Category Archives: amusements

amusements, history

December Quiz Questions

This year we’re beginning each month with five pub quiz style questions, with a different subject each month. They’re not difficult, but it is unlikely everyone will know all the answers, so hopefully you’ll learn something new, as well as have a bit of fun.

December Quiz Questions: 17th Century England

  1. John Aubrey and John Evelyn were fellows of which organisation founded in 1660?
  2. Who married the 15 year old Elisabeth Marchant de Saint Michel in December 1655?
  3. How is Matthew Hopkins (c.1620-1647) better known?
  4. What discovery did William Harvey publish in 1628?
  5. Which influential work on political theory did Thomas Hobbes publish in 1651?

Answers will be posted in 3 weeks time.

amusements, medical

November Quiz Answers

OK, so here are the answers to this month’s quiz questions. All should be able to be easily verified online.

November Quiz Questions: Medical

  1. What is the name of the light sensitive panel of cells at the back of the eye? Retina
  2. By what name is Hansen’s Disease more commonly known? Leprosy
  3. In humans, the atlas and axis bones are found in which part of the body? The neck
  4. The hormone prolactin stimulates the production of what after childbirth? Milk
  5. Which blood type is considered the universal donor? O negative

Answers were correct when questions were compiled in late 2021.

amusements, words

This & That

Something else which occurred to me while ill was the prevalence of (mostly noun; sometimes verb) combinations of the form “this and that“. When I started writing them down I realised there are dozens in daily use which we never think about; they’ve just become a part of the language as if they were simple nouns.

Here is an example for each letter of the alphabet.

Alpha & omega
Bacon & egg
Cat & mouse
Dog & bone
Elephant & Castle
Fish & chips
Gin & tonic
Hither & yon
Ice & lemon
Jack & Jill
Knife & fork
Law & order
Mutt & Jeff
Nip & tuck
Oil & vinegar
Pick & mix
Quality & substance
Rock & roll
Sixes & sevens
Time & tide
Uncle & aunt
Venus & Mars
Wear & tear
X & Y
Young & old
Zig & zag

I got a list of 134 without trying too hard. How many can you think of? Can you beat me?

amusements

Surrealist Alphabet

While being ill I fell to thinking about what Wikipedia calls a Cockney Alphabet:

The Cockney Alphabet is a recital of the English alphabet intended to parody the way the alphabet is taught to small working class children. The ostensible humour comes from forming unexpected words and phrases from the names of the various letters of the alphabet, mocking the way people from East London speak. Cockney is a name given to the working class of East London by the middle and upper classes.

[Note the erroneous definition of Cockney.]

One version (maybe the original?) was recorded in 1936 by comedy duo Clapham & Dwyer, but under the title A Surrealist Alphabet. Their version is reproduced in the Wikipedia entry. As Wikipedia also notes, there are many variants. Here are my preferred variants.

A for ‘orses
B for mutton
C for yourself
D for Kate
E for brick
F for vescence
G for police
H be for beauty
I for Novello
J for oranges
K for teria
L for leather
M for sis
N for lope
O for a pee
P for relief
Q for a bus
R for Askey
S for you
T for two
U for mism
V for la France
W for a bob
X for breakfast
Y for husband
Z for breezes

As always, YMMV.

amusements, medical

November Quiz Questions

This year we’re beginning each month with five pub quiz style questions, with a different subject each month. They’re not difficult, but it is unlikely everyone will know all the answers, so hopefully you’ll learn something new, as well as have a bit of fun.

November Quiz Questions: Medical

  1. What is the name of the light sensitive panel of cells at the back of the eye?
  2. By what name is Hansen’s Disease more commonly known?
  3. In humans, the atlas and axis bones are found in which part of the body?
  4. The hormone prolactin stimulates the production of what after childbirth?
  5. Which blood type is considered the universal donor?

Answers will be posted in 3 weeks time.

amusements, history

October Quiz Answers

OK, so here are the answers to this month’s quiz questions. All should be able to be easily verified online.

October Quiz Questions: American History

  1. Which Native American princess is buried in Kent? Pocahontas; at Gravesend
  2. How many World War II casualties were there on US soil? Six; in 1945 a Japanese balloon bomb landed in Oregon killing a woman and five children
  3. Which nation in 1886 gave the Statue of Liberty to the USA? France
  4. Who, in 1825, became number 6? John Quincy Adams, 6th President of USA
  5. Where, in 1773, was there a famous tea party? Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Answers were correct when questions were compiled in late 2021.

amusements, history

October Quiz Questions

This year we’re beginning each month with five pub quiz style questions, with a different subject each month. They’re not difficult, but it is unlikely everyone will know all the answers, so hopefully you’ll learn something new, as well as have a bit of fun.

October Quiz Questions: American History

  1. Which Native American princess is buried in Kent?
  2. How many World War II casualties were there on US soil?
  3. Which nation in 1886 gave the Statue of Liberty to the USA?
  4. Who, in 1825, became number 6?
  5. Where, in 1773, was there a famous tea party?

Answers will be posted in 3 weeks time.