Red Selection Trivia Quiz

Answer: Cochineal

These days the source of the dye is the Mexican cochineal (Dactylopius coccus). Before the Americas were discovered by Europeans, the dye came from insects like the Armenian cochineal, a now critically endangered member of the Porphyrophora family, which produced 'vordan karmir' ("worm's red" in Armenian). The Polish cochineal (from the same taxonomic family) produced dye known colloquially as "St John's blood". This was because it was red and harvested in late June, around St John the Baptist's Day. In the 15th and 16th centuries it was one of Poland's chief exports.

The carminic acid content in the dried Polish insects was 0.6%, perhaps double the Armenian ones, however this compared poorly with the Mexican ones at 17-24% and which could also be harvested several times per year. When exports from the Americas started, they quickly wiped out the local European suppliers.

Answer: Chris de Burgh

Written and sung by Chris de Burgh, it was released in 1986 and quickly became his most popular single. It introduced him to mainstream listeners and became his signature song. It was also divisive with critics who saw it as appealing to the emotionally impressionable and lacking technical merit. Music surveys suggest public opinion is mixed on it.

There are various origin stories however seeing a lady in red is the common theme. It appeared in various films such as "Working Girl" (1988) and "Deadpool & Wolverine" (2024).

Although "Working Girl" won an Oscar for Best Original Song, it was Carly Simon's "Let the River Run" which got the award.

Answer: Suffolk Punch

The Old English word 'punch' means a short stout person, which is in keeping with the horse's build. The meaning referred to in the question is the drink punch which usually involves fruit juice. The Suffolk Punch is a compact draught horse originally used for farm work. These days it is more likely to be in forestry work or advertising. The horses are always chestnut coloured, meaning 'red'. An alternative name for this breed is Suffolk Sorrel, where sorrel also means 'red'.

Answer: Kerstin Gier

The Ruby Red Trilogy consists of "Ruby Red" (2009), "Sapphire Blue" (2010) and "Emerald Green" (2011). The series has been translated into over 27 languages and adapted for film. The books follow a teenage London girl called Gwyneth Shepherd. There is time-travelling involved. The writer Kerstin Gier followed this up with another young adult trilogy, "Silver: The Book of Dreams", also translated, and has written over a dozen adult books.

Answer: Sean Connery

The 1990 spy thriller "The Hunt for Red October" was adapted from the 1984 novel of the same name by Tom Clancy, his debut novel. Set in the Cold War, it involves a submarine defection with various twists and turns. It got Navy approval as they felt that it would give the submarine service the benefit of the "Top Gun" effect. The film makers got access to several Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered submarines, or at least some unclassified parts.

Answer: Georgia O'Keeffe

Not her most famous work. However the land around Ghost Ranch where Georgia O'Keeffe sometimes lived provided much inspiration. Active for seven decades, she was a pioneer of American modernism, challenging traditional artistic conventions. Known for her bold, simplified forms and close-up views of natural objects, her paintings often featured stark contrasts of light and dark. She is perhaps best known for her desert landscapes and close-ups of flowers.

Answer: Red Adair

Paul Neal 'Red' Adair was an American oil well fire-fighter. After doing bomb disposal work for the US Army in the Second World War, he turned this experience to extinguishing fires in the oil industry. He developed a technique using the Munro effect to snuff out fires with a focussed explosive blast. During his career he put out some 2,000 oil well fires. In 1991, the retreating Iraqi armed forces left many burning Kuwaiti oil wells and he was involved in putting some of these out. He retired in 1993.

Answer: Manfred von Richthofen

Nicknamed the Red Baron by his British counterparts after he started painting his planes red, Richthofen was the German Air Force's top flying ace during the First World War. He was not technically a Baron but a Freiherr (or 'Free Lord'), although it is usually translated as Baron. He was shot from the ground in 1918 when chasing a low-flying novice Canadian pilot in a Sopwith Camel. Flying so low was a risky practice he would normally have avoided. A recent head wound may have contributed to his misjudgement.

Answer: Iron

The iron in the haemoglobin is what gives blood its red colour. The shade of red depends on how oxygenated the blood is. Blood from veins is a dark red but, if exposed to air (and hence oxygen) by a cut, for example, will turn a brighter red. Blood donations use venous blood and stay dark as they are not usually exposed to air. If arterial blood is involved, it is a brighter red and will be unchanged by exposure to air as it is already oxygenated. The above does apply to the image clue since it is not blood in the syringe.

Answer: Old

As stars age, they change temperature. Younger hotter stars tend to emit more blue light whereas older cooler ones are redder. Other factors that may be involved include whether the star is moving away or coming closer - if the former, it will increase the apparent wavelength of the light emitted, making it redder from a viewer's perspective.

This is an example of the Doppler Effect. Other things that could be involved include the chemical composition of the star and what clouds of gas and dust lie in between the star and us the viewer on Earth.