Gone in Sixty Seconds Trivia Quiz

Answer: Malaysia

Each country is assigned its own country code in the international dialing system. The code of +60 is assigned to the country of Malaysia. When calling from outside the country, you have to use this country code as a prefix before dialing the actual phone number. Country codes starting with a 6 are in the regions of Southeast Asia and Oceania (+61 is Australia for instance and +62 is Indonesia). The other countries mentioned in the answer options have the following codes: Bahrain (+973), Cambodia (+855) and Kyrgyzstan (+996).

Malaysia is located in Southeast Asia. It is roughly divided in two parts, one on the Asian mainland and one on the island of Borneo. The two parts are separated by the South Chinese Sea. The part of Malaysia on Borneo is in the northern part of the island. Indonesia owns most of the southern part of the island. The third country on the island is the small sultanate of Brunei in the north (completely surrounded by Malaysia).

Answer: Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Kim Coppola was born on 7th January 1964 in Long Beach, USA. He is the nephew of director Francis Ford Coppola. He does not want to make use of this connection however and therefore has chosen to use the surname Cage instead. Cage has starred in a variety of movies in a long acting career starting from 1980. He won the Academy Award for best actor for 1995, for his part in "Leaving Las Vegas". Other movies he starred in include "Moonstruck" (alongside Cher), "Wild at Heart" (directed by David Lynch) and "Face/Off" (also starring John Travolta).

In "Gone in Sixty Seconds" Nicholas Cage portrays former car thief Randall Raines. He is forced to take up his old habit to help out his younger brother Kip (portrayed by Giovanni Ribisi), who was asked to steal a large number of cars by a crime boss called Raymond Calitri. Raines will have to use his talents to satisfy the demands of Calitri and keep away from the police, who are hot on his trail. The movie also features actors like Robert Duvall (as Raines' mentor), Angelina Jolie (as former girlfriend and crew member Sara Wayland) and Christopher Eccleston (as crime boss Raymond Calitri).

Answer: Neodymium

The chemical element Neodymium was discovered in 1885 by Carl Auer von Welsbach, an Austrian chemist. Its name is a combination of the Greek words for "new" (neos) and "twin" (didymos). It forms a part of the minerals monazite and bastnasite. It does not appear in natural form. It is classified as a rare earth metal. The word rare does not mean it is not found in large abundance. Several metals in this group are readily found in the Earth's crust. It refers to the fact that these metals are found hidden behind other metals. There are various applications for neodymium. It is used in fertilizers, as a magnet and in lasers. It is mined in several countries, including China, the United States and Brazil.

Carl Auer von Welsbach was born on the 1st of September 1858 in Vienna, Austria. He developed a method to derive didyium from other metals for the first time. This is a mixture of neodymium and praseodymium (the chemical element with the number 59). In 1900 he won the Elliott Cresson Medial, awarded by the Franklin Institute, for discoveries about metallic oxides.

Answer: Kyrgyzstan

The European road network's numbering system was designed by an organisation called UNECE, which stands for the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. This UN commission was founded in 1947 and tries to stimulate its member states to work together on the economic level. The member states are not only European countries, but also the USA and several Asian countries. This explains why some roads of the European road network go beyond Europe, like the E60 for instance.

The E60 starts in the French city of Brest. The first part of this European road is formed by the French N165, between Brest and Nantes. It then follows the French A11 to Angers. The route also goes through Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Hungary, Romania, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The ending point of the route is in Kyrgyzstan, in the city of Irkeshtam. This city can be found in the southeastern part of the country, near the border with China.

Answer: Diamond

The offical celebration of wedding anniversaries is said to date back to Roman times. Back then, silver for the 25th anniversary and gold for the 50th anniversary were common. The husband would give his wife a wreath to commemorate the occasion, either gold or silver in colour. In more modern times more anniversaries were added. The sixtieth wedding anniversary is associated with the diamond.

Diamonds are considered very popular gemstones, also for wedding rings for instance. This designates the most important use of the gemstone in the present time, for decorative purposes. The main characteristics of a diamond are demonstrated by what is known as the four C's: carat, colour, clarity and cut. There are various famous diamonds, like for instance the Hope Diamond, a very clear blue diamond. It is on display in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C., USA.

Answer: Jean-Luc Godard

Jean-Luc Godard was born on 3rd December 1930 in Paris, France. At a young age he got involved with the various film societies that were created in France. He started his career as a film critic for various magazines, among them "Cahiers du Cinema", founded by Andre Bazin. After making short films, his big breakthrough followed with the 1960 film "A Bout de Souffle" (Breathless), starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg. Godard was associated with the French New Wave movement, a group of film makers that wanted to change the traditional French cinema. Some of Godard's other movies include "Week-end", "Le Petit Soldat" and "Le Mepris" (Contempt).

The movie "Alphaville" stars Eddie Constantine and Anna Karina. Secret agent Lemmy Caution sets out to the futuristic city of Alphaville to track down a missing agent and ultimately destroy the city, ruled by a computer named Alpha 60. The city has basically eliminated all emotion and those that display it are rounded up and seen as dangerous. The computer is the work of professor Von Braun. In his mission Lemmy Caution receives the help of the professor's daughter, the beautiful Natacha Von Braun.

Answer: Darts

In darts one single arrow can get you 60 points. A dart board is divided in 20 parts, corresponding with the number of points given if you manage to land your dart there. The bullseye in the middle is worth 50 points (inner ring of bulleye) and its outer ring is 25 points. There are two circles around the board, that give you either double or treble the points. To get the maximum score of 60 pts, you have to hit the treble twenty. While playing darts, you get three arrows per turn usually, which makes the maximum 180 points per turn.
In archery the board also has different circles, but the maximum is only 10 points for a single arrow there. In bowling you can get 10 points if you knock all ten pins at once, bonus points are added depending on the result of the following throw. It does not reach 60 points however. In the shot put you measure distance after your throw, you do not score points.

The game of darts was traditionally mainly a pub game, in countries like the UK or Ireland. Gradually it developed into a professional sport. The game is played in many varieties. The usual way of playing it is by starting at a fixed number (usually 501 or 301). The person that gets to zero first wins (landing exactly on zero with the last throw which must be a double). Players have to win several legs to secure victory.

Answer: Beauvais

France is divided into 101 departments, a type of administrative division. 96 of these are on the French mainland (on the European continent) and 5 of those are located in territories. The departments form part of regions. Typically a region will have about 8 or 9 departments. The department of Oise has the number 60 assigned to it. It is located in northern France and belongs to the region of Picardie (Picardy in English). Each has a city where the prefecture is located, the administration of the department. For the department of Oise the prefecture is located in Beauvais.

The city of Beauvais is located north of Paris, where the rivers Thérain and Avalon meet. Its history goes back to Roman times, when the city was called Caesaromagus. One of the main sights of the city is the Cathedral of Saint Peter. Construction of the church was started in 1225. It is a Roman Catholic church, belonging to the Diocese of Beauvais. A diocese is the area governed by a bishop.

Answer: Elton John

Reginald Kenneth Dwight, otherwise known as Elton John, was born on 25th March 1947 in Pinner, Great Britain. From an early age he wanted to start a career in music, although his parents tried to steer him towards a career outside of showbusiness. He started out humble as a pianist in a pub. At an audition he met Bernie Taupin, who would become his regular writing partner in later years. They started writing songs together and in 1969 Elton's first album "Empty Sky" was released. He scored many hits in the years to follow, including Crocodile Rock", "Nikita" and "Candle in the Wind".

The song "Sixty Years On" appears on Elton's second album, simply called "Elton John". The song is about a war veteran, but apparently also deals with the subject of getting older in general. Elton reportedly said once he did not see himself performing anymore, when he was about 38. Fortunately for his fans he did not quit that easily and performed the song when he turned 60 at a concert in Madison Square Garden, New York.

Answer: Babe Ruth

George Herman Ruth was born on 6th February 1895 in Baltimore, USA. He was introduced to the sport of baseball at an early age. He turned out to be very talented. At the age of 19 he was discovered and signed his first contract with the Baltimore Orioles. He was still very young, which earned him the nickname "Babe". He was later sold to the Boston Red Sox and also played for the New York Yankees and the Boston Braves. He ended his career in 1935. In 1948 he died at the age of 53, from pneumonia.

Babe Ruth set many records in his career. In 1927 he was the first to hit 60 homeruns during a single season. The record was not broken until 1961, when Roger Maris hit 61 homeruns in a season. By many he is seen as one of the greatest players in baseball history.