A Seasonal Common Bond Trivia Quiz

Answer: World War II

The Second World War (WWII) raged from 1939 until 1945, involving most of the countries that were in existence at that time in one way or another. The raid on the French port of Dieppe in August 1942 was meant as a dress rehearsal for the invasion of Europe (successfully carried out two years later), but fell short of success.

Many of the Canadian troops in the forefront of the battle were killed, wounded or taken prisoner by the Germans. Two Canadians, and one British commando officer received the Victoria Cross for their courage on that day.

Answer: Dean

In a university setting, a dean might be in charge of the History department, for example, or be responsible for a certain part of the student body. In the Anglican church a dean is the most senior priest of a diocese, ranking below a bishop.

Answer: Sidney Crosby

Nova Scotia native Sidney Crosby was not yet 20 years old when he was named captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins in May 2007. Since that time even younger men have been named captain of other teams, including Connor McDavid, who was about one month younger when appointed captain of the Edmonton Oilers in 2016.

The three incorrect choices had all retired from playing hockey before Crosby was born.

Answer: George Clooney

The multi-talented Clooney had nominations in the same year for "Good Night, and Good Luck", in the Best Director and Original Screenplay categories. It was, however, for his acting role in "Syriana" that he took home an Oscar. Subsequent nominations have come in a variety of categories.

The incorrect choices were all nominated for the same award, losing to Clooney.

Answer: Kay

Kay Jewelers, an American jewelry chain, have used the advertising slogan "Every kiss begins with Kay" to good effect since the mid 1980s. Most sources credit it to an anonymous copywriter at Stern Advertising, who took advantage of the coincidence of the word "kiss" beginning with the letter K(ay).

The incorrect choices are all jewelers, with different slogans.

Answer: Vera

"Vera" is Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope, who plies her trade in the north of England and has a habit of calling people "pet". Ably portrayed by Brenda Blethyn, Vera is a no-nonsense sort of detective, who gets to the bottom of things more often than not. First aired in 2011, "Vera" is both set and filmed in Northumberland and Tyneside.

"Annika" (2021-) stars Nicola Walker as DI Annika Strandhed. "Juliet Bravo" (1980-85) starred Stephanie Turner as Inspector Jean Darblay, call sign Juliet Bravo. "Grace" (2021-) stars John Simm as Detective Superintendent Roy Grace.

Answer: Berlin

The Berlin Olympics of 1936 are famous for the triumphs of American athlete Jesse Owens, and infamous for Adolf Hitler's presence. Two films by German filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl ("Olympia Part I" and "Olympia Part II", both 1938) have made it possible for us to view the proceedings in some detail.

The incorrect choices have all hosted the Summer Olympics, but in different years.

Answer: Blessing of the Animals

St Francis of Assisi, known as the patron saint of animals, has his feast day on October 4th. Many parishes hold a special service on or close to that day to bless the animals of the area. In some places this is known as the Blessing of the Pets.

The Blessing of the Fleet is a service usually held in the spring, in maritime parishes on the Mediterranean, and in other parts of the world, during which boats sail by whilst a priest performs the service of blessing them.

Answer: Snow

People used to say with some certainty that these Arctic region dwellers had 100 words for "snow", but scholars have refuted this statement. The truth, it seems, is closer to two dozen words, which is still quite a goodly number. The count varies depending on what one considers a word, who is using this word, how they are using it and a number of other somewhat mind-boggling criteria.

The Inuit have fewer words for bear and seal than for snow, and quite possibly none for penguin, as they live in different hemispheres.

Answer: White Christmas

The song "White Christmas" was an Oscar winner when it appeared in "Holiday Inn" (1942) and became so well loved that it gave its name to the movie "White Christmas" (1954).

The 1954 film begins at an outdoor concert for troops during World War II (Q1), who are celebrating Christmas, but also saying farewell to a beloved general, played by Dean (Q2) Jagger. Two of the soldier-performers, Bob and Phil, team up as a double act after the war, and find themselves following a sister act to Vermont at Christmas time. They are surprised to find their old general running the inn, which he owns. Together they plan to do a good deed for their old commanding officer. Bob, played by Bing Crosby (Q3) is infatuated with Betty, played by Rosemary Clooney (Q4). Phil, played by Danny Kaye (Q5 + e) tries not to fall for Judy, played by Vera-Ellen (Q6), but you can guess how that turns out.

Irving Berlin (Q7) wrote not only the title song, but all of the songs in the movie. One of the other songs, "Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep)" (Q8) was nominated for an Academy Award as best original song.

During the last scenes of the movie, it finally begins to snow (Q9) so that there will be a white Christmas, and the general's inn will be saved.