Tag: nature

K is for… | Answers

The answers to my earlier post are shown in bold below.

Tourists at London King’s Cross Platform 9¾ in July 2016.
Image Wikipedia

One

Which London railway station has a marker indicating the location of Platform 9¾?

King’s Cross

King’s Cross is the starting point of the Hogwarts Express in the Harry Potter books. The film crew used the brick roof-support arches between platforms 4 and 5 to represent the fictional Platform 9¾.

Kuwaiti 20 Dinar note.
Image Left Over Currency

Two

In April 2024, Forbes named which country’s dinar as the highest valued currency in the world?

Kuwaiti Dinar (KWD)

The Kuwaiti dinar, the strongest currency globally, is pegged to an undisclosed basket of currencies. Kuwait, a leading oil exporter, introduced the dinar in the 1960s.

North Island Brown Kiwi
Image Wikipedia

Three

What bird has the biggest egg of any bird species relative to its size?

Kiwi

The brown kiwi (Apteryx australis) of New Zealand lays the largest eggs relative to its body size. One female kiwi weighing 1.7 kg (3 lb 12 oz) laid an egg weighing 406 g (14 oz), which is almost one quarter of her total body mass, and weights of up to 510 g (1 lb) have been reliably reported for other kiwi eggs. — Guinness World Records https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/83111-largest-bird-egg-relative-to-body-size

Ken Rosewall, 1970.
Image Wikipedia

Four

Who is the oldest male tennis player to win a major singles title in the Open Era?

Ken Rosewall

The oldest tennis Grand Slam singles winner (male, open era) is Ken Rosewall (Australia, b. 2 November 1934), who was aged 37 years 62 days when he won the 1972 Australian Open at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on 3 January 1972. Rosewall defeated Malcolm Anderson 7–6, 6–3, 7–5 in the final match of the tournament.

— Guinness World Records, 23 June 2025

Five

In the opening verse of Queen’s Killer Queen, both a United States President and a Soviet Premier are named. Please provide the surnames of these individuals?

Khrushchev and Kennedy

The lyrics are written below. Killer Queen is a song by Queen about a high-class call girl. It was written by Freddie Mercury and reached number two in the UK Singles Chart and number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100.

Killer Queen

She keeps Moët et Chandon
In her pretty cabinet
“Let them eat cake,” she says
Just like Marie Antoinette
A built-in remedy
For Khrushchev and Kennedy (Ooh, ooh)
At anytime an invitation
You can’t decline (Ooh, ooh)

Caviar and cigarettes
Well versed in etiquette
Extraordinarily nice

She’s a killer queen
Gunpowder, gelatin
Dynamite with a laser beam
Guaranteed to blow your mind
(Pa-pa-pa-pa) Anytime
Ooh
Recommended at the price
Insatiable an appetite
Wanna try?

To avoid complications
She never kept the same address
In conversation
She spoke just like a baroness
Met a man from China
Went down to Geisha Minah (Ooh, ooh)
(Killer, killer, she’s a killer queen)
Then again incidentally
If you’re that way inclined

Perfume came naturally from Paris (Naturally)
For cars, she couldn’t care less
Fastidious and precise

She’s a killer queen
Gunpowder, gelatin
Dynamite with a laser beam
Guaranteed to blow your mind
(Pa-pa-pa-pa)
Anytime

Drop of a hat she’s as willing as
Playful as a pussycat (Ooh)
Then momentarily out of action (Ooh)
Temporarily out of gas (Ta-taaa)
To absolutely drive you wild, wild
She’s out to get you

She’s a killer queen
Gunpowder, gelatin
Dynamite with a laser beam (Pa-pa-pa-ra)
Guaranteed to blow your mind
Anytime
Ooh
Recommended at the price
Insatiable an appetite
Wanna try?
You wanna try

— AZ Lyrics, 23 June 2025.

K is for…

The alphabet theme continues with some questions where all the answers begin with ‘K’.

Platform 9¾, Kings Cross Railway Station, London. Image https://www.pexels.com

One

Which London railway station has a marker indicating the location of Platform 9¾?

Two

In April 2024, Forbes named which country’s dinar as the highest valued currency in the world?

Three

What bird has the biggest egg of any bird species relative to its size?

Four

Who is the oldest male tennis player to win a major singles title in the Open Era?

Five

In the opening verse of Queen’s Killer Queen, both a United States President and a Soviet Premier are named. Please provide the surnames of these individuals?

Good luck! I will post the answers later today.

E is for… | Answers

The answers to my earlier post are shown in bold below. I have included the questions simply for your information.

Europa, as imaged by the Juno spacecraft, September 2022.
Image Wikipedia
  1. Which moon of Jupiter is pictured?
    • Europa—Europa, one of Jupiter’s four Galilean moons, is an icy moon with a smooth surface, possibly due to a subsurface ocean. It is believed to have an iron-nickel core and a water-ice shell, with a thin atmosphere composed primarily of oxygen. Europa was discovered by Galileo Galilei in 1610 and named after Europa, a lover of Zeus in Greek mythology.
      Discworld supported by four giant elephants on the back of Great A’Tuin, the Giant Star Turtle.
      Image Pinterest
  2. In Terry Pratchett’s Discworld what are Berilia, Tubul, Great T’Phon and Jerakeen?
    • Elephants—Great A’Tuin is the Giant Star Turtle (of the fictional species Chelys galactica) who travels through the Discworld universe’s space, carrying four giant elephants, named Berilia, Tubul, Great T’Phon and Jerakeen, who in turn carry the Discworld.
      Alligator in a cypress dome, Everglades National Park.
      Image Wikipedia
  3. The largest remaining subtropical wilderness in the continental USA is which National Park?
    • Everglades National Park—Established in 1947, Everglades National Park protects 1.5 million acres of wetland, forest, and marine habitats, providing drinking water and recreational opportunities.
      Jane Austen.
      Portrait by Cassandra Austen, c. 1810.
      Image Wikipedia
  4. Name a Jane Austen novel, published in 1816, which is set in the village of Highbury?
    • Emma—a novel by Jane Austen, is set in the fictional village of Highbury and explores the relationships of its inhabitants. The story follows Emma Woodhouse, a wealthy and intelligent young woman who meddles in the love lives of others, leading to humorous misadventures.
  5. Which part of a newt is mentioned as a potion ingredient by the second witch in Shakespeare’s Macbeth?
    • Eye—see quote below from Macbeth Act 4, Scene 1 (line 10)

In the poisones entrails throw.
Toad, that under cold stone
Days and nights has thirty-one
Sweated venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first in the charmed pot.
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.

Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
Adder’s fork and blindworm’s sting,
Lizard’s leg and howlet’s wing.
For charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and couldron bubble.

Scale of dragon,tooth of wolf,
Witch’s mummy, maw and gulf
Of the ravin’d salt-sea shark,
Root of hemlock digg’d in the dark,
Liver of blaspheming Jew;
Gall of goat; and slips of yew
silver’d in the moon’s eclipse;
Nose of Turk, and Tartar’s lips;
Finger of birth-strangled babe
Ditch-deliver’d by the drab,-
Make the gruel thick and slab:
Add thereto a tiger’s chaudron,
For ingredients of our cauldron.
Double, double toil and trouble,
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.

E is for…

A few questions where all the answers begin with ‘E’. As you know the starting letter, there are no multiple-choice options.

Image Wikipedia
  1. Which moon of Jupiter is pictured?
  2. In Terry Pratchett’s Discworld what are Berilia, Tubul, Great T’Phon and Jerakeen?
  3. The largest remaining subtropical wilderness in the continental USA is which national park?
  4. Name a Jane Austen novel, published in 1816, which is set in the village of Highbury?
  5. Which part of a newt is mentioned as a potion ingredient by the second witch in Shakespeare’s Macbeth?

Good luck! I will post the answers later today.

Hotchpotch II | Answers

Detail of Zephyrus with Aura
from
Sandro Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus.
Image Wikipedia

The answers to my earlier post are shown in bold below. I have included the questions simply for your information.

  1. In which of these national parks are zebra a native breed?
    • Kruger National Park—in South Africa spans 19,623 km2 across Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces. Established in 1926, it is South Africa’s first national park and part of the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere. It is home to 25,000 to 35,000 plains zebra (Equus quagga). Cairngorms National Park, Scotland, UK was established in 2003. It is the largest national park in the UK and covers the Cairngorms mountain range and surrounding hills. Goonengerry NP, New South Wales, Australia is within the Nightcap Range Important Bird Area, home to the largest population of Albert’s lyrebirds.
  2. A light or westerly wind which was also a large car (Ford of Britain) replaced by the Granada in 1972 is a…
    • Zephyr—In ancient Greek mythology and religion, the god Zephyrus was the personification of the west wind and the bringer of light spring and early summer breezes.
      Googol.
      Image
  3. How many zeroes follow the digit ‘1’ (one) when writing the number known as a googol?
    • 100—10100 or ten to the power of one hundred or ten duotrigintillion. The largest ‘named’ number, the term ‘Googol’ was coined in 1920 by 9-year-old Milton Sirotta, the nephew of American mathematician Edward Kasner. It’s possible that Sirotta was inspired by the contemporary comic strip character Barney Google.
      Romeo and Juliet.
      Image Wikipedia
  4. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet how old is Juliet?
    • Thirteren—her mother indicates that she is not fourteen until Lammastide, which is two weeks away.
      1931 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Barker Sedanca de Ville
      Image Wikipedia
  5. A 1964 film staring Rex Harrison and Jeanne Moreau was…
    • The Yellow Rolls-Royce—the film follows the story of three very different owners of a yellow 1931 Rolls-Royce Phantom II. The owners include an English aristocrat, a Miami gangster and a wealthy American widow. The film is set in the years leading up to and including the start of World War II.

Hotchpotch II

A mixture of questions for you to peruse.

Plains zebra (Equus quagga).
Image Wikipedia
  1. In which of these national parks are zebra a native breed?
    • Cairngorm National Park
    • Goonengerry National Park
    • Kruger National Park
  2. A light or westerly wind which was also a large car (Ford of Britain) replaced by the Granada in 1972, is a…
    • Chinook
    • Sirocco
    • Zephyr
  3. How many zeroes follow the digit ‘1’ (one) when writing the number known as a googol?
    • 10
    • 100
    • 1,000
  4. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet how old is Juliet?
    • Thirteen
    • Sixteen
    • Nineteen
  5. A 1964 film staring Rex Harrison and Jeanne Moreau was…
    • My Little Red Corvette
    • Ozzy, the Orange VW Camper
    • The Yellow Rolls-Royce

Good luck! I will post the answers later today.

Odd one out II | Answers

The answers to my earlier post are shown in bold below. I have included the question simply for your information.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Image Pinterest
  1. Two of these were written by the same author and one was not. Which is the odd one out?
    • George’s Marvellous Medicine—was written by Ronald Dahl. Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car and the James Bond novel From Russia with Love were both written by Ian Fleming
      Harpy eagle.
      Image Wikipedia
  2. Two of these creatures are semi-aquatic reptiles, while the third is a completely different kind of animal. Which one is the odd one out?
    • Harpy—is one of two species of eagle: the American harpy and the Papuan harpy. Nile and saltwater are both species of crocodile.
      Crew of Apollo 12.
      Left to right they are: Commander, Charles “Pete” Conrad Jr.; Command Module pilot, Richard F. Gordon Jr.; and Lunar Module pilot, Alan L. Bean.
      Image Wikipedia
  3. The three men listed comprised the crew of Apollo 12. With regard to the Moon which of them was the odd one out?
    • Richard Gordon—was the command pilot who stayed in Lunar orbit while Conrad and Bean landed on the Moon and carried out surface activity for about 31 hours.
      The Salvation Army crest.
      Image The Salvation Army.
  4. Two of these are mottos of military organisations. Which one is the odd one out?
    • Blood and Fire—is the ‘War Cry’ of the Salvation Army; it refers to the blood of Christ and fire of the Holy Spirit. Semper fidelis (“Always faithful”) is the motto of the US Marine Corps while Who Dares Wins is the motto of the UK’s SAS (Special Air Service)
      Aryna Sabalenka, 2024.
      Image Wikipedia
  5. In sporting terms, which of these women is the odd one out?
    • Aryna Sabalenka—currently ranked world No. 1 in women’s tennis, has won three major championships: the 2023 and 2024 Australian Opens and the 2024 US Open. Additionally, she has won doubles titles at two majors, partnering with Elise Mertens, at the 2019 US Open and the 2021 Australian Open. Catriona Matthew (Europe) and Stacy Lewis (USA) are both golfers who captained their respective teams to victory in the Solheim Cup.

Odd one out II

Moon.
Image Wikipedia

A few questions where you have to identify the odd one out.

  1. Two of these were written by the same author and one was not. Which is the odd one out?
    • Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car
    • George’s Marvellous Medicine
    • From Russia with Love
  2. Two of these creatures are semi-aquatic reptiles, while the third is a completely different kind of animal. Which one is the odd one out?
    • Harpy
    • Nile
    • Saltwater
  3. The three men listed comprised the crew of Apollo 12. With regard to the Moon which of them was the odd one out?
    • Alan Bean
    • Pete Conrad
    • Richard Gordon
  4. Two of these are the mottos of military organisations while one is not. Which one is the odd one out?
    • Blood and Fire
    • Semper fidelis (“Always faithful”)
    • Who Dares Wins
  5. In sporting terms, which of these women is the odd one out?
    • Aryna Sabalenka
    • Catriona Matthew
    • Stacy Lewis

Good luck! I will post the answers later today.

ABC | Answers

Chinchilla (See question 5).
Image Wikipedia

The answers to my earlier post are shown in bold below. I have included the question simply for your information.

  1. Founded in the 1990s, WestJet is the second-largest airline in which Commonwealth country?
    • Canada—WestJet, founded in 1994 and headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, is Canada’s second-largest airline. It operates scheduled, charter and cargo air service to over 100 destinations across North America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia and Central America. WestJet is not a member of any major airline alliances but utilises codeshare and interline agreements.
  2. The first geological period of the Paleozoic Era has a Latin name connected to Wales. What is it?
    • Cambrian—The term Cambrian is derived from the Latin version of Cymru, the Welsh name for Wales, where rocks of this age were first studied. Adam Sedgwick named it in 1835. The Cambrian is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, lasting 51.95 million years. It witnessed the Cambrian explosion, producing the first representatives of most modern animal phyla. The Cambrian is characterised by the assembly of Gondwana and the development of new plate boundaries.
      Frontispiece, 1889 edition A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
      Image Wikipedia
  3. In Mark Twain’s novel, Hank Morgan is the titular Yankee. What word is missing from the title: A … Yankee in King Arthur’s Court?
    • Connecticut—A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court is a satirical novel by Mark Twain. The story follows Hank Morgan, a Yankee engineer transported back in time to King Arthur’s court, where he uses his knowledge to modernise the past and challenge feudalism and monarchy.
      Achilles.
      Image Wikipedia
  4. Which of these was a mythical hero whom Thetis dressed as a girl and hid with King Lycomedes of Skyros?
    • Achilles—To protect Achilles from the war, Thetis hid him disguised as a princess at the court of Lycomedes. Odysseus, disguised as a pedlar, discovered Achilles’ true identity and convinced him to join the Greek campaign against Troy.
  5. What animal is pictured at the top of this post?
    • Chinchilla—native to the Andes mountains in South America, are known for their dense fur and are related to viscachas and chinchilla rats. Historically hunted for their fur, most chinchillas today are farm-raised for the fur industry, while domestic chinchillas are sometimes kept as pets.

ABC

Image Wikipedia

Today’s questions have answers which begin with A, B or C.

  1. Established in the 1990s, WestJet is the second-largest airline in which Commonwealth country?
    • Australia
    • Barbados
    • Canada
  2. The first geological period of the Paleozoic Era has a Latin name connected to Wales. What is it?
    • Aquitanian
    • Burdigalian
    • Cambrian
  3. In Mark Twain’s novel, Hank Morgan is the titular Yankee. What word is missing from the title: A … Yankee in King Arthur’s Court?
    • Appalachian
    • Baltimore
    • Connecticut
  4. Which of these was a mythical hero whom Thetis dressed as a girl and hid with King Lycomedes of Skyros?
    • Achilles
    • Basilisk
    • Chiron
  5. What animal is pictured at the top of this post?
    • Agouti
    • Bushbaby
    • Chinchilla

Good luck! I will post the answers later today.