Cool Zooms, Part LI Trivia Quiz

Answer: Rosettes

The spots on jaguars are called rosettes, which are irregular black circles resembling roses, with tawny centres on top of a lighter coat. Leopards have smaller, less complex rosettes that are grouped closer together. These rosettes offer camouflage for the predators as they move through trees or other vegetation. Cheetahs by contrast have spots which are individual solid round or oval black spots all over its body. Both leopards and jaguars can be black, a mutation often referred to as a 'black panther' which arises from a gene that produces a surplus of melanin.

This question crept into the quiz silently as it was authored by Phoenix Rising team member 1nn1.

Answer: Orange

"Rowing implement" refers to an oar and "a series of mountains" is a range. Put them together (oar+range) and you should land on orange.

So, which came first (etymologically), the color or the fruit? Turns out, orange was named after the fruit ('pomme d'orange' in Old French). More distantly, the word derives from the Sanskrit word 'naranga' (hence the Spanish 'naranja' and Portuguese 'laranja'), brought by Portuguese merchants to 15th century Europe with the first shipment of orange trees from Asia.

Phoenix Rising team member JCSon had a shade too much fun writing this question. Do hue see what I did there?

Answer: Jada Pinkett Smith

Jada Pinkett met Will Smith when she'd auditioned for the part of Will's character's girlfriend, Lisa Wilkes. She didn't get the part (she was considered too short) but she did get her man. Her big break in movies came with her role as Eddie Murphy's love interest in the 1996 film "The Nutty Professor". Since then she has enjoyed further success in films such as "The Matrix" sequels (both in 2003) where she portrays Niobe, the captain of the hovercraft Logos, "Collateral" (2004) and "Bad Moms" (2016). She has also been the voice of Gloria (the hippopotamus) in the "Madagascar" series of films (2005-12).

Undaunted by missing out on the role in "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" (1990-96) she has managed to secure strong roles on television, firstly as the star of "Hawthorne" (2009-11) and then the role of "Fish" Mooney in "Gotham" (2014-16). Her talents also extend to music and she has received positive reviews as the front-woman for the heavy metal band Wicked Wisdom. The band released a self-titled album in 2006 and were the support for Britney Spears on her "Onyx Hotel" tour.

Jada also features as an author of children's books and is well known for her philanthropy.

This question was put together by the Fresh Prince of Phoenix Rising, pollucci19.

Answer: Triple H

Triple H is considered by many to be one of the all-time professional wrestling greats. He won his first WWF Championship in 1999 and immediately became one of that franchise's marquee names. His list of achievements is staggering but he should also be remembered as one of the co-founders of the influential D-Generation X stable. This was one of the most influential groups throughout the 1990s, a period known as the "Attitude Era".

Like many professional wrestlers, he has competed under various names. When he was with the International Wrestling Federation he fought as Terra Ryzing, moved across to the World Championship Wrestling franchise as the aristocratic sounding Jean-Paul Lévesque, before arriving at the World Wrestling Federation as Hunter Hearst Helmsley. This was then abridged to Triple H.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19 who could never understand wrestling. All he ever saw was a group of men who had no pants fighting for a belt.

Answer: Blue's Clues

In "Blue's Clues", Steve, the host, has to figure out what Blue, the dog, wants to do for the day. Blue leaves a pawprint on three items as clues and Steve records the clues as drawings in his Handy Dandy Notebook that he gets from Sidetable Drawer before every game of Blue's Clues. At the end of each episode Steve puzzles out the clues in a red armchair. Besides Blue and Steve, other much-loved characters include Mailbox, Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper, Paprika and Cinnamon, and Shovel and Pail.

"Blue's Clues" ran for 140 episodes over six seasons and it was the first cutout animation series for preschoolers. The show was a huge success for Nickelodeon and in 1998 it had nearly 15 million weekly viewers making it the highest-rated children's TV show. The original host, Steve Burns, hosted four seasons comprising over 100 episodes across seven years before being replaced by Donovan Patton, introduced as Steve's brother, Joe. In November 2019, Nickelodeon re-introduced the series with 20 episodes, this time featuring Joshua Dela Cruz as the host.

This question was solved by Phoenix Rising team member purelyqing who followed clues dropped by teammate Triviaballer.

Answer: The Black Cat(s)

"The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe is a horror story about a man that becomes violent after a cat scratches him. It was first published in 1843 and its focus on the guilt of the narrator is similar to another short story by Poe, "The Tell-Tale Heart", that was also published in 1843.

Felicia Hardy (Black Cat) is a Marvel character that first appeared in 1979 and she has been both an enemy and lover to Spider-Man. In the 2014 film "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" the character was portrayed by the actress Felicity Jones.

Sunderland A.F.C. was founded in 1879 and though it had been used colloquially for decades prior, 'The Black Cats' became the team's official nickname in 2000. The club won First Division/Premier League titles in 1892, 1893, 1895, 1902, 1913 and 1936.

This question was purred into the quiz by Phoenix Rising team member Triviaballer who previously had a black cat named Daisy that sadly passed away.

Answer: Greenland

Greenland is the world's largest island that is not a continent. While it is geographically part of North America, it has always had stronger ties to Europe, particularly its colonial masters, Denmark and Norway. It is now governed as an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.

The Northeast Greenland National Park was established in 1974 and after it was expanded in 1988, it became the largest national park in the world, bigger than all but the largest 28 countries. Nuuk, the capital, contains almost a third of Greenland's population and is also the seat of government for the Sermersooq municipality. In January 2020, Greenland had a population of 58,000. Eric the Red, exiled from his home in Iceland for manslaughter, settled in the south-west and named it Groenland ( "Greenland"), thinking the pleasant name would attract settlers despite the island being 81% covered with an ice-sheet.

This question was thawed out and the defrosted version was inserted into the quiz by Phoenix Rising Team member 1nn1.

Answer: Red Army

The Soviet Red Army came into existence in the beginning of 1918 as the armed wing of the Bolshevik Revolution. It helped solidify Bolshevik control during the Russian Civil War. Leading up to World War II Stalin instituted a purge of the army that got rid of its most experienced officers and left it ill-prepared for the German invasion in 1941.

The Red Army suffered more casualties than any other army during World War II. The numbers are staggering. Between 8.6 and 10 million died, either KIA, DOW, MIA presumed dead, or died in captivity. Another 13.5 million were wounded in action. Finally, 4 to 5.7 million were taken prisoner. Total Soviet casualties both civilian and military have been put at around 27 million killed.

During the Battle of Berlin alone the Red Army suffered 80,000 KIA or MIA with another 280,000 sick or WIA. The battle lasted from April 16 to May 2.

This report was filed from Moscow on the Eastern Front by Phoenix Rising member and combat correspondent tazman6619.

Answer: Black

While there are various claims about the health benefits of black coffee, a cup of the pick-me-up has very little nutritional value. Some people rely on coffee to help kickstart the day. Keeping it simply black will avoid extra calories, sugar, sodium, carbohydrates, and cholesterol. Naturally, coffee containing sugar, creamer, milk, or a dairy substitute may be referred to as "white coffee", although the term is perhaps less familiar.

This question was brewed by Phoenix Rising's JCSon who has been running on natural power since drinking his last cup of coffee in 1991.

Answer: A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte

The painting "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" is a masterpiece created by Georges Seurat. It is a large work measuring 207.6 cm × 308 cm (81.7 in × 121.25 in) and it is located at the Art Institute of Chicago. The painting is one of the most well-known examples of pointillism, an art form in which numerous small dots of color are applied in a pattern to create an image.

This question was dotted into the quiz by Phoenix Rising team member Triviaballer who wonders if other days of the week are as beautiful as Sunday on the Island of La Grande Jatte.

Answer: Purple Hibiscus

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie wrote "Purple Hibiscus" the same year she received a master's degree in creative writing from Johns Hopkins University. The novel received wide critical acclaim. It was nominated for the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2004 and was awarded the Commonwealth Writer's Prize for Best First Book in 2005 in two categories, Africa and Overall. She was awarded a MacArthur Genius Grant in 2008 in recognition of her writing.

Adichie credits Chinua Achebe and his 1958 novel "Things Fall Apart" as her inspiration to become a writer. "Purple Hibiscus" starts with a long quotation from this work. The novel itself is written from the perspective of Kambili and her life at the age of 15. It explores many themes including domestic violence, religion, family relationships, and silence vs speech. The purple hibiscus of the title is seen as a representation of freedom and hope.

This question was blossomed into the quiz by Phoenix Rising team member VegemiteKid.

Answer: Ethan Hawke

Based on Jack London's 1906 novel "White Fang", the 1991 movie of the same name starred Ethan Hawke in the lead role of Jack Conroy. Set during the Klondike Gold Rush, Conroy is on a quest to find his father's gold claim in the Yukon. One of his sled dogs is lured away by a pack of wolves and a hybrid pup is born. A local Native American tribe realise the pup is half- dog/ half-wolf and name it White Fang.

Ethan Hawke is an American actor whose breakthrough role was in "Dead Poets Society" (1989) which starred Robin Williams. In 1996 while filming "Gattaca" he met Uma Thurman whom he later married in 1998. Hawke's first Academy nomination for "Best Supporting Actor" was for "Training Day" in 2002. He has also been nominated for a Tony award for his role in the stage production of "The Coast of Utopia" in 2007.

leith90 took a bite out of this question and deemed it palatable.

Answer: James Brown

James Brown was a prolific singer and songwriter active from 1953 until his death in 2006. His top charting song on the US Billboard Hot 100 was "I Got You (I Feel Good)" which peaked at number three in 1965. Brown specialized in the R&B genre and on the Billboard R&B Chart he reached number one 17 times.

"Live at the Apollo" was recorded in October of 1962 and, surprisingly, his record label, King Records, argued against its release. Their view was that a live album that didn't feature any new material would not be profitable. How wrong they were. The album sold rapidly and cemented James Brown as a superstar. The album would spend 66 weeks in the Billboard Top Pop Album charts, peaking at number two. The only downside was that The Famous Flames, who were so integral to Brown's act and were silky smooth performers in their own right, did not receive the credit for their contributions until the recording was released as a compact disc, many decades later.

James Brown was a major figure in 20th century music; known as the "Godfather of Soul" he was one of the driving forces in the creation and promotion of the funk sound. A prodigious songwriter, he is best remembered for such hits as "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" (1965), "I Got You (I Feel Good)" (1965), "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" (1966) and "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine" (1970). He managed to get 17 of his singles to the number one spot on Billboard's R&B charts but earned the unwanted record of the most singles released without reaching number one on Billboard's Hot 100. In all he released over 90 singles but the closest he got to the top spot was number three with "I Got You". His 1986 single "Living in America" did get to number four.

"I feel good... nana nana nana na, now that I wrote this question" intoned Phoenix Rising's funky dancing bear, pollucci19.

Answer: King Edward VI

King Edward VI was just 15 years old when it was determined that he was terminally ill, but his young age didn't prevent him from being committed to ensuring that his throne passed to a Protestant successor. He issued a 'Devise for the Succession' that barred both his half-sisters (the future Mary I and Elizabeth I) on the basis of a previous claim of their illegitimacy and instead named his teenage first cousin once removed, Lady Jane Grey, as his heir. Jane was the granddaughter of King Henry VIII's youngest sister, Mary.

Lady Jane Grey was proclaimed the Queen of England and Ireland on July 10th 1553, four days after Edward's death. However, Edward's eldest half-sister Mary Tudor wasn't prepared to accept being disinherited and began to gather an army of supporters to her cause. Faced with a potential battle, the Privy Council of England quickly changed their minds and proclaimed Mary as queen on July 19th, despite her Catholic faith. The 'Nine Days Queen' was duly imprisoned in the Tower of London and executed six months later.

Phoenix Rising's Fifiona81 was named Triviaballer's heir for the purpose of writing this question's information section and executed her task well within its nine day deadline.

Answer: 2/3

In order to elect a new pope the College of Cardinals gather to elect the Bishop of Rome, the successor of Peter, also generally known as the Pope. The conclave is lodged in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, a building in Vatican City, but go each day to the Sistine Chapel to vote until a result is reached. Since 1914 black smoke (fumata nera) has indicated that a supermajority of 2/3 has not been reached to elect a new pope. White smoke (fumata bianca) on the other hand indicates a pope has been elected. In 2005 the Vatican also started ringing bells when a new pope had been elected.

Phoenix Rising member smpdit has been warned before about pontificating.

Answer: Transition metals

Transition metals are the most numerically abundant class of elements in the periodic table. They are characterized by the filling of the 'd' orbitals along each row (or period) of the table and occur in periods 4 to 7. Different numbers of 'd' electrons across each period convey different properties, types of bonding to other elements, physical properties including melting points, and the tendency of these transition metals to gain or lose electrons (reduction and oxidation). In contrast, the alkali and alkali earth metals in Groups 1 and 2 (far left side of the table) have partial filling of the 's' orbitals. The transition metals are almost all grey or silver in the elemental form although gold and copper are famous exceptions to this generic appearance. Mercury is the sole example of a transition metal that is liquid rather than solid at room temperature. The transition metals are typically good conductors of electricity and are ductile and malleable, but with a large individual variation in these characteristics. It is possible that more transition elements (e.g. in period 8) may be synthetically created in the future, although these are likely to be highly reactive and very short-lived. The descriptor 'transition metals' was first used in 1921 by English chemist Charles Bury to describe the transition in metals as they filled their 'd' orbitals.

Silver (Ag) has been known to mankind for at least 6,000 years and perhaps even longer than that, based on historical artifacts. Contemporary use includes tableware and as the best reflective material for high quality mirrors, although interaction with any sulfur present will result in tarnishing.

This question was systematically placed in its correct position according to its composition by chemistry lecturer and PR member, MikeMaster99.

Answer: 2000

The Games of the XXVII Olympiad were held in Sydney, Australia in 2000, making it the second time Australia had hosted the games. Six hundred twenty-eight athletes took part for Australia winning 16 gold out of 58 medals won, putting Australia in fourth place on the medal board (behind the United States, Russia and China). At the following Olympiad in Athens 2004, Australia won 17 gold medals from 50 taken overall.

The gold medals crafted for Sydney were 99.99% solid silver with gold plating. The bronze medals were made from melted down one and two cent coins that had been made obsolete in Australia in 1996.

Phoenix Rising's leith90 was excited to think she may have once touched some of the old coins used in the Sydney medals.

Answer: Grey's Anatomy

Tagged "Real life only comes in shades of grey", "Grey's Anatomy" is a medical drama whose title is a reference to Henry Gray's classic textbook of human anatomy: "Gray's Anatomy" (1858).

In 2017, this award-winning show was renewed for its 16th and 17th seasons. Dr Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) is the title character, and along with Drs Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) and Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) the trio have been part of the series since Season 1. It has also been dubbed "an ensemble drama", meaning that there are multiple principal characters who receive similar amounts of screen time.

Created by Shonda Rhimes and set in Seattle's fictional Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital (previously Seattle Grace Hospital and Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital), the series follows the personal and professional lives of the medical staff. Spinoffs include the shows "Private Practice" and "Station 19".

Phoenix Rising's psnz dissected this question before carefully stitching it into the quiz.

Answer: Black Ops

The five games were "Call of Duty: Black Ops" (2010), "Call of Duty: Black Ops II" (2012), "Call of Duty: Black Ops III" (2015), "Call of Duty: Black Ops 4" (2018) and "Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War" (2020). The games are a series of first-person shooters. The first game was set during the Cold War but its sequels branched out to include future time periods suffering from war and climate change disaster, as well as historical events such as the sinking of the Titanic and the gladiatorial contests of Roman times.

Phoenix Rising's Fifiona81 refused to confirm or deny authorship of this question.

Answer: Oliver Brown

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954) was a landmark case for U.S. civil rights. In 1951, Oliver Brown's daughter was not permitted to enroll in the school closest to their home but had to travel by bus to a more distant segregated black elementary school. Along with a dozen more families, a class action lawsuit was filed against the Topeka Board of Education alleging that its actions were unconstitutional.

A District Court found against the plaintiffs. NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) chief counsel Thurgood Marshall appealed the decision to the US Supreme Court. On May 17, 1954 in a unanimous vote, the Supreme Court found that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. It proved a major victory for the civil rights movement. Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993) would go on to serve as the first African American justice on the Supreme Court, a position he held from 1967 until 1991.

Phoenix Rising team member psnz investigated this black-and-white situation before integrating it into the quiz.