Cool Zooms, Part XXXI Trivia Quiz

Answer: Fish

Many fish do not chew food in their mouths as they lack oral teeth, but they, instead, have teeth in their pharyngeal arch (throat) which grinds and crushes food as it goes through. Many fish such as carp, minnows and sucking fish have these pharyngeal teeth. Goldfish and loaches, often found in home aquariums, are also part of the pharyngognanthus group of fish.

Phoenix Rising's leith90 wondered if she had bitten off more than she could chew with this question.

Answer: Horatio

The body count in this play, one of Shakespeare's most famous tragedies, is extremely high! In a case of mistaken identity, Hamlet kills Polonius who is hiding behind a curtain (arras) in his mother Gertrude's chamber. Hamlet believed it was his uncle, King Claudius. Meanwhile Claudius is plotting with Laertes to kill Hamlet using poison in a chalice or on a poison blade. Gertrude drinks this poison instead and dies. In a duel, both Hamlet and Laertes are poisoned with the blade and Laertes dies. After killing Claudius (whom Hamlet believed killed his father to take the crown), Hamlet then succumbs to the poison as well leaving a distraught Horatio to recount the tale to others.

This question brought back memories of High School English classes to Phoenix Rising member MikeMaster99, who is glad he can just be (or not be), without questioning why!

Answer: Clouds

Nephology is the meteorological science dealing with clouds and cloud formation. The word 'nephology' is derived from the Greek 'nephos' (cloud) and 'ology' (study of).

Incidentally, German electronic band Air Liquide released their second studio album in 1994 under the title "Nephology". The album included tracks like "The Clouds Have Eyes", "Sulfur Clouds", and "Stratus Static".

Admittedly, "kidneys" may have clouded the issue a bit here given that nephrology is the medical specialty concerned with the study of the kidneys. The study of fossils is the realm of paleontology. The study of tree rings, or more precisely tree ring dating, is dendrochronology.

Phoenix Rising's JCSon has his head stuck in the clouds contemplating whether one might call the study of clouds shaped like kidneys 'nephronephology'.

Answer: Norway

Nevil Shute Norway (1899 -1960) was an aeronautical engineer and author. He used Nevil Shute for a pseudonym as an author to protect his professional career from potentially negative publicity. He was born in London and graduated from Oxford with an Honours degree in aeronautical engineering and distinguished himself in this profession during WWII. He wrote novels during his spare time, with his first being published in 1926. His themes were diverse but broadly they covered aviation and engineering, and Australia, a country to which he emigrated in 1950. His most famous novels were "A Town Like Alice" (1950) and "On the Beach" both set in Australia. He died of a stroke in 1960.

This question was written near a beach but nowhere near Alice Springs by Phoenix Rising's 1nn1.

Answer: Stars & Stripes

In 1983, "Australia II" won the America's Cup when they defeated Dennis Conner's "Liberty". The Australian boat came back from 3-1 down to win 4-3. To this point, the Cup had been in American hands for 132 years, and the Aussie victory was a major upset.

The result was reversed in 1987, off Fremantle, Western Australia, when Conner's yacht, "Stars & Stripes" (also noted as "Stars & Stripes '87), won the best of seven series with four straight victories. The Australian yacht, "Kookaburra III", was skippered by Iain Murray.

This question sailed off into the sunset, piloted by Phoenix Rising member, ozzz2002.

Answer: Great Expectations

He is Pip's uncle and a man obsessed with money, and in Dickens' own words, 'a large hard-breathing middle-aged slow man'. In the novel, the author lampoons the snobbery of the middle class, defining them as lazy and pompous. One sentence from chapter eight describes the commercial class brilliantly - 'Mr. Pumblechook appeared to conduct his business by looking across the street at the saddler, who appeared to transact his business by keeping his eye on the coach-maker, who appeared to get on in life by putting his hands in his pockets and contemplating the baker, who in his turn folded his arms and stared at the grocer, who stood at his door and yawned at the chemist.' Very funny stuff!

The Phoenix Rising team greatly expected ozzz2002 to write this question. Did he do good?

Answer: Bee

The bee is rich with symbolism and it is easy to see why it appealed to the new Emperor of France as it evokes many meanings; hard work, order and industriousness, which run parallel to the image of benevolent sweetness evoked by the honey producer.

Napoleon also drew on inspiration from Charlemagne who had a cicada as an emblem, and it is thought that Napoleon mistook this for a bee.
He used the bee symbol in much of his decoration, emblazoning it on cushions, wallpaper as well as including it on his coronation robes.

smpdit worked hard to enter this question into the hive mind.

Answer: Nevada

Nevada State Route 375 extends from Crystal Springs to Warm Springs, and traverses through mostly unoccupied desert. At one point the road passes close to Area 51 and there have been numerous reports of alien sightings and encounters along this particular stretch. To try and entice tourists to the area, the Nevada Tourism Commission renamed the road "The Extraterrestrial Highway" in February 1996. This renaming coincided with the release of "Independence Day" which had a stand-off at Area 51. The Extraterrestrial Highway also featured in the 2011 movie "Paul".

While researching this question leith90 had a close encounter and needed to phone home.

Answer: 3

The three Australians (in order of finishing) were Tyler Wright, Stephanie Gilmore and Sally Fitzgibbon. In what was a hotly contested event, there were five contestants, the others being Courtney Conlogue and Hawaii's Carissa Moore, in with a chance of taking the title in the final event at Maui. The latter two, along with Gilmore needed Wright to be knocked out early to have a chance of winning. For Wright, it was a testament to her consistency. She won only one of the ten events but secured a podium finish on five other occasions.

Phoenix Rising's pollucci19 goofy-footed around to bring you this question.

Answer: Gunsmoke

"Gunsmoke" was a Western drama set in Dodge City, Kansas during the period of American westward expansion. The show ran for 635 episodes over 20 seasons between 1955-1975. It held the record for longest running scripted prime time series by number of episodes until "The Simpsons" reached its 636th episode on April 29, 2018 near the end of its 29th season. "Law & Order: SVU", wrapping up its 19th season at the time, had released a little over 400 episodes while "NCIS" in its 15th season had aired about 350 episodes. "Lassie" ended with 591 episodes across 19 seasons between 1954-1973.

This question, written for prime time by JCSon, is the 610th entry in Phoenix Rising's "Cool Zooms" series.

Answer: Stefan Edberg

At 17, Becker defeated Kevin Curren to win his first Wimbledon Men's Singles final in 1985. In so doing, he became the first ever German national to win the title, the first unseeded player to do so, and the youngest player to ever win a Grand Slam title (any of the championships of Australia, France, the United States, or Wimbledon). Becker defended his title against Ivan Lendl the following year but was eliminated in the second round in 1987. He would make the finals the next four consecutive years, facing Stefan Edberg in 1988-1990, and Michael Stich in 1991. The 1989 championship earned him his only other Wimbledon title. Becker made the Wimbledon finals one last time in 1995, which he lost to two-time defending champion Pete Sampras.

This question served by Phoenix Rising team member JCSon without any grunting.

Answer: Tide level

A mareograph, or a tidal gauge, measures the height of the water level relative to a reference height that is just above the surface of the geoid, which is the shape of the ocean's surface taking into account the forces of gravity and Earth's rotation. Early self-recording gauges consisted of a mechanical float and a stilling well inside a sheltered structure. Readings were recorded every few minutes. Modern gauges use computerised systems that are able to provide real-time monitoring of tidal levels. In an example of a modern tidal gauge, an audio signal is transmitted down a sounding tube and the time taken for the signal to travel back is recorded.

This question was recorded by Phoenix Rising team member purelyqing, albeit without a mareograph.

Answer: Groucho Marx

Marx married and divorced three times, apparently favoring a particular age demographic. His first marriage to 19-year-old Ruth Johnson dissolved after 22 years. At 54, he wed 21-year-old Kay Marvis. When he tied the knot with film actress Eden Hartford a decade later, Marx was 40 years her senior.

Henry Youngman is known for his one liner, "take my wife - please". It's a turn of phrase known as a paraprosdokian, insofar as the latter part of the phrase is unexpected and causes the listener to reinterpret the former (in this case, from the initially implied meaning, "consider my wife as an example"). Youngman's wife, Sadie, was the brunt of many jokes over the course of his career. They were married 59 years until her death parted them.

George Burns once quipped, "I was married by a judge. I should have asked for a jury". His first marriage to Hannah Siegal was one born of necessity. Her family would not permit her to travel as his dance partner unless they wed. The union lasted until the end of their 6-month tour. Burns met vaudevillian and comedienne Gracie Allen in 1923, and there was instant chemistry. The highly successful comedy duo kept their vows from 1926 until her death in 1964.

"My wife and I were happy for twenty years. Then we met". That's one from Rodney Dangerfield. He married and divorced Joyce Indig twice (1951-61 and 1963-70), and later married Joan Child, with whom he remained until his death.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising member JCSon, who knows better than to make jokes at his wife's expense.

Answer: Kidnapped

"Kidnapped" is set in Scotland just after the Jacobite rebellions, written by Stevenson in 1896. It tells the story of David Balfour, who, being recently orphaned, goes to live with his miserly and conniving Uncle Ebenezer. He discovers that his uncle intends to sell him into slavery. David is befriended by Alan Stewart, and by his lawyer, Mr. Rankeillor, and the three of them manage to overcome Ebenezer by threat of exposing the scandal of his kidnapping of David. Ebenezer finally promises to give David two-thirds of the yearly income of the estate.

This is not the only time teenager David Balfour appears as the protagonist. The novel "Catriona" (1893), which is a sequel to "Kidnapped", picks up exactly where its predecessor finished and its title is sometimes referred to as "David Balfour".

This question escaped just in time to be included in the quiz by Phoenix Rising member VegemiteKid.

Answer: Linctus

A linctus is a syrupy liquid medicine, especially a soothing cough mixture. The word has its origins in the late 17th century and is derived from the Latin "lingere" meaning "to lick".

A lozenge (from Middle English and Old French) is a diamond or rhombus-shaped figure. Small medicinal lozenge-shaped sweets or tablets were made of flavoured sugar and intended for slow dissolution in the mouth to temporarily stop coughs and to lubricate and soothe the irritated tissues of the throat.

Leucocytes (or leukocytes) are white blood cells, while lecithin is a biochemical term for naturally occurring substances used commercially as food emulsifiers.

Phoenix Rising's psnz dispensed with this question.

Answer: Axe

The unique attributes of the King of Diamonds in a "standard deck" are that he is depicted holding an axe and he is the only king facing sideways. A "standard deck" is also known as a French deck, from its origins in history. A "standard deck" consists of 52 cards, of which twelve are face cards - Kings, Queens and Jacks.

Curiosity: The King of Hearts, sometimes called the "Suicide King" because of the unfortunate positioning of the sword, used to carry an axe in the past. There is also an argument that he shouldn't be called the "Suicide King" because there are two hands visible in front, so the question that is raised is 'is someone else holding the sword?'

This question was shuffled into the deck of questions by Phoenix Rising member lg549.

Answer: Steve Carell

The sub-plot to this film is the inequality of prize money distributed to women tennis players who, at the time, were receiving only an eighth of what the men were earning, despite similar ticket sales. Billie Jean King (Emma Stone) threatens to start her own tour and forms the "Original 9", who would form the basis of the WTA (Women's Tennis Association) Tour. They are summarily banned from the professional circuit and their cause loses steam. In an effort to prove the inferiority of women's tennis Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell) claims that, even at 55 years of age, he can beat the world's best female tennis player . The challenge, which became known as the "Battle of the Sexes" in the film's title, proved to be the event that revived Billie-Jeans campaign.

The performances of both Carell and Stone would earn them nominations for Best Actor and Actress at the 2018 Golden Globe Awards.

(From the tram-lines) Bobby Riggs was no mug as a tennis player. At one time he was ranked as the number one men's tennis player in the world and, in 1939, he became the first man to win the Wimbledon Men's Singles and Doubles titles as well as the Mixed Doubles title. At the time of writing (2020) no other male had achieved this feat.

This question was served up by Phoenix Risings polluci19.

Answer: Augustus

Augustus was the first Roman Emperor. He ruled from 27 BCE until his death in 14 CE. Throughout his life, he was known by several different names. At his birth he was named Gaius Octavius, becoming Gaius Octavius Thurinus during his childhood. After being adopted by his maternal great-uncle Julius Caesar (assassinated in 44 BCE), he took the name Gaius Julius Caesar, and was also called Octavianus.

Along with Mark Antony and Marcus Lepidus, the so-called second triumvirate defeated Caesar's killers and ruled the Roman Republic. After the demise of this governing group, he maintained autocratic power and was granted the additional name of "Augustus" by the Roman Senate.

Luke 2:1 (NIV) reads: "In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world." Although the exact date of Jesus' birth has been a matter of conjecture and discussion among scholars throughout subsequent ages, it has yet to be determined conclusively. It was Pope Julius I about the year 350 CE who set Jesus' birthdate to December 25.

Tiberius (Tiberius Caesar Augustus) was Augustus's adopted son and the second Roman Emperor, ruling from 14 to 37 CE. Caligula (Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus) was the third Roman Emperor and reigned from 37 to 41 CE. Claudius (Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus) was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54 CE.

This historical roaming was brought to you by Phoenix Rising's not-so-august psnz.

Answer: Psycho

"Psycho" was a 1959 horror novel by American author Robert Bloch. The protagonist is Norman Bates, the caretaker/owner of an isolated California motel. He suffers under his domineering mother and becomes involved in a series of murders though not in the way you might think. His mother is never referred to by her Christian name. The novel is arguably Bloch's most enduring work certainly the most commercially successful. It is considered one of the most influential books of the 20th Century. It spawned an equally successful 1960 Alfred Hitchcock movie of the same name.

"Last of the Summer Wine" was a TV series featuring the character Norman Clegg.
"Leon, the Professional" was a 1994 film featuring a corrupt DEA agent named Norman Stansfield
"Porridge" was a BBC TV series featuring Ronnie Barker as Norman Stanley Fletcher.

This question was penned by 1nn1 who was more horrified by the book than the movie. (Perhaps his imagination is more vivid than even that of Alfred Hitchcock!)

Answer: JK Rowling

The fictional detective Cormoran Strike was introduced in the novel "The Cuckoo's Calling" by Robert Galbraith. Four months after the novel's initial publication in April 2013 it was revealed by the media that Robert Galbraith was in fact a pseudonym for "Harry Potter" creator JK Rowling. The novel was the first in a series following both the cases and private lives of Strike and his assistant, Robin Ellacott.

Strike is an ex-British army military policeman who, after being forced to retire following the loss of a leg in an explosion in Afghanistan, set up his own private detective agency using money loaned to him by his estranged rock star father. His business was on the point of failure when Robin was sent by an agency to be his temporary secretary. However, their successful investigation of the suspicious death of a famous supermodel brought Strike public acclaim, a solid stream of income and the ability to let Robin join the agency on a permanent basis and fulfil her secret dream of becoming a private detective.

The background for this question was ferreted out by avid 'Strike' fan Fifiona81.