We Did All This for a Cup? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Leyden jar

Lord Flagon is a man of haste and expedience and upon his request that his lady receive her cup we were to waste no time. "From the cupboard," he suggested, but alas, that was not to be. Instead, we would venture forth into the kingdom and claim Lady Demitas' Golden Goblet, a glass of which legends speak!

Our journey brought us to the town of Leyden in The Netherlands, an area an unfathomable distance from the welcoming pastures of Cupola; we followed the windmills here-- on the horizon they appeared as giants over the land. We realized "this MUST be where the goblet is hidden; giants are protecting it!" Upon closer inspection we felt foolish, but we did find a connection to our great kingdom.

You see, the city of Leyden in The Netherlands shares its name with the Leyden jar, a glass container used in physics to store an electrical charge between two conductive sources. While one would never drink from a Leyden jar, it is quite important to the study of electricity and static charge. Leyden, the city, was once home to Albert Einstein and the creator of the Leyden jar, Pieter van Musschenbroek. Leyden is found on the Rhone River.

While I can't speak for the other choices, the Mazagran is a cup named after a town in Algeria. Winchester is also a town in England.

Answer: Straw basket

I was not thrilled with this traveler's rather lighthearted pun--she clearly did not understand the gravity of this search and obviously would be of no help in our cause. We would have to continue onwards, blindly, to get our hands on the lady's Golden Goblet. And at any costs, of course.

We most certainly would not be in a fiasco. We would never fit! A fiasco is an Italian creation involving a large glass bottle of any shape with a fitted straw basket base which not only protects the bottle, but allows it to stand. A person who weaves these baskets and creates these bottles is also known as a fiascaio. I decided I would not gratify the traveler with a response to her pun. After all, the term 'fiasco' also refers to complete and utter failure.

Answer: Flute

The champagne flute is a tall and narrow, stemmed wine glass typically used to (what else?) serve champagne. The slender bowl of the glass is long rather than wide in order to preserve the bubbles of the bubbly (so to speak). The same can be said for other types of sparkling wine; the champagne flute really works either way.

Of course, you can forgive me for the mistake, right? It's only natural to confuse this minstrel's musical flute for a champagne flute. Then again, a regular flute is a woodwind instrument which emits noise when blown into correctly. I'm sure you could blow into a champagne flute, but you'd spill your drink everywhere and be asked to leave the festivities without fuss.

But alas! No help here either. As soon as we asked the minstrel about the Golden Goblet he wandered off without a word. Ah well, such is the way of the vagabond.

Answer: E-cup

Although we insisted that a lady should be assisted whenever possible by chivalrous Cupolans such as ourselves, she attacked us with a broom, shooing us away from her clothes and threatening to call for help. Who knew that rural folk could be so unfriendly?

In terms of brassiere sizes in the US, the DDD-cup is also known as an E-cup; the two sizes are interchangeable. The UK avoids using the triple-D, however. A 32DDD in the US would be a 32F in the UK. Of course there's more to worry about than cup sizes--bras are also identified by band size which is calculated in inches in the US and centimeters in other countries.

Although brassiere cups were not really integral to our quest, the notion of cups of any kind could have lead us to a hint about the Golden Goblet of Lady Demitas. It was worth the chance.

Answer: Glass

Now you see, these gypsies were just silly people! Everyone--at least everyone in the Kingdom of Cupola--knows that tumblers are glasses with flat bottoms. Plain and simple. When we came across these self-proclaimed tumblers and they started rolling on the ground, I feared they would chip, break, and shatter to pieces but alas, they were simply liars.

I refused any words of advice from them. If they were going to deal in untruths, I would not have any of it. Tumblers, as one should know, can be any glass drinkware as long as its bottom is flat (ie. it does not have a stem). Shotglasses are tumblers; highball glasses are tumblers; juice glasses are tumblers. These gypsies didn't quite fit the bill. Our quest would need to continue on without a clue.

Answer: Frederick Stanley

Mr. Stanley was certainly an amicable fellow and he was most welcoming however his mind kept drifting to the sport of ice hockey, a pastime he and his family were quite fond of when he was the Governor General of Canada. He spoke of donating a certain cup named after himself to the official leagues of Canada, but claimed to know nothing about the Golden Goblet of Lady Demitas.

Albert Grey, who was the fourth Earl Grey, was the ninth Governor General of Canada and his name is often attributed to the Grey Cup, awarded to the annual champions of the Canadian Football League. Vince Lombardi is associated with the same type of cup in the NFL; this cup is awarded to the winners of the Superbowl. He was a head coach and manager for several different teams in the league. The Davis Cup is a tennis trophy which originated at Harvard; Dwight F. Davis created it and he was a Secretary of War in the U.S. during the presidency of Coolidge.

Suffice to say, none of these were the right cups. We were forced to return to our search empty-handed.

Answer: Teacups

Alas! A fool was I! The spinning teacups were no more than mere parlor tricks crafted by a man named Walt Disney for a non-moving festival! Apparently, millions from far and wide have traveled to a sunny leisure-spot to hop into these gliding contraptions.

The Mad Tea Party is a spinning teacup ride found at Walt Disney World in Florida. One of the more famous amusement park rides found in the Magic Kingdom, it's been in operation there since 1955. This ride is based on the familiar tea party from Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" featuring the Mad Hatter and the Dormouse. This book was made into an animated Disney film in 1951.

This episode behind me, I vowed never to fall into fantasy again. Instead, I would be clear-thinking and set on finding the Golden Goblet. After all, Lady Demitas was waiting and we could not her ladyship go thirsty.

Answer: The Holy Grail

What a cantankerous, old coot! After being cast into the Gorge of Eternal Peril (according to local legends) he was crazy enough to continue badgering travelers with inane questions. What a loon!

Of course, many know the story of King Arthur's quest for the Holy Grail. The man from scene 24 is a peculiar character found in the 1975 film "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" in which King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table search for the elusive, holy grail on a quest from God himself. The man from scene 24 is played by Terry Gilliam. In the end of the film, King Arthur and Sir Bedevere locate the grail at the Castle Aaaaarrrrrrggghhh, but find that it's already claimed by the French. Before they can attack in a full-scale battle, they're hauled off by the police.

But once again we were diverted from our one true quest: to find the Golden Goblet. That poor, dear Lady Demitas. She must have been horribly parched by that point in time. The quest needed to continue on!

Answer: Goblet of Fire

Once again, the wrong drinkware was at our fingertips! This time we were so close, too; it was a goblet! After this tragic discovery we were ushered to our rooms in a tall tower overlooking a placid lake. It's odd--I'd never ridden on a moving staircase before that night.

Butterbeer is a drink served in the "Harry Potter" book and film series (in a large, glass mug, no less!). The 'Goblet of Fire' happened to be a major setpiece in the fourth book/film (aptly titled "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"). This goblet was used to select the participants of the Triwizard Tournament; Fleur Delacour, Cedric Diggory, Viktor Krum, and Harry Potter were all selected though Harry's name was rigged to appear by Lord Voldemort's servants.

The following day, we received a letter from the Kingdom of Cupola. We were to return at once!

Answer: Cup of Joe

A cup of joe, which the Lord would never allow in his castle, would refer to a cup of coffee; joe, like java and cuppa, is simply a slang term. All of the other selections offered to us were teas though. Earl Grey tea has a certain citrus element when brewed while Orange Pekoe tea is a black tea (not made with oranges). Oolong is also a Chinese tea; it contains specific leaves but can be served in a number of distinct varieties.

Lord Flagon sat us down and shocked us with his very words. The Golden Goblet was in the cupboard all along--we merely neglected to check all of the shelves! Shortly after we departed on our journey beyond the reaches of the Kingdom of Cupola, it was found by Lord Flagon himself and Lady Demitas was served her beverage.

O praise the Heavens for guiding us home safely and for giving us the valor and wisdom to complete our quest! Hear hear!