Fifty Shades of Black Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ancient Roman

The ancient Roman had two words for black. One was was "niger", which is the origin of the name for the west-African country. This is also the origin of the word "black" in many of the Romance languages (e.g., the French word for black is "noir"; the Italian word for black is "nero").

The ancient Greek word for black was "kuanos", a word that was shared between dark blue and black. The Old High German word for black was "blach". The Old Norse word for black is "blakkr".

Answer: They thought that it was related to fertility.

The ancient Egyptians actually had three reasons for considering black to be a positive colour. It was considered to be the colour of fertility. It was also associated with the rich black soil that was created on the Nile delta. Finally, it was the colour of the god Anubis, the jackal-shaped god of the underworld. It was thought that Anubis protected the dead from evil.

Answer: Horse

Nótt was the goddess of the night who was said to cross the night sky in a chariot pulled by a black horse. Nótt was thought to be the grandmother of Thor. The horse that pulled the chariot was named "Hrímfaxi".

Answer: Atrocious

The word "ater" was associated with cruelty, evil and brutality. The English words "atrocious" and "atrocity" were derived from this Latin root. Atypical has a Medieval Latin root in the word "typicālis" (root of typical). Attempt has a Latin root in the word "attemptāre". Atomizer is an English word that was first used in the mid-1800s.

Answer: The devil

Black was associated with evil during the early Middle Ages. As a result, the devil was often depicted with black wings, skin, and hair. One example is a painting by Duccio di Buoninsegna (1308-1311) that shows Christ expelling the Devil, who shown covered with shaggy black hair.

Answer: Soot

Soot was mixed with turpentine and walnut oil to produce the ink that was used on the first printing presses. Black was chosen as the colour because it was easily distinguished from the white paper or parchment. The new printing presses allowed many to have access to the written word.

Answer: "Whistler's Mother" by Whistler

The actual name of the painting that is commonly called "Whistler's Mother" is actually "The Arrangement in Grey and Black, Number One". American Anna McNeill Whistler posed for this painting while she lived with her son in Europe in 1871. It was purchased by the French government in 1891 and has been exhibited in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris ever since.

Answer: Coco Chanel

Coco Chanel apparently stated this after she published a design for a black dress in Vogue magazine in 1926. This seemed to revolutionize women's fashion to such an extent that many women even today keep a black dress in their closets. Before she said this, women's clothing designers tended to use brighter colours in the early part of the 20th century.

Answer: A region in space where light cannot escape.

A black hole appears in space when an area has such a strong gravitational pull that nothing, not even light, can escape the area. One process that causes them to form is when stars burn out because they no longer have the energy to maintain a temperature that prevents them from collapsing under their own weight.

Answer: Ford Model T

The Ford Model T was available only in black from 1914-1925. It was the first vehicle to be mass-produced. When Henry Ford was developing the car, and the process to make it, he decided that the paint must dry quickly in order to keep the assembly line moving. Black was the fastest-drying colour, so all vehicles were painted this colour.

Other colours became available for the Model T for its final model years from 1926-1927.