Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. You have finally located the fountain of infinite knowledge, deep inside an old abandoned mine. All that now stands between you and a perfect score on every quiz imaginable are those ten sphinx gates. But before you enter the archway, an old hermit pulls you aside.
"If you want to have any chance down there, don't immediately charge the gate. Instead, wait until the three servants of the sphinxes have passed and each one has said his passphrase. They're all different and by using logic, you can construct a sentence of your own that will meet the sphinxes' criteria. Look into that crystal ball here, I've done a simulation for you."
You see three kobolds approaching a black marble sphinx. As each approaches the ancient being, they are heard:
"All ants are able architects."
"Do doctors defend daily dozing?"
"Better babies build bland balconies."
"Now that's easy", you say. "Great gods guides gullible goblins, that should do it, right?"
"Correct, young one", the hermit answers. "Any other alliterative five-word sentence would have done as well. Those sphinxes only look for the right pattern. Their phrases are more difficult however, so be on the lookout. Now go and prove your worth!"
With great courage, you approach the first sphinx, cast from what looks to be several tons of bronze. In its forepaws, it clutches a globe. You only need to wait for a few minutes until the kobolds appear. You hear the following passphrases:
"Gather eighty real men and no youths!"
"Four rubies and nine cut emeralds."
"Could a nurse avert dire accidents?"
You jump out of your hiding place and quickly utter which phrase?
2. Behind the first gate, the darkness of the mine gives way to a silver sheen, as if everything were bathed in intense moonlight. A delicate silver sphinx guards the next gate, absentmindedly playing with a chess board. You hurry to make sure you will still hear what the servants have to say:
"I saw an ibis hopping across the swamp."
"I ask in gratitude to be allowed entry."
"Meumque entrare permessus sit."
So passphrases can be in Latin as well? Your head spins, but you still muster the presence of mind to utter which code?
3. Stepping out of the cool moonlight, you are briefly blinded by the unabated golden glow of the sun. A regal golden sphinx whose mane is made from the letters of the alphabet is perched atop a giant throne holding court. You quickly rush forward to kneel next to the three servants to hear their respective pleas (spoken with a slight Russian accent):
"We are a queue."
"I see Alan decay."
"I owe you a teepee."
Think quick - what do you say to stay in touch with the servants?
4. You find yourself deposited into a hall of purple crystal that looks as if carved into a single, flawless amethyst. The creature guarding the next gate, however, is not a gem but a very living, burgundy-colored sphinx that looks rather hungry. The servants seem to think the same as they shout out their sentences long before they come into the range of its claws and fangs:
"God, I can run one kilometer."
"Will you pen epic speech?"
"Live in default, offer infinite servitude!"
Wondering why the servants strangely emphasize the last syllable of each word, you come up with the riddle's answer and shout which phrase?
5. A diffuse yellow light materializes around you as you are in the next cave - you cannot quite determine whether the material around you is just a slightly clouded topaz or - your breath stops for a second - a final resting place of pure amber. The golden yellow sphinx in front of you seems to be composed of musical notes and accordingly, the servants sing their passphrases:
"Minions don't reiterate later solutions."
"Laughing rebels fail minor repetitions."
"Recall some facts lazy miners laid down""
Remembering to compose your melody just right, you intone which of these?
6. For a second, you wonder if you had advanced at all. Taking a few more steps, you however notice first a significantly more orange, then fiery red hue around you. Caught in the beauty of a multi-ton garnet, you almost run into the fangs of the next sphinx unprepared in spite of its strange head, surrounded by a halo of a dozen rays, one of which seemed to be broken off halfway.
You tear yourself from the mesmerizing look, just to hear the servants speak:
"Can any avatar amass a gallant swarm?"
"This is, in its limits, invincibly thrilling."
"Forty tons of gold got sold for Solomon's tomb."
Could it be this easy? You decide it cannot be and, after quite some shifting of words in your head, say:
7. As you step into the next hall, you don't even notice the emerald glow at first, but rather the fact that the whole hall seems to be cut through in the middle and one half consigned to a void deeper than space. Even the green sphinx you are now facing was cleanly cut in half with only her left side remaining. At least those kobolds still manage to utter complete sentences:
"Ted gave Drew a great stare."
"Bart crafted a fast axe."
"A stewardess wears wet red garters."
Thankfully, you still have your left brain and thus are left with which creative passphrase?
8. As a rather attentive FunTrivia player, you already expect the next hall to be of a deep blue sapphire hue and the view does not disappoint - the mesmerizing azure sparkle almost makes you forget what you came for. You focus your mental faculties on a strangely asymmetrical sphinx - half of it is made up of letters, the other of numbers. The servants' passphrases are not easy to understand either:
"Every dire event interests a dead goliath."
"Can a dumb father draw a car by General Knockabouts?"
"Eight hustlers follow a dark hairline."
Hoping not to miscount in the wrong place, you hesitatingly try which passphrase?
9. Surrounded in the blood red gleam of light refracted through millions of ruby facets, you approach the penultimate guardian. What could be its secret? There is no outward sign in the features of the gargantuan, red creature.
"Help yourself doing rather one generous endowment now!"
"Losses include three heavy infantry units, majesty."
"Of xenophobic youths gather eight now!"
After quite some thought, you recognize the elementary pattern contained in these phrases, but which of the following is the correct thing to say?
10. Not even suspecting what would come next prepared you for the heavenly white light coming from all sides of the perfect mountain of a diamond in whose very heart you confront the final guardian, seemingly an amalgamation of twelve different beings. As you come closer, your heart sinks - not only were you too late to hear what the servants had to say, their new diamond texture also tells you they were wrong anyway. Suddenly, the creature speaks in a bellowing voice that includes sounds like a majestic lion, a raging bull, a pair of newborns and the purest virgin:
"If you want to pass, you need to do better than those. Praise four of us in one sentence without directly saying one of our names and you shall gain access to the fountain! Fail and join these three in their eternal rest!"
You think for several minutes and then come up with which solution?
Source: Author
WesleyCrusher
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor
gtho4 before going online.
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