Going for the Gold! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Winnipeg, Manitoba

The Golden Boy - all 5.25 metres of him (that's 17.2 feet if you don't do metric) - has stood atop the Legislature dome since he was hoisted into place in 1920 (except for a brief period in 2003, when he was taken down to have his gilding refurbished).

He faces north, to the mineral-rich, forest-covered, hydro-electric power-generating region of Manitoba that represents much of the wealth of this province. He's had an interesting history. He was created by French sculptor Charles Gardet in 1918, cast in bronze and gilded with gold leaf at the Barbidienne Foundry near Paris.

The Foundry was all but destroyed in a bombing raid, but the Golden Boy was unscathed. He was transported to the coast and loaded onto a ship bound for Canada. However, the ship was commandeered to be used as a troop transport vessel, and for months, the Golden Boy lay in the hold while the ship covered thousands of ocean miles, delivering and picking up troops. With the end of World War One, the Golden Boy finally made his way to Canada, where the ship carrying him docked in Halifax, Nova Scotia. From there he travelled by train and arrived in Winnipeg just in time to be hoisted into place for the opening ceremonies of the new Legislative Building.

In his left arm he carries a sheaf of wheat (another symbol of the wealth of Manitoba) and in his raised right hand he bears a torch, symbolically lighting the way to a bright future. For many years, until the advent of high-rise buildings, the tip of the Golden Boy's torch was the highest point in the city at 77 metres (255 feet) above ground level.

Answer: Clifford Odets

Clifford Odets wrote 'Golden Boy' in 1937 for the Group Theatre in New York. He wanted John Garfield to play Joe Bonaparte, the hero who is skilled both at boxing and playing the violin, but Garfield headed for Hollywood and Luther Adler got the part instead.

The play was also the basis for a musical 'Golden Boy' in 1964, with Sammy Davis Jr. starring as Joe Wellington (an interesting change of name for the hero). Odets, who had Marxist leanings, was investigated by Sen. Joe McCarthy during the infamous HUAC hearings in the early 1950s, but managed to save his career by 'naming names' along with the likes of Gary Cooper, Ronald Reagan, and Robert Taylor. Playwright Arthur Miller was openly contemptuous of the proceedings and ended up with a fine and a 30 day jail term for refusing to 'name names' or to kow tow to McCarthy.

Answer: John C. Fremont

Captain John C. Fremont named the strait in 1846, when he was overseeing a topographical survey with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Fremont said that the strait reminded him of the strait known as the Chrysoceras (Golden Horn) leading into a harbour in Istanbul, so he named it Chrysopylae (Golden Gate).

Answer: Fifth

Henry III ruled England for 56 years, from October, 1216 to November, 1272 (with a short period of imprisonment in 1264 after being captured by Simon de Monfort at the Battle of Lewes. Henry was restored to the throne in 1265, after his son Edward - who became Edward I - defeated de Montfort at the battle of Evesham). Edward III was king of England from January 1327 to June 1377, just over 50 years. George III ruled as King of Great Britain and Ireland (later renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland) from October 1760 to January 1820, for a 60-year reign.

His son, who became George IV, ruled as Regent from 1811 until his father's death. Victoria came to the throne in June 1837 and died in January 1901, having ruled for 64 years. Finally, when Queen Elizabeth II, who ascended the throne on the death of her father George VI in 1952, celebrated her Golden Jubilee in 2002 she became the fifth monarch to rule for 50 years or more.

Answer: St. John Chrysostom

St. John Chrysostom (c347-407) was a brilliant and eloquent preacher, and it is that attribute which earned him the title golden-mouthed - which is what Chrysostom means in Greek. St. David of Wales, being a Welshman, no doubt had the gift of the gab, but nobody ever thought to refer to him as golden-mouthed. I made up the other two titles (although there is a St. Denis and several St. Marcus', more commonly known as Mark).

Answer: Exodus

While Moses was up on Mt. Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments from God, the Israelites, who were pretty well fed up with this whole trek through the desert, went to Aaron, Moses' brother, and said, "Look, we don't know where Moses has gone or what he's up to, and we need gods to worship, so make one for us." Aaron complied.

He got all the Israelites to give him their gold earrings and bracelets and other pieces of gold and he melted them down and made the Golden Calf (reminiscent of Apis, the bull god of Egypt?), and the people fell down and worshipped it and danced and had a right old religious festival. Eventually, Moses came down the mountain, carrying the two stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments, saw what was going on and flew into a towering rage.

He smashed the tablets (who knows why?) and the Golden Calf, and then he burned the Golden Calf pieces and scattered them on the water, which he then forced the Israelites to drink. After all that, Moses called for those who had remained loyal to God to go through the camp to kill the backsliders - which they did. According to Exodus, about three thousand Israelites perished that day.

Answer: Tatars under Batu

In the 13th century, Tatars under the leadership of Batu, grandson of Genghis Khan, swept down from Mongolia into south-eastern Russia and established an empire there. From their Russian base, the Horde overran parts of Europe and western Asia and struck terror into the populace whenever they appeared on the horizon.

They were eventually defeated by the Turkish warrior Timur in 1395. The Golden Horde got its name from Batu's tent which was made of cloth of gold.

Answer: Edward Ball Hughes

Edward Ball Hughes was one of the richest men in Regency England, with a fortune which provided him with an income of forty thousand pounds a year. He was born Edward Hughes Ball in 1798, and assumed the last name Hughes when his maternal uncle died in 1819 leaving him the vast fortune.

He was, by all accounts, not only very rich but also very handsome, and a leader of fashion (he invented the black cravat and his chocolate-coloured coach was the talk of London). In 1823, the Golden Ball eloped with a 16-year-old Spanish dancer from the King's Theatre.

Their marriage at Gretna Green was meat for the society gossips for quite a while. Unfortunately, the Golden Ball had a gambling addiction and wasted his substance at the gaming tables. He fled England to escape his creditors and died in poverty in Paris in 1863.

Answer: The Bible

In Ecclesiastes, chapter 12, verses 6 and 7 we read "Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern; then shall the dust return to the earth as it was; and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it."

Answer: Mainz

Mainz, which is now the capital of the German Rhineland-Palatinate province, has been an important city since Roman times. In the Middle Ages, it enjoyed rights of self-government from 1118 on and became a free city in 1244. It was the centre of the powerful league of Rhenish towns and a prosperous centre for trade. Mainz is also noted as the birthplace of Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of movable type and the printing press.