Quizology.Online

Tag: maritime

  • Stop the Pigeon (Before it is too Old) — Answers

    Today’s Answers

    Today’s questions all relate to the title.

    One

    “Just the place for a …!” the Bellman cried,

              As he landed his crew with care;

    Supporting each man on the top of the tide

              By a finger entwined in his hair.

    What word is missing from the first line of the above?

    Answer: Snark

    The Hunting of the Snark, subtitled An Agony, in Eight Fits, by Lewis Carroll, published in 1876, is a nonsense poem with illustrations by Henry Holiday. It follows a crew hunting the Snark, which turns out to be a Boojum. The poem, dedicated to Gertrude Chataway, has been adapted widely and interpreted in various ways.

    Two

    What, in 1912, was the RMS Titanic’s last port of call before setting out across the Atlantic?

    Answer: Queenstown.

    RMS Titanic originally set sail on 10 April 1912 from Southampton, England; she crossed the English Channel to Cherbourg, France before sailing to Queenstown (now Cobh), County Cork, Ireland, picking up additional passengers at both of these ports before heading into the Atlantic Ocean on her fateful voyage. She struck the iceberg shortly before midnight on the 14 April and about two and a half hours later she broke in two and sank. About 1,500 people perished on the night.

    Three

    Whose 2005 hit song was entitled Caught Up?

    Answer: Usher.

    Caught Up by Usher, from Confessions, was released on 3 January 2005 as the final single. Written by Andre Harris, Vidal Davis, Ryan Toby and Jason Boyd, it reached number eight in the United States and number nine in the United Kingdom. Critics praised the performance; the music video premiered on Fox’s New Year’s Eve Live.

    Four

    The …, the Dish of the Day at The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, is a speaking quadruped, a ruminant specially bred not only to wish to be eaten but also to express this.

    What three words (a fictional breed) are absent from this statement?

    Answer: Ameglian Major Cow.

    In The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, part of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, an Ameglian Major Cow, bred to want consumption, offers itself at Milliways; Zaphod orders steaks and Arthur a salad. The cow departs to shoot itself humanely, which Arthur finds revolting.

    Five

    The … Overland Mail ran from both Memphis, Tennessee, and St. Louis, Missouri, going via Fort Smith, Arkansas. to San Francisco, California.

    What name is missing from the previous sentence?

    Answer: Butterfield.

    Butterfield Overland Mail operated from 1858 to 1861, carrying passengers and U.S. Mail from Memphis and St Louis to San Francisco via Fort Smith and multiple territories. Congress authorised Aaron V. Brown to contract this service in 1857; the route became a national historic trail in 2023.

    Stop the Pigeon (Before it is too Old)

    The post title is in two parts: ‘Stop the pigeon’ from Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines (1969) and is only relevant for the inclusion of ‘Pigeon’.  A pigeon, before it is too old, is a squab, and today’s answers begin with S, Q, U, A and B: perhaps a bit cryptic!

  • Stop the Pigeon (Before it is too Old)

    Today’s questions all relate to the title.

    One

    “Just the place for a …!” the Bellman cried,

              As he landed his crew with care;

    Supporting each man on the top of the tide

              By a finger entwined in his hair.

    What word is missing from the first line of the above?

    Two

    What, in 1912, was the RMS Titanic’s last port of call before setting out across the Atlantic?

    Three

    Whose 2005 hit song was entitled Caught Up?

    Answer: Usher.

    Four

    The …, the Dish of the Day at The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, is a speaking quadruped, a ruminant specially bred not only to wish to be eaten but also to express this.

    What three words (a fictional breed) are absent from this statement?

    Five

    The … Overland Mail ran from both Memphis, Tennessee, and St. Louis, Missouri, going via Fort Smith, Arkansas. to San Francisco, California.

    What name is missing from the previous sentence?

    Good luck! I’ll post the answers later.

  • That Sinking Feeling — Answers

    Here are the answers to today’s questions.

    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.

  • That Sinking Feeling

    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…?

    Good luck! I’ll post the answers later.

  • Now I am Become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds — Answers

    Here are today’s answers.

    Trinity Test, Jack W. Aeby, July 16, 1945.
    Image Wikimedia Commons

    The first question relates to today’s date, 16 July. The subsequent questions follow a theme established by the first.

    One

    The world’s first atomic bomb exploded in a test on 16 July. 

    • What code name was given to the test?
    • In what year was the test?, and
    • In what U.S. state was the test site located?

    Answers

    • Trinity
    • 1945
    • New Mexico

    The Trinity test, the first nuclear detonation, occurred on July 16, 1945, in New Mexico as part of the Manhattan Project. Directed by Kenneth Bainbridge, it tested an implosion-design plutonium bomb, releasing 25 kilotons of energy and creating trinitite. Observed by 425 people, the site became a National Historic Landmark in 1965. The Manhattan Project established Los Alamos for nuclear weapon development, leading to the first atomic bomb, Gadget, tested at the Trinity Site. The Trinity Site is now a national historic landmark with limited public access.

    Two

    When asked why he chose the nuclear test code name referred to in question one above, Robert Oppenheimer alluded to the work of which English poet?

    Answer: John Donne.

    In 1962 Oppenheimer said:

    Why I chose the name is not clear, but I know what thoughts were in my mind. There is a poem of John Donne, written just before his death, which I know and love.” Oppenheimer then quoted the sonnet “Hymn to God, My God, in My Sickness” about a man unafraid to die because he believed in resurrection.

    Oppenheimer continued: 

    That still does not make a Trinity, but in another, better-known devotional poem Donne opens, ‘Batter my heart, three person’d God.’ Beyond this, I have no clues whatever.
    — Los Alamos National Laboratory

    Three

    Who is traditionally said to have used a clover-like plant, which is now a national symbol, as a metaphor for a Christian doctrine, and what was the plant?

    Answer: St. Patrick; shamrock.

    In 5th-century Ireland, Saint Patrick reportedly used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to pagans. Today, the shamrock is Ireland’s national symbol and a key emblem of Saint Patrick’s Day, celebrated worldwide with parades and festivities.

    Four

    Which charity is the official authority for lighthouses in England and Wales?

    Answer: Trinity House.

    Trinity House, established in 1514, is the UK’s largest maritime charity and General Lighthouse Authority for England, Wales, the Channel Islands, and Gibraltar. It ensures maritime safety through navigation aids, pilot licensing, and audits. Annually, it donates £4m to support cadet training, retired mariners’ welfare, and sea safety education.

    Five

    Of the seven surviving British and Irish medieval and early modern universities founded before 1600 AD, one with a name appropriate for this theme was founded in 1592. Under what name was this 1592 establishment founded?

    Answer: Trinity College Dublin (Coláiste na Tríonóide, Baile Átha Cliath).

    (or in full The Provost, Fellows and Scholars of the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin (Coláiste Thríonóid Naofa Neamhroinnte na Banríona Eilís gar do Bhaile Átha Cliath)).

    Trinity College Dublin, founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I, is Ireland’s oldest university and a member of LERU and the Coimbra Group. It houses the Book of Kells and has notable alumni like Oscar Wilde and Jonathan Swift. The college, a major tourist destination, has an academic partnership with Oxford and Cambridge.

    Now I am Become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds

    Robert Oppenheimer later recalled a moment, after the Trinity Test, when the line ‘Now I am Become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds’ from the Hindu scripture the Bhagavad Gita came to mind.

  • Now I am Become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds

    Trinity Test, Jack W. Aeby, July 16, ?
    Image Wikimedia Commons

    The first question relates to today’s date, 16 July. The subsequent questions follow a theme established by the first.

    One

    The world’s first atomic bomb exploded in a test on 16 July. 

    • What code name was given to the test?
    • In what year was the test?, and
    • In what U.S. state was the test site located?

    Two

    When asked why he chose the nuclear test code name referred to in question one above, Robert Oppenheimer alluded to the work of which English poet?

    Three

    Who is traditionally said to have used a clover-like plant, which is now a national symbol, as a metaphor for a Christian doctrine, and what was the plant?

    Four

    Which charity is the official authority for lighthouses in England and Wales?

    Five

    Of the seven surviving British and Irish medieval and early modern universities founded before 1600 AD, one with a name appropriate for this theme was founded in 1592. Under what name was this 1592 establishment founded?

    Good luck! I’ll post the answers later.