Zooming in on the Phoenix Trivia Quiz

Answer: MacGyver

"In ancient mythology the Phoenix rose from the ashes, stronger than it ever was."
- MacGyver "The Rising"

"MacGyver" (1985-1992) was an action-adventure series starring Richard Dean Anderson as the very resourceful title character, Angus MacGyver, a trouble-shooter for the Phoenix Foundation in Los Angeles. Formerly the Department of External Services, the Phoenix Foundation's mission was to defend US interests at home and abroad. The TV series spawned two television movies and was rebooted in 2016.

In "Knight Rider" (1982-1986), Michael Knight (David Hasselhoff) is a crime fighter working for FLAG (the Foundation for Law and Government), assisted by a high-tech Pontiac Firebird Trans Am with artificial intelligence, known as KITT: The Knight Industries Two Thousand. In 2016, a Knight Rider reboot was announced.

"Magnum P.I." (1980-1988) starred Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a Private Investigator living and working on Oahu, Hawaii. He resided in a guesthouse on the estate of unseen author Robin Masters, but apparently works for himself--when he feels like it. The series was rebooted in 2018.

"The A-Team" (1983-1987) followed four ex-soldiers from a US Army Special Forces unit. The four are Hannibal Smith (George Peppard), Templeton Peck (Dirk Benedict), "Howling Mad" Murdock (Dwight Schultz) and "B. A." (Bad Attitude) Baracus (Mr. T). Working for themselves as soldiers of fortune, the team brings a mix of skills to help others solve problems while also avoiding capture by the US Army. The series spawned a 2010 feature film of the same name starring Liam Neeson and Bradley Cooper.

Old-age-pensioner psnz wishes that he could reboot himself and wonders whether Phoenix Rising is somewhere that this might happen.

Answer: Star Trek

On 'Star Trek: First Contact' the Phoenix was the first Earth-built space craft to achieve light speed. The crew of the Vulcan starship T'Plana Hath detected the Phoenix's speed, which prompted them to make contact with the humans, in Bozeman, Montana. This first contact almost didn't happen when the Borgs attempted to destroy the Phoenix. This prompted Jean-Luc Picard to send the starship Enterprise back in time to ensure the first contact was made. Picard is shown many years later admiring the Phoenix when it is an exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution.

This question was warped into the quiz at light speed by Phoenix Rising team member Triviaballer who would be satisfied at being able to travel 1/100,000th the speed of light.

Answer: A god of marriages

Hymenaeus or Hymen is the Greek god of marriages as well as feasts and inspiring song and, whilst not a Phoenix himself, he does have a link to one. Phoenix was a local chieftain who accompanied Hymenaeus as his guardian on a campaign against India with Dionysus.

Phoenix, son of King Amyntor, became king of the Dolopians and was a tutor of the young Achilles. Phoenix, the son of King Agenor, was tasked to locate his abducted sister Europa and was the person after whom Phoenicia was named. The legendary bird known as the Phoenix is closely linked with the sun and has the power to cyclically regenerate itself.

This question was assembled by Phoenix Rising's god of dancing bears, pollucci19.

Answer: Burst into flames

Harry Potter first saw Fawkes in Dumbledore's office in the second book, 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'. Fawkes was looking very old and sick and promptly burst into flames. Much to Dumbledore's delight and Harry's relief, Fawkes was soon resurrected from the ashes. It is unknown how long Fawkes had been with Dumbledore, but he was a very loyal bird. He was loyal not just to the headmaster, but to anyone loyal to Dumbledore. This is shown when he brings the sorting hat with the sword of Gryffindor to Harry in book two and Neville Longbottom in book seven. Fawkes also healed Harry after the Basilisk fang punctured his arm in book two.

This question was raised from the ashes by leith90 who wonders if she was resurrected, would she make the same mistakes over again?

Answer: The Temptations

The Temptations had their origins in the mid-1950s but didn't employ their current name until 1961 when they became a part of Hitsville USA. They continued releasing albums well into the 2000s. Their first number one single on the US Billboard Hot 100 was "My Girl", released in 1964.

Their album "Phoenix Rising" was released on the Motown label in 1998 and proved to be their first million selling disc in almost twenty years. The song "Stay", which samples "My Girl" was not officially released as a single, but it did feature on Billboards' Top 30 R&B Hits chart for the year.

This question was created by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19, a great admirer of the Temptations' smooth sound and luscious harmonies.

Answer: York

The Phoenix Inn dates back to the late eighteenth century, and is located within the city walls which served the old cattle market, situated behind Fishergate Bar. There are a number of bars (postern gates) in York of which Fishergate is one. Sitting outside in the beer garden located at the back of the pub, it is possible to see the walls of York, parts of which date from Roman times. The pub is known for its real ale and live jazz.

Phoenix Rising's VegemiteKid didn't get distracted by the local wines. Honest.

Answer: F-14 Tomcat

Originally developed in the 1960s for the F-111, the AIM-54 Phoenix air-to-air missile became most associated with the Navy's unique and venerable swing-wing F-14 Tomcat. The missile used radar from the launching F-14 for most of its flight, but switched to its own radar for the terminal guidance. The missile had a range of approximately 100nmi (nautical miles) and flew at Mach 5.

Eventually the aging F-14 was replaced with the F-18, and likewise the AIM-54 with the AIM-120. Neither the F-15 nor the F-16 are Navy planes.

Phoenix Rising's mike32768 has a special love for a select few Cold War era US aircraft - the F-14 being one of them. He was saddened when the model was retired. Two other favorites, the B-52 and the A-10, are still around - both seemingly irreplaceable.

Answer: Attorney

Phoenix "Nick" Wright is a fictional defense attorney who is the main character in the Capcom series "Ace Attorney". Wright seems to be lumbered with seemingly unwinnable cases and, generally, finds himself in a number of rather awkward situations. It has not been uncommon to find our hero being the one accused of murder. Wright is blessed with great logical and excellent investigative skills and it is these attributes that assist him to win the day. The first in the series of "Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney" appeared in 2001.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19 who always thought defense was there to stop the dog from running away.

Answer: Pontiac

The Pontiac Phoenix appears as a luxury model in the compact Pontiac Ventura range, but it replaced the Ventura completely in 1978. Available as a four door sedan or a two door hardtop, and later in 1978 as a three door hatch, it came with a wide variety of engines: including a 151 cu in (2.5 L) four cylinder, 231 cu in (3.8 L) Buick V6, a 1305 cu in (5.0 L) Chevrolet V8, and a 350 cu in (5.7 L) Chevrolet V8. The latter engine making it a muscle car.
In 1980 a down-sized front wheel drive new model appeared. It was available as a five door hatch or a two door coup and only the 2.5L and a small V6 were offered. As such the model suffered an image problem and along with poor workmanship and two recalls, the model was discontinued in 1984.

Question zoomed into the quiz by car enthusiast 1nn1 who had the pleasure of driving the 350 CI model and had to ask the question, "why didn't they just keep making them like this"?

Answer: A mining rescue device

The creation of the Fenix, which is similar in nature to the Dahlbusch Bomb, came about as the result of a collaboration between the Chilean navy and NASA. It is made up of three metal containers joined together to resemble a rocket like structure. The containers are 21 inches in diameter and have provision for safety harnesses, microphone, speakers and an oxygen supply. To make them easier to manoeuvre they have a set of four wheels at the base and another four at the top. These capsules were famously used in the rescue of 33 miners trapped during the 2010 Copiapo mining disaster.

Phoenix Rising's pollucci19 had to dig deep to come up with this question.