The Wisdom Of Crowds

In most countries a street protest involving fifty people would scarcely get noticed let alone strike enough fear in the heart of the authorities to prompt them to respond by declaring a state of emergency. But then again, with a population of just 10,400, Tuvalu isn't in many respects like your average nation state. Last week the government of the tiny country in the south Pacific reacted to a fifty strong demonstration demanding the resignation of the island's finance minister Lotoala Meria, by banning gatherings of more than ten people for a period of a fortnight. All appears quite on the streets of Tuvalu's capital Funafuti, with no further disturbances reported anywhere in the world's third smallest country. Independent since 1978 and formerly called the Ellice Islands, Tuvalu has only the Vatican and Nauru above it in the Tiny Territories league and probably has been best known to stamp collectors and environmentalists concerned that Tuvalu is in danger of disappearing as climate change raises sea levels. To salute island dwellers everywhere today's Highly Questionable? quiz takes the theme of islands.        

Islands Quiz

 1  What is the name of the island that houses both Haiti and the Dominican Republic?

 2  On which Scottish island did George Orwell write his chilling book 'Nineteen Eighty-Four?

 3  Following defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon was held prisoner by British authorities on which island until his death five and a half years later? 

 4  Which Greek island was the setting for 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin', the 1994 novel by Loius de Bernieres which in 2001 was turned into a film starring Penelope Cruz, Christian Bale and John Hurt? 

 5  The world's oldest parliament that is still sitting, the Tynwald, governs which island? 

Answers to the Highly Questionable? islands quiz will be published along with tomorrow's quiz questions.

Laughter Quiz Answers

The answers to our previous quiz, which took laughter as its theme, are:-

 1  Robin Williams played the titular role in the 1998 movie 'Patch Adams' which was based on a true story of a doctor who believed that humour had a serious role to play in medicine.

 2  Nitrous oxide is the chemical name of the anaesthetic which is popularly referred to as 'laughing gas'.  

 3  Frans Hals was the 17th century artist who created the painting we know as 'The Laughing Cavalier'.

 4  Neil Sedaka had a 1975 hit with the song 'Laughter In The Rain'.

 5  'Laughing my ass off' is the meaning of the abbreviation 'lmao' commonly used in phone text and internet messages.

The author of the Highly Questionable blog, Harry Reid, is a freelance question setter, writer and blogger. He can be contacted at harryreid@btinternet.com.