What Do You Know? Trivia Quiz

Answer: A type of stringed instrument

A sitar is a stringed instrument used mainly in Indian music. It has a long neck and a small, bowl shaped resonator. The curved frets are movable for fine tuning and the strings, which can be up to twenty three, can run over or under them. Probably the best known modern player of sitar music is Ravi Shankar, who popularised it in the 1950s and 1960s.

The sitar is played by plucking the strings. Most modern instruments are made of teak with a gourd for the resonator. Frets are usually made of some form of animal bone.

Many of the instruments are highly polished and decorated with inlaid mother of pearl.

Answer: A short lived success or event

When something or someone is described as a flash in the pan it means very short lived and unsuccessful. It comes from the priming and firing of an old flintlock pistol, where the priming material would flash in the loading pan, but the pistol would fail to discharge. Anything that starts off with great promise but leads to quick failure and disappointment can be described this way.

Answer: Ophidiophobia

Ophidiophobia is defined as "the abnormal fear of snakes". Herpetophobia can also be used, but this is more general being "the fear of reptiles and/or amphibians". A true phobia, as opposed to just being scared of something, can make people change their whole lifestyle to avoid the object of their fear. There are well documented cases of people who never go outside because of their fear of open spaces (agoraphobia). When a phobia becomes this severe then specialist help is needed to assist the sufferer to overcome it.

Algophobia is the fear of pain.
Frigophobia is the fear of cold.
Claustrophobia is the fear of enclosed spaces.

Phobia definitions here are taken from Wikipedia.

Answer: Vanity

A vain person is over proud of the way he or she looks, or what he or she owns or has achieved. Vain people will stop and look in a mirror, or even at their reflection in a shop window, just so they can see how good they look. Although it doesn't mean the same thing, vain people are also quite often selfish as well, as they think only of themselves and ignore the needs and wishes of others.

Answer: Native wood

A didgeridoo is a long wooden instrument. Lengths vary from three or four feet up to ten feet. The longer the instrument the deeper the note it sounds. Usually they are made from something like eucalyptus wood, although native bamboo has also been used. Either a hollow trunk or a large branch will be used. Quite when didgeridoos were first used is uncertain, although they are shown in cave paintings.

The nearest European instrument to the didgeridoo is the Alpenhorn, which is also usually made from one long piece of hardwood. With both instruments a fair degree of lung power is needed to actually get a note out of them.

Answer: Pickles

In 1966 the World Cup tournament was held in England, and the trophy was on public display at a stamp exhibition at Westminster Hall. A thief ran in, ignored all of the valuable stamps on display, and grabbed the cup. A ransom demand was received, but this turned out to be a hoax. Seven days later Pickles was out on his daily walk when he unearthed the trophy, wrapped in newspaper, stuffed into the bottom of a garden hedge. England went on to win the cup that year, and Pickles and his owner were invited to the celebration banquet.

Answer: Once Upon A Time

Created by the writers of "Lost", "Once Upon a Time" is set in the small American town of Storybrooke. All the residents are fairy tale characters under a curse. They have been transported there by the Evil Queen, and they have no memory of who they used to be.

The Evil Queen, who is the mayor of the town, and Rumpelstiltskin (Mr Gold in Storybrooke,) who cast the spell, are the only two who know the truth. The mayor's adopted son comes into possession of an old book of fairy tales, realises the truth, and sets out to break the curse.

The show premiered in 2011.

Answer: P.J. Proby

P.J. Proby started as James Smith, making demo records for Elvis Presley. He hit the big time with his recording of "Somewhere" from "West Side Story", and his good looks and big voice meant he became a huge star. In 1965 he hit the news for all the wrong reasons when his skin tight pants split on stage.

In fact it was nowhere near as bad as reported, only the knees split. The publicity made other promoters wary of booking him and his career went into decline. He staged several comebacks, appearing as both Elvis and Roy Orbison in stage musicals, as well as touring in 1960s nostalgia shows.

Answer: Washington Irving

"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" was first published in 1820. It concerns Ichabod Crane, who wants to marry the only daughter of the wealthiest man in Sleepy Hollow. The place is reputed to be haunted by a headless horseman, and the legend says that Ichabod Crane disappears after encountering the ghost one night.

His competitor for the hand of the lady then has free rein and marries her. There have been many film and television versions over the years, notably the 1999 film directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp.

Answer: Tim Berners-Lee

Knighted for his services to science, Tim Berners-Lee is credited with the invention of the world wide web, without which none of us would probably be here looking at this quiz. He later became a director of the World Wide Web Consortium, which looks at further development.

He is an outspoken advocate against monitoring of browsing by any organisation or government. In 1999 he was named as one of the most important 100 people of the 20th century.