Verified Valid - the "V" Quiz

Answer: Volpino Italiano

The Volpino Italiano looks like a cross between a Pomeranian and an American Eskimo dog. The breed is found almost exclusively in Italy, and is considered rare.

The Vizsla, as anyone who has played on this site for long knows, is sometimes known as the Velcro dog. The Vizsla is short-coated, medium-sized, friendly and energetic. His coat is a rust colour. The breed originated in Hungary and may go back as far as the 10th century.

The Vucciriscu is a medium-sized, powerful dog which traditionally was used as a guard dog in Sicily. Their short coats are usually brindle, reddish brown and white. This breed's temperament makes it an excellent guard dog - it is affectionate with its family, but will quickly attack anything or anybody it perceives as a threat. It is therefore unsuitable for anyone who is not very experienced with aggressive dog breeds.

The Villano de Las Encartaciones is a Spanish breed, which, according to the translated Wikipedia entry (and I quote verbatim, I couldn't make this up!) "This dog came up when the farmers of Encartaciones selected crosses certain old mastiff, looking for a bloodhound lighter, faster, powerful prey, capable of keeping the cattle in the mountains for a long time. Estos perros nunca se han dedicado a las peleas, de hecho en sus labores originales han precisado trabajar en equipo con sus congéneres y se han desarrollado en un entorno rural y familiar. These dogs never have engaged in fights, in fact in its original tasks have required teamwork with their peers and developed in a rural setting and family." It appears to have a short dark grey or brown coat and pointed ears, and seems to be medium in size. Very little information on the breed is available.

Answer: Variscite

Variscite is hydrated aluminium phosphate, with the chemical formula Alp*2(H2O). It has been found in Germany, Utah, Nevada, Poland, Spain, Brazil and Australia. It resembles a greenish turquoise and is sometimes used as a semi-precious stone in jewelry and other ornamentation.

Vaesite is found in the Congo. Its chemical formula is NiS2, it has a hardness on the Mohs scale of 4.5-5.5 and is usually black, grey or white.

Vauxite is found in Bolivia. Its chemical formula is Fe++Al2(PO4)2(OH)2*6(H2O), it has a hardness on the Mohs scale of 3.5 and is usually either sky or dark blue.

Velikite is found in Kyrgyzstan. Its chemical formula is Cu2HgSnS4, it has a hardness on the Mohs scale of 4 and is usually grey or greenish-grey.

Answer: Philippe Verdelot

Philippe Verdelot was born about 1480 in Seina-et-Marne, France. It is believed that he went to Italy at an early age, probably first to Venice, then Florence. Some of the earliest madrigals written are those he wrote for the play "La Mandragola", on which he collaborated with Niccolo Machiavelli. He possibly died in the early 1530s, either in the Siege of Florence or of the plague, although it is possible that he lived to around 1540.

Thomas Vautor was born probably between 1570 and 1580 in England, and died possibly about 1630. Little of him is known, other than that he served Sir George Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham. He has left us 22 madrigals; all other works have disappeared.

Nicolas Vallet was born in Aisne, France, around 1583. He moved to the Netherlands as he was Protestant (definitely not a good thing to be in Catholic France), where he was a musician and owner of a school of dance. His instrument was the Renaissance lute (not to be confused with the better-known Baroque lute), and he wrote a piece, "Le Secret des Muses", for the 10-string Renaissance lute.

Ivo de Vento was probably from the Netherlands, born around 1544. He is known to have studied music in Venice, then worked in Munich. His known works include some motets and German songs. He probably died in 1575.

Answer: Viola da Gamba

The viola da gamba dates back to the second half of the 15th century, and was a major instrument in many Renaissance and Baroque works. It comes in a range of sizes, from the bass violone, which rests on the floor, to the pardessus, a high treble. It was an instrument for the better classes, and Henry VIII owned a number of them.

The violin is a major part of modern symphony orchestras. It became popular, taking the place of the viola da gamba, by the 18th century. Bowing on a violin is done in an up-and-down motion, giving the player more flexibility in accenting certain beats. The most famous violins were made by Antonio Stradivari (c1644-1737) and Nicola Amati (1596-1684).

The valiha is a sort of zither in tube shape, the national instrument of Madagascar.

The vibraharp (another name for vibraphone) is a percussion instrument looking rather like a flat piano made of aluminium slats. This differs from a xylophone in that the xylophone has wooden slats. It is played with mallets, and like a piano it has a sustain pedal to prolong sounds.

Answer: Vanuatu

Vanuatu is located in the South Pacific Ocean, made up of over 80 islands, 65 of which are inhabited. The islands are mostly volcanic in origin. In 2009 it had a population of just over 218,000 and a life expectancy of 64 years.

Venezuela sits in the north of South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea. Its economy is highly dependent on oil. Its population in 2009 was just under 27 million, and life expectancy was 73.61 years.

Vietnam is located in south-east Asia, on the South China Sea. Its major exports are crude oil, fish and seafood, rice, coffee, tea and rubber. In 2009 its population was 88.5 million, with a life expectancy of 71.71 years.

The Virgin Islands are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. They were divided between Denmark and Britain in the 17th century; the United States purchased the Danish islands in 1917. Tourism is its biggest economic sector, employing about 80% of its 110,000 (2009 estimate) citizens. Life expectancy at that time was estimated at 79 years.

Answer: Battle of Valverde

The Battle of Valverde was the first battle of the New Mexico Campaign, an attempt by the Confederate forces to take control of Fort Craig. The battle itself was a victory for the Confederates, although they failed to take the fort and instead chose to head north to resupply. Casualties were heavy, although reports greatly varied on the numbers and distribution of deaths.

The Battle of Vermillion Bayou was fought on 17 April 1863 in the Lafayette Parish of Louisiana. Major General Nathaniel Banks led the Union's victory over the Confederate Major General Richard Taylor. Banks was trying to get his troops to Alexandria, Louisiana, and Taylor was trying to keep him from his objective.

The Battle of Vaught's Hill was an accidental meeting of Union Colonel Albert Hall's reconnaissance troops with Confederate Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan's cavalry. Essentially, Hall had the top of the hill and Morgan had the hill surrounded - until word came that more Union troops were on their way, and Morgan took his troops away.

The Battle of Vicksburg was, correctly, a siege. Lasting almost a month, the siege began after an unsuccessful attempt by Union Major General Ulysses S. Grant to take the city of Vicksburg, Mississippi, from Confederate Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton. Eventually Grant prevailed, and the Union success was considered to be a turning point in the US Civil War.

Answer: Vadstena Castle

Vadstena Castle is near Stockholm in Sweden. It began as a fortress built by King Gustav Vasa in 1545, then was turned into a castle by his son Duke Magnus of Ostergotland. Between 1716 and 1899 it was used to store grain.

Valencia Castle, once known as Coyanza Castle, is in Leon, Spain. Unfortunately it is being ruined by the river which once protected it.

The Château de Villandry is in Indre-et-Loire in France. It consists of a 16th century chateau surrounding a 14th century keep and now has a famous Renaissance garden.

The Palace of Versailles is an enormous royal country home, about 20 km from Paris. It started life as a hunting lodge, and was greatly expanded from about 1661 onwards. It is best known for its Hall of Mirrors, which has 357 mirrors in it.

Answer: Jan van Eyck

Jan van Eyck was a 15th century Flemish artist. Another of his famous works is the portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his wife, full of symbolism of marriage.

Anthony van Dyck was born in 1599, a Flemish portraitist who worked for Charles I of England.

Joos van Wassenhove was probably born around the year 1410, and it is believed from his later appellation that he came from Ghent. He was possibly a student of Hubert van Eyck.

Johannes Vermeer was born in 1632, probably in Delft, and was both artist and art dealer. Some of his better known works include Girl with a Pearl Earring and The Music Lesson.

Answer: Andrew Vachss

Vachss wrote "A Bomb Built in Hell" in 1973, but it was not published until 2000, when it was put online by amazon.com. It was originally written as a PhD dissertation, written by a man who had worked for the New York City Department of Welfare who then went to war in Biafra.

Valantin wrote "Development and the Information Age: Four Global Scenarios for the Future of Information and Communication Technology" in 1997.

Vail wrote "The Creation of Tribalism in Southern Africa" in 1989.

Valencia wrote "Conflict over Natural Resources in South-East Asia and the Pacific" .

Answer: Veps

Veps is spoken by only about 5750 people (in 2002) but is still taught in some schools, has a dictionary and some school textbooks written in the language, and is even heard on radio programmes. It's primarily spoken in the St Petersburg and Vologda area of Russia.

Vute is a language of Cameroon, spoken (in the mid-1990s) by over 20,000 people.

Vasavi is spoken in parts of India, by over a million people in 2002.

Venda is heard in the north Transvaal, in South Africa. It's spoken by over 900,000 people and its use was reported in 2006 as increasing.