Blue, Blue and a Bit More Blue Quiz

Answer: Bluebirds aren't generally found in England

Vera Lynn recorded the song in 1942. Written in 1941 (before the US entered the war) by Walter Kent and Nat Burton, it was designed to uplift the spirits of the Allies in a time of very heavy German bombardment. Bluebirds aren't actually indigenous to England though - they are more commonly found in America since they prefer open grassland with scattered trees. (Mind you, I guess the song wouldn't have sounded quite the same with 'they'll be pigeons over, the white cliffs of dover' would it?)

Answer: Dennis Hopper

'Blue Velvet' was an American mystery film. It was included in 'The New York Times' 10 Best Films of 1986 list upon its release and earned David Lynch an Academy Award nomination for Best Director. It was said to relaunch Dennis Hopper's career. (For those that haven't seen it, it was a bit out there.)

Answer: The Who

Recorded by British band The Who, it was their second single from their fifth album 'Who's Next'. It has been covered by Bryan Adams, Pearl Jam and Sheryl Crow (to name but a few who did covers), but it was The Who who recorded it in 1971. (There are seriously too many who's in that sentence!)

Answer: true

Strange but nevertheless true. Pink was associated with boys because it was close to the colour red - which was thought to be a masculine colour; and blue was used for girls because it had traditionally been the colour of the Virgin Mary in Western art.

Answer: Belize

The Great Blue Hole is located near Ambergris Caye, Belize. It is circular (as probably evidenced by the word 'hole!) and over 300 metres wide and 124 metres deep. Evidence shows the formation of the hole began 153,000 years ago. It is a World Heritage Site. If you have a passion for scuba diving, do a Google search on the Great Blue Hole - it looks spectacular.

Answer: Lapis Lazuli

Lapis Lazuli is one of my favourite gemstones, being a stunning intense blue colour. It was used in ancient Egyptian times for amulets and ornaments, and was also used in ancient Mesopotamia. It was also reputedly used in powdered form as eyeshadow by Cleopatra. In ancient times it was called 'Sapphire'.

Answer: Red-headed

Though it makes no sense to me, and I've been in Australia for thirty years, it means a redhead. The only close-to-rational explanation I've found for this is that in Australia 'having a blue' means 'having a fight/argument', and redheads are often portrayed as being a bit fiery.

Incidentally, a few bits of trivia about redheads: approximately 1-2% of the world population has red hair; research has found people with red hair require greater amounts of anesthetic; and the colour 'titian' comes from Titian because he often painted women with red hair.

Answer: A Mexican plant

Blue agave is a Mexican plant with blue leaves. It is used in the making of tequila.

Answer: Bluebells

One of my favourites, bluebells are very common in English woodlands (you can often find woods which look like the ground has been carpeted in these beautiful lavendar blue flowers). Other names for the bluebell include auld man's bell, jacinth, ring-o'-bells, wilde hyacinth, and wood bells.

Answer: 1,000 acres of land each

They were all granted 1,000 acres of land. The Blue Mountains are a beautiful spot about an hour to the west of Sydney. It is mainly a sandstone plateau and is dissected by gorges which are up to 760 metres deep. It features the Three Sisters, The Giant Staircase, Jenolan Caves, The Katoomba Scenic Railway (the steepest railway in the world according to the 'Guinness Book of Records'), and the Scenic Skyway (which you wouldn't get me on if you paid me money to go on it!).

Incidentally the range does contain the suburbs of Lawson, Blaxland and Wentworth.

Answer: False

If you got that right, good for you... for the last thirty years, I honestly thought the words to that song were 'song, song blue,' and not 'Song SUNG Blue' which is the correct answer! Oh, the song was in the top 40 for 12 weeks.

Answer: Sick

You'd look rather sick. The term is probably derived from a fish lacking air. One could also say "green around the gills".

Answer: A German strategic offensive

It was a German strategic offensive during WWII which involved a two-pronged attack against the Soviet oilfields of Baku, whilst at the same time advancing in the direction of Stalingrad along the Volga River. (In essence, Blue Case was pretty much a continuation of Operation Barbarossa which had begun the previous year).

Answer: Chumbawumba

Chumbawumba did not record a blue album. Diana Ross had a 'Blue' album in 2006 released by Motown; 'Blue' was the sixth album by Simply Red (released in 1998 on East West Records); and Third Eye Blind's second album, released in 1999, was called 'Blue'.

Answer: Eat

Okay, you really wouldn't want to be one of these little suckers. The blue-ringed octopus is found mainly in Japan and Australia and is named the blue ringed octopus because of the blue and black rings around its yellowish body. To capture prey, they paralyse their victim with venom.

They generally feed on fish, crabs and shrimp but during the female's six month egg-laying process, she doesn't eat at all - and once the eggs have hatched, she promptly dies from lack of food. (Boys, you wouldn't fare too well either if you were a blue ringed octopus - once you mate, you die!)