Popocatépetl indeed. Good luck if you can pronounce it let alone answer the question about it.
But don’t let that put you off. There are a lot more easier questions than that in today’s quiz. And of course a few harder ones just to make it a little bit challenging.
As usual, if you get stuck, you can find the answers waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below, but please NO cheating!
Enjoy and good luck.
.
.
Q. 1: Which novelist wrote ‘Cannery Row’ and ‘East of Eden’ ?
.
.
Q. 2: In which sport do you have to navigate on foot to a series of control points?
.
.
Q. 3: What African city is known as the ‘Mother of the World’ ?
.
.
Q. 4: In medieval times, what was an ‘Estampie’ ?
.
Q. 5: What is the home of a squirrel called?
.
.
Q. 6: Which fifth-century barbarian leader was nicknamed ‘the scourge of God’ ?
.
.
Q. 7: In which country can you find the volcano of Popocatépetl?
.
.
Q. 8: What number is at the 9 o’clock position on a dartboard?
.
.
Q. 9: What was ‘Mr Blandings’ doing in 1948 that turned into a ‘Money Pit’ for Tom Hanks in 1986?
.
.
Q. 10: George Stubbs is best-known for his paintings of which animals?
.
.
Q. 11: Who is the Greek Goddess of love?
.
.
Q. 12: What shapes are attached to a line of a weather map to denote a warm front?
.
.
Q. 13: Deriving its name from an Icelandic word meaning erupt, what term is given to a natural hot spring that intermittently ejects a column of water and steam into the air?
.
.
Q. 14: What is the name given to the substance that covers a deer’s antler when it is growing?
.
.
Q. 15: Which word goes before vest, beans and quartet?
.
.
Q. 16: Which part of a horse’s anatomy is the equivalent of a human ankle?
.
.
Q. 17: Appointed in 1721, who is held to be the first man to be Prime Minister of the UK?
.
.
Q. 18: Who played ‘Neo’ in ‘The Matrix’ ?
.
.
Q. 19: What is sushi traditionally wrapped in?
.
.
Q. 20: What was the first name of Agatha Christie’s ‘Miss Marple’ ?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
ANSWERS
.
Q. 1: Which novelist wrote ‘Cannery Row’ and ‘East of Eden’ ?
A. 1: John Steinbeck.
.
.
Q. 2: In which sport do you have to navigate on foot to a series of control points?
A. 2: Orienteering.
.
.
Q. 3: What African city is known as the ‘Mother of the World’ ?
A. 3: Cairo.
.
.
Q. 4: In medieval times, what was an ‘Estampie’ ?
A. 4: A dance and the music to accompany it.
.
.
Q. 5: What is the home of a squirrel called?
A. 5: A Drey.
.
.
Q. 6: Which fifth-century barbarian leader was nicknamed ‘the scourge of God’ ?
A. 6: Attila the Hun.
.
.
Q. 7: In which country can you find the volcano of Popocatépetl?
A. 7: Mexico.
.
.
Q. 8: What number is at the 9 o’clock position on a dartboard?
A. 8: 11.
.
.
Q. 9: What was ‘Mr Blandings’ doing in 1948 that turned into a ‘Money Pit’ for Tom Hanks in 1986?
A. 9: Building his Dream House. The original 1948 movie starring Cary Grant called ‘Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House’ was remade in 1986 as ‘The Money Pit’ starring Tom Hanks.
.
.
Q. 10: George Stubbs is best-known for his paintings of which animals?
A. 10: Horses.
.
.
Q. 11: Who is the Greek Goddess of love?
A. 11: Aphrodite.
.
.
Q. 12: What shapes are attached to a line of a weather map to denote a warm front?
A. 12: Semicircles.
.
.
Q. 13: Deriving its name from an Icelandic word meaning erupt, what term is given to a natural hot spring that intermittently ejects a column of water and steam into the air?
A. 13: Geyser.
.
.
Q. 14: What is the name given to the substance that covers a deer’s antler when it is growing?
A. 14: Velvet.
.
.
Q. 15: Which word goes before vest, beans and quartet?
A. 15: String.
.
.
Q. 16: Which part of a horse’s anatomy is the equivalent of a human ankle?
A. 16: Fetlock.
.
.
Q. 17: Appointed in 1721, who is held to be the first man to be Prime Minister of the UK?
A. 17: Sir Robert Walpole.
.
.
Q. 18: Who played ‘Neo’ in ‘The Matrix’ ?
A. 18: Keanu Reeves.
.
.
Q. 19: What is sushi traditionally wrapped in?
A. 19: Edible seaweed.
.
.
Q. 20: What was the first name of Agatha Christie’s ‘Miss Marple’ ?
A good mixture of easy, difficult and maybe one or two tricky questions for you today.
But if you get stuck you can find the answers waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below, but please NO cheating!
Enjoy and good luck.
.
.
.
Q. 1: Was the color orange named after the fruit, or was the fruit named after the color orange?
.
.
Q. 2: Approximately how much of the mass of our solar system does the Sun take up?
a) 59% b) 69% c) 79% d) 89% e) 99%
.
.
Q. 3: What is the deepest part of the world’s oceans known as?
.
.
Q. 4: What was the discovery that gave archaeologists the key to understanding modern Egyptian hieroglyphs.
.
.
Q. 5: You’ve seen it hundreds of times at least, but how many stars surround the mountain on the Paramount Pictures logo?
a) 12 b) 22 c) 32 d) 42
.
.
Q. 6: Since the beginning of the modern Olympics, in 1896, what are the only two countries to have participated in every Games. (A point for each correct answer.)
.
.
Q. 7: Who played detective Kojak in the long running TV series?
.
.
Q. 8: Approximately how many bacteria are on each of your feet?
a) one thousand b) one million c) one billion d) one trillion
.
.
Q. 9: What is the name of the lake situated on the border of Peru and Bolivia in the Andes Mountains? (You know it, it’s a very well known name.)
.
.
Q. 10: What was the name of the New York Yankees baseball star who was once married to Marilyn Monroe?
.
.
Q. 11: Which US state has the longest border with Canada?
.
.
Q. 12: Lizzie Borden was an American woman, from Fall River, Massachusetts, who was famously accused of the axe murders of her father and stepmother. It was a famous case memorialized in a popular skipping-rope rhyme: “Lizzie Borden took an axe, And gave her mother forty whacks. When she saw what she had done, She gave her father forty-one.” How long was her jail sentence?
.
.
Q. 13: Without rearranging any of its letters, how many English language words can you make from the seven letter word “therein”? (You can have a point for each word you can make, so potentially a good score here!)
.
.
Q. 14: They are now worth millions of dollars each and much sought after, but how many of his paintings did Vincent Van Gogh sell while he was alive?
.
.
Q. 15: What is Queensland And Northern Territories Air Service better known as?
.
.
Q. 16: South Africa is the only country with three official capitals, what are they? (A point for each correct answer, and a bonus point if you can correctly name all three.)
.
.
Q. 17: What is a baby eel called?
.
.
Q. 18: What is greater, the volume of the Earth’s moon OR the volume of the Pacific Ocean?
.
.
Q. 19: Which US President pardoned Robert E. Lee posthumously of all crimes of treason?
.
.
Q. 20: Probably the most famous version is by Frank Sinatra, but who wrote the song “I Get A Kick Out Of You”?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
ANSWERS
.
Q. 1: Was the color orange named after the fruit, or was the fruit named after the color orange?
A. 1: The color orange was named after the fruit.
.
.
Q. 2: Approximately how much of the mass of our solar system does the Sun take up?
a) 59% b) 69% c) 79% d) 89% e) 99%
A. 2: The correct answer is e) 99%.
.
.
Q. 3: What is the deepest part of the world’s oceans known as?
A. 3: The deepest part of the world’s oceans is known as the Mariana Trench or Marianas Trench, located in the western Pacific Ocean, to the east of the Mariana Islands.
.
.
Q. 4: What was the discovery that gave archaeologists the key to understanding modern Egyptian hieroglyphs.
A. 4: The discovery of the Rosetta Stone finally provided the key to understanding modern Egyptian hieroglyphs.
.
.
Q. 5: You’ve seen it hundreds of times at least, but how many stars surround the mountain on the Paramount Pictures logo?
a) 12 b) 22 c) 32 d) 42
A. 5: The correct answer is b), there are 22 stars surrounding the mountain on the Paramount Pictures logo.
.
.
Q. 6: Since the beginning of the modern Olympics, in 1896, what are the only two countries to have participated in every Games. (A point for each correct answer.)
A. 6: The only two countries to have participated in every modern Olympic Games are Greece and Australia.
.
.
Q. 7: Who played detective Kojak in the long running TV series?
A. 7: Telly Savalas.
.
.
Q. 8: Approximately how many bacteria are on each of your feet?
a) one thousand b) one million c) one billion d) one trillion
A. 8: There are about one trillion bacteria on each of your feet.
.
.
Q. 9: What is the name of the lake situated on the border of Peru and Bolivia in the Andes Mountains? (You know it, it’s a very well known name.)
A. 9: It is called Lake Titicaca.
.
.
Q. 10: What was the name of the New York Yankees baseball star who was once married to Marilyn Monroe?
A. 10: He was Joe DiMaggio.
.
.
Q. 11: Which US state has the longest border with Canada?
A. 11: Alaska.
.
.
Q. 12: Lizzie Borden was an American woman, from Fall River, Massachusetts, who was famously accused of the axe murders of her father and stepmother. It was a famous case memorialized in a popular skipping-rope rhyme: “Lizzie Borden took an axe, And gave her mother forty whacks. When she saw what she had done, She gave her father forty-one.” How long was her jail sentence?
A. 12: She was acquitted and no one else has ever been charged with the murders.
.
.
Q. 13: Without rearranging any of its letters, how many English language words can you make from the seven letter word “therein”? (You can have a point for each word you can make, so potentially a good score here!)
A. 13: There are ten English language words that can be made out of the word “therein” without rearranging any of its letters: the, there, he, in, rein, her, here, here, ere, therein, herein.
.
.
Q. 14: They are now worth millions of dollars each and much sought after, but how many of his paintings did Vincent Van Gogh sell while he was alive?
A. 14: Vincent Van Gogh sold exactly one painting while he was alive, the Red Vineyard at Arles.
.
.
Q. 15: What is Queensland And Northern Territories Air Service better known as?
A. 15: QANTAS, the name of the Australian national airline.
.
.
Q. 16: South Africa is the only country with three official capitals, what are they? (A point for each correct answer, and a bonus point if you can correctly name all three.)
A. 16: South Africa’s three official capitals are Pretoria, Cape Town, and Bloemfontein.
.
.
Q. 17: What is a baby eel called?
A. 17: A baby eel is called an elver.
.
.
Q. 18: What is greater, the volume of the Earth’s moon OR the volume of the Pacific Ocean?
A. 18: Bit of a trick question here. The volume of the Earth’s moon is the same as the volume of the Pacific Ocean.
.
.
Q. 19: Which US President pardoned Robert E. Lee posthumously of all crimes of treason?
A. 19: Gerald Ford.
.
.
Q. 20: Probably the most famous version is by Frank Sinatra, but who wrote the song “I Get A Kick Out Of You”?
A. 20: Cole Porter. Sorry Frank but this is MY favorite version….
First of all congratulations to the Seattle Seahawks who won their first Super Bowl by crushing the Denver Broncos 43-8, in a rather one-sided game yesterday.
Today it’s the super quiz and this won’t be so easy.
Yes, another random selection of questions, a lot of which will set you a challenge I think.
As usual if you get stuck the answers can be found waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below, but please NO cheating!
Enjoy and good luck.
.
.
Q. 1: Who won a best actor Oscar for his portrayal of an anthropophagus?
.
.
Q. 2: The Komodo dragon takes its name from as island in which country?
.
.
Q. 3: Which car company built the classic ‘1962 250 GT Berlinetta Boxer’ automobile?
.
.
Q. 4: Name the country from which the soup ‘Gazpacho’ originated?
.
.
Q. 5: Name the fictional detective associated with ‘Miss Felicity Lemon’?
.
.
Q. 6: In which famous movie would you find a robot called ‘Marvin’?
.
.
Q. 7: ‘Winter’, ‘Secret’, ‘Dirty’, ‘Pastry’, ‘Cola’, ‘Pig’, ‘Honey’, ‘Football’, ‘Rif’ and ‘Cod’ are all examples of what?
.
.
Q. 8: What sauce is made from the plant ‘Armorica rusticana’?
.
.
Q. 9: Which of these is a comic character who appears in three plays by Shakespeare?
a) Rifle b) Musket c) Pistol
.
.
Q. 10: Rather appropriately for this month, the following line ‘February made me shiver‘ is found in which song?
.
.
Q. 11: Contestants from which South American country have won the most Miss Universe titles?
.
.
Q. 12: Which of these actors has won the most Best Actor Oscars?
a) Tom Hanks b) Kevin Spacey c) Daniel Day Lewis d) Jeff Bridges
.
.
Q. 13: John James Audubon is famous for his paintings of what?
.
.
Q. 14: Which large sea in the south-western Pacific Ocean is named after a German?
.
.
Q. 15: ‘Monique Delacroix’ was the mother of which debonair hero?
.
.
Q. 16: What is the name and the color of Jim Henson’s most famous creation?
.
.
Q. 17: This word is the name for a magnificent palace, a variety of apple and a person or thing without equal, what is it?
.
.
Q. 18: Name the movie in which Michael Caine plays ‘Lt Gonville Bromhead’?
.
.
Q. 19: What does a woman raise and hold up in a ‘Pabana’?
.
.
Q. 20: Which very famous soothing English song uses the melody from Mozart’s ‘Ah! Vous dirai-je, Maman’?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
ANSWERS
.
Q. 1: Who won a best actor Oscar for his portrayal of an anthropophagus?
A. 1: Anthony Hopkins in ‘The Silence of the Lambs’, an anthropophagus is a cannibal.
.
.
Q. 2: The Komodo dragon takes its name from as island in which country?
A. 2: Indonesia. (Probably because of the name a lot of people guess Japan.)
.
.
Q. 3: Which car company built the classic ‘1962 250 GT Berlinetta Boxer’ automobile?
A. 3: Ferrari.
.
.
Q. 4: Name the country from which the soup ‘Gazpacho’ originated?
A. 4: Spain. (You also get a point if you said Portugal.)
.
.
Q. 5: Name the fictional detective associated with ‘Miss Felicity Lemon’?
A. 5: Hercule Poirot.
.
.
Q. 6: In which famous movie would you find a robot called ‘Marvin’?
A. 6: ‘A Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy’.
.
.
Q. 7: ‘Winter’, ‘Secret’, ‘Dirty’, ‘Pastry’, ‘Cola’, ‘Pig’, ‘Honey’, ‘Football’, ‘Rif’ and ‘Cod’ are all examples of what?
A. 7: They are all names of different wars.
.
.
Q. 8: What sauce is made from the plant ‘Armorica rusticana’?
A. 8: Horseradish.
.
.
Q. 9: Which of these is a comic character who appears in three plays by Shakespeare?
a) Rifle b) Musket c) Pistol
A. 9: c) Pistol. (Pistol (fict) is a follower of Sir John Falstaff in Henry IV, Part 2 and The Merry Wives of Windsor. He is married to Mistress Quickly, and is a soldier in conflict with Fluellen, in Henry V.)
.
.
Q. 10: Rather appropriately for this month, the following line ‘February made me shiver‘ is found in which song?
A. 10: American Pie (Don McLean).
.
.
Q. 11: Contestants from which South American country have won the most Miss Universe titles?
A. 11: Venezuela (6, in 1979, 1981, 1986, 1996, 2008 and 2009).
.
.
Q. 12: Which of these actors has won the most Best Actor Oscars?
a) Tom Hanks b) Kevin Spacey c) Daniel Day Lewis d) Jeff Bridges
A. 12: c) Daniel Day Lewis
.
.
Q. 13: John James Audubon is famous for his paintings of what?
A. 13: Birds. (An original copy of his book ‘Birds of America’ sold in London at Sotheby’s for a record £7,321,250 (approximately $11.5 million) on 6 December 2010.)
.
.
Q. 14: Which large sea in the south-western Pacific Ocean is named after a German?
A. 14: The Bismarck Sea.
.
.
Q. 15: ‘Monique Delacroix’ was the mother of which debonair hero?
A. 15: James Bond.
.
.
Q. 16: What is the name and the color of Jim Henson’s most famous creation?
A. 16: Kermit the Frog and he is green.
.
.
Q. 17: This word is the name for a magnificent palace, a variety of apple and a person or thing without equal, what is it?
A. 17: Nonsuch.
.
.
Q. 18: Name the movie in which Michael Caine plays ‘Lt Gonville Bromhead’?
A. 18: Zulu.
.
.
Q. 19: What does a woman raise and hold up in a ‘Pabana’?
A. 19: Her skirt. The Pabana (or Peacock dance) is a solemn and stately Spanish dance.
.
.
Q. 20: Which very famous soothing English song uses the melody from Mozart’s ‘Ah! Vous dirai-je, Maman’?
Just a short post this Sunday. Something that a friend emailed to me a little while ago that I thought was worth sharing. If you have seen it before, my apologies, if you haven’t, I think it is worth a look.
Enjoy.
.
.
PUBLIC TOILET
This is a picture of a public toilet
in Houston
…. from the outside it looks like this:
(scroll down.)
>
> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Now that you’ve seen the outside view
Because this Sunday there is a test for you. They’re no good unless they sneak up on you by surprise. This way there’s no time get a sick note or prepare another excuse.
Some of the questions are easy, some of them are hard, some of them are tricky, and some are a combination of one or more of the above.
So sharpen your pencils and whatever else you need to do and begin when you are ready.
(As usual the answers are waaaaaaaay down below, but no cheating!)
Enjoy!
.
.
.
Q 1: Launched on February 1, 1958 what was the name of the first American satellite in orbit?
.
.
.
Q 2: Most people know what a bibliophile is, but what is a bibliopole?
.
.
.
Q 3: Train ‘A’ leaves from New York City heading toward Los Angeles at 100 mph. Three hours later, train ‘B’ leaves from Los Angeles heading toward New York City at 200 mph. Assume there is exactly 2,000 miles between Los Angeles and New York City. When they meet, which train is closer to New York City?
.
.
.
Q 4: There is the only royal palace in the United States of America – where is it?
.
.
.
Q 5: What sort of paper are US dollar bills made out of?
.
.
.
Q 6: What does the ZIP in “ZIP code” mean?
.
.
.
Q 7: Nowadays they go for tens of millions of dollars each, but how many paintings did Vincent Van Gogh sell during his entire life?
.
.
.
Q 8: A certain five letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it. What is the word?
.
.
.
Q 9: What is the only planet in our solar system that rotates clockwise?
.
.
.
Q 10: What is a rhinoceros horn made of?
.
.
.
Q 11: Name an English word that ends in “mt”
.
.
.
Q 12: What was the first novel ever written on a typewriter?
.
.
.
Q 13: If an electric train is traveling northwest at 95 miles per hour, and the wind is blowing southwest at 95 miles per hour, in which direction does the smoke blow?
.
.
.
Q 14: Who was the first U.S. President to be born in a hospital?
.
.
.
Q 15: How long would you have to hold your breath before you kill yourself?
.
.
.
Q 16: What are the six official languages of the U.N.?
.
.
.
Q 17: “Big Ben” in London, England is what?
.
.
.
Q 18: There are 10 human body parts that are only 3 letters long. What are they? (And you know them all)
.
.
.
Q 19: Who is Robert Zimmerman?
.
.
.
Q 20: While on my way to St. Ives, I met a man with seven wives. Each wife had seven sacks; Each sack had seven cats; Each cat had seven kittens. Kittens, cats, sacks, wives; How many were going to St. Ives?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
ANSWERS
Q 1: Launched on February 1, 1958 what was the name of the first American satellite in orbit?
Explorer
.
.
.
Q 2: Most people know what a bibliophile is, but what is a bibliopole?
A bibliophile is a collector of rare books, and a bibliopole is a seller of rare books.
.
.
.
Q 3: Train ‘A’ leaves from New York City heading toward Los Angeles at 100 mph. Three hours later, train ‘B’ leaves from Los Angeles heading toward New York City at 200 mph. Assume there is exactly 2,000 miles between Los Angeles and New York City. When they meet, which train is closer to New York City?
Two answers are allowed to this one, either
When they meet, they’re both exactly the same distance from New York City.
or,
if you consider “meeting” to be nose to nose, the one that left from New York City is closer to New York City by a train length.
.
.
.
Q 4: There is the only royal palace in the United States of America – where is it?
Honolulu, Hawai
.
.
.
Q 5: What sort of paper are US dollar bills made out of?
US Dollar bills are made out of cotton and linen.
.
.
.
Q 6: What does the ZIP in “ZIP code” mean?
Zoning Improvement Plan.
.
.
.
Q 7: Nowadays they go for tens of millions of dollars each, but how many paintings did Vincent Van Gogh sell during his entire life?
Vincent Van Gogh sold exactly one painting during his lifetime, “Red Vineyard at Arles”.
.
.
.
Q 8: A certain five letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it. What is the word?
Short
.
.
.
Q 9: What is the only planet in our solar system that rotates clockwise?
Venus
.
.
.
Q 10: What is a rhinoceros horn made of?
Compacted hair
.
.
.
Q 11: Name an English word that ends in “mt”
Dreamt
.
.
.
Q 12: What was the first novel ever written on a typewriter?
Tom Sawyer
.
.
.
Q 13: If an electric train is traveling northwest at 95 miles per hour, and the wind is blowing southwest at 95 miles per hour, in which direction does the smoke blow?
Smoke? It’s an electric train, there ain’t no smoke!
.
.
.
Q 14: Who was the first U.S. President to be born in a hospital?
Jimmy Carter
.
.
.
Q 15: How long would you have to hold your breath before you kill yourself?
You cannot kill yourself by holding your breath, with the best will in the world, even if you held you breath long enough to pass out your body reflex would then take over and you would start to breathe again involuntarily
.
.
.
Q 16: What are the six official languages of the U.N.?
English, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese and Arabic
.
.
.
Q 17: “Big Ben” in London, England is what?
Many people mistakenly think it is a clock. Actually, it’s the bell.
.
.
.
Q 18: There are 10 human body parts that are only 3 letters long. What are they? (And you know them all)
Eye, hip, arm, leg, ear, toe, jaw, rib, lip, gum.
.
.
.
Q 19: Who is Robert Zimmerman?
Bob Dylan’s real name is Robert Zimmerman
.
.
.
Q 20: While on my way to St. Ives, I met a man with seven wives. Each wife had seven sacks; Each sack had seven cats; Each cat had seven kittens. Kittens, cats, sacks, wives; How many were going to St. Ives?
Read it again, it was only you who was going to St Ives, so the answer is one
Just as a bit of a contrast to yesterday’s post, today I have ten stories, which are either about thieves who were smart enough to get away with it, or police who were too dumb to catch them.
The readers can make up their own minds.
Enjoy.
.
1. Double Trouble
On Feb 25, 2009, three masked robbers boldly busted into Kaufhaus Des Westens, the second largest department store in Europe.
Via a rope ladder, the men were able to enter and ransack the main floor without tripping any sensors or alarms.
But what may have been a fatal error – leaving behind a single glove – ended up creating a bizarre situation.
DNA found on the glove matched TWO people: identical twins identified as Hassan and Abbas O.
German law however requires that each person be individually convicted and because their DNA is so similar, neither can be exclusively pinned to the evidence.
German police were forced to set them both free, and the third man has yet to be found.
identical twins – how do you tell them apart?
. 2. The World’s Most Famous Fugitive
No, it’s not the one about Dr Richard Kimble trying to hunt down the one-armed man, although many readers may well be familiar with this story too which is about probably the world’s most famous fugitive.
On the night before Thanksgiving, November 24, 1971, a passenger by the name of Dan Cooper boarded a plane in Portland, OR bound for Seattle.
Clad in a suit and raincoat, wearing dark glasses and carrying a briefcase, he sat silently in the back of the plane. After calmly lighting a cigarette (yes smoking was permitted in airplanes in those days), he ordered a whiskey from the stewardess and then handed her a note.
It read, ‘I HAVE A BOMB IN MY BRIEFCASE. I WILL USE IT IF NECESSARY. I WANT YOU TO SIT NEXT TO ME. YOU ARE BEING HIJACKED.’
He demanded $200,000 and four parachutes delivered to him in Seattle.
When the plane landed, he released all the passengers, save for the pilot, co-pilot, and stewardess.
Once the money was delivered in the middle of the brightly-lit tarmac, Cooper demanded the pilot take off for Mexico, flying at an altitude of 10,000 feet.
Shortly after takeoff, over the mountains northwest of Portland, the six-foot-tall Cooper strapped on a parachute and jumped.
He was never heard from again.
Did he survive?
In 1980, roughly $6000 was found of the money in bundles on a beach, but no signs of a body.
The case remains open and is the only unsolved crime in US aviation history.
The Fugitive – The Illusive Dan Cooper
. 3. Cops And Robbers – Boston Style
On March 18, 1990, the day after Saint Patrick’s Day, policemen arrived at the door of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, claiming to have received a call about a disturbance.
Breaking protocol, the security officer let them in.
One of the men said he had a warrant for the guard’s arrest, and they convinced him to step away from his post.
Bad move: the “policemen” were really criminals in disguise, and they quickly handcuffed him and ordered him to call the other guard to the front, who was also subdued.
The thieves absconded with 13 paintings, including masterworks by Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Degas, worth a third of a billion dollars.
To this date, no one has been arrested in conjunction with the crime, nor have the paintings ever been recovered.
Robbers dressed as cops – would they fool you?
.
4. Cops And Robbers – Japanese Style
On December 10, 1968, in Tokyo, Japan, a Nihon Shintaku Ginko Bank car, transporting 300 million Yen ($817,000 US) in its trunk, was pulled over by a policeman on a motorcycle, who warned them of a bomb planted underneath.
Since there had already been bomb threats against the bank, the four passengers exited the vehicle as the uniformed patrolman inspected below the car.
Moments later, smoke and flames could be seen under the vehicle, causing the men to run for cover.
Of course, it turned out the smoke was from a flare and the cop was a phony.
He jumped in the car and sped off with the loot.
Even though there were 120 pieces of evidence, 110,000 suspects and 170,000 police investigators, the man was never caught.
In 1975, the statute of limitations ended, and in 1988 all civil liabilities were voided, but still no one ‘fessed up.
man under car
.
5. Diamonds Are Forever – Unless Someone Steals Them
The largest diamond heist in history was stolen from the world’s most impenetrable vault, located in Antwerp, Belgium.
Two floors below the Diamond Centre, it was protected by a lock with 100 million possible combinations, as well as heat/motion sensors, radar, magnetic fields, and a private security force.
However, on the weekend of Feb 15, using a series of moves that would make Danny Ocean jealous, the thieves were able to silently enter the vault, bust open the safe deposit boxes, and make off with the glittering loot.
And although the purported ring leader Leonardo Notarbartolo was caught and sentenced to 10 years, he has since been released on parole.
Notarbartolo claimed in an interview in Wired Magazine that the true take was only $20 million and was part of a larger conspiracy involving insurance fraud.
Whatever — the loot was never recovered.
Diamonds are forever – sometimes!
.
6. The Disappearing $million
On Friday October 7, 1977, before Columbus Day Weekend, a bank worker counted $4 million dollars in cash and stored it in a locked money cart within a heavily guarded vault, two floors below the Chicago First National Bank.
Then poof!
Tuesday morning, the money is counted again, and exactly $1 million dollars – in $50 and $100 dominations and weighing over 80 pounds – had vanished into thin air.
In 1981, $2300 of the money showed up in a drug raid, but otherwise both the perpetrators and the cash are still at large.
cash pile
.
7. The Pink Panthers
The winner for boldest burglary goes to the perpetrators of the so-called Harry Winston Heist.
On December 4, 2008, four men, three of whom wore long blonde wigs and disguised themselves as women, charmed their way into the famous Harry Winston Paris jewelry store just before closing time.
Once inside, they brandished a .357 revolver and a hand grenade and began their pillaging.
Less than 15 minutes later they escaped with diamonds, rubies, and emeralds worth an estimated $108 million US.
Investigators believe it to be the work of the notorious Serbian criminal gang The Pink Panthers, responsible for $132 million in robberies around the world.
They have never been caught.
Obviously the police needed Inspector Clouseau on the case.
Inspector Clouseau
.
8. Tucker Cross Or Double Cross?
The Tucker Cross, was named after diver Teddy Tucker who, in 1955, recovered it from the 1594 wreck of the San Pedro.
It was a 22-karat gold cross embedded with sparkling green emeralds and considered priceless.
Nonetheless, Tucker sold it to the Government of Bermuda for an undisclosed sum.
In 1975, the Cross was moved to the Bermuda Museum of Art to be displayed for Queen Elizabeth II.
No one knows when or how, but during this transition, a clever thief replaced the original with a cheap plastic replica.
Presumably, this historical artifact was melted down, stripped of its jewels, and funneled into the Black Market.
The Tucker Cross
.
9. Fancy A Brazilian?
No, nothing to do with Kim Kardashian or the netherlands. This happened in 2005, in Fortaleza, Brazil at the Banco Central, when a gang of enterprising thieves managed to carry off one of the biggest heists of all time.
This heist was the result of painstaking planning by a small gang of burglars who tunneled over 250 feet to the bank’s vault from a nearby property.
The robbers used a landscaping business as a front that allowed them to move massive amounts of dirt and rock without looking suspicious.
The tunnel was expertly constructed and had sophisticated lighting and even an air conditioning system.
After three months of digging, the thieves finally broke into the vault and made off with what was equivalent to $70 million dollars.
Since then, police have made a number of arrests in connection with the burglary and recovered roughly $9 million dollars of the haul, but the majority of the suspects are still at large.
Part of the tunnel at the Banco Central – the police are looking into it!
.
10. The Thieves Of Baghdad
On July 11th, 2007 in Baghdad a private financial institution, Dar Es Salaam, was robbed by two, or possibly three guards.
They got away with a third of a billion in cash, all US bills.
Perhaps the bank itself did not want people to start wondering where, how, and why it had so much cash at hand, so they have kept mum and there has been minimal press.
But somewhere, the successful thieves are laughing all the way from this bank.
fasab 