Some Naked Truths Trivia Quiz

Answer: Archimedes on discovering the principle of water displacement

Archimedes of Syracuse (c. 287 BC - c. 212 BC) was an expert in several fields including mathematics, physics, engineering and astronomy. The principle of the Archimedes Screw is still used today in water extraction. This headline refers to the incident when Archimedes was asked to evaluate whether or not the gold in a precious crown had been replaced with inferior metals. His problem was that he was not allowed to damage the crown. One day (so the story goes) as he lowered himself into a bath he noticed the level of water increased. He then realised that the volume of displacement could be used to find the density of an object. As different metals have different densities he theorised that he could use this method to find a solution to the problem. So excited was Archimedes by his discovery that he rushed to tell the king his news; in his haste he neglected to put on his robes and ran down the street naked crying "Eureka!" (Greek meaning - "I have found it").
Pythagoras (born between 580 and 572 BC, died between 500 and 490 BC) was a famous mathematician whose theory of the relationship between the sides of right-angled triangles has tormented generations of schoolchildren for centuries.
Aristotle (384-322 BC) was a hugely influential philosopher.
Homer (dates uncertain) probably needed a long hot bath after completing his epic works "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey".

Answer: Hans Christian Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen's splendid tale of deceit, vanity and sycophancy "The Emperor's New Clothes" was first published in 1837. Andersen (1805-1875) was born in Odense in Denmark. Among his most famous works are "The Ugly Duckling", "The Snow Queen" and "The Little Mermaid" all have which have been translated in to many different languages.
The Brothers Grimm (Jacob and Wilhelm) were German collectors of folk-stories. They had several volumes of stories published in the early/mid nineteenth century. Some very famous stories were included among these works including "Snow White", "Rapunzel" and "Hansel and Gretel".
The American, L. Frank Baum (1856-1919), is probably best remembered for his book "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" and its many sequels.
Charles Perrault (1628-1703) was a French author whose works include "The Sleeping Beauty", "Little Red Riding Hood" and "Puss in Boots".

Answer: The Cerne Abbas Giant in Dorset

The Cerne Abbas Giant is a large, naked and obviously male figure carved into a hillside in north Dorset. The figure is some 180 feet tall and can be best viewed from the opposite hillside or from the air. Claims that it is a prehistoric carving are disputed and it can only be reliably dated as far back as the seventeenth century. However pagans and other groups see it as a potent symbol of fertility and some strange happenings have taken place around the image (it's probably best I don't go into too much detail here).
As a publicity stunt for the 2007 release of "The Simpson's Movie", the field next to The Cerne Abbas Giant suddenly acquired a large image of Homer clad only in a loincloth and wielding a large doughnut which he looked as if he was about to throw over the giant's club. This outraged pagans and fans of the giant who protested strongly about this stunt. Of course the publicity raised was not at all what the distributors wanted! hmmm. I could see why some people might get upset but there was no real harm done; the image was fairly quickly washed away by the rain. The headline quoted was from the British tabloid newspaper "The Sun".
The Long Man of Wilmington in West Sussex is a 227 feet tall figure carved into the hillside at Windover Hill. As with the Cerne Abbas Giant, dating the figure is problematic but records go back as far as 1710 AD and it probably dates from an earlier time.
The White Horse at Uffington is definitely prehistoric; research shows that it was probably first carved into the hillside some 3,000 years ago during The Bronze Age.
The circles of stone pillars which constitute Stonehenge are even older; parts of this World Heritage Site are believed to have been first erected some 5,000 years ago.

Answer: Florence

Michelangelo's statue of the Biblical David is now housed in the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence where it has been since 1873. Prior to that it was placed in front of the entrance to the Palazzo Vecchio. It was carved between 1501-1504 AD and first shown on 8th September 1504. The sculpture shows a naked David before his battle with Goliath.

Answer: A cricket ground

Lord's is a cricket ground (and the headquarters of cricket) in north London. To appear in an international match at Lord's is an ambition of many cricketers worldwide however in 1975 Australian Michael Angelow made an unscheduled appearance which made the headlines. He was challenged by some people in the bar to run naked across the pitch to win a £10 bet. Michael duly obliged, leaping over the wicket before being caught by a policeman who led him off the pitch with his helmet strategically placed over Michael's nether regions. This incident was recorded live on BBC TV which ensured massive publicity. Michael Angelow later appeared before magistrates (for a public order offence) who took a lenient view and fined him his £10 bet winnings.
Michael was later quoted about being rather more concerned about facing his mum when he got back to Australia!
The House of Lords is the upper chamber of the UK parliament. It is renowned for its soporific atmosphere; a streaker there might liven the place up (or possibly have medical consequences for some of the more elderly members).
Lourdes in France is a place of pilgrimage particularly for Roman Catholics.
There is no London art gallery simply called Lords.

Answer: A Rugby Union International at Twickenham

There had been several female streakers at sporting occasions before Erica Roe's dash across the Twickenham turf in 1982 but this was the first to be caught live on TV. Erica admitted later that her actions in the England v Australia match had been alcohol-fueled but she was to have the last laugh as she was signed up for a lucrative TV and magazine modelling contract. The Wimbledon Men's Tennis Final, The World Snooker Finals, The British Open Golf Championship and many other great sporting occasions have been 'graced' by streakers of all shapes and sizes. What began as a bit of fun has become predictable and clichéd and many in the crowd just want the players to be allowed to get on with what they have come to see.

Answer: Ethel

One of three verses is as follows:

"Yeah, I did:
I's standin' over there by the tomaters, and here he
come
Running through the pole beans, through the fruits and vegetables,
naked as a jay bird.
And I hollered over t' Ethel, I said,
"Don't look, Ethel!"
But it's too late, she'd already been incensed."

Of course the 'incensed' Ethel proves not to be such a prude after all for by the end of the song, she's joining in!

Ray Stevens had several hits in the '60s and '70s and was unusual in that he charted both with novelty records; "The Streak", "Bridget the Midget" etc and with serious songs such as "Everything Is Beautiful" and "Sunday Morning Coming Down".

Answer: John Lennon

The cover of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's 1968 album "Unfinished Music No.1: Two Virgins" featured naked photographs of the two of them. The front cover showed the front view and the back cover showed their rears. There were only 5,000 copies released in Britain (many were wrapped in brown paper) and it never charted but in America it reached number 124 in the album charts. I have heard this record (once!) and can tell you it was a 'bum' album in more than one way.

Answer: Peeping Tom

Lord Leofric had imposed big tax increases on the people of Coventry but his wife, Lady Godiva, sympathised with the people and begged her husband to reconsider. He said only if she rode naked through the town, thinking it would be unlikely. Godiva called his bluff and said she would do it. Come the day, the people of Coventry agreed not to look at the Lady as she passed by but closed the shutters and stood with their backs to the road. Only one person disobeyed this rule, his name was Tom and legend has it that he was struck blind for this act. The term 'peeping Tom' has passed into common usage for anyone with voyeuristic tendencies.
'Being sent to Coventry' is a term which means to be ostracised by one's colleagues or friends. The origins are unclear but possibly stem from The English Civil War when a group of royalist soldiers were sent to Coventry for imprisonment and nobody wanted anything to do with them. There are other theories but nobody really knows for sure.
Riding bare-back refers to a horse with no saddle rather than the rider being in a state of undress.
The naked truth is a phrase meaning just the plain facts with no embellishments or opinions thrown in.

Answer: "You Can Leave Your Hat On" by Tom Jones

All four songs are featured on "The Full Monty" soundtrack but it is Tom Jones' version of Randy Newman's "You Can Leave your Hat On" which closes the movie with the six men leaving nothing to the crowd's imagination (movie audiences only received a rear view).
My favourite scenes in the movie are when the men find themselves in the employment office and can't stop themselves from dancing to "Hot Stuff" which is playing on the radio.