Ten Trivia Teasers

Here are ten questions to test yourselves with. (no prizes, it's just for fun.)

There's nothing here that should prove testing, since most of these are concerned with pointless trivia anyway and there's even a multiple choice one, and two true/false questions, so everyone has a chance of getting at least three correct.

When you've come up with the answers, or when you've given up, you can check how well you've done by scrolling down to see the questions repeated, with the answers.

1. When blue smarties were first introduced in 1989, which colour did they replace?

2. What was the name of the aeroplane involved in the crash that caused Buddy Holly's death? (You know this; you may not think you do, but you do!)

3. True or False: Actor Leonard Rossiter once took his milkman on holiday with him to make sure he'd have someone to play squash with?

4. Who were the first married couple to be shown in bed together on prime time television?

5. For just under a year in the 13th century, half of England was ruled by which of these:

a) A military dictatorship

b) A committee of women

c) The King of France

6. On July 4th 1776, how many people signed the American Declaration of Independence?

7. 'Cricket', 'Dragonfly', 'Firecracker', 'Confetti', 'Leopard', 'Spaghetti', 'Tidal Wave', 'Frosted' & 'Cats Eye' are all traditional varieties of what?

8. True or False: Men had wristwatches for 36 years before they became available for women?

9. Which sequence of four letters, has eight possible variations of pronunciation in the English language?

10. "Peace and hope for all mankind" were the last six words spoken from where, on December 11th 1972?

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scroll down for a repeat of the questions, with answers.....

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1. When blue smarties were first introduced in 1989, which colour did they replace?

Specifically, LIGHT Brown (Dark Brown are still around)

2. What was the name of the aeroplane involved in the crash that caused Buddy Holly's death? (You know this; you may not think you do, but you do!)

American Pie

3. True or False: The late Leonard Rossiter once took his milkman on holiday with him to make sure he'd have someone to play squash with?

True

4. Who were the first married couple to be shown in bed together on prime time television?

Fred and Wilma Flintstone

5. For just under a year in the 13th century, half of England was ruled by which of these:
a) A military dictatorship
b) A committee of women
c) the King of France

c) - King Louis VIII (from 1216 until the Treaty of Lambeth in 1217)

6. On July 4th 1776, how many people signed the American Declaration of Independence?

Only Two - the rest of the signatures were added from August 2nd onwards.

7. 'Cricket', 'Dragonfly', 'Firecracker', 'Confetti', 'Leopard', 'Spaghetti', 'Tidal Wave', 'Frosted' & 'Cats Eye' are all traditional varieties of what?

Marbles

8. True or False: Men had wristwatches for 36 years before they became available for women?

False - Patek Phillipe produced the first woman's wristwatch in 1868, but it was 1904 before Louis Cartier made one for men.

9. Which sequence of four letters, has eight possible variations of pronunciation in the English language?

'ough' - As in "A rough-coated, dough-faced ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough, coughing and hiccoughing thoughtfully." (for non-English speakers these are pronounced uff, oh, ow, ooh, uh, off, up, and awe, respectively.)

10. "Peace and hope for all mankind" were the last six words spoken where, on December 11th 1972?

From the moon, by Eugene Cernan, commander of the Apollo 17 mission.

Winter - Hades is to blame.

I've always had an interest in Greek mythology. Almost everyone is familiar with the main tales, thanks to Hollywood and Disney, and though most of that is inaccurate, being based on a hybrid of the Greek and Roman versions of the myths, it serves as an introduction to what is by far the most complex and contrived example of folklore.

The weather in the UK at the moment is terrible; It's the middle of winter, and all of nature seems to have ground to a halt and died, though it's more a case of nature sleeping, since we know everything will  re-emerge in the spring time.

There's a Greek legend that explains why this happens every year, and I'm not sure if many of you will know the story of Demeter, Persephone and Hades....

Demeter was the goddess of the fertility of the Earth, of agriculture, of forests and of the harvest. Zeus was enamoured of the bountiful Demeter and visited her bed; as a result Demeter gave birth to her daughter Persephone. As an Earth goddess, Demeter lived away from Mount Olympus and from the other gods, so Persephone was raised on Earth itself. Many gods chose to pursue and woo Persephone, amongst them Ares, Apollo and Hermes, but Demeter turned them all away, refusing their offered gifts and hid her daughter away from the other Olympians.

One day, Persephone was picking flowers with nymphs,  Aglaope, Peisinoe and Thelxiepeia, when Hades, the god of the underworld, burst through a cleft in the Earth and abducted her. Demeter discovered what had occurred and in her anger at the nymphs for not protecting Persephone, she transformed them into the Sirens (but that's another story.)

Demeter tried to discover exactly what had become of her daughter and searched everywhere for her, until Helios, the sun, told her what had happened, and that Persephone was being held by Hades as his consort. Demeter was distraught, and her anguish and sadness was reflected throughout the Earth, as nature lacking the influence of Demeter, became still.

Without Demeter bringing about the harvest, the people of the Earth began to starve. Zeus beheld this and having seen Demeter's despair, he submitted to the pleas of the other Olympian gods and ordered his brother Hades to return Persephone to her mother.

The Return of Persephone

However, the Fates had long ago decreed that anyone who should ever consume food or drink while within the bounds of the underworld, could never leave. In his desperation to retain Persephone, Hades tricked her into eating a few seeds of the pomegranate, so that even though the will of Zeus led to her return to the world above, the law of the Fates ruled that she must return to the underworld and to Hades for a number of months each year.

When Demeter was reunited with her daughter, she was overjoyed and the world bloomed again as nature flourished once more; but from that day on, every year, for one season, Persephone returns to the realm of Hades, being separated from her mother, and the world falls barren once more.

So it was, according to the ancient Greeks,  that the seasons were established, and that Persephone began to be portrayed as both the peaceful secluded maiden of nature, and as the iron queen of the underworld, so much so that the ancient Greeks would not speak the name 'Persephone'; but soldiers dying on the battlefields would offer themselves to the white arms of the dread queen.

A Little Bit of Nonsense...

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,

I composed this verse,
Especially for you,

Now some poetry rhymes,
And some poetry scans,

But unfortunately this doesn't do either particularly well at all.

How to Deal with Agatha Christie

Between Christmas and New Year there seemed to be an awful lot of Agatha Christie mysteries on the TV, and a particularly large number of Miss Marple episodes.

Mrs B has a liking for all things Christie and a fondness for Miss Marple stories in particular. I can take them or leave them, but in the past it meant that I had to sit through them from time to time just to keep my wife happy.

Of course, these days, with Sky+, they can be recorded, so that she can watch them any time she likes, preferably when I'm out of the house.

Scanning through the TV schedules on the program planner, I noticed the plethora of all things Marple that seemed to be showing late December and early January, so I decided to record them all for Mrs B.

The problem was that there were so many of them, that once they'd been recorded, it left us very low on Sky+ disc space. So it had become a matter of urgency for Mrs B to watch them as soon as possible. She's taken to watching one early in the morning, while the kids are still in bed; I'm usually busy tweeting early in the morning, but I must admit to watching with occasional glances toward the TV and to listening, if only with one ear.

Today though, everything seemed a little familiar, until I realised that what we were watching was "The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side." This was the Joan Hickson version, but a couple of mornings ago, we'd watched the Geraldine McEwan version of the same story.

The two productions had been adapted differently, so there were a lot of variations in the storyline, if not in the plot, which of course had to be basically the same, so as to at least have the same victims and the same murderer as the original written work, but I couldn't see how anyone could possibly take pleasure in watching the story being told when they already knew the outcome. Surely, the pleasure of a whodunnit is working out who done it (or is that just me?)

It started me wondering if the people who they make these programmes for are actually Agatha Christie fans, who've read the books, or people who don't read, who just need their fix now that Inspectors Morse and Frost have left them wanting.

When I read, I'll occasionally come across a book that I've enjoyed so much, that I'll make a point of reading it again at a later date. Of course there'd be no point in doing that with Agatha Christie novels, because you'll already be aware of all the spoilers.

I remember an episode of Red Dwarf, where Holly, the ship's computer came across exactly that problem, but having an IQ of 6000 (or at least 'an IQ with a six in it',)  he'd thought of a foolproof solution to this minor setback.

I've dug out the script for the scene in question. The transcript is reproduced below. (Acknowledgements to Rob Grant and Doug Naylor.) It always makes me titter. I hope you enjoy it:

Lister is watching a soppy movie on one the screens while drinking a beer milkshake and eating a bowl full of french fries. Romantic piano music plays in the background of the film. Holly appears on the screen, interrupting the movie.

HOLLY: Busy, are you, Dave?

LISTER: Hol! I'm watching the film.

HOLLY: Just wondered if you're a bit bored?

LISTER: No, no. I'm watching the film.

HOLLY: You're not bored, then?

LISTER: No! Go away!

The film reappears on the screen. Holly appears on the screen again, interrupting the movie.

HOLLY: I've just finished reading everything. I've now read everything that's been written by anyone ever.

LISTER: Would you go away?

HOLLY: You know what the worst book ever written by anyone ever was?

LISTER: I don't care!

HOLLY: "Football, It's a Funny Old Game" by Kevin Keegan.

LISTER: Holly, would you let me watch the film?

The film reappears on the screen. Holly reappears on the screen, interrupting the movie again.

HOLLY: I'm at a loose end now. I don't know what to do with meself.

LISTER: Holly, why don't you just read everything all over again.

HOLLY: I was thinking it might help pass the time if I created a perfectly functioning replica of a woman, capable of independent decision-making and abstract thought and absolutely undetectable from the real thing.

LISTER: (Sitting up eagerly) Well why don't you, then?

HOLLY: Because I don't know how. I wouldn't even know how to make the nose. Heh.

LISTER: Holly, is there something that you want?

HOLLY: Well, only if you're not busy. Would you mind erasing some of my memory banks?

LISTER: What for?

HOLLY: Well, if you erase all the Agatha Christie novels from my memory bank, I can read 'em again tonight.

LISTER: How do I do it?

HOLLY: Just type: "holmem. password override. the novels christie, agatha", then press erase.

Lister jabs two-fingered on a keyboard.

LISTER: I've done it.

HOLLY: Done what?

LISTER: Erased Agatha Christie.

HOLLY: Who's she, then?

LISTER: Holly, you just asked me to erase all Agatha Christie novels from your memory.

HOLLY: Why should I do that? I've never heard of her.

LISTER: You've never heard of her because I've just erased her from your smegging memory.

HOLLY: What'd you do that for?

LISTER: You asked me to!

HOLLY: When?

LISTER: Just now!

HOLLY: I don't remember this.

LISTER: Oh, I'm going to bed. This is gonna go on all night.