A Novel Idea Trivia Quiz

Answer: Melville Dewey

Inventor and educator Melville "Melvil" Dewey (1851-1931) was responsible for developing the Dewey Decimal System to categorize books. He supported spelling reform as a young man and, to that end, changed the spelling of his first name to "Melvil"; for a while he even changed his surname to "Dui".

He founded a club called the Lake Placid Club, from which he was ultimately forced to resign for his racism and antisemitism, not to mention the sexual harassment lawsuits.

Answer: Walter White

The Vince Gilligan drama "Breaking Bad" aired from 2008 to 2013. The protagonist of the show was high school chemistry teach Walter White (Bryan Cranston), aka "Heisenberg", who finds out he has Stage III cancer. In order to provide for his family, he and one of his former students start making and selling methamphetamine in a trailer in New Mexico.

This leads to obvious complications and danger.

Answer: Nantucket

Nantucket is an isolated island about thirty miles from Cape Cod in the state of Massachusetts. It is a trendy, picturesque town with beautiful beaches, sand dunes, lighthouses and unspoiled views.

Of the other choices: Cape May is in New Jersey; Fire Island is a part of Long Island; Cape Hatteras is in a strand of islands in North Carolina.

Answer: Gregory Peck

Gregory Peck (1916-2003) played 'against type' to portray the evil "Angel of Death" Josef Mengele in "The Boys from Brazil" (1978). Peck, usually the prototypical 'good guy', plays the evil Dr. Mengele who is in Paraguay working on a plot to revive Hitler and the Third Reich.

He is cloning Hitler's DNA and plans to raise the resulting boys in Brazil so they may continue the work of the Fuhrer. Laurence Olivier's character helps uncover the Nazi conspiracy.

Answer: Woody Herman

Woody Herman (1913-1987) and His Thundering Herd were a staple of the big band era from the 1930s through the 1950s. Woody led the band, sang, and played both the clarinet and saxophone. His music was "cutting edge" in that it employed both the 'swing' music of the time and a more modern blues, bebop and jazz sound. Woody's band received several Grammy Awards while, in 1987, he won a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Answer: Starbucks

What would we do without our coffee? Starbucks Corporation was founded in Seattle, Washington in 1971, by Gordon Bowker, Jerry Baldwin and Zev Siegl. Its revenue is almost 7.5 times that of its nearest competitor.

Caribou is based in Minnesota and was founded in 1992; Dunkin' Donuts has been serving coffee and donuts since the early 1960s; Lavazza was founded in Turin, Italy in 1895.

Answer: John Huston

Director, actor and screenwriter John Huston (1906-1987) won an Academy Award for Best Director for the 1948 movie "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre". He also directed his father, Walter Huston, to a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for the same film. His daughter, Angelica, also went into the family business. Huston was nominated for Academy Awards ten times for pictures which include: "Sergeant York", "The Maltese Falcon" and "The African Queen".

Answer: Ahab

Ahab (873 BC - 852 BC) was the seventh king of Israel, son of Omri and husband of Jezebel. He reigned for twenty two years. He was perceived as a wicked king for allowing his wife to influence religious policies and for the arbitrary execution of Naboth to acquire his land.

Regarding the other choices: Uriah was husband of Bathsheba; Nathan was a prophet in the Hebrew Bible; Absalom was the third son of David.

Answer: Wales

St. David (@500-589) was a teacher, preacher and a Welsh bishop in Mynyw in the sixth century. He practiced asceticism and his symbol, like that of Wales, was the leek. One of his miracles was when he was preaching to a crowd and the ground beneath him rose up to form a hill, and a white dove perched on his shoulder. David was officially recognized at the Holy See in 1120.

St. George represents England, with St. Andrew of Scotland and St. Patrick of Ireland.

Answer: Moby Dick

"Moby Dick" is an 1851 novel by Herman (#5) Melville (#1). It is set on Nantucket (#3) and features Captain Ahab (#8) and Starbuck(s) (#6). The antagonist is a white (#2) sperm w(h)ale (#9). "Moby Dick" was made into a 1956 film directed by John Huston (#7) and starring Gregory Peck (#4).