Three of a Kind, Part 34 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Mercury

The Roman messenger god is Mercury, especially recognizable from the wings on his helmet which allowed him to move speedily through the air. The Ford Motor Company produced a Mercury automobile with a winged-god Mercury as its first logo. The United States issued a dime (10 cents) from 1916 to 1945 which was popularly called a Mercury dime but which actually depicted a "winged Liberty" head. The cartoon character Asterix wears a winged helmet because the Gaullic chieftain Vercingetorix did, without reference to the Roman god.

Mercury Records has been distributing records since 1945. With a variety of labels, they have released Motown, classical, jazz, rock and roll, country Western and several other genres. Patti Page and Vic Damone were among their first stars. Also Dinah Washington, Cannonball Adderley, Ernestine Anderson, and Sarah Vaughan.

The Phoenix Mercury were among the (eight) founding teams of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) in 1997. They played in four WNBA finals and won the title in three of those (2007, 2009 and 2014). The team has been owned by the owner of the Phoenix Suns (men's) basketball team since its inception.

Answer: creek

The television programme "Dawson's Creek" aired on the WB from 1997 to 2003. It followed a group of friends from high school to college. There was ample love and angst. The show was one of many which fed the demand for movies and TV shows which centered on teens.

The Band song refers to Cripple Creek in Virginia. "Up on Cripple Creek" was written by the Band's guitarist Robbie Robertson and recorded on their fifth album. They have toured the song and so it appears on several of their live concert albums, as well.

Battle Creek, Michigan, is the home of the Kellogg Company, the inventor of corn flakes. It is also the home of the Battle Creek Sanitarium which was depicted in the 1994 film "The Road to Wellville." Kellogg is the largest employer in the city.

Answer: harbor/harbour

The place where boats park is called a harbour, also an inlet, a port, an anchorage, a bay, a cove, a haven and/or a landing. Since the 12th Century, "harbor" has been used to mean a safe place, a refuge, a protected lodging, often with a military sense.

The Harbor Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) is among the smaller marine mammals. It lives close to land in bays, up rivers and along shores. The term "porpoise" descends from the Latin where its components mean "pig fish" perhaps with reference to the porpoise's snout. They are common in the North Atlantic, North Pacific and the Black Sea.

When it was constructed in 1909, Harbor Island was the largest man-made island in the world. The 397-acre island sits in the mouth of the Duwamish River in the Port of Seattle. It is the home to shipyards, fuel storage, containerized cargo activities, the center of The Mission to Seafarers (Episcopal) and the press of The Mountaineers Club.

Answer: lonesome

Lonesome George, the last known non-breeding Pinta Island (Galapagos) giant tortoise died a bachelor on 24 June 2012 leaving no heirs. George is believed to have been the last of his subspecies. He was named after the comedian George Gobel by scientists at the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz Island, where he lived for forty years and died. His body was preserved by taxidermy.

In January of 1957, a flight ("Operation Power Flite") of three U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bombers left Castle Air Force Base, near Merced, California. They flew for 45 hours and 19 minutes to go around the world and return to March Air Force Base, Riverside, California, having flown 24,325 miles. The purpose of the mission was to demonstrate the United States' ability to drop a nuclear weapon anywhere in the world. One of the bombers was commanded by Captain Charles W. Fink and was named Lonesome George after the television comedian.

Bob Dylan's song "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" was written in 1962 and recorded/released in 1963. It includes the following lyrics: "So I'm walkin' down that long lonesome road, babe. Where I'm bound, I can't tell. But goodbye's too good a word, babe. So I'll just say fare thee well."

Answer: Monday

John Phillips wrote "Monday, Monday" in 1966 and it became the only Mamas and Papas song ever to reach number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. In the 1966 album recording, the background musicians are The Wrecking Crew. The song is rather melancholy: "Oh, Monday morning, Monday morning couldn't guarantee that Monday evening you would still be here with me." The Mamas and the Papas won a Grammy Award with the recording.

Black Monday followed horrendous losses on 24 October leading to the stock market crash of 29 October 1929 (Black Tuesday). Oddly, the world-wide stock market crash of 1987 also happened on a Black Monday, 19 October 1987, called Black Tuesday in Australia because of the date/time difference.

The first Monday following the Feast of the Epiphany (6 January) is called Plough Monday because it is the first day of the new farming year in England. From the 15th Century, the notion was to keep the Christmas holiday from 24 December to Twelfth Night and then go back to work on the Monday following Epiphany. Plough Pudding, made with ground pork sausage, bacon, onion and sage, is traditionally made on Norfolk on Plough Monday.

Answer: Uranus, Greek god of the sky

German chemist and apothecary Martin Heinrich Klaproth (1743-1817) discovered uranium in 1789 while living in Berlin. English astonomer Sir William Herschel observed Uranus on 13 March 1781 from his garden on New King Street in Bath, Somerset, England. The element was named for the planet.

Gustav Holst wrote "The Planets" in seven movements between 1914 and 1916, each named for one planet and its astrological character. The movement entitled "Uranus" is subtitled "The Magician" because, in astrology, Uranus governs unseen, illogical and surprising forces, much like magic. This notion permeates the music in this movement.

In the adult animated series "Duckman", Fluffy and Uranus are the two sweet, kind, politically-correct assistants who are constantly trying to make Duckman a better person. Their reward in most episodes is that he kills them but they seem to have the power to reincarnate by the next show. Fluffy is pink; Uranus is blue. Their gender is indeterminate.

Answer: Northwest

Unofficially, the states of Washington and Oregon and the province of British Columbia constitute "the Pacific Northwest" or Cascadia. The geography, culture, climate and economy unite the region naturally. The cities of Vancouver (B.C.), Seattle and Portland are remarkably cosmopolitan. And the people are so exceptionally good looking.

Northwest Airlines, flying out of Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, was the sixth largest airline in the United States when it was acquired by Delta Airlines and assimilated into Delta's operations. NWA flew extensively to Japan following WWII and, through an operating agreement with KLM, to Europe.

The need for a trade route connecting Europe with the Orient drove exploration with the goal of finding a "northwest passage" around North America. While such a passage exists, it is often clogged with impassable ice and is challenging shallow in places. There is a further problem in that Canada claims much of water involved as inland (and therefor Canadian) rather than international.

Answer: Barney

Andy Taylor (Andy Griffth) was the sheriff of Mayberry, North Carolina in CBS' "The Andy Griffith Show." He was assisted by his deputy, Barney Fife (Don Knotts). Knotts had a five-year contract on the show which ended before the programme concluded. Barney took his job too seriously and was inept but well meaning.

"Barney & Friends" premiered on US public television in 1992 and ran until 2010. Aimed at the very young, Barney conveyed a sense of friendship, of consideration and of optimism. Barney's song "I Love You" is simple and repetitive, and much loved by Barney's young fans.

"How I Met Your Mother" ran for nine seasons on CBS. Neil Patrick Harris played Barney Stinson, a womanizing playboy sort. The show won nine Emmy Awards. Alyson Hannigan won the People's Choice Award for Favorite TV Comedy Actress; Neil Patrick Harris won the People's Choice Award for Favorite TV Comedy Actor.

Answer: coaster

An ice-cold beverage condenses moisture from the air and can leave a mark on a table. Coasters are devices made of absorbent paper, glass, cork, raffia, cloth, rubber or other substances intended to protect the surface under the glass or bottle. Beermats are a specialized sort of coaster, often made with adverts for beer or sports teams printed on them.

Roller coasters were invented in the 1880s; one of the first was built at Coney Island in New York. Roller coaster cars may be single or may be hooked together to form "trains." Modern roller coasters are wilder and wilder, often involving inversion as well as steep descents and sudden, sharp turns.

A trading ship which works its way between coastal ports is called a coaster. Coasters typically draw less water than ships which cross oceans, which allows them to pass over reefs. The work of coasters is called "short sea shipping" and the routes followed are called "marine highways."

Answer: frog

Created and originally voiced by Jim Henson, Kermit the Frog is probably the best-known Muppet. He came to life in 1955 and has entertained adult and child audiences since in television and film. In addition, Kermit has two hit recordings to his credit: "It Ain't Easy Bein' Green" in 1970 and "The Rainbow Connection" in 1979 for "The Muppet Movie." He wrote his autobiography in 2006: "Before You Leap: A Frog's Eye View of Life's Greatest Lessons."

Aristophanes' play "The Frogs" (written and performed in 405 BCE) includes only one scene in which frogs figure. Dionysus travels to Hades to bring back Euripides and revive Greek theatre. Charon ferries him across Lake Acheron and a chorus of frogs begins to croak. Dionysus chants with them.

Originating in Asian (probably Chinese) fashion, frogs are braids which create loops through which buttons may pass to secure closure of the front of an article of clothing. Some frogs are merely decorative and their use in this manner is called frogging. Military uniforms of the 17th-19th Centuries often included frogging, as do the uniforms of hotel doormen, elevator operators, marching band members and some very classy pirates.