[Wolves] Christmas Quiz 2009 Answers

Thu Dec 17 10:03:09 UTC 2009

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Congratulations to James and Amrik for 1st & 2nd place, now the answers
as promised complete with citations:

1.What is deoxyribonucleic acid better know as?
DNA - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA

2.Which famous fictional character first appeared in “Beeton's Christmas
Annual 1887”?
Sherlock Holmes - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Study_in_Scarlet

3.What is the most dangerous type of animal that has ever lived?
Mosquitoes. Many millions of people die each year as a result of
diseases, such as malaria, contracted as a result of the bite of the
female mosquito (males only attack plants!). -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaria

4.Who reached No. 7 in the UK charts in February 1993 with an unusual
cover version of a song?
Rolf Harris with a cover version of Led Zepplin's “Stairway to Heaven” -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stairway_to_Heaven#Other_versions and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPOIy4Kb9M4

5.What are the ratio of the dimensions of the monolith(s) in "2001: A
Space Odyssey"?
The size of the sides are in the ratios of 1:4:9 (the squares of the
first 3 integers). - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monolith_(Space_Odyssey)

6.What was the name of the ancient race of beings that had inhabited the
"Forbidden Planet"?
The Krell were the inhabitants of Altair IV -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbidden_Planet

7.What is the name of the chief robo psychologist in the "I, Robot"
series of stories by Issac Asimov?
Dr. Susan Calvin - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Calvin

8.Which infamous fictional character attended the University of Ingolstadt?
Victor Frankenstein in Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's novel
"Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus". -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Ingolstadt#Miscellaneous

9.What is 1/65536 of a circle known as?
A Furman.  It is a unit of angular measure equal to 1/65536 of a circle.
It is named for Alan T. Furman, the American mathematician who adapted
the CORDIC algorithm for 16-bit fixed-point arithmetic sometime around
1980.  16 bits give a resolution of 216 = 65536 distinct angles.-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_strange_units_of_measurement#Furman

10.What was the Enigma machine originally used for?
Commercial communications (banks, railways) in the 1920s.  It's military
potential was only realised later -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Scherbius

11.What does the word "drupal" mean in english?
Drupal is an English rendering of the Dutch word “druppel”, which means
“drop” (as in “a water droplet”) -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drupal#History

12.What is the oldest domain name (not tld!) on the internet?
nordu.net was registered on 1st Jan 1985, symbolics.com was the first
.com and was registered on 15th Mar 1985.  Interestingly RFC 921 set
15th Jan 1985 as the start date for the new registration system.  both
domains are still operational.

13.What natural phenomenon was discovered in 1972 by the French
physicist  Francis Perrin?
A natural uranium fission reactor in the Oklo mine in Africa -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_nuclear_fission_reactor

14.Which novella by Charles Dickens features time travel as a major plot
element?
A Christmas Carol - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Christmas_Carol

15.What does the lumberjack have for tea?
Buttered scones - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lumberjack_Song and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zey8567bcg

Now for the General Ignorance (apologies to QI!)
16.Where do most tigers live?
The United States.  There are between 3,000 and 4,700 tigers in India.
It is estimated that there are only between 5,100 and 7,500 wild tigers
left on the planet.  On the other hand, there are thought to be 4,000
tigers living in captivity in Texas alone. The American Zoo and Aquarium
Association estimates that up to 12,000 tigers are being kept as private
pets in the United States. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger#As_pets

17.Which eye did Nelson wear his eye-patch on?
He didn't wear an eye patch -
http://www.twogreens.co.uk/wakeup/FAQ/nelfaq.htm#eyepatch

18.Who invented the first known steam engine?
Heron (or Hero) of Alexandria was an Egyptian who invented a working
steam engine in the first century AD. Named an aeolipile or 'wind-ball',
it rotated at some 1,500 revolutions per minute but no practical
application could be found for the power this generated.  It was only in
1698 that Thomas Savery developed a practical steam-powered water pump.
Soon after this in 1705 Thomas Newcomen patented what became a
successful steam engine, used mainly for pumping water out of mines.
After improving Newcomen's engine, James Watt then patented his own
steam engine in 1769, which was capable of driving factory machinery and
was operational by the 1770s. -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heron_of_Alexandria

19.Who introduced tobacco to England?
Not Sir Walter Raleigh! The first person reported as smoking was a
sailor in Bristol, seen 'emitting smoke from his nostrils' in 1556.
Raleigh was not even born until four years later. In fact Raleigh did
not even visit Virginia or any other part of North America.  It was a
Frenchman, called Jean Nicot (from where we get the word nicotine) who
introduced tobacco to France in 1560 and from there it was introduced to
England. -    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco_smoking

20.In the 1942 film "Casablanca", who said "Play it again Sam"?
Nobody - http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/284700.html

- --
Ron Wellsted
ron at wellsted.org.uk http://www.wellsted.org.uk
N 52.567623, W 2.136111 Linux Counter No. 202120
Ekiga: 645022

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