Today’s quiz has a few questions that I think you will find quite challenging, plus one or two that you should breeze through with ease.
But the only way to find out is to have a go.
And remember, as always, if you get stuck, you can find the answers waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below, but please NO cheating!
Enjoy and good luck.
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Q. 1: What goes up and down, but still remains in the same place?
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Q. 2: Who directed both JFK and Nixon?
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Q. 3: Before being harvested and sold, an individual cranberry must bounce at least how many inches high to make sure they aren’t too ripe?
a) 2 inches b) 3 inches c) 4 inches d) 5 inches
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Q. 4: What World War II British naval intelligence officer wrote the children’s story ‘Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang’?
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Q. 5: Who is the only US President who was never elected as either President or Vice President?
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Q. 6: The ‘H-3’ and the ‘H-4’, built in 1757 and 1759 were mechanical wonders. Who constructed them both and what were they used for? (A point for each correct answer and a bonus point if you get them both correct.)
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Q. 7: What does the term ‘Cornucopia’ mean?
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Q. 8: To nearest 1000, in the year 1800 how many wild turkeys were there in Turkey?
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Q. 9: The two oldest universities in Europe are both found in which country?
a) France b) England c) Italy d) Greece
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Q. 10: Who was the tallest President of the United States and who was the shortest? (A point for each correct answer and a bonus point if you get them both correct.)
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Q. 11: In which 1949 movie did Sir Alec Guinness famously play the role of eight different members of the D’Ascoyne family?
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Q. 12: Who won this year’s (2014) Formula One World Driver’s Championship and what was his nationality? (A point for each correct answer and a bonus point if you get them both correct.)
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Q. 13: ‘Fionn mac Cumhaill’, ‘Bergrisar’, ‘Daityas’, ‘Patagons’ and ‘Nephilims’ are all examples of what?
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Q. 14: What does ‘IMAX’, as in the large screen IMAX Cinemas stand for?
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Q. 15: Which boxer’s first professional fight was against Tunney Hunsaker, Police Chief of Fayetteville, West Virginia, on October 29, 1960?
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Q. 16: Which Portuguese-born navigator was the first European to cross the Pacific Ocean?
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Q. 17: Who was the first Twitter user to reach 20 million followers?
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Q. 18: Which martial art takes its name from the Japanese for ‘way of the sword’?
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Q. 19: What color is ‘Absynth’?
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Q. 20: Which popular singer and movie star had a ‘secret love’ in 1954 and in which famous movie did it feature? (A point for each correct answer and a bonus point if you get them both correct.)
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ANSWERS
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Q. 1: What goes up and down, but still remains in the same place?
A. 1: Stairs!
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Q. 2: Who directed both JFK and Nixon?
A. 2: Oliver Stone.
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Q. 3: Before being harvested and sold, an individual cranberry must bounce at least how many inches high to make sure they aren’t too ripe?
a) 2 inches b) 3 inches c) 4 inches d) 5 inches
A. 3: The correct answer is c) 4 inches.
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Q. 4: What World War II British naval intelligence officer wrote the children’s story ‘Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang’?
A. 4: Ian Fleming, much better known as author of the James Bond novels.
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Q. 5: Who is the only US President who was never elected as either President or Vice President?
A. 5: Gerald R Ford, who became the 40th Vice-President when Spiro Agnew resigned the position and who subsequently became the 38th President of the USA, when he took over the job after Richard M Nixon resigned.
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Q. 6: The ‘H-3’ and the ‘H-4’, built in 1757 and 1759 were mechanical wonders. Who constructed them both and what were they used for? (A point for each correct answer and a bonus point if you get them both correct.)
A. 6: John Harrison. H-3 and H-4 were the first successful maritime chronometers.
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Q. 7: What does the term ‘Cornucopia’ mean?
A. 7: Literally ‘Horn of Plenty’, used as a symbol of abundance.
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Q. 8: To nearest 1000, in the year 1800 how many wild turkeys were there in Turkey?
A. 8: The correct answer is ‘None’, the wild turkey it is a native North American bird.
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Q. 9: The two oldest universities in Europe are both found in which country?
a) France b) England c) Italy d) Greece
A. 9: Many people think it is England with the famous Oxford and Cambridge Universities, but the correct answer is c) Italy. Parma (1065 AD) and Bologna (1119 AD)
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Q. 10: Who was the tallest President of the United States and who was the shortest? (A point for each correct answer and a bonus point if you get them both correct.)
A. 10: Abraham Lincoln was the tallest at 6′ 4″, and James Madison was the shortest at 5′ 4″.
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Q. 11: In which 1949 movie did Sir Alec Guinness famously play the role of eight different members of the D’Ascoyne family?
A. 11: Kind Hearts and Coronets.
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Q. 12: Who won this year’s (2014) Formula One World Driver’s Championship and what was his nationality? (A point for each correct answer and a bonus point if you get them both correct.)
A. 12: Lewis Hamilton who is British.
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Q. 13: ‘Fionn mac Cumhaill’, ‘Bergrisar’, ‘Daityas’, ‘Patagons’ and ‘Nephilims’ are all examples of what?
A. 13: Giants.
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Q. 14: What does ‘IMAX’, as in the large screen IMAX Cinemas stand for?
A. 14: IMAX stands for ‘Image Maximum’.
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Q. 15: Which boxer’s first professional fight was against Tunney Hunsaker, Police Chief of Fayetteville, West Virginia, on October 29, 1960?
A. 15: Cassius Clay. (Sorry, but you do not score a point if you only said ‘Muhammad Ali’, he did not change his name until 15 years later after converting to Sunni Islam in 1975.)
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Q. 16: Which Portuguese-born navigator was the first European to cross the Pacific Ocean?
A. 16: Ferdinand Magellan (1480 – 1521).
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Q. 17: Who was the first Twitter user to reach 20 million followers?
A. 17: Lady Gaga.
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Q. 18: Which martial art takes its name from the Japanese for ‘way of the sword’?
A. 18: Kendo.
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Q. 19: What color is ‘Absynth’?
A. 19: Green.
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Q. 20: Which popular singer and movie star had a ‘secret love’ in 1954 and in which famous movie did it feature? (A point for each correct answer and a bonus point if you get them both correct.)
Another month has appeared on the calendar. Unbelievably we’re almost half way through 2014 already!
But what better way to start the first week of another month than with another twenty brain-buster questions.
Business, politics, geography, history, nature, movies and music are all in here this week.
Let’s see how you do.
Enjoy and good luck.
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Q. 1: What do octopus’ and goat’s eyes have in common?
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Q. 2: What common English word comes from the French expression meaning “death pledge”?
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Q. 3: Adjusting for inflation, which of these two men is the richest man in history, John D Rockerfeller or Bill Gates?
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Q. 4: What is the term for yawning and stretching at the same time?
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Q. 5: What US President is famous for having filed a report for a UFO sighting in 1973, calling it “the darndest thing I’ve ever seen.”
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Q. 6: In the last 4000 years, how many new animals have been domesticated?
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Q. 7: What is the Greek version of the Old Testament called?
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Q. 8: Soweto is a very famous location on the outskirts of Johannesburg in South Africa, but how did it get its name?
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Q. 9: Between 1926 and 1976, John Wayne appeared in over 170 motion pictures, and became one of America’s biggest box office stars, but what was the title of his last movie?
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Q. 10: What is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon? (Two bonus points if you can name the year too.)
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Q. 11: what was the only part of the United States that was invaded by the Japanese during WWII?
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Q. 12: Why do spiral staircases in medieval castles run clockwise?
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Q. 13: What are the only birds able to fly backwards.
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Q. 14: If you were standing in the northernmost point in the contiguous (48) US states, what state would you be standing in?
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Q. 15: Name the six main characters in the long running TV comedy series ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’? (A point for each and bonus points if you can name the actors who played them.)
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Q. 16: What is the only Canadian Province that borders the Great Lakes?
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Q. 17: Only four letters in the latin alphabet look the same if you turn them upside down or see them from behind, a point for each one you can name correctly?
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Q. 18: Previously set in Los Angeles, Washington DC and New York, what City is the location for the latest series of the hit TV show ‘24’?
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Q. 19: What is the only US State that begins with an “A” but does not end with an “A”?
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Q. 20: Who shared ‘Endless Love’ with Luther Van-Dross in 1994?
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ANSWERS
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Q. 1: What do octopus’ and goat’s eyes have in common?
A. 1: Both have rectangular pupils.
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Q. 2: What common English word comes from the French expression meaning “death pledge”?
A. 2: The common English word ‘mortgage’ comes from the French expression meaning “death pledge”.
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Q. 3: Adjusting for inflation, which of these two men is the richest man in history, John D Rockerfeller or Bill Gates?
A. 3: When adjusted for inflation, John D Rockerfeller is the richest man in the history of the world, with a net worth 10 times more than Bill Gates.
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Q. 4: What is the term for yawning and stretching at the same time?
A. 4: When you yawn and stretch at the time, you are “pandiculating.”
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Q. 5: What US President is famous for having filed a report for a UFO sighting in 1973, calling it “the darndest thing I’ve ever seen.”
A. 5: Jimmy Carter filed a report for a UFO sighting in 1973.
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Q. 6: In the last 4000 years, how many new animals have been domesticated?
A. 6: Bit of a trick question, in the last 4000 years, no new animals have been domesticated. Take a point if you answered ‘none’ or ‘zero’.
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Q. 7: What is the Greek version of the Old Testament called?
A. 7: The Greek version of the Old Testament is called the ‘Septuagint’.
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Q. 8: Soweto is a very famous location on the outskirts of Johannesburg in South Africa, but how did it get its name?
A. 8: Soweto in South Africa was derived from SOuth WEst TOwnship.
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Q. 9: Between 1926 and 1976, John Wayne appeared in over 170 motion pictures, and became one of America’s biggest box office stars, but what was the title of his last movie?
A. 9: John Wayne’s final movie was ‘The Shootist’, made in 1976 and in which he played the part of aging former gunslinger John Bernard Books.
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Q. 10: What is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon? (Two bonus points if you can name the year too.)
A. 10: February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.
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Q. 11: what was the only part of the United States that was invaded by the Japanese during WWII?
A. 11: Alaska was the only part of the United States that was invaded by the Japanese during WWII. The territory was the island of Adak in the Aleutian Chain. Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was attacked, but not invaded.
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Q. 12: Why do spiral staircases in medieval castles run clockwise?
A. 12: Spiral staircases in medieval castles run clockwise because all knights used to be right-handed and would therefore carry their swords in their right hand.
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Q. 13: What are the only birds able to fly backwards.
A. 13: Hummingbirds are the only birds able to fly backwards.
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Q. 14: If you were standing in the northernmost point in the contiguous (48) US states, what state would you be standing in?
A. 14: If you were standing in the northernmost point in the contiguous (48) US states, you’d be standing in Minnesota.
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Q. 15: Name the six main characters in the long running TV comedy series ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’? (A point for each and bonus points if you can name the actors who played them.)
A. 15: The characters in the Beverly Hillbillies were Jed Clampett, Granny, Ellie May, Jethro, unscrupulous banker Mr Drysdale and his long-suffering assistant Miss Hathaway, played respectively by Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, Max Baer, Jr., Raymond Bailey and Nancy Kulp.
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Q. 16: What is the only Canadian Province that borders the Great Lakes?
A. 16: Ontario is the only Canadian Province that borders the Great Lakes.
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Q. 17: Only four letters in the latin alphabet look the same if you turn them upside down or see them from behind, a point for each one you can name correctly?
A. 17: The only letters in the latin alphabet that look the same if you turn them upside down or see them from behind are ‘H’ ‘I’ ‘O’ and ‘X’.
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Q. 18: Previously set in Los Angeles, Washington DC and New York, what City is the location for the latest series of the hit TV show ‘24’?
A. 18: The latest series of ‘24’ is set in London, England.
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Q. 19: What is the only US State that begins with an “A” but does not end with an “A”?
A. 19: Arkansas is the only US State that begins with “A” but does not end with “A”, all the other States that begin with “A”, Arizona, Alabama and Alaska, also end with “A”.
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Q. 20: Who shared ‘Endless Love’ with Luther Van-Dross in 1994?
Fascinating facts never seem to come to an end, thank goodness.
Here is the latest selection from the fasab files. Always random, but I hope always interesting, there has to be at least one thing in here that you didn’t know.
Enjoy finding out.
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The Lion King is the top grossing Disney movie of all-time
with domestic gross intake of $312 million.
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The winter and summer seasons on Uranus
last the equivalent of 21 Earth years.
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‘Cow’ is a Japanese brand of shaving foam.
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The Nobel prizes (in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine,
Literature, and Peace) were first awarded in 1901.
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The idea of Christmas cards was invented
by Englishman Henry Cole in 1843.
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Before its name was changed, the ‘African’ Penguin
used be called the ‘Jackass’ Penguin
because of its donkey-like braying call.
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The largest diamond that was ever found was 3106 carats.
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More than $1 billion is spent each year on neck ties in the United States.
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Ballroom dancing is a course at
Brigham Young University in Utah.
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New York’s famous Central Park has 125 drinking fountains.
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Before soccer referees started using whistles in 1878,
they used to rely on waving a handkerchief.
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Jackrabbits (or Hares) can reach a speed of fifty miles per hour
and can leap as far as twenty feet.
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Cheesecake was invented in Ancient Greece
and served to athletes at the very first Olympic Games.
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As a rule, European carousels rotate clockwise,
while American merry-go-rounds spin counterclockwise.
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In a study conducted regarding toilet paper usage,
Americans are said to use the most toilet paper per trip to the bathroom,
which was seven sheets of toilet paper per trip.
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The trunk of an elephant can hold up to two gallons of water.
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In the movie “Babe”, the piglet was played by
over 30 different piglets as they outgrew the part so quickly
during the production of the film.
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There are more Barbie dolls in Italy
than there are Canadians in Canada.
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Bird droppings are the chief export of Nauru,
an island nation in the Western Pacific.
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Despite the horrific display, nearly two-thirds of those
aboard the LZ 129 Hindenburg survived its fiery crash in 1937.
Another chance to pit your wits against the fasab quiz archives with another random set of twenty questions.
Although there are one or two very easy ones, I think quite a lot of them are difficult this time, but here’s your chance to prove me wrong.
As always the answers are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below – but NO cheating.
Enjoy and good luck!
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Q. 1: What does the http:// in web URLs stand for?
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Q. 2: What is the hood ornament on a Rolls Royce called?
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Q. 3: Which former president of the United States, in his college days, worked as a male model, and even appeared on the cover of Cosmopolitan?
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Q. 4: In what country would you find the strangely named lakes “Titicaca” and “Poopo”?
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Q. 5: Sleeping through the winter is called “hibernation,” but what is the word that describes sleeping through hot and dry periods like summer?
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Q. 6: Members of the band “ZZ Top” are famous for their beards, but what was the surname of the only member who hadn’t got one?
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Q. 7: In 1918 the so-called “Spanish Flu” spread around the world killing tens of millions of people, but where did the outbreak start?
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Q. 8: Who was the only U.S. president never to sign a bill into law?
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Q. 9: On which continent are the 50 tallest mountains on Earth are all located? (This is easy if you think about it)
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Q. 10: Which world famous company’s name means “three oceans” in Japanese because the company’s founder wanted to sell his wares across the Indian, Atlantic, and Pacific oceans?
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Q. 11: How old was Albert Einstein, a genius if ever there was one, when he learned how to drive?
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Q. 12: What was the first ever registered domain name?
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Q. 13: What city is America’s skyscraper capital?
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Q. 14: Earlier this month the United States celebrated its birthday, but what is the only other country in the world to celebrate its birthday on July 4th?
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Q. 15: Who is O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois named after?
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Q. 16: The citizens of which country eat more donuts per capita than any other?
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Q. 17: What European country is the world’s leading exporter of false teeth?
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Q. 18: At more than 3.3 million square miles, what is the name of the world’s largest hot desert?
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Q. 19: We have all seen a Snellen Chart, but what is it?
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Q. 20: Possibly some of you have said “!#@%” when faced with a difficult question in this test, but what is the name for symbols such as “!#@%” that are used to indicate swearing in comic strips?
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ANSWERS
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Q. 1: What does the http:// in web URLs stand for?
A. 1:The http:// in web URLs stands for “Hyper Text Transfer Protocol.”
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Q. 2: What is the hood ornament on a Rolls Royce called?
A. 2: The Spirit of Ecstasy.
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Q. 3: Which former president of the United States in his college days, worked as a male model, and even appeared on the cover of Cosmopolitan?
A. 3: Former president Gerald Ford wasn’t always gray-haired and paunchy — in his college days, he worked as a male model, and even appeared on the cover of Cosmopolitan.
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Q. 4: In what country would you find the strangely named lakes “Titicaca” and “Poopo”?
A. 4: In Bolivia, South America.
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Q. 5: Sleeping through the winter is called “hibernation,” but what is the word that describes sleeping through hot and dry periods like summer?
A. 5: Sleeping through hot and dry periods like summer is called “estivation.”
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Q. 6: Members of the band “ZZ Top” are famous for their beards, but what was the surname of the only member who hadn’t got one?
A. 6: Ironically, the only member of ZZ Top without a beard has the last name Beard.
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Q. 7: In 1918 the so-called “Spanish Flu” spread around the world killing tens of millions of people, but where did the outbreak start?
A. 7: The so-called “Spanish Flu” of 1918 started at a military camp in Kansas before spreading around the world and killing millions.
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Q. 8: Who was the only U.S. president never to sign a bill into law?
A. 8: William Henry Harrison was the only U.S. president never to sign a bill into law — he died before having the opportunity.
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Q. 9: On which continent are the 50 tallest mountains on Earth are all located? (This is easy if you think about it)
A. 9: Mount Everest, the tallest mountain on Earth is located in the Himalayas in Asia so since it has to be one of the 50 tallest mountains on Earth, they all have to be located in Asia.
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Q. 10: Which world famous company’s name means “three oceans” in Japanese because the company’s founder wanted to sell his wares across the Indian, Atlantic, and Pacific oceans?
A. 10: Sanyo means “three oceans” in Japanese.
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Q. 11: How old was Albert Einstein, a genius if ever there was one, when he learned how to drive?
A. 11: Albert Einstein never learned how to drive.
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Q. 12: What was the first ever registered domain name?
A. 12: The first registered domain name was symbolics.com. It was registered on March 15th, 1985.
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Q. 13: What city is America’s skyscraper capital?
A. 13: Chicago is America’s skyscraper capital. The city has more 1,000-foot tall buildings than any other U.S. city.
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Q. 14: Earlier this month the United States celebrated its birthday, but what is the only other country in the world to celebrate its birthday on July 4th?
A. 14: The only other country in the world to celebrate the United States’ birthday, July 4th, is Denmark.
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Q. 15: Who is O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois named after?
A. 15: O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois is named after Al Capone’s lawyer’s son, Lt. Cmdr. Butch O’Hare.
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Q. 16: The citizens of which country eat more donuts per capita than any other?
A. 16: Canadians eat more donuts per capita than any other country.
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Q. 17: What European country is the world’s leading exporter of false teeth?
A. 17: Liechtenstein is the world’s leading exporter of false teeth.
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Q. 18: At more than 3.3 million square miles, what is the name of the world’s largest hot desert?
A. 18: At more than 3.3 million square miles, the Sahara Desert is as large as the world’s next 20 largest hot deserts combined.
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Q. 19: We have all seen a Snellen Chart, but what is it?
A. 19: The eye test chart with the big ‘E’ on top is known as the Snellen Chart.
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Q. 20: Possibly some of you have said “!#@%” when faced with a difficult question in this test, but what is the name for symbols such as “!#@%” that are used to indicate swearing in comic strips?
A. 20: Symbols such as “!#@%” that are used to indicate swearing in comic strips are called grawlix.
There was a movie a few years ago called ‘Lost In Translation’ starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson. It was about a jaded film star and a neglected wife who form an unlikely bond after meeting in a hotel in Tokyo, with the problem of translation between English and Japanese forming a sub theme.
It wasn’t a movie to everyone’s taste, but if you haven’t seen it definitely worth a look. It was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Bill Murray, and Best Director for Sofia Coppola, with Coppola winning for Best Original Screenplay. Scarlett Johansson won a BAFTA award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
All that is by way of introduction to today’s post which is also about how the real meaning of what you try to say can sometimes be lost in translation.
The following signs are good examples that illustrate the point and hopefully amuse.
fasab 