Three of a Kind, Part 46 Trivia Quiz

Answer: square

Trafalgar Square in Central London was named for the Battle of Trafalgar, a naval battle in the Napoleonic Wars in 1805. This commemoration explains the memorial column erected to honour Admiral Lord Nelson who was killed in that battle. The square has a long history of political demonstrations.

Huey Lewis wrote (with others) and recorded "Hip to be Square" in 1986. The original recording included back-up vocals by San Francisco 49s football players Joe Montana and Ronnie Lott. The song became what Lewis called an "anthem for square people." The makers of the "Sesame Street" television programme certainly understood it that way when they wrote and broadcast a parody called "Hip to Be a Square" in 1988.

Since 1991, Square D electrical equipment has been manufactured by Schneider Electric Company of Andover, Massachusetts. The original company was founded by Bryson Dexter Horton and James B. McCarthy in 1902. It was renamed the Detroit Fuse and Manufacturing Company in 1908 and adopted, as their logo, a squared capital letter D for the City of Detroit. Their products -- fuses, switches, and circuit breakers, mainly -- were popularly called "Square D" products.

Answer: pigeon

The places people build as residences for pigeons are variously called pigeon coops, pigeon holes, pigeon houses, pigeon lofts, and dovecotes. The idea of these enclosures is to protect the birds from the elements and from predators, to provide a place to nest, and to allow the birds easy access and egress for flight. These facilities are often subdivided to control breeding. In rural areas, pigeon droppings are useful as fertilizer; in urban settings, lofts are often constructed on the roof of a building.

The etymology of the slang phrase "stool pigeon" is unclear. It might have to do with a medieval practice of binding a pigeon to "stale" (lure) to attract birds of prey for capture. It is most commonly used today for a person who infiltrates (or is already in) a criminal endeavour and "snitches" to the police in return for some favour (money or leniency).

When the toes of the foot point in-board rather than straight ahead, they are described as "pigeon toe" or "pigeon toed." The more medical term is "in-toeing." This condition is common in young children and most often resolves itself without medical intervention. Corrective surgery is an alternative.

Answer: pipe

A boatswain's pipe (also called a bosun's pipe) is a whistle-like signalling device with a terminology all its own. The user blows through a thin tube called the gun. Air passes over a metal sphere, called the bowl, in which a hole is drilled such that opening and closing one's hand around it changes the pitch. A flat metal piece, called the keel, holds it all together. There is a sort of keyring attached to the shaft called the shackle. This is usually attached to a cord or chain worn around the neck. Since about the 15th century, a boatswain's pipe has been used to signal the crew about certain events: important arrivals and departures, burial at sea, calling the entire crew on deck.

In order to twist pipes into their fittings or to remove them, a Stillson wrench (called a pipe wrench) is used. Long after the patent granted to the inventor, Mr. Stillson, had expired, this wrench was called by his name. The hard steel teeth in the wrench's jaws bite into the softer metal of the pipe and effect the twist.

Boarders of both the skate- and the snow- types, slide down half-pipes (and quarter-pipes) to demonstrate their acrobatic skills. A half-pipe looks like a pipe cut in two the long way so as to create a sort of gutter through which the boarder performs. Sometimes there is a flat section in the middle between the two curled sides.

Answer: parade

"Your Hit Parade" was first broadcast in the US on radio in 1935. The format was simple: a back-up orchestra and several ensemble singers performed the most popular songs in the country in ascending order. The show was heard on radio from 1935 until 1955 and was seen on television from 1950 to 1959. The sponsor was the American Tobacco Company and its brand Lucky Strike. Audiences were assured that the selections and rankings were made by an "authentic tabulation" of sources but the specifics were unrevealed.

The police identification procedure called a line-up in the US is called an identification parade in the UK. The premise is simple: a number of people who look generally alike stand next to each other while the victim of or witness to a crime tries to choose the one who committed it. For the results to be admissible in court, the procedure must be fair.

The second-largest public square in the EU (the largest being Alexanderplatz in Berlin, Germany) is Parade Square in downtown Warsaw, Poland. Unlike many historic squares in Europe, Parade Square was built in the 1950s. Several historic rallies occurred there; the Pope celebrated mass there on 14 June 1987.

Answer: Viking

Publishing houses morph over time through acquisition and sale. Viking Press was founded in 1925 but acquired by the Penguin Group in 1975. The original partners were former employees of Simon & Schuster and Alfred A Knopf respectively. The name and logo were chosen to convey a sense of exploration and adventure. They published Dorothy Parker, D.H. Lawrence, Erskine Caldwell, Bertrand Russell and Mohandas Gandhi.

Based on captured German rocket technology, the Glenn L. Martin Company (which became Lockheed-Martin) built twelve Viking rockets to begin the US space programme. They flew from 1949 until 1955 when they were replaced by the Vanguard programme.

The Norwegian town of Stavanger has a football team called Viking "Fotballklubb." The club, founded in 1899, has been more successful than any other football club in Norway. It won the Norwegian Cup for the sixth time in 2019. The players are enthusiastically supported by a fan's organization called the "Vikinghordene" (the Viking hordes, in Norwegian).

Answer: Amber

Roger Zelazny created "The Chronicles of Amber" in two five-volume series and then extended that corpus with additional short stories over time. In addition, John Gregory Betancourt was commissioned by Zelazy's estate to write four posthumous prequel books to the series. The overarching story imagines two worlds, Amber and Chaos, and the Earth in a Shadow world between them.

The acronym AMBER stands for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response. It describes a system whereby law enforcement can issue a plea for public assistance when it appears that a child has been abducted. The alerts are broadcast on radio and television, text messages, e-mail and electronic traffic-control signs. A description of the child, the abductor and any associated automobile is included.

Amber Rose (b. 1983) worked as a teenage stripper, appeared in rock videos, modeled in both runway and print, appeared on television with Russell Simmons, was a guest judge on "RuPaul's Drag Race," served as a spokesperson for Smirnoff vodka, recorded rap music, designed clothing for her own brand, had a role in a movie, wrote a book entitled "How to Be a Bad Bitch," produced her own emoji app, hosted two TV talk shows, and danced with Maksim Chmerkovskiy on Season 23 of "Dancing with the Stars." She has obviously been very busy.

Answer: hound

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle originally wrote "The Hound of the Baskervilles" as a series for The Strand Magazine running from August of 1901 to April of 1902. It is set around Baskerville Hall, a mansion on Dartmoor in Devon in the West Country. The hound in question is a diabolical beast, part of a curse upon the men of the Baskerville line. Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson come from London to investigate a possible murder and to prevent another.

In the New Zealand television series "Hounds," a lawyer inherits half a house, half (an interest in) a racing greyhound, and guardianship of his half-sister. The 2012 series is set in Auckland. The greyhound racing community is the backdrop for the family situation.

In the fantasy novels of George R.R. Thornton called "A Song of Fire and Ice" and in the television series made from them called "Game of Thrones," Sandor Clegane is a character nicknamed The Hound. The Hound is a huge warrior and bodyguard to King Joffrey Baratheon. His face is horribly disfigured from burns he suffered when his brother, Gregor Clegane, forced his head into a flaming brazier. He is marked not only by scars but by a life-long fear of fire, as well.

Answer: bacon

Bacon is the cured meat of a pig. Other cured meats from other animals which are called bacon are not bacon but are rather something else. Cuts of pork (typically the belly or the fat back) are cured in salt. This was, at one time, one of the few ways to preserve meat without refrigeration. Brown sugar, molasses and/or maple syrup may be added to the brine. Bacon may be further preserved by smoking. There are many different things called bacon in many different languages but they all have certain similarities: pork preserved using salt. When skin is included in the cured cut, it is called "bacon rind" and is useful in flavouring soup broth.

The skills, insights and accomplishments of Roger Bacon (c. 1214 - c. 1292), an English Franciscan monk, was called Frater Rogerus (Brother Roger) but also Doctor Mirabilis (Wonderful Teacher). He thought that much could be learned of God by studying nature and he espoused an early empirical method. Bacon both studied and taught at Oxford. He also taught for a decade at the University of Paris. He was buried at Oxford. He is a figure in Umberto Eco's novel "The Name of the Rose" (1980).

David Bacon (1914-1943) had his career cut short by his murder. He was a not terribly successful screen actor, under contract at one time to Howard Hughes. He learned acting with James Stewart and Henry Fonda in the University Players at West Falmouth; they apparently learned better. On 12 September 1943, he was driving in Santa Monica, California. He ran off the road and was found to have a stab wound in his back which punctured his lung and killed him. He was wearing only a swimsuit. Neither the murderer nor the murder weapon were ever found.

Answer: jet

"West Side Story" (1957) is a popular opera about two youth gangs on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The Jets are a white gang and the Sharks are Puerto Rican. When a former member of the Jets falls in love with the sister of the leader of the Sharks, violence and tragedy follows.

A jet is a tube or nozzle in a carburetor through which fuel passes. It is engineered to control the direction and particulars of the flow and dispersion.

Jet Magazine was founded as a weekly addressed to African-American audiences. Its contents included stories about entertainment, the news and black culture, of especial interest to black people or written from a particularly black perspective. It was originally subtitled "The Weekly Negro News Magazine" but this was changed as the use of the word "Negro" fell out of favour. The same company owned and published "Ebony Magazine".

Answer: Latin

Latin was the language of Ancient Rome and of the Roman Empire. It is an Italic language and shares much with Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian and Romanian. Numerous Latin words (and parts of words) survive in Modern English. Old Latin or Classical Latin was much more complex and formal than the Vulgar Latin spoken by common people. A form of Latin called Ecclesiastical Latin is the official language of the Roman Catholic Church.

Latin people are either those descended from the original Italic people of Central Italy or those who are part of a Roman culture who speak a Romance language. As a consequence of European exploration and colonisation, there are a great many Latin Americans in the Western Hemisphere.

Eugenio Derbez plays Maximo, a gigolo who seduces older women and lives off of their wealth. When his elderly wife kicks him out for a newer (younger) model, he is forced to search for another source of income. "How to Be a Latin Lover" (2017) also starred Salma Hayek, Raphael Alejandro, Raquel Welch, Rob Riggle, Linda Lavin, Kristen Bell, and Rob Lowe. "Weird Al" Yankovic has a cameo.