Cool Zooms, Part XXVII Trivia Quiz

Answer: Among Us

Initially developed and published by American video game manufacturer InnerSloth, "Among Us" is an online multiplayer social deduction game. Using a space-themed setting, players each take on a Crewmates role, and a predetermined smaller number become Impostors. Crewmates identify the Impostors and get rid of them to enable completion of tasks around the map. The Impostors sabotage and kill the Crewmates first. The sales were initially slow and blamed on poor marketing. However, in early 2020 there was a spike in popularity, at first driven by players in Mexico, South Korea, and Brazil where the game is more popular than in the United States. By the middle of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic was frequently quoted as a reason for the increased popularity of "Among Us", as it facilitated socialisation despite social distancing.

Question submitted by team member 1nn1 who prefers the Phoenix Rising weekly Zoom meeting for socialisation over any video game.

Answer: Prickles

In common language 'thorn', 'spine', and 'prickle' are used interchangeably and are all hard, rigid extensions or modifications of leaves, roots, stems, or buds. They all generally have the same purpose - to deter animals from eating the plant. However, in botanical terms, they do differ. Thorns are derived from shoots, spines from leaves, and prickles from bark or epidermis tissue.

Phoenix Rising team member lg549 managed to add this question to the bunch without getting scratched by a thorn, prickle, or spine.

Answer: Downed a yard of ale in 11 seconds

Well before he became Prime Minister of Australia (1983-91), Bob Hawke was a Rhodes Scholar who attended University College in Oxford. It was in 1955 that he incurred the ire of the President of the Junior Common Room, also known as the Sconcemaster. He'd committed an offence in that he'd arrived for dinner not wearing his gown. The trial then was that he had to drink a yard of beer (two and a half pints) in less than twenty seconds. Failure to do so meant he'd have to pay for that beer plus another yard. In his "The Hawke Memoirs" (1994) he intoned that he was "broke" (had no money) and turned to "the mother of ingestion". He downed the pot in eleven seconds and earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. Hawke would later state that "in a political sense, it was one of the big advantages I got out of my time at Oxford. It endeared me to a large section of the Australian voting population that I had a world beer drinking record".

This thirst quenching question was produced by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19 who once skolled a half yard of beer. However, compared to Bob Hawke, poll was a marathon runner.

Answer: Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant co-authored "Epoca: The Tree of Ecrof" with former national squash champion and literary novelist Ivy Claire. The first installment in a magical fantasy series, the story takes place in an alternate classical world dominated by sports and a magical power called grana which athletes must harness to achieve their true potential.

Bryant played his entire 20-year professional basketball career with the Los Angeles Lakers. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time (by the likes of ESPN, Sports Illustrated, FOX Sports, and fans of the game all over the world). Some of his career highlights include five NBA championships and two Olympic golds with the US national team.

In 2018, Bryant became the first professional athlete to take home an Oscar when he won in the Best Animated Short Film category. The five minute short, "Dear Basketball", was based on a letter he wrote announcing his retirement from the sport.

This question by Phoenix Rising's JCSon is dedicated to Kobe Bean Bryant (aka "The Black Mamba") who, along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, 6 family friends, and a pilot, tragically perished in a helicopter crash on the way to a youth basketball game at Mamba Academy on January 26, 2020.

Answer: Bear Grylls

The previous Eco-Challenge races were conducted between 1995 and 2002. The revitalized race pitted teams of four from around the globe (there were 66 teams at the start) in a non-stop race that took them over mountains, through jungles, and across oceans. They were not allowed any form of motorized transport, which meant they could sail, paddle, mountain bike, and hike. They were not allowed any modern means of navigation; it was down to the old fashion way... with a map and a compass. The event was won by Team New Zealand who, coincidentally were also the winners of the previous event, some 17 years beforehand.

Bear Grylls' resume made him the ideal presenter for this event. A former SAS serviceman and survival instructor, he stepped out of military life to be an adventurer in his own right, author, and television presenter.

The question was created by Phoenix Rising's own dancing bear, pollucci19 who, sadly, is apt to get lost in his own bathroom.

Answer: Coca-Cola

In 1984, to take advantage of the hype over the early space shuttle successes, Coke approached NASA to place their cola on board a future mission. NASA agreed, that is, if Coke could design a special can which would operate safely in zero gravity. Soon Pepsi learned of the effort and wormed their way into the project as well. Starting out as a marketing ploy by Coke to bolster sagging sales (remember "New" Coke?), it had now become a kind of space race.

After both companies had their respective can designs successfully tested in NASA's zero-gravity test plane (dubbed the Vomit Comet), the two colas were on board the 1985 Challenger space shuttle mission, STS 51-F.

Dubbed by some as the "Cola Space Race", Coke had the honor of being the first can opened in space. Pepsi was opened some eight hours later. Apparently, the results were mixed, and NASA opted to NOT include cans of cola in food offerings in future shuttle missions.

Washington D.C.'s Air and Space Museum has both cans on display. Pepsi reportedly spent $14 million in comparison to Coke's $250,000 on the project.

Phoenix Rising's mike32768 prefers Pepsi but drinks Coke from time to time when under duress.

Answer: Raspberries and olives

The botanical definition of a berry is different than the culinary definition, so many of the fruits we ordinarily think of as berries are technically not berries at all. Botanically, a berry is a fleshy fruit without a stone that forms from a single flower with a single ovary. True berries, by this definition, include blueberries, cranberries, grapes, bananas, cucumbers, pumpkins, eggplants, tomatoes, and avocados.

Raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries are classified as aggregate fruits. Aggregate fruits form when multiple ovaries from a single flower fuse together. Multiple or collective fruits like pineapples, figs, and mulberries result from the fusion of multiple flowers. Olives are stone fruit (or drupes).

Phoenix Rising's JCSon simply could not end this question without jamming a joke into it. So...what is red and invisible? No raspberries.

Answer: The Star Wars Universe

Aurebesh is a writing system from the Star Wars Galaxy. It is the written version of the spoken language called Galactic Basic. Like our alphabet, which takes its name from the first two letters - alpha and beta - so does the aurebesh system: from Aurek and Besh.

The writing was first seen in the original "Star Wars" movies, although the complete system wasn't created then and the symbols translate into gibberish. Stephen Crane from West End Games made up the full alphabet in 1993 based on the symbols he'd seen in "Return of the Jedi". In 1996 punctuation was added. 1999's "The Phantom Menace" was the first time this canonised version was incorporated into film, and earlier versions had their writing retroactively changed in special edition releases.

Phoenix Rising's leith90 used the force to write this question in English. The force failed her when she tried to write it in Aurebesh.

Answer: Mr. Peanut

Bartholomew Richard Fitzgerald-Smythe, more commonly known as Mr. Peanut, was created in 1916 as the result of a competition by the Planters company to find a mascot. Taking on human-like characteristics, Mr. Peanut was a highly successful icon for this brand until in 2020 it was decided that he must move on. He "died" while saving Wesley Snipes and Matt Walsh from a fiery automobile accident in a half-time advertisement during the 2020 Super Bowl. It is hoped that his heroic demise will make his stature as an advertising symbol even more renowned. Or might he miraculously return??

This question was shelled, crushed, and then pasted into this quiz by peanut-butter addict, MikeMaster99.

Answer: Taylor Swift

Swift initially used the pseudonym in 2016 when she co-wrote the song "This is What You Came For" with her then-boyfriend Calvin Harris. The track was recorded by Rhianna, and Swift's logic for the alter-ego was to ensure that her relationship with Harris did not draw the focus away from the single.

In 2020, Pitchfork magazine reported on a cover of a Taylor Swift song, "Look What You Made Me Do", appearing on a season three episode of the BBC spy drama "Killing Eve". The song is credited to a band called Jack Leopards & the Dolphin Club; however, the song also noted as being produced by one Nils Sjoberg.

Swift is not the first artist to use a pseudonym to hide their involvement in a song. It is usually done to ensure that the focus is not, as above, steered away from the artist performing. The members of the Beatles were notorious for doing this.

This question was penned by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19 who, in the past, has written under the names of Bruno Chicketti, Trent-Nathan Mozzarella, Zelda Vesta, and Hubby Poppadopoulous.

Answer: White Mouse

The vivacious Nancy Wake, was born in New Zealand in 1912, educated in Australia and USA, and was in France when WWII started. She joined the French Resistance movement, where she gained her nickname from the Germans, because she could not be captured. She evacuated to England for a short period of intelligence training before returning to France when the war started to turn against the Nazis. For her efforts, she was awarded medals by France, England, the US, and New Zealand.

Post-war, she returned to Australia, unsuccessfully contesting several federal elections as a candidate for the Liberal Party. She was finally recognised by the Australian government when she was awarded the Companion of the Order of Australia. She then returned to England, where she died in 2011.

This question was supplied by Phoenix Rising member, ozzz2002, who has seen the White Mouse's medals in the Australian War Museum, in Canberra.

Answer: Bhagavad Gita

The Bhagavad Gita is a sacred Hindu text, translating to "Divine Song" or "Words of the Lord". Hindu tradition attributes the Bhagavad Gita, the Puranas, and Mahabharata to Vyasa, an Indian sage. Legend has it that Ganesha, the elephant-headed god, broke off one of his tusks and used it to write down what Vyasa narrated. A Hindu philosophies scholar, Gerald James Larson said,
"if there is any one text that comes near to embodying the totality of what it is to be a Hindu, it would be the Bhagavad Gita".

Gandhi used the text to inspire him throughout his quest for Indian Independence and said, "I find a solace in the Bhagavadgita that I miss even in the Sermon on the Mount. When disappointment stares me in the face and all alone I see not one ray of light, I go back to the Bhagavadgita. I find a verse here and a verse there and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming tragedies - and my life has been full of external tragedies - and if they have left no visible, no indelible scar on me, I owe it all to the teaching of Bhagavadgita".

Gandhi was not the only person to find value in the text. Aldous Huxley, Henry David Thoreau, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Carl Jung, Herman Hesse, all have praised its writings.

smpdit reverently places this question in the quiz.

Answer: New Zealand

New Zealand's first elected woman Prime Minister was Helen Clark. Jenny Shipley, appointed after a resignation in 1997, was New Zealand's first woman Prime Minister but was defeated by Clark in 1999 and became Leader of the Opposition.

In 2001, Silvia Cartwright was Governor General, representing Queen Elizabeth II. Sian Elias was Chief Justice and Margaret Wilson was Attorney General. In 2001, New Zealand was the first country to have all five of the leading constitutional positions simultaneously held by women.

The Commonwealth of Nations (Commonwealth) is an association of 54 countries, mainly former British territories. All the answers are Commonwealth countries.

Phoenix Rising's psnz elected to place this question in the quiz and is proud to live in the first country to grant women's suffrage (1893).

Answer: James I

When Elizabeth I died in 1603 without an heir the English throne was bestowed upon James VI of Scotland, a great, great grandson of Henry VII, King of England and Lord of Ireland. James then became James I of England. In 1606, a new flag to represent the royal union between England and Scotland was determined by royal decree: the flag of England, a red cross on a white background (St. George's Cross), and the flag of Scotland, a white saltire on a blue background (St. Andrew's Cross), would be combined, forming the flag of England and Scotland. The kingdoms of Scotland and England remained individual sovereign states until 1707 when, the Kingdom of Great Britain was formed. This was the result of Acts of Union being passed by both the parliaments of England and Scotland after ratification of the 1706 Treaty of Union. In 1801 a royal proclamation described the union of Great Britain and Ireland. Shortly after the red saltire of St. Patrick representing Ireland was added to the existing flag creating what became known as the Union Flag, and later the Union Jack.

This question was run up the flagpole at dawn by Phoenix Rising amateur vexillologist 1nn1.

Answer: Eric Clapton

It was Robbie Robertson who had the privilege of inducting Eric Clapton, as a solo artist, into the Hall of Fame in the year 2000. Clapton had previously been inducted as a member of the Yardbirds in 1992 and as a member of the psychedelic rock band Cream in 1993. Twenty years later he still remained as the sole performer to have been inducted on three separate occasions.

There was a piece of graffiti spray-painted on the tube station wall in Islington (England) in the mid-1960s that declared, "Clapton is God". At the time he was a member of both The Yardbirds and John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers and his guitar playing was said to explore the boundaries of both passion and pain. With influences varying between reggae and the blues, Clapton remained a consistent hit maker over his career.

This question struck a chord with Phoenix Rising's pollucci19.

Answer: Trek from lowest to highest point on every continent

The lowest point on earth (the shore of the Dead Sea) is just 5.8 vertical miles from the highest point (Mount Everest). This was the impetus for Charlie Engle's 5.8 Project, and he set out to be the first person to trek from the lowest to the highest point on every continent. In 2019, he trekked from Lake Assal in Djibouti to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, completing the African leg. Then the global COVID-19 pandemic hit and his plans had to be postponed.

Charlie Engle, Ray Zahab, and Kevin Lin were featured in a 2007 documentary called "Running the Sahara" narrated by Matt Damon, which chronicles their journey west to east across the expanse over 4,300 miles (6,900 km).

Former British army captain Ed Stafford became the first known person to walk the entire length of the Amazon River when he arrived at the river's mouth on the Atlantic Ocean in August 2010. The incredible and harrowing journey from Peru to Brazil took 860 days across 4,000 miles (6,400 km).

The Intercontinental Marathon Club keeps a running list of people who have run a marathon on all 7 continents within 7 days. After the 2019 World Marathon Challenge, the list included 139 people (100 men and 39 women). In 2017, American Michael Wardian set a new world record with a total time of 19:21:36 (an astonishing average of 2:45:57 per marathon).

Phoenix Rising's JCSon is an avid (but amateur) obstacle course racer and has had the delight of fist-bumping Charlie Engle at the start of a Spartan Trail Race and "competing" against Michael Wardian at an Ultra Virus 12 Hour Race in 2020.

Answer: Gold

Adding gold chloride to molten glass, glass blowers can create shades varying from pink to burgundy. The depth of colour of glass depends on the temperature to which it is heated (over-heating the glass will become amethyst), and the amount of gold in the mix. Cranberry glass was particularly popular in 19th century Britain and the Victorian era once the process was more uniform.

It is thought that ruby or cranberry glass was first produced by accident in 1612 by Italian glassmaker Antonio Neri, but as evidenced by the Lycurgus cup, the Romans knew the secret as early as the fourth century, and the secret was lost. It was rediscovered in Bohemia during the 1600s. The dichroic glass of the Lycurgus cup contains minute amounts of both gold and silver, so the glass appears red or green depending on the way it is viewed.

This question was carefully hand-blown from the ashes by Phoenix Rising member VegemiteKid.

Answer: Alaska

It might come as a surprise to some people, but Alaska is home to both the easternmost and westernmost point in the United States. This is because the US Aleutian Islands, which extend out over 1,000 miles west of the Alaskan mainland, straddle the imaginary line that marks 180 degrees longitude and the point at which the eastern and western hemispheres meet. As a result, the volcanic Semisopochnoi Island, located at 179°36'03"E longitude, is the easternmost point in the territory of the United States. While no Americans actually live there, it is inhabited by a large colony of seabirds and is an important breeding site for several species of auklet.

Just over 70 miles from Semisopochnoi Island is Amatignak Island, which at 179°06'31"W is the United States' westernmost point.

This question was directed into the quiz by Phoenix Rising's Fifiona81, who has never been very good at orienteering and still can't quite picture the difference between east and west in this case.

Answer: Eyesore of the Piraeus

Aegina is clearly visible from virtually every side of Athens and Piraeus. The island's profile was certainly raised by Mount Oros, its highest peak at 531 m (1,742 ft), but also (especially in antiquity) by its commercial and marine prominence. In many ways, Aegina stood in the way of Athenian progress. Despite the dim view held by Pericles, Aegina is a beautiful island. In fact, in more modern times, The Huffington Post named it "the most beautiful Greek island that you haven't heard of".

Phoenix Rising's JCSon can attest to the beauty of Aegina having visited the island in 2003.

Answer: No Frills

The first No Frills supermarket was opened in 1978 in Toronto and by 2019 there were more than 200 locations in nine Canadian provinces. Similar to other discount grocers, many products sold by No Frills are often left on shipping pallets or in cardboard boxes and customers typically bring their own reusable shopping bags.

Released in 1983, Bette Midler's sixth album, "No Frills", was one of her least successful albums peaking at number 60 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. The album featured three singles, "All I Need to Know", "Favorite Waste of Time", and "Beast of Burden". For the remainder of the 1980s, Midler focused on acting roles in films like "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" and "Beaches".

This question was frilled into the quiz by Phoenix Rising team member Triviaballer who believes there's typically a nice, middle ground between no-frills and excess.