FunTrivia Blockbusters: I'll Have an 'A' Quiz

Answer: Aardvark

Aardvark is the first animal listed in my "Readers' Digest" dictionary. It is given as a burrowing animal that is native to southern Africa. It feeds on ants.
Right after it in my dictionary is aardwolf, a hyena-like animal from southern and eastern Africa.
Everyone should know what an ant is, and an abalone is an edible sea snail.

Answer: Antiquity

Antiquity gives a score of 21; Antelope 10; Abampere 14 and Abnegate 10.
According to a FunTrivia.com answer: "The highest possible one-word score [when placed on the board] is 392, and five different words can achieve this score."

Answer: Jessica Alba

Jessica Alba was born on April 28 1981 in Pomona, California. She started to act when she was 13, but shot to fame playing Max Guevara the lead role in the television series "Dark Angel". Set in a post apocalyptic world, it ran from 2000 to 2002. The role won her a Golden Globe nomination. Several movies and TV shows followed "Dark Angel", including "Sin City" in 2004 and "Fantastic Four" a year later.

It was a particularly busy year for Alba in 2010, when she appeared in five movies: "Valentine's Day"; "The Killer Inside Me"; "Machete"; "An Invisible Sign" and "Little Fockers".

Answer: Andy Williams

'The Andy Williams Show' ran from 1959 to 1971. As well as The Jacksons, guests over the years included Ray Charles, Elton John, Ella Fitzgerald, Simon & Garfunkel, Aretha Franklin, Linda Ronstadt, Shirley Bassey, Bing Crosby, The Osmonds, Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, The Carpenters, Bette Davis, Dean Martin, Julie Andrews and Bob Hope.
In his own right, he released 18 gold and three platinum records.
'The Andy Griffith Show' was a comedy that ran from 1960 to 1968. 'Arthur Godfrey and His Friends' was a variety show that ran from 1949 to 1959.
Albert Hammond was a songwriter who penned (or co-penned) songs that sold more than 360 million copies worldwide.

Answer: Animal Magic

'Animal Magic' was based at Bristol Zoo and featured the presenter, Johnny Morris, as a zookeeper. In each episode, he would 'voice' the thoughts of particular animals. The show ran from 1962 to 1983.

Answer: Anderson Shelters

Anderson Shelters were small, prefabricated structures that could be buried in the gardens of homes. Each could accommodate six people and many were distributed free to people on low incomes. They were named after Sir John Anderson, who was put in charge of Air Raid Precautions in 1938 when war was on the horizon.

Answer: Amazon

Flowing from the Andes Mountains of South America to the Atlantic Ocean, the Amazon is 6,800 km (4,200 miles) long. It has the largest drainage area of any single river in the world, and so great is its discharge volume into the Atlantic that freshwater overpowers sea water for many miles. Because it flows mainly through vast tracts of jungle, the Amazon is not bridged at any stage along its length.
The incorrect options are all rivers in the USA.

Answer: Alfred

The burned cakes story may be just that, a story, but Alfred The Great was King of Wessex from 871AD to 899AD. He was noted for his defence of the south western parts of England from Viking invaders. A learned man, Alfred was a great reformer who improved his nation's educational system, as well as its military and legal systems. Alfred suffered from poor health all his life and died at about the end of the ninth century.

The exact date is disputed.

Answer: Ansel Adams

Working mainly in black and white, Adams was particularly noted for his photographs of the Yosemite National Park and the rugged beauty of America's mountainscapes. (One of my favourite Adams photographs and the one hanging over my desk is "Winter Sunrise, Sierra Nevada 1944"). One aspect that typifies photographs by Adams is the range of exposures that he captured perfectly, using the 'zone system' he co-created. (Sorry, it's too technical for me to explain deeply, but the effect is that photographs are pin sharp and perfectly exposed in all parts of the image, even when items in the foreground are many miles from those in the background).

Answer: Aesop

Aesop was a Greek writer who was born in approximately 620 BC. Some claim that he was a collector of previously known fables, rather than an originator. Many of his fables featured animals, appealed to children, and had a highly moral nature. Among the best known were "The Goose That Laid The Golden Eggs", "The Tortoise And The Hare" and "The Wolf And The Lamb".
The three incorrect options were all well-known science fiction authors.

Answer: Alcott

Louisa May Alcott (November 1832 - March 1888) was an American novelist best known for her book "Little Women" which was first published in 1868. The book and its sequels contained episodes based on her own life and that of her family.

Answer: Richard Attenborough

After a distinguished acting career in the theatre and on the silver screen, Sir Richard Attenborough became a noted film director, winning two Academy Awards for "Gandhi" in 1982.
In front of the camera he starred in "Brighton Rock" (1947); "Private's Progress" (1956) and "The Great Escape" (1963), among others.
As well as "Gandhi", he directed "Oh! What a Lovely War" (1969); "A Bridge Too Far" (1977) and "Shadowlands" (1993).
Sir David Attenborough, brother of Sir Richard, was a noted producer and presenter of wildlife programmes on British television. The other incorrect options were music producers.

Answer: ABBA

ABBA won 'The Eurovision' for Sweden in 1974 singing "Waterloo". The foursome went on to become one of the top-selling English-language groups of their time. The group's name came from the initial letters of the members' first names, Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog.

The group formed in 1972, but by 1982 the recording and touring together were all but over.

Answer: Roald Amundsen

Roald Amundsen (1872 - 1928) led the successful expedition that reached the South Pole on December 14 1911.
He was an experienced explorer, having already been to the Antarctic before, and in 1903 led the first (known) expedition to travel through the North West Passage from Atlantic to Pacific Oceans.
He died in an aeroplane crash in June 1928 while trying to rescue the crew of an airship that had crashed on its way back from the North Pole.
The incorrect options were all Portuguese explorers.

Answer: Asher

The Book of Genesis tells us the 12 sons of Jacob who led the tribes were: Asher, Benjamin, Dan, Gad, Issachar, Joseph, Judah, Levi, Naphtali, Reuben, Simeon and Zebulun. Asher was one of the plotters who sold their brother, Joseph, into slavery, but he later fell out with them. Asher, it translates as "happiness", was twice married and his descendants were among the most numerous of any of the 12 brothers.

His lands were rich in natural resources and his tribe probably one of the wealthiest of the 12 tribes of Israel.

Answer: Acorn

Established in 1978, Acorn were pioneers in the personal computing business, producing the Acorn Electron, the BBC Micro and the Acorn Archimedes. American and Japanese companies soon overtook Acorn in its domestic market, and despite several product diversifications, the Acorn name was all but dead by 2000.

Answer: Andre Agassi

Born in Las Vegas in 1974, Agassi won more than 60 titles, including eight 'Grand Slams'. In a career shortened by injury, he retired in 2006, Agassi was regarded as one of the best servers in the game and also as one of the professional circuit's most talented players.

After retirement, he found work as a TV commentator, and also devoted a lot of time to charity tennis matches in aid of cancer research. He was married to the Hollywood star Brooke Shields for two years (from 1997 to 1999) and married the German tennis legend Steffi Graf in 2001. The incorrect options were all American Footballers.

Answer: As the World Turns

"As the World Turns" was set in 'Oakdale', Illinois. The show first aired in 1956 and its run ended in 2010. At its height, 10 million people watched every episode.

Answer: Assassin's Creed

"Assassin's Creed" first appeared in 2007 on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC platforms. The basic premise saw the game set in 2012 in a world beset by war and disease. The 'hero' was a bartender called Desmond Miles, who had been a childhood trainee assassin. A world-wide corporation called Abstergo tried to use Miles to recover a series of precious artifacts known as "Pieces of Eden". Several sequels and spin-offs followed the original game. It was also turned into a graphic novel.

Answer: AK-47

The Kalashnikov AK-47 first came into service in the USSR in 1949. Millions were made in subsequent years. It was liked for its simplicity and robust nature. It could take a lot of rough handling - and give a lot of punishment
The Armtech C30R was an Australian assault rifle and the AC-556 and Armalite AR-18 were made in the USA.