Quizology.Online

Tag: miscellany

  • Z is for… | Answers

    The answers to my earlier post are shown highlighted below.

    Aerial view of the Boudewijnkanaal linking the city of Bruges (middle of image) with the port of Zeebrugge (top).
    Image Wikipedia

    One

    The caption (copied below) for the above photo is missing the name of a port. What port?

    Aerial view of the Boudewijnkanaal linking the city of Bruges (middle of image) with the port of … (top).

    Answer: Zeebrugge

    The Port of Zeebrugge, a major North Sea port in Bruges, Belgium, handles over 50 million tonnes of cargo annually. In 1987, the ferry Herald of Free Enterprise capsized outside the port, killing 193 passengers.

    Detail of Zephyrus with Aura from Sandro Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus.
    Image Wikipedia

    Two

    What six letter word can mean all of the following?

    • a soft, gentle breeze
    • a personification of the west wind
    • a fine cotton gingham
    • a very light article of clothing

    Answer: Zephyr

    late Old English zefferus, denoting a personification of the west wind, via Latin from Greek zephuros ‘(god of the) west wind’. The sense ‘soft, gentle breeze’ dates from the late 17th century.
    – Oxford English Dictionary

    Ziggurat of Ur.
    Image Wikipedia

    Three

    The above picture is of the … of Ur. What word is missing?

    Answer: Ziggurat

    The Ziggurat in Ur, dedicated to Nanna/Sîn, was built by King Ur-Nammu and completed by King Shulgi in the 21st century BC. It served as the centre of a temple complex and a shrine to the moon god.

    (in ancient Mesopotamia) a rectangular stepped tower, sometimes surmounted by a temple. Ziggurats are first attested in the late 3rd millennium BC and probably inspired the biblical story of the Tower of Babel (Gen. 11:1–9). 

    origin from Akkadian ziqqurratu.

    – Oxford English Dictionary

    Victoria Falls.
    Image Wikipedia

    Four

    What river flows over these falls, and on which international border are they situated?

    Answer: Zambezi. (Border of) Zimbabwe and Zambia

    Victoria Falls, on the Zambezi River, is one of the world’s largest waterfalls. It was named after Queen Victoria by David Livingstone in 1855. The Lozi name, Mosi-oa-Tunya, meaning ‘The Smoke That Thunders’, is also commonly used.

    David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust.
    Image Wikipedia

    Five

    Now … played guitar
    Jamming good with Weird and Gilly
    And The Spiders from Mars

    The first three lines of a song originally released in 1972 are shown above. What word is missing from the first line?

    Answer: Ziggy

    Ziggy Stardust is a glam rock song about a bisexual alien rock star. The character, created by David Bowie, symbolised an over-the-top rock star and commented on celebrity worship. The lyrics for Ziggy Stardust are shown below.

    Ziggy Sturdust

    David Bowie

    Now Ziggy played guitar
    Jamming good with Weird and Gilly
    And The Spiders from Mars
    He played it left hand
    But made it too far
    Became the special man
    Then we were Ziggy’s Band

    Ziggy really sang
    Screwed-up eyes and screwed-down hairdo
    Like some cat from Japan
    He could lick ’em by smiling
    He could leave ’em to hang
    He came on so loaded, man,
    Well-hung, snow-white tan

    So where were the spiders
    While the fly tried to break our balls?
    Just the beer light to guide us
    So we bitched about his fans
    And should we crush his sweet hands?
    Oh yeah

    Ziggy played for time
    Jiving us that we were Voodoo
    The kids was just crass
    He was the naz
    With God-given ass
    He took it all too far
    But boy, could he play guitar

    Making love with his ego
    Ziggy sucked up into his mind (ah)
    Like a leper messiah
    When the kids had killed a man
    I had to break up the band

    Ziggy played guitar

  • Z is for…

    Continuing, and finishing, the alphabet theme and all today’s answers begin with the letter ‘Z’.

    Aerial view of the Boudewijnkanaal linking the city of Bruges (middle of image) with the port of … (top).
    Image Wikipedia

    One

    The caption (copied below) for the above photo is missing the name of a port. What port?

    Aerial view of the Boudewijnkanaal linking the city of Bruges (middle of image) with the port of … (top).

    Two

    What six letter word can mean all of the following?

    • a soft, gentle breeze
    • a personification of the west wind
    • a fine cotton gingham
    • a very light article of clothing
    … of Ur.
    Image Wikipedia

    Three

    The above picture is of the … of Ur. What word is missing?

    Victoria Falls.
    Image Wikipedia

    Four

    What river flows over these falls, and on which international border are they situated?

    Five

    Now … played guitar
    Jamming good with Weird and Gilly
    And The Spiders from Mars

    The first three lines of a song originally released in 1972 are shown above. What word is missing from the first line?

    Good luck! I will post the answers later today.

  • O is for… | Answers

    The answers to my earlier post are shown highlighted below.

    The three fictional superstates of the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four are Oceania (black), Eurasia (red) and Eastasia (yellow). Areas shown in grey are ‘disputed’.
    Image Wikipedia

    One

    The map above depicts the three fictional superstates from George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, along with disputed territories (in grey). The black-coloured state encompassing the Americas, Australia and the United Kingdom, among others, is known by what name?

    Answer: Oceania

    In George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, the world is divided into three superstates—Oceania (black on map), Eurasia (red) and Eastasia (yellow)—engaged in a perpetual war. The origins of these states, which may not even exist, are unclear, emerging from nuclear warfare and civil unrest between 1945 and 1965. In this post-war world, totalitarian ideologies such as English Socialism, Neo-Bolshevism and Obliteration of the Self dominate.

    Ogden Nash and Dagmar from the television game show Masquerade Party, 1955
    Image Wikipedia

    Two

    Some tortures are physical and some are mental, but the one that is both is dental.

    The above quote was originally made by which American humorist and poet?

    Answer: Ogden Nash

    Frederic Ogden Nash, an American humorist, wrote over 500 pieces of light verse, including 20 volumes of poetry and lyrics for musicals and children’s books.

    Orienteering pictogram
    Image Wikipedia

    Three

    A competitive sport in which runners have to find their way across rough country with the aid of a map and compass.
    – Oxford English Dictionary

    What sport is being defined above?

    Answer: Orienteering

    Orienteering is a sport involving map and compass navigation through unfamiliar terrain. Participants use specially prepared maps to locate control points, with foot orienteering being the oldest and most popular variation. Orienteering features in the programs of global sporting events, such as the World Games and the World Police and Fire Games.

    Oberammergau Passion Play 1860 Production.
    Image Wikipedia

    Four

    A Passion Play, depicting the final phase of the life of Jesus Christ, has taken place in a Bavarian village once every ten years (barring a few exceptions) since the 17 century. What is the village name?

    Answer: Oberammergau

    The Oberammergauer Passionsspiele, a passion play performed by the inhabitants of Oberammergau, Germany, depicts Jesus’ final days from His visit to Jerusalem to His crucifixion. The play, composed by several individuals and the village inhabitants, is the earliest surviving continuous vernacular drama of the Christian era.

    Librarian of the Unseen University, Ankh-Morpork.
    Image Pinterest

    Five

    What one creature answers both the following
    – In The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett, the university librarian is accidentally turned into one of these
    – One is featured in Edgar Allan Poe’s short story The Murders in the Rue Morgue

    Answer: Orangutan (or orangutang)

    In The Light Fantastic, the second instalment in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld fantasy novel series, the Librarian of the Unseen University undergoes an unexpected transformation into a sentient orangutan. This transformation persists throughout the series, and he actively resists any attempts to revert him to his original state.
    The Murders in the Rue Morgue tell how a sailor’s orangutan, imitating him shaving, runs off with his straight razor and later kills a woman and her daughter. The sailor, attempting to catch it, was heard arguing with the animal. The orangutan fled, leaving the sailor to sell it and the police to release their suspect, Le Bon.

  • O is for…

    The alphabet theme continues with some questions with answers beginning with ‘O’.


    Image Wikipedia

    One

    The map above depicts the three fictional superstates from George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, along with disputed territories (in grey). The black-coloured state encompassing the Americas, Australia and the United Kingdom, among others, is known by what name?

    Two

    Some tortures are physical and some are mental, but the one that is both is dental.

    The above quote was originally made by which American humorist and poet?

    Three

    A competitive sport in which runners have to find their way across rough country with the aid of a map and compass.
    – Oxford English Dictionary

    What sport is being defined above?

    Four

    A Passion Play, depicting the final phase of the life of Jesus Christ, has taken place in a Bavarian village once every ten years (barring a few exceptions) since the 17 century. What is the village name?

    Five

    What one creature answers both the following
    – In The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett, the university librarian is accidentally turned into one of these
    – One is featured in Edgar Allan Poe’s short story The Murders in the Rue Morgue

    Good luck! I will post the answers later today.

  • N is for… | Answers

    The answers to my earlier post are shown highlighted below.

    Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond.
    Image Madly Odd

    One

    The writer of You Don’t Brine Me Flowers had a hit duet with it alongside Barbra Streisand. Who is the songwriter?

    Answer: Neil Diamond

    You Don’t Bring Me Flowers was originally written for a TV sitcom but later expanded into a duet by Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978.

    Fully defined compass rose displaying 32 points.
    Image Wikipedia

    Two

    The compass point found at 22.5° from North is what?

    Answer: NNE or north-northeast

    The points of the compass are a set of horizontal directions used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose typically consists of four cardinal directions (north, east, south, and west) and four ordinal directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest). A fully defined compass has 32 points.

    Nazgûl.
    Image Pinterest

    Three

    In The Lord of the Rings how many Nazgûl were there?

    Answer: Nine

    The Nazgûl, or Ringwraiths, are nine men corrupted by Sauron’s Rings of Power, becoming immortal wraiths bound to his will. Led by the Witch-king of Angmar, they serve as Sauron’s most terrifying servants, using terror and weapons like Morgul-knives to pursue the One Ring. They are also known as The Nine, Úlairi (in Quenya), Black Riders, Fell Riders, and Ringwraiths.

    Australian Capital Territory and Jervis Bay Territory in relation to New South Wales
    Image Wikipedia

    Four

    Australian Capital Territory and Jervis Bay Territory are enclaves within which Australian state?

    Answer: New South Wales

    The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is an internal territory of Australia, home to the capital city of Canberra. It was established in 1911 as the seat of the Australian government, hosting Parliament House, the High Court, and numerous government agencies. The ACT is governed by a locally elected legislative assembly, though the Commonwealth retains authority over certain areas, including the Parliamentary Triangle. The Jervis Bay Territory is an internal territory of Australia, established in 1915 to provide the federal government with a port near the ACT.

    Portrait of Isaac Newton, 1689.
    Image Wikipedia

    Five

    The SI unit of force. It is equal to the force that would give a mass of one kilogram an acceleration of one metre per second per second, and is equivalent to 100,000 dynes.
    – Oxford English Dictionary

    What word is being defined above?

    Answer: Newton

    The newton (symbol: N) is the unit of force in the International System of Units. It is defined as the force that accelerates a mass of one kilogram at one metre per second squared, expressed in terms of SI base units. The unit is named after Isaac Newton in recognition of his groundbreaking work in classical mechanics, particularly his second law of motion.

  • N is for…

    The alphabet theme continues with some questions where all the answers begin with ‘N’.

    Barbra Streisand
    Image Wikipedia

    One

    The writer of You Don’t Brine Me Flowers had a hit duet with it alongside Barbra Streisand. Who is the songwriter?

    Two

    The compass point found at 22.5° from North is what?

    Three

    In The Lord of the Rings how many Nazgûl were there?

    Four

    Australian Capital Territory and Jervis Bay Territory are enclaves within which Australian state?

    Five

    The SI unit of force. It is equal to the force that would give a mass of one kilogram an acceleration of one metre per second per second, and is equivalent to 100,000 dynes.
    – Oxford English Dictionary

    What word is being defined above?

    Good luck! I will post the answers later today.

  • K is for… | Answers

    The answers to my earlier post are shown in bold below.

    Tourists at London King’s Cross Platform 9¾ in July 2016.
    Image Wikipedia

    One

    Which London railway station has a marker indicating the location of Platform 9¾?

    King’s Cross

    King’s Cross is the starting point of the Hogwarts Express in the Harry Potter books. The film crew used the brick roof-support arches between platforms 4 and 5 to represent the fictional Platform 9¾.

    Kuwaiti 20 Dinar note.
    Image Left Over Currency

    Two

    In April 2024, Forbes named which country’s dinar as the highest valued currency in the world?

    Kuwaiti Dinar (KWD)

    The Kuwaiti dinar, the strongest currency globally, is pegged to an undisclosed basket of currencies. Kuwait, a leading oil exporter, introduced the dinar in the 1960s.

    North Island Brown Kiwi
    Image Wikipedia

    Three

    What bird has the biggest egg of any bird species relative to its size?

    Kiwi

    The brown kiwi (Apteryx australis) of New Zealand lays the largest eggs relative to its body size. One female kiwi weighing 1.7 kg (3 lb 12 oz) laid an egg weighing 406 g (14 oz), which is almost one quarter of her total body mass, and weights of up to 510 g (1 lb) have been reliably reported for other kiwi eggs. — Guinness World Records https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/83111-largest-bird-egg-relative-to-body-size

    Ken Rosewall, 1970.
    Image Wikipedia

    Four

    Who is the oldest male tennis player to win a major singles title in the Open Era?

    Ken Rosewall

    The oldest tennis Grand Slam singles winner (male, open era) is Ken Rosewall (Australia, b. 2 November 1934), who was aged 37 years 62 days when he won the 1972 Australian Open at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on 3 January 1972. Rosewall defeated Malcolm Anderson 7–6, 6–3, 7–5 in the final match of the tournament.

    — Guinness World Records, 23 June 2025

    Five

    In the opening verse of Queen’s Killer Queen, both a United States President and a Soviet Premier are named. Please provide the surnames of these individuals?

    Khrushchev and Kennedy

    The lyrics are written below. Killer Queen is a song by Queen about a high-class call girl. It was written by Freddie Mercury and reached number two in the UK Singles Chart and number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100.

    Killer Queen

    She keeps Moët et Chandon
    In her pretty cabinet
    “Let them eat cake,” she says
    Just like Marie Antoinette
    A built-in remedy
    For Khrushchev and Kennedy (Ooh, ooh)
    At anytime an invitation
    You can’t decline (Ooh, ooh)

    Caviar and cigarettes
    Well versed in etiquette
    Extraordinarily nice

    She’s a killer queen
    Gunpowder, gelatin
    Dynamite with a laser beam
    Guaranteed to blow your mind
    (Pa-pa-pa-pa) Anytime
    Ooh
    Recommended at the price
    Insatiable an appetite
    Wanna try?

    To avoid complications
    She never kept the same address
    In conversation
    She spoke just like a baroness
    Met a man from China
    Went down to Geisha Minah (Ooh, ooh)
    (Killer, killer, she’s a killer queen)
    Then again incidentally
    If you’re that way inclined

    Perfume came naturally from Paris (Naturally)
    For cars, she couldn’t care less
    Fastidious and precise

    She’s a killer queen
    Gunpowder, gelatin
    Dynamite with a laser beam
    Guaranteed to blow your mind
    (Pa-pa-pa-pa)
    Anytime

    Drop of a hat she’s as willing as
    Playful as a pussycat (Ooh)
    Then momentarily out of action (Ooh)
    Temporarily out of gas (Ta-taaa)
    To absolutely drive you wild, wild
    She’s out to get you

    She’s a killer queen
    Gunpowder, gelatin
    Dynamite with a laser beam (Pa-pa-pa-ra)
    Guaranteed to blow your mind
    Anytime
    Ooh
    Recommended at the price
    Insatiable an appetite
    Wanna try?
    You wanna try

    — AZ Lyrics, 23 June 2025.

  • K is for…

    The alphabet theme continues with some questions where all the answers begin with ‘K’.

    Platform 9¾, Kings Cross Railway Station, London. Image https://www.pexels.com

    One

    Which London railway station has a marker indicating the location of Platform 9¾?

    Two

    In April 2024, Forbes named which country’s dinar as the highest valued currency in the world?

    Three

    What bird has the biggest egg of any bird species relative to its size?

    Four

    Who is the oldest male tennis player to win a major singles title in the Open Era?

    Five

    In the opening verse of Queen’s Killer Queen, both a United States President and a Soviet Premier are named. Please provide the surnames of these individuals?

    Good luck! I will post the answers later today.

  • J is for… | Answers

    The answers to my earlier post are shown in bold below.

    Title page of first edition of Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift.
    Image Wikipedia

    1 Gulliver’s Travels was written by…

    • Jonathan Swift—an Anglo-Irish writer and satirist, is known for his deadpan and ironic style, particularly in works like A Modest Proposal and Gulliver’s Travels. He is regarded as the greatest satirist of the Georgian era and one of the foremost prose satirists in English literature. The above illustration and the quote from it, below, shows he credited Gulliver’s with the authorship.

    By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships

    MS Queen Elizabeth at Juneau, Alaska, 2024.
    Image Wikipedia

    2 Can you identify the US state capital being described? Its indigenous name is Dzántik’i Héeni, and it was originally named Harrisburg before becoming Rockwell. Notably, it is the largest state capital by area.

    • Juneau—the capital of Alaska, is located along the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle. It is the second-largest municipality in the United States by area and is not connected to the rest of the state or contiguous United States by road due to its rugged terrain. Juneau is home to the state legislature, governor and lieutenant governor; it experiences a significant influx of visitors during the summer months.
    Front cover, first edition of Jaws by Peter Benchley, 1974.
    Image Wikipedia

    3 ‘The great fish moved silently through the night water, propelled by short sweeps of its crescent tail…’ are the opening words of what 1974 novel?

    • Jaws—a novel by Peter Benchley, was published in 1974 and tells the story of a great white shark terrorising a resort town. The novel’s success led to a blockbuster film adaptation directed by Steven Spielberg in 1975, which became the highest-grossing film of its time.
    Fireworks of 14 July 2017 in Paris.
    Image Wikipedia

    4 The Bastille was stormed by a Parisian crowd in 1789. On what month and date?

    • July 14—Commonly known in English as Bastille Day, Festival de la Fédération or La fête nationale, is celebrated annually on 14 July, it is France’s national day commemorating the Storming of the Bastille in 1789, a key event in the French Revolution. Officially established in 1880, the holiday includes speeches, military parades, fireworks and public festivities; and is observed in France, its overseas territories, and by Francophiles globally.
    Johnnie Walker logo incorporating ‘The Striding Man’.
    Image Wikipedia

    5 The Striding Man logo is used by which Scotch whisky brand?

    • Johnnie Walker—John Walker, born in 1805, managed a grocery and spirits shop in Kilmarnock, Scotland. After his death in 1857, his son Alexander expanded the business, introducing the signature square bottle and the Striding Man mascot. The company’s success grew under Alexander and his sons, with the introduction of blended whiskies like Johnnie Walker Red and Black Labels.

  • J is for…

    The alphabet theme continues with some questions where all the answers begin with ‘J’.

    Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift.
    ISBN 978-5-389-02434-2, 2012.
    Illustrator Vadim Chelak.
    Image Pinterest
    1. Gulliver’s Travels was written by…
    2. Can you identify the US state capital being described? Its indigenous name is Dzántik’i Héeni, and it was originally named Harrisburg before becoming Rockwell. Notably, it is the largest state capital by area.
    3. ‘The great fish moved silently through the night water, propelled by short sweeps of its crescent tail…’—these are the opening words of what 1974 novel?
    4. The Bastille was stormed by a Parisian crowd in 1789. On what month and date?
    5. The Striding Man logo is used by which Scotch whisky brand?

    Good luck! I will post the answers later today.