Author: Scott F

As a retired trivia writer, editor and quiz compiler, I wholeheartedly agree with Bertrand Russell’s quote: “There’s much pleasure to be gained in useless knowledge.” Trivia of all sorts has always fascinated me, and for many years, I’ve written and compiled trivia for various media, including traditional TV and radio quiz shows, newspapers and magazines, apps, and other digital platforms.

Doggy Dilemmas Part III—Answers

Pekingese.
Wikipedia

Here,in bold, are the answers to my earlier post.

  1. Pink geese — PEKINGESE 
  2. Toe twirler — ROTTWEILER 
  3. Someday — SAMOYED
  4. Dopey tool — TOY POODLE
    Volpino Italiano.
    Wikipedia
  5. A Violin optional — VOLPINO ITALIANO
  6. Airman were — WEIMARANER
  7. Rehire Trike Sorry — YORKSHIRE TERRIER
Yorkshire Terrier.
Wikipedia

That’s the end of my Doggy Dilemmas, tomorrow will be something completely different.

Doggy Dilemmas Part III

Border Collie.
Wikipedia

Here are seven anagrams and the answers are dog breeds. The list is alphabetical with the first answer beginning with an ‘P’, no ‘Q’ so the second ‘R’ etc.

For example Real Idea — A = Airedale.

Each clue has a two word answer unless shown.

  1. Pink geese — P (One word answer)
  2. Toe twirler — R (One word answer)
  3. Someday — S (One word answer)
  4. Dopey tool — T
  5. A Violin optional — V
  6. Airman were — W (One word answer)
  7. Rehire Trike Sorry — Y

Good luck! I will post the answers later today.

Doggy Dilemmas Part II—Answers

Harrier.
Wikipedia

The answers to my earlier post are shown in bold below.

  1. Err hair — HARRIER
  2. Hush florid wino — IRISH WOLFHOUND
  3. Callus jerks — JACK RUSSELL
    Kerry Beagle.
    Wikipedia
  4. Bleaker grey — KERRY BEAGLE
  5. Larboard — LABRADOR
  6. Zither a nuisance rum — MINIATURE SCHNAUZER
  7. Add own funnel — NEWFOUNDLAND
  8. Shelling edged poohs — OLD ENGLISH SHEEPDOG
Old English Sheepdog.
Wikipedia

Doggy Dilemmas Part II

Rottweiler pups
Wikipedia

Part II has eight anagrams and the answers are dog breeds. The list is alphabetical with the first answer beginning with an ‘H’, the second ‘I’ etc.

For example Real Idea — A = Airedale.

Each clue has a two word answer unless shown.

  1. Err hair — H (One word answer)
  2. Hush florid wino — I
  3. Callus jerks — J
  4. Bleaker grey — K
  5. Larboard — L (One word answer)
  6. Zither a nuisance rum — M
  7. Add own funnel — N (One word answer)
  8. Shelling edged poohs — O (Three word answer)

Good luck! I will post the answers later today.

Doggy Dilemmas

Real Idea — A = Airedale.
Wikipedia

Here are seven anagrams and the answers are dog breeds. The list is alphabetical with the first answer beginning with an ‘A’, the second ‘B’ etc.

For example Real Idea — A = Airedale.

Each clue has a two word answer except the one marked as one word.

  1. Fandango huh — A
  2. Thou badness — B
  3. Inert carrier — C
  4. Dads hunch — D (One word answer)
  5. Genteel shirts —E
  6. Retro fixer —F
  7. Danger tea — G

Good luck! I will post the answers later today.

Truth or Consequence—Answers

Truth and Consequence City Hall.
Wikipedia

Here, in bold, are the answers to my earlier post.

  1. False—It changed name to Truth or Consequence (not Tacos or Chocolate) in 1950 after the radio show of the same name ran a competition for a town or city to do so; the prize being that the show would be broadcast from the winner—the first settlement to change their town’s name. 
  2. False—Nothing to do with First Lady’s. It was chosen because it sounded like the French for help me, m’aider and was picked in 1920 by the head of radio in air traffic control at Croydon Aerodrome (then the world’s busiest) as most of their flights were from France.
  3. False—No, not Martin Luther King. It was about the assassination of JFK.
  4. False—Not the Inca Empire. Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztec Empire in what is now central Mexico in 1521 not the Inca’s in what is now Peru.
    Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
    Wikipedia
  5. True—Lucy was named after the Beatles song, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.
  6. False—Pete Conrad, Apollo 12 was the third person to walk on the Moon. Michael Collins was the command module pilot of Apollo 11 and did not land on the Moon but remained in orbit while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the lunar surface.
    Goldeneye Estate
    Wikipedia
  7. False—Not Skyfall. Fleming’s house and estate were both named GoldenEye and are now a hotel complex.
  8. True—It is a neighbourhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan.
  9. False—Not Coprophagia which is dung-eating. Lalochezia is the release of stress etc by swearing.
  10. False—It wasn’t Please Mister Postman. The third number one, I Want to Hold Your Hand, was released in November 1963 with the B-side This Boy.
Pete Conrad
Conrad descends the Lunar Module ladder, moments before becoming the third human to walk on the Moon.
Wikipedia

Truth or Consequence

For some variety a selection of true or false questions unconnected to today.

Hot Springs, New Mexico.
Wikipedia
  1. True or false: the American city of Hot Springs, New Mexico is now known as ‘T or C’ after changing its name to Tacos or Chocolate in 1950.
  2. True or false: Mayday, the international distress signal, was chosen in honour of the then US First Lady.
  3. True or false: in 2020, Murder Most Foul was released as a single by Bob Dylan. The murder referred to in the title was the assassination of Martin Luther King in 1967.
  4. True or false: Hernán Cortés was a Spanish conquistador who conquered the Inca Empire in the Americas in 1521.
  5. True or false: Lucy the 3.2 million-year-old skeleton found in Ethiopia was named after a Beatles song.
  6. True or false: the Apollo astronaut Michael Collins was the third person to walk on the Moon.
  7. True or false: Ian Fleming, the author who created James Bond, had a home on Jamaica’s north coast named Skyfall.
  8. True or false: there is a neighbourhood of New York City called Hell’s Kitchen.
  9. True or false: relief of stress, pain and frustration by swearing is known as coprophagia.
  10. True or false: The Beatles third UK No. 1 hit I Want to Hold Your Hand was released with the B-side Please Mister Postman.

Good luck! The answers will be posted later today.

From House Demolition to Dining Out—Answers

Douglas Hydro.
Wikipedia

Below, in bold, are the answers to my earlier post.

  1. Douglas Adams—The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a renowned science fiction comedy series created by British writer Douglas Adams.
  2. Paranoid Android—Marvin the Paranoid Android. A robot endowed with a “brain the size of a planet” but cursed with chronic depression. Often providing dry, sardonic humour, Marvin’s character contrasts sharply with the other characters’ antics.
  3. Agrajag—A tragic figure who is continually reincarnated and inadvertently killed by Arthur Dent in various lifetimes, harbouring a grudge that adds a darkly comedic layer to the narrative.
  4. Eaten—The concept of an Ameglian Major Cow is that it genuinely desires to be consumed and satirises ethical debates around eating meat.
  5. Mattress—An inhabitant of the planet Squornshellous Zeta, Zem is a sentient, albeit somewhat dim-witted, swamp-dwelling mattress, showcasing Adams’ flair for the absurd.
  6. Ford Prefect-—Arthur’s eccentric friend who masquerades as an out-of-work actor but is actually an alien researcher for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy who is here to write an entry for Earth for inclusion in the next edition of the guide. His quick wit and knowledge of the intergalactic landscape often prove invaluable.
  7. Infinite Improbability Drive—A revolutionary propulsion system aboard the Heart of Gold spaceship. It allows the craft to traverse vast interstellar distances instantaneously by passing through every conceivable point in the universe simultaneously. Its unpredictability leads to many of the series’ most absurd and humorous moments.
  8. Slartibartfast—A Magrathean planet designer passionate about crafting coastlines, notably Norway’s fjords. His calm, methodical approach adds depth to the exploration of cosmic mysteries.
  9. Arthur Dent—The quintessential everyman protagonist whose mundane life is upended when Earth is destroyed to make way for a hyperspace bypass. Arthur’s bewildered journey through space forms the heart of the narrative.
  10. Radio series—Initially debuting as a radio series on BBC Radio 4 in 1978, it gained immense popularity, subsequently evolving into a series of novels, a television adaptation, stage shows, a text adventure game, and a feature film released in 2005.

From House Demolition to Dining Out

Zaphod Beeblebrox.
Wikipedia

As the writer and creator of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was born on 12 March 1952, here are some questions on that subject; so from Agrajag to Zem, if you like.

  1. The creator and writer of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was…
    • Douglas Adams
    • Terry Pratchett
    • Isaac Asimov
  2. The character Marvin is known as the…
    • Fraught Robot
    • Paranoid Android
    • Clot Bot
  3. Who, described as “a tragic and piteous creature”, is continually reincarnated and subsequently killed?
    • Agrajag
    • Annie
    • Almighty Bob
  4. The Ameglian Major Cow, which the main characters meet, has a desire to be…
    • Loved
    • Read poetry
    • Eaten
  5. Zem is an affable, yet stupid, swamp-dwelling…
    • Magician
    • Mattress
    • Mannequin
  6. Who, with an automobile-like name, is a main character?
    • Ford Prefect
    • Nissan Micra
    • Vauxhall Viva
  7. What is a type of drive powered the spacecraft Heart of Gold?
    • Infantile Tantrum Drive
    • Infinite Improbability Drive
    • Impractical Inability Drive
  8. This person is a Magrathean who is a designer of planets, his name is…
    • Vroomfondel
    • Slartibartfast
    • Majikthise
  9. The story opens on Earth in the home of…
    • Arthur Dent
    • Brian Bash
    • Charlie Scrape
  10. As what did The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy start out?
    • Novel
    • Radio series
    • Film

Good luck! The answers will appear later today.