Quiz #9: A little bit of nonsense now and then...
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Q 1 Which president is on the US one dollar standard size note?
A George Washington
Those on higher denomination bills are:
- $2 - Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President
- $5 - Abraham Lincoln, 16th President
- $10 - Alexander Hamilton, 1st United States Secretary of the Treasury
- $20 - Andrew Jackson, 7th President
- $50 - Ulysses S. Grant, 18th President
- $100 - Benjamin Franklin, 6th president of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania
Q 2 Which TV detective was known for his fondness of lollipops?
A Lt. Theo Kojak
The detective series Kojak ran from 1973-78, and in early episodes he is sometimes seen smoking. When it was banned from TV he switched to lollipops. One of his more famous quotes is the catch-phrase, "Who loves ya, baby?".
Kojak was played by actor Telly Savalas. In 1975 he released a spoken version of the Bread song If that reached #1 in the UK. He also presented the 'Return to Titanic Live' show in 1987 which was criticised as being, "unsympathetic, lacking dignity and finesse".
Q 3 What is the study of flags known as?
A Vexillology
Flags nerds and fans of The Big Bang Theory will know will know this already. One of the BBT's characters Dr Sheldon Cooper has a series called Fun with Flags.
Q 4 How many times did Muhammad Ali win the world heavyweight title?
A Three times.
He won the title in 1964, 1974, and 1978.
Born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. in 1942, he changed his name to Muhammad Ali in 1964 after converting to Islam. His most well-known quote is "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee". He was a conscientious objector to the war in Vietnam, and was banned from boxing because of his stand; in 1971 his conviction for refusing the draft was overturned.
He won 56 of 61 fights and has been on the cover of Sports Illustrated 37 times. (Only Michael Jordan has been on the cover more times).
Q 5 What are New Zealand's official languages?
A English, Māori and New Zealand Sign Language.
Te reo Māori and NZ Sign Language have Official Language status under law. English is an official language by convention. The only place English is required by law is for the keeping of tax records.
Q 6 Evel Knievel was known for his death-defying motorcycle stunts. How many bones did he break during his career?
A 433
This was as at 1975, according to Guinness World Records. It was often said he'd broken every bone in his body. In fact, he broke some bones many, many times. His real first name was Robert.
His son Robbie is also a stunt rider, and has replicated many of his father's jumps.
Q 7 What is the heaviest naturally occurring element on Earth?
Q 8 Who played Willie Wonka in the 1971 movie Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory?
A Gene Wilder
Gene Wilder said in an interview that he only accepted the role for the 1971 film because they allowed him to somersault for his grand entrance. Roald Dahl wrote the book on which the film was based, and Johnny Depp played Wonka in the 2005 remake.
The cast of Willy Wonka were recently interviewed by NBC:
Gene Wilder was unavailable for the meeting, but gave this interview in 2013:
Q 9 What was Tarzan's real name?
A John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke
Clayton was the central character in the novel Tarzan Of The Apes, published first in magazine form in 1912.
Q 10 How far is a light year (approximately)?
A 10 trillion kilometres
A light year is the distance light travels in 1 year and that is 9.461 trillion kilometres.
The speed of light is 299,792 kilometres per second. This makes the moon about 1.2 light-seconds away from the Earth, and the sun is 8.32 light minutes away.
