The Diomede Islands are located in what strait between Alaska, the United States, and Siberia, Russia?
Answer: Bering Strait
The Diomede Islands, located in the Bering Strait, are the northernmost islands in the Pacific Ocean. The two islands are only 2.4 miles (3.8 km) apart but due to the International Date Line, Big Diomede (Russia) is 21 hours ahead of Little Diomede (US), earning them the nicknames ‘Tomorrow Island’ and ‘Yesterday Island’.
Three
Te Moana-o-Raukawa separates North and South Islands in New Zealand. By what English name is it known?
Answer: Cook Strait
Cook Strait, separating New Zealand’s North and South Islands, connects the Tasman Sea and South Pacific Ocean. Regular ferry services operate between Picton and Wellington across what has been described as “one of the most dangerous and unpredictable waters in the world”.
Four
Greenland and Iceland are separated by what strait?
This tidal strait or estuary separates Brooklyn and Queens (on Long Island) from Manhattan Island, and The Bronx (on the North American mainland). What is it called?
The Alboran Sea is the westernmost part of what larger sea?
Two
The Diomede Islands are located in what strait between Alaska, the United States, and Siberia, Russia?
Three
Te Moana-o-Raukawa separates North and South Islands in New Zealand. By what English name is it known?
Four
Greenland and Iceland are separated by what strait?
Five
This tidal strait or estuary separates Brooklyn and Queens (on Long Island) from Manhattan Island, and The Bronx (on the North American mainland). What is it called?
Lt. (jg) John F. Kennedy aboard the PT-109, Tulagi, Solomon Islands, South Pacific, 1943. Image Wikipedia
One
Which future president of the United States was in command of PT-109 when the incident described above occurred on August 2nd?
Answer: John F. Kennedy
On patrol the night of August 1–2, 1943, his boat was struck in the inky darkness by a Japanese destroyer. Two crew members died in the fiery collision, but eleven, one badly injured, clung to the hull until morning. Despite his own injuries, Kennedy managed to get all of them to shore and then secure their rescue, six days later, with the help of native islanders friendly to the Allies. For his courage and leadership, Kennedy was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal and a Purple Heart.
Born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler in 1914 in Vienna this Austrian-American actress later sued Warner Brothers ‘for almost using her name’ in Blazing Saddles. During World War II, she co-invented a radio guidance system for torpedoes. Who is she?
Answer: Hedy Lamarr
During World War II, Hedy Lamarr co-invented a radio guidance system for Allied torpedoes using spread spectrum and frequency hopping technology. However, this technology wasn’t used operationally until after the war. In 1974, Lamarr sued Warner Bros. for $10 million over the use of her name in the film Blazing Saddles which featured the character ‘Hedley Lamarr’. The case settled out of court for an apology.
Three
Drawing by Nicholas Volpe after Guinness won an Oscar in 1957 for his role in The Bridge on the River Kwai. Image Wikipedia
During the 1943 invasion of Sicily, an actor who once portrayed a wartime bridge builder in Asia and played a forceful character in Star Wars commanded a landing craft. Who was this actor?
Answer: Alec Guinness
Sir Alec Guinness played Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai and Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars. During the Allied invasion of Sicily Guinness commanded a Landing Craft. Later, in the eastern Mediterranean theatre, he ferried supplies and agents to the Yugoslav partisans.
Four
Christopher Lee at the Women’s World Awards 2009 in Vienna, Austria. Image Wikipedia
At one time, he was known as Scaramanga, famous for his love of gold. However, later in life, his colour changed to white, fittingly, as Saruman the Wise. This title was appropriate considering his time in Royal Air Force Intelligence during World War II. Who is he?
Answer: Christopher Lee
Christopher Lee was Scaramanga in the Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun and Saruman in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. After volunteering for the Finnish Army during the Winter War, Lee joined the Royal Air Force in 1941. His flying career was cut short due to optic nerve issues, leading him to intelligence work in North Africa and Italy. After the war, Lee worked with the Central Registry of War Criminals and Security Suspects, tracking down Nazi war criminals.
Five
Official Navy portrait of Paul Newman, 1944-45. Image Wikipedia
John Joseph Vincent Murphy III, an officer at Fort Apache, had previously been Butch. In real life, he served as an airborne turret gunner in the US Navy. Who is he?
Answer: Paul Newman
Paul Newman was a police officer named Murphy who was stationed at Fort Apache: The Bronx. He was previously Butch Cassidy in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. He served in the US Navy during World War II, initially as a radioman and tail gunner, later qualifying as a turret gunner in an Avenger torpedo bomber. His unit was assigned to theUSS Bunker Hill, but he and his crew were grounded due to a pilot’s earache, missing a kamikaze attack that killed several hundred crewmen.
At 02:27 on 2 August 1943, the US Navy’s PT-109 was cut in two by a Japanese destroyer.
Today’s questions focus on individuals who gained recognition in other fields but had roles in World War II.
One
Which future president of the United States was in command of PT-109 when the incident described above occurred on August 2nd, 1943.
Two
Born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler in 1914 in Vienna this Austrian-American actress later sued Warner Brothers ‘for almost using her name’ in Blazing Saddles. During World War II, she co-invented a radio guidance system for torpedoes. Who is she?
Three
During the 1943 invasion of Sicily, an actor who once portrayed a wartime bridge builder in Asia and played a forceful character in Star Wars commanded a landing craft. Who was this actor?
Four
At one time, he was known as Scaramanga, famous for his love of gold. However, later in life, his colour changed to white, fittingly, as Saruman the Wise. This title was appropriate considering his time in Royal Air Force Intelligence during World War II. Who is he?
Five
John Joseph Vincent Murphy III, an officer at Fort Apache, had previously been Butch. In real life, he served as an airborne turret gunner in the US Navy. Who is he?
What is the name of George R.R. Martin’s fantasy series mentioned above?
Answer: A Song of Ice and Fire
George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire is a high fantasy series. The series, originally planned as a trilogy, has five published volumes with two more planned.
Two
The first appearance of the detective duo Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson is in an 1887 novel. Which one?
Answer: A Study in Scarlet
A Study in Scarlet is an 1887 detective novel by Arthur Conan Doyle, introducing Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. The novel, the first in the Holmes canon, follows the duo’s investigation of a murder, with Holmes describing the case as his “study in scarlet”.
Three
Killing Floor and Die Trying are books one and two in publication order of what book series?
Answer: Jack Reacher
The Jack Reacher series, written by Lee Child, follows the adventures of a former US Army major turned drifter. The series, which includes 29 books and a short story collection, has been adapted into films and a television series.
Four
What book series was at one point described as ‘a trilogy in five parts’?
Answer: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series is described as a ‘trilogy in five parts’. Some US editions humorously acknowledges the series’ evolving title saying,
…the book that gives a whole new meaning to the word ‘trilogy’.
Five
A seven-book series begins with a novel whose title hints at a cat, a sorcerer, and a closet. What is the series?
Answer: The Chronicles of Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels by C.S. Lewis, set in the fictional realm of Narnia. The first book in the series is The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The series follows the adventures of children transported to Narnia, where they are sometimes called upon by Aslan, a great, majestic talking lion, to protect the land from evil.
The answers to my earlier post are shown highlighted below.
One
Mr. and Mrs. …, of number four, … Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.
What surname and street name are missing from this opening line?
Answer: Dursley and Privet
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is the first novel in the Harry Potter series. It follows Harry Potter, a young wizard who discovers his magical heritage and faces Lord Voldemort at Hogwarts.
Two
Physicist Leonardo Vetra smelled burning flesh, and he knew it was his own.
The above quote is the first line of what Dan Brown novel?
Answer: Angels and Demons
Angels & Demons is a 2000 mystery-thriller novel by Dan Brown, introducing Robert Langdon and featuring secret societies, a single-day timeframe, and the Catholic Church. The book heavily references ancient history, architecture, and symbology.
Three
Ours is essentially a tragic age, so we refuse to take it tragically.
The above quote opens a book written in the UK in 1928 but not published openly in that country until 1960. What book?
Answer: Sonds and Lovers
Lady Chatterley’s Lover, D.H. Lawrence’s final novel, was published privately in 1928 and 1929. The book, known for its explicit content, was banned in several countries and became a landmark obscenity trial in the UK in 1960.
Four
The … were over.
What flower completes this quote from the opening of Richard Adams’ novel, Watership Down?
Answer: Primrose
The primroses were over.
Watership Down is an adventure novel about a group of anthropomorphised rabbits escaping the destruction of their warren and seeking a new home. The novel evokes epic themes as the rabbits face perils and temptations on their journey.
Five
Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.
This is the first line of what novel and who wrote it?
Answer: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Rebecca, a 1938 Gothic novel by Daphne du Maurier, follows an unnamed young woman who marries a wealthy widower haunted by his late first wife, Rebecca. The novel, a bestseller, has been adapted numerous times for stage, screen, and as a musical.
True or false: snooker was first played in Raffles Hotel, Singapore?
Answer: False
Snooker originated in various officers’ mess of the British Army in India during the British Raj in the 1870s. It combined elements of pyramids and black pool, and the first set of rules was finalised in 1882 by Neville Chamberlain.
True or false: The Arctic Circle passes through eight countries.
Answer: True
The Arctic Circle passes through these eight countries: Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Greenland, Canada, and the United States (Alaska).
Five
Grey reef shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) Image Wikipedia
True or false: a group of two or three sharks, whether all male or all female, is called a shiver.
Answer: True
Another type of gathering is called a shiver. A shiver of sharks refers to smaller groups, usually composed of only two or three individuals. It’s unclear why these small clusters form, but some believe they could be related to mating behavior. Unlike a school, a shiver of sharks is usually made up of only one gender – either all males or all females. – Shark Sider
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