Cool Zooms, Part XLIII Trivia Quiz

Answer: Melittin

Melittin is the active component in honeybee venom (apitoxin) and constitutes 40-60% of the venom by dry weight. It is a small peptide, only 26 amino acids long with a molecular mass of around 3 kDa. Melittin can directly activate pain receptors. In addition, it induces pore formation in lipid membranes that allow the leakage of tissue-derived metabolites that also excite the pain receptors.

Apart from its neurosensory activity, melittin has many biological properties and has been explored for use in modern medicine as anti-cancer, anti-viral, anti-bacterial or anti-inflammatory drugs.

Androctonus australis hector insect toxin (AaHIT) is a toxin derived from scorpions.

Oxyopinin is a class of peptide toxins from the lynx spider in the genus Oxyopes.

Ssm spooky toxin is a component of Chinese red-headed centipede venom.

"The Sting" (1973) won Best Picture, among a total of seven awards, at the 46th Academy Awards. It is about two conmen who attempt to con a mob boss.

This question was injected into the quiz painlessly by Phoenix Rising team members ozzz2002 and purelyqing.

Answer: Rockhampton

What became known as the City of Rockhampton is the traditional home of the Darumbal Aboriginal people. Situated on the Queensland Central Coast approximately 640 km north of Brisbane and straddling the Tropic of Capricorn, European settlement began in 1853 when two brothers travelled down the flood-prone Fitzroy River upstream and set up a grazing run in the fertile river valley. A town of Rockhampton was proclaimed in 1858 and gold was found causing the obligatory rush, in nearby Mt Morgan soon after. Today the city has a population of 78 000 (2018) and is known as the beef capital of Australia as the beef grazing lands cover thousands of square kilometres inland. Rocky, as it is universally known, is the transport hub for the cattle industry.

"Rocky" (1976) was a Best Movie Oscar winner.

This question was slotted in to the quiz by Phoenix Rising Team Member 1nn1 who has worked in Rocky in the past.

Answer: Falco

Before he was tragically taken in a motor vehicle accident in the Dominican Republic Falco, born Johann Holzel, had had a string of hits internationally. He is probably best known for his hit 'Rock Me Amadeus', which was released in 1985 and found its way to the top of the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

'Der Kommissar' was recorded in 1981 and, whilst it failed to chart on Billboard's Hot 100, it was an international success for Falco, in particular the German speaking nations such as Austria and Germany. In 1982 it was covered by the English band After the Fire, who also enjoyed success with the song.

'Amadeus', a biographical film about the composer, Mozart, won the Best Picture Oscar in 1985.

I said to Phoenix Rising's resident dancing bear "Rock me pollucci19" but all he gave me was this question.

Answer: Petrol

In 1913, H.C. Sleigh took over the first consignment of Californian motor spirit imported to Australia and marketed it as Golden Fleece. The H.C. Sleigh Limited continued to sell Golden Fleece petrol until 1981 when it was acquired by Caltex. Between 1920 and 1930, Sleigh opened 20 service stations in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide and in 1929, established bulk ocean terminals in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide. In the 50s, Sleigh added restaurants to his service stations as an added convenience to his customers.

As a country boy, Sleigh named the company after a familiar sight in the Australian countryside - a sheep. The company logo references the golden-woolled winged ram of Greek mythology, Chrysomallos, sought for by Jason and his Argonauts.

The movie 'Argo' (2012) won Oscars for Best Motion Picture of the Year; Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay; and Best Achievement in Film Editing, and garnered four other nominations. The movie tells of the 1979 hostage taking in the American Embassy by Iranian revolutionaries, and the subsequent rescue attempt of the hostages.

This question was woven into the quiz by Phoenix Rising member VegemiteKid, who remembers full service in a Golden Fleece station as a kid.

Answer: Oliver Goldsmith

Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774) was a novelist, a poet and a playwright. He was the son of an Irish Anglican vicar and was educated at Trinity College, Dublin and the University of Edinburgh before settling in London. This privileged background contrasted strongly with many aspects of his life in London, which was characterised by intermittent employment, gambling and debt problems. However, he was noted for his literary output, was a founding member of "The Club" - an artistic society led by the painter Sir Joshua Reynolds and the lexicographer Dr Samuel Johnson - and a memorial to him can be found in Westminster Abbey's Poets' Corner.

His novel, 'The Vicar of Wakefield', is about a kind-hearted and generous clergyman who suffers the loss of his fortune and standing in society, and is somewhat comedic despite featuring heavy issues such as imprisonment and abduction. It was particularly popular during the Victorian era and several silent film adaptations of it were made. 'She Stoops to Conquer', which was first performed in 1773, is also a comedy and has been adapted for both film and television.

Goldsmith also shared his first name with the eponymous hero of another novel that was popular during the Victorian period - Charles Dickens' 'Oliver Twist'. The musical film version 'Oliver!' won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1969.

This question was carefully worded and staged by Phoenix Rising's Fifiona81.

Answer: Tom Jones

Thomas John Woodward OBE (born 1940), known professionally as Tom Jones (taken from the "Tom Jones" Oscar winning movie in 1964), is a Welsh singer. His career began with a string of top-ten hits in the mid-1960s. He has toured regularly, with appearances in Las Vegas (1967-2011). With a voice described by Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic as a "full-throated, robust baritone", Mr Jones has sold over 100 million records; with 36 Top 40 hits in the UK (There are six referenced in the question above). His hit career began with "It's Not Unusual" in 1964 and has spanned over 50 years. He moved to the US in 1974 as a tax exile and moved back to the UK in 2016 when his wife of 59 years, Linda, died in 2016.

'Tom Jones', the 1963 Oscar winning movie, is not about a Welsh singer, but is a comedic love story based on the 1749 book written by Henry Fielding.

This question was submitted by Phoenix Rising team member 1nn1, who grew up in a house filled with Tom Jones' music.

Answer: Rebecca Schaeffer

All the people listed in the answers met untimely ends.

Rebecca Lucile Schaeffer (1967-1989) was an American model and actress who played Patricia "Patti" Russell in "My Sister Sam" (1986-1988). Robert John Bardo, obsessed fan and stalker, shot and killed Ms. Schaeffer at her West Hollywood home. She was just 21 years of age.

Dubbed the "Queen of Tejano Music", Selena (Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, 1971-1995) was an American singer, songwriter, model, actress and fashion designer. Billboard magazine named her as 1990's top-selling Latin artist. She was shot and killed by "friend" and former business manager Yolanda Saldívar. Selena was just 23 years old.

Sharon Tate (Sharon Marie Tate Polanski, 1943-1969) was an American actress and model. She is best known for her role as Jennifer North in "Valley of the Dolls" (1967). Wife of film director Roman Polanski, Ms. Tate and three others were murdered in her home by the Manson Family cult; she was just 26 years of age and nearly nine months pregnant.

Michelle Doris Thomas (1968-1998) was an American actress and comedienne. She appeared on "The Crosby Show" and "Family Matters", playing the role of Steve Urkel's girlfriend in the latter. Ms. Thomas died of cancer, just 30 years old.

Alfred Hitchcock's only Best Picture Academy Award was "Rebecca" (1940). After garnering 11 nominations, the film also won the Oscar for Best Cinematography. Starring Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine, the movie is a romantic psychological thriller based on Daphne du Maurier's 1938 Gothic novel.

While researching this question, Phoenix Rising's psnz reflected on the lost potential of young lives cut short.

Answer: John Adams

Washington DC did not in fact exist when America became the United States under the present constitution. On July 9, 1790, Congress passed the Residence Act, which established the city. Its original layout and design were done by Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant, who had been commissioned by Washington for the job.

The White House was designed by James Hoban who won the design competition, with construction beginning on October 13, 1792. It was first occupied by John Adams on November 1, 1800 while construction was still going on. In fact, the White House has been a work in progress since its inception. Each president puts his own stamp on the residency.

During the War of 1812, the British burned the White House when Washington was attacked. This gave rise to the myth that the structure was then painted white to hide the damage. It was in fact white from the beginning. It did not however become officially known as the White House until Theodore Roosevelt began putting it on the stationery. The current letterhead with "The White House" on top and Washington centered below dates back to the FDR administration.

In Spanish the White House would be Casa Blanca. "Casablanca" is also a 1942 movie starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. It won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1943.

The information contained herein has been presented to Congress for acceptance as an official report by Phoenix Rising member tazman6619.

Answer: Platoon

Military organization differs by country and service branch, but platoons are generally the smallest unit led by a commissioned officer. All three of the other units are much larger. Regiments are usually 1,000-3,000 strong, brigades are typically formed by 2 or more regiments (3,000-5,000 service members), and divisions by 2 or more brigades (6,000-25,000 service members).

The 1986 war film "Platoon" won Best Picture at the 59th Academy Awards in 1987. The film also won Best Director for Oliver Stone and Oscars for Best Sound and Best Film Editing.

This question marched into position by Phoenix Rising platoon leader, JCSon.

Answer: Quinton

The first episode of 'McHale's Navy' screened on the ABC network in the USA on October 1st 1962. There were 137 further episodes in four series, finishing in September 1965. The series was a comedic look at life on the patrol-torpedo boat PT-73 during World War II. The major premise seemed to be how to avoid doing as much work as possible (and avoiding actual combat) while thwarting the directives of the base commander, Captain Binghamton (Joe Flynn). The PT-73 was skippered by Lt-Commander Quentin McHale (played by Ernest Borgnine) and also featured Tim Conway as Ensign Parker, the goofily incompetent second-in-command.

Gap-toothed Ernest Borgnine was born Ermes Effron Borgnino in Connecticut in 1917. He joined the US Navy in 1935 and served until 1941 and then re-enlisted. After the war finished, his acting career commenced on the stage and in films and arguably reached its pinnacle when he received a best-actor Oscar for his role in the romantic comedy, 'Marty' in 1955. The film also won academy awards for best film, best screenplay and best director (Delbert Mann). Borgnine died in 2012.

As a youngster, PR member MikeMaster99 wondered about how such a crew could get away with such mayhem... after working for many years, he now knows very well how this occurs. The wonders of feigned incompetence!!

Answer: Ben Kingsley

Sir Ben Kingsley was born in India to an English mother and Indian father. He identifies as being English. He began his acting career in theatre before moving on to the silver screen. His best-known role, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor, was the eponymous role of "Gandhi" in 1982. In 2002 he was appointed a Knight Bachelor for services to the British film industry.

This question was cast into the quiz by Phoenix Rising's leith90, who has never been to Hollywood or Bollywood but is very good at acting (up).

Answer: White star

Stars are classified into colours based on their approximate surface temperature, which in turn depends on the age of the star, its mass and its fuel (hydrogen/helium). Cooler stars are red (~2500 K) while hotter stars are blue (above 30 000 K). The sun, at about 6000 K, is somewhere in between and is white on the colour spectrum. However, it can appear yellow from Earth due to atmospheric scattering, which is why it is sometimes classified as a yellow dwarf. Scientifically, it is properly known as a G-type main-sequence star.

"Titanic" (1997) won 11 awards at the 70th Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The liner RMS Titanic was operated by the White Star Line British shipping company.

This question was heated to white brilliance by Phoenix Rising team members ozzz2002 and purelyqing.

Answer: Wrigley Field

In the 1980 film 'The Blues Brothers', Jake and Elwood (John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd) are on a mission to get their old band back together so that they can raise money to help save an orphanage from closing down. A protest at a bridge in Jackson Park holds them up from getting to the last two band members, so Elwood drives through them, forcing them to take sanctuary in the lake. As they hit the water the leader of the Neo-Nazis asks a subordinate to get the licence plate details so that they could track down the pair.

Assistant Nazi: "I called a friend at the motor vehicle department. That license plate is like a rash all over the computer. The car belongs to a known traffic menace."

Head Nazi (Henry Gibson): "What's his name?"

Assistant: "His name is Elwood Blues. He's got a record a mile long. ... And he's a Catholic."

Head: "Got his address?"

Assistant: "Of course. 1060 West Addison."

The scene then cuts to Wrigley Field.

Wrigley Field is in Chicago, the setting of the Oscar-winning "Chicago". It is one of only a few musicals that have won Best Picture at the Oscars, picking up the top award, and another five in other categories, in 2003.

This question was no mission from God for Phoenix Rising's pollucci19... he loves the movie so much that he couldn't resist the challenge.

Answer: Cavalcade

Cavalcade is a noun dating to the 16th and 17th centuries, stemming from the earlier French "cavalcade" and Italian "cavalcata" which meant "a horseback ride". "Cavalier" comes from the same root. The word then came to mean "a procession" of any kind, with the "-cade" suffix forming parts of words such as motorcade, autocade and aquacade.

Agistment dates from a similar period to "cavalcade" and means feeding, pasturing or looking after animals for a fee. It comes from the French "agister" meaning "to lodge" or "give lodgings to".

In the early 17th Century, the French had a musket called a "dragon", possibly because the weapon breathed fire. The term "dragoon" came to mean a soldier carrying a firearm, able to fight on horseback or foot.

Flotilla means "a small fleet", a diminutive derived in the early 18th Century from the Spanish "flota" (fleet) and "flotar" (to float). There are similar words in Old French and Germanic languages, and "flotilla" has taken the added meaning, "a fleet of small ships". There is no indication that this word has ever had any association with horseback riding.

"Cavalcade" (1933) won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director (Frank Lloyd) and Best Art Direction. The film is based on Noel Coward's 1931 play and starred Diana Wynyard and Clive Brook. Subtitled "Picture of the Generation" the movie reflects the period of English life from 1899 until 1933.

There was no ambuscade and Phoenix Rising's psnz was not dragooned into researching this question. Despite there being no agistment, he was happy to float it into the quiz.

Answer: Crash

A stock market crash is a major foundering of stock prices across a large cross-section of a market, such as occurred in the Wall Street Crash of 1929. Crash Bandicoot is a video game franchise originally developed for the Sony PlayStation console. "48 Crash" was a single released by American singer-songwriter Suzi Quatro in 1973. Computer crashes are of course terribly frustrating application or system failures.

Attending an invite-only event to which you were not invited is known as gate-crashing. Crash tackle or crash ball is an offensive tactic in the game of rugby in which the runner charges into the opposition's defensive line to create openings for subsequent maneuvers. A group of rhinoceros, particularly one moving together at speed, is known as a crash.

The 2004 film "Crash" won Best Picture at the 78th Academy Awards. The award was controversial, with some critics suggesting that "Crash" was nowhere near the best film of the year, and that it won at the expense of "Brokeback Mountain" due to lingering discomfort with the latter's focus on LGBT issues.

This question crash-landed into the quiz by Phoenix Rising pilot, JCSon.

Answer: The Hamlet

'The Hamlet', (1940), 'The Town' (1957), and 'The Mansion' (1959) were set in the delightfully named Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, as were many of his other novels.

He was one of the best-known American 20th-century authors, producing 19 novels and over 120 short stories. He won two Pulitzer Prizes to stand next to his Nobel Prize in his trophy cabinet. He died in 1962, from complications following a fall from his horse.

'Hamlet' is a rather famous play, written by the rather famous William Shakespeare. It has been filmed many times, and won the Oscar in 1949, with Laurence Olivier playing the title role.

This question authored by ozzz2002, who cannot hold a candle to the eminent gentlemen mentioned above.

Answer: Parasite Eve

"Parasite Eve" is an action role-playing game created by the company, Square. The game is a sequel to the Japanese horror novel of the same name, written by Hideaki Sena. Aya Brea is a New York City police officer in "Parasite Eve", and the game features movement throughout Manhattan with random encounters of enemies that suddenly materialize. The game's villain, Eve, is a formidable foe capable of causing spontaneous combustion in entire swaths of people telepathically.

Aya Brea reappears as the heroine in Square's 1999 sequel, "Parasite Eve II", as an FBI operative working in their Mitochondrial Investigation and Suppression Team (MIST) three years after the events of the original game.

'Parasite' is a South Korean movie, and was the first foreign-language film to win the Best Picture Oscar, at the 92nd Academy Awards in 2019.

Phoenix Rising team member Rizeeve avoided any mitochondrial mutations as he shot this question into the quiz.

Answer: Mate (also known as Cimarrón)

Mate's flavor is derived from dried holly leaves being soaked in hot water. The drink is traditionally served in a calabash gourd and it is consumed through a metal straw. In addition to it being the national drink of Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, it is also common in parts of Bolivia, Chile and Brazil as well as Syria and Lebanon through importation.

In some parts of Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil the drink is known as chimarrão or cimarrón meaning rough or barbarian as it is prepared with a more natural and bitter flavor than other versions of mate.

"Cimarron" is also the name of the 1931 western film that won an Academy Award for Best Picture. The film was based on the 1930 Edna Ferber novel of the same name and its plot involves the Oklahoma land rush of 1889 and the ensuing growth of the area after.

This question was infused into the quiz by Phoenix Rising team member Triviaballer who has never tried mate and more associates holly leaves with the holidays.

Answer: George Patton

General George S Patton was one of the most colorful generals of World War II. The Germans feared him and his battlefield prowess but his own lack of diplomacy and discipline within the Allied ranks and towards his own troops almost ended his career before his greatest triumphs could be achieved.

While leading the Seventh Army in Sicily, an incident at a field hospital with a soldier suffering from what was then called combat fatigue led to his removal as commander of that army after the campaign and stopped his meteoric rise due to his success in Sicily.

Eisenhower, however, knew the value of a commander of Patton's caliber and although he put him in the doghouse for a time, he still intended to use him in Europe. Patton was given command of the Third Army and after the breakout from Normandy, this army captured more territory and covered more ground than any other on the Western Front. Its greatest glory was found during the Battle of the Bulge when it disengaged from one front heading east into Germany and then turned 90 degrees north to assault the Bulge. This was all accomplished in less than 100 hours, a record in modern warfare. His troops reached Bastogne and relieved the 101st Airborne, who to this day claim they needed no relief.

The movie "Patton" based on his life and career won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1970, among seven Oscars total. George C Scott won the Best Actor award for playing the title character and famously declined the award. I am sure Patton himself would have approved of the move.

This report was filed from the front lines by combat reporter and Phoenix Rising member tazman6619.

Answer: Paul

The song was called 'Give Ireland Back to the Irish', and was released only a few weeks after the British troops had killed 13 protesters in Derry, Northern Ireland, on 30 January 1972. The Bloody Sunday riot, as it became known, was a part of the long running friction, the Troubles, and the country was split along religious lines. The mainly Catholic Irish wanted Northern Ireland to become part of Ireland, while the Protestant British fought to retain the area as part of the United Kingdom.

After the breakup of the Beatles, Paul McCartney formed the group Wings, and had several hits. 'Give Ireland Back to the Irish' was blatantly political and the British establishment did not like that. The song was promptly banned in England, probably ensuring it of public attention. It only peaked at 16 on the UK charts, but predictably hit the top spot in Ireland.

In 1927, the silent movie 'Wings', won the first ever Academy Award for Best Picture. It was a love story set against the backdrop of WW1 air warfare.

This question added by Phoenix Rising member, ozzz2002.