That '70s Quiz

Answer: Finland

The 70th parallel south runs through nothing but Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. But the 70th parallel north runs through the countries and territories listed, and just skirts through Lapland, the northernmost region of Finland. The Baltic countries, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, are all in close proximity to Southern Finland, but reach nowhere near as north.

These locations are so far north, at or above the auroral zone, the aurora borealis can sometimes be seen to the south!

Answer: Titus

The Arch of Titus was built near the Roman Forum in 82 AD, shortly after Titus's death, in order to celebrate the military accomplishments of the Emperor, particularly the siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD (CE). Titus is also well known for the completion of the Roman Colosseum, or Flavian Amphitheater, started by his predecessor and father, Vespasian. Sources vary, but at least 40,000 people were killed during Jerusalem's siege and destruction under Titus's command, leaving the ancient City of David to a pile of rubble. Of the temple, the most sacred site in all of Judaism, nothing remains standing but the Wailing or Western Wall.

Modern excavations have unearthed large blocks of the former temple, lying scattered along the ancient Jerusalem streets. People of Jewish faith have since commemorated the event on Tisha B'Av, or the ninth day of the month of Av, coincidentally the same day in the Jewish calendar that the original temple, built by King Solomon, was destroyed by the Babylonians. The site of the temple is also sacred in Christianity and Islam.

Answer: Triple Word Score

The game of Scrabble was invented in 1938 by American Alfred Mosher Butts. Words are spelled in crossword fashion using numbered tiles for scoring. Various squares upon which the tiles are placed sometimes have bonuses, on which the value of a single tile or entire word is doubled or tripled.

A word using a Triple Word Score cannot be worth 70 points in the game of Scrabble, because 70 does not divide evenly by three. A word otherwise worth 23 points, after applying the Triple Word Score bonus, would be worth 69 points.

A word otherwise worth 24 points, after applying the Triple Word Score bonus, would be worth 72 points.

Answer: The Aeneid

Virgil's epic the "Aeneid" became ingrained into Ancient Roman mythology. It tells the story of Aeneas, a solider in the Trojan War, making the harrowing journey from Troy at war's end, battling obstacles by nature, beasts, and the Roman Gods on the epic voyage. Aeneas, in Roman mythology, is an ancestor of Romulus and Remus, legendary founders of Rome.

The "Aeneid" shares a lot of commonalities with the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey", both rumored to be penned by the legendary Homer. Aeneas is a minor character in the "Iliad" during the Trojan War. And like Odysseus, has a long and adventurous journey after the battle.

The "Epic of Gilgamesh" is an ancient Babylonian legend and has nothing to do with the Trojan War. Born in 70 BC, the poet Virgil lived until the age of 50, dying in 19 BC in the southern Italian Peninsula town of Brindisi. Fellow Italian Dante made Virgil his guide through the underworld as a character in his 14th century "Divine Comedy".

Answer: Best Picture

The 1997 film "Titanic", starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson and Kate Winslet as Rose Bukater, is a dramatization of the 1912 sinking of the famous passenger liner on her maiden voyage. In addition to Best Picture, "Titanic" won for Best Director, the award going to James Cameron.

It was Cameron's first Oscar. Kate Winslet was nominated in the Best Actress category, but that honor went to Helen Hunt in "As Good As it Gets". Hunt's costar, Jack Nicholson, won that year for Best Actor. In the 70th Academy Awards, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's film "Good Will Hunting" won for Best Original Screenplay.

Answer: Ytterbium Anniversary

Ytterbium, the 70th element on the periodic table, was discovered in 1878 by Swiss chemist Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac, and was named after the Swedish town Ytterby. It is considered a Rare Earth Element, and is the 46th most abundant element in the Earth's crust.

It can be used in lasers, optical fibers, and other technological applications, as well as in the strengthening of stainless steel. A golden anniversary commemorates the 50th, though gold is element number 79, next to platinum. Perhaps that occasion, the 50th, should be named after tin.

Answer: Dallas Cowboys

First donning the number 70 jersey for the Dallas Cowboys in 1967, Rayfield Wright had a Hall of Fame 13 season career. In addition to the honors listed above, Wright was also a six-time Pro-Bowler and the 1972 NFC Offensive Lineman of the Year. Playing college for the small Fort Valley State University in Fort Valley, Georgia, Wright wasn't taken until the seventh round of the 1967 NFL Draft as the 182nd pick. With Wright, the Dallas Cowboys beat the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VI, in 1972, 24-3, and the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XII 27-10.

The Cowboys inducted Wright into their "Ring of Honor", with his name and his number 70 on display around the Cowboy's stadium.

Answer: Peter

Some translations quote this as seventy-seven times. In Jesus's response to Peter, he did not intend to place a limit on forgiveness at 490 times, rather to illustrate the limitless nature of forgiveness. Some think this quote is an indirect and contrasting allusion to a passage in Genesis, after Cain had slain Abel and fled into the land of Nod.

The Lord warned that if anyone slain Cain in revenge, vengeance would be served upon him sevenfold. Genesis 4:24 tells of a descendent of Cain, Lamech, who killed a man and wounded another. "If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold".

After Jesus taught this principle of unlimited forgiveness, the book of Matthew goes on to record a parable of a king forgiving a servant of a large debt.

Answer: Tommy Chong

Leo Chingkwake, played by Tommy Chong, first appeared on "That '70s Show" in season two and was a regular character for several seasons, including the final season. An aging hippie with a low work ethic, years of drug use left him not very sharp intellectually.

He was the owner of the Foto Hut, and employed Stephen Hyde, played by Danny Masterson. Three of six actors in the main teenage gang weren't even born until after 1980, and the oldest, Masterson, was born in 1976. Chong, who played the character Leo, was the only one old enough to be famous in or actually remember the 1970s.

He first came to prominence as a part of his comedy duo with Cheech Marin.

Answer: William Henry Harrison

Incumbent Jimmy Carter was only 56 when the voters booted him out of office in favor of the soon to be 70 year old Reagan in 1980. In Reagan's reelection campaign at age 73 in 1984, after some in the media were making an issue of Reagan's age, he famously quipped, "I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience".

Inaugurated at age 68, William Henry Harrison would have become the first septuagenarian in control of the White House during his second year of office if it wasn't for his premature departure.

A lot of trivia players know him for his unusually short tenure, of just a month. Harrison, however, was a great military hero in the War of 1812. Arizona Senator John McCain was 72 during the election of 2008, and would have been the first President to be a septuagenarian on the first day of office. McCain, however, lost the election to Barack Obama, who was then age 47.