Wilson Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ants

E.O. Wilson is also known as "the father of sociobiology", and studied ants for over 40 years whilst at Harvard university. Although he officially retired in 1996, he has published almost 20 books since "taking it easy". Another well known quote by him regarding ants is, "Karl Marx was right, socialism works, it is just that he had the wrong species".

Answer: The Beach Boys

The Beach Boys, formed in 1961, originally consisted of brothers Carl, Brian and Dennis Wilson with their cousin Mike Love and family friend Al Jardine. Dennis drowned in 1983, Carl died in 1998, but Brian, Mike and Al, together with Bruce Johnston, continue to sporadically team up, reuniting in 2012 for a 50th Anniversary Tour.

The Beach Boys influenced many diverse artists; among the most vocal in their praise for them were The Ramones.

Answer: Volleyball

Noland spends four years on the island, with Wilson, named after the sporting goods manufacturer, as his only companion, following a plane crash. The movie was a huge success, and allowed Wilson Sporting Goods to run a series of advertisements proclaiming that one of their products was co-starring in a Hollywood blockbuster alongside Tom Hanks.

Answer: Redneck Woman

"Redneck Woman" was Gretchen's breakthrough hit in 2004, and was followed by four more top ten hits on the U.S. Country Chart, including "Here For The Party" and "All Jacked Up". "Before He Cheats" was a 2006 release from Carrie Underwood's debut album.

Although Gretchen is primarily a country artist, she often talks of her love of rock music as evidenced by the name checks for Lynyrd Skynyrd and Kid Rock in "Redneck Woman", and she has appeared on stage to duet with Heart, Buckcherry, Alice In Chains and Randy Bachman.

Answer: Copper

Wilson's Disease is named after neurologist Samuel Wilson, and is a rare genetic disorder for which there is effective treatment but no cure. In the majority of people, excess copper is filtered by the liver and disposed of as bile in the digestive tract, but in sufferers of Wilson's Disease, excess copper accumulates in the body's organs, particularly the liver, eventually poisoning them. Sufferers should avoid any foods which are high in copper, such as nuts, liver and shellfish.

Answer: Van Morrison

Van Morrison has said he was hugely influenced by Wilson's vocal style, and although the song is one of Morrison's best known and most popular in live performances, it failed to crack the charts in UK and only got to number 61 in USA. The song was covered in 1982 by Dexy's Midnight Runners and reached a much wider audience, hitting number five in UK charts, and hopefully turning more people on to the music of Van the man.

Answer: Six Feet Under

Wilson played the part of mortuary school intern Arthur Martin in various episodes between 2003 and 2005. As well as starring in over 200 episodes of "The Office", he has played Gargamel, the arch-enemy of The Smurfs in "Smurfs: The Lost Village" (2017) and starred in the 2015 Elijah Wood produced horror movie, "The Boy".

Answer: Sir David Attenborough

Male Wilson's Bird of Paradise perform an elaborate courtship dance and display to entice a female, in which they will first clear the ground of any debris to ensure all eyes are on them and nothing else. Attenborough simply dropped leaves on the forest floor which annoyed the bird so much he had to clear them away before strutting his stuff, giving us viewers some amazing footage of this incredible bird.

Answer: Ann and Nancy

Formed in 1974 in Seattle, Heart first found success in Canada before hitting it big in USA with early hits such as "Magic Man", "Crazy On You" and "Barracuda". They had to wait until 1985 for their first UK hit, "What About Love" and swiftly followed that with their first UK top ten, "Never". Ann is the lead singer, while Nancy plays guitar and I had the privilege of seeing them in 1982, as support act to Queen.

Answer: Robert Sean Leonard

Leonard is one of those actors who always give a memorable performance, whether as Dr. Wilson in "House" or alongside Robin Williams in "Dead Poets Society" (1989) or as Tom Platt in "The Last Days of Disco" (1998). He is also a much respected stage actor, having appeared on Broadway many times and is known for roles such as A.E. Houseman in "The Invention Of Love", Professor Henry Higgins in "Pygmalion", Atticus Finch in "To Kill A Mockingbird" and King Arthur in "Camelot".