Quizology.Online

“There is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge.”

— Bertrand Russell

Tag: music

  • A Few Words—Answers

    Here are the answers to my earlier questions.

    Marlene Dietrich and Robert W. Service on the set of The Spoilers (1942)
    Image Wikipedia

    One

    A bunch of the boys were whooping it up in the Malamute saloon;
    The kid that handles the music-box was hitting a jag-time tune;
    Back of the bar, in a solo game, sat Dangerous Dan McGrew,
    And watching his luck was his light-o’-love, the lady that’s known as Lou.
    — The Shooting of Dan McGrew by Robert W. Service

    Answer: Robert W. Service

    Robert William Service, born in Preston, Lancashire, England, was the third of ten children. He lived with his aunts and grandfather in Kilwinning, Scotland, where he composed his first verse at age six before moving to Glasgow with his parents. After an early career in banking in Scotland he travelled to Canada in his early twenties and eventually returned to banking in British Columbia and Yukon. It was during this time that he was inspired to write about the communities he lived in and people he mingled with which led to his best known works. He passed away in France on 11 September 1958 at the age of 84.


    Richard Ashcroft.
    Image Wikipedia

    Two

    ‘Cause it’s a bittersweet symphony, that’s life
    Tryna make ends meet
    You’re a slave to money then you die
    I’ll take you down the only road I’ve ever been down
    You know the one that takes you to the places
    Where all the veins meet yeah

    Answer: Bittersweet Symphony

    Bitter Sweet Symphony by the Verve, released in 1997, samples the Rolling Stones’ The Last Time. Legal issues led to the Verve relinquishing royalties, but in 2019, rights were returned to the Verve’s Richard Ashcroft.


    Lady Chatterley’s Lover, US unexpurgated edition 1959.
    Image Wikipedia

    Three

    Ours is essentially a tragic age, so we refuse to take it tragically.

    Answer: Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence

    Lady Chatterley’s Lover, D. H. Lawrence’s final novel, was first published privately in 1928-29. Its explicit content and an obscenity trial in British courts in 1960 made it notorious.


    William Sydney Porter/O. Henry in his thirties.
    Image Wikipedia

    Four

    One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it
    was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one’s cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied. Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas.
    — The Gift of the Magi

    Answer: O. Henry

    O. Henry’s stories are renowned for their observations, witty narration, and unexpected conclusions. The Gift of the Magi, quoted above, begins on Christmas Eve. Della realises she has hardly any money to buy her husband Jim a present. Determined, she cuts and sells her beloved long hair to buy a platinum fob chain for Jim’s watch. In turn, Jim sells his watch to buy Della combs. Despite the impracticality of their gifts, they realise the true value of their love.


    ‘Do you expect me to talk? / ‘No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die.’
    Goldfinger, 1964.
    Image Wikipedia

    Five

    Do you expect me to talk?”
    “No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die.

    Answer: Moby

    Moby produced a remixed version of the James Bond theme for the film Tomorrow Never Dies. The remix, which charted at number eight on the UK Singles Chart, features dialogue samples from the Bond films GoldenEye—Pierce Brosnan saying “Bond, James Bond”—and Goldfinger.

  • A Few Words

    Today’s questions focus on individuals and words associated with them. These individuals were either born or passed away on September 11th.

    Marlene Dietrich and ___ on the set of The Spoilers (1942)
    Image Wikipedia

    One

    A bunch of the boys were whooping it up in the Malamute saloon;
    The kid that handles the music-box was hitting a jag-time tune;
    Back of the bar, in a solo game, sat Dangerous Dan McGrew,
    And watching his luck was his light-o’-love, the lady that’s known as Lou.
    — The Shooting of Dan McGrew

    The above quote opens a verse by a man known as the ‘Bard of the Yukon’ and the ‘The Canadian Kipling’. What was his name?

    Two

    ‘Cause it’s a bittersweet symphony, that’s life
    Tryna make ends meet
    You’re a slave to money then you die
    I’ll take you down the only road I’ve ever been down
    You know the one that takes you to the places
    Where all the veins meet yeah

    The quote above is the first verse of a song co-written by Richard Ashcroft of The Verve who was born this day in 1971. What is the song?

    Three

    Ours is essentially a tragic age, so we refuse to take it tragically.

    An author, born on 11 September 1885 in Nottinghamshire, England, wrote this as the first line of a controversial book published in 1928. What is the book and who is the author?

    Four

    One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it
    was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one’s cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied. Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas.
    — The Gift of the Magi

    This opening paragraph is from The Gift of the Magi, which was written by William Sydney Porter, who was born on this day in 1862. An author and poet, he is best known for his short stories, which he wrote under a pseudonym consisting of an initial and second name. What is that pen name?

    Five

    Do you expect me to talk?”
    “No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die.

    This sample from Goldfinger (1964) features on a remixed version of the James Bond Theme for Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) by Richard Melville Hall. Hall, born on 11 September 1965, is known by his professional name.

    Good luck! I’ll post the answers later today.

  • Historical Truths (or are they?)—Answers

    Here are the answers to the questions from my earlier post.

    Bayeux Tapestry – Scenes 55 & 56 – Duke William lifts his helmet to be recognized on the battlefield of Hastings.
    Image Wikipedia

    One

    Is it true or false that William the Conqueror died of smallpox on 9 September 1092?

    Answer: True

    King William of England died on 9 September 1087 at Rouen, France, several weeks after being seriously injured at the Battle of Mantes. In July 1087, while fighting a counter-offensive against the French, the King fell against the pommel of his saddle, severely damaging his intestines.


    Two

    Is it true or false that Elvis Presley appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time on 9 September 1960?

    Answer: False

    Presley’s first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show was on 9 September 1956. He made two further appearances over the next four months, but he didn’t appear on the show again after his third appearance.


    Mary, Queen of Scots.
    Image Wikipedia

    Three

    Is it true that a Scottish monarch was crowned at the age of nine months on 9 September 1543? If so, who was the monarch?

    Answer: True. Mary, Queen of Scots

    Mary Stuart became queen at the tender age of six days old in December 1543 upon her father James V’s death. Crowned as Mary, Queen of Scots on 9 September 1543 in Stirling, she remained queen until her forced abdication on 24 July 1567.


    Four

    Is it true or false that on 9 September 1759, forty-seven nations adopted Sauchie Fraser’s proposal for a standard time and time zones?

    Answer: False

    On this date in 1885, twenty-five nations adopted Sanford Fleming’s  proposal for standard time and time zones. 


    Five

    Captain William Bligh FRS RN, born on 9 September 1754, is best known for being cast adrift from HMS Bounty. Is it true or false that between 1806 and 1808, he served as Governor of New South Wales?

    Answer: True


  • Historical Truths (or are they?)

    Here are some historical truths and falsehoods related to today, September 9th.

    Elvis Presley.
    Image Wikipedia

    One

    Is it true or false that William the Conqueror died of smallpox on 9 September 1092?

    Two

    Is it true or false that Elvis Presley appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time on 9 September 1960?

    Three

    Is it true or false that a Scottish monarch was crowned at the age of nine months on 9 September 1543? If so, who was the monarch?

    Four

    Is it true or false that on 9 September 1759, forty-seven nations adopted Sauchie Fraser’s proposal for a standard time and time zones?

    Five

    Captain William Bligh FRS RN, born on 9 September 1754, is best known for being cast adrift from HMS Bounty. Is it true or false that between 1806 and 1808, he served as Governor of New South Wales?

    Good luck! I’ll post the answers later today.

  • Hawaii Five-0

    The answers to my earlier post are shown below.

    Official portrait of Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1959.
    Image Wikipedia

    One

    On August 21st, Hawaii was officially proclaimed the 50th US state. Can you name the president who made this proclamation?

    Answer: Dwight D. Eisenhower

    Hawaii was officially proclaimed the 50th US state by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on 21 August 1959. Hawaii is an island state in the Pacific Ocean, consisting of 137 volcanic islands. It is the only US state not on the North American mainland and is known for its diverse culture, influenced by North American, East Asia and indigenous Hawaiian heritage. Hawaii’s economy, historically based on agriculture, has diversified to include tourism and military defence.


    Mona Lisa.
    Image Wikipedia

    Two

    Where was the Mona Lisa stolen from on this day in 1911?

    Answer: The Louvre

    The Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre in 1911 by Vincenzo Peruggia, who believed it should be returned to Italy. After keeping it for two years, Peruggia attempted to sell it and was caught, leading to the painting’s return to the Louvre in 1914.


    Count Basie, Blazing Saddles, 1974.
    Image

    Three

    Born 21 August 1904, an American musician who will, 70 years later, feature in a desert scene from Blazing Saddles. Who is he?

    Answer: Count Basie

    Count Basie plays himself in Mel Brooks 1974 film Blazing Saddles. He and his orchestra play April in Paris in the middle of the desert as Bart (Cleavon Little) rides towards Rock Ridge to assume the post of sheriff.


    Princess Margaret, 1950.
    Image Wikipedia

    Four

    Born on this day in 1930 at Glamis Castle, Scotland, this princess’s 1960 marriage would be the first royal wedding to be televised. Who is she?

    Answer: Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon

    Princess Margaret, born in 1930, was the second daughter of the Duke and Duchess of York, who, following the abdication of Edward VIII, became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Known for her independent spirit, she famously renounced her engagement to Peter Townsend due to his divorce. A celebrated socialite, she was the Countess of Snowdon and had a glamorous lifestyle with notable romances. Margaret married Antony Armstrong-Jones in 1960, but their marriage ended in divorce in 1978, marking the first royal divorce in 400 years.


    Dumbarton Oaks, Washington D.C., 1999.
    Image US Library of Congress via Wikipedia

    Five

    The Dumbarton Oaks Conference, opening on 21 August 1944, was instrumental in the founding of what?

    Answer: United Nations

    The ‘Allied Big Four’ (UK, US, USSR, Republic of China) formulated the new international organisation at the Dumbarton Oaks Conference in 1944. The Yalta Conference in 1945 and further negotiations with the Soviet Union resolved all issues.

  • Hawaii Five-0

    All the questions are related to today, August 21st.

    Flag of Hawaii.
    Image Wikipedia

    One

    On August 21st, Hawaii was officially proclaimed the 50th US state. Can you name the president who made this proclamation?

    Two

    Where was the Mona Lisa stolen from on this day in 1911?

    Three

    Born 21 August 1904, an American musician who, 70 years later, will feature in a desert scene from Blazing Saddles. Who is he?

    Four

    Born on this day in 1930 at Glamis Castle, Scotland, this princess’s 1960 marriage would be the first royal wedding to be televised. Who is she?

    Five

    The Dumbarton Oaks Conference, opening on 21 August 1944, was instrumental in the founding of what?

    Good luck! I’ll post the answers later today.

  • Roanoke—Answers

    Virginia Dare by Maria Louisa Lander, 1859. Imaginatively portrayed as an adult Indian princess.
    Elizabethan Gardens, Manteo, NC, US.
    Image Wikipedia

    One

    The person who sent ships and colonists to set up a fort at Roanoke in what is now North Carolina, US is described by Wikipedia as an ‘English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer’. Who is he?

    — Answer: Sir Walter Raleigh

    The Roanoke Colony, established by Sir Walter Raleigh, refers to two attempts to found a permanent English settlement in North America. The first colony, established in 1585, was abandoned due to supply shortages and strained relations with local tribes. The second colony, known as the ‘Lost Colony’, was established in 1587 but found abandoned in 1590, with the word ‘CROATOAN’ carved into a palisade. Virginia Dare was never seen again, and her fate remains unknown.


    Two

    Which Elton John song, released in 1997, remained in the Canadian Singles Charts for three years. What was that song?

    — Answer: Candle in the Wind 1997

    Elton John and Bernie Taupin, who had originally written Candle in the Wind as a tribute to Marilyn Monroe, rewrote it for the 1997 funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales. 


    Three

    Zupaysaurus. Image Wikipedia

    Zupaysaurus, ‘devil lizard’ from the Queshua word supay meaning ‘devil’ and sauros, ‘lizard’, is an early theropod dinosaur. In what country was this discovered?

    — Answer: Argentina

    Zupaysaurus (/ˌzuːpeɪˈsɔːrəs/; “ZOO-pay-SAWR-us”) is an extinct genus of early theropod dinosaurliving during the Norian stage of the Late Triassic in what is now Argentina. Fossils of the dinosaur were found in the Los Colorados Formation of the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin in northwestern Argentina. Although a full skeleton has not yet been discovered, Zupaysaurus can be considered a bipedalpredator, up to 4 metres (13 ft) long. It may have had two parallel crests running the length of its snout.

    —Wikipedia 


    Abel Tasman.
    Image Wikipedia

    Four

    Tasmania, an island state of Australia, is named after Dutch seafarer and explorer Abel Tasman. In 1642, Tasman became the first reported European to sight the island. What name did Tasman give the island?

    — Answer: Anthony van Diemen’s Land

    Tasmania, named after Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, was originally called Anthony van Diemen’s Land after his sponsor. The British shortened it to Van Diemen’s Land, and it was officially renamed Tasmania in 1856.


    Male Alpine ibex (Capra ibex).
    Image Wikipedia

    Five

    An ibex is any of several species of wild…

    What is the next word in the above quote from the Wikipedia article on the ibex?

    —Answer: Goat

    Ibex are wild goats with large, recurved horns, found in Eurasia, North and East Africa.

  • Roanoke

    The first question refers to the colony where Virginia Dare, the first child born in the Americas to European parents, was born on 18 August 1587. The other questions are random and have no connection to the date.

    Baptism of Virginia Dare, wood engraving 1880.
    Image Wikipedia

    One

    The person who sent ships and colonists to set up a fort at Roanoke in what is now North Carolina, US is described by Wikipedia as an ‘English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer’. Who is he?

    Two

    Which Elton John song, released in 1997, remained in the Canadian Singles Charts for three years. What was that song?

    Three

    Zupaysaurus, meaning ‘devil lizard’ from the Queshua word supay meaning ‘devil’ and the Greek sauros meaning ‘lizard’, is an early theropod dinosaur. In which country was it discovered?

    Four

    Tasmania, an island state of Australia, is named after Dutch seafarer and explorer Abel Tasman. In 1642, Tasman became the first reported European to sight the island. What name did Tasman give the island?

    Five

    An ibex is any of several species of wild…

    What is the next word in the above quote from the Wikipedia article on the ibex?

    Good luck! I will post the answers later today.

  • Where on Earth—Answers

    Ross’s Antarctic expedition.
    HMS Erebus and Terror in the Antarctic by John Wilson Carmichael.
    Image Wikipedia

    One

    On 16 August 1923, the UK named the Ross Dependency. On what continent is the Ross Dependency?

    — Answer: Antarctica

    The Ross Dependency, claimed by New Zealand, is a region of Antarctica defined by specific longitudes and latitude. While New Zealand’s claim is recognised by a few countries, the 1961 Antarctic Treaty holds all claims in abeyance. The Dependency, named after Sir James Clark Ross, includes the Ross Sea, Ross Ice Shelf, and several islands.


    Two

    Born in 1888, a military strategist and archaeological scholar also authored Seven Pillars of Wisdom. Who is he, and what by-name is he commonly known?

    — Answer: T.E. Lawrence aka Lawrence of Arabia

    T.E. Lawrence, known as Lawrence of Arabia, was a British Army officer, archaeologist, and writer. He gained fame for his role in the Arab Revolt during the First World War and his subsequent work with Emir Faisal. Lawrence published his autobiography, Seven Pillars of Wisdom, and later served in the Army and RAF before his death in a motorcycle accident in 1935. His life was dramatised in the 1962 film Lawrence Of Arabia.


    1834 portrait of James Buchanan at age 42–43 by Jacob Eichholtz.
    Image Wikipedia

    Three

    On 16 August 1858, a new transatlantic telegraph cable was inaugurated. The inaugural event involved an exchange of greetings between the Heads of State of the United Kingdom and the United States. Who were these two Heads of State?

    — Answer: Queen Victoria and President James Buchanan

    The Atlantic Telegraph Company, led by Cyrus West Field, constructed the first transatlantic telegraph cable. On that day, the first official telegram to cross two continents was a congratulatory letter from Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom to President James Buchanan of the United States. Despite initial success, the cable’s poor signal quality and subsequent destruction after three weeks undermined confidence and delayed restoration efforts.


    Madonna, 2020.
    Image Wikipedia

    Four

    Madonna, the singer and actress, celebrates her birthday on August 16th. In which city and state was she born?

    — Answer: Bay City, Michigan

    Madonna, the ‘Queen of Pop’, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and actress. She is the best-selling female recording artist of all time, with numerous accolades including seven Grammy Awards and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Madonna is also a successful businesswoman, philanthropist and advocate for gender equality and LGBT rights.


    Richard Wagner, 1871.
    Image Wikipedia

    Five

    On this day in 1876, Richard Wagner’s penultimate opera in his Ring cycle premiered at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus. What was the name of the opera?

    — Answer: Siegfried

    Siegfried is the third of Richard Wagner’s four epic music dramas, Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung). It premiered at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on 16 August 1876, marking the first complete performance of the cycle.

    Written over twenty-six years, from 1848 to 1874. The Ring cycle comprises:

    • Das Rheingold (The Rhinegold)
    • Die Walküre (The Valkyrie)
    • Siegfried
    • Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods)

  • Where on Earth

    One

    On 16 August 1923, the UK named the Ross Dependency. On what continent is the Ross Dependency?

    Two

    Born in 1888, a military strategist and archaeological scholar also authored Seven Pillars of Wisdom. Who is he, and what by-name is he commonly known?

    Three

    On 16 August 1858, a new transatlantic telegraph cable was inaugurated. The inaugural event involved an exchange of greetings between the Heads of State of the United Kingdom and the United States. Who were these two Heads of State?

    Four

    Madonna, the singer and actress, celebrates her birthday on August 16th. In which city and state was she born?

    Five

    On this day in 1876, Richard Wagner’s penultimate opera in his Ring cycle premiered at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus. What was the name of the opera?