A Bit of This, and Some More of That Quiz

Answer: Captain Marvel

Billy Batson, whose name was probably meant to imply that he was the son of Batman, met a wizard who gave him a magic word, which when uttered transformed him into Captain Marvel. The magic word was "Shazam", an acronym of Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles and Mercury.

Answer: John Adams

The cornerstone having been laid in 1792, John and Abigail Adams moved in 1800 into what became known as "the White House" because of its contrasting white-grey appearance with the mostly redbrick surrounding buildings. From 1818 to 1902 it was officially known as the "Executive Mansion", but Theodore Roosevelt adopted the name "White House", which it has remained ever since.

Answer: The Lone Ranger

Created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker in 1933, John Reid, also known as The Lone Ranger, used only silver bullets in his fight against evil.

Answer: Groucho

Harpo's real name was Adolph, Zeppo was Herbert and Chico was Leonard.

Answer: Broke the Bank of Monte Carlo

Over the course of eight days in 1886 Joseph Hobson Jagger won more than two million francs at a casino in Monte Carlo. He had spent a week watching what he suspected was a faulty roulette wheel, and subsequently made his fortune by placing bets on the numbers which he had calculated mathematically were appearing more than they should have done.

Answer: Mother Teresa

Born in Albania in 1910, Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. She died in India in 1997, where she was given a State funeral.

Answer: Oozlum

"It's a curious bird, the Oozlum,
And a bird that's mighty wise,
For it always flies tail-first to
Keep the dust out of its eyes!" from "Hits, Skits and Jingles" 1899
The oozlum was also said to have condemned itself to extinction by disappearing up its own rear-end!

Answer: I have a fear of sitting

Thaasophobia is the fear of sitting!

Answer: An instrument of torture

Scavenger's (or Skeffington's) daughter was an instrument of torture reputedly invented by Leonard Skeffington, who was the Lieutenant of the Tower of London during the reign of Henry VIII. A highly unpleasant contraption, it consisted of a hinged hoop, into the lower half of which the victim knelt and the top half was screwed down, and down until the body was crushed.

Answer: Louis XVl

This stems from the so-called "Women's March" on Versailles in October 1789 to demand bread. Although the Queen apparently said "Let them eat cake", bread was forthcoming and the King and Queen became known as 'the baker' and 'the baker's wife', and their son 'the shop boy'. According to Alexandre Dumas "The return of the baker, his wife and the shop-boy to Paris had not the expected effect. Flour and bread were still scarce."