Musings of an aging fan

Remember this quiz? Well, here are the answers:

1. 55 BC: Julius Ceaser's first expedition to Britain
2. 54 BC: Julius Ceaser's second expedition to Britain
3. 43 AD: Claudius' invasion of Britain
4. 410: Roman legions leave Britain
5. 449: Saxons come to Britain
6. 597: Gregory the Great's mission to the English
7. 991: Battle of Maldon
8. 1066 (September): Battle of Stamford Bridge
9. 1066 (October): Battle of Hastings
10. 1346: Battle of Crecy
11. 1348: Black Death arrives
12. 1356: Battle of Poitiers
13. 1415: Battle of Agincourt
14. 1485: Battle of Bosworth Field
15. 1497: John Cabot goes off to discover Newfoundland

ladyofastolat wins, and gets chocolate; with an honourable mention to John David Colfield on Facebook.

Remember this?
"This is a quiz from this month's issue of The Actuary mgazine. For each of the pairs given below, which is larger - or are they roughly the same?
1. No of grains of rice in a 1kg bag v No of runners in the 2011 London Marathon
2. No of words in the Bible vs No of cars built in the UK in 2010
3. Diameter in inches of a golf hole v Max breadth in inches of a cricket bat
4. No of pints in an Olympic standard swimming pool v No of people in Tanzania
5. No of hairs on my head v No of employees on the Indian state railway"
http://wellinghall.livejournal.com/910302.html

Well, the answers are out!
"1. Roughly the same — around 35,000 of each, although this depends on the grain used.
2. Number of cars built in the UK — over 1.3 million in 2010, versus around 783,000 words in the Bible.
3. Exactly the same — four and a quarter inches for each.
4. People in Tanzania — approximately 38 million. Minimum volume of an Olympic swimming pool is 2.5m litres or around 4.4 million pints, so in practice would be less.
5. The Indian state railway has around 390,000 employees. Humans rarely have more than 140,000 hairs on their heads."

1. How many full member nations of the UN are there? 193 since South Sudan joined earlier this year.
( Read more... )

Remember this quiz?
http://wellinghall.livejournal.com/846515.html

1 is, as colinbj said, the diameter in centimetres of lead shot of weight n balls per lb.. It is therefore of use in determining shotgun gauges.

2 is William Henry "Dusty" Hare, with 7,337 points.

3 is, as wemyss and camillofan said, Kapil Dev.

The answer to 4 is that no prizes are awarded in the Badwater Ultramarathon, "the world's toughest foot race", covering 135 miles (217km) non-stop from Death Valley to Mt. Whitney, CA in temperatures up to 130F (55c).

5 is a ring of diameter 10 inches at 1,000 yards.

6 is John Rae, the Orkney-born Canadian explorer, for his feat in walking 1,200 miles in two months in winter.

7 is, as philmophlegm said, a little over 102 feet.

1. Just like a rollin' stone, I'm outside lookin' in
I'm Mandy, Fly Me; 10cc

2. Meet me at the station underneath the clock, Carry an umbrella, no need to talk
Night Train to Munich; Al Stewart

3. In the year of '39, A simple year, the volunteers
'39; Queen; emperor

4. I see a dark sail on the horizon set under a black cloud that hides the sun
Broadsword; Jethro Tull

5. I’ve travelled the land, With a guitar in my hand
Run For Home; Lindisfarne

6. Love don't give no compensation, Love don't pay no bills
Love Kills; Freddie Mercury; beckyc

7. I don't want my freedom, There's no reason for living with a broken heart
It's a Hard Life; Queen; emperor

8. There is nothing that is wrong, In wanting you to stay here with me
Lay Down Sally; Eric Clapton

9. Warning lights are flashing down at quality control, Somebody threw a spanner and they threw him in the hole
Industrial Disease; Dire Straits; philmophlegm

10. Been beat up and battered around, Been sent up and I've been shot down
Handle With Care; Travelling Wilburys; white_hart

1. Who was the father of Stephanie Flanders (of the BBC)? Michael Flanders (of Flanders and Swann) - camillofan

2. And who was the father of Sarah Smith (of Channel 4)? John Smith (Labour party) - parrot_knight

3. Where did the Duke of Dunstable live? Wiltshire (PG Wodehouse) - segh

4. And which gentlemen's club was on Dover Street? Drones (PG Wodehouse) - camillofan

5. Which major military action resulted in the greatest loss of life for the British Army, as a proportion of those starting out? The Retreat from Kabul (aka The Massacre of Elphinstone's Army); 4,500 soldiers and 12,000 camp followers set out; one man made it back - the_marquis

6. And which was the bloodiest battle on British soil? The Battle of Towton (during the Wars of the Roses); about 28,000 dead; around 78,000 took part; roughly 1% of the population of England was killed in the battle - gurthaew

7. In which year was eBay set up? 1995 - apadamek

8. Which street in London would you go to for a bespoke suit? Saville Row - gramarye1971

9. And for a handmade shirt? Jermyn Street - gramarye1971

10. Which country threatened to invade British Honduras in 1972? Guatamela (as told in the book Phoenix Squadron) - parrot_knight

1. The eyes behind the wide black rubber goggles were cold as flint. From a View to a Kill; my copy is in the collection Quantum of Solace: The Complete James Bond Short Stories; Ian Fleming

2. My suffering left me sad and gloomy. Life of Pi; Yann Martel

3. The studio was filled with the rich odour of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac, or the more delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn. The Portrait of Dorian Grey; Oscar Wilde wemyss

4. The blessed and ever glorious Virgin Mary, sprung from the royal race and family of David, was born in the city of Nazareth, and educated at Jerusalem, in the temple of the Lord. The Gospel of the Birth of Mary; my copy is in The Lost Books of the Bible

5. The great bell of Beaulieu was ringing. The White Company; Arthur Conan Doyle wemyss

6. Imagine that you have to break someone's arm. The Gun Seller; Hugh Laurie tree_and_leaf

7. The architecture of ancient Egypt has much to commend it - size, dignity and durability - but nevertheless it must be admitted that it is a trifle monotonous. Pillar to Post; Osbert Lancaster

8. Not since the Lord himself showed his stuff to Ezekial in the valley of dry bones had anyone shown such grace and skill in the reconstruction of animals from disarticulated skeletons. Wonderful Life; Stephen Jay Gould

9. After having been twice driven back by heavy south-western gales, Her Majesty's ship XXX, a ten-gun brig, under the command of Captain Fitz Roy, R.N., sailed from Devonport on the 27th of December, 1831. The Voyage of the Beagle; Charles Darwin Several people got the idea, although no-one actually gave the title and author

10. On a bright autumn day, as long ago as the year 943, there was a great bustle in the Castle of Bayeux in Normandy. The Little Duke; Charlotte M Yonge jason_finch

1. "Put down that wrench!" Robert A Heinlein, Blowups Happen
2. The deck of the French ship was slippery with blood, heaving in the choppy sea; a stroke might as easily bring down the man making it as the intended target. Naomi Novik, Temeraire
3. My attention was drawn to the spots on my chest when I was in my bath, singing, if I remember rightly, the Toreador song from the opera Carmen. PG Wodehouse, Aunts Aren't Gentlemen
4. As a teenager, I was a great fan of science fiction and fantasy. Colin Bruce, Schrodinger's Rabbits
5. The tall and dour non-com wore Imperial dress greens and carried his communications panel like a field-marshall's baton. Lois McMaster Bujold, The Warrior's Apprentice
6. It was January in northern New York State, sixty-five years ago. Laura Ingalls Wilder, Farmer Boy
7. A January gale was bearing up the Channel, blustering loudly, and bearing in its bosom rain squalls whose big drops rattled loudly on the tarpaulin clothing of those among the officers and med whose duty kept them on deck. CS Forester, Mr Midshipman Hornblower
8. It all began with William's aunt, who was in a good temper that morning and gave him a shilling for posting a letter for her and carrying her parcels from the grocer's. Richmal Compton, Just William
9. Slowly, deliberately, Starr crushed out the butt of his cigarette. Alistair Maclean, HMS Ulysses
10. "But if he thought the woman was being murdered - " Dorothy L Sayers, Unnatural Death
11. Watson had been watching his companion intently ever since he had sat down to the breakfast table. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Watson Learns The Trick
12. One high horn shriled and ceased. Ursula K le Guin, The Tombs of Atuan
13. There was a village once, not very long ago for those with long memories, nor very far away for those with long legs. JRR Tolkien, Smith of Wootton Major
14. Down by the corner of the street, AA Milne, When We Were Very Young
15. There was a king called Fornjot who ruled over Finland and Kvenland, the countries stretching to the east of what we call the Gulf of Bothnia, which lies opposite the White Sea. The Orkneyinga Saga