Somewhere On The Rainbow Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Scarlet Pimpernel - Baroness Emmuska Orczy

Baroness Orczy's famous novel first appeared as a play on the London stage on the 15th of October 1903 but was not a success. The last act was rewritten and it premiered again in January 1905 with negative reviews from the critics but to huge acclaim from the audiences - originally running for 122 performances and then running for more than 2000 in early revivals. It also had great international success playing in France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

The novel was released in 1905 not long after the play opened and was immediately successful, both in Britain and around the world, after being translated into 16 different languages.

The story is set during the French Revolution and follows the adventures of Sir Percy Blakeney, an English baron who portrays himself as a shallow fop while secretly taking the identity of 'the Scarlet Pimpernel' and saving members of the French aristocracy from the guillotine.

The novel led to numerous sequels, television and movie adaptations and was even made into a musical in 1997 that ran for three years on Broadway.

The correct authors for the other options are:

"The Scarlet Letter" - Nathaniel Hawthorne
"The Red Badge of Courage" - Stephen Crane
"The Hunt for Red October" - Tom Clancy

Answer: Rajneesh Movement

The Rajneesh movement was led by Indian mystic Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (known as Osho after 1990) and was active from 1970 until 1985. It was a controversial 'religionless religion' due to the Bagwhan's negative attitude toward traditional values but it gained a worldwide membership with a particularly large base in Oregon, USA.

The Bagwhan's secretary and second in command, Ma Anand Sheela, lived at the Oregon commune and made numerous attempts to influence a local election to ensure their continued existence in the county. Among other things she and her followers introduced salmonella into food at local restaurants to make people too ill to vote. This 1984 action was the first known act of bioterrorism within the United States.

The legal ramifications and publicity led to the Bagwhan declaring that the Rajneeshee religion no longer existed; everything bearing its name was burned along with Sheela's robes. The movement then became the 'Osho International Foundation' and its followers were referred to as Oshites.

The People's Temple was the cult run by Jim Jones in the 1970s that ended in a mass suicide in Guyana.

Heaven's Gate was a doomsday cult led by Marshall Applewhite whose members committed suicide in 1997.

The Unification Church's members are known as 'Moonies' after the South Korean founder Sun Myung Moon. This movement began in 1954 and is still active today.

Answer: Islam

In Roman Catholicism gold is the colour of the Key to Heaven which Jesus gave to St. Peter. White and yellow together symbolise rebirth so are associated with the Resurrection and saints are always depicted with gold halos. As such the colours of the Vatican City flag and the pope's robes are yellow and white and parish priests will wear white or gold robes at Easter and Christmas.

Saffron is the most sacred colour for the Hindus as it personifies fire. As impurities are burnt by fire it thus represents purity and religious abstinence. It symbolises those who have renounced the world and are on a quest for light. It is thus worn by the wandering holy men throughout India; Krishna is also usually portrayed in yellow.

Ancient Indian lore also associated yellow as the colour of renunciation as the yellow leaves on a tree were those about to drop - signifying the importance of letting go and not clinging to things. Buddha thus chose saffron as the colour for his robes and all of the monks accepted into the order.

Islamic leaders do not have a particular dress code that they conform to, choosing their clothing depending on the country and climate that they reside in, but they will always wear clothing that is considered respectful in the Muslim faith. Many Imams wear white but others choose darker colours like browns and greys. Although all bright colours are generally avoided yellow would never be worn by any male Islamic holy man. The Prophet Muhammad specifically asked Ali never to wear gold or silk as he would be dressed in silk and decorated with gold in paradise.

Answer: Othello

Shakespeare first used this phrase in Act Three of "Othello" (officially "The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice"). Iago (the villain of the piece) has convinced Othello that his wife Desdemona has been unfaithful to him. This is untrue but Othello believes him and smothers her to death. In true Shakespearean fashion, Iago's wife, Emilia, finds them and provides proof that Desdemona was innocent - Iago then kills Emilia, Othello stabs Iago (not fatally), the guards arrest both Othello and Iago but Othello kills himself and Iago is ordered to be executed.

"O, beware, my lord, of jealousy!
It is the green-eyed monster, which doth mock
The meat it feeds on. That cuckold lives in bliss
Who, certain of his fate, loves not his wronger;
But O, what damned minutes tells he o'er
Who dotes, yet doubts, suspects, yet strongly loves!"

(Othello Act III Scene 3)

"Othello" is the only tragedy of the options. "King John" is one of his histories and both "As You Like It" and "The Taming of the Shrew" are classed as comedies.

Answer: The Blue Boy

"The Blue Boy" is probably one of the most famous works of Thomas Gainsborough, an eighteenth century English portrait and landscape painter. Painted around 1770 it is thought to be that of Jonathon Buttall, a wealthy hardware merchant's son.

Picasso's Blue Period lasted from 1901 to 1904 and the paintings are often of depressed downtrodden people like beggars and drunks and prostitutes. Picasso himself was sinking into a deep depression at this time over the suicide of his friend and fellow painter, Carlos Casagemas.

The combination of the subject matter and the monochromatic colour led to a major decline in his popularity as people were not interested in purchasing these paintings; ironically they are now among his most famous works.

His depression gradually improved in 1904 and he entered what is known as his 'Rose Period' - joyful, happy paintings in various shades of pinks.

Answer: Crystal Violet

Crystal Violet (or Gentian Violet) is a chemical compound dye that was widely used in medicine. It is an antibacterial, antifungal and antithelmintic agent and widely used as an antiseptic. Those of us who experienced chicken pox in the twentieth century may well remember having purple baths to get rid of the itching - these were Gentian Violet crystals added to the bath water. As indigo is a blue colour there is no connection whatsoever between the two.

The Tuareg are a nomadic Berber people of the Sahara in North Africa. In the past all of their robes and turbans were dyed with indigo pigment which stained their skins a dark blue colour and lead to them being known as the 'Blue People'. Today they wear many different colours of clothing but the traditional indigo turban is still worn for celebrations.

Indigo is one of the oldest dyes to be used for textile dyeing and printing. India was the main supplier of the dye to Europe and it was originally called 'Indian dye' which passed through the Greek, Roman and then modern Italian language into indigo.

The main use for indigo in this day and age is as a cotton dye which produces denim for blue jeans. Only 3 - 12 grams of indigo are needed for each pair of jeans but 20,000 tons of it is produced each year to meet market demand.

In the 1970's Nancy Ann Tappe began work on a concept that certain children have natural abilities that lead to them being more intuitive than others. This ranged from those that were just believed to be more creative or empathetic to those that may possess paranormal traits right up to the belief that they were the next stage in the evolution of mankind.

These children were referred to as 'The Indigo Children' and came into 'mainstream' New Age theories in the 1990's with multiple books, movies and conferences. Nancy Ann Tappe coined the name herself as she said these children had an indigo aura.

Answer: Violet Baudelaire

"A Series of Unfortunate Events" by Lemony Snicket (pen name of Daniel Handler) is a children's series of thirteen books written about the lives of the Baudelaire children after the deaths of their rich parents. They are taken into custody by their cousin, Count Olaf, who then spends the entire series trying to steal their inheritance. Violet is the eldest child of the family and tries to take care of her younger siblings, Klaus and Sunny.

Violet Beauregarde is one of the winners of the Golden Tickets in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". Her best known trait is her ability to chew gum all day.

Violet Gray is one of the early characters from "Peanuts". She faded into the background after Lucy and Sally were introduced and was rarely seen after 1960.

Violet Parr is the oldest daughter of "The Incredibles" family. She is capable of invisibility and generating a purple force field.

Answer: The Bifrost Bridge: Greek Mythology

The Bifrost Bridge is from Norse Mythology not Greek. It is a burning rainbow bridge that connects Midgard (the earth) and Asgard (the realm of the Gods). The bridge ends at Himinbjorg, the home of Heimdallr. Heimdallr is the god who owns the Gjallarhorn, the mystical horn blown at the onset of Ragnarok (the end of the world).

The Rainbow Serpent is a major deity in the Aboriginal Dreamtime as it is responsible for water and is thus a giver of life - although it is known to be a destructive force if made angry. The serpent is named after the shape of the rainbow and dreamtime legends state that when the rainbow is in the sky it is the Rainbow Serpent moving from one waterhole to another - a divine explanation as to why there was still water in some places when drought struck.

The Irish leprechaun takes the form of an old man who likes to make mischief. He is usually in a green or red coat and spends all of his time making shoes. He is known to earn many gold coins and these are hidden in a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

The story of Noah's Ark comes from the book of Genesis in the bible. God destroyed creation by a large flood because of the evilness that had become of humanity. The only righteous man left was Noah so God told him to build an ark and to take his family and a breeding pair of each animal onto it so that they would be safe to create a new world. After the flood was over God made a covenant with Noah that he would never again destroy the land by flood and he sealed this promise with a rainbow.

Answer: Rainbow Connection

"The Rainbow Connection" was written by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher for the 1979 film "The Muppet Movie" and sung by Kermit (Jim Henson). Williams and Ascher received Oscar nominations for the song but didn't win. It has been in every Muppet movie made since the original - sometimes sung and sometimes just hummed in the background.

The song made it onto the 'Billboard Hot 100' in 1979 and stayed in the top 40 for 7 weeks, peaking at number 25. It also reached number 74 in the "American Film Institute's 100 years...100 Songs" list in 2004.

"Why are there so many songs about rainbows and what's on the other side?
Rainbows are visions but only illusions and rainbows have nothing to hide.
So we've been told and some choose to believe it - I know they're wrong, wait and see
Someday we'll find it the rainbow connection - the lovers, the dreamers, and me."

"Somewhere Over the Rainbow" is from "The Wizard of Oz".

"I Can Sing a Rainbow" was featured in the 1955 movie "Pete Kelly's Blues."

"Rainbow High" is from "Evita" and appeared in the 1996 movie.

Answer: France

"The Rainbow Warrior" was bought by Greenpeace and officially launched on the 29th of April 1978 as their first ship. She was originally mainly a fundraising vessel, travelling the world raising funds for Greenpeace's environmental campaigns. Then during the 1980's she was used in protests against whaling, seal hunting and nuclear testing.

In 1985 she sailed to New Zealand to travel with a flotilla to Tuamota Archipelago in French Polynesia to protest against French nuclear testing on the Moruroa Atoll. Her intention was to put protestors on the island to monitor the blasts.

The French government had infiltrated the organisation and were aware of these plans and operatives of the DGSE (French intelligence Service) attached two bombs to her hull, in the New Zealand Harbour, just before midnight on the 10th of July.

After the first explosion photographer Fernando Pereira returned to the ship to get his equipment and was killed when the second bomb detonated and sunk the ship. Two French agents were arrested but later admissions from the DGSE admitted that there were three teams involved and the two that actually planted the bombs were never identified.

In September 1985 the French Prime Minister formally acknowledged responsibility to the press, admitted a cover up, and stated "Agents of the French secret service sank this boat. They were acting on orders."