Three of a Kind, Part 44 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Alice

The television comedy "Alice" starring Linda Lavin played on CBS for nine years. It was based on the 1974 motion picture "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore." The setting was based on an actual restaurant: Mel & Ruby's Cafe in Tucson, Arizona.

Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia is located near the center of the Australian continent. It was named to honour Alice, Lady Todd, the wife of Sir Charles Todd. Residents call it Alice; aborigines call it Mparntwe. Alice Springs was the destination of the road movie "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert."

Alice in Chains is an alternative rock band, founded in Seattle, Washington, in 1987. There have been personnel changes and a hiatus in recording (1996-2006) but the band continued to perform into the 21st century. Along with other Seattle bands -- Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden -- Alice in Chains was part of the grunge movement in popular music.

Answer: cole

The first record of the nursery rhyme "Old King Cole" is in 1708. Nobody knows for sure to whom it refers. It begins, "Old King Cole was a merry old soul / And a merry old soul was he / He called for his pipe, and he called for his bowl / And he called for his fiddlers three." The term "bowl" here refers to a vessel used for drinking.

Cole Albert Porter (1891-1964) was an enormously-talented songwriter whose work appeared on Broadway and in many motion pictures. He is remembered for his songs "Night and Day", "Begin the Beguine", "I Get a Kick Out of You", "I've Got You Under My Skin", "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" and "You're the Top".

The Dutch noun "koolsla" means "cabbage salad." In the 18th century, the word was borrowed and mispronounced in English to describe a side dish made of shredded cabbage. In addition, it may contain carrot, onion, peppers, pickles (sweet or dill) and various herbs. In Britain, some dried fruits (sultanas) or chopped nuts may be included. The three most common dressings are mayonnaise, sour cream, and vinaigrette. The addition of crumbled crisp bacon takes cole slaw to a whole new level.

Answer: hang

When a bit of the skin next to a fingernail cracks and extends such that it irritatingly snags on everything, the condition is called a hangnail. This is a misnomer in that no part of the actual nail is involved. Hangnails are not only painful but also a source of potential infection and thus must be addressed carefully and promptly.

A gymnast may hang from the rings or bars. If this is an initial position, the gymnast may be assisted into it by a coach. In an upstart, for example, the gymnast swings from a hang to a posture above the bar. The cables holding the rings are adjusted to permit each gymnast to hang from them with their feet off the mat. A "Bhardwaj" is an exercise done from a hang on the high bar facing the low bar.

A computer may "hang" for a variety of reasons. When this happens, the process or the system refuses to respond to inputs such as the keyboard or mouse. The cause may be in hardware or software. Typical problems are caused by an infinite loop, a long-running uninterruptible computation or a an exhaustion of resources (memory or computation capacity). Some hangs may resolve themselves in a few moments; some require some intervention. Many systems detect hangs and end the hung programme or process without being prompted. In the worst case, the computer must power down and be restarted.

Answer: neck

Shirts, jerseys, sweaters and jumpers with a roll-neck collar are variously called polo neck, roll neck, turtleneck and skivvy. The distinctive part of this neckline is that the collar extends upward toward the chin and then folds over itself so as to cover the neck. There is some thought that the style may have been invented in around the 15th century to protect the necks of combatants wearing armour or chainmail. There is also some historic association between necklines of this sort and sailors. Modernly, they are a matter of style, coming into and out of favour depending upon fashion.

So-called "steamer clams" are soft-shell long-neck oval clams whose siphon sticks out and looks rather like a neck. The most common preparation of long-neck clams is steaming, but they may also be shucked and fried, or added to chowder, to good effect.

When people speak of "this neck of the woods," they are referring to the immediate vicinity. A "neck of the woods" often describes the area where someone lives. The phrase is an Americanism from the Colonial period. While at one time, the phrase was used colloquially to describe only a forest or country setting, it has grown to be used in urban contexts, as well.

Answer: chase

Joss Whedon created the character Cordelia Chase for the TV series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and its sequel "Angel." Charisma Carpenter originally auditioned for the leading role of Buffy Summers but was cast as popular cheerleader at Sunnydale High School. She grows into being a demon fighter and is accepted as a member of the Scooby Gang.

Dean Koontz's first hardcover novel "Chase" was published under the pen name K.R. Dwyer. It was later republished under Koontz's true name in a collection "Strange Highways" in 1995. The novella is about a Vietnam vet named Chase, struggling with alcoholism, tracking down a psychotic killer.

Chase Field (formerly Bank One Ballpark) is a domed stadium in Phoenix, Arizona, where the Diamondbacks play their home games. Since 1998 it has sheltered fans and players from the typical 100 °F (38 °C) heat of the city. The swimming pool in right center field may be rented by fans during games. The 2011 MLB All-Star Game was played there. It hosted the Professional Bull Riders rodeo in 2006 and the Monster Energy Supercross from 1999 to 2015.

Answer: red

The 1990 movie "The Hunt for Red October" was based on Tom Clancy's 1984 which introduced Jack Ryan. In it, a Soviet nuclear submarine captain defects and brings his submarine with him.

In October of 1992, the British rock band Moody Blues joined the Colorado Symphony Orchestra to perform and record an album called "A Night at Red Rocks." The amphitheatre known as Red Rocks has hosted Barenaked Ladies, The Beatles, Blues Traveler, Pat Boone, The Carpenters, Kenny Chesney, Coldplay, John Denver, Depeche Mode, The Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Jethro Tull, Carole King, Dave Matthews Band, Stevie Nicks, Oasis, R.E.M., Seals & Crofts, Sonny & Cher, John Tesh, U2, and Neil Young.

One of the most common birds in the Western Hemisphere is the redwing blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus). Only the males have the distinctive red shoulders from which their common name derives.

Answer: fall

Lee Majors played "The Fall Guy" -- a stuntman who doubled as a bounty hunter -- on the ABC television series (1981-1986). His female costar was Heather Thomas. His oversized GMC pick-up truck figured so prominently that it was almost a member of the cast.

When the water vapour suspended in the atmosphere condenses sufficiently, it falls from the sky as rain. Water vapour is relatively light; raindrops are relatively heavy. Gravity does the rest.

When a nuclear weapon explodes, particularly if it explodes on the ground, huge amounts of radioactive dust and ash are cast up into the atmosphere. The familiar "mushroom cloud" is composed of these substances. This material falls back to the surface, either as dust or in rain, and is known as nuclear fallout. It is radioactive, carcinogenic and therefore hazardous to health.

Answer: magic

Mozart's "The Magic Flute" ("Die Zauberflöte") is that sort of opera where some of the words are sung and others are spoken. It is a fantastical story of a hero (Prince Tamino) combatting the evil Queen of the Night. The story is laced with Masonic overtones; Mozart was a Freemason.

A company called Cottee's invented a dessert product which would form a hard shell when poured over ice cream and called it Ice Magic. It is sold in the UK as Bird's Ice Magic. Smuckers manufactures the product in the US and markets it as Magic Shell. The magic is accomplished by the amount of coconut oil, sunflower oil and sugar in the formula, which creates a solid when chilled.

William Goldman wrote the novel "Magic" in 1976. It is about a ventriloquist's dummy who takes over his life. Richard Attenborough turned the story (with Goldman's help as a screenwriter) into a motion picture of the same name. The film stars Anthony Hopkins, Ann-Margret, Burgess Meredith and David Ogden Stiers.

Answer: pedal

In most motor vehicles, the control which governs the fuel supply to the engine is called the accelerator or gas pedal. When depressed, it provides more fuel and thereby increases the engine's speed. In most motor vehicles, the gas pedal is operated by the right foot; on some older cars (for example, the Model A Ford), there was a hand throttle which could be used in addition to the gas pedal.

A pedal steel guitar, heard mostly in Country Western and Hawaiian music, is a steel guitar laid on its back, played face up, controlled not only by the player's hands but by foot pedals and knee pedals, as well. An early manufacturer of resonator guitars was the Dobro Manufacturing Company; some people call a pedal steel guitar a "dobro" because of this association.

In boxing, to retreat while facing one's opponent is to back pedal. In cycling, to back pedal is to ride the bicycle backwards. The more metaphoric use of the term describes a retreat from or reversal of one's prior position, usually following opposition or condemnation. Politicians are continually accused of back peddling from yesterday's opinions and/or promises.

Answer: bell

It all began with a Disney Channel television programme named "Good Morning, Miss Bliss." This was reworked by NBC-TV into "Saved by the Bell" which ran 1989-1993. This show begat two offspring: "Saved by the Bell: The College Years" (1993-1994) and "Saved by the Bell: The New Class" (1993-2000). There were also two motion pictures: "Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style" (1992) and "Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas" (1994).

Taco Bell was created by Glen Bell in Downey, California, in 1962. He sought to duplicate the methods of fast-food restaurants to an Americanized Mexican menu. PepsiCo bought Taco Bell in 1978 but later spun it off to Yum! Brands. There are Taco Bell outlets in Shanghai, China, Bangalore, India, Helsinki, Finland, Cardiff, Wales, and São Paulo, Brazil.

The 2080-pound Liberty Bell is displayed (but not rung) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was originally cast at the Whitechapel Foundry in London. The famous crack developed in the 1840s and prevents the bell from being further rung. The inscription is taken from the King James translation of Leviticus 25:10.