Cool Zooms, Part XXXX Trivia Quiz

Answer: An unreliable narrator

The unreliable narrator is an authoring device. The narrator is compromised in some way either early or late in the piece. If it is early in the piece, we are left wondering whether what we are told is accurate so that we are questioning each event as we progress through the story. If it is revealed towards the end it provides the author with an opportunity for a glorious twist in the tail and the reader is left questioning their own perceptions of what they have just read.

In Ian McEwan's "Atonement" (2001) the narrator is Briony, who is only a child and may be making statements because she is deceitful. Amy Dunne is the protagonist in Gillian Flynn's 2012 novel "Gone Girl" and when reading her accounts in the story, be mindful that "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned". Paula Hawkins introduced us to "The Girl on the Train" in 2015. That girl is Rachel and she is highly compromised as a narrator thanks to a memory that has been severely attacked by alcohol. Finally (Spoiler Alert), there is Agatha Christie's 1926 crime novel "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" in which Dr Sheppard, our trustworthy narrator, who acts as Hercule Poirot's wonderful assistant, turns out to be the cad who knocked off poor Roger in the first place.

This question was brought to you by Phoenix Rising's ever-reliable pollucci19... honest.

Answer: Neopets

Entertainment

Neopets was a website, created in 1999, where users could own virtual pets called Neopets. Virtual items could be bought for the pets using Neopoints, which were earned within the site mainly by playing games, or Neocash, which was bought with real world money or won by chance in games.

This question was tossed into the quiz by Phoenix Rising member lg549, whose username originated on Neopets, her initials followed by a number generated by the site.

Answer: Seekers' song lyrics

The Seeker's song "The Carnival is Over" was written in 1965 by Tom Springfield, with the music adapted from a Russian folksong. The song charted number one in the UK in the same year.

It tells of a couple of who met while the carnival was in town but had to say their last good-byes when the carnival moved on. They swore life-long love for each other. Pierrot and Columbine were the names of two characters in 'Commedia dell'Arte ', a traditional Italian pantomime theatre. It was from this that the Harlequinade was adapted. Pierrot was a sad clown in love with the beautiful Columbine. Pierrot's heart was broken when Columbine left him for Harlequin.

The group was the first Australian music group to achieve chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and United States, selling over 50 million records worldwide. The Seekers closed their 2013 'Farewell Tour' with the song. Judith Durham, who fronted the band, was 70 years old at the time, and the rest of the band were of similar age.

There are some fun misheard lyrics for this song, mostly for the words "For Pierrot and Columbine".
A few of my favourites:
- Poppy, Rose and Columbine
- For Pete Rose and Columbine
- For dear olden pal o'mine
- Coffee scrolls and columbine
And for "Though the carnival is over, I will love you til I die" people have heard (misheard) "Though the carnival is over, I will laugh until I cry"

This question was added to the quiz playlist by Seekers tragic and Phoenix Rising member VegemiteKid.

Answer: Wave Harbour and Picture Character

Loan words (also spelled loanwords) are terms adopted from foreign languages with minimal or no alteration. The English language contains thousands of loan words, including "tsunami" and "emoji" borrowed from Japanese.

"Tsunami" literally means "wave harbour" in Japanese. Underwater processes such as earthquakes and volcanic activity can displace huge volumes of water, generating a tsunami. The wavelength of these waves is much longer than normal sea currents and waves. A tsunami is a series of waves, with periods of minutes or hours between peaks. The destructive power of a tsunami may be catastrophic, particularly in coastal regions.

"Emoji" comes from Japanese words meaning "picture" and "character" and originally meant "pictograph". Emojis are small graphic symbols used on websites and in email messages. They are pictures, rather than the typographic approximations known as emoticons :-). To find out more, the so-called "world's number one resource on emoji" is the Emojipedia website--a useful reference for meanings and usage.

Phoenix Rising's psnz dined on sushi and teriyaki, washed down with saki, before a karaoke session. The sensei at the dojo requested a haiku, written after practicing his katas and retiring to his futon.

Answer: Eagle

The keel bone is part of a bird's breastbone, and provides an anchor for the wing muscles. Most flightless birds, known as ratites, lack the keel, or only have a very rudimentary bone.

Because humans, sharks and elephants, as well as ostriches, are not known to fly, these creatures do not have a keel. As well, sharks don't have bones.

This question was written by ozzz2002, and just flew into the quiz!

Answer: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

There are only two cities in Latvia with a population over 100,000 - Riga (742,000) and Daugavpils (111,000). Rome (2.3 million) and Milan (1.2 million) are Italy's two most populous cities. And in Saudi Arabia, Riyadh (4.2 million) comes in ahead of Jeddah (2.8 million) and Mecca and Medina (1.3 million each). In addition to being the most populous cities, Riga, Rome, and Riyadh are also national capitals. Rio de Janeiro (or Rio) is neither. São Paulo's population of 12.3 million is almost twice Rio's 6.7 million. The capital of Brazil is Brasilia.

This question contributed by JCSon, team leader of Phoenix Rising (population 39).

Answer: =

In order to work out the answer you will have needed to dust off your memory of the order of precedence of mathematical operations. Essentially this states that anything contained within brackets or parentheses is calculated first, followed by exponents (or roots), then by multiplication and division, and then finally any addition or subtraction. There are several mnemonics available to help people remember the order, with different versions being preferred in different countries around the world. Popular ones include:

'PEMDAS' - (P)arentheses, (E)xponents, (M)ultiplication or (D)ivision, (A)ddition or (S)ubtraction
'BODMAS' - (B)rackets, (O)rder, (D)ivision or (M)ultiplication, (A)ddition or (S)ubtraction
'BEDMAS' - (B)rackets, (E)xponents, (D)ivision or (M)ultiplication, (A)ddition or (S)ubtraction

In this case, the missing operator can be identified by using the rules to evaluate each chunk of the equation in turn:

3+4*3 = 3+12 = 15
8*5-5^2 = 8*5-25 = 40-25 = 15
45/5+72/12 = 9+6 = 15

So 15 = 15 ? 15, and therefore the missing operator has to be '='.

This question was painstakingly calculated in the correct order by Phoenix Rising's Fifiona81 - who now has a headache.

Answer: Pikachu

Pikachu was introduced to the world as one of the Pokemon monsters and he made his first appearance in "Pokemon Red and Blue" in 1996. He proved to be the most popular and, indeed, the most famous of the franchise's characters. He's yellow and mouse-like and he has the ability to play with electricity.... I suppose the give-away to that was his rather zig-zag like tail.

Of the other characters mentioned above, the oldest (arguably) is Donkey Kong who first appears in a 1981 arcade game bearing his name. Mario also appears in that game; however, in the Japanese version of that game he didn't have a name. When the instructions were translated into English for the American market he was introduced as a carpenter named Jumpman. He would be renamed Mario for the 1982 game "Donkey Kong Junior" (the only time Mario was ever the antagonist) and would be joined by his brother Luigi in 1983 for "Mario Bros" but, this time, he was cast as a plumber. Sonic (the Hedgehog) made his first appearance on the Sega Genesis platform in 1991.

Phoenix Rising's pollucci19 suddenly was "all thumbs" as he wrote this question.

Answer: Honey Ryder, in the film, has a broken nose. Honeychile Rider, in the book, does not

In fact, it is the other way around. As part of her back-story, Honeychile Rider (in the book) had her nose broken when she'd been raped. She would proceed to kill the man who'd done this to her and, when James Bond first meets her, she is collecting shells on Crab Key, which she intends to sell to pay for an operation to repair the damaged nose. In the film however, it would have been a shame to have anything mar the undeniable beauty of Ursula Andress (as Honey Ryder) and, as a result, was left out.

Like Felix Leiter (played by Jack Lord in the film), Bond's CIA friend, Sylvia Trench did not make an appearance in Ian Fleming's novel. However, it provided Eunice Gayson the delicious opportunity to become the first of the on-screen "Bond girls". The pair, Bond and Trench, meet in the casino early in the film and the obligatory romantic encounter soon follows.

This question was brought to you by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19 who, at one time, was a member of the Princess May Pally Boys South of the River Drinkers Club. He was agent Single O Seven and he was licensed to chill.

Answer: onions, celery and bell peppers

The term appears to date from 1981 and references the Christian Doctrine of the Father, Son and The Holy Ghost. Onions, bell peppers and celery, finely chopped, form the base of many dishes in Creole or Cajun cookery. A touch of garlic in the mix is referred to as 'adding The Pope'

The other vegetable selections are also common combinations in other regional cuisines: Onions, carrots, and celery are known as mirepoix in French cuisine, braised onions, garlic and tomato form sofrito (or soffritto) in Spanish, and leeks, carrots, celery root and parsley root are the basis of Polish soups known as wloszczyzna.

Phoenix Rising's smpdit added flavour to the original Zoom meeting question.

Answer: Emblem

The Sikh religion has about 30 million followers and grew from beginnings in the Punjab region of India in the 15th Century.
Male Sikhs usually have Singh ('lion') as their middle or last name, and female Sikhs have Kaur ('princess') as their middle or last name. Male Sikhs who have been baptised must carry at all times on their bodies five Ks:
kesh, uncut hair, which is kept covered usually by a dastar, or turban;
kara, an iron or steel bracelet;
kirpan, a dagger-like sword tucked into a gatra strap which crosses the chest
kachera, a cotton undergarment;
kanga, a small wooden comb which is kept under the turban.
The five Ks are five articles of faith which represent the ideals of Sikhism: honesty, equality, fidelity, meditating on Waheguru, and never bowing to tyranny.
Wearing the kirpan on planes in the US was a problem as Sikhs were advised to carry them in checked luggage. This did not fit with the requirement to wear the kirpan at all times. Transportation Security Administration (TSA), ruled that knives of any kind with blades that are longer than 2.5 inches and that are fixed, are not allowed to be carried on a flight. In 2013 it amended its regulations to permit small knives during flights. The regulation stated the following: "Knives with blades that are 2.36 inches (6 centimetres) or shorter, and less than a 1/2 inch wide, will be permitted on U.S. airline flights". This amendment in TSA regulations brought the U.S. to be in sync with other international security standards.

This question has been respectfully submitted by Phoenix Rising team member 1nn1.

Answer: No, you need a "T"

In the Word Wizard game, longer words score more points, with 11- and 12-point words scoring 30 times the value of a 4-letter word. The letters in PHOENIXRISING form several 9's (inspiring, peignoirs, siphoning, signorine), and the obscure 10- insphering-, but needs another letter to stretch to 11 letters.
A 'T' will make 'interposing', an 'M' gives us 'imprisoning' and 'F' makes 'refinishing'.

This question written by word-nerd, ozzz2002, a member of the team, PIG NIXES RHINO, or maybe PHOENIX RISING.

Answer: India

Remarkably, if you have orange in your national flag you also have green and white as your additional colours. Ireland and Cote d'Ivoire are almost identical flags with three vertical stripes of green, white and orange. Niger has the same arrangement but in three horizontal bands plus an orange sun symbol in the centre white band. India has a similar horizontal pattern to Niger but with an additional blue Ashoka Chakra representing the eternal wheel of law, in the centre band.

Cyprus almost has the same three colours of orange green and white but the map of the country is not quite orange but defined as Mustard Brown (#D57800), to reflect the country's connection to copper.

This question was hoisted into the quiz by Phoenix Rising amateur vexillologist 1nn1.

Answer: XLI

Directed by William Wyler, "Ben Hur" was released in 1959 and starred Charlton Heston in the title role. It was nominated for 12 Academy Awards, winning 11 of them, including Best Picture and Best Actor. 41 years later, in 2000, another Roman-themed movie, "Gladiator" was released. Directed by Ridley Scott it starred Russel Crowe as Maximus Decimus Meridius. Like "Ben Hur", "Gladiator" was also nominated for 12 Academy Awards, winning Best Picture and Best Actor.

Phoenix Rising's cast-member leith90 wrote the script for this question. Having never been to Rome, the only similarity she has to either movie, is that she also wears a dress.

Answer: Rice as a food

Rice, like wheat and oats, is a grass. It is also a grain - a grass where the small seeds can be harvested as a foodstuff. Rice is from the genus Oryza, with the dominant species being sativa (Asian Rice) although O. glaberrima (African Rice) is also relatively common. Normally an annual crop, rice requires a large amount of water and its cultivation and harvesting are very labour intensive. Despite these factors, in the 21st century, rice is the staple food source for over 3 billion people.

This question was gently grown and hand-picked for this quiz by PR member MikeMaster99, who is very keen on a wide variety of rice-based cuisine, but less so on rice-based alcohol!

Answer: Iceland

Iceland gained its independence from Denmark in 1944, 18 years before the next earliest of these four nations. Denmark was still occupied by Germany at the time Iceland voted to establish its independence as a republic.

Algeria achieved independence from France on July 5, 1962, after a war that lasted more than seven years. Fiji's independence from Britain was achieved via a compromise in October of 1970. The Mozambican War of Independence lasted from 1964 to 1974, and Mozambique achieved independence from Portugal on June 25, 1975.

Phoenix Rising player Rizeeve liberated this question from its European colonists.

Answer: Survivor

After the success of "Expedition Robinson" which debuted on Swedish television in 1997, executive producer Charlie Parsons partnered with Mark Burnett and Jeff Probst to launch an American version. "Survivor" premiered on CBS in May 2000 with Jeff Probst as host. The show pits contestants against each other for 39 days in beautiful and often rugged locations in a bid to find the one survivor who will "outwit, outplay, and outlast" his/her competitors. The basic format of the show involves tribes (and later individual contestants) fending for themselves and facing off at regular intervals in physical and mental challenges for immunity and rewards. Tribal council is the process by which contestants are voted off the show. Immunity allows contestants to avoid tribal council altogether or to be considered safe from eviction.

Over the years, several twists have been introduced to keep contestants on their toes. Redemption allows for contestants to earn their way back into the game after being voted off. Exile involves contestants being removed from the game for a brief period (usually in some remote area and sometimes with an opportunity to find reward). Several kinds of immunity idols have been introduced to confer special advantages. And fire tokens have been used as an in-game currency to purchase rewards, advantages, and to sabotage opponents.

Production of seasons 41 and 42 was delayed during the COVID-19 pandemic due to travel restrictions.

Phoenix Rising's JCSon has watched every episode of the first 40 seasons of "Survivor" and hopes one day to be a contestant!

Answer: India

Englebert Humperdinck is an English pop singer. He was born Arnold George Dorsey in 1936 in Madras, British India. His father was a non-commissioned officer in the British Army and the family moved to England when Arnold was ten years of age. At a friend's suggestion, Dorsey professionally changed his name to that of the 19th Century German operatic composer to boost his own music career.

Sir Cliff Richard is an English singer, musician and actor. He was born Harry Rodger Webb in Lucknow, British India in 1940. After India's independence, his family moved to England in 1948. The "Cliff Richard" name came about from "Cliff" meaning "rock" as in rock 'n' roll and "Richard" after Little Richard, one of his musical heroes.

Vivien Leigh (1913-1967) was an English stage and film actress, winning Best Actress Academy Awards for "Gone with the Wind" (1939) and "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1951). She was born Vivian Mary Hartley in Darjeeling, Bengal Presidency, British India. In 1932 she married Herbert Leigh Holman, known as Leigh, later acting as Vivian Leigh. In the mid-1930s, a theatre playbill changed the spelling of her first name to "Vivien".

Terence Alan Milligan (1918-2002) was a British-Irish comedian, writer, playwright, actor and poet. He was born in Ahmednagar, British India, spending his childhood in that country. Milligan's father was an army officer, part of the British Indian Army. Young Milligan didn't much like his first name and began calling himself "Spike" after the band, "Spike Jones and his City Slickers".

Phoenix Rising's infamous psnz was born in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Answer: Netball

The INF (International Netball Federation) Netball World Cup has been competed for every four years since 1963. The competition has been dominated by Australian (the Diamonds) and New Zealand (the Silver Ferns) national teams. The 2019 Netball World Cup was held in Liverpool, England with NZ's Silver Ferns edging out the Australian Diamonds 52-51 in the final.

Netball is a popular ball sport in Commonwealth countries. While played by both genders, it is predominantly a women's sport. Derived from basketball, two teams of seven players attempt to pass the ball down a rectangular court and shoot it through a raised ring (with a net but no backboard). Player positions are restricted to certain parts of the court which may be either indoor or outdoor. At international level, the game is played indoor over four 15-minute quarters. Professional leagues now exist in several parts of the world.

The 1979 World Cup event was contested by 19 teams in Port of Spain, capital of the Caribbean's Trinidad and Tobago. The top 10 teams played off in a round robin, with Australia, New Zealand and Trinidad and Tobago each winning eight of nine matches and losing once to one of the other two. With no separate final and no other way to determine an ultimate winner, the title was shared between these three nations.

Both men's (since 1987) and women's (since 1991) quadrennial Rugby Union World Cups have been held. The New Zealand women (the Black Ferns) won the 2017 World Cup. South Africa's Springboks (2019) are the men's champions. Cricket is also played by both genders in three main variants: Test matches, One-Day internationals and Twenty20 games. No New Zealand cricket team won a World Cup in 2019. Sailing's World Cup is an annual event contested over a series of regattas using boat classes from the Olympic and Paralympic games.

Phoenix Rising's psnz is a Kiwi sports fan and has been known to cheer on both New Zealand teams and anyone playing Australia.

Answer: George W. Bush and Bill Clinton

The minimum age in most countries for one to be allowed into a bar ranges from 18 to 21 years. In the US it is 21. In April of 1962, Anthony Fauci (b. 1940), Nancy Pelosi (b. 1940), John Lennon (b. 1940), Tom Jones (b. 1940), Raquel Welch (b. 1940) and Lee Majors (b. 1939) would have been over 21 years old. George W. Bush (b. 1946) and Bill Clinton (b. 1946) would still have been underage. (Also if Donald Trump had attended he would have been thrown out as well because he, too, was born in 1946).

This question was suitably aged by Phoenix Rising team members 1nn1 and purelyqing before being allowed into the quiz.