Aristotle's Elements - 2: Air Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Londonderry Air

Perhaps better known as "Danny Boy" because it was used as the melody to which the words to that song were set, the "Londonderry Air" is a folk tune originating in County Londonderry (or simply Derry) and believed to have been published first in a collection in 1855. The familiar lyrics of "Danny Boy" were written in the early twentieth century by an English lawyer.

As there is no official national anthem for Northern Ireland, it was chosen to be the victory song of the Commonwealth Games team as probably the most popular melody associated with the province.

Answer: Air New Zealand

The company publishes two lists annually: Airline of the Year and Safest Airline of the Year. In the list published in November 2019 Air New Zealand pushed the previous year's winner, Singapore Airlines, into second place with All Nippon Airways third, Qantas fourth and Cathay Pacific fifth. The ratings are based on a combination of twelve factors including passenger reviews, the age of the fleet and staff relations.

Air New Zealand came second to Qantas in the list of Safest Airlines.

Answer: Air Quality Index

The AQI is a measure of the levels of pollutants in the air. Most countries have similar indices but they use different names for their analyses.

Among the pollutants typically measured are sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide as well as particulates (particles suspended in the air). The AQI is used to advise people on how risky it may be to participate in various types of activity and to advise people with allergies on their likelihood of being affected if they go outdoors.

Answer: George Orwell

Published a few months before the outbreak of World War II, "Coming Up For Air" tells the story of a man who decides to revisit scenes from his youth. Sadly, he finds to his horror that everything he remembers with affection - even a former girlfriend - has deteriorated or been turned into something which is the antithesis of his childhood memories. Even the pond he used to fish in is a rubbish dump. The overall message is the foolishness of nostalgia. At the same time the book warns of the imminence of war.

Given the messages in "1984" and "Animal Farm", it is fair to say that Orwell is not an author to read for light relief, but is one to read for insights into dangers in the human condition.

Answer: Nicolas Cage

All four of these appear in the film, directed by Jerry Bruckheimer. An action thriller, the film tells of the takeover of a prison transport aircraft by some of the nastiest prisoners one could imagine. Of course, Our Hero finally saves the day and is reunited with his wife and the daughter he has not seen since she was born after his conviction for manslaughter.

Cage is his usual self in the film. He is an engaging actor but his speech mannerisms are very similar no matter what role he plays.

Answer: Johann Sebastian Bach

Originally, this very familiar tune formed the second movement of Bach's Orchestral Suite number 3, written about 1730. In 1871 a German violinist, August Wilhelmji, arranged the melody for a solo violin with accompaniment of strings and piano. This is the arrangement that has endured as one of the most loved pieces of the violin repertoire.

Answer: Millibars

In the metric system the millibar is the unit of air pressure, equivalent to 1000 dynes per square centimetre. A dyne is defined as the force which causes an acceleration of one centimetre per second in a mass of one gram when it acts for one second.

In weather maps, isobars are lines linking points of equal pressure as measured in millibars.

Answer: In the open air

This style usually applies to landscape painting done directly onto canvas in the open air rather than making sketches on site and then painting from these in the studio. Artists using this method are seeking a realistic and natural look rather than a carefully composed image.

Answer: Oxygen

Until the eighteenth century many chemists believed that all substances which could burn contained something that was released during burning, leaving ash behind. The name "phlogiston", from the Greek for "burned" was invented about 1700 for this substance.

When Priestley discovered oxygen he believed it was a gas (or "air") from which phlogiston had been released so called it "dephlogisticated". The phlogiston theory was proved wrong only a few years later by the French chemist Lavoisier.

Answer: Phil Collins

Both Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins had been lead singers with the band Genesis, Collins taking over after Gabriel went solo. Although remaining a member of Genesis until 1996, Phil Collins released a solo album in 1980 called "Face Value" which became a number one hit in several countries. The track "In the Air Tonight" became his first major hit as a single.

In later years Collins continued to release successful albums while also continuing to record and perform with Genesis. He also carried on a film career including the role of Buster Edwards in the film "Buster" about the life of a criminal convicted for his part in the Great Train Robbery of 1963.