Zippy Zooms IV Trivia Quiz

Answer: They are all purple

Barney is a purple dinosaur, Tinky Winky is the purple Teletubby and an eggplant is a purple vegetable. Although Barney and Tinky Winky are fictional characters, an eggplant is real. Although Barney is a dinosaur the other two are not. Although Barney and Tinky Winky breathe air, an eggplant does not.

In ancient times purple was the color of royalty. Because of the expense involved in making purple dye, only the rich could afford it. It is even mentioned in the Old Testament as early as the book of Exodus.

This question was entered into the quiz with purple ink by Phoenix Rising member tazman6619. I know the site can't depict this fact, but trust me that's what I did.

Answer: The Far Side

Gary Larson, the creator of "The Far Side" comic strip, took clever humor to another level. Although his strips often depicted taboo subjects, they were presented in a way that minimized offense to his readers. Larson's work had no main characters or continuity from one panel to the next. He often used animals as his characters to often poke fun at humans from an external perspective. His comic ran for fifteen years from 1980 to 1995, and his collector's editions have sold millions of copies making the cartoon one of the most successful in history.

This question was provided by BigTriviaDawg of the Phoenix Risings' School For the Gifted who learned to pull instead of push. It's the little victories in life!

Answer: Roaring lion

The Bible references lions numerous times - sometimes as the devil as above, and sometimes as the powerful rescuer.

In 2 Timothy 4:17, the Bible speaks of the Lord strengthening his people and rescuing them from the lion's mouth. The Psalmist in chapter 37 begs to be rescued from the lions. The book of Daniel relates the well-known story of the Lord rescuing Daniel from the lion's den. Again in Psalms (54:7), David says "My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down amid fiery beasts".

The image of a lion is also used in prophecy; the first of the four beasts of Daniel 7:4 was like a lion and had eagles' wings. In Revelation 9:8, we are told of locusts who are given certain powers, and had "hair like women's hair, and ... teeth like lions' teeth". Revelation 5:5 gives a powerful image of the victorious Saviour as a lion: "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals."

Phoenix Rising member VegemiteKid prowled around to find the right slot for this question.

Answer: Arthur Conan Doyle

Author Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (1859-1930) hailed from Edinburgh, although much of his early life was spent in Lancashire and in Austria for school. He returned to Edinburgh for medical school, eventually earning his Doctor of Medicine degree in 1885. It was during this 10-year period at university that Doyle published his first story, entitled "The Mystery of Sasassa Valley."

Throughout his life, Doyle was an avid sportsman, playing at amateur and semi-professional levels in many sports and activities, including boxing, football, cricket, golf, marksmanship, skiing, and even billiards. But his interests were more diverse than that, as he also ran for political office, was a freemason, advocated for issues of justice, and had a strong belief in spiritualism.

Of course, Doyle was most famous for creating the consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes (and supporting cast), as well as the intrepid explorer Professor Challenger and the Napoleonic soldier Brigadier Gerard. A prolific author, Doyle published more than 200 short stories and articles, 22 novels (and 10 other non-fiction books), 14 stage plays and four volumes of poetry, plus a number of works on spiritualism.

The mystery of what topic to write about for this quiz was easily deduced by Phoenix Rising author reedy, who thoroughly enjoyed reading Sherlock Holmes as a youngster.

Answer: Adele

Adele, or her birth name, Adele Laurie Blue Adkins, was born in 1988 in London, England. Her debut album, "19", was released in 2008. Her famous hits include "Rolling in the Deep" (2011) and "Hello" (2015). She was the recipient of the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2009. Of the three wrong options, Shakira is a Colombian singer, Pink is an American singer, and Enya is an Irish singer.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising team member Matthew_07, who loves both numbers and Adele's songs.

Answer: Sandro Botticelli

The "Adoration of the Magi" held by the Uffizi Gallery in Florence since 1796 was commissioned by Gaspare di Zanobi del Lama, a Florentine money-changer, to the young Sandro Botticelli, who had already built a reputation for himself as a painter. The painting was intended for Gaspare di Zanobi's funerary chapel in the Dominican church of Santa Maria Novella, where it remained for about 100 years.

The painting, set in a landscape dotted with ancient ruins, is remarkable for its vivid shades of red and blue, and for the inclusion of portraits of various members of the Medici family (whose protégé Botticelli was at the time) - though critics disagree on which members are actually included. In addition, the young man in a dark gold robe standing on the far right of the scene is widely believed to be a self-portrait of the artist. Gaspare di Zanobi (whose name means "Caspar" in Italian - a possible reason for Botticelli's choice of subject) also appears in the group of figures to the right, portrayed as an older man with grey hair in a light blue robe, turning his gaze towards the viewer.

Botticelli painted various versions of the "Adoration of the Magi" throughout his career. One of them, also created in the 1470s, is part of the collection of London's National Gallery, while another is held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

Filippo Lippi was already dead in 1475, while Michelangelo was born in that year, and Tiziano Vecellio (Titian) in 1476.

This question was sketched and coloured by Phoenix Rising's LadyNym.

Answer: Australia and Indonesia

The Arafura Sea is bordered by the Gulf of Carpentaria and the land mass of northeastern Australia to the south; the Timor Sea to the west; the Indonesian Banda and Seram Seas to the northwest; Papua (Indonesia) and the western part of Papua New Guinea to the north; and the Torres Strait to the east. The sea reaches westward to the Northern Territory but not as far west as Darwin which is on the Timor Sea. This Sea is 1,290 kilometres (800 mi) long and 560 kilometres (350 mi) wide. The depth of the sea is shallow, forming the Arafura Shelf which during the last ice age that ended about 11,700 years ago, formed a massive land bridge between Australia and the island of New Guinea.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising team member 1nn1 who can confirm from many swims in the Arafura Sea that it is deep enough to make the former land bridge undetectable by human feet.

Answer: Lewis's woodpecker

The Lewis's woodpecker is named for Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark expedition. He collected the skins of birds along the way, and the ornithologist Alexander Wilson (for whom Wilson's warbler, one of the incorrect choices, was named) opted to honor Lewis in the bird's common name. It is an unusual woodpecker, fairly large and quite colorful. The back is green, there is a silvery gray collar, a red face and the belly is salmon pink. It sits out in the open, and often flies out from its perch to snag insects in the air. It ranges through much of the American west and up in to British Columbia.

Phoenix Rising player pusdoc flew this question into the quiz shortly after seeing a Lewis's woodpecker for the first time.

Answer: James Earl Ray

James Earl Ray took the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on 4 April 1968. In June 1977, he famously escaped from Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in heavily wooded eastern Tennessee. Ray remained at large for 54 hours covering about 8-12 miles (13-19 km) on foot. Upon learning about Ray's escape, local distance runner Gary "Laz" Cantrell thought that he could cover 100 miles over the same span, and so the Barkley Marathon was born.

While the first few years since the 1986 inaugural race were about half the distance, the Barkley has since morphed into a punishing 100 mile (161 km) looped ultramarathon featuring over 67,000 feet (20,000 m) of elevation. Located in Frozen Head State Park, it is an unforgiving course offering little to no assistance and designed so that racers fail. Open to 40 competitors a year, it is not unusual for the race to end with no finishers by the 60-hour cutoff.

None of the other assassins were alive to escape in 1977. Booth was killed on 26 April 1865, just 11 days after dispatching President Abraham Lincoln. Czolgosz was executed in the electric chair on 29 October 1901, less than two months after assassinating President William McKinley. Oswald was murdered by Jack Ruby on 24 November 1963, the day after taking the life of President John F. Kennedy.

Phoenix Rising member JCSon has completed several ultra-marathons, but none quite so wild and positively terrifying as the Barkley.

Answer: Mutton

A stew that is traditionally native to Ireland, both south and north. The meat used is commonly mutton or lamb, as sheep were widely available due to the wool trade. Lamb is more available now than mutton, which has fallen out of favour as it is from an older sheep and therefore requires more cooking. In common with national dishes everywhere, the recipe for the stew obviously has many hotly contested variations. Potatoes and onions are a must, but the addition of carrots, celery and other root vegetables or pearl barley are likely to start an argument. The meat and vegetables are stewed in stock and often flavoured with parsley. It would have originally been made over an open fire, but times change and a modern hob is now perfectly acceptable.

Phoenix Rising's smpdit eyes some lamb and potatoes hungrily as she plans her next meal.