Tag: literature

Who, What, When, Where, Why and How IV | Answers

The answers to my earlier post are shown in bold below. I have included the question simply for your information.

Eric Liddell.
Image Wikipedia
  1. Who was a British Olympic gold medal winner died in a Japanese civilian internment camp during the Second World War and whose story was told in Chariots of Fire?
    • Eric Liddell—a Scottish sprinter, rugby player, and Christian missionary, was born in China to Scottish missionary parents. He won the 400 metres at the 1924 Paris Olympics after refusing to run in the heats for the 100 metres as they were held on a Sunday. These events were recounted in the film Chariots of Fire. He became a Congregational minister in 1932, and served as a missionary teacher in China until his death in a Japanese civilian internment camp in 1945.
      Flyer for the 1979 stage production at the ICA of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy.
      Image Wikipedia
  2. What author wrote, “In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move“?
    • Douglas Adams—The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a comedy science fiction franchise that began as a BBC radio series. The story follows Arthur Dent, the last human who hitched a ride off Earth before its destruction.
      The X-Men, Volume 1
      Image Marvel Fandom
  3. When did the Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters make its first appearance In Marvel Comics?
    • 1963—The X-Mansion, located in Westchester County, New York, is the base of operations for the X-Men and houses the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning. The mansion has undergone several name changes and relocations, reflecting significant events in the X-Men’s history.
      Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
      Image Harry Potter Fandom
  4. Where did Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire come in the Harry Potter book series?
    • Fourth—Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the fourth novel in the Harry Potter series, following Harry’s fourth year at Hogwarts. The book, published simultaneously in the UK and US in 2000, won a Hugo Award and was adapted into a film and video game.
      Eastern glass lizard.
      Image Wikipedia
  5. Why is the glass lizard, such as the eastern glass lizard (Ophisaurus ventralis), so called?
    • Their tails break off—Anguinae, a subfamily of legless lizards in the Anguidae family, commonly known as glass lizards, glass snakes, or slow worms, are native to North America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Their tails easily break or snap off, earning them their first two common names.
      Depiction of Rip Van Winkle by John Quidor.
      Image Wikipedia
  6. How long does Rip Van Winkle sleep in Washington Irving’s short story?
    • 20 years—Rip Van Winkle is a short story by Washington Irving about a Dutch-American villager who falls asleep in the Catskill Mountains and awakens 20 years later to a changed world. The story was inspired by a conversation on nostalgia and published in 1819

Who, What, When, Where, Why and How IV

Image Wikipedia
  1. Who was a British Olympic gold medal winner who died in a Japanese civilian internment camp during the Second World War and whose story was told in Chariots of Fire?
    • Arthur Lumsden
    • Eric Liddell
    • Hector Lynch
  2. What author wrote, “In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move“?
    • Douglas Adams
    • Isaac Asimov
    • Terry Pratchett
  3. When did the Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters make its first appearance In Marvel Comics?
    • 1937
    • 1949
    • 1963
  4. Where did Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire come in the Harry Potter book series?
    • Third
    • Fourth
    • Fifth
  5. Why is the glass lizard, such as the eastern glass lizard (Ophisaurus ventralis), so called?
    • They are diaphanous
    • They are mirror-like
    • Their tails break off
  6. How long does Rip Van Winkle sleep in Washington Irving’s short story?
    • 10 Years
    • 15 years
    • 20 years

Good luck! I will post the answers later today.

An initial hello | Answers

The answers to my earlier post are shown in bold below. I have included the question simply for your information.

Hawaiian pizza.
Image Wikipedia
  1. What ‘H’ is an eight-letter word which can go before guitar, islands and pizza?
    • Hawaiian—relating to Hawaii, its people, or their language. Hence Hawaiian guitar, Hawaiian Islands and Hawaiian pizza.
      Ripostes by Ezra Ound.
      Image Wikipedia
  2. What ‘E’ is an American poet who published Ripostes, a collection of 25 poems, in 1912? (First & second name please)
    • Ezra Pound—Ezra Pound was an American poet and critic, a major figure in early modernist poetry. He was a collaborator in Fascist Italy during World War II, recording propaganda broadcasts attacking the US, Britain and Jews. After the war, he was held in a US military detention camp and later incarcerated for over 12 years in a psychiatric hospital.
  3. What ‘L’ is an 8-letter word meaning the same as port and the opposite of starboard?
    • Larboard—Middle English ladebord, referring to the side on which cargo was put aboard. The change to lar- in the 16th century was due to association with starboard. (Oxford English Dictionary)
      The Librarian, Unseen University.
      Image Pinterest
  4. What ‘L’, a facility the fictional Unseen University, is tended by a faculty member who is a pongo
    • Library—In Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series The Librarian of the Unseen University’s library, originally Dr. Horace Worblehat, was transformed into an orang-utan and chose to remain that way due to the advantages it offered for his job. He communicates using the word “ook” and is fiercely protective of his anonymity, as revealing his true name could reverse the transformation. The Librarian is known for his love of music, his role in the City Watch, and his membership in an elite group of librarians who can travel through L-Space.
      Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.
      Image tseliot.com
  5. What ‘O’ is “a collection of whimsical light poems about feline psychology and sociology” which became the basis of the musical Cats?
    • Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats—a collection of light poems about cats by TS Eliot, was published in 1939 and later adapted into Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Cats. Eliot wrote the poems in the 1930s and included them in letters to his godchildren.

An initial hello

  1. What ‘H’ is an eight-letter word which can go before guitar, islands and pizza?
  2. What ‘E’ is an American poet who published Ripostes, a collection of 25 poems, in 1912? (First & second name please)
  3. What ‘L’ is an 8-letter word meaning the same as port and the opposite of starboard?
  4. What ‘L’, a facility the fictional Unseen University, is tended by a faculty member who is a pongo?
  5. What ‘O’ is “a collection of whimsical light poems about feline psychology and sociology” which became the basis of the musical Cats? (Six words in the answer)

Good luck! I will post the answers later today.

Flight of fancy, or is it? | Answers

The answers to my earlier post are shown in bold below. I have included the question simply for your information.

“The name is Bond, James Bond”. James Bond.
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  1. James Bond was the hero of Kingsley Amis’s 1968 novel Colonel Sun, which was published under the pseudonym Robert Markham, true or false?
    • True—Colonel Sunby Kingsley Amis—the first published James Bond continuation novel—follows Bond as he rescues M from communist Chinese kidnappers, uncovering a plot to cause an international incident.
  2. Is the following true or false: Captain Yossarian is a character in Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days?
    • False—he is from Joseph Heller’s Catch-22. Captain John Yossarian, the protagonist of Joseph Heller’s Catch-22, is a 28-year-old bombardier stationed on Pianosa during World War II. Yossarian’s exploits are based on Heller’s experiences as a bombardier in the Army Air Corps, with the name Yossarian derived from Heller’s wartime friend, Francis Yohannan.
  3. Oliver Mowat was the gamekeeper in Lady Chatterley’s Lover, is this true or is it false?
    • False—Oliver Mellors was the name of the gamekeeper. D.H. Lawrence’s final novel, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, published privately in 1928 and 1929, is renowned for its explicit content and led to a landmark obscenity trial in the UK in 1960 after being banned in several countries. The story follows Constance Chatterley, a married woman whose husband is paralysed, as she embarks on an affair with the gamekeeper, Oliver Mellors. This relationship highlights the class disparity between them .
  4. James Charles Bigglesworth is a fictional character created by author Captain W.E. Johns, true or false?
    • True—Biggles, as Bigglesworth is known, is a fictional pilot and adventurer, and the hero of the Biggles series of adventure books written by W.E. Johns. The series, spanning both world wars, includes nearly a hundred volumes and was edited over time to reflect changing norms.

    5. It was a bright cold day in May, and the clocks were striking midday.

  5. The above quote is the opening line of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-four. Is this true or false?
    • False—The opening line of Nineteen Eighty-Four is shown in the quote below. Nineteen Eighty-Four is a dystopian novel by George Orwell, published in 1949. The story, set in a totalitarian future, follows Winston Smith, a Party member who rebels against the oppressive regime led by Big Brother. Through psychological manipulation and torture, Winston is ultimately forced to conform and love Big Brother.

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.

George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-four.
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Flight of fancy, or is it?

Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence.
Image Wikipedia
  1. James Bond was the hero of Kingsley Amis’s 1968 novel Colonel Sun, which was published under the pseudonym Robert Markham, true or false?
  2. Is the following true or false: Captain Yossarian is a character in Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days?
  3. Oliver Mowat was the gamekeeper in D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover, is this true or is it false?
  4. James Charles Bigglesworth is a fictional character created by author Captain W.E. Johns, true or false?

    It was a bright cold day in May, and the clocks were striking midday.

  5. The above quote is the opening line of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-four. Is this true or false?

Good luck! I will post the answers later today.

It might be possible that the world itself is without meaning. | Answers

The answers to my earlier post are shown in bold below. I have included the question simply for your information.

THX1138
Image Encyclopædia Britannica
  1. THX 1138 (1971) was the directorial debut of which filmmaker, who was born on 14 May 1944?
    • George Lucas—Warner Brothers–Seven Arts signed Lucas to direct a feature-length version of his student film, Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB, with Francis Ford Coppola executive-producing. The film, a grim fantasy about a robotised society, received respectful reviews but was not widely embraced.
      The ruins at Jamestown, Virginia, USA from: Robert Sears, A pictorial description of the United States (s.n., 1854), pg. 315. Google Books
      Image Wikipedia
  2. On this day in 1607, the first English colony in North America was founded and named after England’s King James I. Who was the mother of the king?
    • Mary, Queen of Scots—James VI and I, the only son of Mary, Queen of Scots, and the first Stuart monarch. He ruled Scotland as James VI from 1567 and England and Ireland as James I from 1603 until his death in 1625. He advocated for a single parliament, sponsored the King James Version of the Bible and saw the start of English colonisation of the Americas.
      Virginia Woolf.
      Image Wikipedia
  3. On 14 May 1925, the novel Mrs Dalloway was published. Who was the author?
    • Virginia Woolf—Mrs Dalloway, a novel by Virginia Woolf, follows Clarissa Dalloway, an upper-class woman in post-WWI England, on a day as she prepares for a party. The novel explores time and social structure through Clarissa’s life and the party. The title of this post is from Mrs Dalloway.
      Eric Morecambe.
      Image Pinterest
  4. John Eric Bartholomew was born today in 1926. Which comedian/actor is he better known as?
    • Eric Morecambe—Eric Morecambe, born John Eric Bartholomew, was an English comedian known for his double act with Ernie Wise. The partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe’s death in 1984.
  5. May 14, saw the beginning of the last witchcraft trial held in the United States. In what year did this take place?
    • 1878—In 1878, Lucretia Brown accused Daniel Spofford of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts. The case, considered the last witchcraft trial in the US, was dismissed by the judge.

It might be possible that the world itself is without meaning.

THX1138
Image Encyclopædia Britannica

Here are a few questions which are related to today’s date, 14 May.

  1. THX 1138 (1971) was the directorial debut of which filmmaker, who was born on 14 May 1944?
    • George Lucas
    • Steven Spielberg
    • Robert Zemeckis
  2. On this day in 1607, the first English colony in North America was founded and named after England’s King James I. Who was the mother of the king?
    • Mary I of England
    • Mary of Guise
    • Mary, Queen of Scots
  3. On 14 May 1925, the novel Mrs Dalloway was published. Who was the author?
    • Virginia Plain
    • Virginia Rogers
    • Virginia Woolf
  4. John Eric Bartholomew was born today in 1926. Which comedian/actor is he better known as?
    • Eric Idle
    • Eric Morecambe
    • Eric Sykes
  5. May 14, saw the beginning of the last witchcraft trial held in the United States. In what year did this take place?
    • 1778
    • 1828
    • 1878

Good luck! I will post the answers later today.

It might be possible that the world itself is without meaning.

Terrible Twos | Answers

The answers to my earlier post are shown in bold below. I have included the question simply for your information.

Pratchett’s Night Watch at the top and Rembrandt’s The Night Watch below.
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  1. Willem van Ruytenburch, dressed in yellow, is depicted in a 1642 Rembrandt painting titled similarly to a Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. What two words which form the novel’s title are also present in the painting’s title?
    • Night Watch—Rembrandt’s The Night Watch depicts a civic guard company, while Terry Pratchett’s novel follows Sir Samuel Vimes and the Ankh-Morpork City Watch.
      Jane Seymour, 1994.
      Image Wikipedia
      Jane Seymour, Henry VIII’s third wife.
      Image Wikipedia
  2. One was the Bond girl Solitaire, and the other was Henry VIII’s third wife. What was their shared name, first and last?
    • Jane Seymour—Jane Seymour, Henry VIII’s third wife, died of postnatal complications after giving birth to Edward VI. Jane Seymour, born Joyce Frankenberg, is a British actress known for roles in film and television. A Bond girl, she played psychic Solitaire in Live and Let Die (1973).
      Nutcracker (Nucifraga_caryocatactes).
      Image Wikipedia
      First performance of The Nutcracker in Mariinsky Theatre
      Image Wikipedia
  3. What crow is also the name of a Tchaikovsky ballet?
    • Nutcracker—The nutcracker genus, Nucifraga, comprises four species of passerine birds in the Corvidae family. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s 1892 ballet, The Nutcracker, is based on Alexandre Dumas’s short story and features a nutcracker doll. The ballet’s score, particularly its use of the celesta, has become famous and is widely performed.
      Purdey shotgun.
      Image Purdey.com
      Purdey (Joanna Lumley).
      Image Pinterest
  4. What name links a London gunmaker, which is over 200-years old, and a character in The New Avengers, a British television series from the 1970s?
    • Purdey—James Purdey & Sons, a British gunmaker based in London, specialises in high-end bespoke sporting shotguns and rifles. The company holds Royal Warrants of appointment as gun and rifle makers to the British and other European royal families. Purdey, played by Joanna Lumley, was a spy working for British Intelligence in The New Avengers, a British television series in the seventies.
      Snoopy vs. The Red Baron.
      Image Wikipedia
      Snoopy as a zero gravity indicator.
      Image Peanuts/NASA
  5. The Royal Guardsmen’s song “_ vs. the Red Baron” peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1966. The fictional character missing from the song title became a mascot for aerospace safety in 1969 and has often since been associated with NASA. Can you name the character?
    • Snoopy—The Royal Guardsmen are an American band with several snoopy related hits. Snoopy has been associated with NASA since the Apollo era, inspiring generations to dream big about space exploration. During Artemis I, Snoopy will serve as the zero-gravity indicator, symbolising the journey to the Moon. This partnership continues to promote STEM education and excitement about space exploration. (Snoopy/NASA)

Terrible twos


Today’s trivia features a variety of questions without multiple-choice options, requiring you to come up with the answers yourself.

Mrs Henry VIII, the third.
Image Wikipedia
  1. Willem van Ruytenburch, dressed in yellow, is depicted in a 1642 Rembrandt painting titled similarly to a Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. What two words, which form the novel’s title, are also present in the painting’s title?
  2. One was the Bond girl Solitaire, and the other was Henry VIII’s third wife. What was their shared name, first and last?
  3. What crow is also the name of a Tchaikovsky ballet?
  4. What name links a London gunmaker, which is over 200-years old, and a character in The New Avengers, a British television series from the 1970s?
  5. The Royal Guardsmen’s song “_ vs. the Red Baron” peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1966. The fictional character missing from the song title became a mascot for aerospace safety in 1969 and has often since been associated with NASA. Can you name the character?