Quiz, Trivia, Interesting Facts, not a newspaper from Dublin

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Blast from the Past: The Journey Continues

Old questions do not die - they just fade away, tucked up in old directories. You will still find these questions making their isolated comebacks in today's quizzes, sometimes spiced up with additional facts, supporting dates and visuals (thanks to Google). What you will find here is a grand revival on a Douglas MacArthur scale.

For most of you, the events and people desribed in these questions, happened way before you were born - but hopefully they are still interesting. Take the same test with the questions you have set recently - review them after 20 years - and see for yourself how many of them will be relevant, memorable and worth asking!!

1. What dish is said to have been created in Paris around the turn of the century to honour the actress SUZANNE REICHENBERG?

[A] The CREPES SUZETTE - Suzette was her stage name.

2. What was inaugurated by a binary signal from the Viking spacecraft approaching Mars?

[A] The National Air and Space Museum at the SMITHSONIAN.

3. In 1808, while governor of Australia, he tried to eliminate rum smuggling. A “Rum Rebellion” occurred and his own officers mutinied and held him prisoner until a new governor arrived. Who was he?

[A] Capt. William Bligh, against whom the sailors of the “Bounty” has mutinied earlier.

4. In Saratoga National Park, in the U.S., a monument stands, which is probably the only one in the world that honours a leg, but not a whole man. Whose leg is it?

[A] General BENEDICT ARNOLD’s. Arnold was first a hero of the American war of Independence and the monument is in memory of the wounds he received. However, his subsequent treachery made it impossible to honour his entire character.

5. Who helped launch the Czech new wave film industry in the 60’s with three social comedies “Black Peter “, “Loves of a Blonde” and “The Fireman’s Ball”, but flopped with his first American film “Taking Off”?

[A] MILOS FORMAN - his 2nd film “One flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” won him an Oscar, as did “AMADEUS” later.

6. What phrase owes its origin to the mammoth American-owned United Fruit Corporation which controlled vast tracts of land in South America and did not hesitate to manipulate govts. in deference to its interests?

[A] ‘Banana republic’.

7. Who founded the town of Kinshasha?
[A] H.M. Stanley - who founded it as a supply depot in 1881.

8. Which sporting personality was the first president of the English Bowling Association?

[A] W.C. Grace.

9. In the columns of a British newspaper about 70 years ago the following advertisement appeared - ‘Men wanted for hazardous journey - small wages, bitter cold, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success’. The advertiser was deluged with replies as if all the men in Great Britain wished to accompany him. Who was he and for what purpose did he apply for assistants?

[A] Sir Ernest Shackleton for his famous Antarctic expedition.

10. The Roman senator Marcus Porcius Cato, the Elder, ended every speech with the same sentence although frequently it had nothing to do with the rest of his speech. What was the sentence?

[A] DELENDA EST CARTHAGO, meaning - Carthage must be destroyed.

2 comments:

Suresh Ramasubramanian said...

Ah, memories. Those questions are glorious OLD questions .. rare birds in this age of trash trivia and Derek style business quizzes (but I repeat myself)

Lovely quiz but one minor nitpick, about the rum rebellion question.

Bligh was a vice admiral by 1810, just after he got turfed out of his post, in 1808, as governor of New South Wales (not all of Australia).

When he was governor (and for several years before), yes, he was a senior "post captain" (naval rank equivalent to a full colonel in the army).

He got promoted to rear admiral and a couple of years later, Vice Admiral on returning to England.

However, Bligh was just a lieutenant at the time he commanded HMAV (His Majesty's Armed Vessel) Bounty .. an "unrated vessel", so not even HMS / His Majesty's Ship, just HMAV. It was a converted collier brig of about 205 tons, with 4 light cannon (four pounders) and some even lighter swivel guns. Complement of less than 50 people.

So, the Bounty was commanded by a junior lieutenant, not by a "master and commander" (who would get a rather larger ship, called a sloop - upto 14 guns - to command) or a post captain, who would get a rated ship - a frigate with 28 or more guns, or progressively larger ships - 74, 80, 100+ guns on multiple decks).

The reason Bligh gets called captain when in command of the Bounty, is that "Captain" is the courtesy title for the officer in command of a vessel, no matter what his actual rank in the Royal navy was.

thetvquiz said...

Dublin daily,
you almost got all ur answers right..except for a little snag in answer 2 coz the fish is not nemo but another clown fish from a french film which sued FN for copying thir idea..
but still u are d winner for d quiz..
Congrats...
but y d name dublin daily?
http://thetvquiz.blogspot.com/

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