With This Ring Trivia Quiz

Answer: Siegfried

Known for short as the "Ring Cycle", "Der Ring des Nibelungen" ("The Ring of the Nibelung") consists of four music dramas (as Richard Wagner preferred to call some of his later operas) composed between 1848 and 1874. The operas (whose librettos were also written by Wagner) are loosely based on Norse myth and ancient Germanic heroic tales. The titular ring is a magic object forged by the dwarf Alberich (the Nibelung) from the gold he stole from the Rhine maidens - as related in the first work in the cycle, "Das Rheingold" ("The Rhinegold"), conceived by Wagner as a prelude. In the opera that bears his name, the third in the series, the hero Siegfried wins the ring by slaying his owner, the giant-turned-dragon Fafner, then falls in love with the Valkyrie Brünnhilde (after which the second opera, "Die Walküre", is titled), whom he wakes from an enchanted sleep. The title of the fourth and final work, "Götterdämmerung" ("Twilight of the Gods"), is the German translation of the Old Norse "Ragnarök". "Siegfried" was premiered in August 1876, during the first complete performance of the cycle.

Though the cursed magic ring in Wagner's cycle has often been cited as a possible inspiration for J.R.R. Tolkien's One Ring, Tolkien himself was not impressed by the comparison, and stated that the only similarity between the two rings is that they were both round.

"Lohengrin" and "Tannhäuser" were also composed by Wagner, while "Turandot" is an opera by Giacomo Puccini.

Answer: Vienna

Like Paris' famous "grands boulevards", Vienna's Ringstrasse ("Ring Road") was built in the 19th century to replace the 13th-century city walls, as well as the Glacis, a wide green space that separated the historic centre ("Innere Stadt") from the suburbs. After the events of the 1848 revolution, a number of those suburbs were incorporated into the municipality, and the walls became an impediment to the free movement of traffic. In 1857, Emperor Franz Joseph ordered the demolition of the walls, which were replaced by a wide boulevard lined with imposing public buildings that bore witness to the power and glory of the Habsburg dynasty; the construction of the road was completed in 1913.

Among the many notable buildings along the Ringstrasse there are the famed Vienna State Opera (Wiener Staatsoper), the Austrian Parliament Building, the Town Hall (Rathaus), the Palace of Justice, and the Kunsthistorisches Museum. Many of these landmarks were built in an eclectic style, combining architectural elements from various eras, often referred to as "Ringstrassenstil". Many parks and other green spaces can also be found along the road, which is still an important thoroughfare; a tram line travels around the Ring, allowing visitors to take in many of the city's sights.

Answer: bagel

A bagel (from a Yiddish word meaning "ring" or "bracelet") is a ring-shaped bread product that is believed to have originated in the early 17th century in the Jewish community of Kraków, the former capital of Poland. Traditionally shaped by hand, bagels are made of yeasted wheat dough that is briefly boiled in water before being baked. This results in a dense, chewy interior with a crispy crust, which is often sprinkled with sesame or poppy seeds.

Outside their native Poland, bagels have become extremely popular in the US, where they are sold in most grocery stores; they can be found in various versions, such as wholewheat, cinnamon-raisin, blueberry, and onion. Bagels are a popular breakfast or lunch option, either with the traditional accompaniment of cream cheese, or as a base for sandwiches; bagels with cream cheese and brined salmon ("lox and schmear") are a staple of New York City delis. Several bagel shop chains can be found throughout the US, as well as independent bakeries specializing in this appetizing product.

Answer: snake

The rinkhals (Haemachatus haemachatus) is a venomous snake of the family Elapidae. Named after the light-coloured bands around its throat, it looks very much like a cobra, and like the latter has a habit of rearing upwards and spreading its hood; however, it has been placed in a separate genus because of some significant differences, such as the shape of its scales and a somewhat stouter body.

As emphasized by another of its common names, ring-necked spitting cobra, this smallish (about 1 m/3.2 ft on average), generally dark-coloured snake spits venom as its primary means of defense from humans and other large creatures. If the venom enters the eyes, it causes burning pain and temporary (or even permanent) blindness. Like all elapids, the rinkhals possesses a mainly neurotoxic venom, which is potentially fatal, though not as powerful as that of other African true cobras.

Answer: Yes

Dendrochronology is the name given to the scientific method that determines the precise age of a tree from its growth rings. These rings grow outward from the central core, the layer closest to the bark being the most recent. As ring growth is influenced by seasonal changes, the analysis of tree rings is also related to the study of climate and weather conditions in different historical periods. The rings of trees that grow in temperate zones are easier to detect because those regions generally have four distinct seasons. Light-coloured rings represent wood grown in spring and early summer, while darker rings grow in late summer and fall - one dark and one light ring equaling one year in a tree's life.

Since trees are extremely sensitive to climate, a number of factors can influence not only the size of a ring, but also its very existence. Generally speaking, rings tend to grow wider in years with warm and wet conditions, and thinner in cold, dry years. On the other hand, particularly stressful weather conditions, such as prolonged droughts or spells of unusually cold weather, can result in more than one ring forming during a given year, or in rings not forming at all.

Answer: engineers

The Canadian Iron Ring and the ceremony (known as the Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer) in which it is presented to engineering graduates originated from an idea of H.E.T. Haultain, a professor of mining engineering at the University of Toronto. In 1922, he contacted Nobel Prize laureate Rudyard Kipling, who wrote the text of the ritual emphasizing the responsibilities of an engineer and the need for professional unity. The first ceremony was held in Montreal on 25 April 1925. A small, unassuming object, the Iron Ring is worn on the little finger of the dominant hand; it is not meant to be an ornament, but a symbol of an engineer's commitment to the profession.

Founded in 1970, the US Order of the Engineer adopted a similar practice. During the ceremonies conducted at a number of US colleges, a stainless steel ring - often smooth, rather than faceted like its Canadian counterpart - is given to participants after they have taken an oath known as the "Obligation of the Engineer". Iron and steel symbolize the strength of the engineering profession.

Answer: gymnastics

Also known as steady rings, still rings are an apparatus used exclusively by men in artistic gymnastics. They consist of two rings, generally (but not always) made of wood, each supported by a strap that hangs freely from a rigid metal frame. When they were first introduced in the mid-19th century by German educator Friedrich Ludwig Jahn (known as the "father of gymnastics"), they were triangular in shape, and were later replaced by the circular ones in use today. Many gymnasts wear glove-like devices called ring grips during the exercises, while some use tape or gauze, and others go bare-handed; powdered chalk is generally applied either to the grips or to the hands to prevent slippage.

Still rings are only used by male gymnasts because the exercises performed on them (consisting of swing, strength, and hold elements) require extreme upper body strength. The so-called "Iron Cross" is one of the most widely recognizable routines performed on the rings, in which the gymnast holds his body in vertical position, suspended in mid-air with his arms stretched sideways.

Answer: two portraits

Though Elizabeth I was well known for her love of jewelry - amply displayed in her numerous portraits - very few of the pieces owned by the monarch have survived. The Chequers Ring, named after the country house of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, where it has been housed since the early 20th century, is believed by many experts to have been crafted in the mid-1570s. Made of a hoop of mother-of-pearl (a symbol of virginity) overlaid with sheet gold set with table-cut rubies, it bears the queen's monogram, "ER" (Elizabeth Regina) on the bezel (the wider, thicker part of the ring): the "E" is made of large diamonds, while the "R" is made of cobalt blue enamel.

When opened, the hinged bezel reveals two miniature portraits: one of them, a cameo-like profile portrait, is unmistakably Elizabeth, while the identity of the second woman is still debated. As she is dressed in the fashion of the 1530s, she has often been identified with Anne Boleyn, the Queen's mother, though others believe she might be instead Katherine Parr, Henry VIII's sixth and final wife, to whom Elizabeth who was very close. The back of the bezel is decorated with a crowned phoenix, one of the queen's favourite emblems.

Answer: Plato

"The Republic" is Plato's best-known work, a Socratic dialogue centred upon the concept of justice. In Book 2, Glaucon, one of Socrates' young companions, tells the story of Gyges and his magic ring. Originally a shepherd in the service of the King of Lydia, during a storm Gyges found shelter in a cave, where he saw the corpse of a giant with a golden ring on his finger. He took the ring, which he soon realized made its wearer invisible, and with its help usurped the kingdom by seducing the queen and killing the rightful king. The tale's purpose is to spark a discussion on whether anyone would resist the temptation of doing injustice if they could do so without fear of detection.

Though the story of Gyges' rise to power through seduction and murder, told by Herodotus and other ancient historians, is held to be based on historical fact, the magic ring is not mentioned anywhere else. While Plato's tale is undoubtedly reminiscent of Tolkien's One Ring, there is no evidence that the English author was in any way influenced by the story of the Ring of Gyges.

Answer: Mount Pelée

Mount Pelée (French for "bald mountain") is a stratovolcano located on the island of Martinique, an overseas department of France in the Caribbean Sea (which is part of the Atlantic Ocean). The island belongs to the Lesser Antilles Volcanic Arc, which forms the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Plate, and includes 19 active volcanoes. In May 1902, an extremely violent eruption of Mount Pelée destroyed the town of Saint-Pierre, killing most of its inhabitants (about 30,000 people) in a matter of minutes.

The Pacific Ring of Fire covers a much larger area, a horseshoe-shaped belt about 40,000 km (25,000 mi) long and 500 km (310 mi) wide, which includes the Pacific coasts of South and North America, much of continental Central America, the Kamchatka Peninsula, Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, and New Zealand. This area contains about two-thirds of the Earth's active volcanoes, and is extremely prone to earthquakes: some of the most powerful earthquakes recorded to this day have occurred along the Ring of Fire. Mount Fuji is located in Japan, Mount Tambora in Indonesia, and Mount St Helens in Washington State (US).