Here are today’s answers.
Image Wikimedia Commons
The first question relates to today’s date, 16 July. The subsequent questions follow a theme established by the first.
One
The world’s first atomic bomb exploded in a test on 16 July.
- What code name was given to the test?
- In what year was the test?, and
- In what U.S. state was the test site located?
Answers
- Trinity
- 1945
- New Mexico
The Trinity test, the first nuclear detonation, occurred on July 16, 1945, in New Mexico as part of the Manhattan Project. Directed by Kenneth Bainbridge, it tested an implosion-design plutonium bomb, releasing 25 kilotons of energy and creating trinitite. Observed by 425 people, the site became a National Historic Landmark in 1965. The Manhattan Project established Los Alamos for nuclear weapon development, leading to the first atomic bomb, Gadget, tested at the Trinity Site. The Trinity Site is now a national historic landmark with limited public access.
Two
When asked why he chose the nuclear test code name referred to in question one above, Robert Oppenheimer alluded to the work of which English poet?
Answer: John Donne.
In 1962 Oppenheimer said:
Why I chose the name is not clear, but I know what thoughts were in my mind. There is a poem of John Donne, written just before his death, which I know and love.” Oppenheimer then quoted the sonnet “Hymn to God, My God, in My Sickness” about a man unafraid to die because he believed in resurrection.
Oppenheimer continued:
That still does not make a Trinity, but in another, better-known devotional poem Donne opens, ‘Batter my heart, three person’d God.’ Beyond this, I have no clues whatever.
— Los Alamos National Laboratory
Three
Who is traditionally said to have used a clover-like plant, which is now a national symbol, as a metaphor for a Christian doctrine, and what was the plant?
Answer: St. Patrick; shamrock.
In 5th-century Ireland, Saint Patrick reportedly used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to pagans. Today, the shamrock is Ireland’s national symbol and a key emblem of Saint Patrick’s Day, celebrated worldwide with parades and festivities.
Four
Which charity is the official authority for lighthouses in England and Wales?
Answer: Trinity House.
Trinity House, established in 1514, is the UK’s largest maritime charity and General Lighthouse Authority for England, Wales, the Channel Islands, and Gibraltar. It ensures maritime safety through navigation aids, pilot licensing, and audits. Annually, it donates £4m to support cadet training, retired mariners’ welfare, and sea safety education.
Five
Of the seven surviving British and Irish medieval and early modern universities founded before 1600 AD, one with a name appropriate for this theme was founded in 1592. Under what name was this 1592 establishment founded?
Answer: Trinity College Dublin (Coláiste na Tríonóide, Baile Átha Cliath).
(or in full The Provost, Fellows and Scholars of the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin (Coláiste Thríonóid Naofa Neamhroinnte na Banríona Eilís gar do Bhaile Átha Cliath)).
Trinity College Dublin, founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I, is Ireland’s oldest university and a member of LERU and the Coimbra Group. It houses the Book of Kells and has notable alumni like Oscar Wilde and Jonathan Swift. The college, a major tourist destination, has an academic partnership with Oxford and Cambridge.
Now I am Become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds
Robert Oppenheimer later recalled a moment, after the Trinity Test, when the line ‘Now I am Become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds’ from the Hindu scripture the Bhagavad Gita came to mind.
Quizology.Online 