I'll Take You To The Antique Shop Quiz

Answer: Horse

Orwell's beast fable, which was published in 1945, tells the tale of a group of anthropomorphic farm animals that rebel against their human masters, in the hope of creating their own utopian society, where all animals would be equal.

The leaders of the revolution are the pigs, who are depicted as being extremely intelligent, able to grasp language easily and develop engineering skills at the drop of a hat. The pigs were originally inspired by Snowball, easily the smartest of the swine, but he is soon overthrown by Napoleon and has to flee for his life. Our hearts, though, are drawn to Boxer, an extremely strong and hardworking cart horse. We resonate with his kindness, loyalty and his dedication to the team. His major problem is that he's not the sharpest tool in the shed and is too gullible for his own good. We see this in his constant mantra that "Napoleon is always right" and in his steadfast belief that the solution to every problem is to "work harder". (Spoiler alert) He eventually meets an end that is neither dignified nor worthy of the life he led.

Answer: The suicide of a friend

A number of scholars would indicate that Picasso's "Blue Period" ran between 1900 and 1904. During this time he created a series of works that were, basically, monochromatic paintings completed in shades of blue and blue-green. They reflected scenes of poverty, the frail, the old (as in the guitarist above) and beggars.

It is indicated that Picasso did suffer from depression and that this too may have contributed to these works. Causes for this may have included his difficulty in finding a permanent studio to work in and that he was enjoying limited, if any, success at this time. That said, his depression remained with him beyond his "Blue Period", extending into the "Rose" and "Cubism" phases of his career.

However, one of the major contributors was the death of his close friend Carlos Casagemas, who'd shot himself early in 1901. Picasso felt guilt at not having been there to provide support at the time that his friend needed him. Whilst this does not fit chronologically with the time frame designated by scholars as Picasso's "Blue" period, it should be noted that Pablo indicated "I started painting in blue when I learned of Casagemas' death". Adding to this, in the next few years, Picasso would produce several portraits of his deceased friend.

Answer: Proverbs

"Proverbs" is, in its basic form, a collection of "biblical wisdoms", raising questions about the meaning of life, the way we should behave and what our values should be. It is sometimes mistaken as the Book of Solomon, as the first chapter is built around his proverbs and teachings. Later chapters, however, will reveal a range of authors. For example, chapters 17-34 (NIV) are labelled as "The Sayings of the Wise".

The prologue indicates that "Proverbs" was created to give "prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young and make the wise even wiser" (1:1-7 to 1:4 NIV).

Answer: Harrison

Noel Harrison's mother was Ethel Collette-Thomas, who was the first of Rex's six wives. His parents divorced in 1942, eight years after his birth. Noel's skills at skiing were honed and fueled during a period of time that he lived in the Swiss Alps. He would become a member of Great Britain's 1952 Winter Olympic team in Norway, competing in the giant slalom, an event that was making its Olympic debut that year. He didn't place in the medals. The following year he became his country's national giant slalom champion and backed that up by qualifying for the Winter Olympics in Italy in 1956. Once again, he missed out on winning a medal.

Away from the snow, Noel carved out a career as an actor and a singer. He enjoyed roles in films such "The Best of Enemies" (1961) and "Where the Spies Are" (1965). He also appeared in twenty nine episodes of "The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.", as Mark Slate between 1966 and 1967. However, his biggest success came with the recording of "Windmills of Your Mind", a 1969 hit that first appeared on the soundtrack to "The Thomas Crown Affair" (1968) and peaked at number eight on the UK Singles' charts.

(Footnote) The fact that the surnames of all of the actors listed above commence with the letter "H" is not by design, but by pure coincidence. They are the surnames of the first four actors on the bill to the film; Rex Harrison, Audrey Hepburn, Stanley Holloway and Wilfred Hyde-White.

Answer: Casablanca

Arthur "Dooley" Wilson is best remembered for playing the pianist, Sam, and performing the song "As Time Goes By" in the nightclub owned by Humphrey Bogart's character, Rick. He would also perform a number of other songs, among them was "It Had to be You".

Now for the magic of movies. Wilson was not a piano player. He was a singer and an accomplished drummer. He faked the piano playing in the film. The piano was played off-screen by a combination of Elliot Carpenter and Jean Plummer and then dubbed in.

There are a number of footnotes here:
- "It Had to be You" was written by Isham Jones and Gus Kahn and was first published in 1924. It is played in the film during the first scene that features the nightclub, Rick's Café.
- "As Time Goes By" was originally written for the Broadway musical "Everybody's Welcome" (1931) but it was this film that made it significant. The song was listed as the number two song on the AFI's "100 Years...100 Songs" (2004) special.
- There is another Dooley Wilson in the world and we should not confuse the two. The other is an Ohio bluesman who was born C.J. Forgy.

Answer: 3

Born in 1981, Fanning was blessed with a wild card entry into the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach in 2001. He was able to turn that piece of good fortune into a victory in one of Australia's most prestigious surfing contests. The following year he won the Billabong Pro, was named Rookie of the Year on the circuit and won his spot on the ASP (Association of Surfing Professionals) World Tour. He would win the World Tour on three occasions, in 2007, 2009 and 2013.

Two years after his last World Championship win, Fanning famously survived a shark attack (believed to be a white pointer) while contesting the J-Bay Open in South Africa. Remarkably, he returned to the water a week later to compete and he'd complete the Tour, finishing the year in second position.

(Footnote) As stated, "Crystal Voyager" is a 1973 surf film. It was directed by David Elfick and it was loosely based on the surf exploits of filmmaker George Greenough. The film featured the surfing talents of Australia's 1966 World Champion surfer, Nat Young. The soundtrack to the movie was performed by Australian singer G. Wayne Thomas, who was backed up by the Crystal Voyager Band.

Answer: A vacant seat at the Round Table

Also known as the "Perilous Seat", the chair is a part of Arthurian legend. The seat is said to have been put aside by the magician Merlin, reserving it for the knight who succeeded in the quest for the Holy Grail.

In Thomas Mallory's book "Le Morte d'Arthur" (1485), he advises that the seat, as a consequence, is reserved only for the worthy and, should an unworthy one, dare to sit upon it, the consequences would be dire. That seat ends up being taken by Sir Galahad on Whitsunday, 454 years after the death of Jesus Christ.

(Footnotes)
- The original meaning of the English word "siege" was seat.
- In the thirteenth century, the word "tankard" meant any wooden vessel, especially a sailing vessel. It evolved over time to mean a wooden drinking vessel.

Answer: A fictional detective

Cormoran Strike was created by the British author J.K. Rowling, writing under the pseudonym of Robert Galbraith. Strike is the illegitimate son of Jonny Rokeby, a famous rock singer, and the notorious groupie, Leda Strike. He joined the army, where he was a part of the Royal Military Police Special Investigation Branch. He saw action in Afghanistan where he lost part of his lower right leg, which led to his discharge from the forces and the setting up of his own detective agency.

Strike makes his first appearance in the 2013 novel "The Cuckoo's Calling". By 2023 Rowling had completed the seventh, of what she planned to be thirteen, novels in the series. The stories have attracted the attention of BBC One who managed to adapt the first five novels for television during the period 2017 to 2022.

(Footnote) William Pope was an English-Canadian naturalist and an amateur painter. The amateur may seem irregular as it is considered that he'd contributed significantly to Canada's "settler heritage" with his works and produced Canada's first pictorial record of its birdlife. His works have even borne comparisons with those of John James Audubon.

Answer: Wuthering Heights

The Bronte sisters, Charlotte, Emily and Anne were English poets and novelists of the nineteenth century. Typical of the era, they had to record their works under male pseudonyms in order to be accepted. That aside, their works are characterized by passion and originality and are, today, recognized as literature masterpieces.

"Wuthering Heights" (1847) was written by Emily Bronte and it was her only novel. The story centres on two families, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, both based in the West Yorkshire moors and the issues that both sides have with Heathcliff, the foster son of the Earnshaw family.

Answer: Yes

The clinic, in their "Mayo Clinic Proceedings" journal, published a letter to their editor by a Dr. Mandeep R. Mehra, at the time, a medical director at the Heart and Vascular Centre at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. As to whether or not Lisa Gherardini (the model) did suffer from the condition, the good doctor admitted, we will never know.

In his eyes though, from a medical perspective, the symptoms/conditions for hypothyroidism were all there - yellowing skin, thin, lank hair, a receding hairline and a distinct lack of eyebrows. In addition, he continued, there's a bump on her nose that could be a cholesterol deposit, the possible beginnings of a goiter are present and the possibility of lipoma on her index and forefingers are also evident. Details of the likelihood of depression, weak facial muscles and iodine deficiencies that existed in the Florentine diet at the time were also thrown into the mix.

While all this evidence "may" be there, Dr. Mehru also stated that Gherardini lived to the age of 63, which is significantly longer than one who may have suffered from heart diseases or some form of lipid disorders during that period in history. He confirmed that the plucking of eyebrows was a fashion statement in those times, the yellowing skin may have been the effects of aging of the varnish and that the weak smile may have been, purely, the great skill of the artist.

Ah, but it's good to hypothesize.

(Footnote) The article was published in 2018 and was entitled "The Mona Lisa Decrypted".