Highly Questionable

Let's Do The Time Warp Again

2011-06-01T11:36:00.000+01:00

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

Abracadabra

2011-05-10T15:17:00.000+01:00

Magic & Magicians Quiz

A hundred years ago this week, the Great Lafayette, the best known and highest paid magician of his era, died in a fire at an Edinburgh theatre during one of his shows. Born in Germany as Sigmund Neuberger but brought up in the United States, he embarked on a vaudeville career that saw him take on the stage name of the Great Lafayette. His elaborate and mystifying illusions brought him massive fame and great wealth which he used to fund an enigmatic personal life as a reclusive bachelor whose closest companion was a dog called Beauty given to him as a present by Harry Houdini. Neuberger, who was in the Scottish capital for a fortnight of shows, became grief stricken during the first week of the run after Beauty died as the result of overfeeding. Several days later, the blaze at the Edinburgh Empire Of Varieties broke out during the climax to his act in a finale that involved him performing with a lion, fire eaters, jugglers and contortionists. Most of the 3,000 strong audience initially took the fire to be part of Lafayette's act, until the stage became an inferno, with the magician being one of eleven fatal casualties. In an extraordinary funeral befitting such a showman, the cortege was headed by Lafayette's Mercedes containing a Dalmatian hound as the sole passenger, before the magician was buried with the recently deceased Beauty. Highly Questionable has become fascinated by the Great Lafayette and dedicates today's quiz on magic and magicians to his memory.

Magic & Magicians Quiz Questions

1 In which of the tales from 'The Arabian Nights' does a character use the incantation 'Open Sesame' to gain access to a cave that has been sealed by a magic spell?

2 In the magical Harry Potter world, name any one of the three dark arts spells known as the 'unforgivable curses'?

3 Nominated for the 2011 Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film, 'The Illusionist', featuring a magician whose act is increasingly viewed by audiences as old fashioned, is mostly set in which city?

4 In which of Shakespeare's plays does the character Prospero use his magical powers to control events?

5 American basketball legend Magic Johnston played for which team in the NBA?

The answers to our Magic & Magicians themed quiz will be published along with the next Highly Questionable blog post.

Argentina Quiz Answers

The answers to the Highly Questionable puppet themed quiz are:-

1 'Evita' is the theatrical musical which features the song 'Don't Cry For Me Argentina'.

2 Lionel Messi is the Argentine football who in 2010 was awarded the inaugural FIFA Ballon D'Or award.

3 Silver is the valuable substance from which Argentina derives its name.

4 Islas Malvinas is the Argentine name for what the British call the Falkland Islands..

5 Patagonia is the region of Argentina where Welsh is amongst the languages spoken.

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

Last Tango

2011-05-10T00:30:00.003+01:00

Argentina Quiz

With the death of Argentine author and essayist Ernesto Sabato at the end of last month, the entire Hispanic speaking world lost one of its most revered writers. Sabato, who died just months short of his hundredth birthday, was a renowned human rights activist as well as one of Latin America's leading literary figures. He headed up his country's official Commission which investigated the fate of 'the disappeared' during the rule of Argentina's military junta of the 1970s and 80s. an experience he described as 'a slow descent into Hell'. After compiling over 50,000 pages of chilling evidence on that regime's systematic use of kidnap, torture and rape against tens of thousands of its own citizens, the findings were published in 1984 in a volume entitled 'Never Again'. Sabato's fictional work, in novels such as 'The Tunnel', which long predated these investigative efforts, also explored a disturbing world of secrets and madness, winning him both illustrious literary prizes and high profile fans such as Albert Camus. To mark his passing and the current designation of Buenos Aires by UNESCO as 2011 World Book Capital, Highly Questionable takes Argentina as the theme of today's quiz.

Argentina Quiz Questions

1 The song 'Don't Cry For Me Argentina' comes from which theatrical musical written by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber?

2 Which Argentine footballer in 2010 was awarded the inaugural FIFA Ballon d'Or, the award presented by the sport's governing body to the player judged to be the best in the world?

3 Argentina's name is derived from which financially valuable substance?

4 What is the Argentine name for the group of islands known to the British as the Falklands, control over which the two countries fought a war in 1982.?

5 In which region of Argentina is Welsh spoken?

The answers to our Argentina themed quiz will be published along with the next Highly Questionable blog post.

Puppets Quiz Answers

The answers to the Highly Questionable puppet themed quiz are:-

1 Jim Henson is the puppeteer who created the TV phenomenon 'The Muppets'.

2 Pinocchio was the famous wooden puppet made by the fictional woodcarver Geppeto.

3 A marionette is the name of the type of puppet whose movements are governed by the sophisticated manipulation of strings.

4 Sandy Shaw was the British pop singer who had a hit in the 1960s with the song 'Puppet On A String'.

5 Juliette Binoche was the famous French actress who played the role of a puppeteer in the 2008 film 'Flight Of The Red Balloon'.

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

Hand In Glove

2011-05-09T12:44:00.000+01:00

Puppets Quiz

There is something enormously intriguing about the fact that Walter Black, a man seeking to salvage his life in the new Jodie Foster directed film 'The Beaver', is played by Mel Gibson, a man seeking to rescue his career. In the film Black is a depressed toy company executive who tries to find his true voice by speaking through a puppet. In what passes for his real life, Gibson in 2006 famously used his own voice for a well publicised anti Semitic rant which resulted in him being ostracised in Hollywood. That outburst, combined with accusations of domestic violence against former partner Oksana Grigorieva, have left him as possibly the most vilified person in western popular entertainment. While that status is unlikely to be altered any time soon, the film is to be commended for its attempt to explore the nature of mental health problems. Meanwhile, as long term fans of puppetry of all sorts, we take puppets as the theme of today's Highly Questionable quiz.

Puppets Quiz Questions

1 What is the name of the puppeteer who created the TV phenomenon 'The Muppets'?

2 The fictional woodcarver Geppetto made which world famous wooden puppet?

3 What is the name of the type of puppet whose movements are governed by the sophisticated manipulation of strings?

4 Which British pop singer had a 1960s hit with the single 'Puppet On A String'?

5 Which famous French actress played the role of a puppeteer in the 2008 film 'Flight Of The Red Balloon?

The answers to our puppets themed quiz will be published along with the next Highly Questionable blog post.

Photographs Quiz Answers

The answers to the Highly Questionable photographic themed quiz are:-

1 China - in Beijing in June of 1989 a man, who's identity and subsequent fate remains unknown, stands in front of a column of tanks in the aftermath of the Chinese army's violent suppression of protests centring on the city's Tienanmen Square.

2 Vietnam - in June of 1972 a little girl called Phan Thi Kim Phuc, flees naked from a napalm attack on her village. Despite being so badly burned that medics expected her to die, she survived and later sought and received political asylum in Canada.

3 Canada - at the 1976 Montreal Olympics teenage Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci celebrates becoming the first person in her sport to record a perfect ten, an event so unexpected that the scoreboard is unable to display her mark properly, registering it as 1.0 instead of 10.0.

4 USA - in August 1930, Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith are lynched in Indiana.

5 Sudan - in March 1993 a vulture stalks a starving child who has collapsed on her way to a feeding station during a famine in the south of her country. The South African photographer, Kevin Carter, won the Pulitzer prize for the shot. Reportedly haunted by what he had witnessed in Sudan, he committed suicide a year after capturing the image

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

Life Through A Lens

2011-05-06T09:00:00.000+01:00

Photographs Quiz

What are the most iconic photographic images of all time? The question is prompted by events over the last week that have seen widespread obsession about the appearance - and non appearance - of photographs that capture a moment in such a way as to shape the telling of a wider story. So it was impossible over the last seven days to escape 'the kiss on the palace balcony' shots of the British royal newly weds, or fail to notice the carefully considered absence of those of the body of the world's most recognisable jihadist. Pondering on all this Highly Questionable is acutely aware that the whole notion of what constitutes an iconic photograph depends on a great many factors, not the least of which are the perspectives of viewers as influenced by their age, location, interests and sensibilities. Undeterred, we have chosen five out of many thousands of potential photographs as the subject for today's quiz. We'll be delighted to hear from any reader of the blog who wants to draw attention to a photograph they consider to be iconic - either email us at the address in the yellow bar at the end of this post with a copy of the photograph and a comment on why it resonates with you, or upload it onto your Facebook wall and let us know. We'll post a selection of your suggestions on the Highly Questionable blog over the next couple of weeks.

Photographs Quiz Questions

Pictured below are five iconic photographic images. We simply want to know the country in which each was taken.

The answers to our photographic themed quiz will be published along with the next Highly Questionable blog post.

Venice Quiz Answers

The answers to the Highly Questionable Venice themed quiz are:-

1 Antonio is the name of the title character of Shakespeare's play 'The Merchant Of Venice'.

2 Marco Polo is the famous traveller after whom Venice airport is named.

3 Doge was the title given to the most senior elected official in Venice during the period of more than a thousand years in which the city was a powerful independent state.

4 Dirk Bogart was the actor who played the lead protagonist in the film 'Death In Venice'.

5 Gilbert and Sullivan wrote the opera 'The Gondoliers'.

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

Holy Water

2011-05-05T10:07:00.000+01:00

Venice Quiz

Fortunately for Pope Benedict, his job description as the Vicar of Rome doesn't include emulating any of the water based greatest hits of his employers. But while the Pontiff isn't required to walk, part or even turn it into wine, this weekend his duties require him to glide across some water in a gondola during his visit on Sunday to Venice. Obviously Papa B 16 is no ordinary tourist, so that members of the Bancali Society of Oarmasters, the trade union of Venice's 425 gondoliers, has announced it will be waving its members' normal ninety euros fee. This is just as well for Vatican coffers as the Pope will be ferried in a large dogaressa gondola which requires the muscle of four gondoliers to propel. What remains unclear is whether the four strong crew will include Giorgia Boscolo, who last year became the first ever female licenced Venetian gondolier. Delighted by the prospect, Highly questionable has taken Venice as the theme of today's quiz.

Venice Themed Quiz Questions

1 What is the name of the title character in Shakespeare's play 'The Merchant Of Venice'?

2 After which famous traveller is Venice's airport named?

3 What was the title given to the most senior elected official in Venice during the period of more than a thousand years in which the city was a powerful independent state?

4 Which English actor starred as the lead protagonist in the film 'Death in Venice', which was based on the novella of the same name by Thomas Mann?

5 Who wrote the opera 'The Gondoliers'?

The answers to our Venice themed quiz will be published along with the next Highly Questionable blog post.

Colour Green Quiz Answers

The answers to the Highly Questionable colour green themed quiz are:-

1 The US Masters is the prestigious annual golf tournament which culminates in the presentation of a green jacket to the winner of the event.

2 Denmark was the country from which the United States offered to buy Greenland following World War II.

3 Science & nature is the name of the category for which a player secures a green wedge after successfully answering a question in the board game Trivial Pursuit.

4 Libya is the country whose current national flag consists purely of the colour green.

5 Copper objects turn green over time.

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

Barack XXII

2011-05-04T08:49:00.001+01:00

Colour Green Quiz

Barack Obama, who joins JFK and twenty other US presidents in boasting Irish roots, is set to visit the Emerald Isle in under three weeks. Quite handy to be in a position to point to such ancestry when 12% of the electorate in the United States identify themselves in census returns as being Irish-American. Handier still to embark on a high profile visit to the Irish family homestead in the run up to the 2012 elections that will decide if Obama will be returned to the White House for a second term. The current President will visit both Dublin and the village of Moneygall in County Offaly from where his great, great, great grandfather, on his mother's side, Falmouth Kearney emigrated in the 1780s. Given that the Highly Questionable blog emanates from County Down in Ireland, we're looking forward to the sheer theatre of the occasion when Obama arrives with a security entourage that will surely outnumber Moneygall's population of three hundred souls. Meanwhile in anticipation of the shenanigans to come, today's Highly Questionable quiz takes green, that most Irish of colours, as the theme of today's quiz.

Colour Green Quiz Questions

1 Which prestigious annual golf tournament culminates in the presentation of a green jacket to the winner of the event?

2 After World War II the United States offered to buy Greenland from which country?

3 In the board game Trivial Pursuit, a player secures a green wedge after successfully answering a question from which category?

4 Which country's national flag consists purely of the colour green?

5 Objects made from which commonly used element turn green over time?

The answers to our colour green quiz will be published along with the next Highly Questionable blog post.

Colour Black Quiz Answers

1 Amy Winehouse was the singer who recorded the multi Grammy award winning album 'Back To Black'.

2 Anna Sewell wrote 'Black Beauty'.

3 Seven is the points value attached to successfully potting the black ball in a game of snooker.

4 Theophile Steinlen was the artist who created the iconic 'Black Cat' Parisian poster of 1896 (pictured in yesterday's post) that is often mistakenly attributed to Toulouse Lautrec.

5 Twenty-one is the maximum permissible score in the card game blackjack.

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

Curse Of The Sequel

2011-05-03T00:42:00.003+01:00

Colour Black Quiz

As cinemas near you prepare to be boarded later this month by Johnny Depp swashing and buckling for the fourth time as Captain Jack Sparrow in the latest offering from the 'Pirates Of The Caribbean' franchise, Highly Questionable offers you a quiz whose theme is the colour black. The reasoning for this is simple enough - we enjoyed setting the red themed quiz yesterday and were looking around for a vaguely topical platform to follow up in similar fashion with a different colour, when an advert for 'On Stranger Tides' (the title of the upcoming Pirates IV) caught our eye. With the Black Pearl being the name of Sparrow's ship, we recognised destiny when it was staring us in the face and pounced!

Colour Black Quiz Questions

1 Which singer recorded the multi Grammy award winning album 'Back To Black'?

2 Who is the author of 'Black Beauty'?

3 What is the points value attached to successfully potting the black ball in a game of snooker?

4 Which artist created the iconic 'Black Cat' Parisian poster of 1896 (pictured above) that is often mistakenly thought to be the work of Toulouse Lautrec?

5 In the card game blackjack, what is the maximum permissible score?

The answers to this quiz will be published along with the next Highly Questionable blog post.

Colour Red Quiz Answers

1 Warren Beatty was the male lead in the 1981 film 'Reds'.

2 Nine countries border onto the Red Sea.

3 Mick Hucknall was the lead singer in the British band Simply Red.

4 Delhi is the Indian city in which the Red Fort is located.

5  Boston is the US city where baseball team the Red Sox play their home games.
Colour Red Quiz Answers Trivia Extra
1 'Reds' didn't only star Warren Beatty, he also co-wrote it and won the 1981 Best Director Oscar for that aspect of his multi involvement in the film. In it, he portrayed American journalist John Reed who had chronicled and commented on events surrounding the Russian revolution in his book 'Ten Days That Shook The World'.
2 In alphabetical order the countries bordering on the Red Sea are Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan & Yemen.
3   British soul band Simply Red's frontman Nick Hucknall has in recent years followed his twenty five year music career with a range of food and drink ventures that have included his co-ownership with Johnny Depp of the Man Ray restaurant in Paris and the cultivation in Scilly of wine marketied under his Il Cantante label.
4  The Red Fort, in what is now Delhi, was the official home of Mughal emperors until the middle of the nineteenth century.
5 Fenway Park, home stadium of the Boston Red Sox baseball team, will celebrate its centenary in 2012.

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

Seeing Red

2011-05-02T15:46:00.001+01:00

Colour Red Quiz

May Day once more witnessed the traditional rallies held in cities around the world to celebrate the international labour movement. These events, designed to evoke the spirit of workers' rights, are historically rooted in commemorations to mark the Haymarket massacre in Chicago, which in 1886 saw police kill demonstrators pressing for an eight hour working day. To mark the occasion, Highly Questionable is drawing on the association between organised labour and the colour red as the inspiration for the theme of today's quiz. Interesting as the Olympic stories recently featured on the blog are, we're taking a break from them to return to our five question themed quiz format.

Colour Red Quiz Questions

1 Which American actor took the male lead in the 1981 film 'Reds'?
2 How many countries border onto the Red Sea?
3 Who was the lead singer of the British band Simply Red?
4 World heritage site the Red Fort is located in which Indian city?
5 The Red Sox baseball team play their home games in which US city?

The answers to this quiz will be published along with the next Highly Questionable blog post.

Olympics Photo Quiz 13 Answer

Munich, became the second German city to host the Olympics when it held the 1972 Games, so following in the footsteps of Berlin where the 1936 Olympic Games were staged.

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

Bringer Of Olympic Darkness

2011-04-27T15:07:00.000+01:00

Hitler & Spiridon Louis

Olympics Photo Quiz 13

Background

Berlin had been due to hold the 1916 Olympics before World War I forced their cancellation. By 1931 Germany once more found itself within the bosom of the international community so that in that year Berlin was awarded the 1936 Games ahead of Barcelona's bid. Dark forces lurked, then strutted, as they planned dismal futures for both cities. By 1933 Hitler was in power in Germany, but despite unease in some quarters about the Nazis' racial policies, whispers of a boycott of the Berlin Games came to nothing. Spain would be absent from the event as it's civil war cranked into deadly gear and the people of Barcelona in particular would come to feel the full punitive force of the Franco led victors of that conflict. It was Hitler who declared the official start of the Berlin Games at the 1936 opening ceremony, before receiving, in what to the modern eye looks like excruciating irony, an olive branch from Spiridon Louis, the Greek winner of the first Olympic marathon at the 1896 Games in Athens.

Olympics Photo Quiz 13

Aside from Berlin, which is the other German city to have hosted an Olympic Games?

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

Olympics Photo Quiz 12 Answer

Muhammad Ali was the iconic sportsman who lit the Olympic flame at the start of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Ali, fighting under his previous name of Cassius Clay, had won a gold medal for boxing at the 1960 Rome Games, before embarking on a tempestuous career, that at it's peak, was to see him become probably the most famous human being on the planet.

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

Bringer Of Olympic Light

2011-04-26T14:14:00.000+01:00

Yoshinori Saki

Olympics Photo Quiz 12

Background

Arguably the most poignant of Olympic moments took place when the nineteen year old runner Yoshinori Sakai lit the flame at the opening ceremony of the 1964 Tokyo Games. Born in Hiroshima on the day the city was devastated by an atomic bomb, he stood as both a universal symbol of hope and an emblem for Japan's reemergence into the international community.

Olympics Photo Quiz 12

Which iconic sportsman, himself a gold medal winner in 1960, lit the Olympic flame at the start of the 1996 Atlanta Games?

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

Olympics Photo Quiz 11 Answer

Natalie Du Toit was the South African swimmer who, having lost a leg in a 2001 motor cycle accident, participated in both the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics in 2008.

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

Olympic Golden Girls

2011-04-22T13:14:00.000+01:00

Gertrude Ederle

Olympics Photo Quiz 11

Background
Women were banned from participating at the first Olympics of the modern era held in Athens in 1896, and a key strand to the story of the Games since then has been their long battle for equality as competitors. Slowly female involvement increased as more women's events became part of the Olympic programme at each Games, but even by the 1948 London Olympics only ten per cent of the athletes competing were female. One of the main forces in their progress to gain increasing Olympic recognition were the athletic performances of a wave of women each of whose achievements helped challenge and overcome prevailing stereotypes as to what was right and proper for members of 'the fairer sex.' One such was the American swimmer Gertrude Ederle. Having won three medals at the 1924 Paris Olympics she was on the public radar but what made the sporting and wider world really sit up was her swim across the English Channel two years later. At that time only five people - all men - had successfully completed this feat, which was regarded as the swimming equivalent of climbing Mount Everest and viewed as simply beyond women. At nineteen years old she confounded the nay sayers by not only swimming the Channel but by doing so in a time that was more than two hours faster than the fastest of her male predecessors.

Olympic Swimming

Early editions of the Olympics saw open water used for swimming competitions, with the sea in the Bay of Zea and the River Seine respectively providing the venues at the 1896 Athens and 1900 Games.
London 2012 Olympic Swimming

Swimming is a sport were women have achieved equality with their male counterparts at the Olympics, with the total of 34 available swimming gold medals at London 2012 divided on the basis of 17 apiece for men and women.

Olympics Photo Quiz 11

What is the name of the South African swimmer who, having lost a leg in a motorcycle accident, participated in both the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics in 2008?

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

Olympics Photo Quiz 10 Answer

Iranian Hossein Rezazadeh was the athlete who at the 2004 Athens Games lifted the heaviest weight ever made at the Olympics when he clean and jerked 265.5kgs.

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

Against The Odds

2011-04-21T14:30:00.001+01:00

Jim Halliday

Olympics Photo Quiz 10

Background

One of the most inspiring aspects of the Olympics are the stories of athletes who overcome various kinds of adversity to become competitors to the Games. The British weightlifter Jim Halliday is a distinctive case in point. After emerging in August 1945 from a Japanese prisoner of war camp, he weighed just four and a half stone (28.5 kg). Determined to build his strength he put himself on a nutritious diet that included eating whole eggs, shells and all, to boost his calcium intake. Working by day as a coal stoker at a power station he resumed weightlifting, a sport he had enjoyed and excelled at before the second world war. Training at night he prepared for the 1948 London Olympics where he won the bronze medal in the lightweight category. Later he co-wrote a sports book called 'Olympic Weightlifting & Body Building' which became a bestseller and inspired a generation of admiring youngsters. Halliday would go on to enjoy a long life, dying in 2007 aged 89.

Olympic Weightlifting

Although men's weightlifting was one of the sports featured at the first modern Olympics held in Athens in 1896, it has not been part of the programme at every Games. Having been absent on three occasions (1900, 1908 and 1912), it has been a constant at every Olympics since the 1920 Antwerp Games with women's Olympic weightlifting debiting as part of the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

London 2012 Olympic Weightlifting

15 weightlifting gold medals will be up for grabs at the 2012 London Olympics with 170 men and 90 women competing for them. Highly Questionable's London 2012 weightlifting tip is to watch out for Behdad Salimikordasiabi, partly because if he can carry that name around he clearly is someone to reckon with, but mostly because he is likely to excel in the 105 kg class.

Olympics Photo Quiz 10

What nationality is Hossein Rezazadeh, the athlete who at the 2004 Athens Games lifted the heaviest weight ever made at the Olympics when he clean and jerked 265.5kgs?

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

Olympics Photo Quiz 9 Answer

Epee is the type of sword that is used in the fencing component of the modern pentathlon.

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

Five Star All Rounder

2011-04-20T13:51:00.003+01:00

Willie Grut

Olympics Photo Quiz 9

Background

Debates about who is the greatest Olympic athlete of all time are undoubtedly great fun, giving as they do the opportunity to savour the achievements of dozens of worthy candidates for the accolade. However they are ultimately futile as it's impossible to compare the accomplishments of people from different eras who competed in very different sports and circumstances. Additionally, attention in such discussions invariably centres on those who had the platform of the more popular glamour sports at the Games. One name rarely if ever mentioned in such debates, possibly because it scarcely rolls of the tongue, is Swedish athlete Willy Oscar Guernsey Grut. Yet his Olympic activities and achievements, are well worth remembering and saluting. His Olympic connections began even before he was born, as his father Torben was the architect of the stadium at the centre of the Stockholm Olympics in 1912. He kicked off his own Olympic account by swimming at the 1936 Berlin Olympics where he saw Gottard Handwick win the modern pentathlon for Germany.

Early Swedish Domination

Until then this event had been won at previous Olympics exclusively by Swedes, and Grut vowed that he would train in it's five disciplines to retake the gold in it for Sweden at the next Olympics. As an officer in the Swedish army he was well placed to devote himself to the fencing, shooting, cross country running, horse riding and swimming that combine to form the modern pentathlon. He had to wait over a decade to get his chance to put all his training to the test as the second world war intervened to force the cancellation of the 1940 and 1944 Games. In 1948 he prepared for that year's London summer Olympics by entering the winter pentathlon at the St Moritz winter Olympics. This event replaced the cross country running and swimming components with downhill and cross country skiing. He scooped the silver medal in this winter warm up and went on to win the modern pentathlon gold at the London Games by setting a new Olympic record. Having achieved his goal, Grut turned his hand to coaching, training amongst others Lars Hall who then went on to win gold in the pentathlon at both the Helsinki 1952 and Melbourne 1956 Olympics.

Olympic Modern Pentathlon

While the men's event was introduced at the 1912 Stockholm Games, the women's modern pentathlon did not feature at the Olympics until the Sydney Games of 2000.

London 2012 Comment

With only a minor change to it's rubric, which has seen the shooting and running elements combined in an unusual fashion, the modern pentathlon staged at the London 2012 Olympics will essentially be the same event won by Grut, Hall and the other Swedish champions of yesteryear. Highly Questionable is tipping the Czech David Svoboda, who is the current world champion, to win gold in the modern pentathlon at the 2012 London Games, and Germany's Lena Schonebora to take the top spot in the women's event, so repeating her triumph at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Olympics Photo Quiz 9

What type of sword is used in the fencing component of the modern pentathlon?

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

Olympics Photo Quiz 8 Answer

Italian was the nationality of the fencing brothers Aldo and Nedo Nadi who between them took eight gold fencing medals at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics.

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

Relatively Speaking

2011-04-19T11:50:00.001+01:00

Olympics Photo Quiz 8

Background

Now largely forgotten outside of diehard fencing circles, triple Olympic gold winner Aldo Nadi was without question amongst the greatest swordsmen in the world in the era between the first and second world wars. The trouble from Aldo's point of view was that despite being one of the greatest exponents on the planet in foil, epee and sabre, he lived in the fencing shadow of his brother Nedo. Aged just eighteen, Nedo had taken a fencing gold at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics when Aldo was still a child. After the cancellation of the 1916 Games because of World War I the Nadi brothers travelled to the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp where twenty-one year Aldo scooped three golds and a silver. Despite this impressive haul his older sibling outdid him with five golds. After the Antwerp Olympics both brothers turned professional, Nedo heading to coach in Argentina while Aldo used his prize money from contests across Europe over the next decade to live the life of a diletante womanising playboy while based for many years in a luxury hotel in Paris. Running out of competitors to beat, and with the second world war approaching, Aldo Nadi moved to the United States where he coached both Hollywood actors and serious fencers. Amongst the latter numbered Janice-Lee Romary, who over the period 1948-68 became the first woman to appear at six Olympic Games and was the first woman to carry the flag of the USA into an opening ceremony at the Olympics when she led her country's athletes into the stadium at the Mexico City Games. As to which Nadi brother was the better, we can only speculate as they faced each other just once in public, when they agreed in advance they would draw because their father was amongst the audience watching the contest.

Olympics Photo Quiz 8

What nationality were the Olympic fencers Aldo and Nedo Nadi?

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

Olympics Photo Quiz 7 Answer

Wrestling was the sport in which the Rank gong man Ken Richmond competed at the Olympic Games held in London in 1948, Helsinki in 1952 and Melbourne in 1956.

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

King Gong

2011-04-18T12:01:00.004+01:00

Olympics Photo Quiz 7

Background

The British Olympic medal winner Ken Richmond's nineteen stone frame was for decades known to millions, but few of them could have named the face that topped the six foot five strongman. For, although three men preceded him in the role, from the mid fifties onwards it was his oiled torso that cinema goers saw bang the gong at the start of J Arthur Rank films. Or at least that's what they thought they saw and heard. In fact Richmond mimed striking what in fact was a prop made of papier mache, for as he said in an interview in his later years 'hitting a real gong that size would have deafened me'. By that time Ken Richmond was able to look back on a colourful life that had not only included competing at three Olympic Games, and appearing as an extra in numerous films, but saw him serve time both in prison as a conscientious objector during the second world war and as a crew member of Antarctic whaling ships. His Olympic medal, a bronze, came at the Helsinki Games of 1952, while he kept himself fit enough throughout his life to be an active windsurfer in his sixties.

Olympics Photo Quiz 7

In what sport did Ken Richmond compete at the Olympic Games held in London in 1948, Helsinki in 1952 and Melbourne in 1956?

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

Olympics Photo Quiz 6 Answer
Three other Olympic medalists in addition to Johnny Weissmuller played the character of Tarzan in Hollywood films, they were fellow swimmer Buster Crabbe, shot putter Herman Brix and decathlete Glen Morris.

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

Swimming Into The Jungle

2011-04-14T14:16:00.001+01:00

Olympics Photo Quiz 6

Background

Winner of five gold medals in swimming for the United States at the 1924 Paris and 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, along with a bronze as part of his adopted country's water polo team at the Games in the French capital, the Romanian born Johnny Weissmuller would famously go on to play Tarzan in a string of movies during the nineteen thirties and forties featuring the jungle man. Less well known is the fact that he took up swimming to help offset the sickly physique that came in the wake of his childhood bought of polio. Eagle eyed Beatles fans will however know that his is one of the faces that appear in the montage that forms the cover of the band's 1967 landmark 'Sergent Pepper' album.

Olympics Photo Quiz 6

How many other Olympic medalists went on to portray Tarzan in Hollywood movies?

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

Olympics Photo Quiz 5 Answer

Refusal to accept their silver medals was the form of protest mounted by members of the USA basketball team at the 1972 Munich Olympics. They were aggrieved at what they saw as irregular timekeeping at the end of their match with the USSR which allowed the Russian's to snatch victory and the gold medal in a sport that the Americans had never previously lost a match in in the history of the Games.

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

Superpowers Slam Dunk The Rings

2011-04-12T15:56:00.000+01:00

Olympics Photo Quiz 5

Background

The scoreboard at the end of the 1972 Olympic basketball final revealed that the apparently unthinkable had happened - America had been beaten at their own game. The United States had approached that final with an imperious record. They had won all sixty-two matches they had played since basketball first became an Olympic sport at the 1936 Berlin Games. Now, after processing to the final in Munich thirty-six years later having dispatched eight challengers they fully expected to be once more crowned Olympic champions. The trouble was the Soviet Union side, who now formed their opponents in the gold medal match, had also had an unbeaten run to the final. The Russians stormed to an early seven point lead and a highly physical encountered ensued with players on both sides dismissed from the court. With the United States one point behind and ten seconds remaining on the clock, Doug Collins burst towards the basket only to be halted by a punch. The very obvious foul resulted in the Americans being awarded two free throws at a potential point a piece. With three seconds remaining Collins sank the throws and the USA team erupt in celebration having, as they thought, won 50-49. Yet in a highly controversial twist, the clock was twice reset, and when play resumed for a second time, Aleksander Belov scored to give the Olympic basketball title to the Russians.

Olympics Photo Quiz 5

What form did the USA teams's protest at the result take?

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

Olympics Photo Quiz 4 Answer

Jesse Owens was the black American athlete who won gold medals in the 100m, 200m, long jump and 4 x 100m relay at the 1936 Berlin Olympics much to the discomfort of the racist Nazi organisers of those Games.

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

The Third Man

2011-04-08T10:23:00.001+01:00

Olympics Photo Quiz 4

Background
Thirty-six years after this photograph was taken at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, the two athletes with fists raised would travel from the United States to Australia to act as pallbearers at the funeral of the generally overlooked third man caught on camera. American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos had respectively won the gold and bronze medals in the 200 meters. With heads bowed and black gloved hands thrust aloft in silent protest at racial discrimination in the US, each wore the badge of the Olympic Project for Human Rights. So too did silver medalist Peter Norman. While all three found themselves much criticised at the time of the protest, Smith and Carlos would in time come to be honoured in their home country. Not so Norman, who returning to Australia was ostracised by Olympic authorities that refused to select him for the 1972 Games in Munich, despite his having run the qualifying time on thirteen occasions and being ranked fifth in the world. In a pointed and spiteful gesture Norman was the only living Australian Olympic medalist not to be invited to run a lap of honour when the Games were held in Sydney in 2000. He was however invited to the American team's Olympic village accommodation where Michael Johnston, the winner of the 200 meters at the 2000 Sydney Olympics told him simply 'you are my hero'. Six years later Smith and Carlos travelled to Norman's funeral in Melbourne to pay their respects to a man who had dared to show them quiet solidarity in the Olympic stadium in Mexico City four decades previously. Norman's story was finally told in the 2008 documentary 'Salute', directed by his nephew Matt.

Olympics Photo Quiz 4

Which American black athlete won gold medals in the 100m, 200m, long jump and 4 x 100m relay at the 1936 Berlin Olympics to the discomfort of the racist Nazi organisers of those Games?

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

Olympics Photo Quiz 3 Answer

Panamanian athlete Irving Saladino is the current Olympic long jump champion having triumphed in the event at the 2008 Games in Beijing.

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. Although

Leap Of Faith

2011-04-02T10:06:00.000+01:00

Olympics Photo Quiz 3

Background

American Bob Beamon launched himself in the long jump final at the 1968 Olympics, then hung in the thin air of Mexico City before landing to notch a distance that not only smashed the world record, but would not be bettered anywhere on the planet for twenty-three years. His leap of 29 feet, two and a half inches (8.9 meters) astounded spectators and watching TV viewers as it surpassed by an incredible 21 inches any previous jump made by a human being. Although in turn eventually beaten by Mike Powell's jump of 8.95m at the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo, Beamon remains the Olympic record holder. Ironically, despite competing at two Olympics, Powell didn't take gold on either occasion, having to settle for silver at both the 1988 Seoul and 1992 Barcelona Games.

Olympics Photo Quiz 3

What nationality is the current Olympic long jump champion Irving Saladino, who triumphed in the event at the 2008 Beijing Games?

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

Olympics Photo Quiz 2 Answer

Becoming the first black African woman to win a gold medal was the notable Olympic first achieved by the brilliant Ethiopian runner Dirartu Tula when she was first over the line of the women's 10,000 metres final at the 1992 Barcelona Games.

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. Although

True Olympic Spirit

2011-04-01T10:42:00.001+01:00

Olympics Photo Quiz 2

Background

Ethiopian Dirartu Tula and South Africa's Elena Meyer run a lap of honour loaded with hopeful symbolism at the end of the women's 10,000 metres final at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. After finishing in the gold and silver medal positions respectively, the pair joined hands to circle the stadium in a celebration of African unity following the end of the poisonous apartheid system in Meyer's country. South Africa's racist policies had seen it banned from the Olympics from 1964, with its athletes only allowed to return to the Games of 1992 in the Catalan capital. Tula, who was twenty at the time of this photo, would go on to have an astonishing running career. She again won Olympic Gold in the 10,000 metres at the Sydney Games of 2000, before turning her attention to a decade of marathon running that was book-ended by triumphs at the London 2001 and New York City 2009 marathons. By a quirk of history the Olympic stadium that witnessed Tula and Meyer's demonstration of racial unity had been built to support Barcelona's unsuccessful bid to host the 1936 Games which were awarded to Berlin and would be presided over by Hitler's Nazis with their own brand of uber racism.

Olympics Photo Quiz 2

What significant Olympic first did Dirartu Tula achieve when she won the gold medal in the 10,000 meters at the 1992 Barcelona Games?

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

Olympics Photo Quiz 1 Answer

The invasion of Hungary by 200,000 Soviet troops to forcefully quell political dissent, was the background factor, that less than a month later, incited high octane ill feeling during the water polo match between Hungary and Russia at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.

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.

Best Of Enemies

2011-03-24T12:34:00.000Z

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

2011-03-21T09:44:00.000Z

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

2011-03-18T12:04:00.000Z

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

2011-03-17T12:15:00.000Z

'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

2011-03-16T12:16:00.001Z

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

2011-03-15T00:14:00.000Z

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?

2011-03-14T09:54:00.000Z

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.