Z is for... Trivia Quiz

Answer: zoon

Zoon is a biological term which originally came from the ancient Greek word 'zoion', meaning animal; it evolved into New Latin (zoon) and Middle Dutch (sone), and when translated into English it becomes 'son'; they don't seem to account for XX chromosomes which would be a daughter (dochter). We could talk about zoa (the plural), zooids (the antonym) or 'who's zoonin' who', but let's just call it a baby.

The other choices are also real words and excellent for use in Scrabble.

Answer: zori

Zori are flat sandals originally made of plant fibers or wood, with a thong to secure the feet. The style was imitated and first appeared in New Zealand and the United States in the early 1940s as 'flip-flops'. While flip-flops are casual wear, zori were made for formal occasions to be worn with a kimono.
Zouk is a style of music originating in the Caribbean islands; zeps are sandwiches made with a long crusty roll (like subs and grinders); zine is a self-published work of text and/or images (short for magazine).

Answer: Pia Zadora

Originally performed by Shirley Ellis back in the 1960s, Pia Zadora re-released "The Clapping Song" on her 1984 album titled "Let's Dance Tonight". Pia was born in 1953 in Hoboken, New Jersey. She worked as a child actress on Broadway and could be seen in the 1964 movie "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians".

In 1982 she won a Golden Globe award for Best New Star of the Year; that same year she also won two 'Razzies' as Worst New Star and Worst Actress.

Answer: Founder of Paramount Pictures

American film mogul Adolph Zukor (1873-1976) was the founder of Paramount Pictures. He was born in what was then Austria-Hungary and emigrated to the United States when he was 16. He started out working in an upholstery shop and worked his way up as a furrier and designer. From there he started his own company, i.e., Zukor's Novelty Fur Company, which did very well.

He became involved in motion pictures and established the Famous Players Film Company in 1912 which evolved into Paramount Pictures.

He also directed and produced films; Zukor died in Los Angeles, CA at 103! [Bonus question: How many stars in the Paramount logo?]

Answer: Elmo Zumwalt

Elmo 'Bud' Zumwalt (1920-2000) was not a film director. He rose to the rank of Admiral and became the youngest man to serve as Chief of Naval Operations and, in the 1970s, ordered the Navy to end racial discrimination. During his tenure he made major changes, re-enlistments rose, and Samuel L. Gravely became the first black man to become an Admiral. Zumwalt was awarded a ton of medals, but there was a terrible irony to all of this.

He ordered the spraying of Agent Orange; one of the soldiers nearby was his son, Elmo Zumwalt III, who died of cancer at the age of 42. Ed Zwick did "Glory"; Joel Zwick did TV shows; Terry Zwigoff directed "Bad Santa".

Answer: The Social Network

In 2010, David Fincher directed "The Social Network" about the founders of the social networking website "Facebook"; the story was adapted from the 2009 book "The Accidental Billionaires" by Ben Mezrich. The movie focuses on the life of Mark Zuckerberg who launched the site on February 4, 2004, with his Harvard roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes.

The site was originally intended for use by Harvard students, but quickly branched beyond that. Zuckerberg became one of the youngest billionaires, and Facebook became the fastest company in the S&P 500 to reach a market cap of $250 billion.

Answer: Mort Zuckerman

Mortimer Benjamin "Mort' Zuckerman was born in Montreal, Canada in 1937. He is an investor, an editor, former owner of 'The Atlantic Monthly', co-founder of Boston Properties, and the owner of both the 'U.S. News & World Report' and the 'New York Daily News'.

His worth has been estimated at $2.4 billion, but he was one of the investors scammed by Bernie Madoff's Ponzi Scheme to the tune of $30 million. He is also a philanthropist and, in 2012, pledged $200 million to endow a behavioral institute at Columbia University.

Answer: zeppole

MMM...zeppole! Have you ever tried zeppole? It's like a donut only without the hole, i.e., deep fried dough, usually around four inches in diameter (but that depends on the baker). Zeppole can have different fillings such as custard, jelly, pastry cream or honey and butter, and it is topped with powered sugar; kind of like if bread and donuts mated (bronuts?). Anyway, if you've been to festivals or country fairs, there is often a concession stand which fries and serves these little gems in a paper bag. You just shake the bag and, when you see the grease come through, it's poppin' time!

Answer: play it

A zither is a musical stringed instrument whose name comes from a German word derived from the Latin 'cythara' (which also gives us the word 'guitar'). The zither has a great many metal strings which are stretched across a wide, flat body. There are three different types: the concert zither, the Alpine zither (fretted) and the chord zither (fretless).

They originated in the southern regions of Germany and alpine Europe, and have been around since the 16th and 17th centuries. The earliest known instrument of the zither family is a Chinese 'guqin' dating back to 433 BC.

Answer: zzz

I figured I should end with a soporific in case you are up late doing stuff, like playing quizzes; so I am ending with the official symbol for 'sawing wood' as they say in the comics or zzz...and I'll say goodnight and goodbye.

But just one more bit of trivia: speaking of comics, the word for the symbols in the balloon above the speaker's head which stand for 'cursing' is grawlix.

[Oh, and 22 is the answer to the Bonus question.]