Trivia Towers Trivia Quiz

Answer: York

These civil wars (1455 - 1487) would later become known as the The Wars of the Roses where the Houses of Lancaster and York battled for the English Crown.

The Plantagenet were directly preceding them - Edward the III had three children whose ancestors would fight for the right to sit on the throne.

His eldest son was Edward, the Black Prince, who predeceased him so his son became Richard the II - the last true Plantagenet King. Richard II died with no heirs.

Edwards's second son was John of Gaunt whose descendants would become the House of Lancaster and his youngest son was Edmund of York.

Their heirs would fight until Elizabeth of York (the young princes' elder sister) married the Lancaster's heir and the houses united with Henry VII becoming the first Tudor King.

The Hanovers were centuries later beginning in 1714 with George I.

The young princes were only 12 and 9 respectively when their father died and were supposedly taken to the Tower to keep them safe and prepare them for the coronation. They disappeared in 1483 - presumed murdered, probably by their uncle who became Richard III.

Answer: Confusion of languages

This story appears in the book of Genesis. The phrase "tower of Babel" never actually appears. Babel was the name of the city in which the tower was built.

These were people descended from Noah who had been told to spread out and populate the earth. They decided instead to congregate in one place and to build a tower to the Heavens that would make them famous and keep them safe from another flood.

By their actions they showed their disobedience to God's commands by furthering their own ambitions instead and therefore proved their lack of humility and refusal to submit to God's will.

God decided to confuse their languages so they could no longer communicate with each other and thus, could not continue building the tower. They scattered around the world in these groups as God had originally intended.

Answer: We May Never Love Like This Again

"We May Never Love Like This Again" was written by Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn and performed by Maureen McGovern. John Williams actually wrote the musical score for the film and inserted the song's tune throughout it.

Maureen McGovern actually played a lounge singer in the movie and sang the song at the rooftop opening party of the tower.

The writer/singer combination had also worked two years prior when they wrote/sang "The Morning After" for "The Poseidon Adventure" - which also won an Oscar for Best Original song.

"Nobody Does it Better," sang by Carly Simon, was the 1977 theme song to "The Spy Who Loved Me".

Barbra Streisand sang "The Way We Were" for the 1973 movie of the same name.

Answer: Yeomen Warders

The Royal Guard is a mixture of military soldiers, bodyguards and retainers responsible for the royal family's protection. There are many distinct groups with different chores within this service:

The Household Cavalry consists of the Life Guards and the Blues And Royals - both of whom are mounted and on foot.

The Queen's Foot Guards are a group of regiments within the Household Division - this consists of The Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards, Scots Guards, Irish Guards, Welsh Guards and the disbanded Guards Machine Gun Regiment.

The Kings Troop - the Royal Artillery unit which is a ceremonial unit of the army only.

His Majesty's Body Guard of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms (previously The Honourable Band of Gentlemen Pensioners) are personal bodyguards to the British monarch.

The Yeomen Warders, known affectionately as the Beefeaters, are ceremonial guards of the Tower of London, although their duties are still technically protecting the Crown Jewels and guarding any prisoners in the tower.

The requirements are high for these positions. They must all be retired British Armed Forces warrant officers with at least 22 years' service and who have been awarded the Long Service and Good Conduct medals. The position is an appointment not a rank and there is no set term; some Masters have held the post for decades.

Answer: Roland

"Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" is the 1852 poem by Robert Browning. It is a dark and desolate poem about how Young Roland sets out on quest to reach the mysterious Dark Tower, wandering through a surreal landscape full of obstacles to finally reach it. The poem ends with him raising his horn and blowing it - we never get to know what is in the Tower.

The term 'childe' refers to the eldest son of a nobleman who is not yet a knight. Caradoc, Galahad and Mordred are all knights associated with the tales of King Arthur.

Stephan King's "Dark Tower" series is a set of eight books about a gunslinger named Roland Deschain who also has a quest to find a dark tower. The series also ties in with many of King's other novels.

Answer: Darrel, Sally, Mary-Lou, Alicia, Gwendoline

The 'Malory Towers' series consists of six books, written between 1946 and 1951, with one book per form.

The main character is Darrell Rivers who begins the first book as the new girl in school and ends the last one as the head girl. Darrell is a responsible, friendly girl who excels at study and sports - her only fault is her hot temper which she struggles to control throughout the series.

Sally Hope is her best friend, another dependable girl but with a jealous streak. Shy, timid Mary-Lou is in all six books. Clever, witty Alicia is well-liked but she does have a spiteful side as 'Dear Gwendoline Mary' knows only too well. Gwen is a spoilt, lazy girl who is perhaps the only character that learns nothing from her time at the school.

Julian, Dick, George, Ann, Timmy are from her "Famous Five" series.

Joe, Bessie, Fanny, Moon-Face, Silky appear in "The Faraway Tree" stories.

Peter, Janet, Pam, Colin, George with Barbara and Jack are "The Secret Seven" .

All of these other options also include boy's names which preclude them from the answer.

Answer: Lamb's lettuce

Valerianella locusta or lamb's lettuce is a small annual flowering plant. It is native to Northern Africa, western Asia and most of Europe. It has many names including cornsalad, mache, fetticus, feldsalat, nut lettuce, field and valerian salad.

It is a dark green soft leaf with a nutty flavour and is high in vitamin C, B6, beta-carotene, iron and potassium.

Some translations refer to rapunzel as rampion (European bellflower) and the Dutch name refers to a type of turnip but the German word, which is the language the tales were written in, refers to lamb's lettuce.

Answer: All Along the Watchtower

"All Along the Watchtower" was written by Dylan and appeared on his 1967 album "John Wesley Harding". Jimi Hendrix recorded it six months later for his album "Electric Ladyland". His version became a Top 20 single and eventually received a Grammy Hall of Fame Award. When Dylan first played the song live he was said to be 'playing a cover of a cover' because even his version was influenced by Hendrix.

The song's lyrics, which are only 12 lines, are about a conversation between a thief and a joker as they ride towards a watchtower. The song's lyrics have been interpreted in a multitude of ways by many scholars and fans as the lyrics are both symbolic and cryptic.

They do, however, all seem to agree that it is intended to be apocalyptic and based at least partly on the Book of Isaiah from the Bible. Dylan is known for lyrics that provide opportunity for discussion and debate and he does not fail with this endeavour.

"The Fall of The Spiral Tower" is by metal band Domine, "Black Water Tower" by rapper MC Pooja and rock band Coheed and Cambria sing "Elf Tower New Mexico."

Answer: Poet

The ivory tower is a metaphorical place where people follow their mental or intellectual pursuits happily cut off from the rest of the world.

Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve was a French author and literary critic. He used the term in comparing the works of Early French Romantics Alfred de Vigny and Victor Hugo. He was referring to the innocent dreamy way in which de Vigny saw the world and thus was reflected in his poetry. When he inherited some property in the country he also physically withdrew himself to write in isolation.

Hugo, on the other hand, was much more socially engaged - moving and working among the people and thus his understanding of human nature was much more realistic and showed in his works.

The critic, of course, wrote in French and referred to it as the 'tour d'ivoire'. As the French word 'tour' can also refer to a rook there has been a suggestion that he was also using an allegory about a game of chess, where the pieces were often made of expensive ivory and the rook's job was to shield what the people considered the important pieces.

Answer: Petronas

The Petronus Twin Towers are the only ones of the four that have two towers. Opened in 1999 they are 88 floor towers constructed of concrete, steel and glass.

The cross section is based on the Rub el Hizb - an Islamic octagon symbol represented by two overlapping squares. They were the world's tallest twin skyscrapers until 2019 and the double decker skybridge is still, as at 2023, the highest two storey bridge in the world. The bridge is not actually attached to the towers as they are known to sway up to a few feet with strong winds.

The Eiffel Tower is a wrought iron tower found in Paris, France that was completed in 1889 for the world's fair.

Blackpool Tower in England is a miniature version of it but also includes, and refers to, the three story building it sits upon which houses the famous Tower Ballroom, The Tower Circus and other attractions.

The Burj Khalif is a Dubai skyscraper in the UAE; built in 2010 it remains the world's highest building as of 2023.