A Golden Fleece of Trivia Trivia Quiz

Answer: Danae

A prophesy foretold that Acrisius would be killed by his grandson. He locked his daughter in a tower in an effort to prevent his future murder, but Zeus was able to enter the window as a shower of gold. He impregnated Danae and she later gave birth to the Greek hero Perseus.

Answer: Mathematics

All of the science disciplines are represented by gold. Some schools determine your collar not by what you study, but by the name of your degree. At these schools all MA's wear white, all MS's wear gold.

Answer: California

A reference to the California Gold Rush that started at Colima in 1848. This Gold Rush contributed to the growth and wealth of the California Republic leading to statehood in 1850.

Answer: 1.618 ...

More properly (1+sqrt(5))/2. This number (also called phi, pronounced ph-eye) has long been held to be some sort of magic proportion seen in art, architecture, nature, and the human body. Most (but not all) of these appearances of the golden ratio seem to be coincidence and not derivative of some natural law.

Answer: $400-$500

Investment in gold is seen by many as good investment hedge due to the stability in its price.

Answer: arthritis

Gold does not break down in the body thus it is (usually) a safe form of medicine. It is not exactly known how gold works, but it tends to lessen the immune response that forms rheumatoid arthritis.

Answer: $10

$5 gold pieces were known as half-eagles and $2.50 gold pieces were known as quarter eagles. This naming system was a legal designation from the law creating a US Mint on 2 April 1792. The more famous $20 double eagle was created on 3 March 1849 as a result of the California Gold Rush.

Answer: Au-198

The gold isotope used in cancer treatment is Au-198 with a half-life of 2.7 days. Gold is also used to treat chronic ulcers.
The medical use of gold started around 1890, when Robert Koch discovered that gold compounds slowed the growth of the tuberculosis bacillus.

Answer: Joe Gold

The gyms are Gold's Gym and World Gym, which contributed to the fitness craze of the late 1970's. Gold's Gym in Venice, California was the capital of bodybuilding in the glory days of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Franco Columbo, Frank Zane, Ken Waller, Mike Katz, etc.

When the number of gyms swelled in the 1980's Gold's Gyms and World Gyms started going out of business. Today, these gyms are just one of many places where people can work out.

Answer: Klondike (1897)

Sourdough is a natural occurring yeast used to leaven bread. Since this was so critical in the Yukon where yeast was hard to come by, gold miners were called "sourdoughs" the old-timers were called "old sourdoughs". Today sourdough is used to represent the Klondike Gold Rush with "Sourdough Fairs". You can even order authentic Yukon sourdough yeast online.

Answer: Octopussy

James Bond's old skiing instructor is killed after leading a former British secret service officer to a hidden cache of Nazi gold. James tracks him down in Jamaica and the Major is killed by his pet octopus. This story may be a self-reflection by a dying Ian Fleming on his own life.

Answer: 79

Gold is extremely dense at 19.32 g/cm3 which works out to 11.17 oz/in3. The ingots of gold that movie stars lift so easily would weigh approximately 88 pounds if they were real gold.

Answer: Cincinnati style

I didn't even know there was a Cincinnati style of chili! If I'm ever in Ohio, Indiana, or Kentucky, I'll have to try some and see how it's different from Texas chili.

Answer: Queensland

Just south of Brisbane, the Gold Coast is home to Surfers Paradise. Queensland is also home to Cairns (and its tropical rain forest) and is the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef.

Answer: Edgar Allan Poe

"The Gold Bug" is a great story but suffers from some lapses in reality. The wooden longboat was decayed but the paper was not? Cobalt nitrate is water-soluble and if the waves didn't wash it off, the bath to get rid of the dirt would. Would the rift in the tree still be in the right position after 150 years?

Answer: Wake Forest

The paper can be found online on Wake Forest's webpage. The headline for Summer 2005 is that the graffit-artist vandalizing the school has been arrested. In addition to the arts and sciences, Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC has schools in business, divinity, law, and medicine.

Answer: Charlie Chaplin

This was a critically acclaimed "little tramp" movie. Some trivia about the movie:
The famous shoe that Chaplin eats was made of licorice.
When it was re-released in 1943, it was nominated for two Academy Awards.
The opening scene was the only one filmed on location.

Answer: British Columbia

On Vancouver Island, Gold River was incorporated as a village on 1 January 1972. Because of the lack of major roads in the area during the 1970's, logging roads were built up as a adjunct to Hwy 28 and special Gold River plates were issued to the logging trucks. The pulp mill that formed the basis of Gold River's economy closed in 1998.

Answer: 1900-1971

Although the US was on a bimetallic (silver and gold) system unofficially since the early 1870's, it was not until the Gold Standard Act of 14 March 1900 that the US officially went on the gold standard. Franklin Roosevelt made it illegal for private citizens to own gold in 1933, but it was not until 1971 when Richard Nixon ended the Bretton-Woods system of fixing the price of gold at $35/oz that the gold standard officially ended in the US.

Answer: glisters

From "The Merchant of Venice" Act II Scene vii. Whoa you say, the answer should be "glitters". Nope, this is one those famous quotes that is often misquoted. The full note in the box that the Prince of Morocco picked is:
"All that glisters is not gold,
Often have you heard that told;
Many a man his life hath sold
But my outside to behold:
Gilded tombs do worms infold.
Had you been as wise as bold,
Young in limbs, in judgement old,
Your answer had not been inscroll'd:
Fare you well, your suit is cold."

Answer: The Nobel Prize

The only other award that I found that is solid gold is the United States' Congressional Gold Medal. Since they are so heavy, these medals are not meant to be worn after being awarded but are meant to be displayed.

Answer: cubic center faced

Eight atoms form a cube and there is an extra atom in each face of the cube. An example of a cubic body centered element is sodium. A rhombohedral lattice is seen in boron. Uranium forms orthorhombic crystals.

Answer: barley

Eva Cassidy did a cover of this song. If you like Sting's version, you'll love her version. Even Sting admitted that he liked her version better.

Answer: 24

Gold is so soft that it is often alloyed to 10k, 14k, or 18k (41.7% gold, 58.3% gold, and 75.0% gold respectively). Pure 24k gold can be beaten into gold leaf 0.2 to 0.4 microns in thickness. This is roughly 1/200,000 to 1/250,000 inch.

Answer: gold

I hope you liked the quiz. Stay tuned because my 75th quiz will celebrate diamonds.