Quizology.Online

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

— Bertrand Russell

Tag: myth

  • Yet More What ‘*’ — Answers

    Expedition ship Terra Nova during the British Antarctic Expedition, c.1911.
    Image Wikimedia Commons

    Today’s Answers

    Day 4 of our continuing theme.

    One

    What ‘P’ links a creature from Greek myth and Bénouville Bridge, Normandy?

    Answer: Pegasus.

    Pegasus is a winged white stallion in Greek mythology, sired by Poseidon and born from Medusa after she was decapitated by Perseus. He later ascended to heaven to serve Zeus by bringing lightning and thunder from Olympus.

    Pegasus Bridge, originally the Bénouville Bridge, is a historic road crossing over the Caen Canal in Normandy. Built in 1934, it became famous during the Second World War when a British glider-borne force captured it intact on 6 June 1944 to limit German counter-attacks after the Normandy invasion. Renamed in honour of the operation and the shoulder emblem worn by British airborne forces, the original bridge is now a war memorial at the Memorial Pegasus museum, having been replaced by a modern bascule bridge in 1994.

    Two

    What ‘Q’ is a capital city; sits on the equator; and is amongst the highest capitals by elevation? Of what country is this city the capital, and what other country’s two capitals vie with this one as highest capitals?

    Answers: Quito, Ecuador; Bolivia.

    Quito, formally known as San Francisco de Quito, serves as the capital and second-largest city of Ecuador. Its population is estimated at 1.7 million within the city and 2.8 million across the metropolitan area. Situated in a valley on the eastern slopes of the active stratovolcano Pichincha in the Andes at 2,850 metres (9,350 ft), Quito ranks as either the highest or second-highest national capital globally, depending on whether La Paz or Sucre is regarded as Bolivia’s capital.

    Three

    Which ‘R’ was somewhat of a maverick before becoming a saint, then adopted a licence to kill on seven occasions? Who is the actor, and in which television production did Tony Curtis appear as a co-star?

    Answers: Roger Moore; The Persuaders!.

    Sir Roger George Moore was an English actor best known as the third actor to portray James Bond, starring in seven feature films between 1973 and 1985. On television, he played the lead role of Simon Templar in The Saint, starred in the American Western Maverick, and appeared alongside Tony Curtis in The Persuaders!.

    Four

    What ‘S’, in 1991, superseded SALT, which dated from the sixties? The answers are both an acronym and its meaning.

    Answers: START; Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.

    The START I treaty, proposed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan, led to the removal of about 80% of strategic nuclear weapons by late 2001. Following the Soviet Union’s collapse, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan agreed to its terms. After START I there were START II, III and then the New START Treaty in 2010, which extended nuclear weapon reductions until its expiration in February 2026, despite Russia suspending its participation in 2023.

    Five

    What ‘T’ was Captain Robert F. Scott’s ship on his ill-fated trip to Antarctica? Which explorer beat him to the South Pole by a few weeks?

    Answers: Terra Nova; Roald Amundsen.

    Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his party of five reached the South Pole on January 17, 1912, only to find Roald Amundsen had arrived first. On their return journey, a planned meeting with supporting dog teams failed, and the entire party died from exhaustion, starvation, and extreme cold just miles from their next supply depot. When their bodies were discovered, they were found with the first Antarctic fossils, which later proved the continent was once forested and connected to other landmasses.

  • Yet More What ‘*’

    See question five. Expedition ship … during the British Antarctic Expedition, c.1911.
    Image Wikimedia Commons

    Day 4 of our continuing theme.

    One

    What ‘P’ links a creature from Greek myth and Bénouville Bridge, Normandy?

    Two

    What ‘Q’ is a capital city; sits on the equator; and is amongst the highest capitals by elevation? Of what country is this city the capital, and what other country’s two capitals vie with this one as highest capitals?

    Three

    Which ‘R’ was somewhat of a maverick before becoming a saint, then adopted a licence to kill on seven occasions? Who is the actor, and in which television production did Tony Curtis appear as a co-star?

    Four

    What ‘S’, in 1991, superseded SALT, which dated from the sixties? The answers are both an acronym and its meaning.

    Five

    What ‘T’ was Captain Robert F. Scott’s ship on his ill-fated trip to Antarctica? Which explorer beat him to the South Pole by a few weeks?

    Good luck! I’ll post the answers later.

  • More What ‘*’ — Answers

    Fall of the Titans. Oil on canvas by Jacob Jordaens, 1638.
    Image Wikimedia Commons

    Today’s Answers

    One

    What ‘F’ was the Norse God of fertility?

    Answer: Freyr

    Freyr, a Vanir god linked to kingship and fertility, is depicted in the Rällinge statuette and associated with Sweden. He possesses Gullinbursti and Skíðblaðnir, marries Gerðr after surrendering his sword, and will be killed by Surtr at Ragnarök.

    Two

    What ‘G’ is a goddess in Greek myth who was the mother of the 12 Titans?

    Answer: Gaia

    The Titans, twelve children of Uranus and Gaia, preceded the Olympians. Cronus ruled until Zeus and the Olympians defeated them in the Titanomachy; most were imprisoned in Tartarus, though Oceanus and Helios remained free.

    Three

    What ‘H’, a neighbourhood in an American city, is where Alicia Keys was born?

    Answers: Hell’s Kitchen.

    Hell’s Kitchen, or Clinton, is a Manhattan West Side area bordered by 34th or 41st Street, 59th Street, Eighth Avenue and the Hudson River. Once Irish-American and working-class, gentrification since the 1980s raised rents. It hosts LGBTQ communities, the Actors Studio and diverse eateries.

    Four

    What ‘I’, a round of the Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship, is named after a country, but the circuit itself is located elsewhere. Where is the circuit, and what is the name of the Grand Prix?

    Answers: Imola, Italy; San Marino Grand Prix.

    The Imola Circuit, an FIA Grade One track in Emilia-Romagna, hosted Formula One from 1980 to 2006 and returned in 2020 after reconstruction. Named after Enzo and Dino Ferrari, it saw fatal accidents, chicanes and cancellations, including floods in 2023. It also hosts other motor and cycling events.

    Five

    What ‘J’ wrote the song Woodstock, which appeared on the album Déjà Vu in March 1970 and was featured on Ladies of the Canyon the following month? Who released these two albums?

    Answer: Joni Mitchell wrote “Woodstock” and released Ladies of the Canyon. Déjà Vu was released by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

    Joni Mitchell wrote Woodstock after Graham Nash described the 1969 festival at Max Yasgur’s farm; her version appeared in 1970. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Matthews Southern Comfort achieved major success, symbolising 1960s counterculture.

  • More What ‘*’

    Fall of the Titans. Oil on canvas by Jacob Jordaens, 1638.
    Image Wikimedia Commons

    One

    What ‘F’ was the Norse God of fertility?

    Two

    What ‘G’ is a goddess in Greek myth who was the mother of the 12 Titans?

    Three

    What ‘H’, a neighbourhood in an American city, is where Alicia Keys was born?

    Four

    What ‘I’, a round of the Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship, is named after a country, but the circuit itself is located elsewhere. Where is the circuit, and what is the name of the Grand Prix?

    Five

    What ‘J’ wrote the song Woodstock, which appeared on the album Déjà Vu in March 1970 and was featured on Ladies of the Canyon the following month? Who released these two albums?

    Good luck! I’ll post the answers later.

  • King Ottokar’s Sceptre: Day One

    Questions One to Five

    My blog will be somewhat different over the next few days. I will pose five questions each day for six days across various subjects, and each answer will begin with a distinct letter of the alphabet. As you likely deduced, five questions per day across six days yields thirty answers, each starting with a unique letter, leaving four unaccounted for. Consequently, four duplicates exist; in their order of appearance, they spell the name of a villainous figure from the eighth volume of a comic originally serialised in the first half of the 20th century. Although this character is not widely known, the aim is to correctly identify the second, duplicate iteration of these initial letters to reveal the name. The answers will not be given on the same day as the questions but at the end.

    One

    Moloko Plus, a barbiturate-spiked milk drink, features in which Anthony Burgess novel?

    Two

    What is the only planet in our solar system named after a Greek god rather than a Roman one?

    Three

    Israel defeated Egypt, Jordan and Syria in the deftly named 5–10 June 1967 war?

    Four

    What English archaeologist, army officer, diplomat and writer had the forenames Thomas Edward?

    Five

    Which letter represents tungsten within the periodic table of elements?

    Good Luck! The answers will be posted after day six questions. More questions tomorrow.

  • Over the Moon — Answers

    Here are the answers to my earlier questions.

    James Irwin with the Lunar Roving Vehicle on the Moon. Mons Hadley is in the background.
    Image NASA/David Scott via Wikimedia Commons

    One to five as usual today, but you need to find ten answers. The first question is related to today’s date, 31 July, while the subsequent ones follow on from the theme created by the first.

    One

    On this day in 1971, Apollo 15’s astronauts first used the Lunar Roving Vehicle, which is also colloquially known as a Moon Buggy, on the Lunar surface. By the end of the Apollo program how many of these vehicles were left behind on the Moon?

    Answer: Three.

    The Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), built by Boeing Co., enabled extended travel, speed, and greater scientific activity on the Moon during the Apollo era. The first surface mission to use the LRV, Apollo 15 astronauts covered a total 17.5 miles of exploration and discovery.
    The historic Apollo Program sent the first U.S. astronauts into orbit around the Moon in 1968 and landed a dozen astronauts on the lunar surface between 1969 and 1972. The reach of initial Apollo surface missions was restricted to short walking distances. During each of the last three Apollo missions, between 1971 and 1972, a battery powered LRV provided transportation for two crew members and supplies several miles beyond the landing site.
    — NASA

    Two

    Set on the Moon in 1996, a short story first published in 1951 describes the discovery of a mysterious pyramid which had been placed by aliens several billion years previously. This story has an influential role in the development of a 1968 film. Three questions:

    • What is the story’s title?
    • Who was its author?
    • What was the title of the 1968 film?

    Answers

    • The Sentinal
    • Arthur C. Clarke
    • 2001: A Space Odyssey

    The Sentinel (1951) by Arthur C. Clarke, set in 1996, follows selenologist Wilson discovering a mysterious alien structure on the Moon. After breaching its shield with atomic energy, the structure is destroyed, revealing advanced technology. Wilson theorises it was a sentinel alerting aliens to the emergence of intelligent life.

    Three

    The Huygens lander was the first man made object to land on a world in the outer Solar System. Where did it land?

    Answer: Titan.

    The Cassini–Huygens mission, a collaboration between NASA, ESA, and ASI, aimed to study Saturn and its system. It included NASA’s Cassini probe and ESA’s Huygens lander. Launched in 1997, Cassini orbited Saturn from 2004 to 2017, providing extensive data on the planet and Huygens landed on Titan. The mission included flybys of Venus, Earth, asteroid 2685 Masursky, and Jupiter, ending on September 15, 2017, by burning up in Saturn’s atmosphere to prevent contamination. It was a ‘mission of firsts’, revolutionising understanding of Saturn’s system and potential life-supporting environments in the Solar System and landing on on a world in the outer Solar System the first time.

    Four

    In ancient Greek mythology who was the goddess and personification of the Moon who drives her Moon chariot across the heavens?

    Answer: Salene.

    The air, unlit before, glows with the light of her golden crown, and her rays beam clear, whensoever bright Selene having bathed her lovely body in the waters of Ocean, and donned her far-gleaming raiment, and yoked her strong-necked, shining team, drives on her long-maned horses at full speed, at eventime in the mid-month: then her great orbit is full and then her beams shine brightest as she increases. So she is a sure token and a sign to mortal men.
    — Homeric Hymn to Salene Wikipedia

    Five

    Moon River featured in a 1961 film and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Four questions:

    • Who composed the song?
    • Who wrote the lyrics?
    • What was the 1961 film?
    • Who sang it in the film?

    Answers

    • Henry Mancini
    • Johnny Mercer
    • Breakfast at Tiffany’s
    • Audrey Hepburn

    Moon River, composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer, was performed by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), winning an Academy Award and two Grammys. The song relaunched Mercer’s songwriting career, stalled by rock and roll’s rise. The lyrics reflect Mercer’s Southern youth and wanderlust and an inlet near Savannah, Georgia, was named Moon River in his honour. Andy Williams made it his theme song, recording it in 1962 and in 2022, his version was preserved in the U.S. Library of Congress.

  • Over the Moon

    James Irwin with the Lunar Roving Vehicle on the Moon. Mons Hadley is in the background.
    Image NASA/David Scott via Wikimedia Commons

    One to five as usual today, but you need to find ten answers. The first question is related to today’s date, 31 July, while the subsequent ones follow on from the theme created by the first.

    One

    On this day in 1971, Apollo 15’s astronauts first used the Lunar Roving Vehicle, which is also colloquially known as a Moon Buggy, on the Lunar surface. By the end of the Apollo program how many of these vehicles were left behind on the Moon?

    Two

    Set on the Moon in 1996, a short story first published in 1951 describes the discovery of a mysterious pyramid which had been placed by aliens several billion years previously. This story has an influential role in the development of a 1968 film. Three questions:

    • What is the story’s title?
    • Who was its author?
    • What was the title of the 1968 film?

    Three

    The Huygens lander was the first man made object to land on a world in the outer Solar System. Where did it land?

    Four

    In ancient Greek mythology who was the goddess and personification of the Moon who drives her Moon chariot across the heavens?

    Five

    Moon River featured in a 1961 film and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Four questions:

    • Who composed the song?
    • Who wrote the lyrics?
    • What was the 1961 film?
    • Who sang it in the film?

    Good luck! I’ll post the answers later.

  • 42-0-20-(Z 16-102–8-15-39)-13 — Answers

    Here are today’s answers.

    George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-four.
    Image Pinterest

    Today’s questions are not related to the date; instead, they share a theme linked to the title in a subtle or hidden manner.

    One

    ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha, an appreciation society and their publication Mostly Harmless is connected to what science fiction franchise?

    Answer: The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

    ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha organises gatherings and social events, produces the magazine Mostly Harmless and sells Beeblebears modelled on Zaphod Beeblebrox. It celebrates The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Douglas Adams’s works.

    Two

    What single word can mean nought, a strong-lined fabric, a quick immersion, a bivalve mollusc, a lowering of the head or a bird and in which sport did the meaning ‘nought’ originate?

    Answer: Duck: cricket.

    All of the above are from definitions of duck.

    • Nought: in cricket a batter’s score of zero. Origin mid 19th century: short for duck’s egg, used for the figure 0 because of its similar outline.
    • Fabric: a strong cotton or linen fabric. Origin mid 17th century: from Middle Dutch doek ‘linen, linen cloth’; related to German Tuch ‘cloth’.
    • Immersion: to dip under water. Origin Middle English: of Germanic origin; related to Dutch duiken and German tauchen ‘dive, dip, plunge’.
    • Mollusc: a pure white thin-shelled bivalve mollusc found off the Atlantic coasts of America. Genus Anatina, family Mactridae.
    • Lowering head: lower the head or the body quickly. Origin Middle English: of Germanic origin; related to Dutch duiken and German tauchen ‘dive, dip, plunge’.
    • Bird: a waterbird with a broad blunt bill. Origin Old English duce, from the Germanic German tauchen ‘dive, dip, plunge’.

    Three

    Where is the mythical Snow Lion a celestial emblem?

    Answer: Tibet.

    The Snow Lion, Tibet’s celestial emblem, symbolises power, strength, fearlessness, joy, east, and earth. Featured on Tibet’s flag from 1916 to 1950, it remains used by the Tibetan Government-in-Exile. Depicted as white with a turquoise mane, it represents hermits and yogis, and is prominent in Tibetan culture.

    Four

    What character is named when symbols for sulphur, nobelium, oxygen, phosphorus and yttrium are placed together in order?

    Answer: Snoopy

    S-sulphur
    No-nobelium
    O-oxygen
    P-phosphorus
    Y-yttrium

    Five

    What are the three super-states in the novel Nineteen Eighty-four, and in which of these is London located?

    Answers: Oceania, Eurasia and Eastasia; Oceania.

    In April 1984, Winston Smith lives in Airstrip One (previously Great Britain), a province of Oceania, under totalitarian rule by ‘the Party’ and Big Brother. The Party enforces conformity through surveillance and Thought Police, erasing dissenters as “unpersons”. Winston, an Outer Party member at the Ministry of Truth, secretly rebels against the regime.

    42-0-20-(Z 16-102–8-15-39)-13

    The numbers in the title offer clues, perhaps obscure, to each of the questions in the correct order. The information breaks down like this

    1. 42: In The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy 42 is the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything.
    2. 0: A duck is 0 as explained above, see ‘Nought’ under the second answer.
    3. 20: The 20th letter of the alphabet ‘T’ is the initial to this answer.
    4. (Z 16-102–8-15-39): Z is the symbol for atomic numbers and 16 is the atomic number for sulphur, 102 is nobelium 8 is oxygen 15 is phosphorus and 39 is yttrium each of which make Snoopy.
    5. 13: : ‘It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.’ Thirteen concludes the opening line of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-four.

  • 42-0-20-(Z 16-102–8-15-39)-13

    George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-four.
    Image Pinterest

    Today’s questions are not related to the date; instead, they share a theme linked to the title in a subtle or hidden manner.

    One

    ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha, an appreciation society and their publication Mostly Harmless is connected to what science fiction franchise?

    Two

    What single word can mean nought, a strong-lined fabric, a quick immersion, a bivalve mollusc, a lowering of the head or a bird and in which sport did the meaning ‘nought’ originate?

    Three

    Where is the mythical Snow Lion a celestial emblem?

    Four

    What character is named when symbols for sulphur, nobelium, oxygen, phosphorus and yttrium are placed together in order?

    Five

    What are the three super-states in the novel Nineteen Eighty-four, and in which of these is London located?

    Good luck! I’ll post the answers later.

  • Pause for a Moment — Answers

    Today’s answers are shown below.

    Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11, 20 July 1969.
    Image ABC News

    The first question relates to today’s date, 20 July. The remainder, which are not date-related, follow on a theme from the first.

    One

    I’d like to take this opportunity to ask every person listening in, whoever and wherever they may be, to pause for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours and to give thanks in his or her own way.
    — Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11 on the Lunar surface, 20 July 1969

    Why did Buzz Aldrin choose not to mention over the radio that he was taking Holy Communion on the Moon before the first moonwalk?

    Answer: NASA was avoiding public religious broadcasts

    After controversy surrounding the Apollo 8 crew’s reading from the Book of Genesis, NASA was avoiding public religious broadcasts. Aldrin Consequently observed Communion privately without mentioning it on air; instead, prior to taking Communion, Aldrin invited everyone listening to ‘pause for a moment’ and ‘give thanks in his or her own way’. His Communion kit was prepared by his pastor at Webster Presbyterian Church in Texas, which still commemorates the event using the chalice which was used on the Moon each year on the Sunday closest to 20 July.

    Two

    The god Khnum was once regarded as the guardian of the source of which river?

    Answer: River Nile.

    Khnum, an early Egyptian deity from Upper Egypt, was linked to the Nile cataract and responsible for its annual inundation. Known as the creator of human bodies and the life force ka, he used a potter’s wheel. Worshipped from the First Dynasty, his main cult centre was Herwer, later Elephantine. Khnum, depicted with ram horns symbolising fertility and rebirth, evolved from horizontally spiralled to down-turned horns in the New Kingdom. His imagery includes a crocodile head, representing Nile dominion, and he wears the atef crown or the white crown of Upper Egypt.

    Three

    The Rehat Maryada is a code of conduct in which religion, founded in the late 15th century?

    Answer: Sikhism.

    Originating in the 15th century within the Punjab region, Sikhism is a monotheistic faith shaped by Guru Nanak and nine subsequent leaders. The tradition highlights belief in one creator, equality, selfless service, and honest behaviour. Since 1699, Sikhs have regarded the Guru Granth Sahib as their eternal guide.

    Four

    In ancient myth, what God was the father of Heracles?

    Answer: Zeus.

    Heracles, a divine Greek hero and son of Zeus, was the greatest of Greek heroes and ancestor of the Heracleidae. Known as Hercules in Rome, he championed the Olympian order against monsters. Roman emperors like Commodus and Maximian identified with him, and his cult was adapted to Rome.

    Five

    William and Catherine Booth established an organisation in 1865 that functions as both a Methodist Christian church and an international charity. What is this organisation, and what is its motto?

    Answer: Salvation Army; Blood and Fire.

    The Salvation Army, founded in 1865 by William and Catherine Booth, is a Methodist Christian church and international charity with over 1.7 million members in 133 countries. It provides physical and spiritual aid, operates charity shops, shelters, and disaster relief. General Lyndon Buckingham leads as of 2023.