General Knowledge Quiz

[theageofthetra]

Nothing to do with skiing. It involves going fast though.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Is it anything to do with a blind person setting a speed record in any type of motorised vehicle?

 

[Marton]

Is it anything to do with a blind person setting a speed record in any type of motorised vehicle?

I suspect it's blind motor cycling

 

[theageofthetra]

Paul is nearest. There are world speed records for the fastest blind motorcyclist (who has a very trusting sighted pillion rider!) Car and boat. Your floor.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I will declare Open Floor

 

[Welshman]

According to Northern folklore, which ceremony was desired to take place at the beginning of the New Year, and which commodities were involved?

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

There are a number of both Old Norse and Old Germanic possibilities, so I will go for the Old Norse 12-day festival celebration of their New Year in which the cooked flesh of sacrificed animals and copious amounts of mead and beer were consumed by those celebrating this occasion.

 

[Springs Branch]

Is this the tradition of First Footing?

The first person to enter a home shortly after midnight on New Years Day is meant to bring a gift signifying good luck & prosperity for the coming year.

Coal is the commodity I'm most familiar with, but I believe salt, a few coins and (in Scotland, or course) whisky might be suitable alternatives.

 

[Welshman]

Is this the tradition of First Footing?

The first person to enter a home shortly after midnight on New Years Day is meant to bring a gift signifying good luck & prosperity for the coming year.

Coal is the commodity I'm most familiar with, but I believe salt, a few coins and (in Scotland, or course) whisky might be suitable alternatives.

First Footing was what I had in mind.

The gifts of bread, coal and salt were believed to be harbingers of food, warmth and wealth for the coming New Year.

Over to you.

 

[Springs Branch]

Open floor to the next person with a question.

--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I'll jump back in with a quick one, which I doubt will be taxing, given the calibre of the regulars here.....

"Lanthanides" is the collective noun for a group of things which are present in nature.

What is a more common name for the lanthanides, and why is this alternative name not really accurate?

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Is the term "Rare Earths" the more common name used? I cannot offer more than this as a posting suggestion save to say that the composition of certain of these elements do not readily lend themselves to the correctness on the generic classification.

 

[Springs Branch]

You pretty much have it Paul, Rare Earths is indeed the trivial name.

The reason the name is inaccurate is these chemical elements are not particularly rare. Most have abundance in the earth's crust similar or greater than other well-known metals which have been used since ancient times (e.g. copper, silver and tin). The difference is the lanthanides are widely distributed & do not accumulate as localised concentrated mineral ores which are easily mined. Plus they can be difficult to extract & separate from each other using historical methods.

Anyhow, chemistry lesson over - your floor.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Which personage is generally accepted to have been the leader of the group known during the Cromwellian period of time as "The Levellers" ?

 

[theageofthetra]

John Lilburne.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Correct...Over to you.

 

[theageofthetra]

Name 10 characters depicted by Roger Moore on film that aren't James Bond or The Saint. First with 10 wins then their floor.

 

[t_star2001uk]

1.Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe
2."Silky" Harris
3. Beau Maverick
4. Lord Brett Sinclair
5. Rod Slater
6.Sebastian Oldsmith
7.Lieutenant Shawn Fynn
8.Rufus Excalibur ffolkes
9. Seymour Goldfarb, Jr
10.Inspector Jacques Clouseau

and a bonus one

11. Lloyd Faversham

Open Floor if correct

 

[theageofthetra]

My favorite being Seymour Goldfarb in The Cannonball Run. Your floor.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Open Floor if correct

As already intimated above, Open Floor is now operational.

 

[Welshman]

In the calendar of the Christian Church, one of the names for a certain Sunday is taken from the Latin introit, translated as - "O be joyful, Jerusalem"

Can you give a couple of alternative names for this Sunday?

 

[Marton]

Laetare Sunday

Mother's Day

Mothering Sunday

Mid lent Sunday.

 

[Welshman]

I thought you might get that one.
Correct.

 

[Marton]

I thought you might get that one.

Correct.

Thanks.

Why was Carlisle Cathedral unique in mediaeval England?

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Was it originally built as an Augustinian priory before then becoming a cathedral?

 

[Marton]

Correct.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

In Greek mythology, who was said to be the mother of Uranus?

 

[Springs Branch]

That is generally said to be Gaea (or Gaia), the primal mother goddess of the earth.

Let's not get into subsequent events involving Uranus & Gaea which led to birth of the other classical gods, Titans, Cyclops and the like - unpleasant, even by ancient mythology standards.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

A most detailed correct answer.

Over to you.

 

[Springs Branch]

Which London barrister was said to have worn a wig previously owned by the Chief Justice of Tonga?

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Horace Rumpole