On this day a proposal was submitted to The European Organization for Nuclear Research for an information management system which would subsequently develop in the World Wide Web.
Two
Urban II, elected Pope on this day, initiated the Crusades. In which century did he become Pope?
Three
James Taylor was born on this day in 1948. The singer-songwriter’s breakthrough came in 1970 with the single Fire and Rain, which reached number three in the charts. The following year, he had his first number one hit with You’ve Got a Friend. Who wrote these two songs?
Four
André Le Nôtre, was born on this day, designed a 2,000-acre (800 ha) formal garden that now forms part of a UNESCO World Heritage site. Which one?
Five
An English author who died on this day in 2015 created characters named Cheery Littlebottom, a dwarf and Detritus a troll who are both sergeants in a city’s police force. Who is the author?
Here are the answers to my questions from earlier.
Today five pieces of miscellany.
See question five. Franklin D. Roosevelt, president of the United States. Image Wikimedia Commons
One
What two words appear with ‘Band’, ’Heart’, and ’Fields’ in the titles of three songs from 1970, 1972 and 1993 respectively?
Answer: of Gold.
Band of Gold by Freda Payne, a 1970 hit, was written by Holland-Dozier-Holland and Ron Dunbar. Heart of Gold by Neil Young, from his album Harvest, is his only US No. 1 single and reached No. 1 in Canada twice. Fields of Gold is a 1993 song by Sting from his album Ten Summoner’s Tales. It reached No. 16 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 23 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Two
This modern city was mentioned in the Icelandic sagas when it was known as Mikligarðr — from the Old Norse mikill ‘big’ and garðr ‘wall’ or ‘stronghold’. What city?
Answer: Istanbul.
Pliny the Elder called it Lygos, Augusta Antonina and New Rome were other names for Istanbul. Originally called Byzantium, it evolved into Constantinople and is now known by its Turkish name reflecting its rich history. The Turkish government advocated for “Istanbul” in English which the US State Department adopted in 1930.
Three
The Catahoula Leopard Dog became the State Dog of which U.S. state in 1979?
Answer: Louisiana.
The Catahoula Leopard Dog, named after Catahoula Parish, Louisiana, is a herding breed recognised by the United Kennel Club and the American Kennel Club Foundation Stock Service. Despite it having a herding designation it has traditionally been used in hunting feral boars It was officially named the state dog of Louisiana in 1979.
Four
What creatures home world is the planet Kashyyyk?
Answer: Wookies.
Wookiees are fictional humanoid aliens from the Star Wars franchise, originating from the planet Kashyyyk. They are known for their large size, furry appearance, and intelligence, with Chewbacca being a prominent character.
Five
Three questions rolled into one. Hi-Catoctin was a retreat in Frederick County, Maryland for U.S. Federal Agents and their families from the mid-1930s. In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt converted it to a presidential retreat and renamed it. In 1953, the then incumbent president gave it its present name in honour of two people.
What did President Roosevelt name it in 1942?
Which president renamed it in 1953?
By what current name has it been known since?
Answers
Shangri-La
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Camp David The origin of the name Camp David seems to be agreed but Shangri-La raises different opinions. Both extracts below sourced 9 March 2026.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt took it over in a few years and named it “Shangri-La,” for the mountain kingdom in Lost Horizon, the 1933 novel by James Hilton.
It was renamed in 1953 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in honor of his then-five-year-old grandson, Dwight David Eisenhower II. — United States National Archives
President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s grandson David Eisenhower posed beneath his name on the sign at Camp David in 1960. According to Press Secretary Jim Haggerty, President Eisenhower renamed the retreat after his grandson and father, both named David, and David was his own middle name. President Franklin Roosevelt’s name “Shangri-La, was just a little fancy for a Kansas farm boy,” according to the president. — The White House Historical Association
See question five. Franklin D. Roosevelt, president of the United States. Image Wikimedia Commons
One
What two words appear with ‘Band’, ’Heart’, and ’Fields’ in the titles of three songs from 1970, 1972 and 1993 respectively?
Two
This modern city was mentioned in the Icelandic sagas when it was known as Mikligarðr — from the Old Norse mikill ‘big’ and garðr ‘wall’ or ‘stronghold’. What city?
Three
The Catahoula Leopard Dog became the State Dog of which U.S. state in 1979?
Four
What creatures home world is the planet Kashyyyk?
Five
Three questions rolled into one. Hi-Catoctin was a retreat in Frederick County, Maryland for U.S. Federal Agents and their families from the mid-1930s. In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt converted it to a presidential retreat and renamed it. In 1953, the then incumbent president gave it its present name in honour of two people.
What is the alcoholic drink that is made from the fermented juice of pears?
Answer: Perry.
noun (plural perries) [mass noun] an alcoholic drink made from the fermented juice of pears. origin Middle English: from Old French pere, from an alteration of Latin pirum ‘pear’. — Oxford English Dictionary
Two
Which Avril Lavigne album cover features her with a red ‘X’ on her sleeve?
Answer: Under My Skin.
Avril Lavigne’s second studio album, Under My Skin, was released in 2004 and debuted at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart and US Billboard 200. The album, produced by Raine Maida, Don Gilmore and Butch Walker, received mixed to positive reviews and is considered a classic that defined pop-punk in the early 2000s.
Three
—— was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, ‘and what is the use of a book’, thought —— ‘without pictures or conversation?’
What name is missing twice from, and what book opens with, the above quote?
Answers: Alice; Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, a children’s novel by Lewis Carroll, follows a girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world. The novel, known for its literary nonsense genre, has had a lasting influence on popular culture and literature.
Four
List all the countries and their capital cities where that city stands on the River Danube.
Answers: Vienna, Austria; Bratislava, Slovakia; Budapest, Hungary and Belgrade, Serbia.
The Danube, Europe’s second-longest river, flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, connecting ten countries and serving as a vital trade route. Flowing from the Black Forest to the Black Sea, it is navigable for 2,415 km and supports various fish species, including carp and sturgeon.
Five
How many playing squares does a Scrabble board have?
Answer: 225.
Alfred Mosher Butts invented Scrabble in 1931. It is a word game played on a 15×15 grid of 225 squares. It is produced by Hasbro in the US and Canada—Mattel elsewhere—with 150 million sets sold worldwide.
What is the alcoholic drink that is made from the fermented juice of pears?
Two
Which Avril Lavigne album cover features her with a red ‘X’ on her sleeve?
Three
—— was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, ‘and what is the use of a book’, thought —— ‘without pictures or conversation?’
What name is missing twice from, and what book opens with, the above quote?
Four
List all the countries and their capital cities where that city stands on the River Danube.
Five
How many playing squares does a Scrabble board have?
Today, production of the iconic Type 2 Volkswagen began. In which even-numbered year did this occur?
Answer: 1950.
The first generation Volkswagen Type 2, known as the Microbus or Splitscreen, was produced from 8 March 1950 to the end of 1967. Initially assembled in Wolfsburg from 1950 to 1956, production shifted to Hanover’s Transporter factory in 1956. Like the Beetle, it featured an 1100 cc air-cooled flat-four engine. Initially, only two models were available: the Kombi and the Commercial. The Microbus debuted in May 1950, followed by the Deluxe Microbus in June 1951. In its first year, 9,541 Type 2s were manufactured, marking the beginning of a popular and versatile vehicle line.
Two
In 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 vanished from radar an hour and 40 minutes after takeoff and has never been seen again. Its fate remains a mystery. What was the departure city and destination of the flight?
Answer: Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared on 8 March 2014 while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Despite extensive searches and investigations, the cause of the disappearance remains unknown, with theories ranging from hypoxia to hijacking. The disappearance led to safety recommendations and regulations to prevent similar incidents in the future. The official search concluded in January 2017 but was succeeded by a private search the following year that lasted six months.
Three
In 1979, the NASA spacecraft Voyager 1 witnessed volcanic eruption on the moon Io. Of what planet is Io a moon of?
Answer: Jupiter.
Io, Jupiter’s third largest moon, is the most volcanically active world in the solar system, featuring hundreds of volcanoes that can erupt lava fountains dozens of miles high. These powerful eruptions are sometimes visible with large telescopes on Earth, and leave Io’s surface with lakes of molten silicate lava. Slightly larger than Earth’s Moon, Io is about one-quarter the diameter of Earth.
Four
The compact disc was first demonstrated in 1979. Its subsequent development was the result of a collaboration between what two companies?
Answer: Philips and Sony.
The 1979 demonstration was made by Philips in Eindhoven, Netherlands. The compact disc, an evolution of LaserDisc technology, was developed through a collaboration between Philips and Sony in the late 1970s. The Red Book CD-DA standard, published in 1980, utilised Sony’s error correction system and Philips’ eight-to-fourteen modulation, leading to the CD’s commercial success and dominance in the home music market.
Five
The Battle of Guadalajara commenced in 1937. Which war was it a part of?
Answer: Spanish Civil War.
The Battle of Guadalajara (March 8–23, 1937) saw the Spanish Republican Army and International Brigades defeat the Italian and Nationalist forces attempting to encircle Madrid during the Spanish Civil War. The Italian Corps of Volunteer Troops led the Nationalist offensive, which began on March 8 but was halted by March 11. Renewed attacks were repelled between March 12 and 14. A Republican counter-offensive from March 18 to 23 was successful, largely due to superior Soviet armoured vehicles. Italian and Nationalist losses were 17,400, while Republicans suffered 6,258.
Today, production of the iconic Type 2 Volkswagen began. In which even-numbered year did this occur?
Two
In 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 vanished from radar an hour and 40 minutes after takeoff and has never been seen again. Its fate remains a mystery. What was the departure city and destination of the flight?
Three
In 1979, the NASA spacecraft Voyager 1 witnessed volcanic eruption on the moon Io. Of what planet is Io a moon of?
Four
The compact disc was first demonstrated in 1979. Its subsequent development was the result of a collaboration between what two companies?
Five
The Battle of Guadalajara commenced in 1937. Which war was it a part of?
On 7 March 1876, Alexander Graham Bell secured a patent for his invention, the telephone. Once the first transcontinental telephone line was laid across the United States, a ceremonial first transcontinental call was made. Which decade did this happen in?
Answer: 1910s.
On 25 January 1915, Alexander Graham Bell made the ceremonial first transcontinental call. From New York City, he called his assistant, Thomas Watson, in San Francisco using the same words he’d used when he first successfully called Watson in a neighbouring room: ‘Mr Watson—come here—I want you.’ This time, Watson replied, ‘It will take me five days to get there now!’ The call also involved Woodrow Wilson, the US president, in Washington D.C. and Theodore Vail, AT&T president, on Jekyll Island, Georgia.
Rob Roy MacGregor, a Scottish outlaw, was the subject of the 1817 novel Rob Roy. Who was the author of this work?
Answer: Sir Walter Scott.
Rob Roy, a Highland outlaw known for his red hair and exploits against the Duke of Montrose, was often compared to Robin Hood. However, his life was marked by brigandage, debt, and a complex relationship with the Jacobite cause. Born in 1671, Robert Roy MacGregor was a Scottish outlaw and Jacobite hero who initially became a cattleman and later a respected figure. His life took a turn when he defaulted on a loan and was branded an outlaw. Despite this status, he gained fame, and his story was immortalised in literature and film and his letters reveal that he was well educated, suggesting that the view of him as a mere brutish highwayman does not do him justice.
Three
Born in 1875 in Cibourne, France, this composer’s work would be used by skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean in their gold medal winning performance at the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympics. Who was this composer and what was the piece of music?
Answers: Maurice Ravel; Boléro.
Performing their free dance to Boléro, British ice dancers Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean triumphed at the Sarajevo 1984 Winter Olympics, securing gold and setting a new record for the highest score ever achieved in a single figure skating programme.
Four
On this date in 2024, which Northern European country joined NATO as its 32nd member?
Answer: Sweden.
The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine prompted a significant reinforcement of NATO’s eastern flank. Consequently, Sweden, previously neutral, decided to abandon that neutrality and join the alliance.
Born in 1872, this Dutch artist became famous for a style featuring black grid lines and blocks of primary colours such as red, blue, and yellow. The style became known as Neoplasticism or De Stijl. Who was the artist?
Answer: Piet Mondrian.
Piet Mondrian, a Dutch painter and art theoretician, was a pioneer of 20th-century abstract art. He co-founded the De Stijl art movement and developed Neoplasticism, a non-representational form using primary colours, values, and directions.
On 7 March 1876, Alexander Graham Bell secured a patent for his invention, the telephone. Once the first transcontinental telephone line was laid across the United States, a ceremonial first transcontinental call was made. Which decade did this happen in?
Two
Rob Roy MacGregor, a Scottish outlaw, was the subject of the 1817 novel Rob Roy. Who was the author of this work?
Three
Born in 1875 in Cibourne, France, this composer’s work would be used by skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean in their gold medal winning performance at the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympics. Who was this composer and what was the piece of music?
Four
On this date in 2024, which Northern European country joined NATO as its 32nd member?
Born in 1872, this Dutch artist became famous for a style featuring black grid lines and blocks of primary colours such as red, blue and yellow. The style became known as Neoplasticism or De Stijl. Who was the artist?
Here are the answers to the questions I posted earlier.
These are five questions which are related to today, February 5th.
Section of the border between East and West Germany. Image Wikimedia Commons
One
The term ‘Iron Curtain’ described the political and physical boundary dividing Europe from the end of World War II until the end of the Cold War. Who popularised its use in a speech at Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri, on 5 March 1946?
Answer: Winston Churchill.
…an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. — Winston Churchill, Former British prime minister, 5 March 1946, Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri
The Iron Curtain was a political and physical boundary dividing Europe from 1945 to 1990/1991, symbolising the ideological divide between the Soviet-controlled Eastern Bloc and the Western nations. Popularised by Winston Churchill in 1946, the term originally described physical barriers but later encompassed broader cultural and ideological differences. The Iron Curtain largely dissolved in 1989-90 with the fall of communism.
Two
A 31-year-old American country singer, who was born Virginia Patterson Hensley in Virginia, died in a 1963 plane crash in Tennessee. She had enjoyed an eight-year recording career, which included two number ones as well as other major chart hits. By what name was she known professionally?
Answer: Patsy Cline.
Patsy Cline, born Virginia Patterson Hensley, was an American singer known for her crossover success from country to pop music. She achieved major hits like Walkin’ After Midnight and I Fall to Pieces, becoming a trailblazer for women in country music. Although, she died in a plane crash in 1963, her legacy endures through her influential music and posthumous recognition.
Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray
The post title, Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray, was the title of a Patsy Cline single from 1957.
Three
In 1616, 73 years after publication, On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres (De revolutionibus orbium coelestium) was added to the Index of Forbidden Books (Index Librorum Prohibitorum) by the Sacred Congregation of the Index. Which astronomer had written On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres?
Answer: Nicolaus Copernicus
Copernicus’s book placed the Sun rather than the Earth at the centre, meaning the Earth and other planets orbited the Sun. The Index Librorum Prohibitorum, active from 1560 to 1966, was a list of publications deemed heretical or immoral by the Catholic Church. It banned thousands of books, including works by theologians, astronomers, philosophers, and unapproved Bible editions, to protect church members from potentially disruptive ideas.
Four
In 1942 Japanese forces captured what is now Jakarta, Indonesia. At that time, what was the city called and of where was it the capital?
Answers: Batavia; Dutch East Indies.
Batavia, now known as Jakarta, was founded in 1619 by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) as a strategic trading post in the Dutch colonial empire. It became the capital of the Dutch East Indies and was pivotal for their trade routes, especially in spices and other commodities. Following Indonesia’s declaration of independence in 1945, Batavia was renamed Jakarta. The city evolved from a colonial outpost to a major urban centre reflecting Indonesia’s diversity and is a bustling metropolis and the capital of Indonesia. It is a hub for culture, economy, and politics in Southeast Asia.
Five
In 1496, England’s Henry VII issued letters patent authorising a navigator and his sons to explore unknown lands. This led to what is the earliest known exploration of the North American Atlantic coast since the Norse visits to Vinland in the eleventh century. Who was Henry VII’s explorer?
Answer: John Cabot.
John Cabot was an Italian navigator and explorer. His 1497 voyage to North America, commissioned by Henry VII, King of England, is the earliest known European exploration of the region’s coast since the Norse visits to Vinland in the eleventh century. To commemorate the 500th anniversary of Cabot’s expedition, both Canadian and British governments declared Cape Bonavista, Newfoundland, as his first landing site. However, alternative locations have also been suggested.
Quizology.Online 