See question three. Brünnhilde pleads with her sisters to rescue Sieglinde: (Arthur Rackham, 1910). Image Wikimedia Commons
These questions are not date-related but do follow a theme mentioned in the title.
One
What is the title of the second volume of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings novel?
Two
When it is visible, it is the most brilliant planet in the sky.
The above sentence is from an Encyclopædia Britannica article about a planet. What planet?
Three
The third drama conceived and written, yet the second opera in Wagner’s tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen. Which mythic creatures does this drama take its name from?
Four
The … Revolution created the second independent country in the Americas after the United States became independent in 1783.
An adjective has been omitted from the preceding quote; which nation does the term describe?
Five
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s second Sherlock Holmes novel involves the theft of the Agra treasure. What is the title of the novel?
Flag of Côte d’Ivoire/Ivory Coast. See question three. Image Wikimedia Commons
All of these questions relate to today’s date, 7 August.
One
In what sport could a ‘Salchow’ be performed?
Answer: Ice skating.
Swedish skater Ulrich Salchow, born 7 August 1877. The salchow, named the Salchow, an edge jump, after him. It is the easiest figure skating jump. It involves taking off from the back inside edge of one skate, completing one or more full turns, and landing on the back outside edge of the opposite skate. American skater Theresa Weld was reprimanded at the 1920 Olympics for performing a single Salchow jump because her skirt would fly up to her knees, creating an image deemed too risqué.
Two
The six-month-long Battle of Guadalcanal, which began on 7 August 1942, unfolded in which country?
Answer: Solomon Islands.
Guadalcanal Island, the largest island in the Solomon Islands, is situated in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The Battle of Guadalcanal, occurring from August 1942 to February 1943, involved a series of World War II land and sea engagements between Allied and Japanese forces on and around Guadalcanal, one of the southern Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. Alongside the naval Battle of Midway, the combat on Guadalcanal signified a turning point in favour of the Allies in the Pacific War.
Three
In 1960, the country represented by the flag shown above gained independence from France. What country is it?
Answer: Côte d’Ivoire/Ivory Coast.
Côte d’Ivoire, located on the western coast of Africa, was previously a French colony. Abidjan functions as the de facto capital, while Yamoussoukro has been the administrative capital since 1983. Known as Ivory Coast, this West African nation is the leading cocoa exporter globally and has seen substantial economic growth since 2011. Nonetheless, 46.1% of its population remains in poverty. The economy is predominantly dependent on agriculture, especially smallholder cash-crop production.
Four
How many persons were onboard Thor Heyerdahl’s balsa wood raft, Kon-Tiki when it reached Raroia in the Tuamotu Islands after sailing 4,300 mile (7,000 km) in 101-days?
Answer: Six.
The Kon-Tiki expedition in 1947, led by Thor Heyerdahl, was a raft journey from South America to Polynesia. Named after the Inca god Viracocha, it inspired Heyerdahl’s book and a 1950 Oscar-winning documentary. A 2012 dramatised film was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film.
Five
In 1926, in motor racing the first British Grand Prix was held. Where was the race held?
Answer: Brooklands.
Built in 1907 near Weybridge, Surrey, Brooklands was the first purpose-built motor racing venue and one of the UK’s first airfields. The British Grand Prix debuted there on 7 August 1926, won by Robert Sénéchal and Louis Wagner. The second race, on 1 October 1927, was also held there.
Bonus Question
The post title is two lines taken from a popular song, what song?
In olden days a glimpse of stocking Was looked on as something shocking
It is part of the lyrics from Anything Goes from the Cole Porter musical of the same name. It is used here only as an oblique remark about Ms Weld’s risqué performance; see answer one.
Anything Goes
By Cole Porter
[RENO] Times have changed, And we’ve often rewound the clock, Since the Puritans got a shock, When they landed on Plymouth Rock. If today, Any shock they should try to stem, ‘Stead of landing on Plymouth Rock, Plymouth Rock would land on them.
In olden days a glimpse of stocking Was looked on as something shocking, But now, God knows, Anything Goes.
Good authors too who once knew better words, Now only use four letter words Writing prose, Anything Goes.
The world has gone mad today And good’s bad today, And black’s white today, And day’s night today, When most guys today That women prize today Are just silly gigolos And though I’m not a great romancer I know that you’re bound to answer When I propose, Anything goes
When grandmama whose age is eighty In night clubs is getting matey with gigolo’s, Anything Goes.
When mothers pack and leave poor father Because they decide they’d rather be tennis pros, Anything Goes.
If driving fast cars you like, If low bars you like, If old hymns you like, If bare limbs you like, If Mae West you like Or me undressed you like, Why, nobody will oppose! When every night, The set that’s smart Is intruding in nudist parties in studios, Anything Goes.
[RENO, PASSENGERS & CREW] The world has gone mad today And good’s bad today, And black’s white today, And day’s night today, When most guys today That women prize today Are just silly gigolos And though I’m not a great romancer I know that you’re bound to answer When I propose, Anything goes
[RENO] If saying your prayers you like, If green pears you like If old chairs you like, If back stairs you like, If love affairs you like With young bears you like, Why nobody will oppose!
[ALL] And though I’m not a great romancer And though I’m not a great romancer I know that you’re bound to answer When I propose, Anything goes… Anything goes! — All Musicals
All of these questions relate to today’s date, 7 August.
One
In what sport could a ‘Salchow’ be performed?
Two
The six-month-long Battle of Guadalcanal, which began on 7 August 1942, unfolded in which country?
Three
In 1960, the country represented by the flag shown above gained independence from France. What country is it?
Four
How many persons were onboard Thor Heyerdahl’s balsa wood raft, Kon-Tiki when it reached Raroia in the Tuamotu Islands after sailing 4,300 mile (7,000 km) in 101-days?
Five
In 1926, in motor racing the first British Grand Prix was held. Where was the race held?
Bonus Question
The post title is two lines taken from a popular song, what song?
All of today’s questions are related to the date, 1 August.
One
In 1980, for the first time anywhere in the world, a woman was elected head of state in a national election. This election was the first of four terms in this role. Who is she, and of what country was she president?
Answer: Vigdís Finnbogadóttir; Iceland.
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir served as Iceland’s president from 1980 to 1996 and was the first woman globally elected head of state. After retiring from office Finnbogadóttir chaired the UNESCO World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology from 1997 to 2001 and became UNESCO’s goodwill ambassador for languages in 1998.
Two
In 1996, George R.R. Martin published the first volume of a book series. What is the book series called?
Answer: A Song of Ice and Fire.
George R.R. Martin, born in 1948, is an American fantasy writer known for his A Song of Ice and Fire series, adapted into Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon. He began his career with short fiction and television writing before returning to novels.
Three
What Formula 1 driver, who suffered extensive burns in a severe accident in the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, returned to racing still heavily bandaged, having only missed two races?
Answer: Niki Lauda
Niki Lauda, after a near-fatal crash in 1976, won his second championship with Ferrari in 1977. He took a two-year hiatus before returning with McLaren, winning his third championship in 1984, and retiring in 1985.
Four
On this date, the Guam Organic Act was signed, officially establishing Guam as an organised unincorporated territory of the United States. Who was the U.S. president at the time?
Answer: Harry S. Truman.
Guam, a territory since 1899, was acquired at the end of the Spanish-American War. It’s home to Naval Base Guam and Andersen Air Force Base. Organised under the Guam Organic Act of 1950, it granted U.S. citizenship to Guamanians and established a local government. The act was amended in 1968 to allow for the election of a governor.
Five
In 1620, Myles Standish, his wife Rose and others sailed from Delfshaven, Netherlands to England where they would join with the Mayflower to sail to America. What is the name of the ship on which Standish and his wife sailed from Delfshaven, and in what modern country is Delfshaven?
Answer: Speedwell; Netherlands.
On 1 August 1620, the Pilgrim Fathers left Delfshaven on the Speedwell. After delays due to leaks, they departed Southampton on 5 August with the Mayflower. The Speedwell was abandoned, and its passengers, including the Standishes, joined the Mayflower for the voyage to the New World.
All of today’s questions are related to the date, 1 August.
One
In 1980, for the first time anywhere in the world, a woman was elected head of state in a national election. This election was the first of four terms in this role. Who is she, and of what country was she president?
Two
In 1996, George R.R. Martin published the first volume of a book series. What is the book series called?
Three
What Formula 1 driver, who suffered extensive burns in a severe accident in the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, returned to racing still heavily bandaged, having only missed two races?
Four
On this date, the Guam Organic Act was signed, officially establishing Guam as an organised unincorporated territory of the United States. Who was the U.S. president at the time?
Five
In 1620, Myles Standish, his wife Rose and others sailed from Delfshaven, Netherlands to England where they would join with the Mayflower to sail to America. What is the name of the ship on which Standish and his wife sailed from Delfshaven, and in what modern country is Delfshaven?
The St Leger, the oldest of Britain’s five Classic races, is the last of the five to be run each year, and its distance is longer than any of the other four. In what decade was it first ran?
Answer: 1770s (1776).
The St Leger Stakes, established in 1776, is Great Britain’s oldest Group 1 flat horse race, held annually in September at Doncaster. It concludes the English and Fillies Triple Crowns. The race spans 2,921 metres and is the longest of Britain’s five Classic races, with Camelot being a recent notable contender.
Two
What J.K. Rowling book was first published in the U.K. in June 1997, and under what title was the same book published the following year in the U.S.?
Answers: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, J.K. Rowling’s debut, follows young wizard Harry Potter discovering his magical heritage. Published in 1997, it became a bestseller, translated into 85 languages, and adapted into a film. Praised for imagination and plot, it sold over 120 million copies, influencing education and marketing.
Three
What geometric shape is also the path of the Earth around the Sun, and how far approximately, in miles or km, does the Earth travel on that path in a year?
Answer: Ellipse; 584 million miles or 940 million km.
Earth orbits the Sun every 365.256 days in a counterclockwise, elliptical path at an average distance of 149.6 million km. Travelling at 29.78 km/s, it appears to move 1° eastward daily relative to the stars. This orbit’s near-circular eccentricity keeps the Sun close to its centre.
The cover of which debut studio album from 1969 depicts the Hindenburg exploding?
Answer: Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin, the debut album by the English rock band of the same name, was released in January 1969 in the US and March 1969 in the UK. Recorded in 36 hours at Olympic Studios, London, it features a mix of original and rearranged blues and folk songs. The album achieved top 10 success in the UK and US.
Five
What tennis Grand Slam takes place in a stadium which is named after a World War 1 fighter pilot who was killed in action?
Answer: French Open.
Eugène Adrien Roland Georges Garros, a French aviation pioneer, first crossed the Mediterranean by airplane in 1913. A self-taught pilot, he joined the French Army in World War I and helped to developed a forward-firing machine gun. He was killed in action in 1918. The Roland Garros tennis stadium in Paris, opened in 1928, honours him and the French Open is alternatively called Roland-Garros.
Off the Shelf
Today’s answers were straight off the ‘shelf’ in that the letters from that word provided the initial letter of each answer.
The St Leger, the oldest of Britain’s five Classic races, is the last of the five to be run each year, and its distance is longer than any of the other four. In what decade was it first ran?
Two
What J.K. Rowling book was first published in the U.K. in June 1997, and under what title was the same book published the following year in the U.S.?
Three
What geometric shape is also the path of the Earth around the Sun, and how far approximately, in miles or km, does the Earth travel on that path in a year?
Four
The cover of which debut studio album from 1969 depicts the Hindenburg exploding?
Five
What tennis Grand Slam takes place in a stadium which is named after a World War 1 fighter pilot who was killed in action?
Tomb of the unknown Soldier under the Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile, Paris. Image Wikimedia Commons
Today’s questions are not date-related. Hopefully, you’ll be saying ‘aargh’ before it is finished.
One
An eternal flame burns in Paris to honour unidentified casualties from both world wars. Where is it located?
Answer: Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile (aka Arc de Triomphe).
Beneath the Arc lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I. Buried on Armistice Day 1920, an eternal flame honours the unidentified dead (now from both world wars). In 1961, U.S. President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy honoured the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier alongside President Charles de Gaulle. Following the 1963 assassination of President Kennedy, Mrs. Kennedy recalled the eternal flame at the Arc de Triomphe and asked for a similar flame beside her husband’s grave at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
Two
Jesus and the Apostles are believed to have spoken … — Encyclopædia Britannica
What language completes the above sentence from Encyclopædia Britannica?
Answer: Aramaic.
Aramaic, a Semitic language linked to Hebrew, Syriac and Phoenician, spread from the Aramaeans via Assyrians and Babylonians, becoming the Achaemenian official language before Greek replaced it. It replaced Hebrew among Jews, appears in Daniel, Ezra and the Talmuds, was spoken by Jesus and the Apostles, and lasted until Arabic displaced it around 650 CE.
Three
A US group released Blitzkrieg Bop as their first single in 1976, while Baby, I Love You became their most successful UK track. What is the band’s name?
Answer: Ramones.
Released in February 1976, Blitzkrieg Bop is the Ramones’ debut single and opening track on their first album. Written by Tommy and Dee Dee Ramone, its chant became a global rallying cry. Baby, I Love You was first recorded by the Ronettes in 1963. Phil Spector produced the Ramones cover version of the song which appeared on their album, End of the Century (1980). The single reached number eight in the UK Singles Chart in 1980, their biggest UK top-ten hit.
Four
What 1992 film starring Al Pacino and Jack Lemmon depicts two days in the lives of four real-estate salesmen?
Answer: Glengarry Glen Ross.
Directed by James Foley and written by David Mamet, Glengarry Glen Ross follows four salesmen facing dismissal threats from Blake. Critically acclaimed, Jack Lemmon won the Volpi Cup and Al Pacino received award nominations, but the film grossed $10.7 million against a $12.5 million budget.
Five
Before the 1947 partition created India and Pakistan, what historic Persian-derived name was commonly used for the Indian subcontinent—especially its northern regions—and is still sometimes used as a poetic or cultural name for India today?
Answer: Hindustan.
The name Hindustan comes from the Persian word Hind (India) combined with the suffix -stan, meaning “land.” Although it once referred broadly to much of northern India or the Indian subcontinent, today it is mainly used in historical, literary, and cultural contexts rather than as India’s official name.
Aargh
The post title is an exclamation ‘used as an expression of anguish, horror, rage, or other strong emotion, often with humorous intent’. It is used here to provide the initial letters of the answers
Today’s questions are not date-related. Hopefully, you’ll be saying ‘aargh’ before it is finished.
One
An eternal flame burns in Paris to honour unidentified casualties from both world wars. Where is it located?
Two
Jesus and the Apostles are believed to have spoken … — Encyclopædia Britannica
What language completes the above sentence from Encyclopædia Britannica?
Three
A US group released Blitzkrieg Bop as their first single in 1976, while Baby, I Love You became their most successful UK track. What is the band’s name?
Four
What 1992 film starring Al Pacino and Jack Lemmon depicts two days in the lives of four real-estate salesmen?
Five
Before the 1947 partition created India and Pakistan, what historic Persian-derived name was commonly used for the Indian subcontinent—especially its northern regions—and is still sometimes used as a poetic or cultural name for India today?
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.
Quizology.Online 
