Do You Think I'm an Automaton? Quiz

Answer: Marvin

Marvin is the severely depressed robot found aboard the starship Heart of Gold. With a "brain the size of a planet", the menial tasks he is called upon to perform bore him and feed his depression. Marvin has some of the best lines in the book, including "My capacity for happiness you could fit into a matchbox without taking out the matches first."

All are characters found in Douglas Adams' "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy".

Zaphod Beeblebrox is the two-headed president of the galaxy.

Slartibartfast is a designer of planets on Magrathea. He won an award for designing the fjords in Norway.

Trillian, formerly Tricia McMillan, left Earth with Zaphod Beeblebrox after meeting him at a party in Islington, thus surviving the destruction of the planet.

Answer: Doctor Who

First appearing in the 1970 episode "Spearhead from Space", these foot soldiers of the Nestene Consciousness concealed deadly weapons in their hands. In addition to the mannequin-like Autons, the Nestenes animated such things as children's toys, artificial flowers and rubbish bins.

Autons appeared in only two episodes of the original series, though they remained one of the most memorable monsters from "Doctor Who". They were revived in 2005.

Answer: I Sing the Body Electric

"I Sing the Body Electric" was written by Ray Bradbury for the 100th episode of "The Twilight Zone", and later published as a short story.

An excerpt from Whitman's poem:

"The man's body is sacred and the woman's body is sacred,
No matter who it is, it is sacred-is it the meanest one in the laborers' gang?
Is it one of the dull-faced immigrants just landed on the wharf?
Each belongs here or anywhere just as much as the well-off, just as much as you,
Each has his or her place in the procession.

(All is a procession,
The universe is a procession with measured and perfect motion.) "

Answer: Energizer Bunny

The little pink Energizer Bunny made his commercial debut in 1989, playing his bass drum long after the toy bunnies powered by inferior batteries ran out of steam. Since then, the Energizer Bunny has travelled to the Grand Canyon, the ocean floor and outer space. He's also been known to crash through commercials advertising other products and has triumphed over such villains as Wile E. Coyote, Darth Vader and the Grim Reaper.

The other answers are mascots only in my imagination.

Answer: Golem

In Pratchett's Discworld, Dorfl was granted the gift of speech. He became a member of the City Watch and is believed to have started the Golem Trust, in which golems worked to earn the money to purchase and free other golems.

Golems were beings created from inanimate matter, usually stone or clay, who became animated when holy words were inscribed onto the creature's forehead or were written on slips of paper and inserted into the head. The first man, Adam, was initially created as a Golem, according to the Talmud.

Gogmagog is a giant from Welsh folklore.

Goliath is a giant Philistine warrior slain by David in the Biblical book of Samuel.

Gaia is the mother of the universe in Greek mythology.

Answer: The Nightingale

The sadly sweet tale of The Nightingale reminds us that our technological advances sometimes come at the expense of nature and to appreciate what is real rather than embracing materialism.

Anderson met Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind in 1840 and fell in love with her. She preferred a platonic relationship, preferring to think of him as a brother. Lind became known as The Swedish Nightingale.

Answer: Mr. Roboto

Created in response to anti-rock music activists, the 1983 album "Kilroy Was Here" tells the story of a dystopian society in which rock music has been outlawed. Rock musician Kilroy is arrested and put into a prison guarded by Japanese made robots called Mr. Robotos, where he is subjected to brainwashing and mind control.

Kilroy overpowers a robot and hides within its shell to escape the prison.

Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto.

Answer: Albert

Albert was created by Donald Pierce and the Reavers as a doppelgänger to Wolverine, in order to destroy him. Albert was to act as bait while Elsie-Dee, appearing as a young child, was programmed to explode, killing Wolverine. Elsie-Dee, accidentally programmed with high intelligence, diffused her detonation sequence then greatly increased Albert's intelligence until it exceeded even that of his creator. Albert was then named for scientist Albert Einstein.
Albert and Elsie-Dee rebelled against their programming and became allies of Wolverine.

Answer: Coppélia

Doctor Coppélius isn't the only one in love with Coppélia, The Girl with the Enamel Eyes. Village youth Franz also becomes enamored with her, thinking the doll a real person. Swanilda, who is infatuated with Franz (and he with her), grows jealous of Coppélia and steals into the Doctor's workroom only to discover her rival is merely a doll. Dr. Coppélius invites Franz into his workroom, feeling a human sacrifice will help him to bring his doll to life. Disguising herself as Coppélia, Swanilda makes Dr. Coppélius think that he has animated the doll. Winding up all the other dolls in order to create chaos in the workroom, Swanilda helps Franz escape.

Answer: Digesting Duck

de Vaucanson created automatons both to entertain and to demonstrate bodily functions. One of his earliest creations was an android that would clear the table after a meal. In 1738, he created "The Flute Player", a 5'6" tall humanoid figure that could play twelve songs on the flute through a series of bellows, weights and pipes.

Perched atop a tall pedestal, the "Digesting Duck" could flap its wings, splash in the water and quack, in addition to digesting wheat pellets.

Comparing him to Prometheus, Voltaire said "Without...the duck of Vaucanson, you will have nothing to remind you of the glory of France."