Best Of Enemies

Blood On The Tracks

Highly Questionable is taking a different tack over the next three months by temporarily discontinuing our five question themed quizzes and instead posting a series of 100 Olympic Games themed photographic quizzes, the first of which appears today. Why? A reasonable question. Over a period of time the author of the Highly Questionable blog has been working on a book on the Olympics which is due for publication later this year. As the copy deadline looms, energy simply has to be focused on it which means suspending the research that goes into the regular Highly Questionable quiz questions and answers. Be assured that the eclectic mix of quizzes will return once the Olympics book is done, dusted and available. Meanwhile, we'll be publishing a range of images from all of the 26 summer Olympic Games that have taken place between 1896 and 2008 as we head towards the 2012 London Olympics. Each image has a story behind it and the accompanying quiz questions will concern aspects of that.

 Olympics Photo Quiz 1 : 'Blood On The Tracks' 

 Background 

The young Hungarian student Ervin Zador stands bloodied and stunned at the side of the pool at the end of an explosively brutal water polo match at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. He had just been deliberately punched in the face by a Russian opponent in one of the most ill tempered encounters in any sport in the history of the Games. With the Hungarians leading by four goals to nil, two of which Zador had scored, the referee ended the game a minute ahead of time after total uproar engulfed the swimming arena following the assault on Ervin. The result stood and Hungary went on to take the water polo gold medal.

 Olympics Question 1 

What event had taken place a matter of weeks before this Olympic water polo encounter that fuelled the vitriolic animosity between the two teams? 

The Answer will be published along with the next Highly Questionable quiz and associated blog post.

 Boots Quiz Answers 

The answers to the previous Highly Questionable quiz, which took boots as its theme, are:-

 1  Nancy Sinatra sang the original version of the song 'These Boots Are Made For Walking' which provided her with a number one hit single in both the UK and US. Subsequently, it has been covered in a great many styles by a highly eclectic mix of artists ranging from The Supremes to Megadeath.

 2  A graveyard or cemetery was the type of place referred to as Boot Hill in the parlance of the 'wild west'.

 3  Antonio Banderas is the actor who provided the voice for the Puss in Boots character in the 'Shrek' films?

 4  A thimble, hat, iron, dog, car, ship, horse & rider, wheelbarrow, canon and train all joined the boot as playing pieces in various of the early editions of the 'Monopoly' board game.

 5  The arctic is the region of the world where the type of boots called mukluks were originally worn by the indigenous people living there.

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

Putting The Boot Into A House Divided

Boot Camp

Last week Italy celebrated it's 150th birthday as a unified nation state. Yet Thursday's celebrations up and down the Italian  peninsula were overshadowed by both bitter regional divisions and the latest raft of scandals swirling around the country's controversial Prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. Up until 1861 what became Italy was a patchwork of principalities and city states and a century and a half later, local and regional loyalties remain much stronger for many Italians than any sense of national identity. Consequently, spokespeople for the We South political party complained of the concentration of wealth and economic opportunities in the north of the country, while their Northern League counterparts continued their insinuations that the south was populated by a feckless peasantry whose workshy and criminal tendencies drained the fruits of honest northern labour. As for Berlusconi, he found himself booed and jeered at an event in Rome to mark Italy's 15oth anniversary. The Prime Minister is facing trial on April 6th charged with abusing his office and paying for sex with amongst others an erotic dancer known by her stage name of Ruby the Heartbreaker. Faced with this unedifying spectacle, we decided to postpone our planned Italy quiz until a more auspicious time, and instead take inspiration from Italy's shape by setting a boot themed quiz.          

 Boots Quiz 

 1  Who sang the original version of the song 'These Boots Are Made For Walking'?

 2  In the mythology of the American 'wild west' what type of place was known as Boot Hill?

 3  Which actor provided the voice for the Puss in Boots character in the 'Shrek' films?

 4  A boot was one of one of the original playing pieces available for competitors to use in the early editions of the 'Monopoly' board game, how many of the others can you name?

 5  Mukluks are a type of boot originally worn by indigenous people of which of the world's geographical regions?

Answers will be published along with the next Highly Questionable quiz and associated blog post.

 Newspaper Quiz Answers 

The answers to the previous Highly Questionable quiz, which took newspapers as its theme, are:-

 1  'The Washington Post' was the newspaper that Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward worked at when they broke the Watergate scandal that led to the political demise of President Nixon.

 2  'Pravda' was the name of the Russian newspaper, the title of which translates in English as 'truth', that acted as the official mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party during the country's Soviet era

 3   'The Daily Planet' is the fictional newspaper that Clark Kent (a.k.a. Superman) and Lois Lane write for in the imaginary city of Metropolis. 

 4  'Scoop' is the title of Evelyn Waugh's novel that satirises sensationalist journalism and features the newspaper 'The Beast'.

 5  'The Front Page' was the hit Broadway musical that revolved around the Chicago based newspaper industry which was later adapted into the 1974 Billy Wilder directed movie of the same name starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau.    

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

Screening Out The Press

Newspapers are in trouble. It's not that people don't want to read about what's going on, it's just that more and more choose to do so on screens via the internet. In fact according to a new report from the Pew Research Centre called 'The State Of The News Media', last year saw for the first time more Americans getting their news from the web than printed papers. Setting aside critically important issues about the quality, degree of impartiality and depth of what people are reading on the internet, shifting patterns in how readers consume the news threatens the future of newspapers. Of course many newspapers have for several years been busy developing a multimedia presence on the internet offering podcasts, video footage and other web content that augments their print offerings. Making all of this an economic proposition however is somewhat more challenging. 

One attempt at an answer has been Rupert Murdoch's new type of newspaper specifically designed for viewing on an iPad. 'The Daily' provides news, but onlike it's print rivals video and ongoing updates on stories as well. Launched last month on a free trial basis to owners of the Apple devise in the US, it will be moved to a subscription basis with readers paying 99 cents a week, while the newspaper-website hybrid will become available to European readers in June. Many questions are of course begged by all this, not the least of which concerns what sort of world are we heading into when you read content delivered by Murdoch's massive News Corporation on a device produced by Steve Jobs's huge Apple? While pondering this, we at Highly Questionable have adopted newspapers as the theme of today's quiz as we take a nostalgic look at the good old days when honest to god megalomaniac press barons helped shape our world view             

 Subject Quiz 

 1  Which American newspaper did the journalists Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward work for when they broke the story of the Watergate scandal that led to the downfall of President Nixon?

 2  What was the name of the Russian newspaper, whose title translated as 'truth' in English, that carried the official views of the communist government during the Soviet era?

 3  What is the title of the newspaper based in the fictional city of Metropolis that Clark Kent and Lois Lane write for?

 4  What is the title of Evelyn Waugh's classic novel which brilliantly satirises the world of sensationalist journalism and features the fictional newspaper 'The Daily Beast'?

 5  Later adapted into a Billy Wilder directed film starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, what was the title of the hit Broadway musical that was set in and around the newspaper industry in Chicago?

Answers will be published along with the next Highly Questionable quiz and associated blog post.

 Ireland Quiz Answers 

The answers to the previous Highly Questionable quiz, which took Ireland as its theme, are:-

 1  Snakes were the creatures which according to legend St Patrick banished from Ireland.

 2  The Giant's Causeway is the name by which the unusual hexagonal volcanic structures on the north coast of Ireland are known.

 3  The Book of Kells is the name of the manuscript which relates the Christian gospels through a blend of exquisit calligraphy and Celtic illuminated design.  

 4  James Joyce wrote the short story collection 'Dubliners'.

 5  Ulster, Munster, Connacht & Leinster are the names of the Ireland's four provinces. 

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

Global Jukebox Green Beer Boogie

'Green Eyes II' by Irish
contemporary artist John Nolan*

As Highly Questionable emanates from lovely County Down in Ireland, we couldn't really let the fact that today is Saint Patricks Day go by without a mention. We elected to eschew the temptation to go down the shamrock and shillelagh route and instead pondered the whole question of national patron saints. A little research enlightened us that the USA has no patron saint as this would be unconstitutional. We were equally surprised at the promiscuity of some other saints such as St George who manages to be the national patron of England, Portugal, Malta and of course Georgia, amongst other countries, as well as having the time to be the guiding spiritual force for the Lebanese capital Beirut and the Brazilian football club Corinthiams of Sao Paulo. Yet none has pulled off the trick of becoming a near global party animal whilst retaining their identification with a single national identity better than St Patrick. Ignoring the fact that St Patrick was himself Welsh, we have taken Ireland as the theme of today's quiz.    
 Ireland Quiz 

 1  According to legend, what type of creature did St Patrick banish from Ireland?

 2  By what name are the unusual hexagonal volcanic structures with World Heritage status on Ireland's north coast known?

 3   What is the name of the set of manuscripts held in the library of Trinity College Dublin which relate the Christian gospels through a blend of masterful calligraphy and exquisite Celtic illuminated design?

 4  Who wrote the short story collection 'Dubliners'?

 5  What are the names of the four provinces into which Ireland's counties are grouped?
* See more of John Nolan's work at:- http://www.nolanart.com
Answers will be published along with the next Highly Questionable quiz and associated blog post.

 Submarines Quiz Answers 

The answers to the previous Highly Questionable quiz, which took submarines as its theme, are:-

 1  The Kursk was the name of the Russian nuclear powered submarine that sank in the year 2000.

 2  'Das Boot' was the name of the acclaimed 1981 German language film set on a WWII submarine.

 3  Leonardo da Vince is often credited as the inventor of submarines because of the drawings of underwater craft he made in his notebooks.

 4  The first submerged circumnavigation of the globe was the history making feat achieved in 1960 by the US submarine The Tritin.

 5  The Blue Meanies were the music-hating creatures that featured in the Beatles' animated film 'Yellow Submarine'.

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

That Sinking Feeling

It is somehow reassuring to know that large corporations don't always get things right. Take computer giant Microsoft for example. This week we learnt that after five years of marketing, they are to discontinue production of their less that market dominating mobile Mp3 player called the Zune. Billed at it's 2006 launch as a rival to the iPod, five years later the Zune has never appeared outside North America while Apple have 77% of world wide sales of mobile digital music devices. Then it emerged yesterday that Disney too are all too capable of miscalculation. Having brought in Oscar winning director Robert Zemeckis to helm their projected remake of The Beatles 1968 animated film 'Yellow Submarine', Disney pulled the plug on the movie which had a slated release date of next year. The usual spiralling budget went some way to unnerving the movie giant, but what caused a real difficulty was that they hadn't managed to secure the agreement of the surviving Beatles about the use of the band's music in the 3D remake. While nobody can get it right all the time, getting on board Paul and Ringo as the surviving Beatles, and John and George's heirs, seemed like a common sense first port of call. Anyway, such tales have prompted the Highly Questionable team to take submarines as the theme of today's quiz.                 

 Submarine Quiz 

 1  What was the name of the Russian nuclear powered submarine which sank in the year 2000 and was the subject of ultimately unsuccessful attempts to rescue its crew? 

 2  What was the name of the 1981 critically acclaimed German language film set in a WWII submarine and widely regarded as one of the best European movies ever made?

 3  Which Italian painter and all round Renaissance man, whose life spanned the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, is often credited as the inventor of the submarine because of drawings of underwater craft discovered in his note books? 

 4  What was the history making journey made in 1960 by the US submarine The Tritin?

 5  What was the name of the music-hating creatures in the Beatles' 'Yellow Submarine' film?

Answers will be published along with the next Highly Questionable quiz and associated blog post.

 Nuns Quiz Answers 

The answers to the previous Highly Questionable quiz which took nuns as its theme are:-

 1  Debbie Reynolds was the American actress who starred in the Hollywood film 'The Singing Nun'.

 2  Ophelia is the Shakespearean character Hamlet addresses with the line 'get thee to a nunnery'.

 3  Macedonia* is the modern day country whose capital Skopje was the birthplace of Mother Teresa, the nun who was awarded the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize.

 4  'The Canterbury Tales' is the name of the medieval collection of stories that 'The Nun's Priest's Tale' appears in.

 5  A wimple is the name of the form of traditional headgear associated with nuns' outfits? 

* (At the time of her birth Macedonia was part of a province of the Ottoman Empire, becoming in turn part of Serbia and then Yugoslavia before emerging as the Republic of Macedonia in the 1990s).

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

Nuns On The Run

A group of nuns who have taken a vow of poverty, the theft of bin bags full of a large quantity of cash and a lawyer called Jesus have attracted the attention of Spanish police and tax authorities. The nuns in question are sixteen Cistercians from the Santa Lucia convent in Zaragoza who initially told police they had been robbed of 1.5 million euros while saying their prayers a fortnight ago. Later under questioning they revised their loss to being around a third of that amount which they had been keeping in black rubbish bags. Suspicions amongst the Spanish authorities were only partly allayed by the nuns' lawyer Jesus Garcia Huici when he explained the money was pending distribution to other more cash strapped convents across Spain, for where had the Sisters accrued such an impressive sum in the first place? It turned out that the nuns' possess constantly in demand and highly lucrative skills as expert restorers of old books. Additionally, it emerged that one of their number, Sister Isabel Guerra, is a notable portrait painter, each of whose works commands tens of thousands of euros. Such a tale has prompted Highly Questionable to devise today's quiz on the theme of nuns.                  

 Nuns Quiz 

 1  Which American actress starred in the Hollywood film 'The Singing Nun'? 

 2  Who is Shakespeare's Hamlet addressing when he delivers the line 'get thee to a nunnery'?

 3  Which modern day country contains the birthplace of Mother Teresa, the nun who was awarded the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize?

 4  'The Nun's Priest's Tale' is a section of which famous medieval collection of stories?

 5  What is the name of the form of traditional headgear associated nuns' outfits? 

Answers will be published along with the next Highly Questionable quiz and associated blog post.

 Rome Quiz Answers 

The answers to the previous Highly Questionable quiz which took Rome as its theme are:-

 1  Romulus & Remus were the twin founders of Rome according to legend. 

 2  1960 was the year Rome hosted the summer Olympic Games.

 3  Audrey Hepburn was the actress who played the female lead opposite Gregory Peck in the classic Hollywood film 'Roman Holiday'. 

 4  The Trevi fountain is the famous landmark in Rome into which local tradition says  visitors should throw coins in order to be guaranteed a return trip to the city.   

 5  138 individual stairs combine to form the flight of Rome's Spanish Steps.

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

Over The Seven Hills?

Once dubbed 'Hollywood on the Tiber', it's the place where Richard Burton romanced Elizabeth Taylor while the pair made 'Cleopatra' and Charlton Heston learnt how to steer a hurtling chariot during the shooting of 'Ben Hur', but now Rome's famous Cinecitta film studios is having to diversify. With income from film-making dropping dramatically in recent years as productions found cheaper locations in Budapest, Bucharest and other eastern European cities, some of the studio's land has been given over to house Cinecitta World, an amusement park featuring attractions based on films made in Rome's movie making heyday. Oscar winning set designer Dante Ferretti has been charged with creating wow factor attractions for the development due to open in 2014. In tribute to Rome's glamorous movie making tradition, Highly Questionable takes the eternal city as the theme of today's quiz.           

 Rome Quiz 

 1  According to Roman legend, who were the twin brothers that founded Rome?

 2  In which year did Rome host the summer Olympic Games?

 3  Which actress played the female lead opposite Gregory Peck in the classic Hollywood film 'Roman Holiday'?

 4  Throwing coins into which of Rome's famous landmarks is said to guarantee visitors a return to the city?

 5  How many individual stairs are there in the flight of Rome's Spanish Steps? 
Answers will be published along with the next Highly Questionable quiz and associated blog post.
 Numbers Quiz Answers 
The answers to the previous Highly Questionable quiz which took numbers as its theme are:-

 1  Pi is the name by which the number 3.14159265 is better known.

 2  Q and Z are the the two letters that are worth ten points to a player who successfully uses them during a game of the English language version of Scrabble.

 3  The Drifters originally sang that 'you're more than a number in my little red book' in their 1976 hit single of that name.

 4  John Buchan wrote the novel 'The Thirty-Nine Steps'.

 5  Green is the colour of the background against which zero appears on a roulette wheel.

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

Figuring It Out

46664 was the prison number of Nelson Mandela, who was incarcerated for twenty seven years in apartheid era South Africa before becoming the country's president in 1994. The number subsequently became the name of a Mandela backed AIDS charity which this week announced their plans to launch a clothes label called '46664 Apparel' with a view to creating a sustainable income stream to help underwrite the organisation's work. Both everyday and couture ranges of garments will go on sale in August at a new bespoke shop in Johannesburg, with similar stores planned next year for London and New York. In recognition of the development, today's Highly Questionable quiz takes numbers as its theme.

 Numbers Quiz 

 1  By what name is the number 3.14159265 better known?

 2  Ten points are given for successfully using which two letters in the English language version of the word game Scrabble?

 3  Who originally sang that 'you're more than a number in my little red book'?

 4  Which author wrote the novel 'The Thirty-Nine Steps'?

 5  On a roulette wheel all the numbers appear against a red or black background except zero which appears against what background colour?

Answers will be published along with the next Highly Questionable quiz and associated post.

 Bones Quiz Answers 

The answers to yesterday's Highly Questionable quiz which took bones as its theme are:-
 1  206 is the number of bones an adult human normally has.
 2  The Jolly Roger is the name of the pirates' flag that features a white skull and cross bones on a black background.
 3  Dr McCoy, was the 'Star Trek' character who was nicknamed Bones by Captain Kirk in the cult TV series.
 4  Alice Sebold wrote the novel 'The Lovely Bones' that was adapted into the 2010 film of the same name directed by Peter Jackson.
 5  Mark Anthony delivers the lines 'the evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones' in Shakespeare's play 'Julius Caesar'.  

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

Dem Bones, Dem Bones, Dem Dry Bones

Indigenous peoples around the world are understandably upset when artefacts regarded by them as sacred are held by museums and other institutions in former colonial powers despite requests that they be returned. A case in point has been the dispute between Torres Strait islanders and the Natural History Museum in London over the skeletal remains of 138 people taken from the territory during the 19th century by explorers, missionaries and assorted other incomers. Living in their islands in the Arafura Sea, which lies between Australia and Papua New Guinea, the Torres Islanders have long argued that the souls of the dead have been unable to be at peace while their former body parts are held half way around the world. Now the Natural History Museum has agreed to return the islanders' remains and we at Highly Questionable applaud their decision with today's quiz on the theme of bones.             

 Bones Quiz  

 1  How many bones are there normally in an adult human body?
 2  What is the name given to the pirates' flag that features a white skull and cross bones on a black background?

 3  Which character in the cult TV series 'Star Trek' was nicknamed Bones by the programme's Captain Kirk.

 4  Who is the author of the 2002 novel 'The Lovely Bones' which was adapted for the 2010 film of the same name?

 5  'The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones', is a line delivered by which character in Shakespeare's play 'Julius Caesar'? 

Answers will be published along with tomorrow's Highly Questionable quiz.

  Stamp Quiz Answers 

 1  Philatelist is the term given to those who study or collect stamps.

 2  Ralph Fiennes is the actor who played the character Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter films whose image appears on the new stamp issued by the British Royal Mail that was pictured in yesterday's Highly Questionable quiz.

 3  The Penny Black was the name of the first stamp issued anywhere in the world.

 4  Sweden was the country that issued the stamp, known as the Treskilling Yellow, which became the most expensive in the world when it fetched £1,429,000 at auction in 1996*.

 5  Tonga is the country that issued a stamp in the shape of a banana.
* Note that while media reports suggest that the stamp was again sold in a secret transaction in 2010 in Geneva, such details as there are indicate that the price paid for the Treskilling Yellow was at least that reached in the 1996 auction so that whatever the exact particulars of the dealings in Switzerland, the Swedish stamp remains the most expensive in the world. 
The author of the Highly Questionable? quiz and trivia blog, Harry Reid, is a freelance question setter, writer and blogger. He can be contacted at harryreid@btinternet.com.

Magical Stamp Of Approval

Britain's Royal Mail this week issued a series of stamps featuring a range of magical characters drawn from Arthurian legend and the work of three outstanding authors. The new set comprises eight stamps which show two creations from the imagination of each of J.K. Rowling, Terry Pratchett and C.S. Lewis, together with Merlin and Morgan le Fay from the Camelot sagas. Produced under the collective title of 'Magical Realms', the Round Table characters rub shoulders with others from the Harry Potter, Discworld and Narnia universes*. With the world of stamp production and collecting generating as much obsession and consequent trivia as any known human activity over the last hundred and seventy years, we at Highly Questionable are delighted to take stamps as the inspiration for today's quiz.
 Stamps Quiz 
 1  What one word term is given to those who study or collect stamps?

 2  Which actor appears on the 1st class British stamp pictured above, on which he is depicted as the character Lord Voldemort who he played in the Harry Potter films.
 3  What is the name of the first stamp to be issued anywhere in the world?
 4  A stamp from which country is the most expensive in the world having fetched £1,429,000 at auction in 1996?
 5  Which country has issued a stamp in the shape of a banana?
Answers to our stamps themed quiz will be published along with tomorrow's five question poser and associated Highly Questionable blog post.

 James Bond Quiz Answers 

The answers to yesterday's James Bond themed quiz are:-

 1  Ian Fleming was the author who created the Bond character.

 2  Roger Moore, who played Bond in seven films, is the actor who has depicted the character most often.** 

 3  Shaken not stirred are the three words with which Bond famously describes how he likes his drinks. 

 4  Paul McCartney wrote and performed the theme song for the Bond film 'Live And Let Die'.

 5  Jane is the forename of the Moneypenny character who is the ubiquitous secretary to M in the Bond series. 

* The eight featured characters in the British Royal Mail's 'Magical Realms' issue are Dumbledore & Voldemort from the Harry Potter books, Rincewind & Nanny Ogg from the Discworld series, Aslan & the White Witch out of the Narnia Chronicles together with the Arthurian characters of Merlin and Morgan Le Fay.   

**  Note that Sean Connery is often said to have tied Moore in this regard,  but he portrayed 007 in six 'official' Bond movies, his seventh outing as the spy in the 1983 film 'Never Say Never Again' being discounted by Bond purists because (a) it was made by Warner Brothers rather that EON Productions who made what are seen as the 'official' films, and, (b) it was a remake of the 1965 film 'Thunderball' in which Connery himself had played Bond. 

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