Planes, Boats, Trains Trivia Quiz

Answer: Dhoni

The Maldives, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, has many fish species, and fishing has always been vital for Maldivian economy; the country has a fleet of fishing boats, made up of almost entirely dhoni, which are traditionally handcrafted from coconut wood and have lateen sails, although now many are fitted with motors. Craftsmen train apprentices in the art of building dhoni, which is an important and traditional craft for Maldivians. The island of Alifushi in Raa Atoll is particularly renowned for its building of dhoni.

Question by Reeshy

Answer: Sir Ben Ainslie

At one stage it looked all over for America: they were trailing 8 - 1 and had to win eight straight races to win, a task that looked almost impossible. They had made changes to the crew when 4-1 behind, bringing in Sir Ben Ainslie, Britain's multi gold medal winning sailor, as tactician, and pulled off the impossible. With the racing being close to shore, and the super catamarans travelling at speeds of up to forty knots, it was a thrilling spectacle that engaged even those not normally fans of yacht racing.

Question by Christinap

Answer: Train

The band Train is from San Francisco, CA, and consists of vocalist Pat Monahan, guitarist Jimmy Stafford, and drummer Scott Underwood. They found mainstream success in 2002, when their single "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)" won two Grammy Awards; its album, "Drops of Jupiter" (2001), went double platinum in the band's home country of the USA. The group's single "Calling All Angels" was used by the Los Angeles baseball team Angels of Anaheim.

The band founded a wine company named after their album "Save Me, San Francisco", whose products are named after Train's hits, for example "Soul Sister Pinot Noir" and "California 37 Cabernet Sauvignon".

Question by Reeshy

Answer: Sir Nigel Gresley

Gresley designed "Mallard" for the L.N.E.R and she was built in 1936 at Doncaster. She was one of 35 A4 class locomotives, and is one of the six that still survive. In 1937, driven by Driver R.J. Duddington, "Mallard" reached 126mph descending Stoke Bank, near Peterborough. This speed has never been beaten by a steam train but diesel and electric trains can go much faster. (Interestingly, Fred H. Marriott drove a Stanley steamer, a car with a steam engine, at 127mph on Daytona Beach, Florida, in 1906, just slightly faster than the steam locomotive record set by the "Mallard"!) "Mallard" was taken out of service in 1963, but unlike most of the other A4s, she was saved from the scrapyard and is now one of the most prized exhibits in the National Railway Museum in York.

In July 2013 there was an historic reunion of the surviving A4s at York, which saw the engines "Bittern", "Sir Nigel Gresley", "Dominion of Canada", "Union of South Africa" and "Dwight D Eisenhower" join "Mallard" around the turntable in the Great Hall at York, in celebration of "Mallard 75". Question by invinoveritas
"Mallard" was taken out of service in 1963, but unlike most of the other A4s, she was saved from the scrapyard and is now one of the most prized exhibits in the National Railway Museum in York. In July 2013 there was an historic reunion of the surviving A4s at York, which saw the engines "Bittern", "Sir Nigel Gresley", "Dominion of Canada", "Union of South Africa" and "Dwight D Eisenhower" join "Mallard" around the turntable in the Great Hall at York, in celebration of "Mallard 75".

Question by invinoveritas

Answer: Jet plane

The song was written by John Denver in 1966, and originally had the title of "Babe, I Hate To Go". He was persuaded to change it to "Leaving On A Jet Plane" by his producer. Peter Paul and Mary recorded it as an album track in 1967, and in 1969 released it as a single. It gave them a number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. In the late 1970s United Airlines used it in their advertising.

Question by Christinap.

Answer: A sailing boat

A sloop was originally a sail boat with a single main mast and a fore and aft rig. The modern sloop popular with yachtsman is the Bermuda sloop, so called because it was developed on Bermuda. In the 1800s the Bermuda Sloop was a very popular vessel with the Royal Navy, but they were much bigger boats carrying more sail than the leisure vessels seen today. The Beach Boys recorded "Sloop John B." in 1966. It was both an album track on "Pet Sounds" and a single.

Question by Christinap

Answer: B-17

Boeing manufactured the B-17 for a competition with two other companies in order to win a contract for 200 bombers. Although Boeing lost the contract after the B-17's prototype crashed, the Air Corps ordered more in, and it was introduced in 1938. They were used in a Pyrrhic victory in 1943, with an attack on the factories of the German city of Schweinfurt, an event that became known as Black Thursday. Of 291 B-17s, 77 were lost, as well as about a quarter of the 2900 crewmen.

The B-52 is a bomber known as Stratofortress; the C-135 is a jet transporter called Stratolifter; the bomber-crew trainer XAT-15's name Crewmaker was never officially adopted, as only two prototypes were made.

Question by Reeshy

Answer: W.H. Auden

The poem "Night Mail" was written in 1936 especially for a documentary film about the way post was distributed by train. The documentary featured the night post train, and carried no passengers, only post, and ran from London to Scotland every night. Recited during the film, the rhythm of the poem mirrored the rhythm of the train wheels.

Question by Christinap

Answer: Evening Star

"Evening Star" was designed by RA Riddles, and the beautifully apt name was suggested by three different people in a competition. This is the only British mainline steam loco ever to be earmarked for preservation from the outset. She can be seen at the National Railway Museum in York.

Question by invinoveritas

Answer: Stockholm

As the country's biggest and fastest ship at the time, the "Andrea Doria" was Italy's pride. On her way to New York City, it collided with the "MS Stockholm" off the coast of Massachusetts. Although half of her lifeboats were rendered unusable by the crash, the crew managed to keep the ship afloat for 11 hours following the collision, and over 1660 people were rescued, with only 52 dying.

The "Stockholm" was built in 1948 for the Swedish America Line, and has operated under many different names over the years, including "Völkerfreundschaft" (1960-1985), "Italia Prima" (1994-1998), and "Azores" (from 2013). Several crewmembers were killed in the collision with the "Andrea Doria", yet the "Stockholm" managed to sail to New York City, carrying an additional 500 or so people from the "Andrea Doria".

Question by Reeshy