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

Abracadabra

 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

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

 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

 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.

 1 

 2 

 3 

 4 

 5 

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