Nine Clues to Who? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Davy Jones

David "Davy" Jones was born in 1945 in Manchester. He appeared in British TV soap "Coronation Street" as Ena Sharples's grandson, and acted as the Artful Dodger in the original stage production of "Oliver!" in the West End and on Broadway. Davy Jones joined the Monkees in 1966, and sang some of their most popular songs, including "Daydream Believer". He died in 2012.

Answer: Lord Gnome

The fortnightly satirical magazine "Private Eye" started production in 1961. The fictional proprietor, Lord Gnome, is based on press barons such as Lord Beaverbrook. Lord Rothermere, the proprietor of the Daily Mail, Rupert Murdoch aka the Dirty Digger, and Robert Maxwell, aka Captain Bob were real press barons and targets of the Eye's humour.

Answer: 2001: A Space Odyssey

A science fiction epic about human existence and alien civilisation, "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968) was somewhat inspired by a 1948 short story by Clarke called "The Sentinel". Clarke co-wrote the screenplay with Kubrick and also produced his novelisation alongside Kubrick's making of the movie. Massively successful and influential, it spawned a sequel in the 1982 novel by Clarke, "2010: Odyssey Two", which became a movie in 1984 called "2010" with screenplay and direction by Peter Hyams.

Answer: spiders

The brown recluse is found in southern states of the USA. It is not aggressive, but its venom can attack red blood cells. The brown widow is found in the Americas, Asia and Africa. Its venom is as toxic as the related black widow, but its bites are less deadly because it delivers less venom. Thirty-five species of Australian funnel-web spiders are native to Australia. They are one of the world's most deadly groups of spiders - six of these species have bites that have caused serious injuries to humans.

Answer: Mars

Phobos, whose name comes from the Greek for "Fear" is an irregular rock with an average radius of about seven miles. Deimos, named from the Greek for "Terror", is smaller (less than four miles average radius) and further out from Mars. Both were discovered in 1877 by the US astronomer Asaph Hall.

Answer: Aladdin

The collection of stories, popularly known in the English speaking world as "Arabian Nights" was collected over centuries from traditional stories of the Middle East and Asia. The story of Aladdin is one of the best known, although it was not originally in the Arabic text. A French translator called Antoine Galland added it, saying the source was a storyteller from Aleppo.
The tales of Sinbad and Ali Baba are also included in the story collection. The character of Scheherazade is the supposed story-teller, telling the stories to keep her husband from killing her.

Answer: Berlin

Unter den Linden is the best known street in Berlin. It is named after the linden (lime) trees that line it. The Brandenburg Gate is an 18th century monument that was in Soviet-bloc East Berlin during the division of the post-war era and symbolizes the reunification of Germany for many people. Currywurst is a sausage served with a sauce based on curry powder that is an iconic Berlin snack.

Answer: Labyrinth

The Minotaur had the head of a bull and the body of a man. Daedalus and his son Icarus built the elaborate Labyrinth to house the dangerous beast securely on the orders of King Minos. Daedalus had had a hand in the formation of the creature. Minos had a beautiful bull he was supposed to kill as a sacrifice. When he decided not to, Poseidon made Minos's wife Pasiphaë fall in love with the bull as a punishment. She got the brilliant Daedalus to make her a cow disguise so she could mate with the bull, and the Minotaur was their offspring. You couldn't make it up!

Answer: Lazarus

The resurrection of Lazarus of Bethany is a miracle in the Gospel of John. Lazarus, a follower of Jesus, becomes ill. His sisters send word, but by the time Jesus joins them Lazarus has been dead for four days. The shortest verse in the King James Bible: "Jesus wept". Jesus has them roll away the stone from the tomb and calls for Lazarus, who emerges alive.

Answer: David Bowie

David Bowie was born DAVID JONES(1) in 1947 in Brixton, London.
One of his early releases was "The Laughing GNOME"(2) in 1967.
Bowie had his first chart entry in the UK with "Space Oddity", which was released in July 1969 to coincide with the Apollo 11 mission, and had a title based on "2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY"(3).
His album "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the SPIDERS(4) from MARS(5)" in 1972 includes many of his most popular songs including "Starman" and "Five Years".
"ALADDIN (6) Sane"(1973) continued his strong run, including "Jean Genie" and "Drive-In Saturday".
Bowie's BERLIN(7) years, from 1976-1979 resulted in three classic albums, "Low", "Heroes" and "Lodger".
Bowie appeared in several movies, including Jim Henson's "LABYRINTH"(1986)(8) where he played the Goblin King.
"LAZARUS"(9), from the surprise album "Blackstar" was the final single Bowie released before his death in 2016.