Forbidden Cities Trivia Quiz

Answer: SENDER

Solution: Remove the "D" and then anagram the rest

The song, "Return to Sender" was written for the soundtrack to the Elvis movie "Girls! Girls! Girls!" (1962). The songwriters were Winfield Scott and Otis Blackwell, the latter being a regular creator of songs for the King. The most notable of these were "Don't Be Cruel" (1956) and "All Shook Up" (1957).

In 1993 the US Postal Service released a commemorative postage stamp to celebrate what would have been Elvis' 58th birthday. This set off a trend of stamp collectors mailing letters (with the Elvis stamp on them) to false addresses so that they would come back with the stamp "Return to Sender" on them, making it even more valuable.

Answer: NERDS

Solution: Drop one of the letters "E" from the previous answer and then anagram.

A nerd, or dweeb, is defined as a boringly studious person who lacks social graces.

The film "Revenge of the Nerds" is a 1984 comedy that revolves around a group of those socially inept people who plot and gain revenge on those that have been bullying and tormenting them. It starred Robert Carradine and Anthony Edwards and proved so popular that it spawned three sequels.

Answer: ENDS

Solution: Drop the "R" and then rearrange.

A split end is the informal term for a hair with the condition trichoptilosis. This is the splitting or the fraying of the end tips of the hair follicle. It is generally caused by dryness induced by heat. A good example may be a curling iron.

Split Enz was a successful New Zealand/Australian rock band, best known for being the training ground of the Finn brothers, Tim and Neil. The latter would form the band Crowded House who would enjoy enormous success with songs such as "Don't Dream It's Over" (1986) and "Better Be Home Soon" (1988). Tim, who released the successful solo album "Escapade" (1983) would later join his brother in Crowded House for the band's third studio album "Woodface" (1991).

Answer: ENS

Solution: Drop the "D" from the from the previous answer.

Generally, it is a philosophy term, with the Collins Dictionary defining it as "a being or existence in the most general abstract sense".

Answer: ES

Solution: This time it is the letter in the middle "N" that is dropped.

Sigmund Freud was noted for his work on the id, which represents the primitive and instinctive parts of our personality. It is the part of our unconscious self where our urges and our libido lie.

And now for something completely left-field... "The Wizard of Id" is a cartoon created in 1964 by Johnny Hart and illustrator Brant Parker. Centred on the land of Id, whose name was, curiously, inspired by Freud's work on the Id, it hilariously focusses on a range of characters. Among these are a pint-size king with a Napoleon complex, the titular wizard who is dominated by his wife Blanch and a cowardly inept knight that goes by the name of Sir Rodney.

Answer: ET

Solution: The letter "T" needed to replace the "S"

Ettingshausen was a star of the game in Australia, dominating in the sport in the late 1980s and 1990s. Starting his career with the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks as a 17 year old, he would retire at the end of the 2000 season after having played 328 games. At the time this was an Australian record for the most games played by an individual for a single club.

Between 1988 and 1994 ET would represent Australia in 25 international games, scoring 14 tries. As his popularity soared, he became a favourite amongst sponsors and, in 1997, he began hosting his own television fishing show "Escape With ET", a programme that would run for 18 seasons. He would be inducted into the NRL (National Rugby League) Hall of Fame in 2008.

Answer: VET

Solution: The letter "V" needed to be added at the front of the previous answer.

The term veteran (vet for short) is generally that worker that has been there for a long time and has a great deal of expertise in either the trade or the procedure. The term veteran is also applied to those who have had long careers in the military, however, there is a clear distinction between military veterans and war veterans... the latter have been involved in combat.

Answer: VEST

Solution: Add the letter "S" between the "E" and the "T".

Generally, a vest is an upper-body garment but, the term will have different meanings, depending on where in the world you may be. In the USA, for example, a vest is a garment that is worn over a shirt, and it is used to provide warmth. The British, on the other hand, would call this a waistcoat.

Now to confuse you... the British would call a vest "underwear" i.e. it is a garment worn "under" a shirt. American English would dictate that this is an undershirt, Australians and New Zealanders would call it a singlet and the Indians would call it a banyan.

Answer: STEVE

Solution: A second "E" is needed in the mix and the letters are then re-arranged.

The actor's name that you were seeking is Steve McQueen.

"The Great Escape" is set in a German prisoner of war camp in Poland during World War II. Based on a true story it provides, a heavily fictionalised, account of a mass breakout of prisoners from the countries of the British Commonwealth. Steve McQueen as Captain Virgil Hilts 'The Cooler King' is one of three Americans in the camp and provides one of the film's highlights, a spectacular attempt to clear a series of barb-wire barriers with a motor bike.

Directed by John Sturges, and boasting an ensemble cast that also included James Garner, Richard Attenborough and Charles Bronson, the film became one of the highest grossing movies of 1963 and it would earn Steve McQueen the Best Actor award at the Moscow International Film Festival.

Answer: TREVES

Solution: The letter "R" needed to be added to the mix and then re-arranged.

Your journey started in Dresden, the capital of the German state of Saxony. The city was heavily bombed at the end of World War II and required significant rebuilding. However, it is the cultural heart of Germany and, as a result, has often been called the "Florence on the Elbe". Prior to the German reunification, the city was a part of East Germany.

Trier, also known as Triers and, as stated above, formerly Treves in English, sits on the Moselle River, near the border of Luxembourg in, what was previously, West Germany. It is considered to be Germany's oldest city, was an important part of the Roman Empire and the Church and it forms part of the highly regarded Moselle wine region.

The Berlin Wall was erected by the East Germans in 1961 (it was torn down in 1989, which enabled the start of reunification talks) as a means to stop the mass defections into West Germany and ease the embarrassment to the East Germans. There were many illegal attempts to get across the Wall by the East Germans, either by scaling it, tunnelling underneath it or sailing around it.