Cool Zooms, Part XLV Trivia Quiz

Answer: Whitechapel

Whitechapel was the infamous location of the Jack The Ripper murders.

Mr. Zevon wrote the song with Robert "Waddy" Wachtel. When Mr. Zevon was working with The Everly Brothers, they were asked to write a dance song called "Werewolves Of London." When Mr. Wachtel and Zevon were jamming with guitars, someone asked what they were playing. Mr. Zevon replied, "Werewolves Of London," and in response Mr. Wachtel started howling. Whilst jamming Mr. Zevon came up with "I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand," and they swapped lyrics back and forth until they had a song. It was Mr. Zevon's only top ten hit.

This question was rocked into the quiz by Phoenix Rising team member 1nn1 who on a trip to the UK in 2017, tracked down the now famous Lee Ho Fook's restaurant mentioned in the song to Gerrard Street in London's Chinatown. Sadly it had been converted to a generic Chinese buffet restaurant (Photograph available on request). I had more chance of seeing "Lon Chaney walking with the Queen".

Answer: Orchid

Created in 1934 by author Rex Stout, Nero Wolfe is a New York City armchair detective. In many of the 33 novels and 41 novellas featuring Wolfe, orchids were integral to the plots. Wolfe was known to dedicate four hours each day to the care of his orchids, and his clients were expected to accept this eccentricity. The Phalaenopsis orchid is mentioned in 11 stories, with the Phalaenopsis Aphrodite itself named in seven which has led readers to surmise that it is Wolfe's favourite bloom.

Orchids are one of the most widespread family of flowering plants, with about 28,000 recognised species. Several countries, including Singapore, Colombia, Honduras, and Guatemala have varieties of orchid as their national flower. The largest display of orchids in the world is the National Orchid Garden within the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

This question was cultivated for the quiz by Phoenix Rising's leith90 who has been to the National Orchid Garden in Singapore but has never read a Nero Wolfe novel.

Answer: Western Australia

Wolfe Creek Crater is located in Wolfe Creek Meteorite Crater National Park in Western Australia. It is one of the most well-preserved impact craters in Australia and meteorite fragments have been recovered from the site. The crater is almost perfectly circular with an average diameter of 892 m (2926 ft) and a total depth of 59 m (193 ft). It was created by a meteorite measuring 15 m in diameter and about 14,000 tonnes in mass. Earlier estimates put the age of the crater at 300,000 years but a study in 2019 (Barrows et al., 2019) suggested the crater is much younger at 120,000 years.

Although only discovered by scientists during an aerial survey in 1947, the Aboriginal people of Australia have long known of the crater's existence. Wolfe Creek Crater was named after the nearby Wolfe Creek but the native name for it is Kandimalal.

A crater with a similar name can be found on The Moon. Wolf Crater is found on Mare Nubium and is named after Max Wolf, a German astronomer.

This question was bombarded into the quiz with minimal impact by Phoenix Rising team members tazman6619 and purelyqing.

Answer: Lakota

"Dances with Wolves" was released in 1990 and was directed and produced by Kevin Costner, who also starred as Lt. Dunbar. The film is based on the book of the same name by Michael Blake, who also wrote the screenplay. The story takes place at the time of the American Civil War and is about Lt. John J. Dunbar, a member of the Union Army, who is assigned to a remote western outpost. When he arrives at the post he finds it deserted, but makes friends with a wolf that he names "Two socks". Encountering a nearby Lakota tribe, he makes friends with them and gradually comes to live their lifestyle.

The Lakota are a subculture of the Sioux people and their lands are in North and South Dakota.

The film won seven Oscars: Best Picture; Best Director; Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium; Best Cinematography, Best Sound; Best Film Editing and Best Music, Original Score. It was also nominated in another five categories: Best Actor in a Leading Role; Best Actor in a Supporting Role; Best Actress in a Supporting Role; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration and Best Costume Design.

This question has been brought to the party by Phoenix Rising member lg549, who may not dance with wolves being from Australia but she has been known to tango with a dingo or two.

Answer: Galapagos Islands

Charles in this case is Charles Darwin who visited the Galapagos islands in 1835 as a geologist. He was in fact there to study volcanoes. His theory of evolution grew out of side observations while he was studying the geology of the islands.

Wolf Volcano is 1,707 m (5,600 ft) tall and is a live volcano. It last erupted in 2015. Its first recorded eruption was in 1797. The volcano is named after Theodor Wolf, who was not yet born when Darwin visited the islands. Wolf was a German geologist who also has an island in the archipelago named after him. He published his observations in 1892 and it is his interpretation of island geology that is considered the standard for the archipelago.

The information in this question has been submitted to the National Geographic Society for consideration for publication in their magazine by Phoenix Rising member tazman6619.

Answer: Wolf Blitzer

Wolf Isaac Blitzer (b. 1948) is a US journalist and television anchor. He has worked for CNN since 1990 where he has hosted "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer", "Wolf Blitzer Reports", "The Situation Room", "Wolf" and "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer".

Blitzer's family were Polish-Jewish refugees and Auschwitz survivors who emigrated to the United States under the provisions of 1948's Displaced Persons Act. Several family members including his grandparents died at the concentration camp. Wolf shares his first name with his maternal grandfather.

In 1990, Blitzer began working as CNN's military affairs reporter. From 1992-1999 he was the network's Whitehouse correspondent, earning an Emmy for his coverage of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. He has appeared as himself in numerous feature films including "Skyfall" (2012), the 23rd Bond movie.

Phoenix Rising's psnz was pleased to report on this question for the quiz.

Answer: John Landis

Not only did Landis direct the film, he also wrote it. He wrote it as early as 1969; however, struggled to get anyone to back the movie. The consensus among investors was that it was way too scary to be a comedy film and too humorous to be a horror movie. Consequently, he placed it on the shelf for almost ten years. However, thanks to his enormous success with films such as "National Lampoon's Animal House" (1978) and "The Blues Brothers" (1980), he became a hot property and investors were soon knocking at his door.

The film follows two backpackers from New York, David Kessler (David Naughton) and Jack Goodman (Griffin Dunne), hiking their way through England when they are attacked by a werewolf. Jack is killed and David has been bitten. Jack appears to David and tells him he will become a werewolf at the next full moon and that he should kill himself now. David refuses to believe. Does David become a werewolf? You'll either have to see the film or wait till the next full moon.

Phoenix Rising's pollucci19's fondest memory of this film was the playing of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Bad Moon Rising" as David turns into a werewolf... oops I shouldn't have said that.

Answer: Highlander

Nick Wolfe appeared in the television series 'Highlander: The Raven', a 1998-1999 spin-off from 'Highlander: The Series' (which was itself a spin-off from the original 'Highlander' film and its sequels). The programme lasted for only one series and was focused on the relationship between former cop Nick and the immortal thief Amanda who first appeared in the original TV show.

The main premise of the 'Highlander' universe is the existence of a small group of humans who possess a power known as "The Quickening", which renders them immortal unless they happen to be killed by having their head chopped off. In 'Highlander: The Raven', Nick Wolfe knew about Amanda's immortality but was unaware that he too was an Immortal until the final episode, when Amanda shot him to provide the violent death required to trigger his ability.

This question was recorded for posterity by Fifiona81 of the immortal Phoenix Rising.

Answer: Aesop

'The Boy Who Cried Wolf' is accredited to the Greek storyteller Aesop. It is a cautionary tale of a boy who, feeling bored as he sits watching the sheep, decides to alarm the villagers into thinking a wolf is attacking the sheep. After a couple of false alarms the villagers no longer respond to the boy's alarms and when the wolf actually comes to visit the boy is no longer believable. He is ignored and the sheep (and in some versions, the boy also) are eaten.

Interestingly, teachers have used this tale to impress upon their classes the importance of telling the truth, but studies show that children tell fewer lies after hearing the tale of George Washington and the cherry tree, and are more prone to being economical with the truth after hearing about the boy who cries wolf. A small lesson in moral instruction of the young.

Phoenix Rising's smpdit has generally found the truth to be more useful throughout life... or has she?

Answer: The bear and the elk

The full verse is Isaiah 11:6 "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them." (KJV)

It is noteworthy that the phrase "and a little child shall lead them" from this verse has been taken out of context many times when it is quoted. It is most often used to add emphasis to the good deeds of a child and to somehow imply Isaiah was saying that a child would lead the nation of Israel in a perfect future. The only thing the child is leading in this verse is the animals, not people of any kind. The idea that somehow children, no matter how noble their deeds or their ideas, should lead a nation is counter to everything the Bible teaches. Old age and wisdom go hand in hand in scripture. To take this verse out of context as it is so often is, ignores the plain language in which it was written and ignores the overall message of The Bible.

This question and the information provided therein by Phoenix Rising member tazman6619 should be quoted literally and not misinterpreted to fit some other narrative.

Answer: Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers are a law enforcement agency with jurisdiction throughout the state of Texas. Chuck Norris portrays the titular character, a Ranger and retired Marine, in "Lone Wolf McQuade" (1983). The film pits him against an arms dealer and martial artist named Rawley Wilkes played by David Carradine. It would later inspire the hit series "Walker, Texas Ranger" (1993-2001), also starring Chuck Norris. He and his younger brother Aaron executive produced, and they were both appointed honorary Texas Rangers in 2010 for helping to "elevate [the agency] to truly mythical status".

Phoenix Rising's JCSon counted "Lone Wolf McQuade" amongst his favorite action movies as a boy, and may have emulated that iconic red bandana look a time or two.

Answer: FALSE

Dire wolves (Canis dirus) are an extinct species of wolf-like canids that lived during the American Late Pleistocene epoch. Dire wolf remains from 250,000 to 13,000 years ago have been found all over North America. Initially thought to be closely related to grey wolves, genetic analysis published by Perri et al. in 2021 revealed that dire wolves split from the grey wolf lineage more than five million years ago and the two species did not interbreed despite overlapping territories. In fact, the dire wolf was genetically closer to African jackals than other wolf species. The finding lent support to the hypothesis that the dire wolf should be classified in its own genus, Aenocyon, instead of the Canis genus.

This question was genetically sequenced by Phoenix Rising team member purelyqing and taxonomically classified into quiz Cool Zoom, Part XLV by teammate tazman6619.

Answer: Yukon Territory, Canada

"Never Cry Wolf: The Amazing True Story of Life Among Arctic Wolves" (1963) was written by naturalist Farley Mowat who was tasked by the Canadian Wildlife Service in 1948-1949 to find out why the arctic caribou population was declining. It was believed that the animals were being killed by wolves. He was helped by the Ihalmuit ("People of the Deer"), an Inuit tribe.

Mowat spent a summer in the Yukon Territory's frozen tundra studying the wolf population, concluding they were no threat to caribou. Rather, the caribou were being killed by human hunters, with wolves only attacking weaker or older animals.

Walt Disney Pictures adapted Mowat's autobiography, producing "Never Cry Wolf" (1983). This was a docudrama with the premise that arctic life is about dying: not just animals but also the Inuit and their way of life. The film was the first Disney production with full-frontal male nudity and bare buttock scenes. Both book and film helped change attitudes toward wolves and their roles in nature.

Phoenix Rising's psnz was pleased to unpack this question for the quiz.

Answer: Josef Stalin

The Young Pioneers were the Russian equivalent of the Boy Scouts, founded in 1919, and more properly known as Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization. The organisation's structure is also similar to Scouts, with advancement through the ranks available, uniforms, badges, and other symbols and flags. Even their motto is similar - 'Vsegda gotov!, meaning 'Always Ready', instead of 'Be Prepared'.

Stalin succeeded Lenin as leader of the USSR in 1924 when the latter died, and held power until his own death in 1953.

The symphony, 'Peter and the Wolf', was written by Prokofiev in 1936, and squarely aimed at children. Different characters are represented by different instruments - the wolf is a French horn, the duck is an oboe, the cat is a clarinet, and Peter is played by various stringed instruments. It is a fun piece of music and can easily be found online. Definitely worth a listen!

Phoenix Rising team member ozzz2002 was typing in time to the music as he wrote this question.

Answer: Hungry like the Wolf

Released in 1982, this was the band's second single from their double platinum selling album "Rio". Whilst the song did well for them in the UK it struggled to launch the band in the United States. However, MTV loved the video for the song so much - filmed in the jungles of Sri Lanka - that they placed it on high rotation, providing the band with invaluable exposure. The single would peak at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and push the band toward international stardom. The video, directed by Russell Mulcahy, would win the Grammy for Best Short Form Music Video in 1984.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19 who sneers at those who claim to be hungry like the wolf... he'd rather be hungry like the bear.

Answer: Teddy Roosevelt

In the USA through the last part of the 19th century and into the first decade in the 20th century there was an intense interest in the natural world and escaping from the city to enjoy scenic wonders and wildlife. This movement led to the creation of the Yellowstone National Park, the world's first, in 1872. As part of this burgeoning interest in the outdoors, a conflict arose between the scientific understanding of the natural world and sentimental portrayals of nature in literature. This debate became known as 'Nature Fakers' where artistic liberties taken to portray animals in a more favorable, or perhaps human, light and give them humanesque thoughts and emotions were criticised as being "unrealistic". The most famous example of this public discourse was the description of Jack London's canine characters as 'humans in furs'. President Theodore 'Teddy' Roosevelt published an article in 1907 which named Jack London as one of the 'Nature Fakers'. London then responded with an article explaining his viewpoint. It has been highlighted that humans have enjoyed stories with anthropomorphized animal characters going back as far as Aesop's famous tales.

Phoenix Rising member and scientist MikeMaster99 enjoyed learning more about this debate and the apparent dichotomy between the science and mainstream public sentiment. It has been a recurring theme ever since!

Answer: A wolf in sheep's clothing

The idiom 'a wolf in sheep's clothing' has two possible origins. It has been attributed Aesop and even resides in the Perry Index of his fables at 451. Aesop lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 560 BC.

The competing origin story says it comes from the Bible and the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 7:15 Jesus states, ""Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves." (NIV)

Although Aesop lived well before Christ it is most likely that the English version is from the Biblical origin as that was translated and more widely known in English before Aesop's fables were translated into English and became widely known.

The idiom itself warns of those who may be in our midst and portray themselves as one thing when they are in reality another with evil or deceptive intent and are therefore a danger to those around them.

This question was sheared and exposed by Phoenix Rising member tazman6619.

Answer: Rama

When the panther Bagheera discovers the "man-cub" Mowgli in the wreckage of a canoe, he understands that the infant will not survive alone in the jungle. He places Mowgli in the care of Rama and his mate Raksha, who have just welcomed a litter of wolf pups. The wolves welcome Mowgli into their family until the ferocious tiger Shere Khan returns, forcing Bagheera to spirit the boy away to safety.

"The Jungle Book" was the final film published by Walt Disney before his death. It was based on Rudyard Kipling's book of the same name published in 1894. In Kipling's telling, Mowgli's adoptive father was simply known as Father Wolf, and Rama was the name of a water buffalo.

This question by Phoenix Rising's JCSon covers the bare necessities.

Answer: Dungeons & Dragons

The "Lone Wolf" gamebooks were created by Joe Dever who wrote the first 29 of the series from 1984 until his death in 2016. The series takes place in world of Magnamund in which the lead character (Lone Wolf) is a warrior monk battling the forces of evil. The gamebooks are written in a second person perspective allowing the reader some choices as the stories progress.

Joe Dever's inspiration for the "Lone Wolf" series was the hugely popular "Dungeons & Dragons" series. In 1982, Dever won the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Championship of America. He actually created the fictional world of Magnamund over the course of eight years while playing various "Dungeons & Dragons" campaigns. The original "Dungeons & Dragons" was released as a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) in 1974. Since then the series has developed into other media and its 5th edition was released in 2014.

This question was developed into the quiz by Phoenix Rising team member Triviaballer who has been developing his FunTrivia gamertag for over 20 years.

Answer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang William Van Halen (b. March 16, 1991) was named after Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the classical composer. His parents were Eddie Van Halen (American musician and songwriter) and Valerie Bertinelli (American actress and television personality).

It has been said that "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree" and that is certainly true here. Wolfie grew up playing drums, guitar, and bass, and joined the Van Halen rock band in 2006. After the death of his father in October 2020 and the dissolution of the family band, he formed Mammoth WVH.

The Van Halen instrumental "316" (1991) was dedicated to Eddie's new son, with the title referring to young Wolfgang's birthday. Later, Van Halen senior collaborated on the Wolfgang line of guitars with Peavey. Eddie also named the Fender EVH Wolfgang after his son.

Of the other answers, Wolfgang Puck is an Austrian chef and restauranteur with many television and movie appearances. Wolfgang Joop is a German fashion designer and the founder of JOOP! (a fashion and cosmetics company). Wolfgang Peterson is a German film director and producer with two Academy Award nominations for "Das Boot" (1981).

Phoenix Rising team member psnz enjoys Mozart's compositions but has little knowledge of the music of any of the Van Halen family.