Cool Zooms, Part III Trivia Quiz

Answer: Pandora

After Prometheus upset Zeus by handing over fire, Zeus decided to redress the balance and caused Hephaestus to create Woman out of a lump of clay. She was gifted with many things from the other gods and goddesses before being handed over to torment mankind. Her name means 'all' (Pan) and 'gifted / endowed' (Doron)
She was given over to Humanity, complete with a receptacle containing "burdensome toil and sickness that brings death to men, diseases and a myriad other pains"
She subsequently opened it and these evils were loosed upon the world apart from a single item- Hope.

Traditionally and erroneously described as a 'box" the receptacle was more likely to be a large storage jar - Pithos- translated into Latin as Pyxis -which is box.

This question was pulled out of an amphora by Phoenix Rising member smpdit.

Answer: Nausea

Nausea, sometimes expanded to the phase 'et nausea pressus', means seasickness, although it now more commonly refers to the feeling of queasiness or wanting/needing to vomit. The word is related to naus/naut (Latin & Greek: ship) from which the term nautical has evolved. When something is overdone, it can be described as 'ad nauseum' (to the point of sickness). The French term for seasickness is 'mal de mer'.

This question has been held at arm's length by Phoenix Rising member, MikeMaster99, who has used best personal protective equipment protocols to deliver it safely.

Answer: Goat

Goats are thought to be able to soothe nervous racehorses. One theory of why this may be so is that horses are herd animals and providing a goat as a companion is a cheaper alternative to another horse, especially when transporting the animals for races. Apparently, the phrase "What's (or Who's) got your goat?", which means "being annoyed", derives from this tradition. Saboteurs would steal a horse's goat the night before a race to disrupt the horse's composure and make the horse perform badly in the race.

The "gruff" hint in the question refers to "The Three Billy Goats Gruff", a popular fairy tale of Norwegian origin.

This question was butted into the quiz by Phoenix Rising team member purelyqing.

Answer: Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda

Roughly 94% of Lake Victoria's area is divided between Tanzania and Uganda, while Kenya claims the remaining 6%. At approximately 60,000 sq km (23,000 sq mi), it is the second largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area after Lake Superior.

Lake Victoria was given its name by the English explorer John Hanning Speke in honor of Queen Victoria, during an expedition to find the source of the Nile. Speke was the first European to see the lake, known to his native guides as Lake Nyanza, and the first to map it. Lake Victoria was eventually confirmed as the Nile's source after his death.

Hopefully, you didn't follow the red herring in Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana. Zambia and Zimbabwe are home to Victoria Falls. Rwanda and Burundi are close enough, but Guyana is in South America. And while Malawi and Mozambique lie on the eastern coast of Africa, Madagascar is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about 400 km (250 mi) across the Mozambique Channel.

This question was floated by Phoenix Rising team member, JCSon.

Answer: 7

After noticing similarities between different elements, Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev (1834-1907) arranged them in tabular form. He predicted the existence of eight elements which had not been discovered. His work was published in 1869. Mendeleev has been honoured by the name chosen for element number 101, Mendelevium (Md).

In the early part of the 21st century, 118 elements had been discovered and named. There are currently seven complete periods in the periodic table. Any further discoveries will be placed into an eighth period. As well as horizontal rows or periods, the periodic table has 18 vertical groups of elements exhibiting similar chemical properties.

Phoenix Rising team member psnz was delighted with the opportunity to arrange this question, noting the stability it has brought to the quiz.

Answer: Sanskrit

Aramaic originated in Syria and surrounding areas, and was the language that Jesus spoke. The name derives from the area then known as Aram, located in present-day northern Syria.

Koine Greek was a predecessor of Modern Greek, and was spoken widely throughout the Middle East. The word 'koine' means 'common', and the language is still used in the Greek Orthodox Church.

Hebrew is a very old language, dating back to 1000 years before the birth of Christ, and is the official language of Israel.

Debate continues as to whether Sanskrit is a dead language, but it is definitely not used in the Bible. It is an Indic language, used primarily by the Hindu faith, based in India.

This question was written by ozzz2002, who can only speak Australian English.

Answer: Watson

Watson is a computer running software called Deep QA, developed by IBM Research. While the grand challenge driving the project was to win on "Jeopardy!", the broader goal of Watson was to create a new generation of technology that could find answers in unstructured data more effectively than standard search technology. Watson was named after IBM's founder and first CEO, industrialist Thomas J. Watson.

Between them Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter had racked up over $5 million in winnings on the television quiz show "Jeopardy!". They were the best players the show had produced over its decades-long lifetime: Ken Jennings had the longest unbeaten run at 74 winning appearances, while Brad Rutter had earned the biggest prize pot with a total of $3.25 million.

Watson, consisting of ten racks of ten Power 750 servers, had to be kept apart from the human contestants because of the roar of its cooling system and was represented at the podium by an avatar of IBM's Smarter Planet logo, whose moving lines would go green when Watson had answered correctly, orange when the answer was wrong.

Apart from Watson having the questions delivered in text rather than by listening to the quiz-master, he played the game like his human counterparts. He won the game with $77,147 leaving Rutter and Jennings in the dust with $21,600 and $24,000 respectively.

Phoenix Rising team member lg549 programmed this question into the team quiz.

Answer: Idaho

The Canada-United States border covers 5,525 miles / 8,891 km from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean to the west. Eight Canadian provinces share the boundary with thirteen American states; ten of these states have a land boundary. These ten American states from west to east, are Alaska, Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, with a further three - Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania - having marine boundaries.

Idaho has the smallest land boundary of 45 mile/ 72 km bordering Canadian British Columbia yet has a massive six US state borders: Montana to the east/northeast, Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington and Oregon to the west.

Counting marine boundaries, Pennsylvania has the smallest boundary of all at 42 miles or 68km but it borders seven other US states: Delaware on its southeast, Maryland on the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York to the north, and New Jersey to the east.

This question was originally written by Phoenix Rising member 1nn1 on paper with a surrounding border that did not share a boundary with any US state or Canadian province.

Answer: Anthony Eden

Eden, the First Lord of Avon, took over from Churchill in April 1955. His premiership was proceeding well, until the Suez Canal was nationalised by Egyptian President, Gamal Nasser. Eden tried to persuade France to jointly declare war on Egypt, and sought support from the US. In a complication, Israel moved first, trying to seize control of the Canal, and the British and French troops were in support. However, US President Eisenhower slammed the military intervention, and pressure from him, and the United Nations, forced a cease-fire and withdrawal. Nasser had blocked the Canal, by scuttling over 40 large ships.
The crisis brought an end to Eden's career, as he resigned after only serving 19 months in the top job.

Clement Attlee was PM between Churchill's terms, serving from 1945 to 1951, and Neville Chamberlain lost the job to Churchill in 1940. Wilson came a bit later- 1964 to 1970.

This question was brought to you by ozzz2002, who was only a baby at the time of the crisis, and therefore cannot be held to blame.

Answer: Basic Input/Output System

The Basic Input/Output System is used to boot (start up) a computer system. The BIOS is a program on a chip on a computer's motherboard. One of its jobs is to check that all the different components (memory, screen, disk drive, keyboard) are present and working. It does this by carrying out a Power On Self Test (POST). The BIOS then helps load the Operating System into memory and gets the computer ready for use.

Since the BIOS helps to bring a computer system to life, some see this as a pun on the Greek word, 'bios' meaning, 'life'.

Rising Phoenix team member psnz was initially surprised at this question but was able to load and execute an acceptable solution.

Answer: Thespis

Instead of the chorus telling the whole story in a play, Thespis of Icaria devised a new form of performance; the Tragedy. The chorus still participated in presentations of Greek myth, while the sole actor, in this case Thespis, donned a mask to portray a particular character. He would then switch masks to portray someone else. It wasn't until 50 years later that Aeschylus first wrote dramas to be performed by two actors and a chorus.
The English word "thespian," which means actor, is derived from the name of Thespis, considered to be the first theatrical actor. He was also a playwright, stage director and producer.

This question was expertly staged and sponsored by Phoenix Rising member VegemiteKid.

Answer: Katharine Hepburn

Hepburn's wins came in 1934 for "Morning Glory", 1968 "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner", 1969 "The Lion in Winter" and 1982 for "On Golden Pond". All four of those wins were for her performances as an actress in a leading role. Walter Brennan was the first to win three acting Oscars, though, without meaning to take any gloss from those efforts, all were for performances in a supporting role. Daniel Day-Lewis, to this point, has earned three Best Actor Oscars. Meryl Streep, with in excess of twenty acting nominations, won her third acting Oscar in 2012 for "The Iron Lady" Where she won Best Actress in a Leading Role. She also won the Best Actress Oscars in 1983 for "Sophie's Choice", and in 1979 she won Best Actress in a Supporting Role for "Kramer vs. Kramer".

This question was scripted by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19 who only acts like he knows everything.

Answer: Valar morghulis

Valar morghulis, meaning all men must die, is certainly a relevant phrase in the world of "Game of Thrones" where warring territories and shifting allegiances mean that no one is safe. The producers of "Game of Thrones" sought to expand upon the languages mentioned in the source material novels written by George R. R. Martin in his series "A Song of Ice and Fire". David J. Peterson, a language creator, was hired to invent additional words for the show in the Dothraki and Valyrian languages that were not in the novels.

This question was originally written in Valyrian by Phoenix Rising team member Triviaballer who thankfully translated it back to English for the purpose of this quiz.

Answer: Vermeer

The painting hangs in the Mauritshuis, in the Hague. Fabritius's painting "The Goldfinch" hangs nearby - it also is the subject of a popular novel, this one by Donna Tartt. Vermeer's work wasn't always named for the subject's jewelry - one of the earlier references was more taken by the turban she is wearing. Some argue that the earring isn't a pearl at all but a metal disk. Whatever, it is truly lovely and captivating - The Girl gazes at you while you admire her.

This question was pusdoc's contribution to this Dutch treat quiz.

Answer: As You Like It

The famous line "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players" is uttered by the character known as 'Melancholy Jaques' in Act II Scene VII of 'As You Like It'. Jaques is one of the lords belonging to the court of Duke Senior, who have been forced into exile by the Duke's younger brother and reduced to living in the nearby Forest of Arden (so probably has good reason to be melancholy!) He is noted for his introspective nature and his famous monologue is about the seven ages of man in the context of life being a play to be performed.

The role of Jaques is quite a popular one with Shakespearean actors thanks to his famous lines. Kevin Kline won a Screen Actors Guild award for his performance as Jaques in Kenneth Branagh's 2006 film version of 'As You Like It'.

This monologue of information was recited by Phoenix Rising team member Fifiona81.

Answer: Real Estate novelist

The "Piano Man" is a semi-autobiographical song that was penned by Billy Joel and released as a single in 1973. Semi-autobiographical because it is a fictionalised account that was based on real experiences. Joel worked for a time as a piano player in The Executive Room, a bar in Los Angeles, under the name of Bill Martin. Martin is his middle name and he is the "Bill" that is mentioned in the lyrics. The other characters named in the song: John, the guy working at the bar, feeding Bill with free drinks; Davy, "who's still in the Navy" and Paul, our real estate novelist; are all characters that Joel encountered during his six month stint in the bar.

Some sources indicate that a "real estate novelist" is the person who writes the descriptions, that are placed in advertisements, of properties that are for sale. Specialists who are able to instil the maximum amount of information into the smallest number of characters and spaces. According to Billy Joel answering questions at the Sanders Theatre in Harvard University in 1994, his character is not that but Paul is a man with a job, marking time who dreams of writing the great American novel, but it won't come to fruition as he spends too much time at the bar.

The lyrics to this question were written by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19, who is still looking to write that great Australian novel.

Answer: Monaco

Italy, San Marino, and Vatican City State all used the lira before converting to the euro in 2002. Malta introduced the euro in 2008, also replacing its lira. Turkey and the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus continued to use lira thereafter, even as the Republic of Cyprus adopted the euro in 2007.

Monaco converted from the Monégasque franc to the euro in 2002.

Phoenix Rising team member JCSon minted this question and put it into circulation.

Answer: Coffee

Simon came up with the "Clouds in my coffee" line on a cross-country flight. She explained the meaning of the phrase, saying: "'Clouds In My Coffee' are the confusing aspects of life and love. That which you can't see through, and yet seems alluring... until. Like a mirage that turns into a dry patch. Perhaps there is something in the bottom of the coffee cup that you could read if you could (like tea leaves or coffee grinds)."

The phrase came courtesy of her friend and musical collaborator Billy Mernit, who was sitting next to Simon on the flight. Carly had the window seat, and Mernit noticed the clouds from the window reflecting in her coffee. He said, "look at the clouds in your coffee". According to Mernit, he and Simon both wrote the line down in their journals, and a few weeks later, Carly called him and asked if she could use it in a song.
The person Simon is singing about in this song remains a mystery, as she has never made it clear who she wrote it about; rumours include Warren Beatty, Kris Kristofferson, Cat Stevens, and Mick Jagger, all of whom she had affairs with. Simon has been elusive and changed her story a bit when asked the inevitable question about the song. In 1974, she told "Modern Hi-Fi and Music": "That song is about a lot of people. I mean I can think of a lot of people. The actual examples that I've used in the song are from my imagination, but the stimulus is directly from a couple of different sources. It's not just about one particular person."

When it came time to promote her memoir "Boys in the Trees" in 2015, Simon divulged that the second verse ("You had me several years ago when I was still quite naive...") is about Warren Beatty, and said that the other verses are about two different men, whom she wouldn't name. As for Beatty's reaction, Simon said, "Warren thinks the whole thing is about him."

This question was written, but not sung, by Phoenix Rising team member lg549 as, unlike Carly Simon, people cover their ears when she sings.

Answer: Gene Cernan

Who was "the last man on the moon"? Technically, Harrison Schmitt was the 12th and last man to step ONTO the moon, but Cernan, as Commander of Apollo 17, had the honor of re-entering the Lunar Module "Challenger" after civilian geologist Schmitt, whereupon they rendezvoused with Ron Evans in the Command Service Module "America".

In the last of twelve episodes in the series "From the Earth to the Moon" (1998) entitled "Le Voyage Dans La Lune", Cernan and Schmitt engage in spirited banter about the issue. Tom Hanks, veteran of "Apollo 13" in his role as Jim Lovell, narrated the series and also stars in the final episode as French filmmaker Georges Méliès, director of the original "Le Voyage dans la Lune" (1902).

This mission was undertaken by space cadet Humanist who highly recommends the entire series!

Answer: Cigarettes

Liquorice (British English) or licorice (American English) is a common name for Glycyrrhiza glabra. From the root, a sweet and aromatic flavouring is extracted. The liquorice plant is native to Central Western Asia and possibly southern Europe. The extracted root, after processing, tastes similarly to anise, star anise, or fennel, but it is not botanically related to any of these.

Liquorice is used in cigarette manufacture for two purposes: As a flavouring agent and as a moisture agent (to stop the cigarette sticking to the mouth of the smoker). Somewhere between 1-4% of the cigarette's weight is due to licorice. Multiply that small weight by 6.5 trillion cigarettes produced annually (2018) and that is a lot of licorice. There have been many claims that the cigarette manufacture accounts for 90% of the world production of licorice. This claim can be traced by to a 2012 NPR interview by Ira Flatlow
on Robert Proctor who is the author of "Golden Holocaust: Origins of the Cigarette Catastrophe and the Case for Abolition." The transcript states "Did you know that 90 percent of the world's licorice goes into cigarettes?" However this comes from the journalist in his introduction. Dr Proctor simply states "Millions of pounds of licorice are added". Still that's a lot of licorice.

By the way, the red licorice you can buy alongside the black licorice in the candy aisle is just candy - There is no licorice in red licorice.

This question was submitted by Phoenix Rising team member 1nn1 who has finally realised why he does not smoke cigarettes: because he does not like the taste of licorice either.