"B" Ready to Wear Your Thinking Cap! Quiz

Answer: Bulgaria

In 2004, Bangladesh had a population of 141,340,476 (estimated). Life expectancy was not high, at 61.71 years, and only 43.1% of the population over age 15 could read and write. Its capital is Dhaka. A large proportion of the population works in agriculture, and rice is the main crop produced here. The economy is hampered by climate: a third of the land is subject to annual flooding, being largely on a low plain. Flooding caused over 20 million people in Bangladesh to lose their homes in August 2004.

Again in 2004, Belgium had a population of 10,348,276, an average life expectancy of 78.44 years, and 98% of the population over age 15 were literate. Its government is a federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarch, with King Albert II ascending to the throne in 1993. Its capital, Brussels, also is the seat of both the European Union and NATO.

Bolivia, located west of Brazil, had a 2004 population of 8,724,156 (estimated), an average life expectancy of 65.14 years, and a literacy rate of 87.2% of those age 15 and over. La Paz is the seat of government and Sucre is its legal capital. Once one of the poorest nations in South America, it has made considerable progress with its economy, but is still a major source of illicit drugs, particularly coca. This landlocked country has a navy of some 3800 members, including 2000 marines.

Bulgaria has 28 provinces, with its capital at Sofia. A former adjunct of the Soviet Union, Bulgaria is now (2005) working towards entry into the European Union. It is still recovering from major economic problems in 1996 which led to the end of the ruling socialist government. Unemployment is at 14.3%; nevertheless, in 2002 there were 2,597,500 cell phones in use in the country. This mostly mountainous country borders the Black Sea, and lies between Romania, Turkey and Greece.

Answer: Castle Ballygally

Castle Ballinacarriga, in Cork, is a four-storey tower famous for its stone carvings. It was probably built in the early 1500s, and is now a ruin. It was briefly occupied by Oliver Cromwell, who damaged it when he left so it would not be of use to his enemies.

Castle Ballygally is on the Antrim coast, with views of both the Antrim Mountains and the Irish Sea, and close to the Giant's Causeway.
Its 44 rooms start at 55 pounds a night (Feb 2005 prices) and still have many original features.

Castle Blarney is world famous for its kissing stone... and its name being adopted by Elizabeth I as a synonym for nonsense. Building started in the early 15th century, with parts being added at times up to the 18th century. A lesser known feature of the castle is the "Wishing Stairs" - steps in a cave-like tunnel leading to what is believed to be an old Druid sacrificial site. One supposedly will have one's wish come true if one can walk all the way down and back up again with one's eyes closed.

Castle Bunratty was built in 1450, on the site of a castle built in 1277 which had since burned down. It overlooks the River Shannon, and is a major tourist attraction. Medieval banquets are held in the Great Hall twice nightly (reservations required).

Answer: Bream

The Great Barracuda, Sphyraena barracuda, certainly has some nasty teeth, and has been known to turn them on swimmers as well as its normal meal of choice, small fish. It is attracted to bright, shiny objects. The world record catch is 85 lbs at Christmas Island (as of 2005). It is brownish to bluish grey on the back, silver on the sides and has a white belly. Smaller varieties of the barracuda make good eating, but in some areas they are now implicated in ciguatera fish poisoning, a toxin which causes some nasty symptoms but only rarely is fatal.

The Black Marlin, Makaira indicus, is a billfish which feeds on squid and other fish such as tuna or dolphin. It has a dark blue to black back and a silvery white belly. The largest one caught was over 1500 lbs; it was caught in Peru. It grills well, although many must end up mounted on trophies instead of the dinner plate.

The Bream, Abramis Brama from the family Cyprinidae, is also known as the yellowfin. It is an estuary fish, loves pylons and other structures, and tastes really good. "Easily distinguished from other species, the bream has a very deep narrow body with the tail fin being deeply forked, the upper lobe being pointed and the lower one slightly rounded. The anal fin is very long reaching from just past the mid-point of the belly to almost the tail. In spite of being well scaled, the bream is extremely slimy." (anglerstimes.co.uk/fishbream )

The Burbot, Lota Lota, is considered to be a coarse and ugly fish; despite being delicious, it is not commonly caught for eating. It is also known as lawyer, American burbot, ling, eelpout, loche and freshwater cod. Its back is olive green to brown, and it has a creamy belly. It eats smaller fish, aquatic bugs and small rodents.

Answer: Bellatrix

Becrux is Beta Crucis, a Spectral Type B0.5III star in the Southern Cross.

Bellatrix, the "Amazon Star", is also known as Gamma Orionis. It sits at the west shoulder of Orion. According to www.astro.uiuc.edu, "With a temperature of 21,500 Kelvin (at the hot end of class B), it is in league with Spica, Adhara, and Shaula. Its measured distance of 240 light years shows it to radiate (accounting for a lot of ultraviolet radiation from the hot surface) 6400 times more light than does the Sun. If Bellatrix has not already ceased hydrogen fusion in its core, it will soon, and is even now classed as a "giant." Such hot giants however, are nowhere near as large as the classical orange and red giants. (Carrying eight or nine solar masses, Bellatrix will become such an orange giant in at most a few million years, and then die quietly as a massive white dwarf; it is not quite large enough to explode). The star's great luminosity comes not so much from its diameter (six times that of the Sun), but from its high temperature."

Betelgeuse, a Spectral Type M1-2Ia-Iab star, is the 12th brightest in the sky, and forms the armpit of Orion. It is known as Alpha Orion due to its having been misclassified; it is actually a bit fainter than Beta Orion.

Brachium is a Spectral Type M3-III star in Libra, also known as Sigma Librae. It is not terribly bright.

Answer: Anton Bruckner

Bartok was born in 1881 in Sīnnicolau Mare, Hungary. His works were heavily influenced by Hungarian folk music and the music of Strauss and Debussy. He began composing at the age of 9 and continued until his death in 1945. Probably his most famous work is the opera 'Bluebeard's Castle'.

Bax was born in London in 1883. His most well known work is 'Tintagel', a tone poem. He wrote seven symphonies, as well as many other works. He was knighted in 1937 and became Master of the King's Musick in 1941. He died in 1953.

Boccherini was born in 1743 in Lucca, Italy. He wrote 91 string quartets, 137 quintets and 30 symphonies. His music was greatly influenced by Haydn. Born in the baroque musical period, he helped usher in the classical music style made famous by Beethoven. He died in Madrid in 1805.

Bruckner was born on 4 September 1824 in Ansfelden, Austria. A very devout Roman Catholic, he wrote many religious works in addition to his nine symphonies. According to classiccat.net, "He was never married, though he proposed to a large list of astonished young women. He had a morbid interest in dead bodies, even at one point cradling the head of Beethoven in his hands when Beethoven was exhumed." He died on 11 February 1903 in Vienna.

Answer: Bandurria

The Balalaika is a traditional Russian instrument with a triangular body, long neck and two or three strings. It may have derived from the tambur and domra, an early mandolin-like instrument.

The Bandurria is a kind of plucked lute, and was largely found on the Iberian peninsula.

The Baryton is similar to a viol but with strings that can be plucked using the left thumb. Haydn wrote 175 pieces using this instrument.

A Bouzouki is a double-strung Greek instrument with small body and long neck. It is now often used for playing Irish music.

Answer: Beam Me Up Scotty

A Black Sand is also a layered drink, this one using Kahlua, Black Sambuca and Amaretto.

A Busted Rubber is layered with Raspberry Schnapps, Bailey's Irish Cream and Grand Marnier.

Between the Sheets is not layered; it is 3/4 oz rum, 3/4 oz brandy
3/4 oz Cointreau and a splash of fresh lemon juice or sour mix, shaken over ice.

Answer: Bluebottle

The Barberry is an ornamental shrub with a nasty bite - the leaves become spines over a years' time. Its berries can be used in jellies, its roots produce a yellow dye, and the leaves can be used in salad or for seasoning meat.

The Blackthorn is the sloe, a hedge which can grow up to be a tree. It has lots of white flowers and its fruit is often steeped in gin.

The Bluebottle, or Bluet, is known in the US as the cornflower - either a pretty cottage garden flower or a nuisance weed! It has long stems and narrow leaves. In 'The Goon Show', Peter Sellers played the part of Bluebottle with Spike Milligan as Eccles and Harry Secombe as Ned Seagoon; they all took on additional roles in this hilarious radio comedy series. Peter Sellers, also famous for his role in the 'Pink Panther' series, died in 1980 at age 55, of a heart attack. Spike Milligan, whose genius cohabited with severe bipolar disorder (which kept him in and out of hospital) died in 2002. His headstone (written in Erse) translates to "I told you I was ill." Harry Secombe, who often had to calm irate audiences by singing (his voice was of near operatic quality), died in 2001. When he died, Milligan stated that he was glad Secombe died first, so he wouldn't be signing at his (Milligan's) funeral; a recording of Secombe singing was played at Milligan's memorial service...

The Bryony is a climbing plant, ofter found in English hedgerows. It is sometimes also called the Mandrake. In the 14th century it was thought to be a cure for leprosy; the root was used to make a purgative and the berries have been used as a dye. The berries of this plant are poisonous.

Answer: Hilaire Belloc

Barbet was born in 1925 and died in 1995. His books include 'Baphomet's Meteor' (1972), 'Cosmic Crusaders' (1980) and 'The Emperor of Eridanus' (1983).

BeauSigneur is an American author, born in 1953, who once worked for the NSA, taught political science at an American university, and in 1980 ran for the US Congress against Al Gore. Apart from some manuals on defense and military avionics, he has written 'The Christ Clone Trilogy'.

Belloc had strong views against women's suffrage, despite his mother's and sister's activism. His books include a vicious attack on social insurance and minimum wages, the 1912 'The Servile State', a series of biographies including ones of Cromwell, Wolsey, Napoleon and Richelieu, and novels including 'A Change in the Cabinet' and 'The French Revolution'. He died in 1953.

Pierre Boule was born in 1912 in Avignon. He was a prisoner of the Japanese forces in WWII. His most famous work is surely 'The Bridge Over the River Kwai' (1954) which became a classic film. Other books include 'Planet of the Apes' (1963), 'Desperate Games' (1971), 'Sacrilege in Malaya' (1983) and 'Mirrors of the Sun' (1986). Non-fiction works include 'William Conrad' (1955), 'My Own River Kwai' (1967) and 'Good Leviathan' (1978). He died in 1994 in Paris.

Answer: Bhutan

In Bangladesh, 100 poisha equal one taka.

In Bhutan, the chetram is a coin worth 1/100th ngultrum, the basic money unit of the country.

Brunei has the riggit as its basic monetary unit, which is equal to 100 sen.

Burundi's main currency unit is the Burundi franc, worth 100 centimes.