It’s Monday, It’s May 12th, And It’s Quiz Day!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Welcome to another fasab quiz.

Some difficult ones, some easy ones, and one or two that you should know but might not.

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

Enjoy and good luck.

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Quiz 5

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Q.  1:  Take a quarter, multiply it by a dime, divide that total by 2 bits and add 3 nickles, and what have you got?

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Q.  2:  Name the top three cork-producing countries in the world. (And take a point for each correct answer.)

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Q.  3:  You’ve seen it thousands of times, but why was the dollar symbol ($) designed this way?

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Q.  4:  What was the name of the physician who set the leg of Lincoln’s assassin John Wilkes Booth? (A point for his last name, a bonus if you know his first name as well.)

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Q.  5:  Where in North America is the largest water clock?

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Q.  6:  What is the only letter in the alphabet that has more than one syllable?

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Q.  7:  There are six words in the English language with the letter combination “uu.” Two of them you have probably heard of, the rest are more obscure, but you get a point for each one you can name correctly.

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Q.  8:  Who are the only three angels mentioned by name in the Bible? (A point for each correct answer.)

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Q.  9:  What do you call the little hole in the sink that lets the water drain out, instead of flowing over the side?

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Q. 10:  Why has the Pentagon, in Arlington, Virginia, twice as many bathrooms as is necessary?

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Q. 11:  What are residents of the island of Crete called? (If you spell this wrong it will be very stupid.)

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Q. 12:  And, what are residents of the island of Lesbos called?

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Q. 13:  Who was the only American president to be wounded in the Civil War?

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Q. 14:  If you add up the numbers 1-100 consecutively (1+2+3+4+5 etc) what is the total?

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Q. 15:  Where were Venetian blinds invented?

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Q. 16:  What is the southern most city in the United States?

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Q. 17:  Everyone thinks that a ‘qwerty’ computer keyboard is just the same as a typewriter keyboard, but it isn’t. What is missing from the typewriter keyboard that is always on a computer keyboard?

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Q. 18:  Where do Panama hats come from?

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Q. 19:  How many ‘Die Hard’ movies have there been  –  so far? (Bonus points for each one you can name correctly. Double bonus if you know the years.)

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Q. 20:  What was the first video ever played on MTV Europe?

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ANSWERS

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Q.  1:  Take a quarter, multiply it by a dime, divide that total by 2 bits and add 3 nickles, and what have you got?

A.  1:  Answer = 25  (25 x 10) / (2 x 12.5) + (3 x 5)  =  25

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Q.  2:  Name the top three cork-producing countries in the world. (And take a point for each correct answer.)

A.  2:  The top three cork-producing countries are Spain, Portugal and Algeria.

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Q.  3:  You’ve seen it thousands of times, but why was the dollar symbol ($) designed this way?

A.  3:  The dollar symbol ($) is a U combined with an S (U.S.)

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Q.  4:  What was the name of the physician who set the leg of Lincoln’s assassin John Wilkes Booth? (A point for his last name, a bonus if you know his first name as well.)

A.  4:  Dr. Samuel A. Mudd was the physician who set the leg of Lincoln’s assassin John Wilkes Booth … and whose shame created the expression for ignominy, “His name is Mudd.”

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Q.  5:  Where in North America is the largest water clock?

A.  5:  The largest water clock in North America is at the shopping mall in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada.

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Q.  6:  What is the only letter in the alphabet that has more than one syllable?

A.  6:  ‘W’ is the only letter in the alphabet that has more than one syllable… it has three.

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Q.  7:  There are six words in the English language with the letter combination “uu.” Two of them you have probably heard of, the rest are more obscure, but you get a point for each one you can name correctly.

A.  7:  The six words in the English language with the letter combination “uu” are:                                         Muumuu, vacuum, continuum, duumvirate, duumvir and residuum.

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Q.  8:  Who are the only three angels mentioned by name in the Bible? (A point for each correct answer.)

A.  8:  The three angels mentioned by name in the Bible are Gabriel, Michael, and Lucifer.

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Q.  9:  What do you call the little hole in the sink that lets the water drain out, instead of flowing over the side?

A.  9:  The little hole in the sink that lets the water drain out, instead of flowing over the side, is called a “porcelator”.

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Q. 10:  Why has the Pentagon, in Arlington, Virginia, twice as many bathrooms as is necessary?

A. 10:  The Pentagon, in Arlington, Virginia, has twice as many bathrooms as is necessary because when it was built in the 1940s, the state of Virginia still had segregation laws requiring separate toilet facilities for blacks and whites.

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Q. 11:  What are residents of the island of Crete called? (If you spell this wrong it will be very stupid.)

A. 11:  They are called Cretans. (Deduct a point if you said Cretins!)

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Q. 12:  And, what are residents of the island of Lesbos called?

A. 12:  Residents of the island of Lesbos are Lesbosians, rather than Lesbians. (Of course, lesbians are called lesbians because Sappho was from Lesbos.)

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Q. 13:  Who was the only American president to be wounded in the Civil War?

A. 13:  Rutherford B. Hayes was the only president to be wounded in the Civil War — not once, but four times. Four horses were shot out from beneath him.

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Q. 14:  If you add up the numbers 1-100 consecutively (1+2+3+4+5 etc) what is the total?

A. 14:  If you add up the numbers 1-100 consecutively (1+2+3+4+5 etc) the total is 5050.

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Q. 15:  Where were Venetian blinds invented?

A. 15:  You’d think it should be Venice, but Venetian blinds were invented in Japan.

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Q. 16:  What is the southern most city in the United States?

A. 16:  The southern most city in the United States is Na’alehu, Hawaii.

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Q. 17:  Everyone thinks that a ‘qwerty’ computer keyboard is just the same as a typewriter keyboard, but it isn’t. What is missing from the typewriter keyboard that is always on a computer keyboard?

A. 17:  The back slash is missing. Before the age of computers, typewriters only had one type of slash, the forward slash (/). Even earlier versions hadn’t even got that! Bet you never even noticed.

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Q. 18:  Where do Panama hats come from?

A. 18:  Panama hats are made in Equador.

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Q. 19:  How many ‘Die Hard’ movies have there been  –  so far? (Bonus points for each one you can name correctly. Double bonus if you know the years.)

A. 19:  There have been five ‘Die Hard’ movies so far, ‘Die Hard’ (1988), ‘Die Hard 2’ (1990), ‘Die Hard with a Vengeance’ (1995), ‘Live Free or Die Hard’ (2007) and ‘A Good Day to Die Hard’ (2013).

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Q. 20:  What was the first video ever played on MTV Europe?

A. 20:  The first video ever played on MTV Europe was “Money For Nothing” by Dire Straits.

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Did You Know? The Fact File Is Open Again.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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The fact file is open again and here are fifteen more gems of wisdom to peruse at your leisure.

Enjoy.

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did you know5

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100,000,000,000 solar neutrinos pass through

every square inch of your body every second.

(I thought I felt something!)

solar neutrinos

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The northern border of Delaware is curved,

with all points being exactly 12 miles from

the old court house in New Castle.

delaware state map

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James Barrie, author of Peter Pan, never had kids,

but he did have a special affection for the children of others.

In 1929 he signed over the rights for Peter Pan to a London hospital

that specialized in pediatric medicine.

James Barrie

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The celery stick garnish became a staple of the Bloody Mary

only after an impatient patron at Chicago’s Pump Room

couldn’t wait for his server to bring him a swizzle stick.

He took matters into his own hands and

snatched a celery stalk from a nearby relish tray.

Bloody-Mary

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Ice Cream was served to new arrivals at Ellis Island.

However, since most people hadn’t encountered it before,

they simply figured it was butter and spread it on their toast.

Ice-Cream

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The state fish of Hawaii is the “humuhumunukunukuapua’a”.

The Hawaiian name roughly translates to “the fish with a pig-like nose.”

It’s English name is the Reef Triggerfish.

humuhumunukunukuapua'a

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Director John Landis includes the phrase

“See you next Wednesday” in most of his films.

It was the title of a script he wrote as a teen.

John_Landis

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Al Capone estimated that he spent $30 million a year

to pay off judges, police, elected officials, and newspapermen.

al-capone 88

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The first artist signed to the Beatles’ Apple Records label

was singer-songwriter James Taylor.

James_Taylor

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Clifton Keith Hillegass is the “Cliff” behind Cliff’s Notes.

He started his company in 1958 when he

published 16 Shakespearian study guides.

CliffsNotes

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Birds cock their heads at the ground not to listen for prey

(such as insects or worms) but to better see them.

bird cocking head

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Although the National Association for the Advancement

of Colored People clearly stated its mission in its title,

W.E.B. Du Bois was the only African American

on the NAACP’s first board of directors.

W.E.B. Du Bois

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Contrary to popular belief, a camel’s hump does not store water.

Instead, it’s filled with fat, which allows the animal to go for a month without food.

If the hump becomes depleted, it will shrink, flop over, and hang at the camel’s side.

bactrian camel 2

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A Mercurian day is longer than its year.

Mercury revolves around the sun very quickly,

but rotates around its axis very, very slowly.

One day on Mercury (sunrise to sunrise) is longer than

one year on Mercury (one orbit around the Sun).

Mercuryday

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The flashes of colored light you see when you

rub your eyes are called “phosphenes.”

phosphene_by_preritjain-d4j91wh

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The term “paparazzi” comes from Paparazzo,

a fictional freelance photographer

in the 1960 Fellini film La Dolce Vita.

paparazzi

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Construction of the Pentagon began in 1941 

–  on September 11th.

(Spooky-woo!)

Pentagon_construction

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John Lennon’s 1975 single “Number Nine Dream”

peaked on the Billboard pop singles chart at number nine.

Similarly, Prince’s 1993 single “Seven” peaked at #7.

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Two Post Tuesday

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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It’s not often that I post twice in one day. I did the funny post earlier but there is something else that I want to say and today is the day to say it. Strap yourselves in!

I don’t remember where I was when JKF was shot. It was a bit too far back in time for me to be worrying about such things. I do remember where I was when I saw my first movie about the assassination, though. I was in a cinema. The movie was called Executive Action and starred Burt Lancaster. Some critics panned it at the time but I thought it was very good, based on a conspiracy theme naturally enough. I actually thought it was better that Stone’s acclaimed effort, ‘JFK’, made many years later.

I also remember where I was this day eleven years ago. It was the day that the world changed for ever and I was sitting in my study at home battling with a few spreadsheets for a business plan I was putting together. The TV was on in the background and the normal programs suddenly cut to what was happening in New York.

 

World Trade Center, New York City,   September 11,  2001
World Trade Center, New York City, September 11, 2001

Of course that was the end of my spreadsheets for the day. I became totally enthralled in the news coverage which was to say the least confused. By that time the first tower was belching out a steady stream of smoke. It was clearly on fire and had been very badly damaged.

The reporters were speculating as to what may have been the cause. They talked about ‘accidents’ and eyewitness reports of a small private aircraft hitting the building. But, to anyone with any wit at all, it had to have been much more than a small airplane to do that amount of damage to a building that huge.

Then, as I continued to watch, the second plane hit the other tower. Some of the reporters still could not come to grips with what was happening. The second plane was clearly a large commercial jet and, equally clearly, it had been flown deliberately into the second tower.

This was the real deal. And all of the multi-billion dollar military/intelligence defense network had been caught with their trousers down round their collective ankles.

A massive terror attack was in progress and we were able to watch it in real time on our televisions. It was at the same time mesmerizing, engrossing and, not least, horrifying.

The horrific nature of what had happened became clearer when everyone began to realize that, not only had many innocent people probably lost their lives when the airplanes had struck the buildings, but also that there was little or no hope of saving those on the floors above where the impact had occurred. It got even worse when some of the trapped people threw themselves out of the building and could been seen falling to the ground and to certain death.

Emergency services rushed to the scene. Many acts of extreme bravery followed as police and firefighters went into the burning buildings with little or no regard for their own safety. I can’t say this for sure, but I imagine at least some of them knew there was little chance they would get back out again. But they did it anyway.

Then we heard that the Pentagon had been the target of a further attack and yet another airplane, also bound we were told for the Washington DC area, had gone down somewhere en route.

In all 2,977 people were murdered as a result of the terrorist attacks that morning.

We know who was responsible for the attacks. We know that many of their terrorist comrades, including the figurehead Bin Laden, have since been killed. And we know the terrible cost in terms of lost lives and serious injuries to the various armed forces who were sent to do that job.

September 11 is now officially ‘Patriot Day’, a day of remembrance. And we should all take at least a moment in honor of the victims.

Sadly the aftermath of these terrorist attacks eleven years ago brought only knee-jerk reactions from jerk politicians. They had the audacity to call it the Patriot Act, but it attacks the freedom of innocent law-abiding citizens just as much as it does the terrorists and criminals.

Contaminated by the hellish liberal inspired ‘guilt’ that now pervades all government decisions and means that it is no longer perceived as acceptable if we take our own side in a fight, a raft of idiotic, unnecessary and unfair legislation has, and is, being enacted.

This is being done in the name of defending the homeland, but unwilling to only target the national, ethnic or religious groups who are responsible for the vast majority of the terror, poor old law-abiding Joe Public gets targeted as well.

Everyone is now guilty until they can prove their innocence. Get on an airplane at an airport and you are treated as a potential terrorist and irradiated and probed and so forth. Open a bank account and you are treated as a potential terrorist trying to launder money – despite the fact that it was the banks themselves who were doing that job.

It’s not that any of this is a great hardship. It’s just that it is completely unnecessary and unproductive. It is the typical politician’s and bureaucrat’s way of trying to con the populace by substituting activity for real progress.

A lot of potential terrorist attacks in America and elsewhere have been thwarted during the past eleven years, but not one of them as a result of all the overt claptrap at airports and so forth.

Will it change? Will sanity and intelligence take over?

Not a chance.

Will it get worse? Will the bureaucrats’ hunger for control and interference increase?

Of course it will, regardless of whether the regime is Republicrat or Democrican.

So who really did win?

The terrorists may well have lost, but the people certainly didn’t win!