A trivial pursuit

Here are a few questions which are related to today’s date, June 2nd.

Queen Elizabeth II, 1959.
Image Wikipedia
  1. Alfred Deakin became prime minister for the third time on the 2 June 1909. In what country was he premier?
    • Australia
    • Barbados
    • Canada
  2. Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, today in 1953, took place at…
    • St Paul’s Cathedral
    • Westminster Abbey
    • Windsor Castle
  3. On this day in 1962, during the FIFA World Cup, police had to intervene multiple times in a match to stop violence between Italian players and those from…
    • Australia
    • Belgium
    • Chile
  4. Today in 1692, the first person to be tried for witchcraft in Salem went on trial and was found guilty. Who was she?
    • Abigail Abbott
    • Bridget Bishop
    • Catherine Chaplain
  5. On 2 June 1966, Surveyor 1 became the first US spacecraft to soft-land on another world when it touched down in Oceanus Procellarum on…
    • Mars
    • Mercury
    • Moon

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.

Terrible Twos | Answers

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

Pratchett’s Night Watch at the top and Rembrandt’s The Night Watch below.
Image Pinterest
  1. Willem van Ruytenburch, dressed in yellow, is depicted in a 1642 Rembrandt painting titled similarly to a Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. What two words which form the novel’s title are also present in the painting’s title?
    • Night Watch—Rembrandt’s The Night Watch depicts a civic guard company, while Terry Pratchett’s novel follows Sir Samuel Vimes and the Ankh-Morpork City Watch.
  2. One was the Bond girl Solitaire, and the other was Henry VIII’s third wife. What was their shared name, first and last?
    • Jane Seymour—Jane Seymour, Henry VIII’s third wife, died of postnatal complications after giving birth to Edward VI. Jane Seymour, born Joyce Frankenberg, is a British actress known for roles in film and television. A Bond girl, she played psychic Solitaire in Live and Let Die (1973).
  3. What crow is also the name of a Tchaikovsky ballet?
    • Nutcracker—The nutcracker genus, Nucifraga, comprises four species of passerine birds in the Corvidae family. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s 1892 ballet, The Nutcracker, is based on Alexandre Dumas’s short story and features a nutcracker doll. The ballet’s score, particularly its use of the celesta, has become famous and is widely performed.
  4. What name links a London gunmaker, which is over 200-years old, and a character in The New Avengers, a British television series from the 1970s?
    • Purdey—James Purdey & Sons, a British gunmaker based in London, specialises in high-end bespoke sporting shotguns and rifles. The company holds Royal Warrants of appointment as gun and rifle makers to the British and other European royal families. Purdey, played by Joanna Lumley, was a spy working for British Intelligence in The New Avengers, a British television series in the seventies.
  5. The Royal Guardsmen’s song “_ vs. the Red Baron” peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1966. The fictional character missing from the song title became a mascot for aerospace safety in 1969 and has often since been associated with NASA. Can you name the character?
    • Snoopy—The Royal Guardsmen are an American band with several snoopy related hits. Snoopy has been associated with NASA since the Apollo era, inspiring generations to dream big about space exploration. During Artemis I, Snoopy will serve as the zero-gravity indicator, symbolising the journey to the Moon. This partnership continues to promote STEM education and excitement about space exploration. (Snoopy/NASA)

Terrible twos


Today’s trivia features a variety of questions without multiple-choice options, requiring you to come up with the answers yourself.

Mrs Henry VIII, the third.
Image Wikipedia
  1. Willem van Ruytenburch, dressed in yellow, is depicted in a 1642 Rembrandt painting titled similarly to a Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. What two words, which form the novel’s title, are also present in the painting’s title?
  2. One was the Bond girl Solitaire, and the other was Henry VIII’s third wife. What was their shared name, first and last?
  3. What crow is also the name of a Tchaikovsky ballet?
  4. What name links a London gunmaker, which is over 200-years old, and a character in The New Avengers, a British television series from the 1970s?
  5. The Royal Guardsmen’s song “_ vs. the Red Baron” peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1966. The fictional character missing from the song title became a mascot for aerospace safety in 1969 and has often since been associated with NASA. Can you name the character?

Miscellany II | Answers

  1. US President Jimmy Carter was a farmer, what type of farming was he involved in?
    • Peanut—Jimmy Carter, the first US president born in a hospital, grew up in Plains, Georgia, and later Archery. He attended the US Naval Academy, graduating in 1946, and served in the Navy until 1953, including a stint in the nuclear submarine programme. After his father’s death, Carter returned to Georgia to take over the family peanut business, facing challenges but eventually becoming successful.
      Amazon, which has the greatest discharge of any river, discharging into the Atlantic Ocean.
      Image NASA/Wikipedia
  2. What the second-largest river on earth by discharge?
    • Ganges—is second at 43,950 m$^3$/s following the Amazon’s 224,000| m$^3$/s. The Yangtze comes fifth with 31,900 m$^3$/s and the Mississippi tenth at 21,300 m$^3$/s.
      Tomb of Merlin, Forest of Paimpont (Brocéliande).
      Image Wikipedia
  3. Brittany’s Brocéliande Forest (aka Paimpont Forest) is the site of the tomb of which legendary magical figure?
    • Merlin—The forest of Brocéliande, first mentioned in Chrétien de Troyes’s Arthurian romance, is associated with Merlin and Morgan le Fay in later works. Its exact location is debated, with theories placing it in Brittany, specifically near Quintin or in Paimpont forest, with the latter being considered most likely.
      Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11, on Lunar Surface wearing an Omega Speedmaster.
      Image Wikipedia
  4. In 1969, the first wrist watch to be worn on the Moon was manufactured by…
    • Omega—Buzz Aldrin became the first person to wear a watch on the Moon, wearing the Omega Speedmaster Professional Chronograph. Although Neil Armstrong was the first to set foot on the Moon, he left his 105.012 Speedmaster inside the Lunar Module Eagle as a backup because the LM’s electronic timer had malfunctioned. Aldrin wore his Speedmaster, making it the first watch ever worn on the Moon.
      Marionette, is a puppet worked by strings.
      Image Pinterest.
  5. A person who’s actions are controlled by another could be described as a …
    • Quockerwodger—which is best described as follows:

      The term quockerwodger, although referring to a wooden toy figure which jerks its limbs about when pulled by a string, has been supplemented with a political meaning. A pseudo-politician, one whose strings of action are pulled by somebody else, is now often termed a quockerwodger.
      — John Camden Hotten. A Dictionary of Modern Slang, Cant, and Vulgar Words (1859)

Miscellany II

Full Moon
Image Wikipedia

Here are a few questions which have no connections they are simply miscellany.

  1. US President Jimmy Carter was a farmer, what type of farming was he involved in?
    • Avocado
    • Peanut
    • Zucchini
  2. What the second-largest river on earth by discharge?
    • Ganges
    • Mississippi
    • Yangtze
  3. Brittany’s Brocéliande Forest (aka Paimpont Forest) is the site of the tomb of which legendary magical figure?
    • Circe
    • Merlin
    • Witch of Endor
  4. In 1969, the first wrist watch to be worn on the Moon was manufactured by…
    • Bulova
    • Omega
    • Rolex
  5. A person who’s actions are controlled by another could be described as a …
    • Quaalude
    • Quillaja
    • Quockerwodger
Ancient Greek Terracotta dolls.
National Archaeological Museum in Athens/Wikipedia

Good luck! I will post the answers later today.

Day 111 | Answers

The answers to the questions posed earlier are in bold below.

Lupa Capitolina: she-wolf with Romulus and Remus.
Image Wikipedia
  1. Where was traditionally founded on 21 April 753 BCE?
    • Rome—Archaeological evidence indicates that Rome originated from hilltop villages during the Bronze or Iron Age, while Roman myth attributes its founding to Romulus in 753 BC, who, with his twin, Remus, was raised by a she-wolf. Roman historians connected Rome to Troy through a fictional lineage of kings, culminating in Romulus and Remus, who established Rome after a fratricidal conflict. This narrative, a typical Mediterranean folktale, was adapted to account for Rome’s beginnings and tradition holds that April 21st marked the day Romulus began building Rome, making it the city’s dies natalis—birthday.
      John W. Young on the Moon during Apollo 16 mission jumping about 42 Centimeters high. Charles M. Duke Jr. took this picture. The LM Orion is on the left. April 21, 1972.
      Image NASA/Wikipedia
  2. The Lunar Lander Orion landed on the Moon’s surface today in 1972. This, the tenth crewed US Apollo mission, was which of these?
    • Apollo 16—the tenth crewed US Apollo mission, landed in the Descartes Highlands on the Moon. The crew, Commander John Young, Lunar Module Pilot Charles Duke and Command Module Pilot Ken Mattingly. Young and Duke spent 71 hours on the lunar surface, collecting samples and conducting moonwalks.
      Andrea McArdle, Reid Shelton and Sandy, 1977.
      Image Wikipedia
  3. The original Broadway production of Annie opened on this day in 1977. What is the musical based on?
    • Comic strip—is a musical based on the comic strip Little Orphan Annie. It premiered on Broadway in 1977, winning seven Tony Awards and spawning numerous productions worldwide.
      Brasilia. Image Wikipedia
  4. What planned capital city, designed by a team including Lúcio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer, was inaugurated today in 1960?
    • Brasilia, Brazil—Brasília, Brazil’s federal capital, was founded in 1960 and is known for its modernist architecture and unique urban planning. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987.
      The Surgeon’s Photo
      Image Wikipedia
  5. The Surgeon’s Photograph, published in the in the UK’s Daily Mail on 21 April 1934, is the most famous photo allegedly showing the…
    • Loch Ness monster—The Loch Ness Monster, or Nessie, is a mythical creature said to inhabit Loch Ness in Scotland. Sightings of a large, long-necked creature have been reported since the 6th century, with the most famous account from 1933. Despite numerous alleged sightings and disputed evidence, the scientific community explains these as hoaxes, misidentifications, or wishful thinking.

Day 111

The post title Day 111: 21 April is the 111th day of 2025.

Day 111

See #2. Lunar Module.
Image Wikipedia

All of these are questions based on today’s date, 21 April.

  1. Commemorated annually on the 21 April by the festival of the Parilia, where was traditionally founded on this day in 753 BCE?
    • Athens
    • Paris
    • Rome
  2. The Lunar Lander Orion landed on the Moon’s surface today in 1972. This, the tenth crewed US Apollo mission, was which of these?
    • Apollo 14
    • Apollo 15
    • Apollo 16
  3. The original Broadway production of Annie opened on this day in 1977. What is the musical based on?
    • Comic strip
    • Novel
    • German folk tale
  4. What planned capital city, designed by a team including Lúcio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer, was inaugurated today in 1960?
    • Abuja, Nigeria
    • Brasilia, Brazil
    • Canberra, Australia
  5. The Surgeon’s Photograph, published in the UK’s Daily Mail on 21 April 1934, is the most famous photo allegedly showing the…
    • Bigfoot
    • Loch Ness monster
    • Yeti

Good luck! I will post the answers later today.

Spin, trials and unlucky 13 | Answers

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

Martin Luther. Wikipedia
  1. The trial of Martin Luther over his teachings and efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church began on 17 April 1521 during the…
    • Diet of Worms—At an Imperial Diet of the Holy Roman Emperor in the Imperial Free City of Worms, Martin Luther refused to recant his writings unless proven wrong by Scripture or reason, famously stating, “Here I stand; I can do no other.” The Diet declared Luther a heretic and banned his writings.
    Muttiah Muralitharan. Wikipedia
  2. On this day in 1972, Muttiah Muralitharan, cricketer, was born in…
    • Kandy—(Sri Lanka)—Muttiah Muralitharan, a Sri Lankan cricketer, is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. He is the only bowler to take 800 Test wickets and over 530 One Day International (ODI) wickets. Muralitharan was a part of the Sri Lankan team that won the 1996 Cricket World Cup.
    Henry Ian Cusick. Wikipedia
  3. Henry Ian Cusick, born today in 1967, who is best known for his role as Desmond Hume in Lost, is described in Wikipedia as…
    • Peruvian-Scottish—Henry Ian Cusick is a Peruvian-Scottish actor known for roles in Lost, The Gospel of John, Scandal, The 100, The Passage, and MacGyver.
    Apollo 13 crew: Commander, James A. Lovell Jr., Command Module pilot, John L. Swigert Jr., and Lunar Module pilot, Fred W. Haise Jr. Wikipedia
  4. The damaged Apollo 13 spacecraft returned to Earth safely today in 1970; the commander was…
    • James A. Lovell Jr.—Jim Lovell, a US astronaut, participated in the Gemini and Apollo space programmes. He commanded the Apollo 13 mission to the Moon in 1970, which faced a critical oxygen tank explosion but successfully returned to Earth. Apollo 13 was his fourth and final spaceflight.
  5. Anneli Jäätteenmäki took office on 17 April 2003 as the first female prime minister of…
    • Finland—
Anneli Jäätteenmäki. Wikipedia