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Questions and Answers, 31-68 |
31. Inventive fleshy parts of fruit!
Q: Note: This is a repeat of an old teaser that
was never answered
correctly. One's T-shirt depicted the logo of the University of California at Santa Cruz; the other's T-shirt said, "I'm with stupid". What happened to Ed?
A: "Ed's dead." (Bruce Willis, in the movie _Pulp
Fiction_). The two
hitmen wore the T-shirts.
32. A little nuts Q: This future baron, on receiving a piece of
good news, threw down his
spade with the words, "That's the last potato I'll dig." Who was he and what was the news?
A: Ernest, Baron Rutherford, learning of a
scholarship to Cambridge.
("Little Nut" = nucleus, Rutherford's greatest discovery.)
33. Hacky? Q: This tourist went for his holidays to a beach
resort in a
country where English is just one of the primary languages. While on the beach, he heard a tour guide shoo away Some time later he heard another tour guide use the term "piss
off" A little later he heard another tour guide use another imperative What country was he in, and what are the accepted spelling
A: South Africa. It is usually spelled "voetsek" or
"voetsak" and derives from when a
farmer (or boer) might urge his oxen forward in Afrikaans with "Voort se ek" which derives in turn from the Dutch "Voort zeg ik" meaning "Forward say I"
34. What only your best friend will tell you
Q: Who judged the bad-breath contest, and what
was the MC's prophetic
description of him?
A: Jonathan "Pyke" Hullah, who though a medical
student was referred to
as a doctor by the MC. He's the title character of _The Cunning Man_, by Robertson Davies.
35. Seeing ruby Q: Who forgot to pass the port?
A: The Bishop of Norwich
36. Ecliptic analogy Q: Agamemnon is to Gorgon and Hector is to Lion
as Ulysses is to ?
A: Dolphin
Eclipse -blocking out -shield Explanation: As described by Homer, the devices on these hero's shields
37. Capitalist pigs? Q: Bourgeois tune of the century usually has
lyric adjuring whom?
A:
All people that on earth do dwell, or alternatively, all who dwell
All people that on earth do dwell, Alternative lyrics to this same tune are "From all who dwell beneath the
38. Dancer's Delight
Q: Aue readers are certainly aware that regulated
house numbers were
first introduced to central London in 1760. But how were addresses found prior to this?
A:The fan patterns over the door
39. Sometimes a cigar is just...
Q: When Sigmund Freud moved from Vienna to
London, he was interviewed by
a reporter from The Times. The reporter asked him to describe the transition from fear to sex. The considered response from the great man was ...?
A: Funf. (Ein, Zwei, Drei, ...)
40. The hostess with the mostest
Q: Please examine the photo which may be seen by
clicking here
http://www.totally-official.com/SDC2003/../sdc2003/stewardess.jpg and determine the airline. Note that this question cannot be Googled, and accordingly it's correct answer will count treble! Hint: the colour of the jacket is one of the three colours in this
A: Alitalia
41. Warning to STS sufferers!
Q: What tune are the following words sung to?
First came William, then a second William
A:
Henry Purcell's "Trumpet Voluntary" http://www.classicalarchives.com/m/1/trumpet.mid Seems to be the same as Jeremiah Clarke's "The Prince of Denmark's
From the album _Beethoven's Wig_. The lyrics are by Richard Perlmutter,
42. Inflammatory Subject
Q: This pioneer of women's assertiveness was the
inspiration for a poem
by one of France's best known authors, a tragedy by one of Germany's best known dramatists, as well as a poem and a play by two English authors. Please identify the subject and each of the authors.
A: St Joan of Arc. Voltaire wrote a satirical poem
about her (La Pucelle
d'Orléans), Schiller wrote a tragedy (Die Jungfrau von Orleans), there is a poem by Southey (Joan of Arc) and a drama by George Bernard Shaw (Saint Joan).
43. One for the zipper Q: Question: Please consider the following
members of an unordered list:
- Arlington National Cemetery
A: The Moon.
Rationale: These are the 5 places where the US flag may not be lowered to half-mast.
44. Cryptids, Waltzes, and Hops
Q: Please examine the photograph which may be
seen by clicking here
http://www.totally-official.com/SDC2003/../sdc2003/suspensory.jpg and name the locale. We would be delighted for any background information you can provide about this unique piece of urban art!
A: Prague
45. Famous niece
Q: In conjugating the verbs "to build" and "to
write", I used variants
in my writings that would not be considered standard today. Nevertheless my writings are still associated today with a basic icon of American culture. Who am I?
A: Julia Ward Howe (Battle Hymn of the Republic,
Builded and writ are in
the lyrics)
46. Oof dah. East Dakotan Language
Q: Name a vocabulary item used exclusively or
primarily in Minnesota,
and provide evidence to that effect.
A: Two possible answers are "duck, duck, grey duck"
for the game
everyone else calls "duck, duck, goose", and "whipping shitties" to mean something like 'skidding around in circles in a car on a muddy surface'.
47. Like Halma and Chinese Checkers Q: What were the other names under which the
following games (with
slight variations) were marketed and made famous in the U.S.? * Five hundred * Categories * Salvo No sheep till someone gets all the right answers in one post, but at least an extra lamb for extra answers. (One of the games has two correct answers that the panel knows of.)
A: Rook, Facts in Five or (I think) Scattergories,
Battleship
48. A flat tonal performer
Q: This music-hall artist was only capable of
producing four distinct
notes when performing a cappella. (do, mi, sol, and the octave do) Nevertheless his fame as a virtuoso lasted for nearly three decades until the outbreak of WW1. It is said that his dynamic range extended from the delicate and almost inaudible, to something like the sound of a dress-maker ripping 2 meters of cotton cloth. Who was this person and by what stage-name was he generally known?
A: Joseph Pujol, better known as Le Petomane. see
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_394
49. Undisturbed in the channel
Q: I was born in the 1930s in the Big Apple, but
my ancestors originally
came from a place in what some call "La Manche". I was married in 1940 and my first daughter (whose name, although in a different context, was sought in the 1998 SDC - and ultimately comes from a Hebrew word meaning "married") was born in the same year. When I went to Hollywood, my husband, whose name might mean "caretaker of trees from Chichester" or possibly "protector", spent his evenings playing poker. When I returned from Hollywood in 1941, I went on a tour of the US. It was during this time that I began walking. After the War, I returned to New York and had my second child. We named him after a French word that means "Handsome Look". In 1957 I had twins in a place that did not talk to Gimbels! Incredible to relate, in 1971 I was born again(!), this time in a city whose name means "Land of Gold". I am firmly entrenched in 20th century Americana, and of course you would recognise my husband immediately as he gave his name to a common household product. Who am I? My husband?
A: Elsie (the contented Jersey cow). Hubby Elmer
was transferred to
Borden's glue division in 1940.
50. You don't know what it is, do you?
Q: Many of us in a.u.e. are of the opinion that
you should never write
"Mister" before a surname--you should always write "Mr. Doe" or "Mr Doe". But all of us would admit one exception to this rule (other than in literatim quotations). In what situation is it correct to write out "Mister" before a surname, and what does that situation have to do with the slug line?
A: In sheet music. "Because something is happening
here,/ But you don't
know what it is,/ Do you, Mis-ter Jones?"
51. On reflection
Q: Vampires don't have reflections, but who can
you see *only* in the
mirror? (Not the trapeze artist in the corner.)
A: The man talking to the barmaid in Manet's
painting "A Bar at the
Folies Bergere".
52. Not quite standard English, but on topic Q: Two words have fallen off the following
roadside sign. What were
they? "Rodeo Sept. 27-28! To sign up junior for ______ ______', call 555-9876."
A: Mutton bustin'
See http://www.nationalwestern.com/nwss/rodeo/special/mutton.php
53. How I wonder what you are Q: Sometimes a well-known poem or lyric is
translated from its native
register to one that reflects another author's idiolect. For example, an inebriate might chant: Starkle, starkle, little twink Please quote the first few lines of another such example of this
A: The astronomer's version:
Scintillate scintillate globule vivific
54. Panelist's revenge
Q: It's well-equipped, with a working Audible
Warning Of Approach and
other practical and pleasing adornments. You're welcome to borrow it, but, despite my wishes to the contrary, I can't give it to you. Why not?
A: I borrowed it.
Lyrics: Bike, by Pink Floyd (Relics, 1967)
PS: Answers must be exact, or arbitrarily close. A guess such as "It's
55. Crystalline salts unidirectional
Q: Please consider the following unordered list:
Oath, Figure, Generous,
Troy, Galileo. Removing an item will make the list meaningful and consistent. Which item should be removed? Why?
A: Figure should be removed! The other horses have
won the Epsom Derby
at Epsom Downs.
56. Eponymous kernels of leafy involucres in controlled
anaerobic breakdowns
Q: This 17th century cleric used the various
fruits, herbs, and berries
native to his home in northern Italy to develop a beverage which now bears his name. Please name this beverage.
A: Frangelico
Note - the reference in the slug is to fermented hazelnuts
57. Ahi te guacho Q: At a Sonic drive-in in northern New Mexico you
hear the following
short dialogue. Please rewrite it so it can be understood widely in the English-speaking world: "How's it going?" "ATM, carnal knowledge. Me and Michelle just cruised up to El Vado and
A: ATM, though pronounced in English, is short for
Mexican Spanish "a
toda madre", excellently. carnal knowledge = Mexican Spanish "carnal", brother (friend) Cruise = drive Throw a munch = have a snack or picnic Fierce = excellent (can also mean striking, formidable, etc.) Tallboy = long-necked bottle of beer No = if you know what I mean Put me the do = give me a new coiffure Snap = understand suddenly, catch on Peeling it = masturbating, wasting time We'll see you later = I'll see you later
58. White men can't jump? Q: Albino who jumped to the head of his class to
become a 20th Century
world leader was best known by what name?
A: Pope John Paul I.
Ref: Cardinal Albino Luciani was elected Pope by the College of Cardinals on August 26, 1978. (He died on September 28, 1978.)
59. Counterintuitive Q: This businessman went down to the market-place
in the piazza to
negotiate a loan from a fellow merchant. But the latter demurred, saying "They have destroyed my counter!". How would we express a similar piece of news in English today?
A: The man had been declared bankrupt - from "banca
rotta" = a broken
bench or counter. The word 'bankrupt' originates from this term and refers to medieval times in Italy when it was the custom to smash the counter of a banker or money-lender who became insolvent.
60. A rigged question
Q: You are magically transported to Kazan! In the
central part of the
city, you encounter a well-dressed, middle-aged woman who is walking a poodle. You notice that the poodle is male. What's his name?
A: Jerry (or Cyrillic equivalent)
61. Black and White Cows Q: This one's bigger brother is in Norfolk; this
one seems to be
preparing to decorate; this one sounds like fun; this one has twins everywhere. Where and what are they?
A: They are towns on The Isle of Wight, England.
Specifically Yarmouth,
Sandown, Ryde and Newport (Cowes would have been too easy).
62. Royal Salute! Q: On 14 May 2003, the Queen's Official Birthday,
the BBC reported the
following: "A 62-gun salute was fired from the gun wharf at the Tower of London, by
A: The BBC made a cock-up. (62 - 1) * 10 = 610 = 10
minutes and 10
seconds.
63. Huckleberry resistance Q: Please examine the photo that may be seen by
clicking here
http://www.totally-official.com/SDC2003/../sdc2003/wherethis.jpg and identify the general locale. Promptness and exactititude would be appreciated!
A: Peter's Fortress, Saint Petersburg, Russia
64. Who about who?
Q: Some folks at Totally Official dot Com enjoy
the Sunday Times! Here's
an excerpt from a Sunday Times article that appeared in the same decade that a US President was assassinated. Please examine this excerpt and tell us [1] who was the author? and [2] who was the author referring to? Of course this is a toughie (you can *forget* Google), but it's fair; and the excerpt provides all the needed information. Here's the excerpt: "...Every time you get set he jabs you off balance by wanting to do a
A: Raymond Chandler on Alfred Hitchcock
65. Reporters want to know Q: Suppose, at a press conference, reporters ask
you the following
series of questions: And? What? And? What? And what? Yeah? When? What would be your answer to the last question?
A: "When we both reached for the gun!" (These are
lyrics from the song
"We Both Reached for the Gun" from the musical and movie _Chicago_.)
66. Not on first Q: Add the missing clause at the beginning of
this sentence: "Me is who,
who is he, and he is she."
A:'Oti is me. (We should probably accept any
reasonable spelling,
including "oaty", and if we'll allow stretching a point, maybe "li" or any homophone.) These are Hebrew words--'oti means me, mi means who, hu' means he, and hi' means she. (Li means to me or for me, but it's a more common word than 'oti, as I recall.)
67. Stone Ruins
Q: There are two pictures of some old ruins that
may be seen at
http://www.totally-official.com/SDC2003/../sdc2003/ruins1.jpg and http://www.totally-official.com/SDC2003/../sdc2003/ruins2.jpg The name of these ruins is reflected in the name
A: Zimbabwe
68. Care for a turn around the piano Darling
Q: Add another item to this series, and explain
why:
0. Strindberg 1. Evangelion 2. Jim Theis 3. Kal-El 4. Kirsten Storms 5. ?????
A: Any pop-culture reference to "Radon" will be
accepted as correct. (All the items in the series clue noble gases: the online cartoon _Strindberg and Helium_; the Japanese anime series _Neon Genesis Evangelion_; _The Eye of Argon_ by Jim Theis, reputedly the worst fantasy story ever written; Superman is from the planet Krypton; the TV-movie _Zenon, Girl of the 21st Century_, starring Kirsten Storms as Zenon. If anyone can come up with a better clue than that for "Xenon", I'm all ears.)
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