If you know about history, geography, politics, technology, music, movies, cars and a lot of other stuff then you should do okay.
And as always, if you get stuck , you can find the answers waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below, but please NO cheating!
Enjoy and good luck.
.
.
Q. 1: Who or what is a ‘FLOTUS’?
.
.
Q. 2: Most of you will have heard of the company called ‘3M’ but what do the three ‘M’s stand for?
.
.
Q. 3: Everyone has heard about the Titanic and probably seen at least one of the movies depicting its fateful inaugural voyage, but to which shipping line did the Titanic belong?
.
.
Q. 4: What waterway did Britain buy a share of in 1875?
.
.
Q. 5: In 1975 King Faisal of Saudi Arabia was assassinated by which male member of his family?
a) son b) grandson c) nephew d) father
.
.
Q. 6: What are the terms ‘Hi-Fi’ and ‘Wi-Fi’ abbreviations of? (A point for each correct answer.)
.
.
Q. 7: In 1935, British engineer Robert Watson-Watt was working on a ‘death ray’ that would destroy enemy aircraft using radio waves. What did he invent instead?
.
.
Q. 8: General Leopoldo Galtieri was president of which South American country in 1981 and 1982?
.
.
Q. 9: When did the construction of the Berlin Wall begin and in what year was it demolished? (A point for each correct answer.)
.
.
Q. 10: What makes of car were featured in the following movies? (A point for each correct answer, and a bonus point if you get them all correct.)
a) Herbie, The Love Bug b) Back To The Future
c) Smokey And The Bandit d) Bullitt
.
.
Q. 11: In which year did South Africa have its first all-race elections?
a) 1990 b) 1992 c) 1994 d) 1996
.
.
Q. 12: One of the best television mini-series ever made was the western ‘Lonesome Dove’, but what were the names of the two lead characters and who were the actors who played them? (A point for each correct answer and a bonus point if you get all four names correct.)
.
.
Q. 13: Held by Cuban athlete Javier Sotomayor, what is the current Men’s High Jump World Record?
a) 2.37 m b) 2.39 m c) 2.41 m d) 2.45 m e) 2.47 m
.
.
Q. 14: ‘Operation Barbarossa’ was the codename used by the Germans for their plans to invade which country in 1941?
.
.
Q. 15: What is considered to be the hottest desert in North America? (A bonus point if you know in which State it is located.)
.
.
Q. 16: Who was ‘Mork’ and who was ‘Mindy’ in the hit TV sitcom ‘Mork & Mindy’ originally broadcast from 1978 until 1982 on ABC? (A point for each correct answer and a bonus point if you can name both correctly.)
.
.
Q. 17: From which country did Norway secure its independence in 1905?
.
.
Q. 18: Approximately how many rifles did American factories produce during World War II?
a) 1 million b) 3 million c) 5 million d) 7 million e) 9 million
.
.
Q. 19: It is the name of a hybrid between a mandarin and a sweet orange and Winston Churchill’s wife, what is it?
.
.
Q. 20: Who was ‘Talking To The Moon’ in 2011?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
ANSWERS
.
Q. 1: Who or what is a ‘FLOTUS’?
A. 1: FLOTUS is the First Lady Of The United States, or currently Mrs Obama.
.
.
Q. 2: Most of you will have heard of the company called ‘3M’ but what do the three ‘M’s stand for?
A. 2: ‘3M’ is an abbreviation of ‘Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing’.
.
.
Q. 3: Everyone has heard about the Titanic and probably seen at least one of the movies depicting its fateful inaugural voyage, but to which shipping line did the Titanic belong?
A. 3: The name is mentioned in the movies, it is the White Star Line.
.
.
Q. 4: What waterway did Britain buy a share of in 1875?
A. 4: The Suez Canal.
.
.
Q. 5: In 1975 King Faisal of Saudi Arabia was assassinated by which male member of his family?
a) son b) grandson c) nephew d) father
A. 5: Answer c) his nephew.
.
.
Q. 6: What are the terms ‘Hi-Fi’ and ‘Wi-Fi’ abbreviations of? (A point for each correct answer.)
A. 6: ‘Hi-Fi’ and ‘Wi-Fi’ are abbreviations of ‘High Fidelity’ and ‘Wireless Fidelity’.
.
.
Q. 7: In 1935, British engineer Robert Watson-Watt was working on a ‘death ray’ that would destroy enemy aircraft using radio waves. What did he invent instead?
A. 7: Robert Watson-Watt’s ‘death ray’ evolved into RADAR, otherwise known as ‘radio detection and ranging’.
.
.
Q. 8: General Leopoldo Galtieri was president of which South American country in 1981 and 1982?
A. 8: Argentina.
.
.
Q. 9: When did the construction of the Berlin Wall begin and in what year was it demolished? (A point for each correct answer.)
A. 9: Construction of the Berlin Wall began in 1961 (August 13th) and it was demolished in 1989.
.
.
Q. 10: What makes of car were featured in the following movies? (A point for each correct answer, and a bonus point if you get them all correct.)
a) Herbie, The Love Bug b) Back To The Future
c) Smokey And The Bandit d) Bullitt
A. 10: a) Herbie, The Love Bug featured a Volkswagen Beetle
b) Back To The Future featured a DeLorean DMC-12
c) Smokey And The Bandit featured a Pontiac Trans Am
d) Bullitt featured a Ford Mustang GT fastback
.
.
Q. 11: In which year did South Africa have its first all-race elections?
a) 1990 b) 1992 c) 1994 d) 1996
A. 11: The correct answer is c) 1994.
.
.
Q. 12: One of the best television mini-series ever made was the western ‘Lonesome Dove’, but what were the names of the two lead characters and who were the actors who played them? (A point for each correct answer and a bonus point if you get all four names correct.)
A. 12: The two lead characters in the Lonesome Dove TV miniseries were ‘Captain Augustus “Gus” McCrae’, played by Robert Duvall, and ‘Captain Woodrow F. Call’, played by Tommy Lee Jones.
.
.
Q. 13: Held by Cuban athlete Javier Sotomayor, what is the current Men’s High Jump World Record?
a) 2.37 m b) 2.39 m c) 2.41 m d) 2.45 m e) 2.47 m
A. 13: The correct answer is d) 2.45 m (8 ft 1/2 in), achieved in Salamanca, Spain on July 27th 1993.
.
.
Q. 14: ‘Operation Barbarossa’ was the codename used by the Germans for their plans to invade which country in 1941?
A. 14: It was the codename for their plans to invade Russia.
.
.
Q. 15: What is considered to be the hottest desert in North America? (A bonus point if you know in which State it is located.)
A. 15: The Mojave Desert, located primarily in southeastern California is considered to be the hottest desert in North America.
.
.
Q. 16: Who was ‘Mork’ and who was ‘Mindy’ in the hit TV sitcom ‘Mork & Mindy’ originally broadcast from 1978 until 1982 on ABC? (A point for each correct answer and a bonus point if you can name both correctly.)
A. 16: The series starred Robin Williams as Mork and Pam Dawber as Mindy McConnell.
.
.
Q. 17: From which country did Norway secure its independence in 1905?
A. 17: Sweden.
.
.
Q. 18: Approximately how many rifles did American factories produce during World War II?
a) 1 million b) 3 million c) 5 million d) 7 million e) 9 million
A. 18: The correct answer is d) approximately 7 million rifles were produced in American factories during WWII.
.
.
Q. 19: It is the name of a hybrid between a mandarin and a sweet orange and Winston Churchill’s wife, what is it?
Today was originally scheduled for the latest part in the short series about the curious and amusing phobias some people seem to have. But it’s a holiday week for most of us and I have put that post back until next week.
Instead I feel the urge to say something else. Two things actually.
First one is, have you heard of the herd? In particular the herd mentality, where people do something they have no need to do just because other people are doing it?
It happens a lot. Far too much in fact.
We witnessed it during the recent election campaign where people formed opinions not on the basis of their own analysis of the candidates and policies, but because of something someone else said or something they heard on tv.
We saw it again very recently after the dreadful murders in Connecticut where the unthinking herd ignored the real problem and jumped on gun control as a solution to senseless attacks such as this. They might as well call for a ban on knives, axes, chainsaws, bows and arrows and gasoline when they are at it as any of these could do the same job in the hands of a mental defective.
And on December 24 we witnessed another example in grocery stores throughout the country (throughout the world even) as hoards of the unthinking joined the herd and bought up bread and food supplies like the shops would not be open again for at least a month. They are open again today you dummies!
These three examples have been going on for years and people never seem to learn, they just keep on following the herd without a thought in their heads.
And this leads me on to point two which is how little thought most of us give to what we are doing and what we are buying the already well off and pampered.
I know for a fact that Santa had orders for laptops and ipads and iphones and all sorts of other expensive playthings. And I also know that he hadn’t the sense to say no, but just bought them anyway. Mea culpa as much as anyone.
Then I got to thinking that life was a lot different when I was a kid. Yes we liked to get presents at Christmas, but they were a lot less sophisticated and a lot less expensive – even in relative terms. When I was eight, for example, I didn’t need a smart phone, or any phone come to think of it, nor was my social life so complicated and hectic that I had to have a chauffeur for all my must-do activities for every day of the week.
When I was a kid we had our toys, but we also had a thing called an imagination and we could make our own fun out of very little.
So what is the problem today? Why are kids so incapable of making their own entertainment? Why are they constantly “bored” without clicking a button on a computer consol or without someone else to do their thinking for them?
Like a lot of other things, it all boils down to money at the end of the day. Now I’m not advocating poverty as a solution to the world’s ills. Far from it. I like to make money, the more the better, and the thought of being, perhaps not rich, but comfortably well off is a very nice one. But if we had to we could all make do with a lot less. And I don’t think we would be any less happier in the process.
People in other countries seem to manage quite well. And they still seem to have the mental capacity to enjoy what little they have and make their fun out of next to nothing. In other words they are happy. If things do ever deteriorate to the extent that some of the doomsday preachers are telling us, there are a lot better prepared people in the world than there are in rich countries like America, or Britain, or Germany, etc.
Think about giving your kid or nephew or niece an old oil drum from the local garbage dump next Christmas instead of an ipod touch or some other overly expensive apple. I wonder how much music and entertainment they could get out of that?
It’s been a while since I raided the court archives. So here are a few more examples of the level of intelligence you can expect, not only from untrained Joe Public called to give evidence, but from the supposedly highly trained lawyers, supposedly!
Enjoy.
District Attorney: What happened next, Ma’am?
Witness: He unzipped his pants and pulled out his subpoena.
Judge: Any motions, counsel?
Counsel: I move to dismiss, Your Honor. All my client did was pull out a subpoena. There’s no law against that.
Judge: Counsel, if the witness doesn’t know the difference between a penis and a subpoena that’s her problem. Held to answer!
Judge: If that be your verdict, so say you all
2 Jurors:“you all”
Judge: Any member of your immediate family or yourself ever been the victim of a crime or robbery?
Juror: My mother had her purse snatched
Judge: How long ago was that?
Juror: Ten, fifteen years ago
Judge: Was she hurt at all in the snatch?
Judge: What made you bite the police officer?
Witness: He stuck his arm in my mouth
Q: Were you the lone ranger on duty that night?
A: I was a park ranger on duty that night
Q: I mean the only one, the lone
A: You mean alone?
Q Alone
A: Yes, I was
Q: Do you speak Spanish, Officer?
A: Yes, I do
Q: Are you fluent in Spanish?
A: Yes, I do
Q: Are you being selective about what you remember and what you don’t remember as to the details of your previous record?
A: I don’t remember.
Q: Do you have any problem with the English language?
A: No, I speak very good English.
Q: Great. Do you know Andre?
A: That’s my cousin.
Q: Have you known him all your life?
A: Since we grewed up.
Q: Now, do you recall the date the accident occurred?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: What date was it?
A: It was a hot day in August.
Q: Did you drink any alcohol?
A: No, sir.
Q: Are you a teetotaler?
A: Not really. Just coffee once in a while, like in the morning.
Q: And y’all had a very intimate relationship, didn’t you, Ms. A?
A: We had sex two times. It wasn’t very intimate.
A: Yeah, I used to be around with him a lot. Me and his nephew run together.?
Q: Who is his nephew?
A: Pokey. I think he’s doing time now.
Q: Pokey is Kenny’s nephew and is doing time now? Are you saying Pokey is in the pokey?
A: Yeah.
District Attorney: Defense Counsel is accountable to you (the jury)
Counsel: Judge I object to that. I object to him referring to me as a cannibal, Judge
Judge: He said accountable
Counsel: A what?
Judge: He said accountable, not a cannibal
Counsel: It sounded like cannibal to me and I object
.
fasab 