Three of a Kind, Part 25 Trivia Quiz

Answer: magic

Magic carpets figure in the mythology of the Middle East, e.g. in "One Thousand and One Nights." Some models transport the rider instantly to the destination, no matter how distant, while others quickly fly the intervening distance.

Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman play sisters in the filming of Alice Hoffman's 1995 novel "Practical Magic." They learn that they are cursed in the sense that any man with whom they fall in love will surely die.

Raymond Joseph Teller (who had his name changed legally to "Teller" -- a mononym) and Penn Jillette are a magic act, among other things. They perform on stage, on film and on television. In addition to magic, they host a television program which debunks superstitions and fake science.

Answer: pistol

Firearms capable of being held and discharged in one hand are called pistols. There is debate about whether or not revolvers are true pistols. There is no profit in entering such arguments.

The Ancient Pistol is a character in three of William Shakespeare's plays. He is the opposite of what he presents himself to be. Instead of a brave and accomplished soldier, he is a coward. A soldier in the 2003 American war movie "Cold Mountain" is named "Pistol" with a nod to Shakespeare's character.

The mascot of the athletics teams of the University of Wyoming is a cowboy named "Pistol Pete." All-male athletic teams are called the "cowboys" and all-female athletic teams are called the "cowgirls" and mixed-gender teams are called the "cowpokes."

Answer: woolly

The Woolly Bugger (also called the Woolly Worm) is an artificial fly fished above or just below the surface of the water which resembles large nymphs, drowning insects, worms, crawfish, shrimp or baby crabs. It is one of the most-fished and most-common lures in typical tackle boxes.

In places like Bhutan, China, India, Nepal and Pakistan, there hops a woolly hare (whose scientific name is Lepus oiostolus). These hares prefer high altitudes where they compete with no other hares nor rabbits. Their meat is tasty but their hides are too thin to be useful to humans.

In "Wild and Woolly" (1978), four women break out of prison in 1903 to prevent an Irish assassin from killing the President of the United States. The players include David Doyle (as T.R.), Elyssa Davalos, Susan Bigelow, Doug McClure, Ross Martin, Vic Morrow, Jessica Walter and Sherry Bain.

Answer: pedal

The word "pedal" derives from the Latin pedis meaning "foot." It describes any kind of lever which is moved by the operator's foot. The term "foot pedal" is redundant.

Machines such as railroad engines are equipped with fail-safe devices called dead-man switches, dead-man's throttles or dead-man's pedals. In order for the machine to continue to function, the pedal must be depressed. If the operator becomes unconscious or incapacitated, the switch is released and the engine stops.

Bicycle pedals are those parts of a bicycle by which the rider causes the crank to rotate and drive the wheel. Plain pedals are simply pushed by the rider's foot. More sophisticated pedals are equipped with clips which attach to the rider's shoe.

Answer: Monk

Thelonious Monk (1917-1982) was a giant of jazz, recordings of whose compositions are exceeded only by Duke Ellington. His career was marred by drug use and mental illness but his heritage marked jazz music for generations.

First appearing in a DC comic in 1939, the Mad Monk was a vampire who sought to destroy Batman. He has appeared in the franchise as recently as 2006. He wears a red robe and has the power to turn into a creature of the night at will.

The Hawaiian monk seal (Neomonachus schauinslandi) is one of only three species of the genus Monachus. They have been hunted almost out of existence. NOAA and Native Hawaiians are working together to protect and preserve these seals.

Answer: bell

Musical instruments which produce a sound when the whole instrument vibrates are called idiophones. Most of them are percussion instruments in the sense that they are made to vibrate by being struck with something. Examples include bells, triangles, wood blocks and the marimba.

John Hersey's 1944 novel, "A Bell for Adano," relates the story of US Army Major Victor Joppolo who is put in charge of a Sicilian coastal town during the American occupation of Italy. The novel won the 1945 Pulitzer Prize. Paul Osborn adapted it as a Broadway play in 1945. It was also adapted as a movie directed by Henry King in 1945.

Bell's palsy is a neurological condition involving the seventh cranial nerve which paralyzes one side of the face. It may also affect taste, the production of tears, and sensitivity to sound. Most cases are fully resolved with minimum treatment. The cause is not fully understood.

Answer: drone

Two sorts of pipes are attached to the windbag of a stand of bagpipes: chanter(s) and drone(s). Small holes in the chanter are fingered to produce different tones. The drone produces a single note (often the tonic note to the chanter) which plays throughout.

The three-drones who assisted Bruce Dern's character in "Silent Running" were nicknamed Huey, Dewey and Louie. They are reprogrammed by their "master" to play poker in addition to their manual labours.

"Poetry is either something that lives like fire inside you -- like music to the musician or Marxism to the Communist -- or else it is nothing, an empty, formalized bore around which pedants can endlessly drone their notes and explanations.: ~F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Answer: compass

In navigational terms, a compass is a device from which the navigator may determine the cardinal points of north, south, east and west. Once one "point" is determined (usually north), the others are immediately established.

Calipers are a device used in navigation, geometry, metal-craft and machining, to measure distances between points or objects. Compass calipers are used in chart navigation to measure the distance between points on a map.

The Jeep Compass (MK49) was first produced in 2007 to invite consumers to a product below the Wrangler price level of Jeep. In a second-generation form, the Jeep Compass continues to be produced as recently as 2017, replacing the Jeep Patriot.

Answer: flag

Iris grows naturally in Europe, Asia and North America. Irises are widely known as flags. They grow from rhizomes or bulbs. The French fleur-de-lis is a stylized iris.

Jasper Johns constructed his painting of the United States flag using encaustic methods. The result is a dimensioned image of the flag as it existed before the changes resulting from the admission of Hawaii and Alaska to the Union were made.

Since about 1850, the phrasal verb "flag down" has been used to mean waving some sort of visual signal to cause something to slow down or stop. One etymological theory is that this broader usage derives from waving a flag to stop a train.

Answer: Ford

President Gerald Ford was named Leslie Lynch King at birth but his name was changed because his mother remarried. He became president upon the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon. Ford was an Eagle Scout.

Ford Prefect is a journalist researching obscure corners of the Galaxy for the "Guide." He rescues Arthur Dent from the Earth mere moments before itis destroyed to make way for a hyperspace by-pass. He is something over 200 years old.

The Ford Modeling Agency was founded in 1946 by Eileen Ford and Gerard W. Ford (no relation to the president). Known worldwide as "Ford Models" or "the Ford Agency," it now represents other professionals in the fashion industry (photographers, makeup artists, hair stylists, and such), as well.