Why Z? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Americans wanted to be different from the British

The original pronunciation in English was "zed". This was taken from the Greek zeta, with a little bit of Latin and French along the way.

Sometime in the middle ages, local dialects in Britain started to produce the zee sound. The first recorded use in literature was in Thomas Lye's "New Spelling-book" in 1677.

While no one really knows for sure why Americans started to say zee, some have proffered the view that it started during the Revolutionary wars as a way of distancing themselves from the British.

Answer: More points in Scrabble

The letter Z is worth 10 points on its own. Spell out zed and you have 13 points. Zee only gives you 12.

(Single use score only, of course.)

Answer: It was callsign of the police district the cops served in

When it first aired in the early 1960s, 'Z Cars' was a revolutionary programme. Until then, British TV cop shows had been very comfortable, laid back things with a stark morality in which good always triumphed.

'Z Cars' was different. Set in a fictional town reportedly close to Liverpool, it was edgy and dealt with some very unconformable subject matters.

The Z referred to the radio call sign for the police division in which the officers were based. Many police services in the UK do use alphabetical letters for their divisions. A typical callsign in the show would have been "Zed Victor One.

Although, to be fair, the officers did drive the Ford cars mentioned, and in real life any Z police district in the UK would use the callsign "Zulu".

The theme music was an instrumental version of the old English folk song:

"Johnny Todd he took a notion
For to sail the ocean wide.
There he left his true love waiting
Weeping by the Liverpool tide."

Note: That is the wording I learnt in school, some singers varied the last line rhyme of 'wide'.

Answer: Low budgets and poor quality

The first references to Z movies came in the 1960s.

If A Movies were the best Hollywood could churn out in acting and production values, Z Movies did not even match up to the lesser B, or even C, movies.

Answer: It is a rush hour only service

In New York City, the The J Nassau Street Local and Z Nassau Street Express use the BMT Nassau Street Line in Lower Manhattan.

While the J line operates at all times, the Z line only operates at rush hour.

Both run from Jamaica Center - Parsons/Archer in Queens to Broad Street in Manhattan and the J is a full-time service. The Z is a part-time rush hour service to Manhattan only in the mornings, from Manhattan only in the evening rush hour.

Answer: She could make instant copies of herself

In the 'Power Rangers' franchise, Elizabeth Z Delgado had the genetic power of duplication. That enabled her to make several 'copies' of herself in a fight.

Monica May played Elizabeth Z Delgado in the 2005 season 'Power Rangers S.P.D.'

Answer: He was the boss in "Men In Black"

Agent Z was played by Rip Torn in the 1997 action/comedy movie "Men In Black". It was adapted from the comic strip series of the same name. All of the agents had letters instead of names

It is interesting that that although everything about the movie is American, including the actors and director, Agent Z's name is pronounced "Zed" and not "Zee". It appears that way in the original action comics.

Answer: It is lost

In 1753, a Portuguese explorer discovered the ruins of a city in the jungle. While he described it in great detail, he omitted to say exactly where it was located.

In the early 20th Century, the British surveyor Colonel Percy Harrison Fawcett became convinced that he could find it.

He undertook one failed expedition in 1920, and started a second in 1925 but his exploration party disappeared in the Mato Grosso jungle.

His story inspired a book, which was made into a movie in 2016.

Answer: It was a tribute to BB King

According to band member Billy Gibbons, they wanted to pay tribute to the blues legend BB King.

Gibbons said they figured that King was the top of the blues world, hence the band would be called ZZ Top,

Answer: Because of its Hebrew meaning

In Hebrew the name Zed means the The Lord is righteous; or God's justice.