21 Again? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Scandium

Scandium is the twenty-first element on the Periodic Table, and the first of the transition metals. The atomic weight of scandium is 44.955912 amu (atomic mass units), and it was discovered in 1879 by Swedish chemist Lars Fredrik Nilson. Scandium-46, a radioactive isotope, is used in the analysis of crude oils, and mercury-vapour lamps make use of scandium iodide to produce light that is not dissimilar to sunlight in terms of colour.

Answer: Blackjack

Blackjack, or 21, is one of the most popular casino games, and as such, is frequently targeted in card-counting scams and other ways to win big from the casino. The dealer deals out two cards to each player, including himself. The players then decide whether they want to accept more cards from the dealer in the hopes of getting their hand to total 21 or less (picture cards are worth 10 points, aces are worth 1 or 11). If a player's hand is closer to 21 than the dealer, then they win; conversely, if the dealer is closer to 21 than the player, the player loses. If a player accepts a card which brings their total over 21, then they are declared bust, and they lose the round.

Answer: 21 Jump Street

The premise of '21 Jump Street' centred around a group of young police officers who investigated issues like drug use, alcoholism, and sexual health, to name a few. Johnny Depp acted in '21 Jump Street' from its inception in 1987 until 1990, at which point his contract with the show ended. 2012 saw the series adapted for film, with Depp having a cameo role as his original character Tom Hanson.

Answer: It is a Mersenne prime

21 is, of course, the product of 3 and 7, making it a composite number. Therefore, it cannot be a prime number, let alone a Mersenne prime (a prime number one less than a power of 2 - eg, 7 [2^3 - 1]). The Fibonacci sequence is generated by starting with 0 and 1, adding them together, and then adding the previous two numbers for each successive term. 21 is the ninth such Fibonacci number.

The first six natural numbers (one to six) add together to get twenty-one. One squared (1) plus two squared (4) plus four squared (16) equals twenty one, so it can indeed be said that it is the sum of three squares.

Answer: Adele

'21' is the second album by Adele, which released to overwhelming praise and popularity, gaining platinum certification in numerous countries across the globe. The album won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year for '21' at the 2012 Grammys, and also the Album of the Year award at the 2012 BRIT Awards.

Her previous album, '19', earned her the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (for the song 'Chasing Pavements') and Best New Artist in 2009.

Answer: Gun

Originally, US warships would fire seven guns or cannons as a sign of respect or honour. The ships' supplies of gunpowder was not as plentiful as that of the military on the mainland, so they responded to the warships' salutes by firing three shots for every one shot, thereby giving rise to the concept of the 21-gun salute.

Answer: The Games of the XXVII Olympiad were held in Sydney, Australia

The twenty-first century began on January 1, 2001. The Sydney Olympics were held in 2000, making them the last Olympics of the twentieth century.

On September 11, 2001, two American aeroplanes were hijacked and crashed into the World Trade Centre in New York City, causing both towers to collapse. On the same day, another two hijacked flights crashed; one into the Pentagon in Virginia, and another, which was intended to crash in Washington DC, in Pennsylvania.

In 2009, an outbreak of H1N1 Influenza, better known as swine flu, rapidly spread from Mexico to many countries around the world, causing the World Health Organisation to label it a pandemic. This was the second time in history that there had been an H1N1 pandemic, the first being in 1918 and was known as Spanish flu.

In 2011, after many years of political turmoil and civil conflict, the southern part of the African nation of Sudan declared itself an independent nation after a referendum, and South Sudan was formed. The first president to be elected in this republic was Salva Kiir Mayardit.

Answer: March

Promoted by the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Harmony Day promotes the multicultural society of the country and aims to bring everyone together to acknowledge the various cultures and creeds that make up the nation. Supporters of Harmony Day can wear the orange ribbon or any sort of orange clothing to show their support.

Answer: Phi

The modern Greek alphabet consists of 24 letters, and many of them are used as symbols to denote values in science and mathematics. Phi is commonly used to represent the Golden Ratio, the ratio of two lengths equal to (1 + sqrt(5))/2, or approximately 1.618033988.

Answer: Badminton

Badminton is a racquet sport in which players hit a shuttlecock back and forth across a suspended net. A player can score a point if his opponent fails to hit the shuttlecock back over the net before it touches the ground. The first player to reach 21 wins.

In circumstances where the players reach 20 points apiece, the first player to get a two-point lead over his opponent wins. Table tennis was originally played to 21 points, but in 2001, the official rules were revised and instead, games are played to 11 points.