Zippy Zooms IX Trivia Quiz

Answer: 18

The easiest way to solve this problem is to draw a Venn diagram. Draw two non-overlapping circles labelled Boys and Girls respectively. Draw a third circle that overlaps both the boys' circle and the girls' circle labelled White Shirts. Assuming that all children in the class identify as boy or girl, we know that, of the 12 girls in the class, five girls wear white shirts, therefore four boys must also wear white shirts. We also know two boys do not wear a white shirt ("Two of the kids are neither girls nor wear a white shirt."). Therefore there must be six boys in the class, and adding the 12 girls there must be 18 children in the class.

Cross-checking we have 12 girls, five of which wear white shirts. We also have six boys, four wearing white shirts.
Total number of white shirts: 5+4=9. (Tick)
Total number of children: 12 girls + 6 boys = 18 (Tick)

Question calculated by Phoenix Rising Team Member 1nn1, whose fondness for Venn diagrams is only superseded by his fondness for spreadsheets.

Answer: Seoul

The capital of South Korea, Seoul is located in the northwest of the country, on the Han River. Founded in 18 BC with the name of Wiryeseong, in 1394 it became the capital of the Joseon dynasty; part of the massive city wall built at that time still stands today. After various name changes, the city was officially named Seoul at the end of WWII. Modern Seoul is a large, bustling metropolis, home to over nine million people. The Seoul Capital Area, which also includes the city of Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, is one of the world's largest metropolitan areas, with a population of over 26 million.

Tokyo, the capital of Japan, is located on the island of Honshu, the largest in the Japanese archipelago. Its urban area is home to almost 40 million people. The urban area of Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, is only slightly smaller than Tokyo's, with a population of about 34 million. The city is located on the island of Java, the world's most populous island. Manila, the capital of the Philippines, is home to over 26 million people in its urban area. It is located on the island of Luzon, the largest and most populous in the Philippines archipelago.

LadyNym of the Phoenix Rising team thinks this question is truly a capital idea.

Answer: red

The Samsui women originated from the Sanshui (Cantonese: "samsui") district in Guangdong province, China. They came to Malaya and Singapore in the 1930s for work during a time when the British imposed a quota on male immigrants. The women found employment mainly in the construction industry, but they also worked in the mining, agricultural and domestic service sectors.

The archetypal Samsui woman working in the construction industry dressed in dark blue tunic and trousers that showed stains less easily. A red headdress folded from starched cloth into the shape of a rectangle completed the ensemble. The headdress kept dirt out of hair, and held small items such as cigarettes, matches and money. The red colour improved conspicuousness and reduced accidents at the worksite. The characteristic headgear of the Samsui women earned them the moniker "hong tou jin", which meant "red headscarf".

The Samsui women did backbreaking labour, carrying heavy loads of construction material in baskets hung from a pole across their shoulders, for less than a dollar's wage a day. The bulk of their earnings were remitted to their families in China. Many of them continued working until a time when modern machinery replaced human labour. In Singapore, the Samsui women are a cultural icon valued and appreciated for their contributions in building many of the fledgling nation's infrastructure.

This question was capped by Phoenix Rising team member purelyqing.

Answer: Barbie

Both "Barbie" (2023) and "Oppenheimer" (2023) were simultaneously released in theaters on 21 July 2023 in the USA. The former is a light-hearted fantasy comedy, whereas the latter is a biographical thriller that covers heavier subject matters such as the atomic bomb and WWII. The stark contrast in genres between the two films sparked an internet phenomenon referred to as Barbenheimer, which is a portmanteau (blend word) of the two titles.

The Barbie doll was created by American businesswoman Ruth Handler (1916 - 2022). In "Barbie", Margot Robbie plays the role of Stereotypical Barbie, whereas Ryan Gosling plays the role of Beach Ken.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising's movie enthusiast Matthew_07, who watched "Oppenheimer" before "Barbie".

Answer: nothing - it's a made-up word

Pompatus is a made-up word. While many may be familiar with the hit song, "The Joker," Steve Miller's first use of the word pompatus was in his song "Enter Maurice" from an earlier album. The lyrics from this first song are, "My dearest darling, come closer to Maurice so I can whisper sweet words of epismetology in your ear and speak to you of the pompatus of love." Epismetology is also a made-up word by Miller.

According to a Miller interview on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," the origin of the line is probably a misheard line from Vernon Green's song "The Letter." In Green's song, he has the line, "Oh my darling, let me whisper sweet words of pizmotality and discuss the puppetutes of love." So this line sounds very similar to Miller's line in "Enter Maurice." You might be wondering what pizmotality and puppetutes mean, but again we have two made-up words! According to Green, pizmotality means something so secret a person would only share it with their true lover, and puppetutes has something to do with a paper doll fantasy meant to bear the singer's children... Yeah, Okay! Raise your hand if you are even more confused now than when we started!

This Phoenix Rising question was coined by the space-cowboy, love-gangster BigTriviaDawg, who has made an art form out of mishearing lyrics! "There's a bathroom on the right!" or maybe, "Sweet dreams are made of cheese."

Answer: Yes, the surface is fine and powdery

When Neil Armstrong first exited the lunar module on the historic Apollo 11 mission, he described his impression of the Moon's surface as very fine, like a powder. After stepping onto the Moon's surface and uttering his famous statement, he confirmed the texture of the moon's dust.

The other listed statements were also said by Armstrong during the early stages of the moon walk.

Leith90 of the Phoenix Rising team was inspired to write this question after seeing the super blue moon.

Answer: Joab

Although the Bible is scarce on the details of the capture of Jerusalem, the details that it does give tells us plenty about the formidable task that faced David and his men. II Samuel 5 tells the story of the defenders of the city mocking David, thinking their city was impregnable. But there was a weakness in the defenses that was exploited by Joab and his men that led to the fall of the city.

One of the most critical elements to an ancient city's ability to withstand a siege was a safe water supply. Apparently, Jerusalem's water supply came from outside of the city, with tunnels bringing the water in. For whatever reason, the city's inhabitants did not consider this to be a problem, but
Scripture tells us this is what Joab exploited to gain entrance into the city, and thereby allow David's army entrance into the city. The fact that David offered the command of his army as a reward for whoever undertook this mission demonstrates just how risky he considered the mission. One can safely assume it was considered almost a suicide mission, but Joab succeeded, and the city fell.

This question was cunningly entered into the quiz by Phoenix Risings' tazman6619, who marvels at how much can be deduced from so few words.

Answer: the extremely strong carbon-fluorine single bond

PFAS compounds are found in many diverse locations in the world around us, ranging from the coatings on non-stick cookware, food containers, waterproof clothing, as well as in firefighting chemicals and shampoos plus many others. One attractive feature of these compounds is that they are very resistant to breakdown and removal - they stay in place "forever" (well, at least for long periods!). The main feature shared by this diverse suite of chemical compounds is the extremely strong carbon-fluorine single chemical bond. These bonds are very hard to break down, and are very rare in nature. There is a strong imperative for ongoing research into methods to decompose PFAS compounds including new catalysts and specialized bacterial communities.

As for the other answer options, PFAS compounds have a backbone of Carbon-Fluorine bonds but contain end groups that can assist in water solubility (typically acidic groups such as sulfonates), or long alkyl chains that imbue water insolubility. The end groups of the PFAS compounds are tailored for the intended usage of the specific compound.

This question was bonded into the quiz by one of Phoenix Rising's research scientists, MikeMaster99, who continues to investigate the impacts of PFAS and other organic chemicals (including pharmaceuticals) on our water resources.

Answer: I Dream of Jeannie

Djinn Djinn was Jeannie's dog before she found herself trapped inside the bottle. He makes an appearance in six episodes of season three (1967-68). He's a long lived little dog, as Jeannie advises that 2,000 years ago some guards were mean to him. Consequently, he has a strong dislike for men in uniform. As a consequence, he takes a dislike to Tony and Dr. Bellows, turns invisible and terrorizes them - as well causing all forms of havoc at NASA.

"I Dream of Jeannie" starred Barbara Eden as Jeannie and Larry Hagman as Captain/Major Tony Nelson. The series ran for five seasons from 1965 to 1970.

This question appeared from Phoenix Rising's pollucci19 who once asked a genie to make him happy... He now lives in a cottage with six other dwarfs and works in a mine.

Answer: Arizona

On August 8, 2023, Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni (Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon) became the 19th national monument in the state of Arizona. Interestingly, the state's first national monument, Montezuma Castle, was established on December 8, 1906, more than five years before Arizona was admitted to the Union as the nation's 48th state on February 14, 1912. The western states of the USA account for the majority of the 133 national monuments in the country: surprisingly 18 of the 50 states do not have any national monuments.

This monumental question was established into the quiz by Phoenix Rising teammate Triviaballer, who loves to visit areas in the National Park System.