Category Crunch 3 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Puggles

Along with the platypus, echidnas are monotremes, or egg-laying mammals. Puggles are echidna young, and not just beagle/pug crossbreeds.

The name 'echidna' was given to this odd creature as it was deemed to have characteristics of both mammals and reptiles - just as the Echidna of Greek mythology was half woman and half snake.

Answer: Back to Square One

A rebus (according to Dictionary.com) is a representation of a word or phrase by pictures, symbols, etc., that suggest that word or phrase or its syllables.

There are some very complicated and imaginative rebuses out there, but my simple combination of a shape and two letters (reversed) still provides enough information to come up with the intended phrase: Back to square one.

Answer: Elvis Presley

With his growing popularity, Elvis moved from a more 'normal' neighbourhood to this 17,552 square foot Colonial Revival style mansion on 13 1/2 acres of property. All that for $102,500 which, adjusted for inflation, would be approximately $878,400 today (at time of the writing of this quiz, in 2016). Mind you, he also put about $500,000 into various upgrades and property development.

Elvis did not name the property 'Graceland'. In fact, the property was called 'Graceland' even before the mansion was built in 1939 by Ruth and Dr. Thomas Moore. Ruth was the great-niece of Stephen C. Toof, who originally owned the land and named it 'Graceland Farms' for his daughter, Grace.

Answer: Siegfried & Roy

Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn were the headliners of one of the most popular magic shows in Las Vegas from 1990 until 2003. They were known for their inclusion of white lions and white tigers in their act, and it was an incident with one of those tigers (named Mantecore) that ended their show.

While most news reports had Mantecore attacking Roy and biting him in the neck, the two magicians dispute that version of events, saying that Roy actually suffered a stroke, and that Mantecore was trying to protect him (by dragging him away like a cub). Unfortunately, that meant a near-fatal bite that severed an artery.

Answer: Maracas

Maracas are a popular instrument in Caribbean and Latin music, usually played in pairs. They are believed to be inventions of the Taínos, the indigenous people of the island of Puerto Rico (which they called Borikén).

Answer: Bloodstone

Bloodstone is a mineral aggregate, typically found as a mixture of jasper with red flecks of hematite. A legend has it that the bloodstone was formed by the blood of Christ dripping on the green earth and solidifying, although there are records of bloodstone in pre-Christian cultures.

The most common locations to find bloodstone include India, Brazil, China, Australia, and the United States.

Answer: False

Hawaii (and the Aleutians west of 169.30) use HAST, which is offset by 10 hours from Greenwich (GMT-10). Hawaii keeps HAST all year, while the Aleutians adjust for daylight savings in the summer.

Answer: 1613

The fire that claimed The Globe Theatre occurred during a performance of Shakespeare's "Henry VIII" when a theatrical cannon misfired and ignited some thatching and wooden beams.

A second Globe Theatre was built on the location one year later. That one closed in 1642. The current Globe Theatre was built in 1997 on a site about 230 metres from where the original stood. It is a reconstruction based on the research of historian John Orrell of the University of Alberta.

Answer: Game of Life

"The Game of Life", sometimes simply called "Life", was created by Milton Bradley in 1860 as "The Checkered Game of Life", a version of the game that looked quite different than the modern version, which was published in 1960.

In both the original and the revamped versions of the game, the players navigate a course that follows the stages of life from youth to retirement, including many possibilities along the way (school, jobs, family, etc.).

Answer: The Sound of Music

"The Sound of Music" prospered on Broadway for four years and 1,443 performances before the end of its run. The first Maria and Captain Georg von Trapp were played by Mary Martin and Theodore Bikel, with four other women and one other man taking on the roles in the course of its Broadway run.

The 1965 movie adaptation of The Sound of Music" starred Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. It won five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director (Robert Wise).

If you haven't seen it, here is The setting for you: It is Austria, 1938, the time of the Anschluss by Germany. A willful young nun-in-training is hired as a governess for the von Trapp family, a widower military man who is raising his seven children with strict discipline. The story was based on the book "The Story of the Trapp Family Singers" by Maria von Trapp.

Answer: Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness"

Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" was published originally as a three-part serial in "Blackwood's Magazine" 1899, then in 1902 as a novel. It is the story of Charles Marlow's journey up the Congo River to find the ivory-trader Mr. Kurtz, and how Kurtz is perceived by the company, by the natives, and how his (Kurtz's) experience has changed him. The novel draws an analogy between the darkness of the African wilderness and the darkness of 'civilized' society.

"Tarzan of the Apes" was published in 1912, "Ulysses" in 1918, and "The Sound and the Fury" in 1929.

Answer: John Ford

John Ford received five Oscar nominations for Best Director over his career, and managed to win four of them. His first win was for the 1935 drama "The Informer", his second came for "The Grapes of Wrath" (1940), and his third was for 1941's "How Green Was My Valley". His fourth win, of course, was "The Quiet Man" (1952) mentioned in the question.

The one nominated movie that he didn't win Best Director for was 1939's "Stagecoach", losing to Victor Fleming and "Gone With the Wind".

In all, John Ford had 145 directing credits to his name.

Answer: 1812 Overture, Op. 49

Tchaikovsky composed his "1812 Overture" to commemorate the Russian defense against Napoleon in that year. Napoleon and his Grande Armée invaded Russia and occupied Moscow in September, but it ended up costing Napoleon greatly. He found Moscow to be desolate and partially burned by the retreating Russian forces. With no supplies to support his soldiers, Napoleon began a retreat in October that lasted two months facing dire circumstances and harrying by Russian troops and Cossacks. By the time the Grande Armée reached Poland, it was only one tenth its original size.

The "1812 Overture" was first performed in Moscow on August 20th, 1882.

Answer: Ascanio Sobrero

Ascanio Sobrero studied medicine at the University of Turin and in Paris before continuing on with chemistry at the University of Gießen. He invented nitroglycerin in 1847, but deemed it too volatile to work with safely. Both Sobrero and Nobel studied under Théophile-Jules Pelouze, who himself had worked with the material guncotton.

Answer: Qibla

The Qibla (also called Qiblah, Qibleh, Kiblah, Kýble or Kibla) is the term for whatever direction faces the Kaaba. In most mosques, a mihrab is a small niche in the wall that indicates the Qibla.

A minbar is the raised platform that an Imam uses to address the congregation, while ummah means 'community'.

Answer: W - Tungsten

The symbol W for tungsten is a reference to the material's other (earlier) name, wolfram. The name 'wolfram' comes from the rock from which the ore is drawn - wolframite. The term 'tungsten' comes from the Swedish words 'tung' and 'sten', which together mean 'heavy stone'. Its atomic number is 74.

Aurum is the Latin term for gold, argentum is silver, and plumbum is lead.

Answer: Toronto FC

Toronto FC joined the MLS in 2007, and since joining they have played their home games at BMO Field in Toronto on the shore of Lake Ontario. The year 2015 marked the first time that Toronto FC made it into the MLS playoffs; they were eliminated in the knockout stage by the Montreal Impact.

Speaking of the Montreal Impact, they were the third Canadian team to join the league (2012), one year after the Vancouver Whitecaps FC (2011). Ottawa was considered as an expansion location in 2009, but did not get chosen. Instead, they were granted a franchise with the North American Soccer League (NASL), debuting in 2014 as the Ottawa Fury FC.

Answer: Jay Leno

Even though Johnny Carson did the longest stretch in years (from 1962 to 1992), he hosted three times per week during much of that time, altogether amassing 4,531 shows hosted. Jay Leno, on the other hand, was hosting five times per week, so in his two stints as host (1992 to 2009 and 2010 to 2014) he did 4,610 shows.

Combined, Steve Allen (1954 to 1957) and Jack Paar (1957 to 1962) hosted 2,000 shows.

Answer: The Knights Templar

The premise of the "Assassin's Creed" games is that modern-day corporate versions of the ancient secret societies the Assassins and the Templars are vying for control of the 'Pieces of Eden' and the power they can give to control mankind.

The antagonist of the story is Desmond Miles, a modern-day trained Assassin who has walked away from his heritage to try to live a normal life. He is kidnapped by the modern-day Templars (the megacorporation Abstergo Industries) and forced to use the 'Animus' - a device that allows him to experience ancestral memories. By this means, the Templars hope to learn the locations of the lost 'Pieces of Eden'.

The original story has morphed somewhat over multiple games and gaming platforms over the years since the first "Assassin's Creed" was released in 2007.

Answer: South Africa

The 9-foot statue (sculpted by Jean Doyle) in front of the South African Embassy in Washington, D.C. is, of course, a depiction of Nelson Mandela. Mandela fought against apartheid from the late 1940s until he was imprisoned in 1962 (for life), convicted of conspiracy to overthrow the state. 'Life' ended up being 27 years, and after his release from prison in 1990, he lobbied for free elections. In 1994 he became South Africa's first president, a post which he held until 1999.

(The head of state was a prime minister from 1910 until 1984, and a state president until 1994).