Let's Do The Time Warp Again

Time travel will become a reality later this year for Samoa's 200,000 strong population when at midnight on December 29th the South Pacific nation hops across the international date line. The reason why the authorities in the Polynesian state have decided to reposition the country's nine islands in this way rests with changing trading patterns. Traditionally, Samoans saw their commercial interests focused on the United States but more recently they've been doing the bulk of their business with Australia and New Zealand. The problem is that the current position twenty miles to the right of the international date line leaves Samoans twenty three hours behind Auckland and Wellington and twenty one behind Sydney which meant that Samoa shares only four working days a week with its primary business partners. To change this the government in the Samoan capital Apia have elected to put another kink in the already zig zagging international date line which mostly runs along the 180 degree line of longitude. Samoans should take this easily in their stride as change is something of a constant for them. In 1962 they became free of colonial rule to become the independent nation of Western Samoa, before dropping the first half of that name in 1997. Then in 2009 they decided to change the side of the road they drove on from the right to the left so falling into line with the driving customs of Australia and New Zealand. In so doing, Samoa became the first country in over three decades to switch the rule of the road, something not accomplished since the changes made from left to right in the 1960s in Nigeria, Ghana and the then South Yemen.             

 Highly Questionable General Quiz No. 001  

 1  Which cult film featured the song 'Let's Do the Time Warp Again'?

 2  Which European country ran what is now Samoa as a colony until the start of World War I?

 3  Which were the last two European countries to switch the side of the road on which vehicles drive when during the 1950s they changed from the left to the right hand side of the road?

 4  What is the name of the device (pictured above) which the character Dr Who uses to travel through time in the British science fiction TV series named after him? 

 5  Which left hand driving European country this week voted in a referendum to legalise divorce?

The answers to our General Quiz 001 will be published along with the next Highly Questionable blog post and associated quiz.

 Magic & Magicians Quiz Answers 

The answers to the Highly Questionable magic and magicians themed quiz are:-

 1  'Ali Baba and The Forty Thieves' is the tale from 'The Arabian Nights' in which the central character uses the incantation 'Open Sesame' to gain access to a cave sealed by a magic spell.

 2  'Crucio', 'avada kedavra', and 'imperio' are the three dark arts spells known as the 'unforgivable curses' in the Harry Potter magical world as they are respectively used to torture, kill and control the minds of those upon whom they are used. 

 3  Edinburgh is the city in which most of the action is set in the Oscar nominated French animated feature film 'The Illusionist'.

 4  'The Tempest' is the Shakespeare play in which Prospero uses his magic powers to control events..

 5  The Los Angeles Lakers is the team that American basketball legend Magic Johnston played for in the NBA.  

The author of the Highly Questionable blog, Harry Reid, can be contacted at harryreid@btinternet.com