'D' for Dubious Trivia Quiz

Answer: Lord

David is the second son of Lawrence Dundas, the 3rd Marquess of Zetland. David's older brother, Mark Dundas, is now the 4th Marquess of Zetland following their father's death in 1989.

Dundas hit the charts with 'Jeans On' which began life as an advertising jingle. While his subsequent releases failed to have the same success, he did build a name for himself as an actor and in the field of television and movie scoring.

Answer: Drambuie

Drambuie is a Scotch whisky blended with heather-honey, herbs and spices. The name is derived from the Scottish Gaelic phrase which means 'the drink that satisfies'. Drambuie was originally made by Scotsman John Ross who registered the trademark in 1893.

After his death, the recipe was sold to the McKinnon family who produced the drink until 2014 when it was once again sold, this time to William Grant & Sons.

Answer: Depeche Mode

Depeche Mode formed in Essex in 1980 and were still recording and performing in 2018. Founding members Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher and Dave Gahan have stayed with the band despite other musicians coming and going. They have sold over 100 million albums world-wide and have also been listed as one of the top 50 bands of all time.

Despite this, they missed out on induction into the Rock and Hall of Fame in 2018.

Answer: Diamonds

Found in Brazil in 1938 and named for a former president, the Vargas Diamond was a 726 ct clear diamond. It was later cut into 29 smaller diamonds, including a 48.2 carat, emerald cut gem called the President Vargas.

The Jonker diamond was found in South Africa in 1934, only 5 km from where the famous Cullinan was discovered. Also weighing 726 ct, one of its cleaved facets matches the Cullinan and so has led to speculation that both diamonds were once part of a larger crystal. The Jonker was also cut into an emerald shape with the largest weighing just under 143 ct.

Perhaps it is no surprise that famous jeweller Harry Winston once owned both of these diamonds.

Answer: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Dolores Umbridge is first introduced to us in the fifth novel of JK Rowling's 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'. Umbridge is a rude, patronising, sadistic and just plain evil witch who works for the Ministry of Magic. In this novel she comes to Hogwarts, ostensibly to teach Defence against the Dark Arts, but she proceeds to create mayhem and despair.

In the movie, the character was played superbly by Imelda Staunton.

Answer: Dyslexia

Dyslexia is a specific type of learning disability where the person has trouble reading and spelling. They may also have trouble with rhyming words or comprehension of words, but can overcome these difficulties with specialist help. It is not a sign of low intelligence, since DaVinci, Andersen and Einstein, all very creative people, suffered from the condition. There has been speculation that Winston Churchill also had dyslexia.

As seems to be the trend these days, there is a push to try and change the name to something bland and rather meaningless, in this case: 'Specific Learning Disability'.

Answer: Edmund Barton

Melbourne-born Deakin became Australia's second Prime Minister, taking over from Edmund Barton. Deakin eventually served for three terms up to 1910. While lauded for his efforts in helping to draft Australia's constitution and also for aiding in the development of irrigation, he was a blatant racist and his 'White Australia Policy' was unfortunately upheld for many decades.

Answer: Dorset

Dorset, named for the town 'Dorchester', is on the South-West coast of England, by the English Channel. The earliest inhabitants of the area were the Mesolithic hunters in 8000BC. It was then invaded by the Romans until the 7th Century when it came under Saxon control.

Shitterton is thought to have either been named after a farm that used a nearby stream as a sewer or translated from a Norman French word for 'place on a sewer'. It is believed that Scratchy Bottom means rough and rugged hollow. Shaggs was rumoured to have been a love nest for Prince Harry and then girlfriend Chelsea Davey.

Answer: Daniel Day-Lewis

Born in London in 1957, Day-Lewis retired from acting in 2017. He won best actor Oscars for his roles in 'My Left Foot' (1989), 'There Will Be Blood' (2007) and 'Lincoln' (2012). He was also nominated for three other movies. In 2014 he was appointed a Knight Bachelor for services to drama.
His father, Cecil Day-Lewis, was a Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1968 to 1972.

Answer: Dublin

The Anna Livia statue, nicknamed the Floozie in the Jacuzzi because of the water running around it, is found in Croppes Memorial Park in Dublin. Commissioned for the Dublin Millennium celebrations in 1988, it was created by sculptor Éamonn O'Doherty to personify the River Liffey. The statue was originally located in O'Connell Street but was moved to allow construction of the Spire of Dublin.

The song 'Molly Malone' and 'Cockles and Mussels' are popular songs in Ireland and both feature young Molly Malone. A statue of Molly made for the Dublin Millennium celebrations was unveiled in 1988 and June 13 was declared Molly Malone Day. Molly was thought to be a fishmonger and some-time prostitute, hence the two nicknames: 'The Tart with the Cart' and 'The Trollop with the Scallops'.