Cool Zooms, Part LXII Trivia Quiz

Answer: Queen Victoria

The world's first postage stamp was issued in 1840 by the United Kingdom. It is called the Penny Black, because of its colour and value. Because of its position as the first country to issue stamps, the UK did not put the country of origin on the stamp. This tradition has carried through to this day.

The stamp shows a side-face engraving of the reigning monarch, Queen Victoria. George Washington was on the 1847 US 10c, and Benjamin Franklin was on the 5c stamp, but both had died many decades before that date. Napoleon III appeared on French stamps between 1852 and 1870.

Rowland Hill was the UK Postmaster who conceived the idea of prepaid postage. He has featured on the stamps of many countries, but most of these were to commemorate the centenary of the Penny Black, in 1940.

This question was stamped into the quiz by Phoenix Rising member ozzz2002, who believes that philately will get you anywhere.

Answer: Orange, green, purple

The RYB (red-yellow-blue) colour model used in art and design considers red, yellow and blue to be primary colours. Mixing any two of these colours in equal proportions produces orange, green or purple, which are termed secondary colours.

Other colour models such as the RGB (red-green-blue) model used for light and the CMYK (cyan-magenta-yellow-key) model used for printing have different colour groups that make up the primary and secondary colours.

This question was carefully tinted primarily by Phoenix Rising team member ozzz2002 and secondarily by teammate purelyqing.

Answer: star

A left wing newspaper, an alternative name for Lucifer, the planet Venus, a spiked mace like weapon are all called Morning star. The Pole star is either Polaris or Polaris Australis depending on your hemisphere. Rock stars are celebrities of a certain musical genre, and shooting stars are meteoroids that flash across the sky.

smpdit wrote this question whilst feeling kind of stellar.

Answer: 19

Released in 1966, the song would get to number two on Billboards' Hot 100 chart and the same position on the UK Singles' chart. In the UK this broke a streak of five consecutive number singles released by the band since 'It's All Over Now' (pun not intended) in 1964.

Though it doesn't reflect the lyric content, the title of the song was inspired by a comment made by lead singer Mick Jagger while touring the United States in 1965. In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine Mick advised "We had just done five weeks hectic work in the States and I said, 'Dunno about you blokes, but I feel about ready for my nineteenth nervous breakdown.'"

This question was created by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19 who was rather struck by the negative streak of titles that the Stones released in the UK during this period. '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction' (1965) was followed by 'Get Off My Cloud' (1965) '19th Nervous Breakdown' (1966) and sealed with 'Paint it Black' (1966). Was this a cry for help?

Answer: Himalayas

The yak (Bos grunniens) is a type of cattle native to the Himalayas and other mountainous regions of Central and East Asia. It is a sturdily-built, long-haired animal, descended from the wild yak (Bos mutus), which is larger, heavier, and darker in colour. The peoples that inhabit the Himalayan region have kept domesticated yaks for thousands of years. Yaks have also been successfully crossed with other species of cattle: the hybrid offspring of yaks and domestic cattle is called "dzo". Yak milk is used to make butter and the cheese known as "chhurpi", while yak fibre wool is made into clothing, blankets, tents, and ropes. Yaks are also invaluable as beasts of burden, and their dried droppings are a source of fuel in the often treeless environment of the Tibetan plateau.

LadyNym wrote this question from the not-so-lofty heights of Northern Virginia.

Answer: Golfers from Europe and USA

The Ryder Cup is a teams event, dating back to 1927, between golfers from United Kingdom and USA. In 1979, players from continental Europe were able to be selected. It is held every second year, with hosting rights alternating between the two areas.

The event was sponsored by Samuel Ryder, who made his fortune from selling packets of seeds to gardeners. He was also a golf enthusiast, but ill health saw him die not long after the concept started, in 1936.

Question submitted by Phoenix Rising member ozzz2002, whose golf handicap was his total lack of ability to play the game.

Answer: All Points Bulletin

The acronym APB stands for 'All Points Bulletin'. It is used to notifying police in the surrounding area about a wanted person, usually describing the suspect and provide directions. The term APB dates back to 1947. The APB has been for the most part, replaced by BOLO (Be On the Look Out).

Phoenix Rising stalwart JAM6430 pointed this question into the Cool Zoom quiz.

Answer: Finland

The origins of the word are a bit unclear, but seem to relate to the Sami people of Lapland, the northern part of the country. Finland is one of the Scandinavian countries, lying between Russia and the Baltic Sea, and was ranked as Number One on the World Happiness Report every year between 2018 and 2021!

The Finnish word for 'seesaw' is 'kiikkua', the knife edge is 'leipäveitsen sahalaitainen reuna', and 'atomic fusion' is 'atomifuusio'.

Phoenix Rising ozzz2002 Finnished this question off with a flourish.

Answer: Tractor

The word "tractor" comes from the Latin "trahere", meaning "to pull": an agent noun formed from the past participle "tractus", its literal meaning is "someone/something that pulls". One of the earliest recorded uses of the word is found in a US patent awarded in 1862 to Norman W Wheeler; another patent that contains the word, awarded to George H. Edwards, dates from 1880.

Before "tractor" became widespread - thanks to the Hart-Parry company, which began to use the term in their advertisements - the vehicle was called "traction engine". The first of these engines was developed in Britain in 1859; the first gasoline-powered tractor was built in 1892.

This question was pulled into shape by LadyNym, who studied Latin for seven years.

Answer: Wheel of Fortune

In the United States 'Wheel of Fortune' was created by Merv Griffin and it made its first television appearance in 1975. The premise of the show is similar to the game of 'Hangman' where contestants endeavour to uncover a common word or phrase by guessing the consonants. General play is as follows: A phrase is presented to the contestant except that all of the squares are blank bar the punctuation. The contestant then spins the wheel to determine the dollar value of his selection. If their guessed letter is correct, every instance of that letter is revealed and the contestant bank is swollen by the dollar value they'd spun multiplied by the number of times that letter has appeared. By guessing correctly that player earns the right to go again. If they feel that they might be in a position where they could solve it but are not quite certain they may 'buy a vowel'. This does come at a cost of $250. Sounds easy... well, there are traps. On this large wheel there are also signs that can bankrupt you or cause you to miss a turn.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19 who once appeared on 'Wheel of Fortune'. He wrote "Jack" on his name tag. That's not his real name, he just want to hear Pat say "Jack".

Answer: In a university or museum

The word "docent" comes from the Latin verb "docere", meaning "to teach". While in some countries (such as Spain, Portugal and Italy) the word is also used as a general synonym for "teacher", in most European countries "docent" refers to a specific academic appointment, normally at a lower level of seniority than a full professor. The title is similar to a British readership or an American associate professorship, though there are notable differences between the countries where this title is used. In the US, on the other hand, a museum docent is someone who serves as a guide or educator for an institution, generally as a volunteer. Even if unpaid, museum docents undergo extensive training in order to be able to dispense in-depth information during guided tours.

This bit of academic knowledge was dispensed by LadyNym, who has been a teacher for most of her professional life.

Answer: Thailand

The river immortalized in David Lean's epic war movie "The Bridge on the River Kwai" (1957) - an adaptation of the novel of the same name by French author Pierre Boulle - is based on the upper section of the Mae Klong River. Renamed Khwae Yai in the 1960, this river flows for about 380 kilometres (240 mi) in the Kanchanaburi Province of western Thailand. While the bridge of the Burma Railway (known as the "Death Railway") that inspired book and film still exists, it is not the one that appears in these works of fiction. That bridge is based on temporary wooden structures built across the Khwae Noi River, which merges with the Khwae Yai in Kanchanaburi to form the Mae Klong. The town of Kanchanaburi hosts two museums and a memorial to commemorate the thousands of people who died during the construction of the railway, whose remains are buried in the local War Cemetery.

The gap between question and answer was bridged by LadyNym.

Answer: Colonel Bogey March

The movie won a host of awards at the 1957 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and was based on the novel written by Pierre Boulle. William Holden, Jack Hawkins and Alec Guinness starred in the movie, which was a very fictional account of the construction and destruction of the bridge.

The song was written in 1914 and is actually related to the game of golf. Colonel Bogey was the nominal opponent in a particular golf scoring system, and the word 'bogey', for a score of one over par comes directly from that reference.

Phoenix Rising member, ozzz2002, marched this question right into the quiz, in 2/4 time.

Answer: Pew

First recorded in the 14th century, the word "pew" was borrowed from the Middle French "puie" (meaning "elevated place or seat"), which in turn comes from the Latin "podia", the plural form of "podium" ("raised platform", like in modern English). Usually made of wood, and also found in courtrooms and synagogues, pews can either be long bench seats or enclosed boxes, the latter being more common in older churches. Many pews are equipped with padded kneelers, or have slots where Bibles, hymnals and prayer books can be stored. In the past, families often had their own pew in the church they attended regularly, and their names were carved at the end of the pew.

A pyx is a container where the consecrated host is kept, while pye is a variant spelling for "pie", and "poi" is a starchy paste of taro root eaten in Polynesia.

This question was provided by LadyNym, who finds pews quaint but rather uncomfortable.

Answer: Castor and Pollux

Castor and Pollux were the twin sons of Leda, queen of Sparta. Though known together as "Dioskouroi" ("sons of Zeus"), they had different fathers: Pollux had been fathered by Zeus, while Castor was the son of Tindareus, Leda's husband, king of Sparta. Zeus had seduced Leda in the guise of a swan, and the twins - like their sisters, Helen and Clytemnestra (who also had different fathers) - were said to have been born from an egg. As the son of a god, Pollux was immortal: his twin, however, was not. When Castor was mortally wounded in an ambush, Pollux asked Zeus to share half of his immortality with his brother, so as to allow them to remain together. The twins thus became the constellation known as Gemini, whose two brightest stars, Alpha Geminorum (Castor) and Beta Geminorum (Pollux) are named after them. Castor and Pollux were associated with horses and hunting, and were among the heroes who took part in the expedition of the Argonauts.

LadyNym, a Greek mythology buff ever since she was a child, was responsible for this stellar question.

Answer: Axial

CT scans take "slices" of the body and the data generated can be used to create 3D reconstructions. The machine rotates around the patient to take the slices - hence the term axial. The number of slices can be adjusted to enhance resolution (if increased) or speed up the scan (if decreased). Dyes can be provided to better visualize some structures.

The scan does utilize ionizing radiation (just like other X-rays), so they are reserved for clear indications, as should any medical investigation.

Answer: Bullet train

The shinkansen is a network of high-speed railway lines that connect Japan's capital, Tokyo, with distant regions in the country. It operates at speeds of up to 320 km/h (200 mph) though speeds of up to 600 km/h have been recorded. "Shinkansen" translates as "new main line". The word refers to both the lines and the trains. The English term "bullet train" arose from the project's nickname in its planning stages, "dangan ressha" and stuck because the first trains were shaped like bullets and travelled at high speeds. While the idea was first conceived in the 1930s, construction only began in 1959 and service started in 1964, just before the Tokyo Olympics. The shinkansen is famous for its punctuality, safety and lightning-fast cleaning crew. In what is known as the 7-minute miracle, the whole train of up to 16 carriages is spotlessly cleaned between services in less than 10 minutes!

This question was speedily written by Phoenix Rising team member purelyqing.

Answer: Dancing

To 'trip the light fantastic' is to 'dance nimbly or lightly to music' it is believed to have originated in a poem from 1645, by John Milton called 'L'Allegro'.

'Come, and trip it as ye go,
On the light fantastick toe.'

smpdit's pleasure is to dance, neither nimbly nor lightly, but it makes her feel rather fantastic.

Answer: Baize

Baize (from the French "baies", feminine plural of "bai", meaning "bay-coloured") is a thick, felt-like cloth made of wool or cotton, generally dyed green to resemble a lawn. Usually found on billiards tables, it is also used to cover tables for casino games such as blackjack, baccarat, and craps. With its coarse surface finish, baize increases friction, thus slowing the rolling of billiards balls, or preventing cards from sliding. In the past, baize was also tacked to the doors separating the servants' quarters from the main body of the house: the sturdy cloth muffled noises and absorbed kitchen odours, effectively creating a dividing line between masters and servants. Baize was also used to line the interior of furniture such as desks, closets and cabinets.

A barye is a unit of pressure, while a barque is a kind of sailing vessel, and a baffle is a device that dampens the effects of sound, light, or fluid.

This question was written by LadyNym, who has very little experience of gaming or playing billiards, and definitely has no servants.

Answer: Icarus

Icarus was the son of master architect and craftsman Daedalus, who had built the famous labyrinth in Crete to house the Minotaur, the monstrous issue of Queen Pasiphaë and a magnificent, snow-white bull. Minos, the king of Crete, had Daedalus and Icarus imprisoned in the labyrinth to punish the craftsman for having given a ball of thread to the king's daughter, Ariadne, in order to help the hero Theseus to find his way through the maze and slay the monster. Attempting to escape their prison, Dedalus fashioned two pairs of wings out of wax and feathers, trying out his own pair first. Before leaving the island, Dedalus warned Icarus to follow him, and avoid flying too close to the sun or the sea. Icarus, however, did not heed his father's warning: the heat of the sun melted the wax that held the feathers together, and the young man fell into the sea, where he drowned. The stretch of the Aegean Sea where he fell, between the Cyclades and the coast of Asia Minor, is called Icarian Sea.

This high-flying question comes courtesy of LadyNym.