British novelist Charles Dickens was born on this day in 1812. But what does the word ‘Dickens’ refer to in the phrase ‘What the dickens’?
Two
After the death of King Hussein in 1999, his son Abdullah II became king in what country, and what countries border it?
Three
On this day, Michael Romanov became Tsar of Russia as Michael I and founded the Romanov dynasty. In what century was it founded? In what year did it end, and who was the last Tsar?
Four
The Beatles arrived in the United States for the first time on this day in 1964 in what the press named the ‘British Invasion’. What single gave the Beatles their first Billboard Hot 100 number one?
Five
Walt Disney’s Pinocchio premiered in 1940. Who wrote the novel it was based on?
A German composer who was born this day in 1809 wrote an 1830 overture which has been credited with popularising Fingal’s Cave as a tourist destination. Who was the composer, and in what country is the cave located?
Answer: Felix Mendelssohn; Scotland.
Fingal’s Cave, popularised by Mendelssohn’s overture, inspired many 19th-century artists and writers, including Verne, Wordsworth, Keats, and Turner, and more recently Pink Floyd. Its unique basalt columns and echoing chambers captivated visitors like Sir Walter Scott and Queen Victoria. The cave continues to inspire modern artists, featuring in films and exhibitions.
Two
In a Beatles’ song, the lyrics in verses I and III respectively mention a barber showing photographs and a fireman with an hourglass. Where are these characters located?
Answer: Penny Lane.
Penny Lane, a Beatles song written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, was inspired by a Liverpool street familiar to both. The song, evoking nostalgic childhood memories, was released in 1967 and topped the US Billboard Hot 100.
Three
An unexpected pairing led to this 1987 song, which has been described as ‘a spectacular blend of rock and opera, celebrating both the city of __ and the Olympic spirit with its grandiose composition’. What is both the name of the city and the song; and what are the names of the rock legend and world-famous soprano who formed the pairing?
Answer: Barcelona; Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé
Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé’s iconic song Barcelona was performed at the 1992 Olympics opening ceremony a year after Mercury’s death. The song, a collaboration between the rock legend and the operatic soprano, was recorded in 1987 and became a hit single. Mercury’s love for opera and his admiration for Caballé led to this memorable musical pairing.
Four
What place is in the title of a 1938 novel by Graham Greene and a 1974 song by Queen?
Answer: Brighton.
Both are set in Brighton, England. Brighton Rock is the title of both Greene’s novel and Queen’s song. Queen’s song, written by Brian May in 1973, features a famous guitar solo and was on the 1974 album Sheer Heart Attack. It gained renewed popularity after being featured in the 2017 film Baby Driver. Graham Greene’s 1938 novel is a murder thriller set in Brighton. It explores moral issues, class privilege, and evil.
Five
Sinfonia Antartica, which premiered in 1953 incorporated music from the 1948 film Scott of the Antarctic. Who composed Sinfonia Antartica?
Answer: Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Vaughan Williams composed his Seventh Symphony, Sinfonia Antartica, inspired by the musical score he had written for the film Scott of the Antarctic depicting Robert Falcon Scott’s ill-fated 1912 Terra Nova Expedition to the South Pole. The film, shot in Technicolour, follows Scott’s fundraising efforts, the expedition’s journey, and the tragic deaths of Scott and his team on their return journey from the pole.
A German composer who was born this day in 1809 wrote an 1830 overture which has been credited with popularising Fingal’s Cave as a tourist destination. Who was the composer, and in what country is the cave located?
Two
In a Beatles’ song, the lyrics in verses I and III respectively mention a barber showing photographs and a fireman with an hourglass. Where are these characters located?
Three
An unexpected pairing led to this 1987 song, which has been described as ‘a spectacular blend of rock and opera, celebrating both the city of __ and the Olympic spirit with its grandiose composition’. What is both the name of the city and the song; and what are the names of the rock legend and world-famous soprano who formed the pairing?
Four
What place is in the title of a 1938 novel by Graham Greene and a 1974 song by Queen?
Five
Sinfonia Antartica, which premiered in 1953 incorporated music from the 1948 film Scott of the Antarctic. Who composed Sinfonia Antartica?
In July 1985, Live Aid was held simultaneously at two venues on either side of the Atlantic. What were the venues?
Answer: Wembley Stadium, London and JFK Stadium, Philadelphia
Live Aid, a benefit concert held simultaneously at Wembley Stadium in London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia on July 13, 1985, was organised by Boomtown Rats frontman Bob Geldof and Ultravox vocalist Midge Ure. The event attracted an estimated 1.5 billion television viewers and raised millions of dollars for famine relief in Ethiopia.
Two
Dobby, the house-elf from Harry Potter, was in the news a couple of years ago when the National Trust asked fans not to leave memorabilia at the site of his grave at Freshwater West Beach, Pembrokeshire, Wales. What one item associated with Dobby and Harry Potter have fans been leaving?
Answer: Sock
Many fans have been leaving a sock for Dobby, referencing the fact that it was a sock Harry Potter used to trick Lucius Malfoy to set the house-elf free. Freshwater West, a ‘Site of Special Scientific Interest’, is home to large grey seals, harbour porpoises, and some of the world’s largest seabird populations. The National Trust asks visitors to leave no trace – no socks included.
Three
What creature, from Greek mythology, is being described here: ‘a creature with the head, arms, and torso of a man and the body and legs of a horse’?
Answer: Centaur
Centaurs, creatures from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a horse, were known for their wild nature and inhabited various regions in Thessaly and beyond. They also appear in Roman mythology and medieval bestiaries. In modern fiction, centaurs appear in C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter.
Four
What song opens ‘We’re caught in a trap, I can’t walk out’?
Answer: Suspicious Minds
Mark James’s 1968 song Suspicious Minds initially failed to chart, but Elvis Presley later recorded it, transforming it into a number one hit and earning it a Grammy Hall of Fame induction.
Five
An African dictator who was in office as the President between January 1971 and April 1979 declared himself the uncrowned King of Scotland. Who was this dictator, and what country did he rule?
Answer: Idi Amin; Uganda
Idi Amin, a Ugandan military officer, ruled as a dictator from 1971 to 1979 after overthrowing President Milton Obote. His regime was marked by human rights abuses, economic collapse, and international isolation. Amin, who had become known as ‘The Butcher of Uganda’, was ousted by Tanzanian forces in 1979 and lived in exile until his death in 2003.
In July 1985, Live Aid was held simultaneously at two venues on either side of the Atlantic. What were the venues?
Two
Dobby, the house-elf from Harry Potter, was in the news a couple of years ago when the National Trust asked fans not to leave memorabilia at the site of his grave at Freshwater West Beach, Pembrokeshire, Wales. What one item associated with Dobby and Harry Potter have fans been leaving?
Three
What creature, from Greek mythology, is being described here: ‘a creature with the head, arms, and torso of a man and the body and legs of a horse’?
Four
What song opens ‘We’re caught in a trap, I can’t walk out’?
Five
An African dictator who was in office as the President between January 1971 and April 1979 declared himself the uncrowned King of Scotland. Who was this dictator, and what country did he rule?
Here are the answers to my earlier post. According to the Oxford English Dictionary ‘gallimaufry’ originated: mid-16th century: from archaic French galimafrée ‘unappetizing dish’, perhaps from Old French galer ‘have fun’ + Picard mafrer ‘eat copious quantities’.
Today we have gallimaufry, ‘a confused jumble or medley of things’.
Robert Langdon, The Da Vinci Code. Image Screenrant
One
What ’S’ is a subject in which Professor Robert Langdon specialises at Harvard in the novel and film The Da Vinci Code?
Answer: Symbology
Langdon is Professor of Religious Iconology and Symbology at Harvard University. The Oxford English Dictionary defines symbology as ‘the study or use of symbols’ or ‘symbols collectively’.
Two
What ‘S’ is the town of Freddie Mercury’s birth?
Answer: Stone Town (in Zanzibar)
Freddie Mercury, born Farrokh Bulsara in Stone Town, in the British Protectorate of Zanzibar (now Tanzania) in 1946. He spent a large part of his childhood in India, where he attended St. Peter’s School and formed a band, the Hectics.
Three
What ‘W’ does an oenophile love?
Answer: Wine
Oenophile is defined as ‘a connoisseur of wines’. Its origins are from the mid-19th century: from Greek oinos ‘wine’ + -phile. Oxford English Dictionary.
Four
What ‘A’ is the name of the submarine commanded by Gene Hackman’s character in Crimson Tide?
Answer: Alabama (USS Alabama)
The film centres on a conflict between a submarine commander and his XO over a missile launch order, mirroring a Cuban Missile Crisis incident onboard the Soviet submarine B-59.
Five
‘G’ was the first initial of the author of The Canterbury Tales. What are this writer’s first and last names?
Answer: Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer, an English poet and writer, is best known for The Canterbury Tales and is considered the ‘father of English literature.’ The Canterbury Tales, an anthology of twenty-four stories written by Chaucer between 1387 and 1400, are widely regarded as his magnum opus and a paramount work of English literature. The tales, presented as part of a fictional storytelling contest, are incomplete, with Chaucer’s intention being to write four stories from the perspective of each of the 30 pilgrims.
Truth is always strange, stranger than fiction. Image Quoteslyfe
Here are the answers to the questions I posted earlier.
Today’s questions not only relate to January 22nd, they are also all about quotes. The first two questions are multiple choice, while the remainder are not.
One
Today’s post title is ‘Truth is always strange, stranger than fiction’. The person, born today in 1788, who originated this saying, was whom?
Lord Byron
Mark Twain
Rudyard Kipling
Answer: Lord Byron (George Gordon Byron)
‘T is strange,—but true; for Truth is always strange—
Stranger than fiction: if it could be told,
How much would novels gain by the exchange!
— Lord Byron: Don Juan (1819)
Mark Twain is also associated with this phrase, but it was originated by Byron.
Two
Which science fiction author wrote ‘How does one hate a country, or love one?’?
Isaac Asimov
Philip K. Dick
Ursula K. Le Guin
Answer: Ursula K. Le Guin
How does one hate a country, or love one? Tibe talks about it; I lack the trick of it. I know people, I know towns, farms, hills and rivers and rocks, I know how the sun at sunset in autumn falls on the side of a certain plowland in the hills; but what is the sense of giving a boundary to all that, of giving it a name and ceasing to love where the name ceases to apply? What is love of one’s country; is it hate of one’s uncountry? Then it’s not a good thing. Is it simply self-love? That’s a good thing, but one mustn’t make a virtue of it, or a profession… Insofar as I love life, I love the hills of the Domain of Estre, but that sort of love does not have a boundary-line of hate. And beyond that, I am ignorant, I hope.
On this day in 2004, Wikiquote had this as its Quote of the Day: ‘I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.’ Whose words are being quoted?
Answer: Douglas Adams
Douglas Adams, English author and humourist, created The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a radio comedy that became a successful book series and was adapted into various media. He also wrote Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul, and contributed to Doctor Who and Monty Python’s Flying Circus.
Four
What king, who had previously said, ‘I don’t mind praying to the Eternal Father, but I must be the only man in the country afflicted with an eternal mother,’ ascended the British throne on this day in 1901, and who was his mother?
Answer: King Edward VII; Queen Victoria
The quote was a joke referring to his mother’s famously long reign of almost 64 years. Queen Victoria died in 1901, and Edward succeeded to the throne at the age of sixty.
Five
A 1960 song which was written by a singer-songwriter born today in 1931 includes these lines: ‘All day long they work so hard / Till the sun is goin’ down.’ Who is the singer-songwriter and what is the song?
Answer: Sam Cooke; Chain Gang
All day long they work so hard Till the sun is goin’ down. Working on the highways and byways And wearing, wearing a frown. You hear them moanin’ their lives away. Then you hear somebody say: “That’s the sound of the men working on the chain gang. That’s the sound of the men working on the chain gang.”
Truth is always strange, stranger than fiction. Image Quoteslyfe
Today’s questions not only relate to January 22nd, they are also all about quotes. The first two questions are multiple choice, while the remainder are not.
One
Today’s post title is ‘Truth is always strange, stranger than fiction’. The person, born today in 1788, who originated this saying, was whom?
Lord Byron
Mark Twain
Rudyard Kipling
Two
Which science fiction author wrote ‘How does one hate a country, or love one?’?
Isaac Asimov
Philip K. Dick
Ursula K. Le Guin
Three
On this day in 2004, Wikiquote had this as its Quote of the Day: ‘I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.’ Whose words are being quoted?
Four
What king, who had previously said, ‘I don’t mind praying to the Eternal Father, but I must be the only man in the country afflicted with an eternal mother,’ ascended the British throne on this day in 1901, and who was his mother?
Five
A 1960 song which was written by a singer-songwriter born today in 1931 includes these lines: ‘All day long they work so hard / Till the sun is goin’ down.’ Who is the singer-songwriter and what is the song?
In what century were this corps of soldiers entrusted with the duties of watchmen for the holder of a particular office, and what office was that?
Answer: 16th century
The Pontifical Swiss Guard, established in 1506, protects the Pope and the Vatican. Their duties include accompanying the Pope on journeys, guarding Vatican access points, and protecting the College of Cardinals during the Vacant See.
Two
The professional golfer Jack Nicklaus was born on this day in 1940. During his professional career, how many Masters Tournaments did he win?
Answer: Six
American professional golfer Jack Nicklaus, born in 1940, dominated world golf from the 1960s to the 1980s. He won 18 major championships, including a record six Masters Tournaments between 1963 and 1986, and was named PGA Player of the Year five times. Nicklaus also designed golf courses and authored several books.
Three
A French fashion designer born in 1905 became known for annually introducing new lines, for example the Muguet/Lily of the Valley line and H-Line in 1954; and the A-Line and Y-Line in 1955. Who was this designer?
Answer: Christian Dior
Christian Dior, a French fashion designer, revolutionised post-war fashion with his New Look style, characterised by feminine, sculpted clothing with rounded shoulders, a cinched waist, and a full skirt. Backed by Marcel Boussac, he founded his fashion house in 1946 and introduced the New Look in 1947. Dior’s influence extended beyond clothing, as he also launched perfumes, shoes, makeup, and accessories, solidifying his status as a leading figure in the fashion industry.
Four
A Spanish singer born in 1941 went on to be one third of the operatic singing trio The Three Tenors. Identify the three singers who comprised The Three Tenors?
Answer: Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo and José Carreras
Plácido Domingo, a Spanish-born singer, conductor, and opera administrator, is renowned for his powerful tenor voice and versatility. He performed over 150 operatic roles, ventured into popular music, and founded the Operalia competition to support young singers. Allegations of sexual misconduct in 2019 led to the cancellation of performances, although Domingo denied any wrongdoing.
On 21 January 1976, two Concorde aircraft, one from British Airways and the other from Air France, made their first commercial flights. What were the two routes flown by these Concorde aircraft on that day?
Answer: (British Airways) London to Bahrain and (Air France) Paris to Rio
The Concorde, a supersonic passenger jet built by British and French manufacturers, made its first transatlantic flight (non-commercial) in 1973 and inaugurated scheduled commercial supersonic service in 1976. Despite its technological prowess and ability to halve transatlantic flight times, the Concorde was never financially viable due to high operating costs and noise pollution. The programme ended in 2003 after a fatal crash in 2000 and financial losses. British Airways Concorde B-GOAA, which flew the first London-Bahrain flight mentioned in this question, is on display at the National Museum of Scotland’s National Museum of Flight.
Hopefully, there will be some more trivia for your amusement here tomorrow.
Quizology.Online 