Much Ado About "Nothing." Trivia Quiz

Answer: Jean-Paul Sartre

Jean-Paul Sartre was born in Paris, France in 1905. He is primarily associated with the concepts of existentialism and phenomenology. "Being and Nothingness" happened to be one of his seminal works.

Isaac Asimov was a very prolific writer of many non-fiction and fiction works. He may be most notable for his stories about robotics. The "three rules of robotics," should be well remembered for all or any interested in artificial intelligence and the advent of robots or androids. :)

Douglas Adams is probably most well remembered for his classic "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy".

Anatoly Karpov was a former world chess champion from Russia.

(christopherm)

Answer: John Lennon

Sadly, John Lennon was tragically killed by a crazed fanatic in 1980 at the tender age of 40. The Beatles are arguably the most famous band in contemporary history. The song was sung by John Lennon, although the credits belong to Lennon and McCartney.

(christopherm)

Answer: Love

The derivation and etymology of the term, "love," in tennis is somewhat obscure. So, I leave it to the gentle reader of this quiz to make one's own determination. However, the score of "love" essentially means, "zero." However, to remain thematic, it also means "nothing." (no score)

(christopherm)

Answer: Seinfeld

Interestingly enough, "Seinfeld" episodes introduced many common phrases into the English language. It was based in Manhattan, New York City. It ran for some nine seasons and it is regarded as being one of the most popular TV sitcoms of all time. Arguably, it does take a certain semblance of appreciation for New York culture and humor, but basically anyone with sense of humor can appreciate the show. The initial concept began as a show "about nothing."
In essence, it depicted the lives of four struggling people in the city of New York.

(christopherm)

Answer: Zero

The history of the number "Zero," is quite fascinating. Zero can be a natural, real or complex number. There may be some argument as to whether zero is a natural number. All that being said, zero represents "nothing," for the most part.

(christopherm)

Answer: Nada

The word "nada" is a rather common word in Spanish and most people around the world are familiar with this word. Literally, it means, "nothing." If someone says, "Thank you," in Spanish, one might say "de nada." This means, "Oh, it's nothing, Don't mention it and basically, You're welcome." As for the other words, rojo means red, gato is a cat and perro is a dog.

(christopherm)

Answer: Nothing

This song reached number three on the U.S. Billboard chart.
The man is driven to drinking after their breakup.
When the man tried to salvage the relationship, the woman is distant and silent, hence the song title, "Nothing."

(by wulfsbane)

Answer: Adidas

In a series of TV, print and online spots timed to coincide with the 2004 Olympics, global sportswear giant Adidas launched a global marketing campaign with the memorable tagline "Impossible is Nothing". The first ad featured contemporary athletes David Beckham, Tracy McGrady, Laila Ali, Haile Gebrselassie, Ian Thorpe, Zinedine Zidane and Maurice Greene digitally inserted into archival footage of Muhammad Ali taking a morning jog in 1974. In a voiceover Ali's daughter, Hana, narrated, "Some people listen to themselves, rather than listen to what others say. They remind us that once you set out on a path, even though critics may doubt you, it's okay to believe there is no 'can't', 'won't' or 'impossible'. They remind us it's okay to believe impossible is nothing."

A subversion of the phrase "nothing is impossible", the slogan represents the shared philosophy of the German sporting brand and athletes everywhere. As a spokesperson for Adidas said at the time, "As an athlete you always strive to go further, break new ground, surpass your limits. So do we as a brand, to achieve our mission to be the leading sports brand in the world."

(by jmorrow)

Answer: Billy Preston

Billy Preston was a talented key boardist who worked with many bands and artists including Little Richard, The Rolling Stones and the Beatles. In fact he has often been referred to as one of the candidates for the elusive 'fifth Beatle'. He performed with The Beatles on their famous rooftop concert.
"Nothing from Nothing" was Preston's second U.S. number one hit and was co-written by Preston and Bruce Fisher. His first number one hit was "Will It Go Round in Circles" (1973).
His life was shaped by being subjected to prolonged sexual abuse as a boy and he struggled with drug addiction in his later years, checking in and out of rehab. Hypertension resulted in the need of a kidney transplant in 2002. In 2005 an incident of pericarditis resulted in respiratory failure which left him in a coma for several months, from which he never emerged. He died in June, 2006 at the age of 59.

(by skunkee)

Answer: nothing

Of course, this affirmation, oath or promise obligates the witness to be honest and forthcoming on the witness stand. One can be prosecuted for perjury. However, this happens to be somewhat difficult to demonstrably prove in court.

You may recall the famous quote from, "A Few Good Men."
Lt. Daniel Kaffee asks for a response. (portrayed by Tom Cruise)
"I want the truth!!"
Colonel Jessup's famous reply is: "You can't handle the truth!"
(portrayed by the inimitable Jack Nicholson)

(christopherm)