There Is Only One Batman In The World – Yes, It’s Fact Day.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

.

Yes, today is fact day on the fasab blog.

And apparently there is only one batman in the world.

That and other unusual offerings below.

Enjoy.

.

fact 01

.

In Germany you are not allowed

to run out of gas on the highway

 German autobahn traffic

.

.

Although there are McDonald’s restaurants

in 119 countries,

40% of the total number are found in the US.

The only place in the continental US

that is more than 100 miles from a McDonald’s

is a desert in northwest Nevada.

 McDonald's sign Ruby Mountains Nevada

.

.

The mayor of Batman city in southeastern Turkey

sued Warner Bros for using his city’s name

without permission.

“There is only one batman in the world”

he was quoted as saying.

 Batman

.

.

The Museum of Non-Visible Art

sells art that only exists

in the imagination of the artist.

In 2011 a moron

– sorry, a woman –

bought one of their “non-visible”

art pieces for $10,000.

I wonder if she hung it on her imaginary wall

in her imaginary house???

 Empty-picture-frame Museum of Non-Visible Art

.

.

In space,

about 10 billion light years distant,

there is an enormous water vapor cloud

that is estimated to hold up to 140 trillion times

the mass of water found in all Earth´s oceans.

 black-hole-quasar-water-cloud

.

.

And still with space,

in typical bureaucrat fashion,

just in case life is found on some other planet,

NASA has an Office of Planetary Protection

already prepared.

 NASA Office of Planetary Protection

.

.

The cardboard thingy that goes around

your coffee cup is called a ‘zarf’.

 zarfs

.

.

The inventor of the diesel engine,

Rudolf Diesel,

committed suicide because he thought

his invention wouldn’t be successful.

 Rudolf Diesel

.

.

Despite being the largest pre-Colombian American empire,

the Incas never developed a written language.

Thus there are no census records available

and estimates of the size of the Inca population has

varied widely from 4 million people to nearly 40 million.

 inca_man

.

.

Karl Marx was once a correspondent

for the New York Daily Tribune.

 karl marx new york daily tribune

.

.

Abraham Lincoln dreamt of his own assassination

just a few days before it happened.

He dreamt he could hear sad wailing in the White House

and, in getting up and trying to find it,

finally came upon a room with

mourners and his own corpse…

 Abraham Lincoln dreamt of his own assassination

.

.

The first official fan-made music video

was Grégoire Pinard’s claymation video

of Placebo’s song “English Summer Rain”.

The band were so impressed that

they decided to make it official.

.

.

============================

.

Never Judge A Book By It’s Movie.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

That’s good advice in the title by the way.

Now for some good word plays or puns.

As ever….

Enjoy or endure!!

.

rofl

.

What do you get if you cross

a mountain and a desert?

Tired feet.

 Tired feet

.

.

My girlfriend asked me,

“If you could have any super-power,

which one would you have?”

I said, “America.”

 super-power

 

.

.

Education is important but

becoming a model is importanter.

 becoming a model

.

.

The key to being funny is

to say smart things stupidly…

or was is it stupid things smartly?

Whatever,

it’s not rocket surgery.

 rocket surgery

.

.

I used to see this girl across the road from me

but she closes her curtains now!

 closed curtains

.

.

I often say to myself,

“I can’t believe that cloning machine worked!”

 cloning machine

.

.

My friend and his wife are a fastidious couple.

He is fast and she is hideous.

(Or is it the other way round?)

 fastidious couple

.

.

The instructions on my microwave meal

say ‘stir and recover’

How tiring do they think stirring actually is?

 microwave meal

.

.

How to fall downstairs.

Step 1

Step 6

Step 8, 9, 10, 11

 fall down stairs cartoon

.

.

And so, with a heavy heart,

I explained to the wife that I’ve

got too much iron in my blood.

 heavy heart

.

.

Scientists now think that global warming

is the main cause of documentaries and stupid laws

 cartoon_climate_science

.

.

I believe a lot of conflict in the Wild West

could have been avoided completely if

cowboy architects had just made their

towns big enough for everyone.

.

.

================================

.

The Quizzes March On!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

.

Another month and another quiz to get it off to a challenging start.

One or two relatively easy ones today, but I think most of them you will find tough enough.

As usual, if you get stuck, you can find the answers waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below, but please NO cheating!

Enjoy and good luck.

.

Quiz 5

.

Q.  1:  What is the official language of Brazil?

.

.

Q.  2:  Which wife of a politician said in 1981, ‘Woman is like a teabag: you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in the hot water’?

.

.

Q.  3:  Many expanses of water of varying sizes are designated as ‘seas’ such as the Mediterranean Sea, the Dead Sea, etc. But what is the only such sea in the world that does not have a coastline?

.

.

Q.  4:  What book was Denzel Washington protecting in the 2010 movie?

.

.

Q.  5:  What is both unusual and famous about the restaurant in Volterra, Italy called  “Fortezza Medicea”?

.

.

Q.  6:  In which city is the music recording company Motown based?

.

.

Q.  7:  The official country retreat of the President of the USA, Camp David, is located in which mountains?

.

.

Q.  8:  Where did the Incas originate?

.

.

Q.  9:  What was the name of the Cuban President over thrown by Fidel Castro in 1959?

.

.

Q. 10:  Although the United States has Roswell and Area 51, and Hollywood has pushed out a unending stream of movies based on them, the government does not officially recognize the existence of UFOs. However three well known countries do formally recognize the existence of UFOs, can you name them? (A point for each and a bonus point if you can name all three.)

.

.

Q. 11:  Who was coming to dinner with Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn in 1967?

.

.

Q. 12:  Who was dubbed “Lenin’s left leg” during the early stages of Russia’s Marxist movement? 

.

.

Q. 13:  In which US city was the first skyscraper built in 1883?

.

.

Q. 14:  A double question with multiple points. The US State Department currently recognizes 194 different countries in the world, but how many take up approximately half of Earth’s land area?

HINT: It is a relatively small number of the 194 total and there is a bonus point for each of them that you can name.

.

.

Q. 15:  What phrase is the unlikely link between Barbara Streisand and Bugs Bunny?

.

.

Q. 16:  What is the only state in the Middle East in which there is no desert?

.

.

Q. 17:  What former Soviet state is currently experiencing massive civil unrest and upheaval?

.

.

Q. 18:  Which river has the largest delta?

.

.

Q. 19:  Whoopie Goldberg played one in a movie and Patricia Arquette played another in a television series, what were they? (And bonus points if you can name the movie and the tv series.)

.

.

Q. 20:  Which movie other than ‘The Bodyguard’ featured the song “I Will Always Love You”?

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

ANSWERS

.

Q.  1:  What is the official language of Brazil?

A.  1:  Portuguese.

.

.

Q.  2:  Which wife of a politician said in 1981, ‘Woman is like a teabag: you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in the hot water’?

A.  2:  Nancy Reagan.

.

.

Q.  3:  Many expanses of water of varying sizes are designated as ‘seas’ such as the Mediterranean Sea, the Dead Sea, etc. But what is the only such sea in the world that does not have a coastline?

A.  3:  The Sargasso Sea in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean is surrounded by ocean currents and no land and therefore has no coast.

.

.

Q.  4:  What book was Denzel Washington protecting in the 2010 movie?

A.  4:  The Book Of Eli. You also get a point if you said The Bible.

.

.

Q.  5:  What is both unusual and famous about the restaurant in Volterra, Italy called  “Fortezza Medicea”?

A.  5:  “Fortezza Medicea” is a maximum security prison – the cooks and waiters are all doing  sentences of at least seven years.

.

.

Q.  6:  In which city is the music recording company Motown based?

A.  6:  Detroit.

.

.

Q.  7:  The official country retreat of the President of the USA, Camp David is in which mountains?

A.  7:  Appalachians.

.

.

Q.  8:  Where did the Incas originate?

A.  8:  Peru.

.

.

Q.  9:  What was the name of the Cuban President over thrown by Fidel Castro in 1959?

A.  9:  General Batista.

.

.

Q. 10:  Although the United States has Roswell and Area 51, and Hollywood has pushed out a unending stream of movies based on them, the government does not officially recognize the existence of UFOs. However three well known countries do formally recognize the existence of UFOs, can you name them? (A point for each and a bonus point if you can name all three.)

A. 10:  France, Italy and Chile have all formally recognized the existence of UFOs.

.

.

Q. 11:  Who was coming to dinner with Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn in 1967?

A. 11:  Sidney Poitier.

.

.

Q. 12:  Who was dubbed “Lenin’s left leg” during the early stages of Russia’s Marxist movement? 

A. 12:  Joseph Stalin.

.

.

Q. 13:  In which US city was the first skyscraper built in 1883?

A. 13:  Chicago.

.

.

Q. 14:  A double question with multiple points. The US State Department currently recognizes 194 different countries in the world, but how many take up approximately half of Earth’s land area?

HINT: It is a relatively small number of the 194 total and there is a bonus point for each of them that you can name.

A. 14:  Seven countries take half of the Earth’s land area and they are Russia, Canada, USA, China, Australia, Brazil and Argentina.

.

.

Q. 15:  What phrase is the unlikely link between Barbara Streisand and Bugs Bunny?

A. 15:  “What’s up, Doc?” is Bugs’ catchphrase and the name of a 1972 comedy/romance movie starring Barbara Streisand and Ryan O’Neill.

.

.

Q. 16:  What is the only state in the Middle East in which there is no desert?

A. 16:  Lebanon.

.

.

Q. 17:  What former Soviet state is currently experiencing massive civil unrest and upheaval?

A. 17:  The Ukraine.

.

.

Q. 18:  Which river has the largest delta?

A. 18:  The River Ganges.

.

.

Q. 19:  Whoopie Goldberg played one in a movie and Patricia Arquette played another in a television series, what were they? (And bonus points if you can name the movie and the tv series.)

A. 19:  They played ‘mediums’, Whoopie Goldberg in the movie ‘Ghost’ and Patricia Arquette in the hit tv series ‘Medium’.

.

.

Q. 20:  Which movie other than ‘The Bodyguard’ featured the song “I Will Always Love You”?

A. 20:  ‘The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas’, a movie starring Dolly Parton who wrote the song.

.

.

============================================

.

Back To Normal Quiz

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

.

After a couple of festive mega quizzes it’s back to normal this week with a standard sized offering to test your knowledge.

As usual the answers can be found waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below, but NO cheating please!

Enjoy.

.

quiz 06

.

Q.  1:  What was Walt Disney’s Middle name?

           a) Ewart   b) Elias   c) Elliot    d) Ernest

.

.

Q.  2:  Which was the first state in America to pass a law which required vehicle occupants to wear seat belts, and what year did that law that come into effect? (A point for each part.)

.

.

Q.  3:  In which year did seat belts become compulsory in Great Britain?

.

.

Q.  4:  In Germany what is a ‘kaufhaus’?

.

.

Q.  5:  Which country has the longest land border with Russia?

           a) Mongolia        b) Kazakhstan        c) China

.

.

Q.  6:  ‘Hogmanay’ is another name for which day of the year?

            a) New Year’s Day        b) New Year’s Eve        c) Christmas Day

.

.

Q.  7:  Camp David, the country retreat of US Presidents, is in which state?

.

.

Q.  8:  The name of which Mexican snack food literally means ‘little cheese thing’?

           a) quesadilla        b) burrito        c) enchilada

.

.

Q.  9:  Absolute government by one person called what?

.

.

Q. 10:  The Egyptian god Anubis had the head of what animal?

            a) Jackal        b) Lion        c) Crocodile

.

.

Q. 11:  What was the first fully computer-generated feature length movie made by Pixar?

            a) Monsters Inc        b) A Bug’s Life        c) Toy Story

.

.

Q. 12:  Which Canadian city hosts the ‘Just For Laughs’ comedy festival every July?

.

.

Q. 13:  Who was the Roman equivalent of the Greek god Zeus?

.

.

Q. 14:  The US TV series ‘The Office’ was set in which Pennsylvanian city?

.

.

Q. 15:  What is measured on the Rankine scale?

.

.

Q. 16:  Who composed the opera ‘Cosi fan tutte’?

.

.

Q. 17:  What is the profession of Bill Murray’s character in ‘Groundhog Day’?

.

.

Q. 18:  ‘Mariculture’ is the cultivation of the animals and plants of which environment?

            a) Desert        b) Forest        c) Sea

.

.

Q. 19:  Writers from which country have won the Nobel Prize for Literature most often?

            a) America        b) Sweden        c) France        d) England

.

.

Q. 20:  What car is the prize possession of Clint Eastwood’s movie character ‘Walt Kowalski’?

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

ANSWERS

.

Q.  1:  What was Walt Disney’s Middle name?

           a) Ewart   b) Elias   c) Elliot    d) Ernest

A.  1:  b) Elias.

.

.

Q.  2:  Which was the first state in America to pass a law which required vehicle occupants to wear seat belts, and what year did that law that come into effect? (A point for each part.)

A.  2:  New York in 1984 (December 1 to be precise).

.

.

Q.  3:  In which year did seat belts become compulsory in Great Britain?

A.  3:  1983.

.

.

Q.  4:  In Germany what is a ‘kaufhaus’?

A.  4:  A department store.

.

.

Q.  5:  Which country has the longest land border with Russia?

           a) Mongolia        b) Kazakhstan        c) China

A.  5:  b) Kazakhstan.

.

.

Q.  6:  ‘Hogmanay’ is another name for which day of the year?

            a) New Year’s Day        b) New Year’s Eve        c) Christmas Day

A.  6:  Hogmanay is celebrated on b) New Year’s Eve.

.

.

Q.  7:  Camp David, the country retreat of US Presidents, is in which state?

A.  7:  Maryland.

.

.

Q.  8:  The name of which Mexican snack food literally means ‘little cheese thing’?

           a) quesadilla        b) burrito        c) enchilada

A.  8:  a) quesadilla.

.

.

Q.  9:  Absolute government by one person called what?

A.  9:  Autocracy.

.

.

Q. 10:  The Egyptian god Anubis had the head of what animal?

            a) Jackal        b) Lion        c) Crocodile

A. 10:  a) Jackal.

.

.

Q. 11:  What was the first fully computer-generated feature length movie made by Pixar?

            a) Monsters Inc        b) A Bug’s Life        c) Toy Story

A. 11:  c) Toy Story.

.

.

Q. 12:  Which Canadian city hosts the ‘Just For Laughs’ comedy festival every July?

A. 12:  Montreal.

.

.

Q. 13:  Who was the Roman equivalent of the Greek god Zeus?

A. 13:  Jupiter.

.

.

Q. 14:  The US TV series ‘The Office’ was set in which Pennsylvanian city?

A. 14:  Scranton.

.

.

Q. 15:  What is measured on the Rankine scale?

A. 15:  The Rankine scale measures temperature.

.

.

Q. 16:  Who composed the opera ‘Cosi fan tutte’?

A. 16:  Mozart.

.

.

Q. 17:  What is the profession of Bill Murray’s character in ‘Groundhog Day’?

A. 17:  He plays the part of a TV weatherman.

.

.

Q. 18:  ‘Mariculture’ is the cultivation of the animals and plants of which environment?

            a) Desert        b) Forest        c) Sea

A. 18:  c) Sea.

.

.

Q. 19:  Writers from which country have won the Nobel Prize for Literature most often?

            a) America        b) Sweden        c) France        d) England

A. 19:  c) France.

.

.

Q. 20:  What car is the prize possession of Clint Eastwood’s movie character ‘Walt Kowalski’?

A. 20:  Gran Torino

.

==========================================

.

Controversial Post? – Should We Get Rid Of Homos?

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

.

Some blogs meander along trying to be very politically correct. But not here at fasab. Controversial or not, the philosophy here is to tell it as it is.

So to repeat the question in the title…. 

Should we get rid of homos?

.

Of course, I’m talking about homographs and homophones – I don’t know what YOU were thinking of?

If you are a regular visitor to this blog you will know that quite often we have a look at amusing misprints or mistakes on signs, classified ads, newspaper headlines, or wherever else they can be found.

Nearly always the problem is peoples’ failure to grasp the intricacies of the English language.

If you are born and bred in an English speaking country then it is relatively easy to grasp the basics of the language, although there is a steady deterioration in some of these, like speleling for example. (That was a deliberate mistake for comic affect by the way.)

So what about the homos then?

For those who haven’t made up their mind yet, a homograph – (also known as a heteronym, but where would have been the fun in that title?) – is a word of the same written form as another but of different meaning and usually different origin.

Sometimes it is pronounced the same as the other word, in which case it is known as a homograph.

homograph definition

Sometimes they are pronounced differently, in which case they are called homophones.

homophone definition

An example of the former is the word “letter” which is pronounced the same whether the meaning is a message written to someone, or to describe a particular member of the alphabet such as ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, etc.

An example of the latter could be the word “lead” which is pronounced differently if it means a metal (“the lead was very heavy”), or to be the front runner of a group of people (“he was in the lead”).

There are a lot more homos around than you might at first think. Here are just a few examples I saw recently. I hope you find them interesting and maybe even begin to realize what a nightmare learning the English language must be for those not immersed in it from a very young age.

.

1) The bandage was “wound” around the “wound”.

.

2) The farm was used to “produce” “produce”.

.

3) The dump was so full that it had to “refuse” more “refuse”.

.

4) We must “polish” the “Polish” furniture.

.

5) He could “lead” if he would get the “lead” out.

.

6) The soldier decided to “desert”  his “dessert” in the “desert”.

.

7) Since there is no time like the “present”, he thought it was time to “present” the “present”.

.

8) A “bass” was painted on the head of the “bass” drum.

.

9) When shot at the “dove”  “dove” into the bushes.

.

10) I did not “object” to the “object”.

.

11) The insurance was “invalid” for the “invalid”.

.

12) There was a “row” among the oarsmen about how to “row”.

.

13) They were too “close” to the door to “close” it.

.

14) The buck “does” funny things when the “does” are present.

.

15) A seamstress and a “sewer” fell down into a “sewer” line.

.

16) The farmer used a “sow” to help him “sow” the crop.

.

17) The “wind” was too strong to “wind” the sail.

.

18) Upon seeing the “tear” in the painting I shed a “tear”.

.

19) I had to “subject” the “subject” to a series of tests.

.

20) How can I “intimate” this to my most “intimate” friend?

.

.

Let’s face it – English is a crazy language. 

For example, there are no “eggs” in “eggplant”, nor “ham” in “hamburger”.  

There is neither “pine” nor “apple” in “pineapple”.

“English” muffins weren’t invented in “England” nor “French” fries in “France”.

“Sweetmeats” are “sweet” but are candies and not “meats”, whereas “sweetbreads” are neither “sweet” nor “bread”, but in fact meat.

Boxing “rings” are “square” and a “guinea pig” is neither from “Guinea” nor is it a “pig”.

.

And why is it that “writers” “write”, but “fingers” don’t “fing”, “grocers” don’t “groce” and “hammers” don’t “ham”?

.

If the plural of “tooth” is “teeth”, why isn’t the plural of “booth”, “beeth”? Why one “index”, but two or more “indices”?  Or why do you have one “goose” and two “geese”, and one “moose” but never two “meese”?

.

You can make “amends” but what do you do if you have just one thing to amend? Or if you have a bunch of “odds and ends” and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call what’s left?

.

If teachers “taught”, why didn’t preachers “praught”?

And if a “vegetarian” eats vegetables, what does a “humanitarian” eat?

.

In what other language would people “recite at a play” and “play at a recital”; have “noses” that “run” and “feet” that “smell”; or send a “shipment” by “car” and “cargo” by “ship”?

.

How can a “slim chance” and a “fat chance” be the same, while a “wise man” and a “wise guy” are opposites?

.

Or why can people like the Amish “raise” a barn, meaning to “erect” a building, whereas everywhere else when we “raise” a building to the ground we mean we “demolish” it?

.

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn “up” as it burns “down”; in which you “fill in” a form by “filling it out”; and in which an alarm goes “off” by going “on”.

.

Even when you are standing still you can be part of the human “race” and you can look at the stars which are visible when they are “out”, unlike a light which is invisible when it is “out”.

.

Finally, there is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is “UP”.

It’s easy to understand “UP”, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we “wake UP”? At a meeting, why does a topic “come UP”? Why do we “speak UP”?

Or do what I am going to do now, which is to “shut UP”.

.

==============================

.

The Last Monday In July Means The Last Quiz For July!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

.

Welcome to another quiz day on the fasab blog.

As usual a random selection of questions, some quite difficult, but some that you should find easy enough.

When you are done check the answers which are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below – but NO cheating!

Enjoy.

.

Quiz 07

.

Q.  1:  What is the name of the art form that translated means ‘beauty writing’?

.

.

Q.  2:  The Blue Fairy is a kindly figure in which Disney classic? (Now you knows this!)

.

.

Q.  3:  What is the name of the Spanish soup served cold?

.

.

Q.  4:  What is the longest poisonous snake in the world?

.

.

Q.  5:  Eric Weisz is still believed by some to have made the first successful powered flight in Australia on March 18, 1910. Weisz was better known around the world under which stage name?

.

.

Q.  6:  Which region in the Pacific ocean is also the name of a character in the Dr. Doolittle stories?

.

.

Q.  7:  What is the name of the world’s oldest licensed whiskey distillery and in which country is it located? (a point for each answer)

.

.

Q.  8:  Contestants from which three countries have won the most Miss Universe titles? 

(Take some bonus points if you know how many titles they have won.)

.

.

Q.  9:  Which word, used in the world of espionage, stems from John Le Carre’s 1974 novel ‘Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy’?

.

.

Q. 10:  Kristal’ and ‘Krug’ are examples of which wine?

.

.

Q. 11:  In space an ‘Event Horizon’ surrounds what kind of region?

.

.

Q. 12:  Who was the first Hollywood actress to appear on a postage stamp?

.

.

Q. 13:  When the definition of a desert is ‘an area with an average annual precipitation of less than 250 millimetres per year’; on which continent is the largest desert in the world?

.

.

Q. 14:  Varig’ is the national airline in which country?

.

.

Q. 15:  Name the American artist who uses Campbell’s Soup cans in his pop art?

.

.

Q. 16:  What did American POW’s call the Hoa Lo prison camp in North Vietnam?

.

.

Q. 17:  Widely used to orient buildings and even furniture, the term ‘Feng shui’, what is the English translation of this term? (Two words.)

.

.

Q. 18:  Which breed of horse is also the name for a kind of bean?

.

.

Q. 19:  Who was the only heavyweight champion to finish his boxing career with a perfect record? (49 wins-0 defeats).

.

.

Q. 20:  Which film producer with a vegetable as a last name, was, until his death, involved in most of the James Bond films?

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

 

ANSWERS

.

Q.  1:  What is the name of the art form that translated means ‘beauty writing’?

A.  1:  Calligraphy.

.

.

Q.  2:  The ‘Blue Fairy’ is a kindly figure in which Disney classic? (Now you knows this!)

A.  2:  Pinocchio.(Did you get the clue? ‘Knows’ = ‘nose’, whoops, not pun day, sorry!)

.

.

Q.  3:  What is the name of the Spanish soup served cold?

A.  3:  Gazpacho.

.

.

Q.  4:  What is the longest poisonous snake in the world?

A.  4:  The King Cobra.

.

.

Q.  5:  Eric Weisz is still believed by some to have made the first successful powered flight in Australia on March 18, 1910. Weisz was better known around the world under which stage name?

A.  5:  Harry Houdini.

.

.

Q.  6:  Which region in the Pacific ocean is also the name of a character in the Dr. Doolittle stories?

A.  6:  Polynesia. In the series of books, Polynesia is Doctor Dolittle’s parrot.

.

.

Q.  7:  What is the name of the world’s oldest licensed whiskey distillery and in which country is it located? (a point for each answer)

A.  7:  Old Bushmills Distillery, located at Bushmills, County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

.

.

Q.  8:  Contestants from which three countries have won the most Miss Universe titles? 

(Take some bonus points if you know how many titles they have won.)

A.  8:  USA (8: 1954, 1956, 1960, 1967, 1980, 1995, 1997, 2012),

Venezuela (6: 1979, 1981, 1986, 1996, 2008, 2009), and

Puerto Rico (5: 1970, 1985, 1993, 2001, 2006).

.

.

Q.  9:  Which word, used in the world of espionage, stems from John Le Carre’s 1974 novel ‘Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy’?

A.  9:  Mole.

.

.

Q. 10:  Kristal’ and ‘Krug’ are examples of which wine?

A. 10:  Champagne.

.

.

Q. 11:  In space an ‘Event Horizon’ surrounds what kind of region?

A. 11:  A Black hole.

.

.

Q. 12:  Who was the first Hollywood actress to appear on a postage stamp?

A. 12:  Grace Kelly.

.

.

Q. 13:  When the definition of a desert is ‘an area with an average annual precipitation of less than 250 millimetres per year’; on which continent is the largest desert in the world?

A. 13:  The Antarctic. (Most people would say ‘The Sahara’ which is the largest ‘hot’ desert area in the world.)

.

.

Q. 14:  Varig’ is the national airline in which country?

A. 14:  Brazil.

.

.

Q. 15:  Name the American artist who uses Campbell’s Soup cans in his pop art?

A. 15:  Andy Warhol.

.

.

Q. 16:  What did American POW’s call the Hoa Lo prison camp in North Vietnam?

A. 16:  The Hanoi Hilton.

.

.

Q. 17:  Widely used to orient buildings and even furniture, the term ‘Feng shui’, what is the English translation of this term? (Two words.)

A. 17:  Feng shui translated into English means ‘Wind-Water’.

.

.

Q. 18:  Which breed of horse is also the name for a kind of bean?

A. 18:  Pinto.

.

.

Q. 19:  Who was the only heavyweight champion to finish his boxing career with a perfect record? (49 wins-0 defeats).

A. 19:  Rocky Marciano.

.

.

Q. 20:  Which film producer with a vegetable as a last name, was, until his death, involved in most of the James Bond films?

A. 20:  Albert R (Cubby) Broccoli.

.

So how did you do?

.

=====================================

.