Sibling Rivalry Trivia Quiz

Answer: Out of Africa

Directed by Sydney Pollack, "Out of Africa" (1985) is based on the memoir of the same title by Danish author Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen), first published in 1937. Swedish nobleman Bror von Blixen-Finecke - portrayed in the film by Austrian actor Klaus Maria Brandauer - was the twin brother of Hans, Karen's former lover. In 1914, Bror and Karen got married in Kenya, where she had bought a coffee plantation. The marriage was unhappy - mainly due to Bror's infidelities (because of which Karen was infected with syphilis) - and the two eventually separated a few years later. In the film, much emphasis is given to Karen's doomed love affair with big-game hunter Denys Finch-Hatton (portrayed by Robert Redford), though in real life things happened somewhat differently.

Although "Out of Africa" won 7 out of the 11 Academy Awards for which it had been nominated, Meryl Streep lost her Best Actress bid to Geraldine Page. On the other hand, she did win Academy Awards for the two out of the three films mentioned as incorrect choices - "Sophie's Choice" and "The Iron Lady" both as Best Actress. She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for "The Deer Hunter", but did not win.

The photo shows a view of the Serengeti plain in northern Tanzania.

Answer: it is made into a musical instrument that plays on its own

"The Twa Sisters" (also known as "Binnorie", "The Cruel Sister", or "The Bonny Swans") is listed as Number Ten of the collection of 305 traditional folk ballads collected by American folklorist Francis James Child, and published in 1882-1898. The first known printing of the ballad, dating from 1656, and of likely Scottish or northern English origin, was titled "The Miller and the King's Daughter": the title "The Twa Sisters" was given to it in 1806 by Scottish antiquarian Robert Jamieson.

The best-known version of "The Twa Sisters" tells a sinister tale of two sisters who are rivals for the same man's affections. One day, while the two sisters are walking along a body of water, the dark-haired older sister pushes the blonde younger sister into the water and lets her drown. Later, someone finds the maiden's body, and makes a musical instrument (generally a harp or a fiddle) out of her bones and hair: this instrument is capable of playing on its own, and reveals the dead girl's fate. Most of the versions collected by Child and other folklorists share the detail of the murdered sister's body made into a musical instrument, though in some versions the sisters' romantic rivalry is not mentioned.

There are hundreds of versions of this tragic story, many of them from Scandinavia. In the Brothers Grimm's collection of folktales, a similar story - titled "The Singing Bone" - involves two brothers. The ballad has also been put to music by a number of well-known artists - such as English folk-rock band Pentangle ("Cruel Sister"), Canadian singer/songwriter Loreena McKennitt ("The Bonny Swans"), and Irish band Clannad ("Two Sisters").

The watercolour painting in the photo, by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, is titled "The Harp Player".

Answer: The Beach Boys

Of the many famous rock bands founded by siblings, The Beach Boys stand out because three brothers were involved. Originally from Hawthorne, in the Los Angeles metro area, the brothers Carl, Dennis and Brian Wilson were interested in music from an early age, as their father Murry (who later became their manager) played the piano and also wrote songs. They were in their late teens when they teamed up with cousin Mike Love (whose mother, Emily, was Murry's sister) and high school friend Al Jardine. The fledgling band - initially named The Pendletones - recorded their first song, "Surfin'", in September 1961: their name was changed to "The Beach Boys" when the song was released as a single.

The Beach Boys went on to become one of the Sixties' most successful acts, releasing a slew of iconic singles and albums, almost single-handedly creating the "California sound" - characterized by stunning vocal harmonies and the emphasis on themes such as cars, and youth. Later in their career, they experimented with different genres and sounds. Fame, however, took a toll on the band. Brian Wilson suffered a series of nervous breakdowns, while Dennis Wilson got heavily into alcohol and drugs, and died by drowning in 1983, at the age of 39. Carl, the youngest of the Wilson brothers, stayed with the band until his death of lung cancer in 1998. The Beach Boys were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1980, and the original quintet was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.

The three bands listed as wrong answers were all formed by pairs of brothers: Ray and Dave Davies (The Kinks), Mark and David Knopfler (Dire Straits), and Malcolm and Angus Young (AC/DC).

Answer: Oregon

Located in central Oregon, the closely spaced volcanic peaks known as Three Sisters are part of the Cascade Volcanic Arch, a section of the larger Cascades Range, which stretches from southern British Columbia to northern California through the states of Washington and Oregon. All three peaks have an elevation of over 3,000 m (10,000 ft) - the tallest of them, the South Sister, standing at 3,156 m (10,636 m).

The area's early settlers called the peaks Faith, Hope, and Charity, but now the more mundane names of North Sister, Middle Sister, and South Sister are used. The Wilderness where the three peaks are located is Oregon's second-largest wilderness area, host to a wide range of plant and animal life. All three mountains are popular climbing destinations, and contain 16 named glaciers.

In terms of volcanic activity, the North and Middle Sister are unlikely to become active ever again. However, the South Sister last erupted around 440 AD, and an eruption is believed to be potentially dangerous because of the likelihood of pyroclastic flows and mudflows. In 2000, tectonic uplift was detected in the area, which has been closely monitored since then.

Oregon, nicknamed the Beaver State (hence the "busy" hint in the question), is the only one of the US states listed as possible answers that contains active volcanic peaks.

Answer: J.M.W. Turner

Founded in 1848 by a group of seven people, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a loose association of artists and writers who took their inspiration from the Italian art of the 15th century ("Quattrocento") - rejecting the style exemplified by 16th-century painters such as Raphael (hence the name). The group also published a periodical, aptly titled "The Germ", in order to promote their views on art.

The three painters mentioned as wrong answers were all present at the first meeting, which took place at the house of John Everett Millais's parents at 7 Gower Street, in London's district of Bloomsbury, where a blue plaque commemorates the event. The other founding members were poet and critic William Michael Rossetti (Dante's brother), sculptor Thomas Wollner, and painters James Collinson and Frederic George Stephens.

As other movements influenced by Romanticism, the Pre-Raphaelites (as they were later known) were fascinated by the Middle Ages, and many of their works reflect this deep interest in that historical period and its spiritual values. This, however, came into conflict with another of the group's tenets - the realism implied in the observation and imitation of nature. The group was also involved in various controversies and scandals, and by 1853 had virtually dissolved - though the individual artists continued their activity, and others (such as Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris) enthusiastically embraced the style. The Arts and Crafts movement headed by Morris in the late 19th century can be considered a direct continuation of Pre-Raphaelite ideals.

J.M.W. Turner (who died in 1851) was never involved with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and his painting style was quite different from theirs.

The painting in the photo is the famous "Ophelia" by John Everett Millais (1851-1852), inspired by Shakespeare's "Hamlet".

Answer: St. Francis of Assisi

Known by various other names, such as "Laudes Creaturarum" ("Praise of Creatures") and Canticle of the Creatures, the Canticle of Brother Sun and Sister Moon was composed by St. Francis of Assisi, probably in late 1224, while he was recuperating from an illness. According to tradition, the canticle was sung for the first time in its entirety on the saint's deathbed, which occurred two years later, on 3 October 1226.

The canticle was originally written (as dictated by the saint, who was almost blind at the time) in the Umbrian dialect of central Italy, and is considered one of the earliest examples of literature in the Italian language. The sentiments expressed in the song - in which various elements of creation (the sun, the moon, the stars, wind, water, fire, earth, and finally death) are named "brother" or "sister", and praised for their qualities - have contributed to its fame as a sort of environmental manifesto. The use of "brother" for the sun and "sister" for the moon depends on the words' grammatical gender in Italian: "sole" (sun) is masculine, while "luna" (moon) is feminine.

The Canticle of Brother Sun and Sister Moon has inspired many composers, artists, and writers. "Brother Sun, Sister Moon" is the title of a 1972 film, directed by Franco Zeffirelli, based on the saint's life. The soundtrack to the film's English version contains a modern rendition of the Canticle by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan.

The photo shows the beautiful Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi (Umbria, Italy).

Answer: a murder

With its pervasive philosophical and theological subtext and massive page count, "The Brothers Karamazov" is not exactly an escapist beach read. Written by Fyodor Dostoevsky in 1878-1879, and published in 1880, the novel incorporates elements from some of the author's unfinished projects, as well as elements from his own life - namely, the death of epilepsy of his 3-year-old son, Alyosha. The heartbroken Dostoevsky gave to the youngest of the three titular brothers - a 20-year-old, deeply religious and compassionate young man, whom he identified as the hero of the story - the name Alyosha, a diminutive form of Alexei.

The novel's pivotal point is the brutal murder of Fyodor Karamazov, the brothers' father, a dissolute, hard-hearted man. His eldest son, Dmitri, who is also his father's rival for the affections of the beautiful, fiery Grushenka, is accused of the crime, imprisoned, and tried. In the meantime, Ivan, the middle brother, an apparently cold, atheistic intellectual, tries to solve the riddle of the murder, but slowly descends into madness, and is unable to help Dmitri during the trial. Though the final chapter contains a message of hope, the fate of some of the main characters remains unclear. One of the novel's most celebrated episodes, which encapsulates many of the author's ethical and spiritual preoccupations (in particular the conflict between faith and reason), is the "Legend of the Grand Inquisitor", narrated by Ivan to Alyosha in Book Five.

"The Brothers Karamazov" is also Dostoevsky's last work, as the author died less than four months after the novel's publication, on 9 February 1881, at the age of 59. His tomb in the Tikhvin Cemetery of the Alexander Nevski Convent, in the centre of St. Petersburg, is shown in the photo.

Answer: Victoria

As it is often the case, the name "Seven Sisters" given to a district of Tottenham, in the north London, borough of Haringey, does not refer to people: the area's name is derived from a group of seven elm trees, the "seven sisters of Tottenham", planted in a circle around a walnut tree in a plot of land known as Page Green. These trees stood opposite the junction of Seven Sisters Road - a major thoroughfare that runs through the boroughs of Islington, Hackney, and Haringey - with Tottenham High Road, where Seven Sisters station is now located.

Originally built by the Great Eastern Railway in the 1870s, the station is located on the Victoria line of the extensive London Underground network (known colloquially as "the tube"); it is also served by the London Overground and National Rail networks. Seven Sisters is the nearest station to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, opened in 2019, where the historic football club plays its home games. The Victoria line, opened in September 1968, runs from Brixton in south London to Walthamstow Central in the north-east of the city; it is named after the large railway station in the City of Westminster that was originally its southern terminus.

The photo depicts the Victoria Memorial, located outside Buckingham Palace, at the end of the Mall.

Answer: Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

Though the Ancient Egyptians and the Incas were famous for royal brother-sister marriages (adelphogamy), these unions - now almost universally illegal - were also practiced by other civilizations. Mausolus, the brother and husband of Artemisia II, was the ruler of Caria (now in southwestern Turkey), a province of the Achaemenid (or First Persian) Empire. The couple ruled together from 377 to 353 BC, then Artemisia ruled on her own for two years following her husband's death.

According to a legend that inspired various works of art, the bereaved Artemisia drank her husband's ashes mixed with wine, and eventually died of grief. The most visible manifestation of her mourning, however, was the gigantic tomb erected to commemorate her husband - which became known as "Mausoleum" after the dead ruler's name; the word later became synonymous of any monumental above-ground tomb.

Located in Halicarnassus (present-day Bodrum, in Turkey), Mausolus and Artemisia's capital, the Mausoleum was about 45 m (148 ft) in height, and decorated with sculptural reliefs by some of the greatest sculptors of the time. It was such an impressive building (as shown by the painting in the photo) that it became known as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus was also the one among the six destroyed wonders that survived the longest. It was gradually destroyed by earthquakes between the 12th and the 15th century, and many stones from the ruins were used by the Knights Hospitalier to fortify their castle at Bodrum.

As Mausolus and Artemisia had no children, some historians believe that their marriage was a purely symbolic one. On the other hand, the rulers of Egypt's Ptolemaic dynasty, albeit of Greek (Macedonian) origin, practiced sibling marriage until the end of the dynasty: the famous Cleopatra VII's first two husbands were her two brothers.

Answer: Charles II and James II

Nicknamed the Merry Monarch, Charles II (1630-1685) was the eldest son of Charles I of the House of Stuart. After spending nine years in exile following his father's execution, in 1660 he returned to England, where he finally became King of England, Scotland and Ireland. Married to Portuguese princess Catherine of Braganza, he had countless affairs with women of every extraction - from actresses like Nell Gwynn to noblewomen like Barbara Villiers, Lady Castlemaine.

Though numerous children (at least 12) were born from those liaisons, Charles II had no legitimate offspring with his wife, who suffered a number of miscarriages. When he died in February 1685, at the age of 54, his brother James became James II of England and Ireland and James VII of Scotland - only to rule for three years before being deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, which put William III of Orange and his wife, James's daughter and heir, Mary II, on the throne.

Richard I was succeeded by his brother, John; Edward VI by his half-sister, Mary I - whose successor, Elizabeth I, was also her half-sister. George V's eldest son, Edward VIII, abdicated in favour of his brother, Albert, which became king with the name of George VI.

The painting in the photo, by an anonymous 17th-century artist, depicts the two royal brothers in full regalia.