxford, he transitioned to acting and directing, notably for the BBC. His 1966 docudrama Cathy Come Home highlighted homelessness. Loach’s acclaimed films include Kes, Hidden Agenda (1990), The Wind That Shakes the Barley and I, Daniel Blake, the latter two winning the Palme d’Or. He also directed documentaries like The Spirit of ’45 (2013) and received the Praemium Imperiale in 2003.
Five
Born in California in 1987, this American rapper and songwriter received the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, and has, at the time of writing, won 27 Grammys. Who is this musician?
Answer: Kendrick Lamar.
Kendrick Lamar, born in 1987, is a renowned American rapper known for his introspective lyrics and social commentary. He signed with TDE in 2005, achieving fame with albums like Good Kid, M.A.A.D City and To Pimp a Butterfly. Lamar has won 27 Grammys, headlined the Super Bowl, and co-founded PGLang.
These questions are all about people from the creative arts who were born on today’s date, 17 June.
One
Which Dutch artist, born 1898, created the lithograph Waterfall shown above?
Two
Born in 1882, this composer was commissioned to write three ballets for the Ballets Russes’ Paris seasons: The Firebird (1910), Petrushka (1911), and The Rite of Spring (1913). Who is the composer?
Three
Barry Manilow, who was born in 1943, won the Grammy for Song of the Year in 1977 for a Bruce Johnston-written song. What song did Manilow ironically sing to win this award?
Four
This English filmmaker, born 1936, received the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival for both The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006) and I, Daniel Blake (2016). He is also known for Cathy Come Home (1966) and Kes (1969). Who is this filmmaker?
Five
Born in California in 1987, this American rapper and songwriter received the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, and has, at the time of writing, won 27 Grammys. Who is this musician?
Today’s first question is about a pioneering ‘first’, the rest follow a theme of ‘firsts’ rather than the letters of ’first’.
One
On this day in what year did Valentina V. Tereshkova become the first woman in space, and on what spacecraft did she travel?
Answers: 1963; Vostok 6.
On this day in 1963, Valentina V. Tereshkova, a Soviet cosmonaut, made history as the first woman to travel in space. She launched into orbit aboard Vostok 6 completing 48 orbits in just 71 hours. To date, she is the only woman to have flown in space solo and is the youngest, being 26 years of age at the time of Vostok 6.
Two
Who won the first of his three Wimbledon singles titles in 1934, and in what other sport was he a world champion?
Answers: Fred Perry; Table tennis.
Fred Perry was a British tennis and table tennis player, achieving significant success in both sports. In table tennis, he became the World Champion in 1929. Perry began his tennis career aged 21, seven years after taking up the sport. He won 10 Majors in tennis, including eight Grand Slam singles titles and two Pro Slam singles titles, as well as six Major doubles titles. Perry was the first player to achieve a ‘Career Grand Slam’ by winning all four singles titles, completing this feat at the 1935 French Championships at age 26. He remains the only British player to do so. Perry won three consecutive Wimbledon Championships from 1934 to 1936 and was the world amateur No. 1 during those years. Perry also played a crucial role in Great Britain’s Davis Cup victories from 1933 to 1936. Disillusioned with the Lawn Tennis Club of Great Britain’s class-conscious nature, he turned professional in 1936, moved to the United States, and became a naturalised U.S. citizen in 1939. After retiring, he founded the Fred Perry clothing label in 1952 and worked as a tennis broadcaster for BBC Radio. Despite his contributions, Perry was not fully recognised by tennis authorities until later in life, but in 1984, a statue was unveiled at Wimbledon.
Three
In what year did the Wright Brothers achieve the first controlled, sustained flight of an engine-powered, heavier-than-air aircraft, and which of the brothers was the pilot?
Answer: 1903; Orville Wright.
The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, were American aviation pioneers credited with inventing the first successful airplane. They achieved the first controlled, sustained flight of an engine-powered aircraft, the Wright Flyer, on December 17, 1903, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Their innovation was a three-axis control system, crucial for fixed-wing flight. Unlike others, they focused on pilot control over engine power. Their mechanical skills, honed through bicycle work, were pivotal in their success.
Four
Absolute primogeniture is a form of primogeniture in which gender is irrelevant for inheritance.
What country became the first modern European monarchy to adopt this system in 1980?
What two European monarchies still (June 2026) have male-preference primogeniture?
Answers.
Sweden.
Spain and Monaco (have male-preference primogeniture). Sweden adopted absolute primogeniture in 1980, displacing Prince Carl Philip for Princess Victoria. Other monarchies followed: Netherlands (1983), Norway (1990), Belgium (1991), Denmark (2009), and Luxembourg (2011). In 2011, the realms within the Commonwealth, with Queen Elizabeth II as a common monarch, agreed to adopt absolute primogeniture; it became effective in 2015.
Five
In The Lord of the Rings who is/are the first to leave the Company of the Ring?
Answer: Gandalf.
The Company of the Ring consists of nine members: Legolas (Elf), Gimli (Dwarf), Aragorn and Boromir (Men), Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin (Hobbits), and Gandalf (Wizard). Led by Gandalf, they begin their journey at the start of winter, travelling south through Eriador. After failing to cross the Misty Mountains, they enter the mines of Moria, where Gandalf falls battling a Balrog, allowing the others to escape.
Today’s first question is about a pioneering ‘first’, the rest follow a theme of ‘firsts’ rather than the letters of ’first’.
One
On this day in what year did Valentina Tereshkova become the first woman in space, and on what spacecraft did she travel?
Two
Who won the first of his three Wimbledon singles titles in 1934, and in what other sport was he a world champion?
Three
In what year did the Wright Brothers achieve the first controlled, sustained flight of an engine-powered, heavier-than-air aircraft, and which of the brothers was the pilot?
Four
Absolute primogeniture is a form of primogeniture in which gender is irrelevant for inheritance.
What country became the first modern European monarchy to adopt this system in 1980?
What two European monarchies still (June 2026) have male-preference primogeniture?
Five
In The Lord of the Rings who is/are the first to leave the Company of the Ring?
There is no theme with these questions but the five answers are linked to something written in this post prior to the questions.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
There is no theme with these questions but the five answers are linked to something written in this post prior to the questions.
One
What is American novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald’s first name?
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?
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?
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?
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)?
The first question relates to today’s date, 14 June. The remainder follow a theme created by the first.
One
On 14 June …, the Continental Congress approved the Flag Resolution, establishing the Stars and Stripes as the first official flag of the United States. In what decade did this take place?
Answer: 1770s (1777).
On 14 June 1777, the Continental Congress passed the Flag Resolution, declaring that the flag of the United States should have thirteen red-and-white stripes and thirteen white stars on a blue field representing a new constellation. The resolution did not specify how the stars should be arranged, so early versions varied. The design is often attributed to Francis Hopkinson, and 14 June is now observed as Flag Day.
Two
What ten-letter word describes the badge in the centre of the flag shown at the top of this post, and what self-governing British Crown Dependency does it represent?
Answer: Triskelion; Isle of Man.
The Isle of Man, a self-governing British Crown Dependency, has a flag which shows a triskelion of three armoured legs on a red background. The official flag since 1932, its origins are uncertain, with possible connections to the Crovan dynasty, Sicily, or the Germanic Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. The triskelion was retained after English domination in 1346 and officially adopted between 1928 and 1932.
Three
What national flag depicts an assault rifle, agricultural implement and a book described by Wikipedia as ‘a bayonet-equipped AK-47 crossed by a hoe, superimposed on an open book’?
Answer: Flag of Mozambique.
The Mozambican flag, adopted in 1983, features a red triangle with a star, AK-47, hoe, and book. The design, based on FRELIMO’s flag, has faced calls for change since democratisation in 1990.
What national flag is described by Wikipedia as follows:
The flag of … is a concave pentagonal flag of red, white, and blue colour. It is used as both the state and civil flag of …. It is the only non-rectangular national flag in the world and the only one that is taller than it is wide. The flag’s unique shape is a combination of two single pennants, and is known as a double-pennon. The red colour of the field represents bravery and …’s national flower, the rhododendron, while the blue colour of the border represents peace.
Answer: Nepal.
The flag of Nepal is a unique concave pentagonal flag of red, white, and blue, used as both the state and civil flag. It is the only non-rectangular national flag in the world and the only one taller than it is wide, known as a double-pennon, formed by combining two single pennants. Adopted in 1962 with the Nepalese constitution, the flag’s shape emerged from the flags of competing branches of the Rana dynasty. The red field symbolises bravery and Nepal’s national flower, the rhododendron, while the blue border represents peace. The upper triangle, featuring a white silhouette of the moon, symbolises the royal family and its power, and the lower triangle, with the sun symbol, stands for the Rana family and political power. Together, these symbols represent the hope for Nepalese independence to last as long as the sun and moon. The flag’s serrated shape also evokes the peaks of the Himalayas, and the red background indicates energy.
Five
Apart from the flag mentioned in question four above, all flags are rectangular, and that includes the two which are square. What two sovereign states have flags which are square?
Answer: Switzerland; Vatican City.
The Swiss flag, featuring a white cross on a red background, dates back to the Middle Ages, symbolising Christianity and independence. The red represents Christian martyrs’ blood, while the cross signifies Christianity. Switzerland’s political neutrality is also reflected in the flag. The Vatican flag, with dark yellow and white stripes, includes the papal mitre and keys of St. Peter, symbolising the Pope’s authority. Adopted in 1929, it represents the Roman Catholic Church’s significance.
Quizology.Online 