Friday, September 09, 2016

Digest for rec.games.trivia@googlegroups.com - 14 updates in 4 topics

msb@vex.net (Mark Brader): Sep 08 11:29PM -0500

Mark Brader:
> see my 2016-05-31 companion posting on "Questions from the Canadian
> Inquisition (QFTCI*)".
 
 
> I wrote one of these rounds.
 
The waterfalls.
 
 
> http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/msb/6-7/falls/2.jpg (for pictures F-J)
> http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/msb/6-7/falls/3.jpg (for pictures M-Q)
> http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/msb/6-7/falls/4.jpg (for pictures R-U)
 
Beautiful or not, this was the hardest round in the original game.
 
> same waterfall in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It's the
> second-highest US waterfall east of the Mississippi. *Either*
> name the waterfall *or* explain the color of the water.
 
Tahquamenon Falls, high tannin content (leached from cedar swamps
upstream). I did not consider "leaves and other organic material"
close enough. 4 for Pete.
 
> 2. The waterfall in picture O is named after the European river
> it's on, which flows generally north for most of its length.
> What is that name? Hint: notice the flag.
 
Rhine Falls or Rheinfall. (It's near Schaffhausen, Switzerland.)
4 for Joshua, Erland, Pete, and Dan Tilque. 2 for Dan Blum.
 
> name the national park in BC where it's located. You don't
> have to say which one you're naming. Hint: Both names come
> from the Cree language.
 
Takkakaw Falls, Yoho National Park.
 
Banff is a Scottish place name.
 
> the upper and lower waterfall here share a collective name,
> and they are located in a well-known US national park that also
> shares the same name. What is that name?
 
Yosemite ["yo-SEM-it-ee"] Falls / National Park. 4 for Joshua,
Dan Blum, Marc, Pete, and Dan Tilque.
 
> 5. The next *two* questions are about pictures G and H. These
> waterfalls are among several that are located in the same
> Ontario city that's less than 100 km from here. Name the *city*.
 
Hamilton. 4 for Pete.
 
(Because of the Niagara Escarpment, they call themselves the City
of Waterfalls.)
 
> Hint: part of one name refers to something you might put on
> a table; the other name may remind you of some well-known
> reference books.
 
Devil's Punchbowl (G), Webster's Falls (H).
 
> named as a waterfall even though it might not look like one
> from the photos. *Either* name the waterfall *or* just name
> the Canadian city where it's located.
 
Reversing Falls, St. John, NB.
 
This part of the St. John River is a tidal estuary. In picture N,
the tide is going out. Picture M shows slack water, when the tidal
current stops before going the other way. When the tide is coming
in, the current reverses, but it's not intense enough to make a
dramatic picture.
 
> 8. Picture F shows three waterfalls. Name the *middle* one;
> that is, the little one nearest to the main rainbow.
 
Bridal Veil Falls or Luna Falls. (Part of Niagara Falls, of course.)
4 for Dan Tilque.
 
> all have names starting with the same letter, *but not
> the waterfall*; that name starts with a different letter.
> Name the *waterfall*.
 
Victoria Falls. (It's on the Zambezi River in Zambia and Zimbabwe.)
4 for Joshua, Erland, and Pete.
 
> different angles. Where Niagara Falls consists of 3 smaller
> falls, this one consists of over 200. Give the overall name
> of the falls, which is also the name of the river.
 
Iguassu (also spelled Iguazú or Iguaçu) Falls/River. (In Argentina
and Brazil.) 4 for Erland.
 
> There were six decoys -- picture K and the whole first page.
> All six of these waterfalls are located in the *same country*.
> What country?
 
Norway. Erland (of course) and Pete got this.
 
 
A Rjoandefossen about 4 miles S of Flåm, beside the railway
B Kjosfossen about 10 miles S of Flåm, beside the railway
C Vøringsfossen near Eidfjord, about 60 miles E of Bergen,
near the road to Oslo
D De Syv Søstrene<*> on the Geirangerfjord, about 30 miles SE of Ålesund
E Låtefossen near Odda, about 50 miles SE of Bergen
K Laksforsen near Trofors, about 200 miles NE of Trondheim
 
<*> or Dei Sju Systrene or the Seven Sisters.
 
 
> * Game 6, Round 8 - History - Monarchs and Rulers
 
> 1. Who was the last British monarch of the House of Hanover?
 
Victoria. (As in, y'know, Victoria Falls.) 4 for Joshua and Peter.
 
> buried in Britain? He was buried in Hanover, in fact, in the
> year seventeen twenty-seven. Give his name and, if applicable,
> his number.
 
George I. 4 for Joshua, Dan Blum, Peter, Calvin, and Dan Tilque.
 
> 3. Who was the first Bourbon king of France, crowned in 1589 upon
> his conversion to Catholicism? Give either his name and number
> *as king of France*, or else his *other* royal title.
 
Henry (or Henri) IV, Henry of Navarre. I also accepted "King of
Navarre", as the question might be read as asking for that answer.
4 for Joshua, Dan Blum, Erland, Calvin, and Dan Tilque.
 
> 4. Name the family dynasty that ruled Milan from 1450 to 1537.
> Their family name is derived from a word for the use of
> military might.
 
Sforza ["SSFORTZ-uh"]. ("Force".) 4 for Dan Blum.
 
> 5. What was the First Family of Florence that eventually became its
> rulers from 1434 to 1537, and also produced three or four popes
> -- count 'em, three or four!
 
Medici ["MED-ee-chee"]. 4 for Dan Blum, Marc, Peter, Pete,
and Calvin.
 
Giovanni de' Medici became Leo X, pope 1513-21. He was cousin to
Clement VII, pope 1523-34, and uncle to Leo XI, pope for a few weeks
in 1605. The "or four" is Pius IV, pope 1559-65. His real name was
also Giovanni Medici, but he came from humble beginnings in Milan
and apparently the powerful Medicis of Florence only claimed him as
a relative after he became pope -- uh-*huh*.
 
> their secular powers, this family produced many eminent
> churchmen, including a Jesuit who was named a saint, but no
> popes -- count 'em, none.
 
Gonzaga. (St. Aloysius Gonzaga lived 1568-91.) 3 for Dan Blum.
 
> 7. Who is the current king of Saudi Arabia? If the answer has
> changed since the original game, you must give the now-current
> answer.
 
Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. "Salman" was sufficient. 4 for Erland.
 
By the way, we got this wrong in the original game; we missed the
death in January 2015 of the previous monarch, Salman's half-brother
Abdullah.
 
> 8. Who was the last, mostly recognized, king of Albania? His name
> was three letters long. In the 1987 film "Aria" he was played
> by -- of all people -- Theresa Russell.
 
Zog (I). I accepted Zug. 4 for Joshua, Dan Blum, Peter, Calvin,
and Dan Tilque.
 
> 9. Excluding emperors, who was the last *king* of France?
> He abdicated in 1848.
 
Louis Philippe (I). (Reigned 1830-48. Both names were required.)
4 for Dan Blum.
 
> 10. Who was the last king of Romania, prior to the abolition of
> its monarchy in 1947?
 
Mihai or Michael (I). 4 for Joshua, Peter, and Erland.
 
 
Scores, if there are no errors:
 
GAME 6 ROUNDS-> 2 3 4 6 7 8 BEST
TOPICS-> Sci Mis Lit Spo Geo His FOUR
Dan Blum 36 16 16 24 6 27 103
Joshua Kreitzer 20 28 16 20 12 20 88
Dan Tilque 40 8 0 20 12 12 84
Marc Dashevsky 36 20 8 20 4 4 84
Stephen Perry 40 36 -- -- -- -- 76
"Calvin" 35 12 0 12 0 16 75
Pete Gayde 16 16 4 8 20 4 60
Peter Smyth 32 8 -- -- 0 20 60
Erland Sommarskog 28 0 0 8 12 12 60
Bruce Bowler 36 0 0 20 -- -- 56
Björn Lundin 24 0 0 0 -- -- 24
Jason Kreitzer 0 8 0 0 0 0 8
 
--
Mark Brader "The great strength of the totalitarian state
Toronto is that it will force those who fear it
msb@vex.net to imitate it." -- Hitler (alleged)
 
My text in this article is in the public domain.
Erland Sommarskog <esquel@sommarskog.se>: Sep 09 09:09AM +0200

>> All six of these waterfalls are located in the *same country*.
>> What country?
 
> Norway. Erland (of course) and Pete got this.
 
"Of course" - I don't think that I am better equipped than anyone else
to figure it out. It's not that I go over to Norway every weekend to
look at waterfalls. In fact, I have not crossed that border in the last
forty years or so. However, you can tell from the vegetation in the
picture that this is somewhere with a temperate climate, why Norway seemed
like a likely guess.
 
--
Erland Sommarskog, Stockholm, esquel@sommarskog.se
msb@vex.net (Mark Brader): Sep 09 02:18AM -0500

Erland Sommarskog:
> "Of course" - I don't think that I am better equipped than anyone else
> to figure it out. It's not that I go over to Norway every weekend to
> look at waterfalls.
 
Well, you should. :-)
 
I particularly like D and E.
--
Mark Brader, Toronto | "What Europe needs is a fresh, unused mind."
msb@vex.net | -- Foreign Correspondent
msb@vex.net (Mark Brader): Sep 08 11:39PM -0500

These questions were written to be asked in Toronto on 2016-06-27,
and should be interpreted accordingly.
 
On each question you may give up to two answers, but if you give
both a right answer and a wrong answer, there is a small penalty.
Please post all your answers to the newsgroup in a single followup,
based only on your own knowledge. (In your answer posting, quote
the questions and place your answer below each one.) I will reveal
the correct answers in about 3 days.
 
All questions were written by members of the Usual Suspects and
are used here by permission, but have been reformatted and may
have been retyped and/or edited by me. For further information
see my 2016-05-31 companion posting on "Questions from the Canadian
Inquisition (QFTCI*)".
 
 
* Game 6, Round 9 - Entertainment - TV Sets
 
In this round we'll be showing you pictures of the sets of some
popular TV shows of the past few decades. Many of these sets
happen to be living rooms, where most of the interesting action
seems to take place.
 
For the first four questions, we'll give you the name of the show,
and you tell us the corresponding picture, which may be on either
page of the handout:
 
http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/msb/6-9/sets.pdf
 
1. "Will and Grace".
2. "How I Met Your Mother".
3. "The Big Bang Theory".
4. "The Brady Bunch".
 
For the remainder of the round, as you expected, we'll just turn
things around: we'll give you the picture, you name the show.
Please decode the rot13 only after you have finished with the
above questions.
 
5. Cvpgher O.
6. Cvpgher P.
7. Cvpgher Q.
8. Cvpgher S.
9. Cvpgher W.
10. Cvpgher Y.
 
So there were 6 decoys. For these I'll go back to the first
mode and give you the titles; after completing the round, decode
the rot13 and identify the picture if you like for fun, but for
no points.
 
11. "Terl'f Nangbzl".
12. "Gur Jnygbaf".
13. "Gung '70f Fubj".
14. "Gur Fbcenabf".
15. "Frvasryq".
16. "Oernxvat Onq".
 
 
** Game 6, Round 10 - Challenge Round - The Last Round
 
This is the last round; the categories are Zaharias
["zuh-HAIR-ee-uss"], Zane, Z-Axis, Zhukov, Zoo, and Zorro;
and you know what to do.
 
 
* A. Zaharias (Sports)
 
A1. "Babe" Zaharias, who lived only from 1914 to 1956, was
a leading athlete in many sports. She was also known by
her maiden name; give the *correct spelling* of that name.
 
A2. What was Babe's real first name?
 
 
* B. Zane (Literature)
 
B1. The most popular of Zane Grey's western novels was a
1912 saga featuring a Mormon woman named Jane Withersteen.
The title is 5 words and mentions a certain color of plant.
Name that plant or give the full title.
 
B2. Zane Grey was born in a small city which, you won't be
surprised, was founded by a relative of his. Name the city
or the state.
 
 
* C. Z-Axis (Science)
 
C1. What is the simple name for the shape represented by the
equation x² + y² + z² = 100? We just need a one-word answer.
 
C2. Please answer the previous question before decoding the
rot13 for this one. Jung vf gur enqvhf bs gung fcurer?
 
 
* D. Zhukov (History)
 
D1. Georgy ["Gay-ORG-ee"] Zhukov was born in a village near
Moscow. Eventually he rose to play a leading role in his
country's war against *what enemy*?
 
D2. Please answer the previous question before decoding the
rot13 for this one. Jr pnyy vg n cneg bs Jbeyq Jne VV,
ohg gur Ehffvnaf unir gurve bja anzr sbe gurve jne ntnvafg
Anmv Treznal. Va Ratyvfu, jung vf gung anzr?
 
 
* E. Zoo (Geography)
 
E1. In what US city would you find the National Zoo?
 
E2. During the Cold War era, in what European city was Zoo
Station the primary terminus for long-distance trains?
 
 
* F. Zorro (Entertainment)
 
F1. What is the real name, or secret identity, of the famous
character generally known as Zorro?
 
F2. There have been two movies and one TV-movie in English with
the title "The Mark of Zorro". (Note, that's Mark with
an R.) Name *any one* of the three men who played Zorro
in them.
 
--
Mark Brader | "I was gratified to be able to answer promptly, and I did.
Toronto | I said I didn't know."
msb@vex.net | --Mark Twain, "Life on the Mississippi"
 
My text in this article is in the public domain.
Joshua Kreitzer <gromit82@hotmail.com>: Sep 09 05:01AM

msb@vex.net (Mark Brader) wrote in news:3vidneo65v1zoU_KnZ2dnUU7-
> page of the handout:
 
> http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/msb/6-9/sets.pdf
 
> 1. "Will and Grace".
 
O
 
> 2. "How I Met Your Mother".
 
H
 
> 3. "The Big Bang Theory".
 
E
 
> 4. "The Brady Bunch".
 
M
 
> Please decode the rot13 only after you have finished with the
> above questions.
 
> 8. Cvpgher S.
 
"Frasier"
 
> the rot13 and identify the picture if you like for fun, but for
> no points.
 
> 11. "Terl'f Nangbzl".
 
N
 
> 12. "Gur Jnygbaf".
 
A
 
> 13. "Gung '70f Fubj".
 
G
 
> 16. "Oernxvat Onq".
 
K
 
 
> A1. "Babe" Zaharias, who lived only from 1914 to 1956, was
> a leading athlete in many sports. She was also known by
> her maiden name; give the *correct spelling* of that name.
 
Didriksen; Didrikson

> 1912 saga featuring a Mormon woman named Jane Withersteen.
> The title is 5 words and mentions a certain color of plant.
> Name that plant or give the full title.
 
"Riders of the Purple Sage"

> B2. Zane Grey was born in a small city which, you won't be
> surprised, was founded by a relative of his. Name the city
> or the state.
 
Zanesville
 
> * C. Z-Axis (Science)
 
> C1. What is the simple name for the shape represented by the
> equation x² + y² + z² = 100? We just need a one-word answer.
 
sphere
 
> C2. Please answer the previous question before decoding the
> rot13 for this one. Jung vf gur enqvhf bs gung fcurer?
 
10

 
> D1. Georgy ["Gay-ORG-ee"] Zhukov was born in a village near
> Moscow. Eventually he rose to play a leading role in his
> country's war against *what enemy*?
 
Germany
 
> rot13 for this one. Jr pnyy vg n cneg bs Jbeyq Jne VV,
> ohg gur Ehffvnaf unir gurve bja anzr sbe gurve jne ntnvafg
> Anmv Treznal. Va Ratyvfu, jung vf gung anzr?
 
Great Patriotic War

> * E. Zoo (Geography)
 
> E1. In what US city would you find the National Zoo?
 
Washington
 
> E2. During the Cold War era, in what European city was Zoo
> Station the primary terminus for long-distance trains?
 
Berlin

> * F. Zorro (Entertainment)
 
> F1. What is the real name, or secret identity, of the famous
> character generally known as Zorro?
 
Don Diego de la Vega
 
> the title "The Mark of Zorro". (Note, that's Mark with
> an R.) Name *any one* of the three men who played Zorro
> in them.
 
Antonio Banderas
 
--
Joshua Kreitzer
gromit82@hotmail.com
msb@vex.net (Mark Brader): Sep 08 08:42AM -0500

"Calvin":
>>> 9 What planet is nearest in size to the Earth?
 
Mark Brader:
>> At one time the answer was Venus, but it may have changed now that so
>> many planets are being discovered in other solar systems; but if so,
>> I have no idea to what.
 
Dan Tilque:
> They never report error bars in the popular accounts about exoplanet
> discoveries. I never bother to look them up, but I'd expect that all
> such have huge error bars in terms of any reported sizes and masses...
 
Ah, but the question didn't ask only about *known* information! :-)
--
Mark Brader | The "I didn't think of that" type of failure occurs because
Toronto | I didn't think of that, and the reason I didn't think of it
msb@vex.net | is because it never occurred to me. If we'd been able to
| think of 'em, we would have. -- John W. Campbell
 
My text in this article is in the public domain.
"Peter Smyth" <smythp@gmail.com>: Sep 08 05:29PM

Calvin wrote:
 
 
> 1 Which useful alloy commonly consists of 60% tin and 40% lead?
Pewter
 
> 3 Who co-starred with Heath Ledger in the 2008 movie "Brokeback
> Mountain"?
 
> 4 An Olympic decathlon is contested over how many days?
2
> 5 In 1947 Boulder Dam was officially re-named in honour of which
> former US president?
Hoover
> 6 What flavouring is used in Frangelico liqueur?
Orange
> 7 If you travelled the "Road to Mandalay", which Asian country would
> you be in?
Burma / Myanmar
> 8 What 1973 film was Bruce Lee's last?
The Crow
> 9 What planet is nearest in size to the Earth?
Venus
> 10 The first human heart transplant was performed in 1967 in which
> country?
South Africa
 
Peter Smyth
Erland Sommarskog <esquel@sommarskog.se>: Sep 08 08:43PM +0200

> Ah, but the question didn't ask only about *known* information! :-)
 
Yup. Thus, the only correct answer is "I haven't a single clue - and nor
has anyone else".
 
--
Erland Sommarskog, Stockholm, esquel@sommarskog.se
Gareth Owen <gwowen@gmail.com>: Sep 08 08:05PM +0100

>> Ah, but the question didn't ask only about *known* information! :-)
 
> Yup. Thus, the only correct answer is "I haven't a single clue - and nor
> has anyone else".
 
Then I'm doubling down on my answer of "Earth"
msb@vex.net (Mark Brader): Sep 08 02:10PM -0500

"Calvin":
> > 9 What planet is nearest in size to the Earth?

Mark Brader:
> At one time the answer was Venus, but it may have changed now that so
> many planets are being discovered in other solar systems; but if so,
> I have no idea to what.
 
Just for fun, I googled for a catalog of exoplanets and found one at:
http://exoplanet.eu/catalog
 
Setting it to show mass and radius in terms of the Earth's, and sorting
by mass, I found the following planets for which there is a known mass
and a known radius, and both are within a factor of 2 of Earth's.
 
PLANET MASS RADIUS
Kepler-102 f 0.64 0.89
Kepler-70 c 0.67 0.87
KOI-2700 b 0.86 1.06
Kepler-42 d 0.95 0.57
Kepler-138 c 1.01 1.61
Kepler-138 d 1.01 1.61
GJ 1132 b 1.6 1.15
Kepler-78 b 1.69 1.2
Kepler-177 b 1.7 2.9
Kepler-11 b 1.9 1.8
Kepler-42 c 1.9 0.73
Kepler-167 d 1.9 1.194
 
As you see, of this list Kepler-138 c and d are closest in size to
Earth if you take "size" to mean mass, but KOI-2700 b is the closest
in terms of radius and definitely the closest if both parameters are
taken into account.
 
For comparison we have:
 
Venus 0.81 0.95
 
So Venus is not as close to Earth in mass as KOI-2700 b is, but it
is a bit closer in radius.
 
Of course, this tabulation assumes that the measurements are
accurate to the precision shown, which (as Dan Tilque points out)
is not necessarily true.
 
The catalog also includes a large number of other planets where only
the mass or only the radius is known. Only a few of these have
masses close to 1 Earth mass, but quite a lot have radii close to
1 Earth radius. So some of them might be better candidates for an
answer, if only we knew.
--
Mark Brader | "I was gratified to be able to answer promptly, and I did.
Toronto | I said I didn't know."
msb@vex.net | --Mark Twain, "Life on the Mississippi"
 
My text in this article is in the public domain.
Erland Sommarskog <esquel@sommarskog.se>: Sep 08 11:06PM +0200

> masses close to 1 Earth mass, but quite a lot have radii close to
> 1 Earth radius. So some of them might be better candidates for an
> answer, if only we knew.
 
And then there may be a planet in another galaxy which is more or less
a clone of Earth, but we which would not be able to observe, even if
we were able to look into that galaxy with our telescopes, because at
the point in time we can observed, that solar system is still under
construction.
 
 
--
Erland Sommarskog, Stockholm, esquel@sommarskog.se
Dan Tilque <dtilque@frontier.com>: Sep 08 03:04PM -0700

Erland Sommarskog wrote:
> we were able to look into that galaxy with our telescopes, because at
> the point in time we can observed, that solar system is still under
> construction.
 
Considering the likely number (trillions) of planets in *this* galaxy,
it's virtually certain there's at least one clone of Earth among them.
More likely there's thousands or even millions, although the exact
number depends on how close they have to be to be considered a clone.
But that's only counting size and mass. They may or may not be clones in
other ways. For example, they may have wildly different amount of water
or density of atmosphere. And they may or may not have life on them.
 
 
--
Dan Tilque
"Chris F.A. Johnson" <cfajohnson@cfaj.ca>: Sep 08 07:42PM -0400

On 2016-09-08, Calvin wrote:
 
> 1 Which useful alloy commonly consists of 60% tin and 40% lead?
 
Pewter
 
> 2 "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?" was a sequel to which 1990 film?
> 3 Who co-starred with Heath Ledger in the 2008 movie "Brokeback Mountain"?
 
Jake Gyllenhall and Randy Quaid
 
> 4 An Olympic decathlon is contested over how many days?
 
5
 
> 5 In 1947 Boulder Dam was officially re-named in honour of which former US president?
 
Hoover
 
> 6 What flavouring is used in Frangelico liqueur?
 
Banana
 
> 7 If you travelled the "Road to Mandalay", which Asian country would you be in?
 
Myanmar/Burma
 
> 8 What 1973 film was Bruce Lee's last?
 
Enter the Dragon
 
> 9 What planet is nearest in size to the Earth?
 
Venus (in this solar system)
 
> 10 The first human heart transplant was performed in 1967 in which country?
 
South Africa
 
--
Chris F.A. Johnson
"Peter Smyth" <smythp@gmail.com>: Sep 08 05:34PM

Dan Tilque wrote:
 
 
> > Yes it was.
 
> Since when is cockfighting a "royal sport"? Who called it that? I've
> never heard it characterized as such.
 
You mean you haven't read "Cockfighting Heritage: The Royal Sport" by
Narciso T. Arong? Shame on you!
 
https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Cockfighting_Heritage.html?id=pDYzkgAACAAJ&redir_esc=y
 
Peter Smyth
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