Martial and Other Arts Trivia Quiz

Answer: god of war

While modern culture generally interchanges Mars with the Greek god of war, Ares, the original aspects of the two gods were slightly different. Both are gods of war, however Ares is associated with combat and destruction, while Mars represents military matters.

Mars also lends his name to the planet Mars and the month of March.

Answer: Chinese

In 1972, a well-preserved and nearly complete copy of "The Art of War" on bamboo strips was discovered by construction workers. These Yinqueshan Han Slips date to the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD).

The work is attributed to Sun Tzu, and the literal translation of the title is "Master Sun's Military Rules".

As a major theme in the book is how to win wars through strategy in order to avoid conflict, the book has many applications outside of warfare.

Answer: tapestries

The Cloisters are a series of buildings that includes parts of five European abbeys, all mixed, reconstructed and rebuilt with new structures in 1934-1939.

While six of the "Unicorn Tapestries" (1495-1505) are intact, only two separate pieces remain of "The Mystic Capture of the Unicorn".

Answer: Ed Norton

Art Carney (1918-2003) won the 1975 Academy Award for Best Actor for his work in "Harry and Tonto" (1974).

Carney played the villain "The Archer" on the television series "Batman" (1966-1968) and had a role in the 1978 "Star Wars Holiday Special".

Answer: quality

"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values" (1974) by Robert M. Pirsig begins to explore his theory of the Metaphysics of Quality. This subject is further developed in his book "Lila: An Inquiry into Morals" (1991).

The book was rejected 121 times before being published by William Morrow and Company, which has been a Guinness World Record for a best-selling book.

Answer: Pittsburgh

Art Rooney (1901-1988) was the founding owner of the NFL's franchise in Pittsburgh, first called the Pirates (1933) until the name was changed to the Steelers in 1940.

Rooney was also a minority owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins from 1967 until sometime in the 1970s. He also provided financial assistance to the Negro League baseball team the Homestead Grays.

Answer: Oscar

There is some dispute over the origin of the name "Oscar". Bette Davis claims to have named the award after her first husband, Harmon Oscar Nelson. Another story is that Margaret Herrick stated in 1931 that the statuette reminded her of her "Uncle Oscar", her cousin Oscar Pierce.

The term was in use by 1934, when Walt Disney thanked the Academy for his Oscar (for the animated short "The Three Little Pigs", 1933). The award was called an Oscar in the 1930s by columnist Sidney Skolsky.

The name Oscar was made official by the Academy in 1939.

Answer: Donald

Donald Trump (b. 1946) not only puts his name on his own projects, but is paid by other companies so that his name can promote their businesses. As a result, just because his name is on a building or project does not mean he or his company is involved in anything more than branding.

Trump has spent a lot of time on television, guest starring on several programs and hosting "The Apprentice"/"The Celebrity Apprentice" from 2004-2015.

Answer: Paul Simon

Simon & Garfunkel were a popular act in the 1960s, with hits like "Mrs. Robinson" (1968) and "Bridge over Troubled Water" (1969).

First together in 1957 as Tom & Jerry, they were Simon & Garfunkel by 1963. The duo broke up in 1970, although they reunited several times after that.

Answer: Maniac Mansion

Development of "Maniac Mansion" took two years, and the game was originally released on the Commodore 64 and Apple II in 1987. However, the new game engine, Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion" (SCUMM), made porting the game to different platforms relatively easy. It also sped development of other games that were made using the engine. The last game to use the SCUMM engine was "The Curse of Monkey Island" (1997).

A "Maniac Mansion" television series based on the game aired from 1990-1993, although many changes were made for television.

Answer: Bob Ross

Bob Ross (1942-1995) served in the military for 20 years (1961-1981) before hosting "The Joy of Painting" (1983-1994).

There were 403 episodes of "The Joy of Painting", and Ross painted 381 of the paintings. The remaining 22 featured a guest artist, usually his son Steve Ross.

Answer: classroom

Pixar films have included a reference to A113: a license plate in "Toy Story" (1995), the model of the diver's camera in "Finding Nemo" (2003), the Roman numerals ACXIII in the cottage in "Brave" (2012).

Brad Bird puts the reference in all of his works, starting with "Family Dog", an animated episode of "Amazing Stories" (1985-1987).

Answer: The Birth of Venus

The album cover for "Artpop" (2013) was designed by Jeff Koons. It features a sculpture of Lady Gaga and a reflective blue ball. The artwork in the background is of Bernini's sculpture "Apollo and Daphne" (1622-25) and Botticelli's painting "The Birth of Venus" (~1480s).

The first single released from the album was the song "Applause".

Answer: Worst Company in America

Electronic Arts was founded in 1982 by Trip Hawkins.

Some of EA's early games include "M.U.L.E." (1983), "Archon" (1983), and "The Bard's Tale" (1985). Their sports games include "Madden NFL" (starting in 1989), "NHL" (starting in 1991) and "SSX" (starting in 2000).

EA was the first video game company to release annual "updates" of sports titles that primarily included updated rosters along with small updates to other aspects of the game (graphics, gameplay, interface, etc.).

Answer: Odyssey

Despite basing the story on the "Odyssey", neither of the Coen Brothers (who wrote, directed, and edited the movie) had actually read it. They were only familiar with the story through adaptions and its use in popular culture.

The film's title comes from "Sullivan's Travels" (1941), about a director wanting to make a film titled "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" about the Great Depression.

Answer: Fame

Debbie Allen (b. 1950) played Lydia Grant, the dance teacher, in the 1980 film and the television series. She played Angela Simms, the principal, in the 2009 film.

Lee Curreri (student Bruno Martelli), Albert Hague (music teacher Benjamin Shorofky), and Gene Anthony Ray (student Leroy Johnson) also reprised their roles from the 1980 film in the television series, but did not have roles in the 2009 film.

Answer: Yeah Yeah Yeahs

"Yeah Yeah Yeahs Extended Play" (2001) is sometimes mislabeled as "Master" due to the album art, which features a necklace with that word.

Their first studio album, "Fever to Tell" (2003), was well received. One of the singles from that album, "Maps", was listed as #386 of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" by Rolling Stone in 2010.

Answer: Ghost World

"Ghost World" (2001) is the story of Enid and Rebecca, two girls who grow apart as they grow up.

"Art School Confidential" (2006) is a film based on a four-page comic that appeared in "Eightball" number 7 (1991).

Both movies were directed by Terry Zwigoff and had screenplays by Clowes.

Answer: Maus

"Maus" was originally serially published in "Raw", starting in 1980. The collected version was first published in two volumes, partly because Speigelman wanted to get to market before the movie "An American Tail", as he wanted to avoid comparisons to that film.

Spiegelman and his wife Françoise Mouly created a black-on-black cover of "The New Yorker" on September 24, 2001, as a somber tribute to the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. The image was used again as part of the cover for Spiegelman's "In the Shadow of No Towers" (2004).

Answer: Quirinus Quirrell

Although never mentioned in the books, Professor Quirrell's first name (Quirinus) is given in the official trading card game.

The position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was cursed by Lord Voldemort, and as a result no teacher lasts more than one year until the curse is lifted at the end of the series.