Blue Selection Trivia Quiz

Answer: Prussian blue

First created in the 18th century, possibly accidentally, it was produced by oxidation of ferrous ferrocyanide salts. In a time where the blue pigments available were either not very permanent or extremely expensive (such as ultramarine made from lapis lazuli), its cheapness, non-toxic nature and ease of manufacture made it quickly popular.

It is used in extensively in inks, dyes and paints. It also has medical uses, being used to remove certain heavy metal contaminants from the body.

Answer: True indigo

The connection to the denim in the image is that indigo dye is used to provide the blue colour and the plant 'true indigo' was a prime source for the dye. Naturally-sourced indigo dye comes from the leaves of some plants in the Indigofera genus of plants and has a history going back centuries in Asia. India became an early production centre and has exported the dye into Europe since Greco-Roman times. A synthetic version was developed towards the end of the 19th century. When denim is being woven, only the warp thread is dyed indigo with the weft being left white.

Answer: The Matrix

The science fiction film "The Matrix" (1999) has a well-known scene involving the pills, one blue and one red. These were offered to the protagonist Neo by the rebel leader Morpheus with the following comment: "You take the blue pill ... the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill ... you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes." Taking the red pill, Neo is forcibly ejected from his imagined reality.

Answer: Gaynor Arnold

An obscure one perhaps, with the answer to be deduced. Gaynor Arnold's debut novel "Girl in a Blue Dress" (2008) was short-listed for the Booker Prize and the Orange Prize for Fiction. It is a tale inspired by the wife of Charles Dickens, living in his shadow. In real life, Catherine bore ten children for her husband before things turned ugly and they separated, possibly due in part to an affair he was having with Nelly Ternan. Their lives have been portrayed in film on various occasions, for example in "The Invisible Woman" (2013) which focusses on the Ternan relationship.

Answer: Oxford blue

The official colour of the University of Oxford is Oxford Blue, a dark azure. A blue is also an award of sporting colours which was started at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge but are now awarded by at least ten other UK universities, mostly Scottish, as colours for their sports teams. The image is a nod to the Boat Race, an annual set of races between the university boat clubs of Oxford and Cambridge on the river Thames. Members of each team are known as blues. The Cambridge rowing blue now sports a spring green.

Answer: Anthocyanin

Many plant foods contain beneficial nutrients. In the case of blueberries, its anthocyanins also give the berries their blue colour. Anthocyanins are water-soluble pigments with antioxidant properties. They are in a class of compounds known as flavonoids and have been attributed with various health benefits. Blueberries are considered a good source of these bioactive polyphenols. The image shows a blueberry bush.

Answer: Belgian Blue

The image shows a Belgian Blue, a breed of beef cattle from Belgium. There are various other names for it, most having the word 'blue' or 'white' in there. Dikbil (Dutch for 'fat buttocks') is one of the outliers, hinting at its ultra-muscular physique which is known as 'double-muscling'. This is a heritable condition causing muscle bulking and results in a lean meat. Piedmontese is another cattle breed with this characteristic.

Answer: Cambozola

Cambozola has been made since 1983 by the cheese-making German company Champignon-Hofmeister. It is a soft cheese combined with blue mould notes and made using cow's milk. Industrially produced, it is often marketed as blue brie in the English-speaking world. The name for the cheese is made up from Camembert and Gorgonzola after which it is styled. It also uses the two moulds characteristic of those two cheeses.

Answer: Linda Ronstadt

The song "Blue Bayou" became Linda Ronstadt's signature tune. It was actually written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson in 1961 and Orbison had a hit with his 1963 recording. American singer Linda Ronstadt's version was recorded in 1977. Many other artists have followed suit. Edited versions of Ronstadt's recording appeared in the films "Man on Fire" (2004) and "American Made" (2017). The image shows a bayou.

Answer: Blue dacnis

If you know your birds, you may see a turquoise honeycreeper rather than a blue dacnis, however they are the same bird, which is not a honeycreeper (honeycreeoers have longer bills). Its range is from Nicaragua southward to northern Argentina as well as in Trinidad. The adult male is predominantly turquoise blue with black detailing whereas the female and the immature are mostly green with a blue head.