Quizology.Online

Category: Pursuit of the Trivial

  • Double, double toil and trouble—Answers

    Macbeth and Banquo meeting the witches on the heath by
    Théodore Chassériau (1819–1856).
    Image Wikipedia

    One

    On 14 August, King Duncan I of Scotland was killed in battle by his cousin, Macbeth, who then succeeded him. This event occurred in the what century?

     — Answer: 11th century

    Unlike the ‘King Duncan’ of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the historical Duncan appears to have been a young man. After his grandfather Malcolm’s death on 25 November 1034, Duncan succeeded him as king without apparent opposition. In August 1040, Duncan led an army into Moray, Macbeth’s domain, and was killed in action at the Battle of Bothnagowan.

    Two

    In the 1995 made-for-television movie, Catherine Zeta-Jones plays Sophie, a young Prussian princess who marries an immature future Tsar. The film’s title is what Sophie eventually becomes known as. What is the film’s title?

     — Answer: Catherine the Great

    Catherine the Great, reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796, modernised the country, expanded its territory, and fostered a cultural renaissance. Despite her Enlightenment ideals, serfdom persisted, leading to rebellions. Catherine’s reign saw the founding of cities, universities, and theatres, and the establishment of Russia as a great power.

    The Lion in Winter (1968)
    Image The MovieDB

    Three

    Katharine Hepburn won the best actress Oscar for her role as Henry II’s queen in this 1968 film. What was the film and what was the queen’s name?

     — Answer: The Lion in Winter and Eleanor of Aquitaine

    The play is set at Christmas 1183 at Henry II of England’s castle in Chinon, France. It follows the power struggles between Henry, his wife Eleanor, their sons, and the King of France, Philip II Augustus.

    Four

    In this 2023 film, Catherine Walker plays an Archduchess of Austria who becomes the French Queen, while Vanessa Kirby is an Empress Consort and first wife of the title character. What is the film?

     — Answer: *Napoleon *

    Ridley Scott’s 2023 film Napoleon, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby, depicts the French leader’s rise to power and his relationship with Joséphine. The film received mixed reviews, praised for its battle sequences and performances but criticised for its pacing and historical accuracy.

    W.E. film poster (2011).Image Sens Critique

    Five 

    Madonna’s 2011 film W.E. is a historical romance involving what 20th-century royal couple?

     — Answer: King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson (who became the Duke and Duchess of Windsor)

    Edward VIII’s relationship with Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American, caused a constitutional crisis. Despite attempts to find a solution, including a morganatic marriage, the Church of England and most politicians opposed the union. Edward chose to abdicate the throne on 11 December 1936, prioritising his love for Simpson over his royal duties.

  • Double, double toil and trouble

    The first question is related to today’s date, August 14th. It is about two monarchs who featured prominently in a work by William Shakespeare. The other questions are also about real monarchs who have been portrayed in fiction.

    The first page of Shakespeare’s Macbeth from the First Folio.
    Image Wikipedia

    One

    On 14 August, King Duncan I of Scotland was killed in battle by his cousin, Macbeth, who then succeeded him. This death and succession occurred in the what century?

    Two

    In the 1995 made-for-television movie, Catherine Zeta-Jones plays Sophie, a young Prussian princess who marries an immature future Tsar. The film’s title is what Sophie eventually becomes known as. What is the film’s title?

    Three

    Katharine Hepburn won the best actress Oscar for her role as Henry II’s queen in this 1968 film. What was the film and what was the queen’s name?

    Four

    In this 2023 film, Catherine Walker plays an Archduchess of Austria who becomes the French Queen, while Vanessa Kirby is an Empress Consort and first wife of the title character. What is the film?

    Five 

    Madonna’s 2011 film W.E. is a historical romance involving what 20th-century royal couple?

    Good luck! I will post the answers later today.

  • Bouquet of Barbed Wire | Answers

    Berlin Wall.
    Image Wikipedia

    One

    What Cold War event led to August 13, 1961, being called Barbed Wire Sunday?

    — Answer: Berlin Wall closing

    The border between East and West Berlin was closed by East Germany, with Barriers erected and construction beginning.

    Two

    Annie Oakley, c. 1880s.
    Image Wikipedia

    Phoebe Ann Mosey was born this day in 1860. Named ‘Little Sure Shot’ by Sitting Bull, she was a star in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. What was her stage name?

     — Answer: Annie Oakley

    Oakley never failed to delight her audiences, and her feats of marksmanship were truly incredible. At 30 paces she could split a playing card held edge-on, she hit dimes tossed into the air, she shot cigarettes from her husband’s lips, and, a playing card being thrown into the air, she riddled it before it touched the ground

    — Encyclopædia Britannica

    Three

    Opha May Johnson (2 Feb 1900 – Jan 1976) was the first woman to enlist in the United States Marine Corps. This is a photo of her shortly after enlisting, c. 1918.
    Image Wikipedia

    Women were permitted to enlist in the United States Marine Corps for the first time on August 13th. In which decade of the 20th century did this occur?

     — Answer: 1910s (1918)

    Women first enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1918, Private Opha May Johnson being the first woman to enlist. Although deactivated after the First World War there was a significant increase during World War II. The Women’s Armed Services Integration Act of 1948 made women a permanent part of the Marine Corps.

    Opha May Johnson monument,
    St. Paul’s Rock Creek Cemetery,
    Washington, D.C.
    Image Wikipedia
    Alfred Hitchcock’s birthplace.
    Image Wikipedia

    Four

    Alfred Hitchcock, the renowned film director and producer, was born today in 1899. In which city was he born?

     — Answer: London, UK

    Alfred Hitchcock, an English-born American director, was renowned for his suspenseful films and TV programmes, characterised by a macabre sense of humour and a bleak view of humanity.

    Cardinal Richelieu.
    Portrait of Richelieu by Champaigne, 1642.
    (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg)
    Image Wikipedia

    Five 

    On 13 August 1624, Cardinal Richelieu was appointed principal minister in France. Who was the monarch who made this appointment?

     — Answer: Louis XIII

    Cardinal Richelieu (1585–1642) served as the chief minister to King Louis XIII of France from 1624 to 1642. His primary objectives, which he largely achieved, were the establishment of royal absolutism in France and the end of Spanish-Habsburg dominance in Europe.

  • Bouquet of Barbed Wire

    Alfred Hitchcock, c. 1960s. (Question 4)
    Image Wikipedia

    One

    What Cold War event led to 13 August 1961 being known as Barbed Wire Sunday?

    Two

    Phoebe Ann Mosey was born this day in 1860. Named ‘Little Sure Shot’ by Sitting Bull, she was a star in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. What was her stage name?

    Three

    Women were permitted to enlist in the United States Marine Corps for the first time on August 13th. In which decade of the 20th century did this occur?

    Four

    Alfred Hitchcock, the renowned film director and producer, was born today in 1899. In which city was he born?

    Five 

    On 13 August 1624, Cardinal Richelieu was appointed principal minister in France. Who was the monarch who made this appointment?

    Good luck! I will post the answers later today.

  • Q | Answers

    Quagga (Equus quagga quagga), 1870. Now extinct.
    Image Encyclopædia Britannica

    One

    A quagga died in Amsterdam Zoo on 12 August 1883. Native to South Africa, the quagga was a type of…

    Answer: Zebra

    The quagga, a subspecies of plains zebra, was native to South Africa, where it was found in vast herds on the great plains, but is now extinct. It had a reddish-brown body with dark stripes and a white underside.

    Two

    What ‘Q’ links the novelist Herman Melville with Special Agent Dana Scully?

    Answer: Queequeg

    Queequeg, a Polynesian royal with facial tattoos, befriends Ishmael in Moby-Dick and becomes a harpooner on the Pequod. In The X-Files Scully names her dog Queequeg after the Moby-Dick character and used the name as her email handle and home alarm password.

    Three

    In which fictional series does Max Quordlepleen, a comedian and host, appear hosting a show at Milliways?

    Answer: The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

    ‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ he said, ‘the Universe as we know it has been in existence for over one hundred and seventy thousand million billion years and will be ending in a little over half an hour. So, welcome to Milliways, the Restaurant at the End of the Universe!’

    With a gesture he deftly conjured another round of spontaneous applause. With another gesture he cut it.
    “I am your host for tonight,” he said, “my name is Max Quordlepleen.”
    — The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, The Ultimate Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (Pan Books).

    Four

    What ‘Q’ is a capital city which sits on the equator and is officially known as San Francisco de …

    Answer: Quito

    Officially known as San Francisco de Quito, the capital of Ecuador, is the highest national capital city in the world. It is the political and cultural centre of Ecuador, with a rich history dating back to its incorporation into the Inca Empire in the late 15th century.

    Five 

    Quirinus Quirrell is a character in the works of which novelist?

    Answer: J.K. Rowling

    In J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter stories, Quirinus Quirrell, Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, is possessed by Voldemort during Harry’s first year at Hogwarts. Harry defeats Quirrell, allowing Dumbledore to arrive and Voldemort to flee, resulting in Quirrell’s death.

    Professor Quirinus Quirrell.
    Image Pinterest

  • Q

    The first question relates to today’s date, August 12th, and contains a word beginning with a ‘Q’. The rest of the questions follow a ‘Q’ theme, either with a ‘Q’ in the question or answer.

    One

    A quagga died in Amsterdam Zoo on 12 August 1883. Native to South Africa, the quagga was a type of…

    Two

    What ‘Q’ links the novelist Herman Melville with Special Agent Dana Scully?

    Three

    In which fictional series does Max Quordlepleen, a comedian, appear hosting a show at Milliways?

    Four

    What ‘Q’ is a capital city which sits on the equator and is officially known as San Francisco de …

    Five 

    Quirinus Quirrell is a character in the works of which novelist?

    Good luck! I will post the answers later today.

  • Fly Me to the Moon | Answers

    Jim Lovell, Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8 and Apollo 13.
    (March 25, 1928—August 7, 2025).
    Image Wikipedia

    One

    In 1968, what became the first crewed spacecraft to reach the Moon, orbit it and return?

    Answer: Apollo 8

    Apollo 8, launched on 21 December 1968, became the first human spaceflight to reach the Moon. During its mission, the crew orbited the Moon ten times, conducting various tasks such as photography and navigation, while also transmitting telecasts worldwide. The spacecraft safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on 27 December, 147 hours after launch.
    This question was prompted by the death of Jim Lovell, aged 97, on 7 August 2025. He flew to the Moon and back twice but never landed.

    Two

    The 1999 Open Championship was decided in a play-off between Jean Van de Velde and which two other players?

    Answer: Justin Leonard and Paul Lawrie

    Jean Van de Velde, ranked 152nd, nearly won the 1999 Open Championship but famously collapsed on the 18th hole. His triple-bogey seven led to a playoff, which he lost to Paul Lawrie.

    Three

    The two great European narcotics, alcohol and…

    — Friedrich Nietzsche: Twilight of the Idols

    — Encyclopædia Britannica

    What word is missing from the end of the above quote?

    Answer: Christianity

    Nietzsche’s quote suggests that he viewed both Christianity and alcohol as ‘narcotics’, substances or influences that dull the senses and provide an escape from reality.

    Four

    Which Canadian province is named after the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria, born in 1848?

    Answer: Alberta

    Alberta was named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, the wife of John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne, who served as Governor General of Canada from 1878 to 1883. The name was originally given to the District of Alberta in 1882. The Princess also gave her name to Mount Alberta and Lake Louise.

    Five 

    What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?

    — Wilfred Owen

    The above quote is the opening line of which poem?

    Answer: Anthem for Doomed Youth

    Wilfred Owen’s poem Anthem for Doomed Youth, written in 1917, vividly captures the horrors of war. Enlisting in the British army in 1915, Owen was sent to France with the Lancashire Fusiliers to fight in the trenches during World War I. In 1917, during his first six months of battle, his troop was gassed and forced to sleep in an open field of snow. One incident involved Owen spending several days huddled in a foxhole near the body of a fallen soldier. These experiences profoundly impacted Owen as a poet, leading to rapid maturity. The poems written after January 1917 are characterised by anger at war’s brutality, and pity for those who ‘die as cattle’.

    Anthem for Doomed Youth

    BY WILFRED OWEN

    What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?

          — Only the monstrous anger of the guns.

          Only the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle

    Can patter out their hasty orisons.

    No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells; 

          Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,—

    The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;

          And bugles calling for them from sad shires.

    What candles may be held to speed them all?

          Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes

    Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes.

          The pallor of girls’ brows shall be their pall;

    Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,

    And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.

    — Wilfred Owen

    — Poetry Foundation

  • Fly Me to the Moon

    Earthrise.
    Image NASA

    One

    In 1968, what became the first crewed spacecraft to reach the Moon, orbit it and return?

    Two

    The 1999 Open Championship was decided in a play-off between Jean Van de Velde and which two other players?

    Three

    The two great European narcotics, alcohol and…

    — Friedrich Nietzsche: Twilight of the Idols

    What word is missing from the end of the above quote?

    Four

    Which Canadian province is named after the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria, born 1848?

    Five 

    What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?

    — Wilfred Owen

    The above quote is the opening line of which poem?

    Good luck! I will post the answers later today.

  • Heads or Tails | Answers

    Velociraptor.
    Image Wikipedia

    One

    Is it true or false that velociraptors were only about the size of turkeys?

    Answer: True

    Velociraptor, commonly known as “raptor,” is one of the dinosaur genera most familiar to the general public. This is largely due to its prominent role in the Jurassic Park films. However, in reality, Velociraptor was roughly the size of a turkey, considerably smaller than the approximately 2 metres (6.6 feet) tall and 90 kilograms (200 pounds) reptiles depicted in the novels and films. These depictions were based on members of the related genus Deinonychus. 

    – Wikipedia

    Two

    Is it true or false that P.T. Barnum started his career as a showman by publicly displaying an elderly African slave he claimed was George Washington’s 161-year-old former nursemaid?  

    Answer: True

    In 1834 he moved to New York City, where he found his vocation as a showman one year later when he successfully presented Joice Heth, a wizened Black woman whom he advertised as the 161-year-old nurse to Gen. George Washington. On her death, however, the story was exposed as a hoax.

    – Encyclopædia Britannica  

    Three

    Is it true or false that if broccoli is left unharvested, each green bud usually produces a flower with four yellow petals?   

    Answer: True

    Broccoli, a nutritious vegetable from the mustard family, is high in fibre and vitamins. It can be eaten fresh or cooked and should be dark green with firm stalks. If left unharvested, those buds produce yellow flowers with four petals and dry capsule fruits called siliques. 

    Four

    Is it true or false that elephants can communicate with each other using ambisonic calls?  

    Answer: False

    Elephants can communicate with each other using infrasonic calls that are below the range of human hearing. They also stomp messages on the ground that can be felt and understood by other elephants miles away.

    Five 

    Is it true or false that on Venus, the Sun rises in the west and sets in the east? 

    Answer: True

    Venus is unusual because it spins the opposite direction of Earth and most other planets…

    …And because Venus rotates backwards, the Sun rises in the west and sets in the east.

    – NASA

  • Heads or Tails

    A simple choice of either true or false today.

    Velociraptor skeleton. Image Wikipedia

    One

    Is it true or false that velociraptors were about the size of turkeys?

    Two

    Is it true or false that P.T. Barnum started his career as a showman by publicly displaying an elderly African slave he claimed was George Washington’s 161-year-old former nursemaid?  

    Three

    Is it true or false that if broccoli is left unharvested, each green bud usually produces a flower with four yellow petals?  

    Four

    Is it true or false that elephants can communicate with each other using ambisonic calls? 

    Five 

    Is it true or false that on Venus, the Sun rises in the west and sets in the east? 

    Good luck! I will post the answers later today.