Beauty and Ugliness Trivia Quiz

Answer: Aesthetics

Aesthetics is the branch of philosophy which studies the nature and the perception of beauty, especially in the fine arts. The most significant thinkers have explored the theme of beauty, and analysed the focal question of aesthetics: what qualities make something or someone "beautiful"? Their approaches are basically founded on two categories: the objective and the subjective. In the former, beauty is inherent to the "object" and has universal validity; in the latter, beauty is "in the eyes of the beholder", i.e. it is a purely personal experience.
Aristotle and Plato saw beauty as an objective expression of symmetry and order, whereas 18th century philosophers, such as Immanuel Kant and David Hume, proposed new aesthetic theories, introducing the elements of subjectivity, pleasure and taste.
If in the distant past aesthetics was mostly a philosophical subject, the last two centuries have also seen many artists and critics contribute their views on the topic.

Answer: Bel canto

Bel canto (in Italian written "belcanto") is a style of singing which flourished in Italy in the 17th, the 18th and early 19th centuries. Operas in the bel canto style were written specifically to showcase singers' vocal virtuosity. They featured fluent, sparkling melodies, smooth legato, high coloratura passages, trills, and other ornaments.
Bel canto reached its peak in the works of three Italian composers who, between them, wrote about 130 operas: Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868, "The Barber of Seville"), Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835, "Norma") and Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848, "Lucia di Lammermoor").
Particularly famous practitioners of the art of bel canto included grand divas like Giuditta Pasta, Dame Joan Sutherland, and Maria Callas. Maybe it was because of the whims and the excesses of so many prima donnas that Gioacchino Rossini once sighed: "Oh how wonderful, really wonderful opera would be if there were no singers!"

Answer: Mother

American stand-up comedian Rodney Dangerfield (1921-2004) was especially famous for his vitriolic self-deprecating humour, especially regarding his own lack of physical attractiveness.
Some unforgettable examples:
"My psychiatrist told me I was crazy and I said I want a second opinion. He said okay, you're ugly too."
"Yeah, I know I'm ugly. I said to a bartender: 'Make me a zombie.' He said: 'God beat me to it'."
"I was such an ugly baby. My mother never breast fed me. She told me that she only liked me as a friend."
"I was so ugly my mother used to feed me with a sling shot."
"I'm so ugly; my mother had morning sickness -- AFTER I was born."
"I'm so ugly; I worked in a pet shop, and people kept asking how big I'd get."

Answer: Olivia Goldsmith

Olivia Goldsmith's debut novel and biggest seller was the satirical "First Wives' Club" (1992) in which three women take revenge on husbands who left them for younger women. The novel was also turned into a hilarious movie starring Goldie Hawn, Diane Keaton and Bette Midler.
The protagonists of her novels are often women who doubt themselves and their looks, who fear failure in love or business life; "women", she stated, "who worry about their careers, their lovers and their thighs. And in no particular order". Cosmetic surgery is omnipresent in her literary work, as miraculous remedy against personal problems. Her novels also show, though, that all exterior changes, without a true internal balance, are ultimately fruitless.
Her attempt to alter her own exterior ended tragically. Olivia Goldsmith died from complications during a face-lift. She was 54 years old. Among her best-sellers are: "Flavor of the Month", "Fashionably Late" and "Switcheroo".

Answer: Sanskrit

Having described already in 600 B.C. a rhinoplasty, an otoplasty - respectively, a nose and ear job - and the reconstruction of several body parts, the Indian surgeon Sushruta is rightfully called the "father of plastic surgery". His "Samhita" (a Sanskrit word meaning approximately "collection" or "compendium") is the oldest medical encyclopaedia still extant.

In it, he meticulously described over 1000 illnesses, as well as the most appropriate therapies or surgical interventions to treat them.

Moreover, he gave a detailed account of 121 instruments, which were surprisingly similar to those used today.

Answer: Order, symmetry and definiteness

As odd as it may seem to those who have always considered math the "ugliest" of all school subjects, Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC) stated in his "Metaphysics": "Those who assert that the mathematical sciences say nothing of the beautiful or the good are in error. For these sciences say and prove a great deal about them; if they do not expressly mention them, but prove attributes which are their results or definitions, it is not true that they tell us nothing about them. The chief forms of beauty are order and symmetry and definiteness, which the mathematical sciences demonstrate in a special degree."
In his "Poetics" as well, Aristotle suggested that symmetry and order were the very essence of a beautiful object - either a living being or a structure - and that a body is beautiful when all its parts are in proportion to the whole figure.
In the 5th century B.C., the concrete realisation of his aesthetic theories is found in the statues of the sculptors Myron, Phidias and Polycletus, whose favourite subjects to represent ideal beauty were gods and athletes.

Answer: Cuspidor

"He dropped the match. It fell-thhhh-into the cuspidor." This line is excerpted from "Ulysses", James Joyce's landmark novel, published in 1922.
"Cuspidor" is synonymous with "spittoon", and originated from "cuspir", the Portuguese word for "to spit". In spite of its meaning, undoubtedly disgusting, this was Joyce's preferred word.
An interesting poll was once conducted among writers and editors, who were asked to choose the most intrinsically beautiful word in the English language, based solely on its sound, and independently of its meaning.
Some of the results were decidedly surprising: Willard R. Espy mentioned "Gonorrhea", Arnold Bennett singled out "Pavement", and Irvin S. Cobb said "Chattanooga", whereas "Nevermore" was Elias Lieberman's favourite. Other selected words were "Mignonette", "Gossamer", "Lullaby", "Vermillion" and "Nobility".

Answer: Sleep

Joseph Merrick - in the movie called John - became popular in Victorian society as the "Elephant Man". His disease has been diagnosed today as the Proteus syndrome, a very rare congenital disorder identified only in 1979, which causes an uncontrollable growth of bones and skin.
After a desolate youth, mostly spent as a side-show attraction, Merrick was discovered by doctor Frederick Treves who took him to his hospital to study his disease. Merrick soon revealed himself to be an intelligent, sensitive and humorous soul hidden behind a repulsive exterior.
Merrick's fame soon spread, and many people visited him, including members of the upper class and royalty.
He was never considered a "normal" man, though, but always a "phenomenon", and this was a cause of profound pain to him. His greatest wish was to be like others. When he suddenly died, Dr Treves said that Merrick had probably tried to sleep lying down for the first time in his life, but the enormous weight of his head crushed his neck, and he asphyxiated.

Answer: Hephaestus

The unruly and wild Aphrodite - the Greek goddess of love, beauty and fertility - was anything but a paragon of marital fidelity. She had innumerable affairs, making no distinction between gods and mere mortals. Among her lovers were the gods Ares, Poseidon, Dionysus and Hermes, and the mortals Adonis and Anchises.
Poor Hephaestus had his work cut out for him in attempting to compete with all those glorious lovers, but as he was a prodigious craftsman, he conquered her heart by creating for her the most lavish jewels.
Indefatigable, Hephaestus not only made all the buildings of the gods, but also forged Achilles' armour, and created Pandora, the first woman.
The equivalent of Aphrodite and Hephaestus in Roman mythology are Venus and Vulcan.
Asclepius was the god of medicine, Hyperion was the god of light and Dionysus was the god of wine.

Answer: Steamboat

"Louisville's Beauty" is a treasure: the last original steamboat on the Mississippi, and the oldest one still operating in the US. In 1989, it was designated a National Historic Landmark.
Originally called "Idlewild", it was built in 1914 by James Rees & Sons of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It changed owners and locations several times, before finally arriving in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1962, now renamed "Belle of Louisville".
In 1963, the Belle of Louisville ran a race against a steam-boat named the Delta Queen. Although the Belle of Louisville lost, this was the beginning of a long tradition: an annual competition between the Belle of Louisville and another steamboat (most often the Delta Queen), usually held a few days before the Kentucky Derby.

Answer: Walt Whitman

"Of the Visage of Things" is part of "Leaves of Grass", a collection of poems most widely considered to be the masterpiece of Walt Whitman (1819-1892).
"Leaves of Grass" started as a modest volume of 12 poems, published by Whitman at his own expense in 1855, and remained a work-in-progress - constantly revised and expanded by the author, who added and deleted poems, and made minor or major changes. The ninth and last edition, also called the "Death-bed edition", was published in 1892, and contained over 400 poems.
A passionate man and thinker, Walt Whitman presents in his poems an incomparable universe in which no expression of life isn't worthy of being sung: the beautiful and the ugly, the good and the bad, the sensual and the spiritual.

Answer: Flowers

Marc Chagall's paintings are characterised by an extremely rich, surreal imagery, and are animated by vibrant colours. Many of them display flowers in all possible size and forms. Among them: "Le Bouquet Ardent", "Lovers and flowers" and "Clown with Flowers". Regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, Marc Chagall was born in Vitebsk, Belarus, in 1887, but moved to France in 1923, where he remained until his death in 1985.

He worked in several artistic fields, including stage design for theatre and ballet.

Some of his most famous creations are the ceiling of the Paris Opéra, and murals for the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.

Answer: Charles Darwin

After "The Origin of Species", "The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex" (1871) is Charles Darwin's (1809-1882) most famous publication. With the "Descent of Man", Darwin rejected the theory of beauty as a mere erratic expression of nature.

His conclusion was that all the iridescent colours, wonderful patterns and ornate embellishments displayed by butterflies, birds, fish, or other species of animals have a specific purpose, and are the result of a sexual selection. Dissenting from Kant and other philosophers, who believed only humans to be capable of appreciating beauty, Darwin stated that all creatures, humans and animals, are able to distinguish it, although at different levels of consciousness.

Answer: Gargoyles

Characteristic features of most gothic buildings are the so-called gargoyles - frightening carved monsters projecting from upper stonework. The fantasy of the sculptors knew no bounds; they embellished town halls, churches and houses with wild beasts, grotesque humans, hideous mythological characters, and other scary figures.
Have you ever sought shelter from the rain below a Gargoyle, and been surprised by a sudden shower? No wonder, because the Gargoyles were originally conceived as spouts to carry water clear of a wall.
An accepted belief is also that the Gargoyles were intended to protect the buildings by scaring off evil spirits.

Answer: Like the night

"She walks in beauty, like the night of cloudless climes and starry skies; and all that's best of dark and bright meets in her aspect and her eyes; thus mellow'd to that tender light which heaven to gaudy day denies." English poet and satirist George Gordon Noel, 6th Baron Byron, (1788-1824) was inspired to write his poem "She Walks in Beauty" by the sight of his wife's cousin, Mrs. Robert John Wilmot, at a party.

The beautiful lady had dark hair and a fair face, and was wearing a black mourning dress with spangles. That harmonious fusion of lights and shades immediately captured the imagination of the poet. "She Walks in Beauty", published in 1815, was the first of a series of songs that Lord Byron wrote to be set to traditional Jewish tunes by Isaac Nathan.

Answer: Galena

The blue, grey or black mineral galena is the chief ore and principal source of lead. It consists mostly of lead sulphide (PbS), but it frequently contains other metals, like silver.
Galena is widely spread throughout the world; in Egypt it was extracted primarily from the mines near the Red Sea coast.
Eye make-up was employed by Egyptian men, women and children of all castes. Scientists believe that it had not only a beautifying purpose, but also served as insect repellent and provided protection from the sun. Crucial, too, was its supposed magical power, considered an invulnerable shield against the "evil eye". Eye make-up kits have been found in the earliest Egyptian tombs.
Hematite is the major ore of iron, bauxite is the principal ore of aluminium, and magnetite is the magnetic mineral form of iron oxide.

Answer: Celine Dion

One of the superstars of pop music, with over 100 million albums sold world-wide, Céline Dion was born in Charlemagne, a small town in Québec, Canada. Youngest of 14 children, she grew up in a highly musical family, and began singing when she was 5 years old. Already famous in Québec as a teen star, in 1988 she won the Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin, Ireland.

Her true international breakthrough, though, came when she sang in duet with Peabo Bryson the title track for Walt Disney animated movie, "Beauty and the Beast" (1992).

The song stormed the US charts, and earned both an Academy Award and a Grammy.

Answer: Red Door

The famous red door of Elizabeth Arden's salon on Fifth Avenue is still her signature today.
Born Florence Nightingale Graham in 1884 in Ontario, Canada, into poor circumstances, Elizabeth Arden came to New York in 1908 in search of an employment opportunity. In spite of financial difficulties, she was able to open her first beauty salon in 1909, laying the foundation for an immense cosmetics and beauty empire. She was a pioneer not only in the field of beauty treatments and products, but also in the way she used innovative marketing strategies to commercialise her products.

Answer: Eli Wallach

Cult movie of the "Spaghetti Western" series, "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" is the third film of Sergio Leone's trilogy, after "A Fistful of Dollars" (1964), and "For a Few Dollars more" (1965). "The greatest film ever made," is the summation of the American director Quentin Tarantino.
The plot is set amid the bloody chaos of the American Civil War, and features three gunmen - Blondie (the Good, Clint Eastwood), Angel Eyes (the Bad, Lee van Cleef), and Tuco (the Ugly, Eli Wallach) - each of them engaged in a ruthless quest to discover a treasure trove of Confederate gold coins before the others.
Legendary also is the film's musical score, composed by Ennio Morricone.

Answer: Dada

The piece of "non-art" which probably best epitomises Dada's subversive view of art and aesthetics is the outrageous "Fountain" by Marcel Duchamp, a signed porcelain urinal exhibited in 1917: the ultimate consecration of ugliness and vulgarity in art.
Dada (also called Dadaism) originated as an anti-war movement in Zürich, Switzerland at the end of 1915, and soon spread to other European cities and New York. It was formed by disillusioned artists, writers and intellectuals whose works showed a cynical attitude toward traditional values and beliefs.
Besides Marcel Duchamp and Man Ray, the most significant Dada artists were George Grosz, Kurt Schwitters, Hans Arp and Sophie Taeuber-Arp. Among the writers, important proponents of Dada were Tristan Tzara, André Breton, and Hugo Ball.