Jaws film poster, 1975 (cropped). See question one. Image Wikimedia Commons
Today’s questions are not date-related but the answers are consistant with the title.
One
Who wrote the book Jaws, which gave great white sharks such a bad reputation?
Two
In the human body, what is produced from the sudoriferous (or sudoriparous) glands?
Three
According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, 70% of a species of big cat live in Amazonia. This cat’s binomial name fits into today’s theme: what is that binomial name and what is its normal English name?
Four
Erle Stanley Gardner wrote more than 80 novels based on what character?
Five
Who was ‘the Gardener’s Daughter’ on Elvis Presley’s album Frankie and Johnny?
Five random questions today, neither date-related nor themed.
One
In the novels of J.R.R. Tolkien, who are said to be the inhabitants of Bree?
Answer: Big Folk and Hobbits.
Bree, east of the Shire, is the only Hobbit and Man settlement in Bree-land, inspired by the English village of Brill and Tolkien’s linguistics. The Prancing Pony in Bree is where Frodo’s use of the ring brings him to the attention of Aragorn and the Black Riders.
Two
What is the world’s longest snake?
Answer: Reticulated Python.
The reticulated python is the only snake with verified human consumption, prompting a 2015 US import ban later partially rescinded. Documented fatalities and consumption of humans are recorded from 1638 to 2026, these are mainly in Indonesia.
Three
What is the nearest star to our Sun?
Answer: Proxima Centauri.
Proxima Centauri, discovered in 1915 by Robert Innes, is the nearest star to Earth after the Sun, located 4.25 light-years away in Centaurus. A red dwarf which will remain a main-sequence star for four trillion years. Proxima Centauri has two confirmed exoplanets: Proxima Centauri b and Proxima Centauri d.
Four
In Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, Wednesday is revealed to be an incarnation of what God?
Answer: Odin.
Neil Gaiman’s 2001 fantasy novel American Gods centres on Shadow and won Hugo and Nebula awards. A 2011 expanded edition, audio versions and a 2017 Folio Society edition followed. It was adapted for television in 2017 with Gaiman as executive producer.
Five
Which character from television’s Friends is also a moon of the planet Saturn?
Answer: Phoebe.
Phoebe Buffay is a main character in Friends, created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman and played by Lisa Kudrow. Phoebe, Saturn’s largest irregular satellite, was discovered photographically by William Henry Pickering in 1899. Cassini’s 2004 flyby enabled detailed study. Its retrograde orbit places it in the Norse group.
The first question relates to today’s date, 21 July. The remainder are neither date-related nor themed.
One
The ‘Scopes Monkey Trial’, which came to a conclusion on 21 July 1925 centred on whether a high school teacher had violated a state law by teaching what scientific theory?
Answer: The theory of evolution by natural selection.
The Scopes Trial took place in Dayton, Tennessee, after teacher John T. Scopes was accused of violating the state’s Butler Act, which prohibited teaching human evolution in public schools. Although Scopes was found guilty and fined $100 (a conviction later overturned on ##a technicality), the trial became an international symbol of the clash between modern science and religious fundamentalism. It also featured a celebrated courtroom confrontation between prosecutor William Jennings Bryan and defence attorney Clarence Darrow.
Two
What was the first man-made object to reach the surface of the Moon, and in what year did it do so?
Answer: Luna 2; 1959.
The Soviet Union’s Luna 2 launched on 12 September 1959 became the following day the first spacecraft to impact the Moon, depositing Soviet emblems and detecting no magnetic field or radiation belts. Nikita S. Khrushchev gave a replica pennant to Dwight D. Eisenhower; it is held in his Presidential Library in Abilene, Kansas.
Three
A fish found off East Africa in 1938 was of a species which had existed from more than 410 million years ago until it was believed to have become extinct around 66 million years ago. What is this fish?
Answer: Coelacanth.
Coelacanths are an ancient group of lobe-finned fish (Sarcopterygii) in the class Actinistia. As sarcopterygians, they are more closely related to lungfish and tetrapods (the terrestrial vertebrates including living amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals) than to ray-finned fish. There is only a single living genus, Latimeria, with two described species. The name coelacanth originates from the Permian genus Coelacanthus. Thought extinct 66 million years ago, Latimeria chalumnae was found in 1938, and Latimeria menadoensis in the late 1990s. Despite being called ‘living fossils’, fossil studies show diverse ancient forms, challenging this status.
Four
Mel Gibson’s title character fights a motorcycle gang led by Toecutter in which 1979 film?
Answer: Mad Max.
In a near-future Australia, oil shortages and ecocide undermine order. Nightrider kills a Main Force Patrol officer and escapes in a Pursuit Special until Max Rockatansky forces a fatal crash, killing Nightrider and his girlfriend.
Five
What is the northernmost geographic location in the United States?
Answer: Point Barrow.
Point Barrow, or Nuvuk, is Alaska and the U.S.’S northernmost point. It is at 71°23′20″N 156°28′45″W and is 9 miles northeast of Utqiagvik and 1,122 nautical miles south of the North Pole. It separates the Chukchi and Beaufort seas.
The first question relates to today’s date, 21 July. The remainder are neither date-related nor themed.
One
The ‘Scopes Monkey Trial’, which came to a conclusion on 21 July 1925 centred on whether a high school teacher had violated a state law by teaching what scientific theory?
Two
What was the first man-made object to reach the surface of the Moon, and in what year did it do so?
Three
A fish found off East Africa in 1938 was of a species which had existed from more than 410 million years ago until it was believed to have become extinct around 66 million years ago. What is this fish?
Four
Mel Gibson’s title character fights a motorcycle gang led by Toecutter in which 1979 film?
Five
What is the northernmost geographic location in the United States?
Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11, 20 July 1969. Image ABC News
The first question relates to today’s date, 20 July. The remainder, which are not date-related, follow on a theme from the first.
One
I’d like to take this opportunity to ask every person listening in, whoever and wherever they may be, to pause for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours and to give thanks in his or her own way. — Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11 on the Lunar surface, 20 July 1969
Why did Buzz Aldrin choose not to mention over the radio that he was taking Holy Communion on the Moon before the first moonwalk?
Answer: NASA was avoiding public religious broadcasts
After controversy surrounding the Apollo 8 crew’s reading from the Book of Genesis, NASA was avoiding public religious broadcasts. Aldrin Consequently observed Communion privately without mentioning it on air; instead, prior to taking Communion, Aldrin invited everyone listening to ‘pause for a moment’ and ‘give thanks in his or her own way’. His Communion kit was prepared by his pastor at Webster Presbyterian Church in Texas, which still commemorates the event using the chalice which was used on the Moon each year on the Sunday closest to 20 July.
Two
The god Khnum was once regarded as the guardian of the source of which river?
Answer: River Nile.
Khnum, an early Egyptian deity from Upper Egypt, was linked to the Nile cataract and responsible for its annual inundation. Known as the creator of human bodies and the life force ka, he used a potter’s wheel. Worshipped from the First Dynasty, his main cult centre was Herwer, later Elephantine. Khnum, depicted with ram horns symbolising fertility and rebirth, evolved from horizontally spiralled to down-turned horns in the New Kingdom. His imagery includes a crocodile head, representing Nile dominion, and he wears the atef crown or the white crown of Upper Egypt.
Three
The Rehat Maryada is a code of conduct in which religion, founded in the late 15th century?
Answer: Sikhism.
Originating in the 15th century within the Punjab region, Sikhism is a monotheistic faith shaped by Guru Nanak and nine subsequent leaders. The tradition highlights belief in one creator, equality, selfless service, and honest behaviour. Since 1699, Sikhs have regarded the Guru Granth Sahib as their eternal guide.
Four
In ancient myth, what God was the father of Heracles?
Answer: Zeus.
Heracles, a divine Greek hero and son of Zeus, was the greatest of Greek heroes and ancestor of the Heracleidae. Known as Hercules in Rome, he championed the Olympian order against monsters. Roman emperors like Commodus and Maximian identified with him, and his cult was adapted to Rome.
Five
William and Catherine Booth established an organisation in 1865 that functions as both a Methodist Christian church and an international charity. What is this organisation, and what is its motto?
Answer: Salvation Army; Blood and Fire.
The Salvation Army, founded in 1865 by William and Catherine Booth, is a Methodist Christian church and international charity with over 1.7 million members in 133 countries. It provides physical and spiritual aid, operates charity shops, shelters, and disaster relief. General Lyndon Buckingham leads as of 2023.
Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11, 20 July 1969. Image ABC News
The first question relates to today’s date, 20 July. The remainder, which are not date-related, follow on a theme from the first.
One
I’d like to take this opportunity to ask every person listening in, whoever and wherever they may be, to pause for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours and to give thanks in his or her own way. — Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11 on the Lunar surface, 20 July 1969
Why did Buzz Aldrin choose not to mention over the radio that he was taking Holy Communion on the Moon before the first moonwalk?
Two
The god Khnum was once regarded as the guardian of the source of which river?
Three
The Rehat Maryada is a code of conduct in which religion, founded in the late 15th century?
Four
In ancient myth, what God was the father of Heracles?
Five
William and Catherine Booth established an organisation in 1865 that functions as both a Methodist Christian church and an international charity. What is this organisation, and what is its motto?
The Mary Rose as depicted in the Anthony Roll of the 1540s. Image Wikimedia Commons
The first question relates to today’s date. The others aren’t date-related but build on the theme established in the first.
One
This English carrack-type warship, built for the king’s navy and involved in a battle with the French that resulted in its sinking in the Solent on 19 July 1545, had its wreck rediscovered by salvagers in 1971, ultimately leading to the opening of a museum dedicated to its history at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard in 2013. What is the warship’s name and for what king’s navy was it built?
Answers: Mary Rose; Henry VIII.
On this day in 1545, Henry VIII’s flagship, the Mary Rose, sank during the Battle of the Solent. A sudden gust of wind flooded seawater through its open gunports, tragically resulting in the loss of over 400 crew members. Centuries later, the remarkably preserved wreck was rediscovered in the English Channel. It has since become one of the world’s most significant underwater archaeological finds.
Two
Although not the first such instance the action of soldiers and sailors during the 1852 sinking of HMS Birkenhead made which maritime protocol more prominent?
Answer: Women and children first.
‘Women and children first’ is an unofficial code prioritising their safety in life-threatening situations, like shipwrecks, due to limited resources. Celebrated as a chivalric ideal in the 19th and early 20th centuries, it was notably invoked during the HMS Birkenhead evacuation, SS Central America sinking, and Titanic disaster, though unevenly applied. The protocol is sometimes described as ‘Birkenhead Drill’.
Three
What 1960 musical and 1964 musical film told the story of a woman who survived the sinking of the Titanic?
Answer: The Unsinkable Molly Brown.
The Unsinkable Molly Brown is a fictionalized account of the life of Margaret Brown, who survived the sinking of the RMS Titanic. It originated as a 1960 musical with music and lyrics by Meredith Willson and a book by Richard Morris. In 1964, it was adapted into an American Western musical comedy film directed by Charles Walters and starring Debbie Reynolds, filmed in Panavision. The screenplay by Helen Deutsch is based on the musical’s book, and the song score was composed by Meredith Willson. Reynolds received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her portrayal of Brown.
Four
What ship did Ernest Shackleton and his Trans-Antarctic Expedition lose in 1915 when it was crushed by ice and sank?
Answer: Endurance.
Endurance, originally Polaris, was a three-masted barquentine used by Ernest Shackleton for the 1914–1917 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. Built in 1912, it sank in 1915 after being trapped in ice. All crew survived. The wreck was found in 2022 at a depth of 3,008 metres and is a protected historic site.
Five
Which US state’s name completes this: the 1864 Battle of Cherbourg is also known as the Sinking of CSS…?
Answer: Alabama.
The CSS Alabama, a Confederate sloop-of-war built in 1862, was a successful commerce raider under Captain Raphael Semmes. It captured or sank 68 Union ships in just 22 months across the Atlantic, West Indies, and East Indies. On June 19, 1864, the USS Kearsarge sank the Alabama during the Battle of Cherbourg, France.
That Sinking Feeling.
The post title is an idiom meaning a feeling that something bad is going to happen. In today’s post, it is simply a play on words regarding the ‘sinking’ theme of the questions.
The ? as depicted in the Anthony Roll of the 1540s. See question one. Image Wikimedia Commons
The first question relates to today’s date. The others aren’t date-related but build on the theme established in the first.
One
This English carrack-type warship, built for the king’s navy and involved in a battle with the French that resulted in its sinking in the Solent on 19 July 1545, had its wreck rediscovered by salvagers in 1971, ultimately leading to the opening of a museum dedicated to its history at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard in 2013. What is the warship’s name and for what king’s navy was it built?
Two
Although not the first such instance the action of soldiers and sailors during the 1852 sinking of HMS Birkenhead made which maritime protocol more prominent?
Three
What 1960 musical and 1964 musical film told the story of a woman who survived the sinking of the Titanic?
Four
What ship did Ernest Shackleton and his Trans-Antarctic Expedition lose in 1915 when it was crushed by ice and sank?
Five
Which US state’s name completes this: the 1864 Battle of Cherbourg is also known as the Sinking of CSS…?
A picture of the band Les Horribles Cernettes taken on 18 July 1992 later led to what technological first?
Answer: The first non-technical picture uploaded to the web.
In 1992, Silvano de Gennaro started the Cern Hardronic Festival, leading to the first non-technical photo uploaded to the web: the Cernettes. The image, 120×50 pixels, took a minute to load. Now scattered globally, the Cernettes reunited in 2012, celebrating their iconic status and historical significance. It is recognised by Guinness World Records as the ‘First photo posted to the World Wide Web’ but it is more spcifically the ‘the first non-technical photo uploaded to the web’.
Two
Who is the first, and to date only, First Lady of the United States to have won an award at the Emmys?
Answer: Jacqueline Kennedy.
Jacqueline Kennedy received a Trustees Award at the 1962 Emmys, accepted by Lady Bird Johnson, for her television special A Tour of the White House with Mrs. John F. Kennedy, which aired on 14 February 1962. The broadcast, watched by over 100 million globally, highlighted a restoration. Kennedy’s award is housed at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
Three
In 1958, Billboard‘s Hot 100 premiered as an all-genre singles chart with Poor Little Fool being the first number one. Two questions:
What act achieved that first number one?
By 18 July 2026, to the nearest hundred, how many different number one entries has there been?
Answers
Ricky Nelson
≈ 1,200 (1,194 exactly)
The Billboard Hot 100 is a U.S. music chart ranking songs based on sales, streaming, and radio airplay. Released weekly on Tuesdays, it reflects data from Friday to Thursday. Since July 2015, sales and streaming are tracked weekly, with radio airplay following the same cycle since July 2021. Poor Little Fool by Ricky Nelson was the first Billboard Hot 100 number-one song on August 4, 1958. By July 18, 2026, the chart had 1,194 different number-one entries. The current top song is Choosin’ Texas by Ella Langley.
Astronomers announced in 2026 that they’d detected an atmosphere around an Earth-like planet in the habitable zone of another star for the first time. This planet, named LHS 1140 b, is how far away from Earth:
49 light years
76 light years
127 light years
Answer: 49 light years.
Astronomers discovered an atmosphere on LHS 1140 b, an Earth-like planet in the habitable zone, marking a milestone in the search for alien life. The planet, 1.7 times Earth’s width and 5.6 times its mass, retains helium, suggesting potential water presence. Findings published in Science, based on 2024 observations, highlight atmospheric stability.
Five
Who was the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
Answer: Aretha Franklin.
Lady Soul. The first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Aretha Franklin was an artist of passion, sophistication and command, whose recordings remain anthems that defined soul music. Long live the Queen. — Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena
The post title, which was brought to mind by question four, is a quote by American scientist Carl Sagan –
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena Carl Sagan — James Webb discovery
