Tag: television

Here, there and everywhere | Answers

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

View SE from the top level of the Eiffel Tower: the Champ de Mars, with Montparnasse Tower in the distance. The École Militaire is one third down from the top of the picture.
Image Wikipedia (Mattgirling)
  1. On 6 May 1889, the Eiffel Tower is officially opened to the public at the Universal Exposition, on the…
    • Champs de Mars, Paris—The Champ de Mars, a large public park in Paris, was originally a military parade ground. It hosted significant events during the French Revolution and later became a site for national expositions and world’s fairs.
      Coat of arms of Moravia.
      Image Wikipedia
  2. Sigmund Freud, a neurologist and psychoanalyst, was born in Freiberg in Mähren (now Příbor) on this day in 1856. His birthplace was in …
    • Moravia—Moravia, a historical region in the Czech Republic, was the centre of the medieval Great Moravian kingdom before becoming part of Bohemia in the 11th century. It later was part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire and then became part of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic.
      Puente Nuevo de Ronda.
      Image Wikipedia
  3. Actor Orson Welles was born today in 1915. He passed away in Los Angeles, California, in 1985, and two years later his ashes were interred at the home of his long-time friend, bullfighter Antonio Ordóñez, in Ronda…
    • Spain—Ronda, a municipality in Málaga, Andalusia, is known for its cliffside location and deep canyon. It has a population of about 35,000 and is part of the Sierra de las Nieves National Park.
      The Grand Palace, Bangkok.
      Image Wikipedia
  4. Today in 1782, at the command of King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke, construction began on the Grand Palace, the royal residence of the King of Siam. The palace was built in…
    • Bangkok—The Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand, is a complex of buildings built in 1782 as the official residence of the Thai kings. It covers 2.4 million square feet and includes over 100 buildings, the most notable being the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.
      Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland.
      Image Wikipedia
  5. Tony Blair, British prime minister from 1997 to 2007, was born 6 May 1953, in the city of …
    • Edinburgh, Scotland—Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is a city known for its historic Old Town and Neoclassical New Town, both designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city’s complex character, blending reserved exterior with warmth and gaiety, is reflected in its rich history, including religious conflicts, riots and the influence of its intellectual elite during the Neoclassical period of the 18th and 19th centuries. Edinburgh remains a major centre for finance, law, tourism, education and cultural affairs.

Here, there and everywhere

Eiffel Tower
Image Wikipedia

Here are a few questions which are related to today’s date, 6 May.

  1. On 6 May 1889, the Eiffel Tower is officially opened to the public at the Universal Exposition, on the…
    • Champs de Mars, Paris
    • Champs de Neptune, Paris
    • Champs de Venus, Paris
  2. Sigmund Freud, a neurologist and psychoanalyst, was born in Freiberg in Mähren (now Příbor) on this day in 1856. His birthplace was in …
    • Carinthia
    • Galicia
    • Moravia
  3. Actor Orson Welles was born today in 1915. He passed away in Los Angeles, California, in 1985, and two years later his ashes were interred at the home of his long-time friend, bullfighter Antonio Ordóñez, in Ronda…
    • Ecuador
    • Mexico
    • Spain
  4. Today in 1782, at the command of King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke, construction began on the Grand Palace, the royal residence of the King of Siam. The palace was built in…
    • Amman
    • Bangkok
    • Colombo
  5. Tony Blair, British prime minister from 1997 to 2007, was born 6 May 1953, in the city of …
    • Cardiff, Wales
    • Edinburgh, Scotland
    • London, England

Good luck! I will post the answers later today.

From Springfield to the Führerbunker | Answers

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

Marshal Matt Dillon, Gunsmoke.
Image Wikipedia
  1. The Simpsons aired its 636th episode on 29 April 2018, becoming the longest-running scripted prime-time show in the US. What show had held the record until then?
    • Gunsmoke—The Simpsons, created by Matt Groening, became the longest-running American scripted primetime television series in 2009–2010 and surpassed Gunsmoke as the show with the most episodes in 2018. It is also the highest-ranking animated series on TV Time’s top 50 most followed shows. The show, which centres on the dysfunctional Simpson family in the fictional town of Springfield, has significantly influenced popular culture by introducing catchphrases and expanding into comic books, video games and a feature film.
      Jeanne d’Arc at the Siege of Orléans by Jules Eugène Lenepveu, painted 1886–
      1890.
      Image Wikipedia
  2. On today’s date in 1429, Joan of Arc and her troops relieved what besieged city?
    • Orléans—The siege of Orléans, a crucial event in the Hundred Years’ War, began with English forces under Thomas de Montacute, earl of Salisbury, attempting to capture the French city. Following Salisbury’s death, William de la Pole, earl of Suffolk, took over the siege. However, the arrival of Joan of Arc in April 1429 forced the English to abandon the siege, marking a turning point that allowed the French to regain momentum and recapture lost territories.
      Obersalzberg- Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun with dogs (German Shepherd Dog “Blondi”?) at the Berghof, 1942
      Image Wikipedia
  3. Who did Adolf Hitler marry on 29 April 1945?
    • Eva Braun—In April 1945, Eva Braun defied Hitler’s orders to join him in Berlin, determined to remain with him until the end. In recognition of her loyalty, Hitler married her in a civil ceremony in the Chancellery bunker on April 29. The following day, as the situation in Berlin worsened, both Hitler and Braun committed suicide. Hitler either poisoned or shot himself, and Braun took poison. Their bodies were subsequently burned.
      Captain James Cook
      Portrait by William Hodges.
      Image Wikipedia
  4. On this date in 1770, which explorer arrived in and named Botany Bay in Australia?
    • James Cook—Endeavour continued northwards along the coastline, keeping the land in sight. As Cook charted and named landmarks, the crew made their first landfall on the continent on 29 April at a beach now known as Silver Beach on Botany Bay (Kamay Botany Bay National Park).
      Jerry Seinfeld, Late Show 2019.
      Image Wikipedia
  5. Jerry Seinfeld, the star of the TV show Seinfeld, was born on April 29, 1954. Where was he born?
    • Brooklyn, New York, NY—Jerry Seinfeld, an American comedian, actor, writer and producer from Brooklyn, New York, is renowned for his observational humour. He rose to fame with the NBC sitcom Seinfeld, which he co-created with Larry David and starred in from 1989 to 1998. The show became a landmark in American popular culture and a cultural phenomenon, showcasing Seinfeld’s unique comedic style. Since then, he has created and produced several other series and films.

From Springfield to the Führerbunker

Here are a few questions which are related to today’s date, 29 April.

Joan of Arc
Image Wikipedia
  1. The Simpsons aired its 636th episode on 29 April 2018, becoming the longest-running scripted prime-time show in the US. What show had held the record until then?
    • Family Guy
    • Grey’s Anatomy
    • Gunsmoke
  2. On today’s date in 1429, Joan of Arc and her troops relieved what besieged city?
    • Orléans
    • Reims
    • Tours
  3. Who did Adolf Hitler marry on 29 April 1945?
    • Eva Braun
    • Elke Grün
    • Ella Schwarz
  4. On this date in 1770, which explorer arrived in and named Botany Bay in Australia?
    • James Cook
    • Willem Janszoon
    • Abel Tasman
  5. Jerry Seinfeld, the star of the TV show Seinfeld, was born on April 29, 1954. Where was he born?
    • Bethesda, Maryland
    • Indianapolis, Indiana
    • Brooklyn, New York

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

Spin, trials and unlucky 13

Apollo 13 mission insignia. 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 Weeds
    • Diet of Woods
    • Diet of Worms
  2. On this day in 1972, Muttiah Muralitharan, cricketer, was born in…
    • Bonbon
    • Kandy
    • Toffey
  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…
    • Argentinian-Welsh
    • Chilean-Irish
    • Peruvian-Scottish
  4. The damaged Apollo 13 spacecraft returned to Earth safely today in 1970; the commander was…
    • Fred W. Haise Jr.
    • John “Jack” L. Swigert Jr.
    • James A. Lovell Jr.
  5. Anneli Jäätteenmäki took office on 17 April 2003 as the first female prime minister of…
    • Fiji
    • Finland
    • France

Good luck! I will post the answers later today

April Showers of Knowledge: A Quiz | Answers

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

Juan Ponce de León. Wikipedia
  1. Juan Ponce de León—a Spanish explorer, founded the first European settlement on Puerto Rico and is credited with being the first European to reach Florida in 1513. He named the region Florida due to its lush vegetation and discovery during Easter.
    A photographic portrait of Hans Christian Andersen by Thora Hallager, 1869. Wikipedia
  2. Hans Christian Andersen—Hans Christian Andersen, a Danish author, is best known for his fairy tales, including The Emperor’s New Clothes and The Little Mermaid. His stories, translated into over 125 languages, have inspired numerous adaptations.
    Richard Strauss, 1894. Wikipedia
  3. Richard Strauss—Strauss’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra is used for the dramatic opening scene of the film depicting an alignment of the Sun, the Earth and the Moon and which has been called the greatest movie opening ever. 2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 film by Stanley Kubrick, based on Arthur C. Clarke’s stories. It explores human evolution, technology and artificial intelligence through a journey to Jupiter involving a malfunctioning computer, HAL 9000, and a mysterious monolith.
    Col. Nicholson, The Bridge on the River Kwai, 1957. Wikipedia
    Prince Faisal, 3rd from left, in Lawrence of Arabia, 1962. Wikipedia
    Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars, 1977. Wikipedia
  4. Alec Guinness—Kwai: played Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957); Hejaz: Prince Faisal in Lawrence of Arabia (1962); London: George Smiley in both Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979) and Smiley’s People (1982); Tatooine: in the original three Star Wars films, Ben Kenobi—aka Obi-Wan Kenobi. A British actor, he was known for his diverse and acclaimed stage and screen performances. He won an Academy Award, a BAFTA, a Golden Globe, and a Tony Award; he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1959.
  5. Quaker—William Penn, seeking a haven for Quakers, secured a charter from King Charles II granting him over 45,000 square miles of land in North America. This land, named Pennsylvania, became a haven for Quakers, guaranteeing religious freedom and other liberties.
William Penn. Wikipedia

April Showers of Knowledge: A Quiz

2001: A Space Odyssey. Wikipedia

All of the following relate to today, 2 April.

  1. On 2 April 1513, an explorer landed on the coast of what is now Florida, he is believed to be the first European to land in Florida. Who was this explorer?
    • Sebastian Cabot
    • Hermenegildo de Brito Capelo
    • Juan Ponce de León
  2. Born this day in 1805, an author who is probably best known for works such as The Red Shoes, The Ugly Duckling and Thumbelina. Who is he?
    • Hans Christian Andersen
    • Jacob Grimm
    • George MacDonald
  3. Today in 1968, Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey had its world premiere. The film was noted for its use of classical music such as the dramatic Thus Spoke Zarathustra for the opening scene of the film. Who composed this piece of music?
    • Camille Saint-Saëns
    • Richard Strauss
    • Igor Stravinsky
  4. Born today in 1914, what actor links these film and television locations: River Kwai, Hejaz, London and Tatooine?
    • Peter Cushing
    • Alec Guinness
    • James Earl Ray
  5. On 2 April 1681, England’s King Charles II proclaimed the charter he had granted in March to William Penn for his colony of Pennsylvania in North America. What word best describes this colony?
    • Baptist
    • Puritan
    • Quaker

Good Luck! I will post the answers later today.

Spaghetti Tree | Answers

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

Duck-billed platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), Scottsdale, TAS, Australia. Wikipedia
  1. True—Male platypuses have spurs on their hind feet that deliver painful venom making them one of only a few species of venomous mammals.
    Harriet Beecher Stowe by Alanson Fisher (1807 – 1884).
    Google Art Project/Wikipedia
  2. False—Harriet Beecher Stowe was born in Litchfield, Connecticut. Stowe, an American writer and philanthropist, is best known for her novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which significantly impacted public opinion against slavery and is considered a contributing factor to the American Civil War. Growing up in a family of intellectuals and abolitionists, Stowe’s experiences in Cincinnati, Ohio, and her interactions with fugitive slaves deeply influenced her writing.
    Yogi Bear. Hanna-Barbera Productions/Wikipedia
  3. False—Yogi first appeared on Hanna-Barbera’s The Huckleberry Hound Show in 1958.
    Jewish girls during Bat Mitzva in Alexandria, Egypt (before 1967).
    Nebi Daniel Association/Wikipedia
  4. True—a bat mitzvah is a solemn ceremony held in some synagogues where a girl of 12 to 13 years of age is formally accepted as an adult member of the Jewish community. It is equivalent to a boy’s bar mitzvah.
    Roadrunner. Wikipedia
  5. True—Roadrunners, or chaparral birds, are two species of fast-running ground cuckoos found in deserts across the southwestern and south-central United States, Mexico and Central America. The roadrunner, popularised by Warner Bros. cartoons, is depicted as faster than coyotes, but in reality, coyotes are twice as fast. The cartoons also perpetuate the misconception that roadrunners say “meep, meep”.

    The Simpson-Reed Grove of coast redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) on US Route 199, California, USA. Wikipedia
  6. False—Sequoia is a genus of redwood coniferous trees. Bigfoot, or Sasquatch, is a large, hairy mythical creature said to inhabit forests in North America. It holds significant cultural importance in American and Canadian folklore.

Spaghetti tree

Why Spaghetti Tree? The BBC’s 1957 April Fools’ Day hoax, broadcast on the current-affairs programme Panorama, featured a convincing three-minute segment showcasing a family in southern Switzerland harvesting spaghetti from “spaghetti trees”. The report, which claimed the eradication of the dreaded spaghetti weevil had resulted in a bumper crop, was given credibility by being voiced by respected journalist Richard Dimbleby. At the time, spaghetti was relatively unfamiliar to the British public, prompting many viewers to contact the BBC for tips on cultivating their own spaghetti trees. This cleverly executed prank has since been hailed by CNN as

“undoubtedly the biggest hoax that any reputable news establishment ever pulled.”

—CNN.

The Spaghetti tree hoax on BBC’s Panorama current-affairs programme was voiced by respected journalist Richard Dimbleby. Wikipedia

Spaghetti Tree

Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner in Zoom and Bored, 1957. Wikipedia

April 1. Some of these may be true, indeed they may all be, but on the other hand they may, some or all, be false. Don’t be fooled!

  1. True or false: a platypus, aka a duck-billed platypus, is a venomous mammal.
  2. True or false: novelist Harriet Beecher Stowe, who wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin, was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama?
  3. True or false: Yogi Bear made his television debut in The Bugs Bunny Show.
  4. True or False: A bat mitzvah is a coming-of-age ritual in Judaism.
  5. True or false: The roadrunner is one of two species of fast-running ground cuckoos.
  6. True or false: Sequoia is another name for Bigfoot, the legendary creature from the forests of North America’s Pacific Northwest.

Good luck! I will post the answers later today.