Mysterious Connections IV Trivia Quiz

Answer: Pink

The link for this set is 'pink'. Dianthus is a genus of plants which includes carnations and sweet William as well as the wide variety of pinks. These are all popular garden plants, but there are many wild varieties as well. Pinks come in a wide range of colours, including red, white and pink.

The name is not related to any of the colours - it comes from the serrated edges to the petals which look as if they could have been trimmed by pinking shears.

Answer: Pink

This is another member of the 'pink' set. Founded in 1888, the Financial Times is a daily newspaper, excluding Sundays, devoted to business. Based in London, the newspaper does include news and articles such as political and economic commentary, although half of it is focused on business and financial data.

The Financial Times is distinctive as it is published on pink paper, chosen to make it stand out. The shade is a salmon pink, so not as eye catching as shocking pink.

Answer: Pink

Alecia fits into the 'pink' group. Alecia Moore is the real name of the singer who performs using the name Pink, or P!nk as it's often written. She was born in Pennsylvania in 1979 and released her first solo album in 2000 having previously been in a group.

This first album gave her two top ten US Billboard Hot 100 hits with 'There You Go' and 'Most Girls' before 2001 saw her hit the top spot, along with Mya, Lil' Kim and Christina Aguilera, when their recording of 'Lady Marmalade' was released from the sound track album of the film 'Moulin Rouge!'. Pink's second album, 'Missundaztood', was even more successful with hits such as 'Get the Party Started' and 'Like a Pill' coming from it.

Answer: Pink

This panther belongs to the 'pink' set, not the 'black' one. 'The Pink Panther' film, the first in what became a series, was released in 1963 starring Peter Sellers as the inept police inspector Jacques Clouseau. The film had a star studded cast, with David Niven, Robert Wagner and Claudia Cardinale among the actors taking part.

The pink panther of the title has nothing to do with a real animal - it's the nickname of a valuable diamond which most of the characters are desperate to get their hands on.

Answer: Grey

This one belongs to a set labelled 'grey'. Earl Grey tea is a specific type of tea which has been flavoured with bergamot oil, made from an orange of that name. Although originally real bergamot oil was used, in modern times the flavouring is likely to be artificially created.

Although there was an Earl Grey, the British Prime Minister in the 1830s, it is probable that the name was created to give the tea blend a certain kudos rather than being directly linked to him.

Answer: Grey

The horse was grey, putting it into the 'grey' set. The reference comes from a folk song called 'Widecombe Fair' which is associated with the county of Devon - the real place named Widecombe is a village on Dartmoor. The song opens with the words 'Tom Pearce, Tom Pearce, lend me your grey mare' so the singer, with a group of friends, can go to the fair. The last named friend is 'Old Uncle Tom Cobley', and the name has passed into common usage to refer to someone whose name is unknown.

The journey goes badly wrong, with the mare dying but returning as a ghost still accompanied by the group of men who caused her demise.

Answer: Grey

This one has a 'grey' connection. E L James is the pen name adopted by Erika Mitchell for her books which began with 'Fifty Shades of Grey' in 2011. She followed this up with two subsequent novels, 'Fifty Shades Darker' and 'Fifty Shades Freed', both published in 2012.

These books, dubbed 'erotic romance' proved popular, and the author wrote the same stories again, but from the point of view of another of the main characters. The main male in the books was named Christian Grey, which is where the titles come from.

Answer: Grey

Not the singer named Seal, but the animal means this one fits into the 'grey' category. Grey seals are found on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean with breeding grounds in Canada and south to New England and, sometimes, around Rhode Island. On the other side of the ocean they breed in Scotland, Wales and England and in coastal waters of Germany.

Answer: Black

The link for this set is 'black', Anna Sewell wrote her only novel, called 'Black Beauty', in 1877. Sewell was already ill when writing it and died less than six months after its publication. The story is told from the point of view of the title character, a horse whose fortunes decline from an idyllic start before being badly mistreated as a carriage horse. Eventually, he is rescued to live his retirement in comfort.

The story did much to draw the attention of the public to animal cruelty - some of the other horses Black Beauty met suffered cruel deaths - and the book remains popular, although there are far fewer horses around these days than when it was written.

Answer: Black

The band fits into the 'black' category thanks to their song 'Paint It Black'. Composed by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, who wrote most of the band's songs, the song appeared on the 1966 album 'Aftermath'. Released as a single, the song reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and was a big hit in the UK as well, with several of the charts which were around at the time (mostly associated with music magazines) also placing it at number one.

The title is often shown with a comma, but this has been described as a misprint created by Decca, the record label. This was stated by Keith Richards, and he should know, and the group's own website doesn't include a comma. In any event, those precise words do not appear in the lyrics - Mick actually sings 'I see a red door and I want it painted black'.

Answer: Black

This is another member of the 'black' set. Bramble is a shrub, most often seen growing wild in hedges, woodland and grassland. It has long, flexible stems which are covered with thorns. The plant has pinkish white flowers during spring and summer before forming a fruit called a blackberry. These can be made into jam or jelly, or cooked in pies.

Brambles are particularly difficult to eradicate as their roots go deep and spread easily.

Answer: Black

Bubonic plague is another 'black' candidate as the alternative name for this deadly disease is the Black Death. A pandemic which lasted from 1346 until 1353 is believed to have caused up to 200 million deaths, mainly in the western countries of Europe and northern regions of Africa.

The disease is caused by Yersinia pestis, a bacterium which was spread by fleas carried by rats. Even island countries, such as England, weren't spared as the rats, with their fleas, were carried overseas on ships.

Answer: Purple

This one belongs to the group named 'purple'. Purple prose refers to the use of language which is flowery, excessively melodramatic and cliché ridden. Authors can get carried away with their own 'cleverness' and produce a piece of writing which is difficult to understand because the language used is overly complicated.

The description of what is purple prose can be subjective, but any writing which has too many adjectives included is likely to be classed as this.

Answer: Purple

Prince fits into 'purple' due to 'Purple Rain'. This can refer to a song, a film, starring Prince, the album of the film soundtrack and a tour made to capitalise on all three - each of these was named 'Purple Rain'.

The film was released in July 1984, starring Prince as a character known only as The Kid, the leader of a band in Minneapolis. Although there is some dramatic action, the film is mainly a showcase of Prince performing with his band. The album, the one released in 1984, included 'When Doves Cry' and 'Let's Go Crazy' as well as the title song. The single version of 'Purple Rain' was a world wide hit, and the subsequent tour lasted from November 1984 until April 1985.

Answer: Purple

This flower fits in the 'purple' set. Digitalis purpurea is the common foxglove which has purple flowers. It can be grown as a garden flower or found in the wild. Some cultivated varieties can be found in other colours, such as white or a light lilac, but mostly these are purple.

Foxgloves can be dangerous as the flowers, seeds and leaves are all toxic. They contain digitoxin, which has the effect of slowing the heart rate. It can be used medically to help regulate the rhythm of the heart. Digoxin is a similar drug, also found in foxgloves.

Answer: Purple

The 'purple' section includes royalty. Purple has been associated with royalty for centuries, with Ancient Romans, Persians and Byzantine emperors all wearing this colour. The cost of dyeing cloth purple was the main factor in this, as creating the dye entailed a long process involving collecting a large number of rare sea snails, extracting their mucus and letting it sit in the sun for just the right amount of time.

Purple dye did not become widely available until the middle of the nineteenth century when synthetic dyes were developed.