Crikey! Not Another Quiz?

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Yes, I’m afraid so. Another Monday quiz to get the brain working for the rest of the week.

As usual we have a varied and random selection of questions, some easy, some tricky, but most of them difficult enough.

Especially if you don’t know the answers, which as ever are given waaaaaaaaaaay down below.

But NO cheating please!

Enjoy.

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Quiz 5

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Q  1:  Who invented Basketball and what was his nationality?

Well, okay, that’s a pretty tough one to begin with, so you get a point just for getting the nationality right. 

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Q  2:  What are three consecutive strikes in bowling called?

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Q  3:  By what name is the Red Cross known in Arab countries?

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Q  4:  What is most household dust is made up of?

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Q  5:  Who was the first person on the sci-fi TV series Star Trek to say the words, “Beam me up, Scotty”?

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Q  6:  Two legendary Americans were among those who died at the battle of The Alamo.

Can you name at least one?

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Q  7:  Who lives longer on average, right handed people, or left handed people?

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Q  8:  In the U.S, which one of these four items outsells the other three combined?

Baseballs

Basketballs

Frisbees

Footballs

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Q  9:  You have seen this many many times but have you noticed it?

What is the time displayed on most watch advertisements?

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Q 10:  What is peculiar, unusual or noteworthy about the words “facetious” and “abstemious”?

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Q 11:  It is well known that the Apollo 11 mission was the first to land men on the Moon.

But the crew from which Apollo mission were the last men to set foot on the moon?

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Q 12:  On a ship what is a toilet called?

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Q 13:  What is the name of the squiggly line “~” on keyboards?

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Q 14:  By what name is actress Caryn Elaine Johnson better known?

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Q 15:  What was the first country to issue postage stamps in 1840?

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Q 16:  What was the former name of the country now known as Iran?

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Q 17:  In 1783, the hot air balloon was invented where?

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Q 18:  What are the markings that are found on dice called?

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Q 19:  Water that is safe to drink is referred to as what?

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Q 20:  What is the second largest French speaking city after Paris?

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ANSWERS

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Q  1:  Who invented Basketball and what was his nationality?

A  1:  James Naismith in 1891. He was Canadian. 

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Q  2:  What are three consecutive strikes in bowling called?

A  2:  A turkey

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Q  3:  By what name is the Red Cross known in Arab countries?

A  3:  The Red Crescent

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Q  4:  What is most household dust is made up of?

A  4:  Most household dust is made up of dead skin cells.

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Q  5:  Who was the first person on the sci-fi TV series Star Trek to say the words, “Beam me up, Scotty”?

A  5:  Nobody. Contrary to popular myth, they NEVER said “Beam me up, Scotty” on Star Trek.

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Q  6:  Two legendary Americans were among those who died at the battle of The Alamo.

Can you name at least one?

A  6:  Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett

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Q  7:  Who lives longer on average, right handed people, or left handed people?

A  7:  Right handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left handed people do.

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Q  8:  In the U.S, which one of these four items outsells the other three combined?

Baseballs

Basketballs

Frisbees

Footballs

A  8:  In the U.S, frisbees outsell footballs, baseballs and basketballs combined.

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Q  9:  You have seen this many many times but have you noticed it?

What is the time displayed on most watch advertisements?

A  9:  In most watch advertisements the time displayed on a watch is 10:10.

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Q 10:  What is peculiar, unusual or noteworthy about the words “facetious” and “abstemious”?

A 10:  The words “facetious” and “abstemious” contain all the vowels in the correct order.

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Q 11:  It is well known that the Apollo 11 mission was the first to land men on the Moon.

But the crew from which Apollo mission were the last men to set foot on the moon?

A 11:  Apollo 17

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Q 12:  On a ship what is a toilet called?

A 12:  The head

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Q 13:  What is the name of the squiggly line “~” on keyboards?

A 13:  A tilde

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Q 14:  By what name is actress Caryn Elaine Johnson better known?

A 14:  Whoopi Goldberg

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Q 15:  What was the first country to issue postage stamps in 1840?

A 15:  Great Britain

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Q 16:  What was the former name of the country now known as Iran?

A 16:  Persia

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Q 17:  In 1783, the hot air balloon was invented where?

A 17:  The hot air balloon was invented in France.

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Q 18:  What are the markings that are found on dice called?

A 18:  The markings found on dice are called “pips.”

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Q 19:  Water that is safe to drink is referred to as what?

A 19:  Potable

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Q 20:  What is the second largest French speaking city after Paris?

A 20:  Montreal

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Significant Number Factoid Friday – Thirteen, Unlucky For Some

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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They’ve been ‘beautiful’,  they’ve been ‘big’  and they’ve been ‘unusual’

Today we have ‘significant’ number thirteen, unlucky for some.

Enjoy.

 

13 Thirteen

The number 13 seems to give a lot of people trouble. Indeed the fear of the number 13 is so pervasive that it even has a phobia named after it  –  triskaidekaphobia. 

 

In the Bible.

  • At the Last Supper in Christian theology, there were 13 dinner guests, so that number is unlucky because Christ was betrayed.
  • Thirteen famines are recorded in the Scriptures.
  • The destruction of Jericho is stamped with the number thirteen, because the city was compassed once each day for six days, and seven times on the seventh day, making 13 times in all (6+7).
  • All the names of Satan are divisible by thirteen.
  • In Mark 7 Jesus mentions thirteen things that defile a person (evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride and foolishness).

 

Elsewhere,

  • The ancient Hebrews thought 13 was unlucky because the thirteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet is the letter M, which is the first letter in the word “mavet,” meaning death.
  • In Norse mythology, 12 benevolent gods were gathering in a hall and the evil god Loki attacked the group. Loki was the 13th guest, and the god Balder was killed in the melee.
  • President Franklin D. Roosevelt was quite fearful of the number 13, and he took great pains to avoid hosting a meal for a group of that size. It is said that if he had a cancellation and it looked as if there might be 13 people to lunch, he would invite his secretary to join them so there wouldn’t be 13.
  • Industrialist Henry Ford wouldn’t do business on Friday, the 13th.
  • Multimillionaire Paul Getty once stated “I wouldn’t care to be one of thirteen at a table.”
  • Some speculate that a fear of the number 13 is the reason we recognize only 12 constellations in the Zodiac, omitting a thirteenth… Ophiuchus ( the Serpent Holder) that, by its location, could be included.
  • Years ago, London bakers were subject to harsh penalties if they were caught selling bread in what was called short weight. The bakers would add an extra loaf to each dozen to be sure the sale met the minimum weight requirement. They avoided the word thirteen and the process of adding an extra loaf became known as the “baker’s dozen.”
  • Some airlines do not have a 13th row.
  • Most tall buildings do not have a 13th floor.
  • Many hotel guests refuse to stay in Room 13, so rooms are frequently numbered 12, 12A, and 14.
  • The 13th card of the Tarot is the card of Death.
  • The composer, Arnold Schoenberg, was a noted triskaidekaphobe. He died as he had predicted at the age of 76 (7+6=13), on a Friday 13th at 13 minutes to midnight.
  • In April 1970, NASA launched Apollo 13 at 1313 hours Central Time from pad 39. The flight was commanded by James A. Lovell with John L. “Jack” Swigert as Command Module pilot and Fred W. Haise as Lunar Module pilot. (Swigert was a late replacement for the original CM pilot Ken Mattingly, who was grounded by the flight surgeon after exposure to German measles.) They were scheduled for rest periods beginning 13 minutes past the hour and on April 13 at 21:07:53 CST (55:54:53 Ground Elapsed Time) an oxygen tank exploded and the mission had to be aborted. The rest is history – and a movie, Apollo 13, based on ‘Lost Moon’, Jim Lovell’s and Jeffrey Kluger’s book about the event.
Apollo 13 insignia
Insignia of the ill-fated Apollo XIII Mission

 

Friday the 13th Myths:

  • If you cut your hair on Friday the 13th, someone in your family will die.
  • A child born on Friday the 13th will be unlucky for life.
  • If a funeral procession passes you on Friday the 13th, you will be the next to die.

 

In the United States

  • the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution officially outlaws slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.
  • thirteen colonies rebelled against British Rule and King George III in what led to the American Revolutionary War and the eventual birth of the United States of America. The colonies were Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts Bay, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.
  • there are thirteen stripes on the USA flag to commemorate these original colonies.
USA flag - Stars and Stripes
USA flag – Stars and Stripes

 

 

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One Small Step For Man, One Giant Leap For Mankind – Oh, And What A Relief For Mr Gorsky!

There are times when it is difficult enough trying to think up stuff for a new blog every day. But there are also a few times when you get handed some inspiration because of an event that happens somewhere in the world.

Occasionally those events are inspiring and exciting, more often than not though they are tragic. Today is one that is a mixture of both and has led to a double-blog post Sunday for the first time.

I’m sure from the title you know who this post is about.

A young Neil Armstrong during his NASA days
A young Neil Armstrong during his NASA days

 

I learned yesterday via an NBC news headline and from a friend from the blogshpere, John Erickson, of the death of Neil Armstrong.

Everybody knows who he was and what he achieved during his life, so there is no point in going over all that again here. Sunday’s newspapers will be full of it.

I have no personal anecdotes about Neil Armstrong. I never met him, and never came close to meeting him. But I was with him, as were millions of others, on July 20, 1969 when he became the first man to set foot on the moon. I sat in front of our television and watched, totally enthralled, as he did it.

The tv picture was crappy and the sound intermittent, but it didn’t matter. It was happening, and we could see it happening in real time. It was the most exciting thing that had happened in my lifetime and then some. My Dad watched alongside me, every bit as engrossed in the whole event. He couldn’t quite believe it even though he was watching it happen.

It was and remains a truly wondrous event.

At the time, and being a kid, I never considered the courage it must have taken to be the first man to set foot on our moon. It was just an adventure, but what an adventure.

The word “hero” is bandied about a lot these days, but as far as Armstrong is concerned it is a plaudit well earned and well deserved. And not just for what he achieved in his career with NASA, but in how he lived his life as well.

Is it sad that Neil Armstrong is no longer with us? Of course it is. Men like him are all too rare. But he lived more in his lifetime than most of us could ever hope to or even imagine. He will be remembered well and that’s about as much as any of us can hope for.

Neil Armstrong - the first man to set foot on the Moon
Neil Armstrong – the first man to set foot on the Moon

 

 

And Mr Gorsky mentioned in the title of this post?

Naturally this blog being what it is there is a duty to add a little bit of humor and, fact or fiction, Neil Armstrong was aware of the story of Mr Gorsky and I am sure it provided him with a lot of amusement over the years, as it has also done for people like myself who have retold it many times.

For those who don’t know, the legend goes that when Neil Armstrong first walked on the moon, he not only gave his famous “One small step for man; one giant leap for mankind” statement, but before he re-entered the lander, he said “Good luck, Mr. Gorsky.”

Over the years, many people asked him what it meant but he would never say. Then one July 5, in Tampa Bay, FL, while answering questions following a speech, a reporter brought up the 26- year-old question. He finally responded. It seems that by that time Mr. Gorsky had died and so Neil Armstrong felt he could at last answer the question.

He said when he was a kid, he was playing baseball with his brother in the backyard. His brother hit a fly ball which landed in front of his neighbors’ bedroom window. The neighbors were Mr. and Mrs. Gorsky.

As he leaned down to pick up the ball, he heard Mrs. Gorsky shouting at Mr. Gorsky, “Oral sex? Oral sex you want? You’ll get oral sex when the kid next door walks on the moon!”

;o)

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