Zippy Zooms I Trivia Quiz

Answer: Eli and Peyton Manning

All the answers are quarterbacking brothers who have played professional football. Head coach for the American Football Conference (AFC) was Peyton Manning, quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts (1998-2011) and the Denver Broncos (2012-2015). Eli Manning was head coach for the National Football Conference (NFC) and his playing experience is with the New York Giants (2004-present).

The 2023 Pro Bowl Games were for the 2022 football season. Previously, this had taken the form of an actual tackle match between AFC and NFC teams. Instead, skills competitions and non-contact 7-on-7 flag football games were held, with points allocated for each event. The overall result saw the NFC players take the win 35-33.

Stepping back into the pocket, Phoenix Rising's psnz passed this question into the quiz.

Answer: Gravity moves at the speed of light

Albert Einstein correctly predicted that gravity moves at the speed of light. As a result of natural phenomena such as the merging of black holes and the collisions of dying stars, gravitational waves are created. When these waves travel through matter, the object's dimensions warp by an exceedingly small amount. However, even when attempting to detect waves produced by massive objects, it requires a monumental effort. One such facility to detect them is LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory), which fires lasers down its 4 km long tubes just to detect differences in length smaller than an atom.

About 140 million light-years away (and subsequently 140 million years ago) two orbiting neutron stars collided in the Hydra constellation. On Earth, we finally noticed this collision in 2017 when gravitational wave observatories picked up the reading. However, even more exciting, gamma rays, which also travel at light speed, were detected by global telescopes 1.7 seconds later. The difference in time is due to the gravitational waves being emitted slightly before the gamma rays. So, Einstein's prediction appears to be proven true almost 100 years after he first conceived of it. Now just imagine what Einstein could do with today's technology...

This question was written by Phoenix Rising's BigTriviaDawg who can't get enough of Dr. Don Lincoln's brilliant Fermilab videos, or Einstein for that matter, being the inspiration for this question.

Answer: The Canterbury Tales

"The Knight's Tale" is the first of the stories to appear in Geoffrey Chaucer's epic "The Canterbury Tales" (1387-1400). Our protagonist is initially introduced in the prologue and is described as a "person of highest social standing amongst the pilgrims". We are told that he has participated in 15 crusades. The general consensus about Sir Knight is that he is a chivalrous person, though there are some that will contest that he represents a mercenary figure.

The tale tells of two cousins, Arcite and Palamon, who are captured by Theseus. Both cousins then fall in love with Emelye. Emelye happens to be the sister of Hippolyta who, in turn, is both the Queen of the Amazons and the wife of Theseus. The pair are entered into a jousting tournament with the victor to have the hand of Emelye. Arcite wins the joust but, in the process, is thrown from his horse and dies from his injuries. This then opens the door for Palamon to marry Emelye.

Footnote: The Heath Ledger film is called "A Knight's Tale".

The ever chivalrous pollucci19 presented this question on behalf of Phoenix Rising.

Answer: Yes, but not initially

Ferdinand Marcos was elected as the 10th President of the Philippines in 1965, and was seen initially as a charismatic leader by his people, which in part led to his re-election in 1969, when he became the first Filipino president to be elected to a second term. Marcos declared martial law in September 23, 1972 after bombings in Manila, which instituted a one-man rule, effectively making him a dictator until his eventual deposition and exile from the country in 1986.

Throughout his dictatorship, Marcos was able to to accrue several billions of US dollars in wealth through various illicit means and cronyism. His wife, Imelda, made headlines for her luxuriant shopping sprees, which cultivated in owning more than 1,000 pairs of shoes, which were funded from her husband's illegitimate means. Musician Mark Knopfler's 1996 album "Golden Heart" features a song called "Imelda" that is about the situation.

In 1985, various allegations, which included human rights violations and election fraud by the People Power Revolution, forced Marcos to flee to Hawaii, where he would die in 1989. His body was initially refused by the Philippine government, and he was buried in Oahu, Hawaii. In 1993, Philippines president Fidel Ramos allowed Marcos' body to be returned to the country and he was buried on his home soil, but this negated the original promise of any money being returned from the Marcos estate.

This question was asked by Cardsfan_027 because he was just dying to ask a question for this quiz.

Answer: Merdeka 118

Once completed, the Merdeka 118 at 678.9 m (2,227 ft) was listed as the world's second-tallest structure, eclipsing the Tokyo Skytree at 634 m (2,080 ft), and the Shanghai Tower at 632 m (2,073 ft), but still shorter than the Burj Khalifa at 828 m (2,717 ft), which was the tallest building in the world in 2023.

In 2019, the Exchange 106, 453.6 m (1,488 ft) was completed being 1.7 m taller than the Petronas Towers. However, the Merdeka is half as tall again thanks mainly to a 160 m (520 ft) spire.

This question was dropped into the quiz from a great height by Phoenix Rising team member 1nn1.

Answer: The Last of Us

"The Last of Us" was released on HBO and it is based on a video game of the same name from 2013. Ellie is a main character in the show and she is immune to a Cordyceps fungus that has mutated and killed most of humanity. A man named Joel ends up being a father figure to Ellie and he takes her on a journey west in the hopes that Ellie can be used to develop a vaccine for humanity.

This spore of a question was infected into this quiz by Phoenix Rising team member Triviaballer who always looks for trail shrooms while hiking.

Answer: Candlemas

Officially known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ, the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or the Feast of the Holy Encounter, Candlemas is based on the account in the Gospel of Luke (2:22-38). According to Jewish law, as stated in the book of Leviticus, a woman was required to stay at home for 40 days after the birth of a male child; on the 40th day, a sacrifice needed to be offered to complete her purification. Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem, where they presented the child to the Lord, and offered a pair of turtledoves as a sacrifice. In the Temple, they met Simeon, a righteous and devout man, and the elderly widow Anna, both of whom uttered prophetic words about Jesus and his mission.

One of the oldest feasts in the Church, Candlemas is celebrated by many Christian denominations. Traditionally, the faithful take their candles (which symbolize Jesus Christ, the Light of the World) to their local church to be blessed before they are used for the rest of the year - hence the feast's name. In many Christian (especially Roman Catholic) countries, Candlemas marks the end of the Christmas season, when Nativity scenes and other Christmas decorations are put away.

The Epiphany (the visit of the Magi) is celebrated on 6 January, and the Visitation (the visit of the Virgin Mary to her cousin Elizabeth) on 31 May. Pentecost (the descent of the Holy Spirit) is celebrated on the 50th day after Easter Sunday.

Phoenix Rising's Ladynym burned the candle at both ends to present this question to you.

Answer: Romans

The active ingredient in urine is ammonia, which is used for removing stains, and the ancient Romans apparently liked to have white teeth. They not only used human urine, but animal urine too. They also used it for removing stains from clothes, agriculture (with a healthy dose of faeces added) and in hide tanning. Additionally, it was used as a medicinal aid, applied to a range of ailments from nappy rash, to burns and scorpion stings.

Phoenix Rising's leith90 brushed up on her Roman history for this question, then reached for the mint toothpaste and a jumbo-sized bottle of mouthwash.

Answer: Jack Haley

Jack Haley was a vaudeville song-and-dance comedian before he became an actor in movies. Originally, Ray Bolger had been cast to play the Tin Man but the role he really wanted was to play the Scarecrow. Buddy Ebsen had been the original Scarecrow because of his extensive experience as a dancer but he did not object when Bolger talked the producers into giving him the role. Ebsen switched to the Tin Man but had a severe allergic reaction to the aluminum makeup that made it impossible for him to continue. Haley came in to replace Ebsen but Ebsen's singing with the group was still used and can be heard in the group songs. Only "If I Only Had a Heart" and "If I Only Had the Nerve" were rerecorded by Haley.

Interestingly, Haley had worked with Judy Garland on the film in which she made her debut, "Pigskin Parade", in 1936. Although Haley acted in many more roles, the Tin Man was the role for which he was most known.

This question was twisted into the quiz by Phoenix Rising's tazman6619.

Answer: Ferdinand

Born Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe, "Jelly Roll" took his stepfather's last name (Mouton) in the anglicized version of Morton. He published "Jelly Roll Blues" in 1915; of note, he was the first to arrange and score jazz music, a feat not to be taken lightly considering the improvisational nature of the genre. The term "jelly roll" does not refer to a dessert item but rather is a slang term for female anatomy, likely added to his vocabulary when he worked playing piano in a New Orleans brothel as a teenager. He led a colorful life; in addition to playing and publishing his music, he toured in vaudeville, managed a bar, and unfortunately suffered a brutal stabbing that affected his health. He died in 1941; his age was uncertain but he was likely under 50 years of age.

Footnote: "Take Me Out", used as a hint in the question, was the second single released by UK band Franz Ferdinand

Player pusdoc boogie woogied this question into the quiz