Fractured Fran Trivia Quiz

Answer: How are you doing

Fran has asked "How are you doing?" Of course it is nice to give her a cordial reply. It is a colloquial politeness to ask how someone is doing, whether or not one truly cares.

Answer: television

Fran: "I want to watch television". She hasn't specified which program, but I'm sure she'll be watching extreme wrestling or some such.

The television was invented in 1926 by John Logie Baird. The images we see are a selection of many static images transmitted through the air as electrical waves. These are represented on our screens as combinations of the three primary colours red, blue and green.

Answer: dancing

Fran: "I used to love dancing when I was young". Ah, the good old days.

Dancing has been around for a long time, although exactly how long is unclear, due to a lack of hard evidence. It is regarded as a form of communication and expression, and within some human societies, an art form.
If Fran existed, she might have enjoyed the Cha-cha (also known as Cha-cha-cha), a Latin American dance popularised in the 1950's. This is a cheerful, energetic dance and the 'cha-cha-cha' has been likened to a three step motion within the dance, and this sound has widely been regarded as a likely origin for its name.

Answer: depression

Fran: "Ten years ago I had depression". It's debatable whether it's shifted or not.

Depression is one of the most common mental disorders, said to affect around 1 in 5 people of an average UK population within their lifetime.
Symptoms of depression include apathy, emotional numbness, and restlessness, although these factors can be hard to spot in other people, so often depression is not always 'discovered' or recorded.
Two common treatments are antidepressant drugs and social therapies, for example cognitive behavioural therapy, which focuses on how to improve the patient's present situation.

Answer: monopoly

Fran: "Can we play monopoly?". She won.

Monopoly is a board game, conceptually rooted in the early 20th century. The object of the game is to be the last one standing and thus gain the most money. The duration of play is lengthier than several other board games, taking up to several hours, however it is one of the most well known board games.

Answer: phantom of the opera

Fran: "Come see Phantom of the Opera". She tried getting her husband to go, but eventually had to give up the ghost.

'Phantom of the Opera' is directly based on a novel of the same name written by Gaston Leroux and first published in 1909. This tragic story primarily features Erik, the 'Phantom', and Christine Daae, an opera singer, amongst other characters. Whilst tutoring Christine, the 'Phantom' falls in love with her, but what lengths will he go to keep her?

Answer: incredible

Fran: "That was incredible". How heart warming.

Incredible, in addition to being a positive evaluation of an event, can also describe an event as being improbable and unrealistic, or an event of great magnitude.
Acting as somewhat of a play on this word, an animated movie released in 2004, 'The Incredibles', features undercover superheroes who must draw upon their powers to save the world.

Answer: chicken curry

Fran: "Chicken curry". Fran's secret recipe.

A simple chicken curry consists of diced chicken pieces, fried and coated in a sauce which is flavoured with spices and then served with rice.
There are several variants - some recipes will recommend marinating the chicken in spices and allowing it to rest for anything between an hour and a day, some will add yoghurt or cream to the sauce, and, perhaps one of the most easily distinguished differences is in chilli content. Experimentation can help you work out what methods fit your particular tastes.

Answer: tiramisu

Fran: "I've made tiramisu".

Tiramisu literally means 'pick me up' in Italian. Basic ingredients for a tiramisu typically include mascarpone cheese, sugar, coffee, raw eggs, ladyfingers, liquor and cocoa.
The ladyfingers, finger shaped sponge cakes, are dipped in coffee (and liquor) and layered with a mix of the whipped eggs, mascarpone and sugar. The cocoa acts as a garnish and is dusted on top of a completed layer. Multiple layers can be added to suit.

Answer: happy

Fran: "Thank you for cheering me up. I am happy."

Happiness is a state of positive emotional feeling. For a long time, happiness has been considered as a vague concept which can not be analysed, however, a recent tide of interest is attempting to find out scientific roots of happiness. This is frequently pursued with the usage of questionnaires, although studies of the brain are coming into play.

Happiness has been discussed by Aristotle as being one of the few things truly intrinsically sought after, ie sought for itself, whereas other objects such as money and possessions are sought after to bring happiness. It is also a part of Buddhist belief as being an 'ultimate goal', and is a focal aspect of many religions.