Through the looking glass

Here are a few questions which are related to today’s date, June 4th.

Illustration from Through the Looking Glass.
Image Wikipedia
  1. On 4 June 1783, an uncrewed hot-air balloon was launched at Annonay in southeastern France. This marked the first public demonstration of the discovery that hot air in a large, lightweight bag rises. Who made this discovery and constructed and launched the balloon? Who made this discovery and constructed and launched the balloon?
    • Leclerc Bothers
    • Meirovitz Brothers
    • Montgolfier Brothers
  2. On this day in 1876, the first Transcontinental Express arrived in San Francisco after travelling from New York. How long did the journey take?
    • 67 hours and 54 minutes
    • 75 hours and 22 minutes
    • 83 hours and 39 minutes
  3. Today in 1996, the maiden flight of the European Space Agencies Ariane 5 rocket ended in an explosion after 37 seconds. What was the cause of this incident?
    • Fuel leak
    • Lightning strike
    • Software bug
  4. In 1896, Henry Ford completed a successful test on his first gasoline-powered automobile. What did he call it?
    • Ford Gasoline-Carriage
    • Ford Model A
    • Ford Quadricycle
  5. On 4 June 1937, an American supermarket chain introduced one of the world’s first shopping carts. What was the supermarket chain?
    • Humpty Dumpty
    • Daisy
    • Tweedledum and Tweedledee

Good luck! I will post the answers later today.

From House Demolition to Dining Out—Answers

Douglas Hydro.
Wikipedia

Below, in bold, are the answers to my earlier post.

  1. Douglas AdamsThe Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a renowned science fiction comedy series created by British writer Douglas Adams.
  2. Paranoid Android—Marvin the Paranoid Android. A robot endowed with a “brain the size of a planet” but cursed with chronic depression. Often providing dry, sardonic humour, Marvin’s character contrasts sharply with the other characters’ antics.
  3. Agrajag—A tragic figure who is continually reincarnated and inadvertently killed by Arthur Dent in various lifetimes, harbouring a grudge that adds a darkly comedic layer to the narrative.
  4. Eaten—The concept of an Ameglian Major Cow is that it genuinely desires to be consumed and satirises ethical debates around eating meat.
  5. Mattress—An inhabitant of the planet Squornshellous Zeta, Zem is a sentient, albeit somewhat dim-witted, swamp-dwelling mattress, showcasing Adams’ flair for the absurd.
  6. Ford Prefect-—Arthur’s eccentric friend who masquerades as an out-of-work actor but is actually an alien researcher for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy who is here to write an entry for Earth for inclusion in the next edition of the guide. His quick wit and knowledge of the intergalactic landscape often prove invaluable.
  7. Infinite Improbability Drive—A revolutionary propulsion system aboard the Heart of Gold spaceship. It allows the craft to traverse vast interstellar distances instantaneously by passing through every conceivable point in the universe simultaneously. Its unpredictability leads to many of the series’ most absurd and humorous moments.
  8. Slartibartfast—A Magrathean planet designer passionate about crafting coastlines, notably Norway’s fjords. His calm, methodical approach adds depth to the exploration of cosmic mysteries.
  9. Arthur Dent—The quintessential everyman protagonist whose mundane life is upended when Earth is destroyed to make way for a hyperspace bypass. Arthur’s bewildered journey through space forms the heart of the narrative.
  10. Radio series—Initially debuting as a radio series on BBC Radio 4 in 1978, it gained immense popularity, subsequently evolving into a series of novels, a television adaptation, stage shows, a text adventure game, and a feature film released in 2005.

From House Demolition to Dining Out

Zaphod Beeblebrox.
Wikipedia

As the writer and creator of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was born on 12 March 1952, here are some questions on that subject; so from Agrajag to Zem, if you like.

  1. The creator and writer of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was…
    • Douglas Adams
    • Terry Pratchett
    • Isaac Asimov
  2. The character Marvin is known as the…
    • Fraught Robot
    • Paranoid Android
    • Clot Bot
  3. Who, described as “a tragic and piteous creature”, is continually reincarnated and subsequently killed?
    • Agrajag
    • Annie
    • Almighty Bob
  4. The Ameglian Major Cow, which the main characters meet, has a desire to be…
    • Loved
    • Read poetry
    • Eaten
  5. Zem is an affable, yet stupid, swamp-dwelling…
    • Magician
    • Mattress
    • Mannequin
  6. Who, with an automobile-like name, is a main character?
    • Ford Prefect
    • Nissan Micra
    • Vauxhall Viva
  7. What is a type of drive powered the spacecraft Heart of Gold?
    • Infantile Tantrum Drive
    • Infinite Improbability Drive
    • Impractical Inability Drive
  8. This person is a Magrathean who is a designer of planets, his name is…
    • Vroomfondel
    • Slartibartfast
    • Majikthise
  9. The story opens on Earth in the home of…
    • Arthur Dent
    • Brian Bash
    • Charlie Scrape
  10. As what did The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy start out?
    • Novel
    • Radio series
    • Film

Good luck! The answers will appear later today.