Where in the world is this?
405 Lexington Avenue New York City. It is a part of William Van Allen's amazing Chrysler Building, built in 1930.
The Spanish have a word for it, when will you tell me what it is?
Maņana.
What is this?
Aston Martin DB5 Vantage, 1965. Chassis number 1810L, as both Demar and Alan inform me.
What did this colourful young man become?
There was a clue in the background, I replaced the original background with deep purple smoke.
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Ritchie Blackmore member of the bands Deep Purple and Rainbow. According to The Rough Guide to Rock, "the Deep Purple aesthetic was based on the British notion of squeezing and stretching the blues, turning up the bass and blasting volts through the speakers until your ears bled." |
Demar
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Ritchie Blackmore is a very talented guitarist, arguably one of the best ever. His talent is eclipsed only by his ego. But having said that any force or object capable of eclipsing his ego should be regarded as a potential threat to all life on Earth.
Who was the first motor racing driver to act as though he wanted to survive a crash? Using seat belts, roll over bars and fire-resistant overalls and mask.
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Jackie Stewart. In the 1960's Jackie Stewart pioneered safety in motorsports. He had seatbelts and roll bars fitted to his car, wore fire resistant clothing and a fire resistant mask under his helmet. While then he was seen as being overly cautious by the mid 1970's all of his ideas had been adopted by the sport. |
Demar
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Who drew this?
Adolf Hitler. Second rate artist, first rate psychopathic rabble-rouser.
What was the remorseful toyboy's criminal plan to hustle up a new future?
From Maggie Mae by Rod Stewart
Wake up Maggie, I think I've got something to say to you
It's late September and I really should be back at school
I know I keep you amused
But I fell I'm being used
Oh Maggie, I couldn't have tried any more
You led me away from home
Just to save you from being alone
You stole my heart and that's what really hurts
The morning sun when it's in your eyes really shows your age
But that don't worry me none, in my eyes you're everything
I laughed at all of your jokes
My love you didn't need to coax
Oh Maggie, I couldn't have tried any more
You led me away from home
Just to save you from being alone
You stole my soul and that's a pain I can do without
All I needed was a friend to lend a helping hand
But you turned into a lover and mother, what a lover, you wore me out
All you did was wreck my bed
And in the morning kick me in the head
Oh Maggie, I couldn't have tried any more
You led me away from home 'Cause you didn't want to be alone
You stole my heart, I couldn't leave you if I tried
I suppose I could collect my books and go on back to school
Or steal my daddy's cue and make a living at playing pool
Or find myself a rock and roll band
That needs a helping hand
Oh Maggie, I wished I'd never seen your face
You made a first class fool out of me
But I'm as blind as a fool can be
You stole my heart but I love you anyway
I'd never seen your face I'll get on back home, one of these days
What a load of old tosh, but not exactly obscure.
Ted was invited to the family reunion back in Ireland. While he couldn't swim much he knew he couldn't fly at all, so he decided to charter a yacht and sail over from Boston. Ted assumed that the distances between the airports (virtually on their respective coasts) and the harbour would cancel out but calculated that flying would involve a greater distance, what reasoning did he use? Do you agree?
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Looking at a flat map of the World there seems to be no land mass between Boston and Ireland, but on a globe of the World there is a chunk of Canada in the way. What reasoning did he use? He may have reasoned that the plane's altitude would have added extra distance compared to a journey travelled at sea level. Do you agree? No! We assume there would be a flight path over Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, whereas a boat would need to head east to detour around them. |
Demar
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Once a human body has made a decision it leaves it up to the brain to come up with a rationalization. A fear of flying would have made a man likely to want to accept the idea that by increasing the altitude by about three miles this had effectively increased the radius of the great circle to be navigated, with consequent increases to the flight path along part of the the circumference of that great circle. That idea would not hold much water with somebody who did not want to believe it, as it would be negated by the detour around the Canadian coast and the extra distance contributed by the ocean swell, not to mention the obvious point that the precise distance is hardly relevant, to the dangers, the costs or the time taken.
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Ted may be reasoning that since the earth rotates about 1000 mph near the equator and about 700 mph at 45 degrees latitude, from west to east, the plane would have to travel farther when flying in that direction because Ireland would be moving away from it. However, in this he's wrong; the plane has inertia, one interpretation of which means the plane assumes the earth's frame of reference, moving right along with the earth's surface, and does not gain any advantage or disadvantage from this motion when travelling to another point within the same frame of reference. Nevertheless, he's right in thinking greater distance would be involved with flying; firstly because the plane has to rise and fall, rather than merely hug the surface as a yacht would (I'm simplifying to a Flat Earth analogy here), and secondly because the plane would have to follow a prescribed flight path, which probably wouldn't be (again, simplified) a straight line. |
Alan
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Who painted this?
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Georges Seurat, (1859-91) Bathing at Asničres 1883-84 . |
Demar
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Georges Seurat's "Bathers", presently at the National Gallery, London. |
Venky
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Why did a big chunk (6.2 Kg) of horseflesh end up in a glass cabinet as a national treasure rather than in a can of dog food?
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Phar Lap is an Australian sporting hero second only to Don Bradman (who has not been stuffed and put in our National Museum). Phar Lap's Heart is in the National Museum of Australia his mounted hide is in the Museum of Victoria and his skeleton is in the National Museum of New Zealand. Phar Lap's abnormally large heart, weighs 6.2 kilograms (the average for a horse is 4.0 kilograms). Phar Lap was born in New Zealand (1926), was owned by an American and trained in Australia, he won 37 of his 51 races including the 1930 Melbourne Cup. He died in the United States in 1932, amid controversial circumstances. Why is it a national treasure? Fucked if we know! |
Demar
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An old school dictionary falls open. Between unconquerable and a flesh eating jungle animal I find a non metallic element, a Greek letter of very small significance, faultless, a neck of land and letters of a sloping kind. I also find two historical political groups with rather similar names but very different causes, who are they?
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Jacobin: A radical republican during the French Revolution. Jacobite: A supporter of James II of England or of the Stuart pretenders after 1688. Invincible: Incapable of being overcome or defeated; unconquerable. Iodine: A non-metallic element, of the halogen group. Iota: A very small amount; a bit. Impeccable: Having no flaws; perfect. Isthmus: A narrow strip of land connecting two larger masses of land. Italic: Style of printing type patterned on a Renaissance script with the letters slanting to the right. Jaguar: A large spotted feline of tropical America similar to the leopard. |
Demar
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Very close, but not quite irreproachable, impeccable is several pages further back.
Why was this insect, not native to Britain, a source of terror to Londoners during the Second World War?
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Antlion or Doodle bug. The German self propelled missiles, the V-1s were also known as "Doodle bugs" because of the droning noise they made, when the noise stopped people had 15 seconds to escape from the powerful blast that followed. About 8,000 were launched at Britain, and over 2,000 of them hit London. Over 6,000 Londoners were killed and about 500,000 homes were destroyed. |
Demar
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Doodlebug is the American colloquial term for the antlion larva (Neuroptera myrmeleontidae) shown in the picture, and also the British colloquial name for the V-1, the earliest type of flying bomb used by the Germans in World War II. |
Alan
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This is an interesting piece of language. Why did the Londoners use an American expression? It seems obvious to me that the V-1s were named by American forces, probably by good ol' boys from the South, and passed on to the Londoners in the same way as chewing gum, nylons and the clap. It is powerful evidence of how profoundly cool Americans with money to spend were in a city that had been suffering appalling shortages for several years.
V-1s were pulse-jet powered cruise missiles with little accuracy, they flew noisily as far as their fuel would take them then went quiet, and glided down to earth. The sound of the jets was distinctive, but it was the silence that terrified the Londoners, although it wasn't the sound or lack of it but the large high explosive warhead that caused the damage.
How many goals did Holland score in the FIFA World Cup in Korea and Japan?
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Just one -- in the 52nd minute of the Ireland-Cameroon match. Hit the bloody crossbar in the penalty shoot-out against Spain, though, silly sod. |
Alan
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Of course mighty orange-clad Holland missed the final stages of the World Cup along with many other usually good teams (and Scotland) but Matt Holland was a player for the Republic of Ireland and managed to score one goal, which is normally the most Ireland ever score in international matches.
He invented machines for sowing and breaking hemp but how is he best known?
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Richard John Gatling, more famous for the Gatling gun. |
Venky
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Richard Jordan Gatling (1818-1903) The Gatling Gun (1862) A rapid fire machine-gun that could discharge 350 shots per minute. By the 1870s it had been adopted by almost every civilized (?) nation. |
Demar
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At one time you were the best dressed living sentient being in the Universe (not exactly difficult when you consider your opposition) but who is your nylon clad alter ego?
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Duane Dibbley - the cat WITHOUT cool. Red Dwarf's Cat "Superficial is my middle name". Cat is a selfish, self-centered shallow creature (all his best points) and lives purely to collect suits and to give the world pleasure "because of his great ass". Eventually he plans to settle down when he has found the right small group of girls, maybe seven or eight. |
Demar
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Cat is the sole survivor of the species Felis sapiens, evolved from the pregnant cat (Frankenstein) smuggled on board the mining vessel Red Dwarf by Lister, a total slob. The entire crew, and all of mankind, perish in the million years it takes for the new species to evolve. Lister is the sole human survivor. Cat has some intelligence but many of the characteristics of his feline ancestors, especially vanity, promiscuity and ego. Duane Dibbley is a character that plays Cat in a total immersion video game, Better Than Life, Dibbley is a total dork, with huge teeth, a terrible pudding-basin haircut and all the social éclat of a train-spotter's less cool friend.
From Top 10 reasons why these two Americans love Red Dwarf by Mike McCarty and Mark McLaughlin:
In a few episodes, the Cat (coolness personified) is shown to have an alternate, or perhaps, anti-personality: Duane Dibbley, the ultimate nerd. Duane has it all: buckteeth, lunch pail, tragic haircut - and plaid. This walking sight-gag always gets a laugh.
Who is this?
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The "original 10", Nadia Comaneci. |
Don
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A sensationally good woman gymnast who actually had breasts and looked female. (It's true!)
What do the films "The Egyptian", "Butterfield 8", and "Bluebeard" have in common?
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The movies starred respectively Michael Wilding, Eddie Fisher, and Richard Burton, each of whom was the current husband of Elizabeth Taylor. |
Alan
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Russ
Who are these characters?
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Earl Sinclair and his youngest son, known only as "(The) Baby" (who tended to call his father "Not-the-mama", especially when he kept hitting him with a frying pan), from the TV series "Dinosaurs". There's a show without much hope for a revival; in the last episode, all of the dinosaurs die. |
Don
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Who turned a world famous soundbite into a novel take on the Irish contribution to the Second World War?
Is there any more famous soundbite than “The Eagle has landed”? Well, not many, and certainly not many that were the titles of novels set against the Second World War. Jack Higgins wrote this unusual piece of fiction disguised as history (or is it history disguised as fiction? My money is on fiction disguised as history disguised as fiction.) It features a character working for the IRA by planning to assassinate Winston Churchill with the help of German paratroopers.
Which Saint was allowed to go to Boardwalk while others went directly to jail?
Saint Jude - more specifically, St. Jude's Children's Hospital. For a number of years in the 1990s and early 2000s, McDonald's ran a promotion in North America (and, in some years, worldwide as well) where players collected game pieces based on the spaces in Monopoly. Anyone who collected both Park Place (of which there were millions available) and Boardwalk (of which there was just one) won $1,000,000 (in some years, $2,000,000). The problem was, Jerome Jacobson, an employee for Simon Marketing Incorporated, which printed the pieces, managed to set the Boardwalk pieces aside and had friends of his claim to be the winners. In one of the early contests, St. Jude's Children's Hospital (made famous by its association with actor Danny Thomas) received a winning piece in the mail anonymously. Technically, even if the McDonald's corporation wanted to take the prize away from them, they couldn't, as they already had - there is a rule against receiving pieces other than through the "normal" means (i.e. buying McDonald's food or sending away for a free game piece), but the company announced they would donate $1,000,000 to the hospital anyway (conveniently forgetting to mention that, by doing it this way, they could take the $330,000 tax deduction).