First Of June, First Quiz Of June.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Summer is beckoning but not before you try another fasab quiz.

Twenty more random questions to test your knowledge.

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

Enjoy and good luck.

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Quiz 07

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Q.  1:  How many leaves are there on a shamrock?

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Q.  2:  It is the name of a region in Western Europe, a unique language, a close fitting bodice and a common form of the ball game Pelota. What is it?

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Q.  3:  What nationality was the first person to reach the North Pole alone and on foot?

            a) Finnish          b) English          c) Norwegian          d) Swedish

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Q.  4:  Which mode of transport did Christopher Cockerell invent in the 1950’s?

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Q.  5:  What word links a herb or other small vegetable growth, the buildings, equipment, etc., of a company or an institution, or a shot in snooker where the cue ball hits a red ball which hits another red ball to make it go into a pocket?

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Q.  6:  What city in the United States of America is known as the “City of Oaks” because of the many oak trees that line the streets in the heart of the city.

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Q.  7:  What is a female bear called?

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Q.  8:  Gävleborg, Gotland and Uppsala are among the counties of which country?

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Q.  9:  In which Olympic sport are there ‘Normal Hill’ and ‘Large Hill’ events?

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Q. 10:  In Greek mythology who went in search of the ‘Golden Fleece’ ? (You get a point for the name of the leader, the name given to his followers and two bonus points for the name of their ship.)

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Q. 11:  What color originates from a famous 16th Century Italian painter and what color is it? (A point for each correct answer.)

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Q. 12:  Which English city has more than 100 miles of canal?

            a) London            b) Birmingham            c) Manchester

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Q. 13:  Which empire ruled most of India and Pakistan in the 16th and 17th centuries?

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Q. 14:  What writer created the famous Baker Street detective?

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Q. 15:  Which black and white bird has the scientific name ‘Pica pica’ ?

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Q. 16:  What is the name given to that part of the North Atlantic bounded by the Gulf Stream on the west, the North Atlantic Current on the north, the Canary Current on the east, and the North Equatorial Current on the south.

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Q. 17:  If you added together all the voting seats in the US Senate and House of Representatives, how many idiots could sit down?

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Q. 18:  Name the star of the movie ‘Taken’.

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Q. 19:  What company, still in existence, was at one time the largest landowner in the world, having 15% of the land in North America?

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Q. 20:  Finally a chance to beef up that points score. What were the eight original tokens used in the board game ‘Monopoly’ ?  (A point for each correct answer and two bonus points if you get all eight correct.)

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ANSWERS

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Q.  1:  How many leaves are there on a shamrock?

A.  1:  Three (3).

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Q.  2:  It is the name of a region in Western Europe, a unique language, a close fitting bodice and a common form of the ball game Pelota. What is it?

A.  2:  Basque.

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Q.  3:  What nationality was the first person to reach the North Pole alone and on foot?

            a) Finnish          b) English          c) Norwegian          d) Swedish

A.  3:  The correct answer is c) Norwegian. He was Børge Ousland and he walked there by himself in 1994.

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Q.  4:  Which mode of transport did Christopher Cockerell invent in the 1950’s?

A.  4:  The Hovercraft.

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Q.  5:  What word links a herb or other small vegetable growth, the buildings, equipment, etc., of a company or an institution, or a shot in snooker where the cue ball hits a red ball which hits another red ball to make it go into a pocket?

A.  5:  A ‘plant’.

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Q.  6:  What city in the United States of America is known as the “City of Oaks” because of the many oak trees that line the streets in the heart of the city.

A.  6:  Raleigh, North Carolina, is known as the “City of Oaks”.

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Q.  7:  What is a female bear called?

A.  7:  A ‘sow’.

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Q.  8:  Gävleborg, Gotland and Uppsala are among the counties of which country?

A.  8:  Sweden.

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Q.  9:  In which Olympic sport are there ‘Normal Hill’ and ‘Large Hill’ events?

A.  9:  Ski jumping.

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Q. 10:  In Greek mythology who went in search of the ‘Golden Fleece’ ? (You get a point for the name of the leader, the name given to his followers and two bonus points for the name of their ship.)

A. 10:  His name was ‘Jason’, his followers were the ‘Argonauts’, and the name of their ship (after which the followers were named) was the Argo.

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Q. 11:  What color originates from a famous 16th Century Italian painter and what color is it? (A point for each correct answer.)

A. 11:  Titian, a brownish-orange color.

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Q. 12:  Which English city has more than 100 miles of canal?

            a) London            b) Birmingham            c) Manchester

A. 12:  The correct answer is b) Birmingham.

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Q. 13:  Which empire ruled most of India and Pakistan in the 16th and 17th centuries?

A. 13:  The Mughal Empire.

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Q. 14:  What writer created the famous Baker Street detective?

A. 14:  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, his creation was Sherlock Holmes.

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Q. 15:  Which black and white bird has the scientific name ‘Pica pica’ ?

A. 15:  The (Common) Magpie.

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Q. 16:  What is the name given to that part of the North Atlantic bounded by the Gulf Stream on the west, the North Atlantic Current on the north, the Canary Current on the east, and the North Equatorial Current on the south.

A. 16:  It is called the Sargasso Sea.

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Q. 17:  If you added together all the voting seats in the US Senate and House of Representatives, how many idiots could sit down?

A. 17:  535 (100 + 435).

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Q. 18:  Name the star of the movie ‘Taken’.

A. 18:  Liam Neeson.

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Q. 19:  What company, still in existence, was at one time the largest landowner in the world, having 15% of the land in North America?

A. 19:  Hudson’s Bay Company.

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Q. 20:  Finally a chance to beef up that points score. What were the eight original tokens used in the board game ‘Monopoly’ ?  (A point for each correct answer and two bonus points if you get all eight correct.)

A. 20:  Wheelbarrow, Battleship, Racecar, Thimble, Old-style shoe (or boot), Scottie dog, Top hat, Iron.

original monopoly tokens

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May The 4th Quiz Be With You.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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I don’t know what it is, but I can’t resist using that “May The Force Be With You” thing on this date. Sorry, but you’ll probably see another version of it next year if we’re all still around in the blogshpere.

But to get on with today’s real business, I do have another quiz for you.

The usual random selection and also as usual you can find the answers waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below, but please NO cheating.

Enjoy and good luck.

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quiz01

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Q.  1:  What word links vacations to the phonetic alphabet?

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Q.  2:  What is the collective noun for a group of owls?

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Q.  3:  ‘PL’ is the international car registration for which country?

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Q.  4:  What city is also known as the ‘City of 72 Nations’ ?

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Q.  5:  What is the highest score that can be awarded by a figure-skating judge?

            a) 2            b) 4            c) 6            d) 8            e) 10

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Q.  6:  For what operation on the brain was Antonio de Egas Moniz of Portugal awarded the Nobel prize for medicine in 1949?

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Q.  7:  Who was prime minster of China under Chairman Mao?

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Q.  8:  Which literary characters set out on a journey from the Tabard Inn, Southwark?

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Q.  9:  What is the brightest star in the night sky?

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Q. 10:  Spain has many famous ‘costas’. A point for each one of the following you can name correctly the four below and a bonus point if you get them all.

 

Costa   _  _  _  _  _  _

Costa   _  _  _  _  _

Costa   _  _  _  _  _  _

Costa   _  _  _      _  _  _

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Q. 11:  What name links the writers Kipling, Conrad and Heller?

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Q. 12:  As well as being a girl’s best friend Diamonds are a form of which chemical element?

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Q. 13:  What is the difference in paddles between canoeing and kayaking?

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Q. 14:  In which country is Liberation of Saigon Day on April 30 a public holiday?

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Q. 15:  What is created when the loop of a meander of a river is cut off and the river diverted on a different course?

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Q. 16:  The number of voting representatives in the House of Representatives was fixed by law in 1911 at what number?

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Q. 17:  What color is a Welsh poppy?

             a)  Blue            b) Yellow            c) Red            d) White

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Q. 18:  How many valves does a trumpet have?

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Q. 19:  Which is the only American state to begin with the letter ‘P’ ?

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Q. 20:  Which band were Living Next Door to Alice in 1976?

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ANSWERS

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Q.  1:  What word links vacations to the phonetic alphabet?

A.  1:  Hotel.

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Q.  2:  What is the collective noun for a group of owls?

A.  2:  A parliament.

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Q.  3:  ‘PL’ is the international car registration for which country?

A.  3:  Poland.

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Q. 4: What city is also known as the ‘City of 72 Nations’ ?

A.  4:  Tehran.

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Q.  5:  What is the highest score that can be awarded by a figure-skating judge?

            a) 2            b) 4            c) 6            d) 8            e) 10

A.  5:  The correct answer is c) 6.

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Q.  6:  For what operation on the brain was Antonio de Egas Moniz of Portugal awarded the Nobel prize for medicine in 1949?

A.  6:  Prefrontal lobotomy.

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Q.  7:  Who was prime minster of China under Chairman Mao?

A.  7:  Chou En-Lai (or Zhou Enlai).

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Q.  8:  Which literary characters set out on a journey from the Tabard Inn, Southwark?

A.  8:  The pilgrims in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.

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Q.  9:  What is the brightest star in the night sky?

A.  9:  Sirius (The Dog Star).

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Q. 10:  Spain has many famous ‘costas’. A point for each one of the following you can name correctly the four below and a bonus point if you get them all.

Costa  _  _  _  _  _  _

Costa  _  _  _  _  _

Costa  _  _  _  _  _  _

Costa  _  _  _    _  _  _

A. 10:  The correct answers are Costa BLANCA, Costa BRAVA, Costa DORADA, and the Costa DEL SOL

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Q. 11:  What name links the writers Kipling, Conrad and Heller?

A. 11:  The answer is ‘Joseph’. Joseph Conrad, Joseph Heller and although he was much better known as Rudyard Kipling his first name was also Joseph.

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Q. 12:  As well as being a girl’s best friend Diamonds are a form of which chemical element?

A. 12:  Carbon.

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Q. 13:  What is the difference in paddles between canoeing and kayaking?

A. 13:  Canoe paddles have a single face and Kayak paddles a double face.

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Q. 14:  In which country is Liberation of Saigon Day on April 30 a public holiday?

A. 14:  Vietnam.

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Q. 15:  What is created when the loop of a meander of a river is cut off and the river diverted on a different course?

A. 15:  Oxbow Lake.

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Q. 16:  The number of voting representatives in the House of Representatives was fixed by law in 1911 at what number?

A. 16:  The number of voting representatives in the House of Representatives was fixed by law in 1911 at no more than 435, proportionally representing the population of the 50 states.

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Q. 17:  What color is a Welsh poppy?

             a)  Blue            b) Yellow            c) Red            d) White

A. 17:  The correct answer is b) Yellow.

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Q. 18:  How many valves does a trumpet have?

A. 18:  A trumpet has 3 valves.

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Q. 19:  Which is the only American state to begin with the letter ‘p’?

A. 19:  Pennsylvania.

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Q. 20:  Which band were Living Next Door to Alice in 1976?

A. 20:  Smokie.

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I Don’t Believe It! – The Bureaucrats Have Done Something Sensible!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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It had to happen eventually.

Admittedly we’ve been waiting for a long, long, long time, but finally the bureaucrats seem to have done something sensible.

Sort of.

But hold on!

US citizens, fear not, your bureaucrats are standing firm. They are not included in this minor breakthrough.

It’s all about the snoopers.

In this case Google, who thinks it has the right to collect any and all information it can from people who use its search engine to find things on the internet.

But as a result of a recent European Union Court of Justice ruling, EU citizens have been given the ‘right to be forgotten’. Certain users can now ask search engines to remove results for queries that include their name, where those results are “inadequate, irrelevant or no longer relevant, or excessive in relation to the purposes for which they were processed.”

Google is complying, but reluctantly, making the whole process anything but straightforward and easy. It is launching a service that lets European users ask for personal information to be deleted from the search engine, but on its ‘right to forget’ form users will be asked to provide links to the material they want removed, their country of origin, a reason for their request, AND also attach a valid photo identity.

And keeping its options as open as it can, Google has also said, “In implementing this decision, we will assess each individual request and attempt to balance the privacy rights of the individual with the public’s right to know and distribute information. When evaluating your request, we will look at whether the results include outdated information about you, as well as whether there’s a public interest in the information — for example, information about financial scams, professional malpractice, criminal convictions, or public conduct of government officials.”

Who defines “the public’s right to know” has not yet been clarified, but I bet you if it is left up to Google what is in the public interest will be remarkably similar to what is in Google’s interest too.

It’s not much, but it’s a start.

Come on all you American bureaucrats, America used to lead the world, what are you waiting for?

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