Green Is the Colour Trivia Quiz

Answer: Henry VIII

According to a well-known legend, "Greensleeves" was written by King Henry VIII for his lover and future second wife, Anne Boleyn, who at first rejected his advances ("cast me off discourteously"). The title has also been interpreted as a reference to the long sleeves that Anne wore to hide her right hand, which was said to have six fingers. However, the Italian style of composition on which the song is based - known as "romanesca" or "passamezzo antico" - reached England in the late 16th century, during the reign of Henry and Anne's daughter, Elizabeth I. Other interpretations point to the lament of a lover betrayed by a woman of easy virtue, possibly even a prostitute - and, indeed, in some late medieval and early Renaissance sources green is referred to as the colour of lightness in love. Various classical and pop musicians have recorded versions of "Greensleeves": among them, English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, and American jazz saxophonist John Coltrane.

As far as I know, none of the kings listed as incorrect choices have ever been believed to have written a song. In any case, Edward II lived well before the time "Greensleves" became popular.

Answer: holly

Unlike deciduous plants, evergreen plants do not shed their leaves in winter or during the dry season. When they need to replace their leaves, they do so gradually rather than by losing them all at once - meaning that evergreen trees never look completely bare. Evergreens tend to occur in warmer climates much more than in cooler ones, where they are limited to conifers; they are also more tolerant of soils with a low nutrient level. Though not all of the about 480 species of holly (family Aquifoliaceae) are evergreen, those belonging to the genus Ilex are. The type species, the European holly (Ilex europaeum), is the plant with glossy, prickly dark green leaves and red berries commonly associated with Christmas.

The remaining three options are all deciduous trees found in temperate regions.

Answer: chlorine

With an atomic number of 17, chlorine (Cl) belongs to the halogen ("salt-producing") group of the periodic table of chemical elements. It was discovered in 1774 by Carl Willem Scheele, a Swedish chemist, who thought it was a compound of oxygen. In 1810, it received its current name from English chemist Humphry Davy: "chlorine" comes from the Greek word "chloros" (pale green), referring to its green-yellow colour when at room temperature.

A highly reactive element like all halogens, chlorine is very dangerous in high concentrations, and many of its compounds tend to be toxic or corrosive.

However, its most common compound is sodium chloride, also known as salt - an essential ingredient in food preparation and preservation.

Answer: Nigeria

As of 2019, the Federal Republic of Nigeria is Africa's most populous country, and one of the ten most populous countries in the world. Located in West Africa, it became independent from the United Kingdom on 1 October, 1960. Its flag, designed in 1959 and adopted on the day of the declaration of independence, consists of two vertical bands of green with a band of white in the middle. The two green bands represent the country's natural wealth, while the white band represents peace. In Nigeria's state flag, the country's coat of arms appears in the centre of the white band.

Though many African national flags feature the colour green, the Egyptian one does not.

Answer: J.R.R. Tolkien

Written in the late 14th century in a North West Midland dialect of Middle English, "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" is an Arthurian romance that blends the French chivalric tradition with motifs drawn from English, Welsh and Irish folklore. The tale describes the encounter of Sir Gawain, one of the knights of King Arthur's Round Table, and the Green Knight, a mysterious giant with green skin and clothes who challenges Gawain to strike him once with his axe - on condition that the Green Knight be allowed to return the blow in a year and a day. The poem contains 101 stanzas, for a total of 2,530 lines, and is written in alliterative verse. The significance of the colour green in the poem and the nature of the Green Knight himself have been interpreted both in a positive and a negative sense. J.R.R. Tolkien, who was a professor of English philology as well as the author of "The Lord of the Rings" and other beloved stories, published an annotated edition of the original text in 1925; his modern English translation, which also included two other Middle English poems, "Pearl" and "Sir Orfeo", was first published in 1975, two years after Tolkien's death.

The writers listed as incorrect answers were also active in the 20th century. C.S. Lewis, the author of the "Narnia" books, was Tolkien's good friend.

Answer: collard

The name "greens" refers to various kinds of plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, either raw or cooked. In Southern US and traditional African-American cooking ("soul food"), greens are generally the leaves of plants of the cabbage (Brassica) family, such as collard, turnip and mustard greens, as well as the now-fashionable kale. Southern-style greens are stewed for a long time with smoked and salted meats such as ham hocks or pork fatback, and often served as a main dish. Cornbread is often crumbled into the resulting broth, called "potlikker" (pot liquor) and rich in nutrients.

The word "collard" comes from "colewort", a name for the wild cabbage plant (Brassica oleracea). Endive and radicchio, very popular in Italy, belong to the chicory family. Rocket, or arugula, though also part of the Brassica family, is normally eaten raw in salads or other cold dishes.

Answer: vinegar

Derived from the French "vert-de-Grèce" (green of Greece), verdigris is the name given to the bluish-green patina that forms naturally on objects made of copper, brass or bronze when they are exposed to the elements. A high-profile example of this process is the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbour, which has been exposed to both air and seawater for over 100 years. Chemically, verdigris made by applying vinegar to copper plates is copper acetate, which in the past was highly prized for its vivid blue-green colour until more stable pigments were made available to artists. If used in oil paint, copper acetate does not fade when exposed to light, but can be very unstable in other media, and requires careful preparation and application in order to prevent its vibrant green colour from turning brown.

Answer: Atlantic Ocean

The Republic of Cape Verde (Cabo Verde in Portuguese) is an archipelago of ten volcanic islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of northwestern Africa. The country's name comes from Cap-Vert, a peninsula on the coast of Senegal about 570 km (350) to the east. Colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th century, the islands became a hub for the Atlantic slave trade, and subsequently an important stopover for shipping routes. Cape Verde became independent from Portugal on 5 July, 1975; Portuguese is the country's official language, though most of its citizens speak Cape Verdean creole (Kriolu) as their mother tongue. Though many Cape Verdeans have left the islands to look for better opportunities abroad, in recent times economic conditions have improved so much that Cape Verde has become attractive for immigrants from other countries.

Answer: Ordinary Time

Ordinary Time (Latin: "tempus per annum", time during the year) refers to two separate periods of time in the Christian liturgical year, found in the calendar of the Catholic Church (Roman Rite) and some other Western denominations. In the Catholic calendar, the first part of Ordinary Time begins on the day the feast of the Baptism of Christ (the first Sunday after the Epiphany, the last day of Christmastide) and ends on the day before Ash Wednesday (also known as Shrove Tuesday).

The second part begins on the Monday after Pentecost (which marks the end of the Easter season) and ends on the Saturday before the first Sunday of Advent. During these two times, which together form the longest time in the liturgical year, the clergy wear green vestments, which symbolize hope. During Christmastide, the clergy wear white vestments, as they do on Holy Thursday; on the other hand, red is worn during the rest of the Holy Week, and purple in Advent, as well as Lent.

Answer: London

Located between St James's Park and Hyde Park, Green Park - first enclosed in the 16th century - is one of London's eight Royal Parks. Unlike most of the city's other parks, this 16-hectare (40-acre), triangle-shaped green space does not contain any buildings, lakes or playgrounds; the only monuments are two memorials (the Canada Memorial and the RAF Bomber Command Memorial) and the Diana Fountain. Green Park's main attraction are its peaceful, tree-lined walks, and its flowerbeds filled with bright yellow narcissus in the spring. Buckingham Palace lies just south of the park, and the spectacular, wrought-iron Canada Gate - one of the park's entrances - faces the royal residence. Green Park is also a station on the Piccadilly, Victoria and Jubilee Lines of the London Underground.