Zippy Zooms V Trivia Quiz

Answer: Malaria

A mosquito-borne infectious disease, malaria gets its name from the once-common misconception that it was caused by the "bad air" ("mala aria" in Medieval Italian) of swamps and marshland. Now we know that the connection with swamps is due to stagnant water being an ideal breeding ground for the Anopheles mosquito, which carries the single-celled organism (Plasmodium) responsible for the disease.

Though Plasmodium has been around for over 50,000 years, it was only identified as the cause of malaria in the late 19th century by three Italian scientists, Ettore Marchiafava, Camillo Golgi, and Angelo Celli. In 1897, British Army surgeon Sir Ronald Ross proved that malaria was transmitted by mosquitoes, and was awarded the 1902 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his research into the disease. The work of these scientists was essential during the construction of the Panama Canal in the early years of the 20th century, as their research led to the implementation of public health measures that saved thousands of workers' lives.

The name of "Roman fever" by which malaria was known in ancient times was due to the prevalence of the disease in the area around the city of Rome - which some historians believe to have been one of the causes of the fall of the Roman Empire. Once endemic in most of Europe and North America, malaria has been successfully eradicated from those regions, but is still widespread in many tropical and subtropical areas of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. In those parts of the world, the disease is responsible for the death or disability of millions of people, as well as being a major hindrance to economic development.

LadyNym of the Phoenix Rising team worked feverishly to complete this question.

Answer: Iron

The chemical symbol of iron is Fe (ferrum in Latin). At 32.1%, iron is the Earth's most common element by mass, followed by oxygen (30.1%) and silicon (15.1%).

Margaret Thatcher (1925 - 2013) served as the UK's prime minister from 1979 to 1990. Her decisive leadership style has earned her the nickname "the Iron Lady".

Robert Downey Jr. (born 1965) portrayed the role of Tony Stark in "Iron Man" (2008), a superhero movie produced by Marvel Studios. Downey Jr. returned as Iron Man in "Iron Man 2" (2010) and "Iron Man 3" (2013).

This question was scripted by Phoenix Rising team member Matthew_07.

Answer: R. Dean Taylor

R. Dean Taylor was a Canadian who was inspired to write this song after watching the movie "Bonnie and Clyde" (1967). It tells the story of a man on the run after the police in Indiana want him for the suspected murder of a man who insulted his partner. The song features the sound of sirens at the beginning, middle and end (though some versions did not have the sound effects). The hail of bullets as the track closes suggests the narrator was surrounded, did not give himself up and died in the volley of gunfire. It was a Top 5 Billboard Hot 100 hit for the Canadian and was the only time he had an American hit.

This song has been a favourite of the author for fifty years when the author of this question, written by Phoenix Rising team member 1nn1, ventured into Indiana for the first time. In a case of life imitating life, the author was pulled over by an Indiana State Trooper but lived to tell the tale.

Answer: They were David's nephews and sons of one of his sisters.

Zeruiah was one of David's two named sisters in the Old Testament, the other being Abigail. The fact that the three men were called sons of Zeruiah is of significance because most times men were named after their fathers not their mothers. There are several theories as to why they were so named. It could be their father died young and they were raised by their mother. It could be she was a woman of high standing in her own right. Or it could be because of her relationship with David.

David had no younger brothers; he was the youngest. The sons of thunder in the Bible were in the New Testament and were James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Although Joab, Asahel, and Abishai were very violent men they were completely dedicated to David and fought by his side from the beginning and through Absalom's rebellion. David found them to be hard men, but one wonders if his reign would have been as successful as it was without men like this who were willing to do the dirty work.

This question was entered into the quiz by Phoenix Risings tazman6619 who has always admired men willing to do what needed to be done.

Answer: Mr. Potato Head

The first commercial television was made in 1928, but it wasn't until 1952 that a toy was advertised. A ten-second clip, aimed directly at children, showed a boy playing with a Mr. Potato Head toy. It proved the power of advertising, as Mr. Potato Head became the best-selling toy of 1952, selling over one million units.

The toy was invented in the 1940s by George Lerner, who got idea from his wife's nephew, who would attach various fruits and vegetables to a potato to create dolls. Hasbro marketed the toy in the 1950s as a box of facial features to be attached to a real potato (not included). In the 1960s, government regulations changed and such sharp edges on toys were no longer allowed. This meant that the sharp spikes were blunted, leaving them unable to puncture a potato. The small add-ons were also too small, as a number of children were reported to have choked on them. Within a couple of years, a plastic 'potato' body was included, and the Mr. Potato Head as we know it today was born.

Phoenix Rising's leith90, who unfortunately never had a Mr. Potato Head toy during her childhood, stuck this question into the body of this quiz.

Answer: Phillies (vs. the Kansas City Royals)

The Philadelphia Phillies' 1980 season was the franchise's 98th in the National League, and they finished atop the NL East with 91 wins and 71 losses. After making it past the Houston Astros in the NLCS, they went on to face the Kansas City Royals in the World Series 4 games to 2 (winning it all on Oct. 21st).

Earlier that season, the city's NBA team (the 76ers) lost the NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games, ending their season on May 16th. A week later their NHL franchise Philadelphia Flyers were eliminated in the Stanley Cup Final by the NY Islanders, also in six games (the last game played on May 24th).

Philadelphia's sports fans had some redemption with the Phillies win in October, but another disappointment awaited them as the Philadelphia Eagles would fall short after a strong 1980 season, losing Super Bowl XV to the Oakland Raiders on Jan. 25th, 1981.

Phoenix Rising's reedy is still waiting for his NHL Winnipeg Jets to even make it to the Stanley Cup Finals...

Answer: Larabee

Robert Karvelas played the part of Agent Larabee. He was the real life cousin of Don Adams, who played the titular role of Maxwell Smart, Agent 86. Karvelas was in a five seasons of "Get Smart," occasionally 'doubled' by his twin brother, William. Agent Larabee's first name is never revealed. His first appearance on the show was in episode 27 of the first season, "Ship of Spies, Part 1."

Karvelas also starred in the 1980 movie "The Nude Bomb" and had bit-parts in the 1970s "Mary Tyler Moore Show". A corporal in the United States Marine Corps during World War II, Robert Karvelas was a Golden Gloves boxing champion while in the Corps.

Phoenix Rising teammate VegemiteKid chuckled at some old memories of "Get Smart" gags while writing this question, but is unsure if the show aided in attaining cleverness.

Answer: Vampire Survivors

Galante began developing the game while unemployed in 2020. By 2022, it had become enough of a (very unexpected) success that he quit his regular job to focus on further development. The full game was released later that year to PC, XBox One and Series X/S, and Android and iOS platforms. It was a massive hit on Steam Deck, a handheld device also released that year. Players must survive relentless waves of monsters while exploring levels to find unlockable characters, relics, weapons, and other items. Despite its title and hordes of various monsters, the game does not feature any vampires.

This question was written in the dead of night by Phoenix Rising's JCSon.

Answer: Carrot stew

The tawny, scrawny lion blamed his scrawniness and hungriness on the animals that made him "run, run, run for every single bite he got." In the end, the fearful animals appointed a rabbit to talk things over with the lion. The rabbit invited the lion home for a supper of carrot stew and though this wasn't appealing to the lion, the lion went along because he was enticed by the thought of the rabbit's nine siblings, which was a lot of food to the lion. To the lion's surprise, he enjoyed the carrot stew so much that he hadn't room inside for even one rabbit. That night, the lion went to bed with a sleek, fat tummy. Over the next few days, the lion found that he had lost his taste for animals and instead visited the rabbit again and again for more of that delicious carrot stew, much to the delight of the animals.

This question was stewed with lots of tasty ingredients by Phoenix Rising team member purelyqing and fed to a quiz. No animals were harmed; only words were used.

Answer: False

The record is calculated on the fastest "average" speed rather than passage time. This is because ships will take different routes. In addition, whether the ship is eastbound or westbound plays a part with the latter required to battle the Gulf Stream, which results in a lower average speed. Consequently, separate records are maintained for each direction. A number of famous ships, such as the ill-fated Lusitania, the Mauretania and the Queen Mary, have held this distinction. At the time of writing (July, 2023) the record was held by the SS United States, set in 1952.

This nauti question was created by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19.