...And Then Three Come Along At Once Quiz

Answer: Macbeth

These words are uttered by the first of the three witches who are characters in the play "Macbeth". They meet Macbeth later on in the first act and predict that he will become king. The play follows Macbeth and his wife as they go on a downward spiral of murder and guilt ending eventually in Lady Macbeth's suicide and Macbeth's death at the hands of Macduff.

The question is: would any of this have happened if Macbeth hadn't met the three witches?

Answer: They brought three gifts

The Bible (in Matthew 2) simply states that "magi from the east" came looking for "the one who has been born king of the Jews" (NIV). It doesn't tell us how many of them there were or what they were called. Later in the chapter the magi presented their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the young Jesus.

The word "magi" is from a Persian word meaning one who is an expert in the study of the stars. Since the 8th century the magi have traditionally, in western Christianity, been assigned the names Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar.

Answer: Mice

"Three blind mice, see how they run! They all ran after the farmer's wife who cut off their tails with a carving knife. Did ever you see such a thing in your life as three blind mice?"

According to wikipedia a variation of this rhyme was first published in a book entitled "Deuteromelia or The Seconde part of Musicks melodie" in 1609. Whether it has any roots in historical events is uncertain. The rhyme entered children's literature in 1842 when it was published in a collection by James Orchard Haliwell.

The animals in the wrong answers also feature in nursery rhymes and fairy tales. Three little kittens lost their mittens, there were three Billy Goats Gruff and Goldilocks met three bears.

Answer: A piece of artwork made up of three interconnected panels

The word triptych has its origins in the Greek word triptukhos meaning three fold (dictionary.com). It seems (after looking for examples on the internet) that triptych art may either be three panels which are hinged together or three pictures appearing in the same frame.

Answer: Reliant Regal

The Reliant Regal was first produced in 1952. The Reliant company went through some turbulent financial times over the years but continued to manufacture the Regal in various editions until 1986. The company also made the Rialto and the Robin, the latter probably being the most famous British three-wheeler. (Thanks to www.3wheelers.com for this and a lot of other fascinating information.)

As mentioned in the question the most famous Regal driver must be "Del Boy" Trotter. He ran his "business" from his flat in Peckham with his younger brother Rodney. His mustard coloured Regal could be seen on the streets proudly announcing the name of "Trotter's Independent Trading". Many people (myself included) thought that Del actually drove a Reliant Robin but it was in fact a Regal van. For an additional interesting fact player C30, who was a keen Reliant owner for many years, sent me the following: The Rialto Mk.1 and Mk.2 were easy to identify by the square shaped headlights, the Robin had round headlights (or in the case of later models, "teardrop" headlights).

Answer: D'Artagnan

The novel The Three Musketeers was written by French author Alexandre Dumas. The story is told from the point of view of D'Artagnan who, as a young man, left home to go to Paris and join the Musketeers. Porthos, Athos and Aramis were alreadys members of that esteemed group. The three were close friends, living by the motto "all for one and one for all".

The book has been made into numerous swashbuckling films over the years, the best known probably being with Michael York, Oliver Reed, Frank Finlay and Richard Chamberlain released in 1973.

Answer: Libya

Libya's capital city is Tripoli, known locally as Tarabulus. It was founded in the 7th century BC by the Phoenicians and then became part of Cyrenaica which was a Greek north African colony, hence its Greek name. Today, as Libya's capital, it is the centre of Libyan commerce and has a population of just under 1.7m people.

The capital of Greece is Athens, the capital of Turkey is Ankara and the capital of Syria is Damascus.

Answer: Turkey

Why three consecutive strikes should be called a turkey I don't know. The primary meanings of turkey are the bird and the meat that comes from it, and as a slang term for a thing or person that is a failure. Three strikes in a row is certainly not a failure in my book!

Answer: Green

Using the colours red, yellow and blue an artist can mix up whichever colours he or she requires for their work (or so I'm reliably informed by my artist friend, Karen). My husband, on the other hand, informs me that green is included as one of the primary colours of light, along with red and blue.

Answer: Superman Returns

By the time January 2011 arrived, five "Superman" films had been made. The first four made between 1978 and 1987 starred the late Christopher Reeve in the role of the hero from Krypton. "Superman Returns" is the fifth and was made in 2006. Brandon Routh takes the title role as Superman returns from visiting his home planet of Krypton to find Lois Lane engaged and Lex Luthor as villainous as ever.

"The Return of The King" (2003) is the final installment of the epic "Lord of The Rings" trilogy. "The Godfather" (1972) is the first film in the trilogy that was directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starred Marlon Brando in the original movie and Al Pacino in the other two. The hilarious "The Naked Gun" (1988) with Leslie Nielsen was followed by "The Naked Gun 2 1/2" (1991) and "Naked Gun 33 1/3" (1994).