Thematic Aristocracy Trivia

1. Which English football team is nicknamed the Royals?

From Quiz The Royal Connection

Answer: Reading

Reading were founded in 1871 and take their nickname from their location in the Royal County of Berkshire. The club had to wait 135 years, until 2006 to play top flight football which they did after being promoted to the Premier League through winning the Championship. Unfortunately though their stay in the Premier League was short lived and they were relegated back to the Championship at the end of the 2007-08 season.

From Quiz All About Madam/Madame, Part 2

Answer: Giacomo Puccini

The libretto to the Puccini opera "Madama Butterfly" was written by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. There are five versions of the opera; the first one has two acts and all the rest have three. The opera adapts an 1898 short story by John Luther Long. In it, an American Naval lieutenant (B.F. Pinkerton) marries a Japanese woman in Nagasaki (Cio-Cio-san), leaves her for three years, returns with an American wife (Kate) to discover that he has a son by his Japanese wife, who promptly commits suicide. A fascinating and effective part of this opera is the "humming chorus" which is a wordless composition sung by a choir offstage. An interesting book about this opera is Brian Burke-Gaffney's "Starcrossed: A Biography of Madame Butterfly" (EastBridge, 2004).

From Quiz All About Madam/Madame, Part 1

Answer: Polish

Marie Salomea Sklodowska Curie (1867-1934) was born in Warsaw which was in the Kingdom of Poland in the Russian Empire. She married a French physicist named Pierre Curie in 1895. She was a physicist and chemist who studied radioactivity. She was the first female faculty member of the University of Paris. She coined the word "radioactivity."

From Quiz Some Things about Kings

Answer: The King of Misrule

Maybe someone somewhere is referred to as the King of Christmas, but I believe I made that up for the purpose of this quiz. The King of Peace, according to Christians, certainly made His appearance at the end of the year, but well before the mediaeval period, and while children believe Kringle is King, he's plain old Kris Kringle. Also called the Abbot (in Scotland, the Abbot of Unreason) and the Lord of Misrule, the King of Misrule was the director of festive antics at the royal court during mediaeval and Tudor times. His 'reign' lasted for the Twelve Days of Christmas (December 25 to January 5), and he and his henchmen got up to all sorts of silly tricks. In his 'Anatomie of Misuses' (1593), Philip Stubbes wrote that the King of Misrule could have anywhere from 20 to 100 underlings, each mounted on a hobby or a dragon, and went everywhere, including to church, accompanied by a raucous band of musicians.

From Quiz The Dark Black Night

Answer: Batman

Batman first appeared in DC Comics. Different generations probably have different favorites, but, campy TV character aside, he was always a brooding dark character with a heightened sense of justice and a psyche that could keep a team busy analyzing you for years. ("Let's see - you say you watched your parents get gunned down in cold blood and then was raised by the butler? Hmmmmm").

From Quiz The Queen Stays Queen

Answer: Leona Helmsley

Leona Helmsley was a New York City businesswoman. She was known as the Queen of Mean because she was allegedly very nasty to her employees who worked at her hotels as well as to her own personal staff. She is perhaps best known for her lavish lifestyle and her conviction for tax evasion, which did not help her reputation. Infamously, her housekeeper said that Helmsley said "Only the little people pay taxes."

From Quiz Royal Titles or Sounds like One

Answer: Sir Paul McCartney

All members of the Beatles were appointed Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1965; Paul McCartney was later knighted for his musical contributions in 1997. Ringo Starr was knighted in 2008, but by Prince William.

From Quiz A Categorically Princely Quiz - Part Two

Answer: Niccolò Machiavelli

Machiavelli lived from 1469 to 1527 and is believed to have completed 'The Prince' around the year 1513. In addition to his work as a writer of historical, political and philosophical treatises, he was also heavily involved in the government of the Florentine Republic - the state that was centred on the city of Florence and existed from 1115 to 1532 before becoming a monarchy and then ultimately part of a unified Italy in the 19th century. 'The Prince' was basically a 'How to Rule Your Country' handbook for would-be princes. Advice in it ranged from 'how to go about conquering your neighbours' to the 'qualities' required of a good prince - such as being good at going to war or to be seen to be good, merciful and religious (but not actually bothering to be any of them in practice). Most famously perhaps he also put forward the guidance: "it is far safer to be feared than loved if you cannot be both". The incorrect options are all Italian writers from the 13th or 14th centuries.

From Quiz A Categorically Princely Quiz - Part One

Answer: Frog

The Hyloscirtus genus is a classification used for a large number of species of neo-tropical frogs. Hyloscirtus princecharlesi, otherwise known as the Prince Charles stream tree frog, was discovered by Dr. Luis Coloma and named after the prince because of his well-known interest in the environment and rainforest conservation. Very little is known about this species and only a few individuals have been spotted in the wild. It is predominantly black with an orangey-red spotted pattern covering its entire body and makes its home in the rainforests surrounding the Andes mountain range. Sadly, this amazing habitat is at risk from both logging and agriculture, so the Prince Charles stream tree frog is already on the endangered species list despite having only been discovered in the 21st century.

From Quiz A Hard Day's Knight

Answer: Sir Galahad

According to legend Sir Galahad was the son of Sir Lancelot. He was known as the Perfect Knight, perfect in courage, gentleness, courtesy, and chivalry. In the UK, calling someone Sir Galahad would mean that the person was courteous towards women.

From Quiz Ten Lords-a-Leaping

Answer: Beelzebub

Indeed, the devil has many names, but he is known the world over as the essence of evil who endlessly tries to seduce mankind. As Captain Kirk showed us in 'The Enemy Within' episode of 'Star Trek', the 'dark side' is a natural balance to the 'light side' of man, but the two must work in harmony. In the novel by William Golding, the story centers on a group of shipwrecked schoolboys who attempt to govern themselves in the absence of adults. The film made of the novel is very well done and is true to the essentials of the story. 'Lord of The Flies' is an appropriate name for the devil, as it stands for all things unclean.

From Quiz Kings and Queens

Answer: delivery man

Doug Heffernan (Kevin James) worked for the International Parcel Service (IPS). Much of the comedy relied on Doug's interaction at home with his wife Carrie (Leah Remini) who has a job as a law secretary. King of Queens aired on the CBS network from 1998 to 2007.

From Quiz Commonplace Royalty

Answer: Rodney King

The result of the acquittal in the trial of the police officers led to rioting in Los Angeles. Mr. King himself pleaded for calm by saying "Can't we all get along?"

From Quiz What is a Lady, After All?

Answer: Lady Diana Spencer

Lady Diana Frances Spencer became the Princess of Wales after her marriage to Charles, the Prince of Wales. At a dinner for two at Buckingham Palace, the British prince proposed to Diana. Six months later the wedding took place at St. Paul's Cathedral.

From Quiz Sundry 'Kings'

Answer: John King

In 1860 Burke and Wills led an expedition of 19 men and camels across unknown terrain from Melbourne in the south to the Gulf of Carpentaria in the north. The outward trek was successful but on the return, there was confusion over supplies and communication. John King (this quiz compiler's great, great uncle) survived with help from the Yantruwanta Aborigines. In all, seven men lost their lives, and only John King travelled the entire expedition and returned alive to Melbourne where he received a hero's welcome. A good read about the expedition is 'The Dig Tree' by Sarah Murgatroyd. The dig tree was the tree at the camp which marked buried supplies and it has become a popular destination for outback tourists.

From Quiz The Royal Connection

Answer: King of the Road

"King of the Road" (1964) is a perennial karaoke favourite and surely Roger Miller's best known track. Miller took the song to number one in UK, and it was to be his only UK top ten hit, while in USA, the track made it to number four on the Billboard Hot 100. Although it was his highest placing hit on this chart he did also manage several other top ten hits, including "Chug-a-Lug" (1964), "Engine Engine #9" (1965) and "England Swings" (1965).

From Quiz All About Madam/Madame, Part 2

Answer: Sydney Biddle Barrows

Socialite Sydney Biddle Barrows preferred to call her business an "escort service" but her 1984 conviction was for promoting prostitution. She wrote the autobiographical "Mayflower Madam: The Secret Life of Sydney Biddle Barrows" (1986) which was adapted for the 1987 motion picture "Mayflower Madam" starring Candice Bergen. In addition, she has written several books on how to succeed in business and lectures on that topic.

From Quiz All About Madam/Madame, Part 1

Answer: Heidi Fleiss

Heidi Lynne Fleiss (b. 1965) conducted a high-end prostitution service in Los Angeles until she was convicted in federal court of neglecting to pay taxes on the proceeds. After prison, she engaged in substance-abuse treatment which was televised on "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew." She was a contestant on the 2010 season of "Celebrity Big Brother." Her housemates voted her out of the house on the 13th day, the second person to be evicted. Ivana Trump, also a contestant, did not win but did better.

From Quiz Some Things about Kings

Answer: The River Amazon

The Amazon is known as the King of Waters because it discharges a greater volume of fresh water into the ocean than any other river in the world, at the astonishing rate of 209,000 cubic metres per second. Its closest competitor is the Congo, which discharges a puny 41,200 cubic metres per second. In short, the Amazon accounts for 20% of the fresh water that flows into the oceans of the world.

From Quiz The Dark Black Night

Answer: Monty Python and the Holy Grail

The battle with the Black Knight has always been one of the funniest scenes in an extremely funny movie. Having already defeated the Green Knight, the Black Knight now moves to defend the "bridge" from King Arthur. As with much of Monty Python, the humor is way over the top - but it's hilarious! "Come back....I'll bite your legs off!!!"

From Quiz The Queen Stays Queen

Answer: Catholic saints

Centuries ago, when all of these queenly saints lived, it was not uncommon for widowed queens to enter convents after their husbands died. However, Jadwiga of Poland was queen in her own right and died in childbirth in 1399. She was also technically King of Hungary, a title given to her to prevent her husband from becoming the king. Her marriage to Jogalia helped spread Catholicism throughout her kingdom. Elizabeth of Aragon was the wife of Denis I of Portugal. After Denis I died in 1325, Elizabeth became a Poor Clare Sister and spent the rest of her life helping the poor. Matilda of Ringelheim was Queen of the Franks in the 10th century. After her husband died, Matilda founded a number of charities to help the poor and religious houses, though she did not become a religious sister herself.

From Quiz Royal Titles or Sounds like One

Answer: Duke of York

This question was based on the old children's song: "The Grand Old Duke of York". to the tune: "A-Hunting We Will Go".

From Quiz A Categorically Princely Quiz - Part Two

Answer: Barbra Streisand

'The Prince of Tides' tells the story of a man named Tom Wingo (Nick Nolte) who is forced to revisit his troubled and violent childhood in order to help his suicidal sister. Along the way he also meets and falls in love with her psychiatrist (Streisand), leaving him with a painful decision to make over his future with his wife and children. The film was based on a novel of the same title by Pat Conroy. The seven Academy Award nominations for 'The Prince of Tides' included Best Picture, Best Actor (for Nick Nolte) and Best Supporting Actress (for Kate Nelligan as Tom's mother). Unfortunately though the team behind the film left the ceremony empty-handed - by contrast the connections of 'The Silence of the Lambs' walked away with five statuettes to show for their seven nominations... The incorrect options are all other actresses who have directed themselves in various films.

From Quiz A Categorically Princely Quiz - Part One

Answer: pincer

A lobster has three pairs of pincers (technically known as chelae) - but it is the first pair that are the largest and give the creature its distinctive appearance. Although they make lobsters look distinctly threatening, they are actually used for a wide range of tasks including self-defence, feeding and courtship rituals. Crabs generally have only a single pair of pincers, which are not necessarily of equal size. For example, one of a fiddler crab's pincers is much larger than other and is used for fighting, courtship and even communication (of sorts). Even more impressively, they also have the capability to re-grow these appendages if they lose them.

From Quiz What a Czar You Are

Answer: A Little Princess

First published in 1905, "A Little Princess" tells the story of how a little rich girl sent to school in England from her home in India suffers loss and cruelty, discovers who her true friends are, and finally finds a loving home again. "The Princess and the Goblin" was written by George MacDonald and published in 1872. It tells the story of Princess Irene and her friend, a miner boy named Curdie Peterson, and their adventures with a beautiful, mysterious old lady with a spinning wheel and some very unfriendly goblins. "The Enchanted Castle" by E. Nesbit was first published in 1907. On their summer holidays, siblings Gerald, Kathleen and Jimmy with their friend Mabel explore a magic castle and its gardens where they have strange, exciting and sometimes scary adventures. On the way, they become fond of two grownups and help along the course of true love. Frances Hodgson Burnett published "The Lost Prince" in 1915. In this adventure story, Marco and his friend the Rat play a game in which they are secret messengers helping to free the war-torn country of Samavia, a game that they gradually realize is not a game at all.

From Quiz A Hard Day's Knight

Answer: Two - Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr

All four of The Beatles members were awarded the MBE in 1965. John Lennon later returned his medal in protest against British foreign policy. Paul McCartney was knighted in 1997 for his services to music. Ringo received his knighthood in 2018.

From Quiz Ten Lords-a-Leaping

Answer: Lord Tennyson

Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809 - 1892), wrote poetry typical of the Victorian age and romanticism. His "Charge of The Light Brigade" makes use of repetition and rhythmic stanzas that characterize much of his works. His critics seemed to feel that he was overly sentimental and indulgent, but his poetry has remained popular for more than 150 years.

From Quiz Commonplace Royalty

Answer: Gene Chandler

Gene Chandler hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart in 1962. Among his other hits were "Nothing Can Stop Me" in 1965 and "Groovy Situation" in 1970.

From Quiz What is a Lady, After All?

Answer: Ladybug

The rhyme reads: "Ladybug, Ladybug, fly away home, Your house is on fire and your children are gone. All except one and that's little Ann, For she crept under the frying pan". In the U.K., the version is "Ladybird". The scientific name for ladybug is Coccinellidae, a type of beetle.

From Quiz Sundry 'Kings'

Answer: Riley B

In the '50s, B.B King became one of the most important names in R&B. Loyal to his blues heritage, he also kept abreast of modern trends. In 2007 he received a doctor of music degree. His great success has been attributed to the fact that he performed between 200 and 300 shows a year. One of B.B. King's most identifiable trademarks has been his guitar, Lucille. Since 1949 he always gave each guitar this name, adopted when he rescued his Gibson acoustic from a burning building where two men had been fighting over a woman called Lucille.

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Last Updated Nov 16 2024 5:51 AM

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