Quizology.Online

Tag: science

  • Binary II — Answers

    Here are today’s answers.

    Logo of the Wimbledon Championships.
    Image Wikimedia Commons

    Today’s questions are all either true or false.

    One

    Agrajag is a tragic and piteous creature who is continually reincarnated and subsequently killed, each time unknowingly, by …
    — Wikipedia

    Is it true or false that this quote from Wikipedia refers to a character from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels who is unknowingly killed by Mort across several incarnations?

    Answer: False.

    Agrajag is a tragic and piteous creature who is continually reincarnated and subsequently killed, each time unknowingly, by Arthur Dent.
    — Wikipedia

    Agrajag is repeatedly killed by Arthur Dent, the hapless protagonist of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. First appearing in Life, the Universe and Everything, Agrajag’s past incarnations include a bowl of petunias, a rabbit, and an old man, all meeting their ends due to Arthur. Agrajag seeks revenge, redirecting Arthur to a Cathedral of Hate, but fails repeatedly. In Mostly Harmless, Arthur inadvertently kills Agrajag again, allowing Arthur to die. Douglas Adams voiced Agrajag in the radio series. In And Another Thing…, cosmic balance shifts, benefiting Arthur. Agrajag also appears in the 2017 TV series Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency as a dog which suffers the expected consequences.

    Two

    Is it true or false that the 1936 Olympic Summer Games were opened by Kaiser Wilhelm II?

    Answer: False.

    Adolf Hitler, the de facto legal dictator of Germany, opened these games. Wilhelm II, the last German Emperor, reigned from 1888 to 1918, ending the Hohenzollern dynasty’s rule. His erratic foreign policy and naval build-up alienated the rest of Europe, leading to World War I. After Germany’s defeat, he abdicated in 1918, fled to the Netherlands, and died in 1941 during that country’s Nazi occupation.

    Three

    Is it true or false that a filoplume is a type of small crusty specimens of lava?

    Answer: False.

    A filoplume is a feather.

    Filoplumes are hairlike feathers with a few soft barbs near the tip. They are associated with contour feathers and may be sensory or decorative in function. Bristlelike, vaneless feathers occur around the mouth, eyes, and nostrils of birds. They are especially conspicuous around the gape (corners of the mouth) of birds that catch insects in the air.
    — Encyclopædia Britannica 

    Four

    Is it true or false that in 2000 Venus Williams was the first African American woman to win the ladies singles championship at Wimbledon?

    Answer: False.

    Williams was the first Black and African American woman to win the title since Althea Gibson in 1958. In 1957, Althea Gibson’s year, she became the first Black champion at Wimbledon, defeating Darlene Hard in the singles final. She received the trophy from Queen Elizabeth II, marking a significant milestone. Gibson also won the doubles championship for the second consecutive year, highlighting her exceptional season. Upon returning home, Gibson became the second Black American, after Jesse Owens, to receive a ticker tape parade in NYC. Mayor Wagner awarded her the Bronze Medallion. She won her first US National Championship, reached eight Grand Slam finals in 1957, and won multiple titles, including Wimbledon and US National singles.

    Five

    Is it true or false that mainland China, which is approximately 5,000 km from east to west, has five time zones?

    Answer: False.

    China uses a single official time zone, UTC+08:00, despite spanning five geographical zones, making it the largest country to do so. This standard is known domestically as Beijing Time and internationally as China Standard Time, and it has not observed daylight saving time since 1991. The system applies uniformly across Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau. Standardised timekeeping developed from 19th-century Shanghai, where observatory-based time signals evolved into a GMT+8 standard used by coastal ports. Although multiple time zones were proposed in 1918, including five regional standards, the country ultimately adopted a single unified time based on Beijing.

  • Binary II

    Logo of the Wimbledon Championships.
    Image Wikimedia Commons

    Today’s questions are all either true or false.

    One

    Agrajag is a tragic and piteous creature who is continually reincarnated and subsequently killed, each time unknowingly, by …
    — Wikipedia

    Is it true or false that this quote from Wikipedia refers to a character from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels who is unknowingly killed by Mort across several incarnations?

    Two

    Is it true or false that the 1936 Olympic Summer Games were opened by Kaiser Wilhelm II?

    Three

    Is it true or false that a filoplume is a type of small crusty specimens of lava?

    Four

    Is it true or false that in 2000 Venus Williams was the first African American woman to win the ladies singles championship at Wimbledon?

    Five

    Is it true or false that mainland China, which is approximately 5,000 km from east to west, has five time zones?

    Good luck! I’ll post the answers later.

  • Bits and Bobs — Answers

    Here are the answers to my earlier questions.

    All of these questions are related to today’s date, April 19th. They also all start with the letter ‘B’.

    Brandenburg Gate, Berlin.
    Image Wikimedia Commons

    One

    On 19 April 1999, in politics, what returned to Berlin for the first time in almost fifty years, and where had it returned from?

    Answers: Bundestag; Bonn.

    The first German Bundestag, the West German parliament, convened in Bonn on 7 September 1949. The Bundestag remained in Bonn until after reunification of Germany, when it returned to Berlin on 19 April 1999.

    Two

    In 1775, during the opening stages of a revolutionary war, a city was besieged for eleven months from April 19th. What city?

    Answer: Boston.

    The Siege of Boston (1775-1776) marked the start of the American Revolutionary War. American forces, led by George Washington, besieged the British Army in Boston, ultimately forcing their retreat to Nova Scotia after eleven months.

    Three

    Observed on April 19th, a celebratory day remembering an experiment where a chemist intentionally ingested LSD, documented it and then went home. What is the day called?

    Answer: Bicycle Day.

    On 19 April 1943, a few days after accidentally discovering LSD’s effects, which he believed had potential in psychiatry and neurology, Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann intentionally ingested it and documented the first acid trip. After this experiment, he cycled home, leading to the observance of Bicycle Day, as Encyclopædia Britannica comments, ‘And now April 19 is observed as Bicycle Day—mostly by LSD enthusiasts, not cyclists’.

    Four

    A poet and playwright who died this day in 1824, first became a celebrity with the publication of the first two cantos of Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage in 1812. Who is this poet?

    Answer: Byron.

    George Gordon Byron, a prominent British Romantic poet, is renowned for works like Don Juan and Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. He lived in Italy for seven years, befriending Percy Bysshe Shelley, and later joined the Greek War of Independence, becoming a folk hero before his death at 36. Byron, along with Shelley and Keats, was a major figure in the second generation of English Romantic writers and was a literary celebrity known for both his poetry and personality.

    Five

    IIn 2011, Fidel Castro resigned from Cuba’s Communist Party central committee. The following March, in his role as an elder statesman, Castro briefly met a visiting dignitary, the sixteenth of the name. Who was this dignitary?

    Answer: (Pope) Benedict XVI.

    On 19 April 2011, Castro resigned from the Communist Party central committee, thus stepping down as First Secretary. Raúl was selected as his successor. Now without any official role in the country’s government, he took on the role of an elder statesman. In late March 2012, Pope Benedict XVI visited Cuba for three days, during which time he briefly met with Castro despite the Pope’s vocal opposition to Cuba’s government.

    Bits and Bobs

    The title is simply another way of saying bits and pieces, an assortment. It was chosen as the title as all the answers begin with the letter B.

  • Bits and Bobs

    All of these questions are related to today’s date, April 19th. They also all start with the letter ‘B’.

    Brandenburg Gate, Berlin.
    Image Wikimedia Commons

    One

    On 19 April 1999, in politics, what returned to Berlin for the first time in almost fifty years, and where had it returned from?

    Two

    In 1775, during the opening stages of a revolutionary war, a city was besieged for eleven months from April 19th. What city?

    Three

    Observed on April 19th, a celebratory day remembering an experiment where a chemist intentionally ingested LSD, documented it and then went home. What is the day called?

    Four

    A poet and playwright who died this day in 1824, first became a celebrity with the publication of the first two cantos of Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage in 1812. Who is this poet?

    Five

    IIn 2011, Fidel Castro resigned from Cuba’s Communist Party central committee. The following March, in his role as an elder statesman, Castro briefly met a visiting dignitary, the sixteenth of the name. Who was this dignitary?

    Good luck! I’ll post the answers later.

  • Seize the Hour — Answers

    Here are the answers to my earlier questions.

    British Summer Time.
    Image BBC

    Having finished our A to Z quizzes from the last few days, we now return to the date with questions about today, March 31st.

    One

    On this date Daylight Saving Time was introduced for the first time in the United States.

    1. In what year did this occur?
    2. True or false: Ancient Rome also adjusted their clocks to achieve similar results as daylight savings. 

    Answers

    1. 1918

    2. True

    In the U.S., it was seen as a wartime implementation and was abandoned after 1918. It was again used during World War II. It came into general annual use in the 1960s. Ancient Romans used water clocks with varying scales for different months, adjusting the length of hours based on the season. A specific hour which lasted 44 minutes at the winter solstice would be 75 minutes long at the summer solstice.

    Two

    Born in 1809, Edward FitzGerald, an English poet and writer who is best known for his 1859 translation of the work of ‘the Astronomer-Poet of Persia’. He published this in 1859 as the Rubáiyát of ——. What two word name is that of the Persian astronomer-poet which completes the title of FitzGerald’s 1859 translation?

    Answer: Omar Khayyám.

    Edward FitzGerald’s 1859 translation of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám gained popularity in the 1860s and 1870s, becoming a cultural phenomenon in the English-speaking world. The work inspired numerous translations and became something of a cult in the later part of the 19th century. Omar Khayyam (1048–1131) was a Persian polymath who made significant contributions to mathematics, astronomy, philosophy and literature. 

    Three

    Born in 1984, Martins Dukurs, a Latvian sportsman, is a six-time world champion and double Olympic silver medallist. He holds the record for the most World Cup titles with 11. In which sport has Dukurs achieved this success?

    Answer: Skeleton.

    Martins Dukurs, born on 31 March 1984, is a former Latvian skeleton racer and current coach. Competing since 1998, he is a six-time world champion and double Olympic silver medallist (2010, 2014). Dukurs holds the record for the most World Cup titles, with 11, including eight consecutive from 2010 to 2017 and three from 2020 to 2022.

    Four

    Born in Scotland on this day in 1971, an actor links these two roles. The first is a character from a 1996 film also born in Scotland, in Leith, Edinburgh. The second is not Scottish but a character in a 2009 film who said ‘Have you come to make me a martyr?’. Who is the actor?

    Answer: Ewan McGregor.

    Ewan McGregor is a Scottish actor and filmmaker known for his roles in Trainspotting, Star Wars, and Moulin Rouge!. He has received numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe and a Primetime Emmy Award, and has also directed films and appeared in theatre productions.

    Five

    On this date, the U.S. Virgin Islands became American possessions. 

    1. By what name had they been known immediately prior to this?
    2. In what decade did this occur?

    Answers

    1. Danish West Indies

    2. 1910s

    The United States purchased the three islands from Denmark for $25 million in 1917, recognising their strategic importance in controlling the main passage through the Caribbean to the Panama Canal. Previously controlled by Denmark–Norway from 1754 to 1814 and then by the Kingdom of Denmark from 1814 to 1917, the islands were sold under the 1917 Treaty of the Danish West Indies. Adjusted for inflation, this amount would be $628 million in 2025. Since the purchase, the islands have been an organised, unincorporated U.S. territory. 

  • Seize the Hour

    British Summer Time.
    Image BBC

    Having finished our A to Z quizzes from the last few days, we now return to the date with questions about today, March 31st.

    One

    On this date Daylight Saving Time was introduced for the first time in the United States.

    1. In what year did this occur?
    2. True or false: Ancient Rome also adjusted their clocks to achieve similar results as daylight savings. 

    Two

    Born in 1809, Edward FitzGerald, an English poet and writer who is best known for his 1859 translation of the work of ‘the Astronomer-Poet of Persia’. He published this in 1859 as the Rubáiyát of ——. What two word name is that of the Persian astronomer-poet which completes the title of FitzGerald’s 1859 translation?

    Three

    Born in 1984, Martins Dukurs, a Latvian sportsman, is a six-time world champion and double Olympic silver medallist. He holds the record for the most World Cup titles with 11. In which sport has Dukurs achieved this success?

    Four

    Born in Scotland on this day in 1971, an actor links these two roles. The first is a character from a 1996 film also born in Scotland, in Leith, Edinburgh. The second is not Scottish but a character in a 2009 film who said ‘Have you come to make me a martyr?’. Who is the actor?

    Five

    On this date, the U.S. Virgin Islands became American possessions. 

    1. By what name had they been known immediately prior to this?
    2. In what decade did this occur?

    Good luck! I’ll post the answers later.

  • Dancing a Foxtrot with Juliett — Answers

    Here are the answers to my earlier posted questions.

    Mario Andretti in the lead with Ronnie Petterson behind, 1978 Dutch GP.
    Image Wikimedia Commons

    Five questions with the answers beginning with the letters from F to J —Foxtrot to Juliett — with each letter being used only once, but they are not in alphabetical order.

    One

    What one word can be all of these: a mythical creature which pulled Poseidon’s sea-chariot; an area of the human brain; and a genus of small marine bony fish? 

    Answer: Hippocampus.

    The hippocampus, located in the temporal lobe and part of the limbic system, is essential for memory and spatial navigation and is one of the first areas affected in Alzheimer’s disease, causing memory loss and disorientation. In mythology, the hippocampus is a creature with a horse’s upper body and a fish’s lower body, often depicted with Poseidon, the god of the sea, driving a chariot drawn by hippocampi and accompanied by dolphins. The Romans associated it with Neptune, the sea god. Additionally, Hippocampus refers to a genus of 46 species of small marine bony fish, known as seahorses, which have a horse-like head, segmented bony armour, and a curled prehensile tail. Found in shallow coastal waters worldwide, seahorses belong to the family Syngnathidae, along with pipefishes and seadragons, and vary in size from 2 to 35 cm.

    Two

    Who was the next North American to win Formula 1’s World Championship, and be crowned World Drivers’ Champion, after Mario Andretti?

    Answer: Jacques Villeneuve.

    Mario Andretti, an American racing driver, competed in Formula One and IndyCar, winning numerous races and championships, including the 1978 F1 championship. Jacques Villeneuve, a Canadian racing driver, competed in IndyCar and Formula One. He won the 1997 Formula One World Drivers’ Championship and the 1995 IndyCar World Series and Indianapolis 500.

    Three

    In what television sitcom did characters have surnames beginning with the these letters: 3 x G plus 2 x B and 1 x T?

    Answer: Friends

    G: Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston), Monica Geller (Courteney Cox), Ross Geller (David Schwimmer); B: Phoebe Buffay-Hannigan (Lisa Kudrow), Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry); T: Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc). 

    Four

    ‘When I saw Finn waiting for me at the corner of the street, I knew at once that something had gone wrong.’ This is the opening line of a work by what author, and what was the work?

    Answers: Iris Murdoch; Under the Net.

    Irish-British novelist and philosopher Dame Jean Iris Murdoch, known for her works exploring good and evil, sexual relationships, morality, and the unconscious, won the Booker Prize for The Sea, The Sea and was made a Dame in 1987. Her first published novel, Under the Net, is a philosophical story about a struggling writer in London. The novel, dedicated to Raymond Queneau, was named one of the best English-language novels since 1923 by Time magazine.

    Five

    Which double-Oscar-winning actress became a UK Member of Parliament in 1992, and for what two films did she win Best Actress Oscars? 

    Answer: Glenda Jackson; Women in Love and A Touch of Class

    Glenda Jackson (1936–2023) was a British actress and Labour Party politician. She was a member of the House of Commons from 1992 to 2015. Jackson won two Academy Awards for best actress, the first in 1970 for Women in Love and the second in 1973 for A Touch of Class. Other notable roles include her portrayals of Queen Elizabeth I in both the BBC television miniseries Elizabeth R (1971) and the film Mary, Queen of Scots (1971). After retiring from politics, Jackson returned to acting, earning a Tony Award in 2018 for her performance in Three Tall Women.

    Post Title

    Dancing a Foxtrot with Juliett

    Juliett is spelled as it is in radio communications, as Wikipedia explains…

    The spelling Juliett is used rather than Juliet for the benefit of French speakers, because they may otherwise treat a single final t as silent.

  • Dancing a Foxtrot with Juliett

    Mario Andretti in the lead with Ronnie Petterson behind, 1978 Dutch GP.
    Image Wikimedia Commons

    Five questions with the answers beginning with the letters from F to J —Foxtrot to Juliett — with each letter being used only once, but they are not in alphabetical order.

    One

    What one word can be all of these: a mythical creature which pulled Poseidon’s sea-chariot; an area of the human brain; and a genus of small marine bony fish? 

    Two

    Who was the next North American to win Formula 1’s World Championship, and be crowned World Drivers’ Champion, after Mario Andretti?

    Three

    In what television sitcom did characters have surnames beginning with the these letters: 3 x G plus 2 x B and 1 x T?

    Four

    ‘When I saw Finn waiting for me at the corner of the street, I knew at once that something had gone wrong.’ This is the opening line of a work by what author, and what was the work?

    Five

    Which double-Oscar-winning actress became a UK Member of Parliament in 1992, and for what two films did she win Best Actress Oscars? 

    Good luck! I’ll post the answers later.

  • From Alfa to Echo — Answers

    Here are the answers to my earlier questions.

    Five questions with the answers beginning with the letters from A to E, with each letter being used only once, but they are not in alphabetical order.

    See question two. Death in the Afternoon.
    Image A Couple Cooks

    One

    Who wrote, produced, and directed Moulin Rouge (2001) and Australia (2008)? 

    Answers: Baz Luhrman.

    Baz Luhrmann is an Australian film director, producer, writer, and actor known for his Red Curtain Trilogy and other films like Australia, The Great Gatsby, and Elvis. He is also involved in opera, theatre, music, and the recording industries, with Grammy-nominated soundtracks and his own record label.

    Two

    An absinthe-Champagne cocktail was invented by an author and shares its name with his 1932 non-fiction book about a sport in a southern European nation. Who is the author, and what is the book and cocktail’s shared name? 

    Answers: Ernest Hemingway; Death in the Afternoon.

    Death in the Afternoon, a 1932 non-fiction book by Ernest Hemingway, explores Spanish bullfighting, fear, and courage. Its namesake, a cocktail invented by Hemingway, is made with absinthe and Champagne. The drink, known for its decadence and high strength, can be made with absinthe alternatives like Absente or Pernod.

    Three

    Which chemical element derives its name from the Latin for ‘coal’?

    Answer: Carbon.

    Carbon, symbol C and atomic number 6, a non-metal which has two main forms, diamond and graphite, and which also occurs in impure form in charcoal, soot and coal. It is the 15th most abundant element in Earth’s crust and the fourth most abundant in the universe.

    Four

    Which small dog breed, which is not a terrier, is sometimes known as the monkey terrier?

    Answer: Affenpinscher.

    The Affenpinscher, a German toy dog breed, originated as a ratter and is now a popular companion worldwide. The breed, whose name is sometimes translated from German as ‘Monkey Terrier’, is believed to be ancestral to the Griffon Bruxellois and Miniature Schnauzer.

    Five

    The Malawian city of Blantyre was named after the Scottish birthplace of which missionary and explorer (1813-73)?

    Answer: David Livingstone

    Blantyre, Malawi’s second-largest city and commercial centre, was founded in 1876 by the Church of Scotland. It grew rapidly due to its role in colonial trade and became a major manufacturing centre. The city’s development was influenced by various factors, including commerce, industry, and administration, and it was merged with Limbe in 1956.

  • From Alfa to Echo

    Five questions with the answers beginning with the letters from A to E, with each letter being used only once, but they are not in alphabetical order.

    See question two.
    Image A Couple Cooks

    One

    Who wrote, produced, and directed Moulin Rouge (2001) and Australia (2008)? 

    Two

    An absinthe-Champagne cocktail was invented by an author and shares its name with his 1932 non-fiction book about a sport in a southern European nation. Who is the author, and what is the book and cocktail’s shared name? 

    Three

    Which chemical element derives its name from the Latin for ‘coal’?

    Four

    Which small dog breed, which is not a terrier, is sometimes known as the monkey terrier?

    Five

    The Malawian city of Blantyre was named after the Scottish birthplace of which missionary and explorer (1813-73)?

    Good luck! I’ll post the answers later.