On this day in 1956, an American film premiered and became particularly notable as the final film featuring James Dean, who died in a car crash shortly after filming concluded. Which film was it?
Answer: Giant
James Dean, a 1950s Hollywood actor, became an influential figure despite a brief career. His three major films, Rebel Without a Cause, East of Eden, and Giant, are preserved in the National Film Registry.
Two
In 1969, the album In the Court of the … was released by a band which included Greg Lake. What words complete the album title and what was the band called?
Answer: (In the Court of the) Crimson King and King Crimson
King Crimson, an English progressive rock band formed in 1968, is known for its diverse musical influences and significant impact on the progressive rock movement. In the Court of the Crimson King, King Crimson’s debut album, is a pioneering work of progressive rock, blending rock with jazz, classical and symphonic music.
Three
In 1846, English astronomer William Lassell discovered Triton, a moon of which planet?
Answer: Neptune
William Lassell (18 June 1799 – 5 October 1880) was an English merchant and astronomer. He’s best known for his improvements to the reflecting telescope which led to his discovery of four planetary satellites.
Matt Monro, publicity picture for the single, Born Free, 1966. Image Wikipedia
Four
In 1963, the second film in the official James Bond franchise, From Russia with Love, premiered. Which Englishman sang the title song in the film?
Answer: Matt Monro
If I had to choose three of the finest male vocalists, Matt would be one of them. — Frank Sinatra
Born on December 1, 1930, Terence Edward Parsons, known as Matt Monro on stage, was an English singer renowned as ’The Man with the Golden Voice’. The former London bus driver, performed internationally for 30 years and sold 23 million records. AllMusic called him ‘one of the most underrated pop vocalists of the ‘60s’, praising his ‘easiest, most perfect baritone’. Monro, a heavy smoker and drinker, died of liver cancer in 1985 after which ‘Frank Sinatra said of him, ‘If I had to choose three of the finest male vocalists, Matt would be one of them.’ Monro’s recordings include UK top 10 hits Portrait of My Love, My Kind of Girl, Softly As I Leave You, Walk Away and a cover of the Beatles’ Yesterday. He also recorded film themes such as From Russia with Love, Born Free, and On Days Like These.
Five
In 1935, Porgy and Bess opened on Broadway. Who composed this opera?
Answer: George Gershwin
Porgy and Bess is an English-language opera by George Gershwin, based on a novel and play by DuBose and Dorothy Heyward. It premiered in 1935 and is now one of the most frequently performed operas, known for its story of Porgy’s attempts to rescue Bess from her violent lover and drug dealer.
On this day in 1956, an American film premiered and became particularly notable as the final film featuring James Dean, who died in a car crash shortly after filming concluded. Which film was it?
Two
In 1969, the album In the Court of the … was released by a band which included Greg Lake. What words complete the album title and what was the band called?
Three
In 1846, English astronomer William Lassell discovered Triton, a moon of which planet?
Four
In 1963, the second film in the official James Bond franchise, From Russia with Love, premiered. Which Englishman sang the title song in the film?
Five
In 1935, Porgy and Bess opened on Broadway. Who composed this opera?
Spider Murphy played the tenor saxophone, Little Joe was blowin’ on the slide trombone. The drummer boy from Illinois went crash, boom, bang, The whole rhythm section was the Purple Gang. — AZ Lyrics
Which two musical instruments are missing from this excerpt of Jailhouse Rock?
Answer Tenor saxophone and slide trombone
Written by Mike Stoller and Jerry Leiber it was released as a single, accompanying Elvis Presley’s motion picture, Jailhouse Rock, on the 24 September 1957.
Two
What musical instrument features in the title of a musical film starring Roy Orbison: The Fastest … Alive?
Answer: Guitar
The Fastest Guitar Alive is a 1967 American musical film comedy Western film directed by Michael D. Moore and starring singer Roy Orbison in his only acting role. The film features Orbison performing seven original songs, which appeared on his 1967 MGM album of the same name. Near the end of the American Civil War, a Southern spy (Orbison) with a bullet-shooting guitar is given the task of robbing gold bullion from the United States Mint in San Francisco to help finance the ill-fated Confederacy’s last-ditch war effort.
Three
Charlie, a young English actress, is the title character of which John le Carré novel?
Answer: The Little Drummer Girl
The Little Drummer Girl, a 1983 spy novel by John le Carré, follows Israeli spymaster Martin Kurtz’s plan to kill Palestinian terrorist Khalil.
Four
What was the title of Elton John’s first number one album on the UK Albums Chart?
Answer: Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player
Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player is the sixth studio album by British musician Elton John. Released on 26 January 1973 by DJM Records, it was the first of two studio albums he released in 1973 (the second was Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, released nine months later), and was his second straight No. 1 album on the US Billboard 200 and first No. 1 album on the UK Albums Chart.
Combo Waterhole Queensland. Probably the archetype of a billabong, under the shade of a coolibah tree from the song Waltzing Matilda by Banjo Paterson. Image Alun Hoggett/Wikipedia
Five
Who composed Waltzing Matilda, the song widely regarded as Australia’s unofficial national anthem?
Answer: Banjo Paterson
Banjo Paterson, an Australian bush poet and journalist, is celebrated for his works capturing the Australian bush life. His poems, including Clancy of the Overflow and The Man from Snowy River, were published in The Bulletin, and Waltzing Matilda is considered Australia’s unofficial national anthem.
Today’s questions have a musical connection and each answer features at least one musical instrument or musician.
Landscape with Swagman (also known as The swagman’s camp by a billabong), Gordon Coutts, 1889. Image Wikipedia
One
Spider Murphy played the …, Little Joe was blowin’ on the …. The drummer boy from Illinois went crash, boom, bang, The whole rhythm section was the Purple Gang.
Which two musical instruments are missing from this excerpt of Jailhouse Rock?
Two
What musical instrument features in the title of a musical film starring Roy Orbison: The Fastest … Alive?
Three
Charlie, a young English actress, is the title character of which John le Carré novel?
Four
What was the title of Elton John’s first number one album on the UK Albums Chart?
Five
Who composed Waltzing Matilda, the song widely regarded as Australia’s unofficial national anthem?
Thomas Hart Benton’s 1948 painting Poker Night depicts a scene from which Tennessee Williams play?
Answer: A Streetcar Named Desire
Two
What skill can be called funambulism?
Answer: Tightrope walking
Three
A ribauldequin was a type of musical instrument. Is this true or false?
Answer: False
It was a type of multiple barrelled gun
Four
The Taj Mahal is located on the south bank of what river?
Answer: Yamuna
The Taj Mahal, an ivory-white marble mausoleum in Agra, India, was commissioned by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in 1631 to house the tomb of his wife Mumtaz Mahal.
Five
Who is the world’s best-selling fiction writer?
Answer: Agatha Christie
The world’s best-selling fiction writer is the late Dame Agatha Christie (née Miller, later Lady Mallowan, 1890–1976), whose 78 crime novels have sold an estimated 2 billion copies in 44 languages. Agatha Christie (UK) also wrote 19 plays and, under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, six romantic novels. Royalty earnings are estimated to be worth millions per year.
Today there are five questions relating to various lists.
Taylor Swift Eras Tour – Arlington Texas, US. Image Wikipedia
One
Here’s a chronological list of studio albums released since 2017: Reputation, Lover, … Evermore. Who released these and which album is missing?
Answer: Taylor Swift and Folklore
Swift released the studio album Folklore in 2020.
Two
…, Aconcagua, Denali. This is the second and third items in a list of seven. What’s the first?
Answer: Everest
It is a list of the highest peaks the on seven continents: Everest, Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Vinson, Elbrus, Mount Wilhelm. There are variations to this list depending on definition used but the first five peaks remain the same regardless of definition.
Three
Which film follows in this list from an ‘official’ film series: Thunderball, You Only Live Twice? Secondly, who played the main protagonist in this film?
Answer: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and George Lazenby
This was Lazenby’s only outing as Bond.
Four
Out of the 193 member states of the United Nations, nine follow Oman and precede Qatar in alphabetical order. Can you name as many of these nine as you can?
Answer: Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland and Portugal
The Rolling Stones in July 1963. From left: Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman, Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, Keith Richards. Image Wikipedia
Five
The Encyclopædia Britannica and Wikipedia agree on the first stable lineup of this group. Listed alphabetically by surname, they are Mick Jagger, …, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman. Who is missing from second place in this list?
Answer: Brian Jones
Formed in London as an alliance between Jagger, Richards, and multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones along with Watts and bassist Bill Wyman, the Stones began as a grubby conclave of students and bohemians playing a then-esoteric music based on Chicago blues in pubs and clubs in and around West London. Their potential for mass-market success seemed negligible at first, but by 1965 they were second to the Beatles in the collective affection of teenage Britain. — Encyclopædia Britannica
Today we have five questions about different lists.
One
Here’s a chronological list of studio albums released since 2017: Reputation, Lover, … Evermore. Who released these and which album is missing?
Two
…, Aconcagua, Denali. This is the second and third items in a list of seven. What’s the first?
Three
Which film follows in this list from an ‘official’ film series: Thunderball, You Only Live Twice? Secondly, who played the main protagonist in this film?
Four
Out of the 193 member states of the United Nations, nine follow Oman and precede Qatar in alphabetical order. Can you name as many of these nine as you can?
Five
The Encyclopædia Britannica and Wikipedia agree on the first stable lineup of this group. Listed alphabetically by surname, they are Mick Jagger, …, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman. Who is missing from second place in this list?
Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, 1961. Image Wikipedia
One
In the 1961 comedy Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Audrey Hepburn stars as Holly Golightly. Born on this date in 1924, who wrote the novella that inspired the film?
Answer: Truman Capote
Truman Capote’s 1958 novella Breakfast at Tiffany’s is set in 1940s New York City’s Upper East Side. It follows a writer’s recollections of his neighbour Holly Golightly and her life in Manhattan. While based on the novella, the film’s screenplay deviates from the book’s original storyline.
Two
In an attempt to appease Adolf Hitler, Great Britain and France agreed to Hitler’s demand for the annexation of the Sudetenland, a region in what former country?
Answer: Czechoslovakia
The Munich Agreement, signed on September 30, 1938, was a settlement reached by Germany, Great Britain, France, and Italy that allowed for the German annexation of the Sudetenland, a region in western Czechoslovakia. This agreement was part of the policy of appeasement, where European powers aimed to prevent war by conceding to some of Adolf Hitler’s territorial demands. The Czechoslovak government was not consulted during the negotiations and was forced to accept the terms. The agreement is often criticized for emboldening Hitler, as it failed to prevent further aggression, leading to the occupation of the rest of Czechoslovakia and eventually World War II.
…professional tennis player who became the youngest person in the “open” era to win a Grand Slam singles title and the youngest to be ranked world number one. In her relatively short, injury-plagued career, she won five Grand Slam singles titles—the Australian Open (1997, 1998, 1999), Wimbledon (1997), and the United States Open (1997).
This quote refers to a tennis player born in 1980 in Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia). Who is she?
Answer: Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis, who was named after Martina Navratilova, was introduced to sports by her tennis-playing parents and excelled in skiing and tennis from a young age. After moving to Switzerland, she became the youngest Grand Slam junior titleholder at 12. Hingis turned professional at 14, becoming the youngest player to win a Grand Slam match and the youngest Wimbledon doubles champion. The WTA later restricted participation for young players.
Following World War II, Germany was divided into four zones controlled by the British, French, Americans and Russians. Berlin, completely encircled by the Russian zone, was also partitioned. Image Wikipedia
Four
Today in 1949, an airlift delivering 2,323,738 tons of food, fuel, machinery, and other supplies was officially ended. To what city was this relief supplied?
Answer: West Berlin
The Berlin Blockade (1948-49) was a Soviet attempt to force the Western Allies out of West Berlin by severing all land and water routes. In retaliation, the US and Britain launched the Berlin Airlift to deliver supplies to the city by air. This airlift symbolised the Allies’ unwavering commitment to resisting Soviet expansion. successfully supplying the city for 15 months. The operation, involving over 250,000 flights, underscored the ideological divide between East and West and solidified West Berlin’s alignment with the US and Britain.
Five
An opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart premiered in Austria on this day in 1791. According to Encyclopædia Britannica, ‘It is an allegory of the quest for wisdom and enlightenment presented through Freemasonry symbols’. What is the opera?
The Magic Flute
Mozart’s opera, The Magic Flute, is an allegory of the quest for wisdom and enlightenment, rich with Masonic symbolism. The libretto, believed to draw from various sources including medieval romance and Freemasonry, was written by Emanuel Schikaneder, a close friend of Mozart.
See question 4 above. ‘A U.S. Air Force Douglas C-54 Skymaster making a “Little Vittles” candy drop (note the parachutes below the tail of the C-54) on approach to a Berlin airfield. Aircrews dropped candy to children during the Berlin Airlift.’ Image Wikipedia
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