I Made a Simple Thing Complicated Quiz

Answer: Name the Beatles' protest song recorded in 1966.

Solution: The first picture features tacks, a homonym for TAX and this is joined by the second picture, a stick MAN. The whole represents TAXMAN.

"Taxman" appears on the Beatles 1966 album "Revolver". It was written by George Harrison as a protest against the high level of taxation he, the other members of the band and, entertainers in general, were being forced to pay under the British system. The track was the first of Harrison's songs to be used by the band and the fact that it opened the album indicated the high level of faith Lennon and McCartney had, both in George's quality and development, as a writer.

(Footnote) The opposite of jibing in sailing is called "tacking".

Answer: Havana is the capital city of which country?

Solution: The two pictures represent a CUBE and a BAR. Joined together you get CubeBar, a fractured version of CUBA.

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation that sits east of the Yucatan Peninsula. Basically, it sits at a spot where the northern Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean meet. Havana is both its capital city and its largest city by population. The centre of the Cuban Missile Crisis in the 1960s, Cuba has an authoritarian system of rule where no opposition is tolerated. It is the second most populous country in the Caribbean. Its population of 11 million inhabitants is shaded only by Haiti. One of the founding members of the United Nations, Cuba's economy is dependent upon tourism and the export of crops such as sugar, tobacco and coffee.

Answer: What was the first name of Argentine soccer star Maradona?

Solution: DYE (a homonym of DIE) is shown in the first picture and the second is a GREEN LIGHT, representing GO. Joined together they produce DIEGO.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Maradona was one of the two players selected as the FIFA Player of the 20th Century. Being short in stature did not prove to be a handicap. His vision and ball passing were extraordinary and his dribbling skills and manoeuvrability were exquisite. On two occasions he would set world records for transfer fees and throughout his career he carried the nickname of "Golden Boy". He would represent his country 91 times, including four World Cup campaigns. In 1986 he would captain Argentina to a World Cup victory in the final, over Germany.

Answer: What is aerophobia the fear of?

Solution: Picture one reveals a FLY and the second has the symbol for the chemical element nitrogen or "N". Together they make FLY'N, a contraction of FLYING.

An extreme fear of flying, as asked in the question, is a broad blanket. Some people need only be afraid of certain aspects of flying such as take off or turbulence, to be certified an aerophobe. Interestingly, most who suffer aerophobia (also known as aviophobia) are not afraid of the plane crashing, they simply endure a great anxiety about the act of flying. This may also extend to just the mere thought of being on board a plane and not the action itself.

Answer: What is the name of the school attended by Harry Potter?

Solution: Pretty straight forward. A picture of a HOG is joined to a picture of WARTS on a rock.

The school's full name is the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Established in the Scottish highlands in the late 9th to early 10th centuries, its role is to teach and train budding witches and wizards. The founding fathers were Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff and Salazar Slytherin and, appropriately, the four houses of the school were named after them. The school does not discriminate against gender or blood (pure or Muggle) and teaches children from the ages of eleven to eighteen.

Despite the above student policies, in J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" series, she explains that admission is selective and is only open to those that possess magical abilities. Squibs (the non-magical) are not allowed to enter apart from being employed by the school. Argus Filch is a good example of the latter.

(Footnote) Hogmanay is the name the Scots give to the last day of the old year. The TV series with Bob Crane is "Hogan's Heroes" (1965-71).

Answer: Who is the patron saint of brewers?

Solution: The red arrow indicates that you need to pay attention to the KNEE in picture one. The second is a bit more difficult, showing a lump of COAL and the last is the picture of an ASS. KNEE COAL ASS is a fractured form of NICHOLAS.

St. Nicholas was a bishop in the city of Myra in Asia Minor during the time of the Roman Empire. This city is, today, known as Demre in Turkey. Known as the "Wonderworker" he is the patron for a range of occupations. These include sailors, merchants, archers, repentant thieves, children, brewers and pawnbrokers. He is also the patron of a number of cities in Europe and his habit of giving away gifts became legendary, leading to the creation of the attributes of Santa Claus.

(Footnote) The French term for Santa Claus is Pere Noel.

Answer: What is smallest US State by area?

Solution: The first picture is a stand-alone (there is no plus sign to link it to anything else) and it represents a ROAD, a homonym for RHODE. The next two frames show an EYE and arable LAND. These combine to form EYE-LAND, a fractured form of ISLAND.

Nicknamed the "Ocean State", Rhode Island is only the smallest state by virtue of area and not population. With a population of almost 1.1 million people it is the seventh least populous state in the United States.

There is conjecture as to how it came to have the name of Rhode Island and, as a result, it is clouded with uncertainty. The two theories that tend to hold the greatest sway in this regard are, firstly, a journal entry by Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano. He noted sighting an island in 1524, near the mouth of Narragansett Bay which reminded him of Rhodes in Greece. Problem was that the settlers that followed in his wake could not locate exactly what Verrazzano saw and simply assumed that the area they'd settled in was his island. The other was the 17th century expedition of Adriaen Block who described an island in this area of "reddish appearance". His journal entry, in Dutch, was recorded as "een rodlich Eylande", which may well evolved into Rhode Island.

(Footnote) "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory" (1964) was written by Roald Dahl.

Answer: The character James T. Kirk appeared in which 1966 TV Series?

Solution: The pictures are relatively straight-forward. The first is of a STAR and the second of a railway TRACK, a near homophone of TREK.

"Star Trek" was created in the 1960s by Gene Roddenberry. What began as a ground breaking television series has since become one of the world's biggest and most recognizable pop culture phenomenons. Now branching out into films, video games, comic books and novels, it generates a revenue that is measured in the billions of dollars annually.

The television series, which first aired in 1966, followed the exploits of Captain James T. Kirk and his crew on board the starship USS Enterprise, as they "boldly go where no man has gone before".

Answer: Which 1976 film won the Oscar for Best Picture?

Solution: Pictures of a ROCK and a KEY meld to sound out ROCKY.

Released in 1976 and made on a budget of less than a million dollars, "Rocky" would become a world wide phenomenon and the highest grossing film of that year. Its takings were in excess of $220 million. Reportedly written by Sylvester Stallone in only three days the film studio's initial hiccup was with the author. Stallone, was an unknown at the time and he refused to allow the film to be made without himself in the starring role. It proved to be a wise move.

The movie, which tells the story of a small time fighter getting a crack at a the world heavyweight title, kicked off a multi-film franchise and was nominated for ten Academy Awards. It would collect three, among them the abovenamed Best Picture Oscar.

(Footnote) The surname of Mel Gibson's character in the 1979 film "Mad Max" was Rockatansky.

Answer: Which group of musicians were known as the "Fab Four"?

Solution: The two photos in this set represent a BEE and some TOOLS. When married together they create a fractured form of BEATLES.

Formed in Liverpool, England, and built around the prodigious talents of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, the Beatles were a major part of the counterculture that rose during the 1960s and they revolutionized so many aspects of the music industry. Building from their roots in skiffle they would incorporate elements of pop, folk and classical music in their early works before developing a harder edge to their sound, delving into psychedelia and pioneering new methods in recording and song-writing.

The band's arrival in the United States intensified the groundswell, that had become known as "Beatlemania", originating in England and then spreading across the globe. They have sold in excess of 600 million records, making them one of the biggest selling acts of all time and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. As a testament to their individual talents, each member has also been inducted, separately, into the same institution.