(Zodiac) Signs of the Times Trivia Quiz

Answer: Virgo

To put this in some sort of perspective, our galaxy The Milky Way (of which our Solar System is a mere dot on an arm of the great spiral galaxy) is part of the Local Group of galaxies, along with notable others like Andromeda and the Triangulum Galaxy. On a wider scale, the Local Group joins other nearby groups and clusters of galaxies to form the Virgo (or Local) Supercluster, which in turn is part of the much larger Laniakea Supercluster.

Answer: Leo

Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, better known as Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), is probably one of the most influential writers of the nineteenth century and beyond. His two most famous works, "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina" have stood as some of the strongest works of Russian literature, lauded by many a writer and academic, including the likes of Dostoevsky and Virginia Woolf.

Answer: Cancer

There are many different types of cancer that exist, which may be diagnosed as malignant or benign, depending on the likelihood of the cell abnormalities spreading to other parts of the body. Some forms of cancer are preventable or can have their risks reduced (for instance, stopping smoking immediately starts reducing the risk of lung cancer; ten years of no smoking reduces the risk of lung cancer to half of that of a regular smoker, according to the UK's NHS). Regardless, the contraction of cancer can be an unfortunate, and in some cases devastating, experience. Depending on the type of cancer, treatments can include chemotherapy (through drugs and medicines), surgery, and even stem cell transplants.

Answer: Capricorn

One of the world's major lines of latitude, the Tropic of Capricorn is significant in that it is the latitude furthest south where the Sun can be directly above you at midday on 21 December (the Summer Solstice for the southern hemisphere and the Winter Solstice for the northern).

When this tropic was named (which was some two thousand years ago or thereabouts), the Sun could be seen in the Capricornus constellation. Similarly, the Tropic of Cancer was named when it was in the direction of the Cancer constellation. Due to shifts in the Earth's rotation over the intervening years, the Sun can now be seen in the Sagittarius constellation during the December Solstice (and the Taurus constellation for the June Solstice).

Answer: Scorpio

The Ford Scorpio was designated an executive class car, which made it larger than what was referred to as a large family car in Europe and a mid-size car in the US. Its predecessor, the Granada, was in production from 1972 to 1994 and although the Scorpio was introduced in 1985 across Europe, it remained the Granada in the UK until 1994. Available in four- or five-door variants, the Scorpio was the last in Ford's range of executive class cars.

Answer: Libra

The libra unit of mass was divided into twelfths, the smallest of which was the uncia (ounce), in contrast to our modern avoirdupois pound which is made of sixteen ounces. The subdivisions of the libra were similar to that of the as, the coin also used by the ancient Romans, whereby their names were descriptions of what fraction of a libra they were. (sextans = one-sixth of a libra, quincunx = five-twelfths, etc).

The name libra is Latin for balance, hence the zodiac sign being represented by a set of scales.

Answer: Gemini

Gemini Air Cargo primarily served airports in Miami and New York City and favoured McDonnell Douglas aircraft, using the DC-10-30F and MD-11F during its thirteen years of operation. Operations ground to a halt and the airline went into liquidation in 2008, following a spike in oil prices which pushed them into their second bout of bankruptcy.

Angola's Air Gemini Cargo was, for some time, used for the transport of mined diamonds around its hub airport in Luanda. In 2008, Air Gemini was added to the EU's list of banned airlines (due to it not meeting the EU's safety standards), joining most of Angola's other airlines (with the exception of TAAG Angola Airlines).

Answer: Taurus

A torus is an interesting mathematical shape. Put simply, a torus can be formed by a circle rotating in 3D. Tori do not necessarily need to have the familiar hole in the middle, as the centre of rotation may be inside a circle and still have it count as a torus. To be technical, a torus is hollow and only defined by its exterior surface (imagine an inner tube; the torus is the rubber on the outside and doesn't include the air on the inside).

A solid torus includes the space on the inside (so think doughnuts or bagels).

Answer: Aquarius

Even if you haven't seen "Hair", chances are you recognise the lyric, "This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius". While "Hair" was first performed in 1967, the 5th Dimension combined the two aforementioned tracks in a medley two years later in 1969 to much success.

Originally written by Galt MacDermot, James Rado and Gerome Ragni, "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" was, at the time of its release, the 5th Dimension's best performing song in the US and secured the top spots on several music charts, including the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Adult Contemporary charts.

Answer: Sagittarius

The secretarybird is classified as a raptor (bird of prey) but differs from its cousins (like the hawk) in that it tends to hunt on the ground rather than from the air. Being carnivorous, the secretarybird's diet consists of small mammals, reptiles (like snakes and lizards and possibly owing to its species name) and even small birds.

Its habitat is fairly wide, ranging from just south of the Sahara right down to the far reaches of South Africa. As such, you'll find the secretarybird on South Africa's coat of arms.