Thinking Caps On Please – It’s Quiz Day!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

.

July is almost a week old and we haven’t had a quiz.

But we are about to rectify that right now.

Another twenty questions to wrap your brain around.

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

Enjoy and good luck.

.

.

Q.  1.  What is the world’s biggest island?

.

.

Q.  2.  In a speech on 5 March 1946 what did Winston Churchill say had descended over Europe?

.

.

Q.  3.  What city is known as ‘The Pearl of the Adriatic’ ?

.

.

Q.  4.  What is the official diameter of the center circle on a soccer pitch?

.

.

Q.  5. What does the term ‘SAS’ refer to in terms of British Army Regiments?

.

.

Q.  6.  What famous American painter and illustrator’s best-known works include the ‘Willie Gillis’ series, ‘Rosie the Riveter’, ‘The Problem We All Live With’, ‘Saying Grace’, and the ‘Four Freedoms’ series?

.

.

Q.  7.  Where were the 2014 Winter Olympics held?

.

.

Q.  8. Where will the 2016 Summer Olympics be held?

.

.

Q.  9. Whose first novel was titled ‘Carrie’ ?

.

.

Q. 10.  What was the name given to the prosperous peasants in Russia who were violently repressed by Stalin?

.

.

Q. 11.  The famous ‘Stella Artois’ beer was originally brewed in which country?

.

.

Q. 12.  After World War Two (WWII) ended into how many sectors was the city of Berlin divided? (A point for the correct answer and bonus points if you can correctly name the countries in charge of the sectors.)

.

.

Q. 13.  What is the common name of the small piece of data sent from a website and stored in a user’s web browser?

.

.

Q. 14.  In the well-known saying, what do ‘birds of a feather’ do?

.

.

Q. 15.  What fruit is a cross between a grapefruit, tangerine and orange?

.

.

Q. 16.  What is the name for the Eskimo people of Canada?

.

.

Q. 17.  We all know to our cost about the recent ‘financial crisis’, but in what year was the infamous ‘Wall Street Crash’ ?

.

.

Q. 18.  What are the two movies for which Jack Nicholson received the Best Actor Oscar?

.

.

Q. 19.  What is ‘blood sausage’ better known as in places like the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand and the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador?

.

.

Q. 20.  Who was ‘The Country Girl’ who after ‘High Noon’ went on to ‘Dial M for Murder’ and ‘To Catch a Thief’ before entering ‘High Society’ ?

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> 

ANSWERS

.

Q.  1.  What is the world’s biggest island?

A.  1.  Greenland.

.

.

Q.  2.  In a speech on 5 March 1946 what did Winston Churchill say had descended over Europe?

A.  2.  An Iron Curtain.

.

.

Q.  3.  What city is known as ‘The Pearl of the Adriatic’ ?

 A.  3.  Dubrovnik, Croatia.

.

.

Q.  4.  What is the official diameter of the center circle on a soccer pitch?

A.  4.  20 yards (18.3 metres).

.

.

Q.  5. What does the term ‘SAS’ refer to in terms of British Army Regiments.

A.  5.  Special Air Service.

.

.

Q.  6.  What famous American painter and illustrator’s best-known works include the ‘Willie Gillis’ series, ‘Rosie the Riveter’, ‘The Problem We All Live With’, ‘Saying Grace’, and the ‘Four Freedoms’ series

A.  6.  Norman Rockwell.

.

.

Q.  7.  Where were the 2014 Winter Olympics held?

A.  7.  In Sochi, Russia.

.

.

Q.  8. Where will the 2016 Summer Olympics be held?

A.  8.  The 2016 Summer Olympics, commonly known as Rio 2016, will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

.

.

Q.  9. Whose first novel was titled ‘Carrie’ ?

A.  9.  Stephen King.

.

.

Q. 10.  What was the name given to the prosperous peasants in Russia who were violently repressed by Stalin?

A. 10.  Kulaks.

.

.

Q. 11.  The famous ‘Stella Artois’ beer was originally brewed in which country?

A. 11.  Belgium.

.

.

Q. 12.  After World War Two (WWII) ended into how many sectors was the city of Berlin divided? (A point for the correct answer and bonus points if you can correctly name the countries in charge of the sectors.)

A. 12.  There were four sectors, American, British, French and Soviet.

.

.

Q. 13.  What is the common name of the small piece of data sent from a website and stored in a user’s web browser?

A. 13.  It is called a ‘cookie’.

.

.

Q. 14.  In the well known saying, what do ‘birds of a feather’ do?

A. 14.  They ‘flock together’.

.

.

Q. 15.  What fruit is a cross between a grapefruit, tangerine and orange?

A. 15.  The ‘Ugli fruit’.

.

.

Q. 16.  What is the name for the Eskimo people of Canada?

A. 16.  They are known as ‘Iniut’.

.

.

Q. 17.  We all know to our cost about the recent ‘financial crisis’, but in what year was the infamous ‘Wall Street Crash’ ?

A. 17.  1929.

.

.

Q. 18.  What are the two movies for which Jack Nicholson received the Best Actor Oscar?

A. 18.  They were ‘One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest’ and ‘As Good As It Gets’.

.

.

Q. 19.  What is ‘blood sausage’ better known as in places like the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand and the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador?

A. 19.  It is better known as ‘Black Pudding’.

.

.

Q. 20.  Who was ‘The Country Girl’ who after ‘High Noon’ went on to ‘Dial M for Murder’ and ‘To Catch a Thief’ before entering ‘High Society’ ?

A. 20.  Grace Kelly.

.

.

===================================

.

February Facts Finish Today.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

.

February facts finish here, but not to worry, all being well there will be more next month.

Meantime have a look at this selection.

I hope you find something interesting.

Enjoy.

.

.

Approximately seven hundred

tweets per minute contain a YouTube link.

.

.

The most beer-drinking country in

the world is the Czech Republic.

With an incredible per capita beer consumption

of almost 40 gallons a year, the Czechs are way out

in front in the beer drinking world league table,

leaving the Irish, Germans, Americans and

other “beer nations” far behind.

.

.

None of the soldiers wore metal helmets in 1914.

The French were the first to introduce them in 1915.

Future prime minister Winston Churchill wore a

French one during his time on the front in 1916.

.

.

The first known pyramid architect was Imhotep,

an Ancient Egyptian polymath, engineer and

physician who is considered to be the designer of

the first major pyramid – the Pyramid of Djoser.

.

.

In 1783, then Yale University president Ezra Stiles

predicted that the population of the United States

would reach 300 million in the next two hundred years.

He based his prediction on his analysis of the

population growth in Europe.

Apparently, just a little over 200 years later,

the population of the country actually hit 300 million.

.

.

Sean Connery,

the first and arguably the best James Bond,

began balding when he was only 21-years-old,

therefore in al his appearances as ‘Bond’

he is wearing a toupee.

.

.

The phrase, “Bite the bullet”,

meaning to endure something painful,

was first recorded in Rudyard Kipling’s 1891 novel

‘The Light that Failed’ describing the barbaric era

before anesthetics were used in medical procedures.

Injured soldiers had to bite on a bullet to help them

endure the pain of an operation or amputation,

an action that usually also resulted in a few broken teeth

aside from the other pain.

.

.

A normal heart valve is about

the size of a half dollar

.

.

Payne Stewart was a prolific golfer

and a three-time major championship winner

who was extremely popular with spectators

for his exciting style of play and fancy clothes.

Sadly, in 1999 his career was cut short by an

airplane accident that cost him his life a few

months after his latest triumph in the U.S. Open.

.

.

The Laser is an innovation made possible

by Quantum mechanics.

It was once thought to have no practical use,

however, innovation and development has

enabled laser technology to be applied to different

inventions from the CD player to

missile-destroying defense systems.

.

.

In  Port Lincoln, Australia, each January

they hold the ‘Tunarama Festival’ which is a

competition to see how far someone can

throw a frozen tuna.

Fortunately, the 2007 festival was the last one

in which real tunas were used for the throws

(because of their drastically dwindling populations).

Since then artificially made fake tunas have been used.

.

.

From 1850 to 1942, marijuana was

considered a useful medicine for

nausea, rheumatism, and labor pains

and was easily obtained at local general stores

or pharmacies throughout the U.S.

.

.

In Formula 1 motor racing,

there is no longer a car with the number 13.

The number has been removed after two drivers

were killed in crashes — both driving cars numbered 13.

.

.

Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space,

was also a victim of a training jet crash.

He died on March 27, 1968,

along with his flight instructor Vladimir Seryogin,

when their MiG-15UTI plane crashed.

There has always been a lot of speculation and

conspiracy surrounds their deaths.

For example, documents declassified in April 2011

include a 1968’s commission conclusion that they

had to maneuver sharply to avoid a weather balloon,

whereas a KGB report concluded the aircraft

entered a spin. from which it subsequently could

not recover. to avoid a bird strike or another aircraft.

.

.

Alan Thicke,

the father in the TV show Growing Pains

wrote the theme songs for

The Facts of Life

and

Diff’rent Strokes.

.

.

==================================

.

BREAKING NEWS: Repair Man Wanted.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

.

Nothing broken here though, you’ll be glad to hear.

So let’s get on with a bit more word play that you love to….

Enjoy or endure!

.

.

What did Salvador Dali have for breakfast?

A bowl of surreal.

.

.

There’s a bloke in Hungary who goes round from door to door

trying to convert people to Zen philosophy.

He’s a Buddha pest.

.

.

If an Earl is awarded an O.B.E,

does he become an earlobe?

.

.

My mum’s got this weird fetish for sleeping with boxing gloves.

Her doctor thinks it’s just the menopause setting in,

but I just think she’s going through a rocky patch.

.

.

Do you think the name for the head

of the Indian Mafia is ‘Poppa Don’?

.

.

My girlfriend asked me the other day,

“Dave, why do you always walk in front of me?”

I said, “I’m sorry, I don’t follow you.”

.

.

There’s a monster under my bed,

that plays loud music and dances around.

That damn boogieman.

 

.

.

I entered my dog in the redneck version of Crufts last week.

She won “Best Inbreed.”

.

.

A man went to the doctor and said,

“I’m sick and tired of finishing crosswords so quickly!”

He said, “Try not to get two down sir.”

.

.

I went to a fancy dress competition

dressed as Winston Churchill.

I thought my costume was great,

I had the hat, the suit, the bow tie, everything!

When I asked them whether I’d won,

they said I was close, but no cigar.

.

.

I was in Wal Mart buying batteries today.

I asked the assistant if I would be better buying re-chargable

batteries or just get the cheapest and change them often.

“There’s positives and negatives with both,” she told me.

.

My school has a really bad drugs problem.

Especially class A

.

.

I was stopped by a policeman and

asked if I could identify myself.

I looked in the mirror and said,

“Yes officer, it’s definitely me.”

.

.

My wife said to me,

“Tonight, in bed, you can do anything you want”.

So I invited my secretary over.

.

.

I’m in love with an eel

– that’s a moray.

.

.

=====================================

.

Failure.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

.

They say that success breeds success and to a great extent that is true. If, for example, you have a successful business it can give you the confidence and the cash to acquire or set up another.

But is the opposite also true? Does failure breed failure?

I think it does. Most people tend to get the confidence knocked out of them when they fail. That’s why most never really succeed after one or two set backs. Some are so afraid of failure that they won’t even try the first time.

But, when they fail, some do get up, dust themselves down, and try again. And they are the ones who prove that failing a few times can, in the long run, actually lead to greater success that would otherwise have been the case.

Most of the world’s greatest serial entrepreneurs have had their failures. Some have even been bankrupt or been close to it. It may have dented their confidence a little and made them more cautious for the next time, but it didn’t stop them trying and that’s the key to real success.

Sure, plan well, be smart, work hard and all those good things, but don’t give up.

Does that mean you are bound to succeed? Well, no it doesn’t. There can always be extenuating circumstances well out of your control that makes things go wrong, but on average you should come out ahead. And you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you did your best and that’s as much as any of us can hope for.

It also helps if you set you sights at a realistic level. Barring a highly unlikely win on the lotto you won’t become a millionaire overnight, no matter how many of those self-help books you buy or how many internet webinars you attend. Nor will you become a Hollywood superstar if you move to L.A. and fill in the time waiting tables in the hope that some famous producer will stop by and ‘discover’ you.

Winston Churchill perhaps summarized it best when he said that success was going from one failure to the next without any loss of enthusiasm. Be sensible and it may be success that waits round the corner for you.

 

.

=================================

.

Doing The Right Thing.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

.

The Sunday Sermon

Barrack Obama during his first Presidential election campaign

Seven years ago a young fellow called Barrack Obama was running for President. One of the cornerstones of his campaign was a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, which he called “a dumb war”.

In that much he was right. It was a dumb war, instigated by the dumb American and British politicians who preceded him and who had the deceit and arrogance to lie to their electorates in order to manufacture an excuse to invade that country.

It was always destined to be a disaster. Once Saddam had been eliminated there was no strong leader to hold Iraq together. He may have been a monster, no one is arguing he wasn’t, but without him, or someone like him, things have far from improved. That is just the harsh reality, like it or not.

Seven years ago Obama had no moral objection to the fact that a withdrawal of the occupying forces in Iraq might leave the way open to civil war and genocide. In fact to quote him from that period he said, “[If] that’s the criteria by which we are making decisions on the deployment of U.S. forces, then by that argument you would have 300,000 troops in the Congo right now — where millions have been slaughtered as a consequence of ethnic strife — which we haven’t done.”

He could have said the same about many other countries in the world where civil strife raged.

So today the speeches laden with moral indignation, telling the world that he has ordered military action in Iraq “to prevent a potential act of genocide,” ring mightily hollow.

It would be much better if Obama came clean.

I know it’s a bit of a reach for a politician to start telling the truth, but it would help.

Obama needs to tell the world that he will clean up the mess he and his predecessors made. He needs to admit that the “sovereign, stable and self-reliant Iraq” that he said he had left behind, when U.S. troops pulled out, was a dream that has deteriorated into a nightmare. And he needs to remove the advisors who prompted him to compare ISIS to a junior varsity basketball team when he was interviewed on the subject in January this year. That was just another thing they got completely and tragically wrong.

Yes, I’m asking for a bit of honesty and humility, that’s all.

What I’m hearing instead, however, is more claptrap and confusion.

Vice President Joe Biden is telling everyone that the U.S. “will follow ISIS to the gates of hell”, while other senior Obama Administration officials are assuring us that America is, “not launching a sustained US campaign against ISIS…”

Journalist James Foley minutes before he was beheaded by ISIS terrorists

Conflicting statements like those, in the face of the continuing barbaric beheadings of men, women and even children, and other heinous crimes committed by these despicable and godless terrorists, will hardly strike fear into them. Perhaps the strategy is to have them so helpless with laughter that they cannot continue fighting?

Winston Churchill once said, “You can always count on Americans to do the right thing – after they’ve tried everything else.”

After all this time and after all these failed initiatives we must be getting closer to doing the right thing  –  surely???

.

===================================

.

Time To Take The Brain Out For Some Exercise!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

.

Yes, brain exercise it is. Quiz day again folks.

Another random mixture of subjects and questions, some easy, some difficult and some you know you should know.

As usual the answers are given waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below, but please NO cheating!

Enjoy and good luck.

.

.

Q.  1:  What name links the standard infantry rifle of the US Army from 1873 to 1936 and the popular animated television series ‘The Simpsons’?

.

.

Q.  2:  ‘Backrub’ was the original name for what well known company?

.

.

Q.  3:  ‘Robert’, ‘Aurore’, ‘Apple’, ‘White’, ‘Mornay’, ‘Ivory’ and ‘Reform’ are all examples of what?

.

.

Q.  4:  What nationality was Winston Churchill’s mother?

.

.

Q.  5:  What does the Russian word ‘Sputnik’ mean?

           a. Satellite    b. Little traveler    c. Star light

.

.

Q.  6:  Brian Warner is the real name of which American singer?

           a) Kid Rock        b) Axl Rose         c) Marilyn Manson

.

.

Q.  7:  The Simplon Rail Tunnel links Switzerland with which country?

.

.

Q.  8:  In which animated Disney movies would one find the following characters? (One point for each correct answer)

           a) Pumba,     b) Si & Am,     c) Pongo,     d) Edna E. Mode

.

.

Q.  9:  Which French philosopher is associated with the quote, “Cogito ergo sum” (I think, therefore I am)?

            a) Jean Paul Sarte         b) Rene Descartes         c) Blaise Pascal

.

.

Q. 10:  ‘Blepharoplasty’  is cosmetic surgery on what part of the body?

            a) ears         b) upper arms         c) eyelids

.

.

Q. 11:  It’s the stage name of WWF wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne Johnson and the name of a movie starring Nicholas Cage and Sean Connery, what is it?

.

.

Q. 12:  Which baseball star married Marilyn Monroe in 1954?

.

.

Q. 13:  The herb ‘coriander’ belongs to which family of vegetable?

            a) carrot         b) beetroot         c) cabbage

.

.

Q. 14:  Excluding television, radio and ‘unofficial’ versions, six actors have played the role of James Bond, name them. (A point for each and a bonus point if you get them in the correct chronological order.)

.

.

Q. 15:  The Earth’s position in the solar system gave the inspiration for what television series?

.

.

Q. 16:  What kind of Christmas present is ‘oil of Lebanon’?

.

.

Q. 17:  Who did Omar Sharif play in a famous movie set in the USSR?

.

.

Q. 18:  Everybody knows that the name of the Lone Ranger’s horse was ‘Silver’, but what was the name of his sidekick Tonto’s horse?

.

.

Q. 19:  The name of which European country ‘apparently’ stems from a Carthaginian word meaning ‘Land of the rabbits’?

.

.

Q. 20:  In which movie series are dilithium crystals used for fuel?

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> 

ANSWERS

.

Q.  1:  What name links the standard infantry rifle of the US Army from 1873 to 1936 and the animated television series ‘The Simpsons’?

A.  1:  Springfield.

.

.

Q.  2:  ‘Backrub’ was the original name for what well known company?

A.  2:  Google.

.

.

Q.  3:  ‘Robert’, ‘Aurore’, ‘Apple’, ‘White’, ‘Mornay’, ‘Ivory’ and ‘Reform’ are all examples of what?

A.  3:  Sauces.

.

.

Q.  4:  What nationality was Winston Churchill’s mother?

A.  4:  American, Winston Churchill’s mother was born in Brooklyn.

.

.

Q.  5:  What does the Russian word ‘Sputnik’ mean?

            a. Satellite    b. Little traveler    c. Star light

A.  5:  a. Satellite.

.

.

Q.  6:  Brian Warner is the real name of which American singer?

           a) Kid Rock        b) Axl Rose         c) Marilyn Manson

A.  6:  c) Marilyn Manson.

.

.

Q.  7:  The Simplon Rail Tunnel links Switzerland with which country?

A.  7:  Italy.

.

.

Q.  8:  In which animated Disney movies would one find the following characters? (One point for each correct answer)

           a) Pumba,     b) Si & Am,     c) Pongo,     d) Edna E. Mode

A.  8:  a) Pumba in The Lion King;   b) Si & Am in The Lady & the Tramp,

    c) Pongo in 101 Dalmations; and,   d) Edna E. Mode in The Incredibles

.

.

Q.  9:  Which French philosopher is associated with the quote, “Cogito ergo sum” (I think, therefore I am)?

            a) Jean Paul Sarte         b) Rene Descartes         c) Blaise Pascal

A.  9:  b) Rene Descartes.

.

.

Q. 10:  ‘Blepharoplasty’  is cosmetic surgery on what part of the body?

            a) ears         b) upper arms         c) eyelids

A. 10:  c) eyelids.

.

.

Q. 11:  It’s the stage name of WWF wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne Johnson and the name of a movie starring Nicholas Cage and Sean Connery, what is it?

A. 11:  The Rock.

.

.

Q. 12:  Which baseball star married Marilyn Monroe in 1954?

A. 12:  Joe DiMaggio.

.

.

Q. 13:  The herb ‘coriander’ belongs to which family of vegetable?

            a) carrot         b) beetroot         c) cabbage

A. 13:  a) carrot.

.

.

Q. 14:  Excluding television, radio and ‘unofficial’ versions, six actors have played the role of James Bond, name them. (A point for each and a bonus point if you get them in the correct chronological order.)

A. 14:  Sean Connery,  George Lazenby,  Roger Moore,  Timothy Dalton,  Pierce Brosnan  and  Daniel Craig.

.

.

Q. 15:  The Earth’s position in the solar system gave the inspiration for what television series?

A. 15:  The very successful sitcom ‘3rd Rock from the Sun’.

.

.

Q. 16:  What kind of Christmas present is ‘oil of Lebanon’?

A. 16:  Frankincense.

.

.

Q. 17:  Who did Omar Sharif play in a famous movie set in the USSR?

A. 17:  Zhivago.

.

.

Q. 18:  Everybody knows that the name of the Lone Ranger’s horse was ‘Silver’, but what was the name of his sidekick Tonto’s horse?

A. 18:  The answer I’m looking for here is ‘Scout’, although if you answered ‘White Feller’, the name of his first horse you also get a point – 2 points if you knew both!

.

.

Q. 19:  The name of which European country ‘apparently’ stems from a Carthaginian word meaning ‘Land of the rabbits’?

A. 19:  Spain. (Ispania from ‘Sphan’ meaning rabbit).

.

.

Q. 20:  In which movie series are dilithium crystals used for fuel?

A. 20:  The ‘Star Trek’ movie series.

.

=============================================

.

Time To Test Those Brains Again – It’s Quiz Day!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

.

Yes, time to test those brains again.

Another selection of twenty random questions to stimulate the mind and memory.

As usual the answers are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below, but please NO cheating!

Enjoy and good luck.

.

.

Q.  1:  What was the first commercial jet airliner?

.

.

Q.  2:  In which American town or city was the TV series Cannon set?

.

.

Q.  3:  ‘John ‘the cat’ Robie’ was the debonair central character in which popular movie?

.

.

Q.  4:  In 1894, which French officer was convicted of treason and sent to Devil’s island?

.

.

Q.  5:  The name of which edible product stems from the Portugese word for the quince fruit?

.

.

Q.  6:  Spats Columbo is the bad guy in which popular black and white movie that starred Marilyn Monroe?

.

.

Q.  7:  What ship conveyed 120 anti-Catholic Puritans across the Atlantic in 1620?

.

.

Q.  8:  Pluto orbits our sun once every how many years?

    a) 8 years

    b) 16 years

    c) 86 years

    d) 248 years

.

.

Q.  9:  In the 1968 movie when was ‘The Space Odyssey’?

.

.

Q. 10:  In what country did the Long March of 1934 take place?

.

.

Q. 11:  The common cold is what kind of virus? Five letters

.

.

Q. 12:  The Bridge of Sighs in Venice connected the Doge’s palace to what?

    a) a state prison and place of execution

    b) a tax office

    c) a cemetary

    d) a Turkish bath house

.

.

Q. 13:  What type of Cowboy was Jon Voight in the 1969 movie?

.

.

Q. 14:  Which European country did not grant women the right to vote until 1971?

.

.

Q. 15:  Which best selling and often banned book apparently inspired Mark David Chapman to murder John Lennon?

.

.

Q. 16:  What did Winston Churchill describe as “a riddle wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma”?

.

.

Q. 17:  Who were the three famous personalities who starred in the popular ‘Road To’ movie series made during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s?  (A point for each correct answer.)

.

.

Q. 18:  On 18th March 1965 what was Alexi Leonov the first man to achieve?

.

.

Q. 19:  What is Donald Duck’s middle (i.e. second) name?

.

.

Q. 20:  Which of the following is a theory in physics?

    a) Schrödinger’s dog

    b) Schrödinger’s cat

    c) Schrödinger’s butterfly

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> 

ANSWERS

.

Q.  1:  What was the first commercial jet airliner?

A.  1:  The Comet.

.

.

Q.  2:  In which American town or city was the TV series Cannon set?

A.  2:  Los Angeles.

.

.

Q.  3:  ‘John ‘the cat’ Robie’ was the debonair central character in which popular movie?

A.  3:  To Catch A Thief (Cary Grant played John Robie)

.

.

Q.  4:  In 1894, which French officer was convicted of treason and sent to Devil’s island?

A.  4:  Captain Alfred Dreyfus.

.

.

Q.  5:  The name of which edible product stems from the Portugese word for the quince fruit?

A.  5:  Marmalade (from marmelo). 

.

.

Q.  6:  Spats Columbo is the bad guy in which popular black and white movie that starred Marilyn Monroe?

A.  6:  Some Like It Hot.

.

.

Q.  7:  What ship conveyed 120 anti-Catholic Puritans across the Atlantic in 1620?

A.  7:  The Mayflower.

.

.

Q.  8:  Pluto orbits our sun once every how many years?

    a) 8 years

    b) 16 years

    c) 86 years

    d) 248 years

A.  8:  d) 248 years

.

.

Q.  9:  In the 1968 movie when was ‘The Space Odyssey’?

A.  9:  2001.

.

.

Q. 10:  In what country did the Long March of 1934 take place?

A. 10:  China.

.

.

Q. 11:  The common cold is what kind of virus? Five letters

A. 11:  Rhino.

.

.

Q. 12:  The Bridge of Sighs in Venice connected the Doge’s palace to what?

    a) a state prison and place of execution

    b) a tax office

    c) a cemetary

    d) a Turkish bath house

A. 12:  d) A state prison and place of execution

.

.

Q. 13:  What type of Cowboy was Jon Voight in the 1969 movie?

A. 13:  Midnight.

.

.

Q. 14:  Which European country did not grant women the right to vote until 1971?

A. 14:  Switzerland.

.

.

Q. 15:  Which best selling and often banned book apparently inspired Mark David Chapman to murder John Lennon?

A. 15:  The Catcher in the Rye, a 1951 novel by J. D. Salinger, whose protagonist and antihero, Holden Caulfield, has become an icon for teenage rebellion.

.

.

Q. 16:  What did Winston Churchill describe as “a riddle wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma”?

A. 16:  Russia.

.

.

Q. 17:  Who were the three famous personalities who starred in the popular ‘Road To’ movie series made during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s?  (A point for each correct answer.)

A. 17:  Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour and Bing Crosby.

.

.

Q. 18:  On 18th March 1965 what was Alexi Leonov the first man to achieve?

A. 18:  Walk in Space.

.

.

Q. 19:  What is Donald Duck’s middle (i.e. second) name?

A. 19:  Fauntleroy.

.

.

Q. 20:  Which of the following is a theory in physics?

    a) Schrödinger’s dog

    b) Schrödinger’s cat

    c) Schrödinger’s butterfly

A. 20:  b) Schrödinger’s cat which is a thought experiment, sometimes described as a paradox in quantum mechanics. In the course of developing this experiment, Schrödinger coined the term Verschränkung (entanglement).

.

.

=========================================

.

Did You Know? The Facts Are Here!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

.

The facts are certainly here.

It’s up to you to choose how valuable and interesting they are.

Apart from anything else I hope you enjoy reading them.

.

.

To save money when you shop, don’t touch anything.

Touching an item makes you more likely to buy it, and willing to pay more.

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1889081,00.html

.

.

The famous US Pony Express only lasted a single year

before the transcontinental telegraph made the route obsolete.

.

.

In a 2008 survey,

58% of British teens thought Sherlock Holmes was a real guy,

while 20% thought Winston Churchill was not.

.

.

Before his writing career took off, Dan Brown was a singer/songwriter.

His second album was titled Angels & Demons.

.

.

During a 1956 speech for his campaign of de-Stalinization,

Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev was asked by an unseen audience member why,

as an advisor to the dictator, he had never stopped Stalin from committing his atrocities.

Khrushchev immediately lashed out, “Who said that?”

The room grew quiet.

Khrushchev repeated his query to more silence, waited a beat,

and then said, “Well, now you understand why.”

.

.

The first US President to earn a PhD was Woodrow Wilson.

.

.

The U.K.’s police headquarters, Scotland Yard,

is not (and never was) located in Scotland.

Scotland Yard was originally a palace

where Scottish royalty stayed when visiting London.

.

.

Wendy’s founder, Dave Thomas,

used to work for Kentucky Fried Chicken.

.

.

The first VCR, developed by the Ampex Corporation in 1956,

weighed nearly 1,500 lbs.

It took another 15 years before a commercially viable product hit the scene.

.

.

The Vatican Bank is the world’s only bank

that allows ATM users to perform transactions in Latin.

.

.

The municipal government of Paris passed a resolution

to prohibit Tom Cruise from becoming an honorary citizen of the city.

For them it was ‘une mission impossible!’

.

.

Only one U.S. coin

— the zinc-coated steel penny produced during World War II —

can be picked up by a magnet.

.

.

During the Vietnam War, the Viet Cong hid IEDs in empty soda cans

because they observed that US Soldiers enjoyed kicking empty cans

while marching down the road.

Warning to the politicians perhaps who recently

have done little else but kick the can down the road.

.

.

Simon Bolivar is the only person in the world

to have two sovereign nations named after him:

Bolivia

and

Venezuela

(the country’s full name is Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela).

.

.

At the 1960 Winter Olympic Games,

Walt Disney was Chairman of the Pageantry Committee

that was responsible for producing both

the opening and closing ceremonies.

.

.

Butterflies range in size from a tiny 1/8 inch to a huge almost 12 inches.

.

.

After racking up a $40 late fee on a VHS copy of Apollo 13,

Reed Hastings was inspired to start Netflix

.

.

Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.

.

.

The most Academy Awards (Oscars) won by a woman was eight,

by Edith Head, all for Costume Design

.

.

Black-eyed peas aren’t peas, but beans,

and also a famous American hip hop group.

And coffee beans aren’t beans, but seeds.

.

.

========================================

.

More Random Samples From The Fasab Fact File

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

.

If its facts you want we have them!

So here is another selection.

If you can’t find something you don’t know in here then you know far too much.

Enjoy.

.

.

“Kemo Sabe”, the name Tonto called The Lone Ranger

means “Soggy Shrub” in Navajo Indian.

The Tonto in Spanish means “a fool”.

.

.

Ketchup was sold in the 1830’s as medicine.

.

.

Killer whales have such a good sense of touch

that if you dropped a pill into a bucket

and feed it to the orca

it would eat the fish and spit out the pill.

.

.

Kleenex tissues were originally used as filters in gas masks.

.

.

Knitted socks discovered in Ancient Egyptian tombs

have been dated back as far as the 3rd century AD.

Oh mummy!

.

.

Larry Lewis ran the 100 yard dash in 17.9 seconds in 1969,

there by setting a new world’s record

for runners in the 100 years or older class.

He was 101.

.

.

5% of Canadians don’t know the first 7 words of the Canadian anthem,

but know the first 9 of the American anthem.

.

7% of Americans don’t know the first 9 words of the American anthem,

but know the first 7 of the Canadian anthem.

.

.

85,000,000 tons of paper are used each year in the U.S.

.

.

99% of the solar system’s mass is concentrated in the sun.

.

.

There is a company in Taiwan makes dinnerware

out of wheat, so you can eat your plate.

.

.

About 70% of Americans who go to college

do it just to make more money.

(The rest are just avoiding reality for four more years.)

.

.

America once issued a 5-cent bill.

.

.

The Aztec emperor Montezuma had a nephew named Cuitlahuac,

whose name meant “plenty of excrement.”

Now there’s revenge for you!

.

.

Clans of long ago that wanted to get rid of

their unwanted people without killing them

used to burn their houses down

– hence the expression “to get fired.”

.

.

Donald Duck comics were banned from Finland

because he doesn’t wear pants

– the little pecker!

.

.

Marijuana is not as chemically addictive

as is nicotine, alcohol, or caffeine.

One of the reasons marijuana is illegal today

is because in the 1930’s cotton growers lobbied against

hemp farmers whom they saw it as competition.

.

.

Special playing cards were issued to British pilots in WWII.

If captured, they could be soaked in water

and unfolded to reveal a map for escape.

.

.

The three best-known western names in China are

Jesus Christ, Richard Nixon, and Elvis Presley.

.

.

Lady Astor once told Winston Churchill,

‘If you were my husband, I would poison your coffee’.

To which Churchill replied,

‘If you were my wife, I would drink it’.

.

===================================

.

Did You Know…. Another Random Selection Of Facts From The Fasab Files

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

.

More from the fascinating fact file.

Here are a few more things that you didn’t know you didn’t know.

Enjoy.

.

.

There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar.

.

. 

A healthy (non-colorblind) human eye

can distinguish between 500 shades of gray.

So the book is wrong!

.

. 

A pregnant goldfish is called a twit 

–  especially by her parents!

.

. 

If you plant an apple seed,

it is almost guaranteed to grow a tree

of a different type of apple.

.

. 

Andorra, a tiny country between France & Spain,

has the longest average lifespan:

83.49 years.

.

. 

“The sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick”

is said to be the toughest tongue twister in English.

.

. 

‘Duff’ is the decaying organic matter found on a forest floor.

.

. 

Gabriel, Michael, and Lucifer are the only angels named in the Bible.

.

. 

Abraham Lincoln’s ghost is said to haunt the White House.

.

. 

Only female mosquitoes bite.

.

. 

The past-tense of the English word “dare” is “durst”

.

. 

Months that begin on a Sunday will always have a “Friday the 13th.”

.

. 

Ninety percent of New York City cabbies are recently arrived immigrants.

(and ninety percent of that ninety percent have no clue where they are going!)

.

. 

The volume of the earth’s moon is the same

as the volume of the Pacific Ocean.

.

. 

The New York phone book had 22 Hitlers before WWII.

The New York phone book had 0 Hitlers after WWII.

.

. 

King Louis XIX ruled France for about 15 minutes 

–  he succeeded with abdication of Charles X

only to abdicate in favor of Henry V.

.

. 

Armored knights raised their visors to identify themselves

when they rode past their king.

This custom has become the modern military salute.

.

. 

Winston Churchill was born in a ladies room during a dance.

(and all new babies look just like him, except your own of course!)

 

.

================================

.