Discussion:
Erland's occasional quiz
(too old to reply)
Erland Sommarskog
2023-10-28 20:32:49 UTC
Permalink
Here is one of my occasional quizzes. 12 unasoorted questions of varying
degree of difficulty. As always, only use your knowledge. No googling,
asking the cat etc. Post your answers to the newsgroup. Each question is
worth one point. In case of a tie I will make a subjective evaluation of
the incorrect answers to name a single winner.

I plan to score this on Thursday Nov 2nd.

Have fun!


1. When was Moscow first established as a principality. Answer by giving a
half-century. For instance, if you think it happened this year, you would
answer "First half of 21st century."

2. The Italian film "Il Postino" ("The Postman") from 1994 tells a
fictive story, but one of the characters is a real-life Nobel
laureate in literature. Who?

3. Explain the Japanese term "karoshi".

4. What would you use Roundup for?

5. The Khazars, a Turkic people, dominated the land north of Caucasus during
a couple of centuries up around 950 AD. There is one thing which is
noticeable with them in terms of religion. What?

6. In linguistics, what sound change does "metathesis" refer to?

7. This band had already released three albums when they recruited a new
singer and released an album with the name of an European capital. This
album and the title track is probably their most well-known work. Name
the band.

8. Explain the term "Drowning on dry land".

9. If you are at the Roland Garros stadium, which sport are you likely to be
watching?

10, A logical consequence of the election results is that Donald T will come
back as a state leader. In which country?

11. Tata Group has business in a wide range of products and services. Their
origin and headquarters are in which country?

12. Refer to Loading Image.... Name any of the
two lover boys.
Mark Brader
2023-10-28 22:25:07 UTC
Permalink
Post by Erland Sommarskog
1. When was Moscow first established as a principality. Answer by giving a
half-century. For instance, if you think it happened this year, you would
answer "First half of 21st century."
I'll say first half of the 13th century.
Post by Erland Sommarskog
4. What would you use Roundup for?
To kill weeds and allegedly harm myself.
Post by Erland Sommarskog
6. In linguistics, what sound change does "metathesis" refer to?
An interchange of consonant sounds, as in "methatesis".
Post by Erland Sommarskog
8. Explain the term "Drowning on dry land".
The result of drinking a potentially lethal excess of water.
Post by Erland Sommarskog
9. If you are at the Roland Garros stadium, which sport are you likely to be
watching?
Tennis. (Although the first time I heard of the place was when an
international bridge championship was relocated there following a
terrorist attack in the country it was scheduled for.)
Post by Erland Sommarskog
10, A logical consequence of the election results is that Donald T will come
back as a state leader. In which country?
Australia? (Guessed on the basis that the name sounds anglo and the
country has states.)
Post by Erland Sommarskog
11. Tata Group has business in a wide range of products and services. Their
origin and headquarters are in which country?
India.

They were the major investor in my former employer Exegenix.
Post by Erland Sommarskog
12. Refer to https://www.sommarskog.se/temp/P1000637.jpg. Name any of the
two lover boys.
Brezhnev?
--
Mark Brader | "...all these superheroes really have the same super-power:
Toronto | they have the writer(s) on their side."
***@vex.net | --Mark Leeper

My text in this article is in the public domain.
Dan Tilque
2023-10-29 01:36:28 UTC
Permalink
Post by Erland Sommarskog
1. When was Moscow first established as a principality. Answer by giving a
half-century. For instance, if you think it happened this year, you would
answer "First half of 21st century."
first half of 12th century
Post by Erland Sommarskog
2. The Italian film "Il Postino" ("The Postman") from 1994 tells a
fictive story, but one of the characters is a real-life Nobel
laureate in literature. Who?
3. Explain the Japanese term "karoshi".
4. What would you use Roundup for?
killing weeds
Post by Erland Sommarskog
5. The Khazars, a Turkic people, dominated the land north of Caucasus during
a couple of centuries up around 950 AD. There is one thing which is
noticeable with them in terms of religion. What?
they were Zoroastrians
Post by Erland Sommarskog
6. In linguistics, what sound change does "metathesis" refer to?
a sound at the beginning or end of a word moving to the adjacent word in
a common phrase.
Post by Erland Sommarskog
7. This band had already released three albums when they recruited a new
singer and released an album with the name of an European capital. This
album and the title track is probably their most well-known work. Name
the band.
8. Explain the term "Drowning on dry land".
9. If you are at the Roland Garros stadium, which sport are you likely to be
watching?
bullfighting
Post by Erland Sommarskog
10, A logical consequence of the election results is that Donald T will come
back as a state leader. In which country?
Poland
Post by Erland Sommarskog
11. Tata Group has business in a wide range of products and services. Their
origin and headquarters are in which country?
India
Post by Erland Sommarskog
12. Refer to https://www.sommarskog.se/temp/P1000637.jpg. Name any of the
two lover boys.
Putin
--
Dan Tilque
Dan Blum
2023-10-29 02:52:16 UTC
Permalink
Post by Erland Sommarskog
1. When was Moscow first established as a principality. Answer by giving a
half-century. For instance, if you think it happened this year, you would
answer "First half of 21st century."
first half of the 15th century
Post by Erland Sommarskog
2. The Italian film "Il Postino" ("The Postman") from 1994 tells a
fictive story, but one of the characters is a real-life Nobel
laureate in literature. Who?
Calvino
Post by Erland Sommarskog
3. Explain the Japanese term "karoshi".
to die from overwork
Post by Erland Sommarskog
4. What would you use Roundup for?
killing weeds
Post by Erland Sommarskog
5. The Khazars, a Turkic people, dominated the land north of Caucasus during
a couple of centuries up around 950 AD. There is one thing which is
noticeable with them in terms of religion. What?
supposedly the ruling family or families adopted Judaism
Post by Erland Sommarskog
6. In linguistics, what sound change does "metathesis" refer to?
reversal of two phonemes in a word, e.g "iron" being pronounced
"eye-earn" in English
Post by Erland Sommarskog
9. If you are at the Roland Garros stadium, which sport are you likely to be
watching?
soccer
Post by Erland Sommarskog
11. Tata Group has business in a wide range of products and services. Their
origin and headquarters are in which country?
India
Post by Erland Sommarskog
12. Refer to https://www.sommarskog.se/temp/P1000637.jpg. Name any of the
two lover boys.
Brezhnev
--
_______________________________________________________________________
Dan Blum ***@panix.com
"I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't just made it up."
Joshua Kreitzer
2023-10-29 16:20:25 UTC
Permalink
Post by Erland Sommarskog
1. When was Moscow first established as a principality. Answer by giving a
half-century. For instance, if you think it happened this year, you would
answer "First half of 21st century."
First half of 15th century
Post by Erland Sommarskog
2. The Italian film "Il Postino" ("The Postman") from 1994 tells a
fictive story, but one of the characters is a real-life Nobel
laureate in literature. Who?
Neruda
Post by Erland Sommarskog
3. Explain the Japanese term "karoshi".
death by overwork
Post by Erland Sommarskog
4. What would you use Roundup for?
killing weeds (it's a herbicide)
Post by Erland Sommarskog
5. The Khazars, a Turkic people, dominated the land north of Caucasus during
a couple of centuries up around 950 AD. There is one thing which is
noticeable with them in terms of religion. What?
many of them were Jews
Post by Erland Sommarskog
6. In linguistics, what sound change does "metathesis" refer to?
transposition of sounds
Post by Erland Sommarskog
7. This band had already released three albums when they recruited a new
singer and released an album with the name of an European capital. This
album and the title track is probably their most well-known work. Name
the band.
Ultravox
Post by Erland Sommarskog
9. If you are at the Roland Garros stadium, which sport are you likely to be
watching?
tennis
Post by Erland Sommarskog
10, A logical consequence of the election results is that Donald T will come
back as a state leader. In which country?
Poland
Post by Erland Sommarskog
11. Tata Group has business in a wide range of products and services. Their
origin and headquarters are in which country?
India
Post by Erland Sommarskog
12. Refer to https://www.sommarskog.se/temp/P1000637.jpg. Name any of the
two lover boys.
Brezhnev

--
Joshua Kreitzer
***@hotmail.com
swp
2023-10-31 15:38:52 UTC
Permalink
Post by Erland Sommarskog
Here is one of my occasional quizzes. 12 unasoorted questions of varying
degree of difficulty. As always, only use your knowledge. No googling,
asking the cat etc. Post your answers to the newsgroup. Each question is
worth one point. In case of a tie I will make a subjective evaluation of
the incorrect answers to name a single winner.
I like this idea
Post by Erland Sommarskog
I plan to score this on Thursday Nov 2nd.
Have fun!
always
Post by Erland Sommarskog
1. When was Moscow first established as a principality. Answer by giving a
half-century. For instance, if you think it happened this year, you would
answer "First half of 21st century."
second half of 13th century
Post by Erland Sommarskog
2. The Italian film "Il Postino" ("The Postman") from 1994 tells a
fictive story, but one of the characters is a real-life Nobel
laureate in literature. Who?
neruda?
Post by Erland Sommarskog
3. Explain the Japanese term "karoshi".
working yourself to death, literally
Post by Erland Sommarskog
4. What would you use Roundup for?
killing weeds, getting cancer, and suing the manufacturer
Post by Erland Sommarskog
5. The Khazars, a Turkic people, dominated the land north of Caucasus during
a couple of centuries up around 950 AD. There is one thing which is
noticeable with them in terms of religion. What?
they worshiped the sky instead of crom which greatly upset conan the cimmarian and led to much crushing of his enemies and hearing the lamentation of the women
Post by Erland Sommarskog
6. In linguistics, what sound change does "metathesis" refer to?
when combining letters neither sound is made but instead a new sound [the linguistic equivalent of having a precipitate]
Post by Erland Sommarskog
7. This band had already released three albums when they recruited a new
singer and released an album with the name of an European capital. This
album and the title track is probably their most well-known work. Name
the band.
ultravox
Post by Erland Sommarskog
8. Explain the term "Drowning on dry land".
when a tablespoon of water causes the larynx to close up causing choking; also, a vehicle for an episode of grey's anatomy
Post by Erland Sommarskog
9. If you are at the Roland Garros stadium, which sport are you likely to be
watching?
lawn tennis
Post by Erland Sommarskog
10, A logical consequence of the election results is that Donald T will come
back as a state leader. In which country?
poland, where my mother's parents were born and I have many cousins
Post by Erland Sommarskog
11. Tata Group has business in a wide range of products and services. Their
origin and headquarters are in which country?
india
Post by Erland Sommarskog
12. Refer to https://www.sommarskog.se/temp/P1000637.jpg. Name any of the
two lover boys.
leonid brezhnev

swp, who enjoyed doing this very much
Pete Gayde
2023-10-31 18:37:43 UTC
Permalink
Post by Erland Sommarskog
Here is one of my occasional quizzes. 12 unasoorted questions of varying
degree of difficulty. As always, only use your knowledge. No googling,
asking the cat etc. Post your answers to the newsgroup. Each question is
worth one point. In case of a tie I will make a subjective evaluation of
the incorrect answers to name a single winner.
I plan to score this on Thursday Nov 2nd.
Have fun!
1. When was Moscow first established as a principality. Answer by giving a
half-century. For instance, if you think it happened this year, you would
answer "First half of 21st century."
First half of 15th century
Post by Erland Sommarskog
2. The Italian film "Il Postino" ("The Postman") from 1994 tells a
fictive story, but one of the characters is a real-life Nobel
laureate in literature. Who?
3. Explain the Japanese term "karoshi".
4. What would you use Roundup for?
Kills vegetation
Post by Erland Sommarskog
5. The Khazars, a Turkic people, dominated the land north of Caucasus during
a couple of centuries up around 950 AD. There is one thing which is
noticeable with them in terms of religion. What?
6. In linguistics, what sound change does "metathesis" refer to?
7. This band had already released three albums when they recruited a new
singer and released an album with the name of an European capital. This
album and the title track is probably their most well-known work. Name
the band.
8. Explain the term "Drowning on dry land".
9. If you are at the Roland Garros stadium, which sport are you likely to be
watching?
Tennis
Post by Erland Sommarskog
10, A logical consequence of the election results is that Donald T will come
back as a state leader. In which country?
11. Tata Group has business in a wide range of products and services. Their
origin and headquarters are in which country?
France
Post by Erland Sommarskog
12. Refer to https://www.sommarskog.se/temp/P1000637.jpg. Name any of the
two lover boys.
Brezhnev
Pete Gayde
Erland Sommarskog
2023-11-02 21:34:41 UTC
Permalink
This quiz is over, and the winner is STEPHEN W PERRY! Congratulations!

Here is the full scoreboard:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Total
----------------------------------------------------
Swp 1 1 1 1 - - 1 1 - 1 1 1 9
Dan B - - 1 1 1 1 - - - - 1 1 6
Mark B - - - 1 - 1 - - 1 - 1 1 5
Dan T - - - 1 - - - - - 1 1 - 3
Pete G - - - 1 - - - - 1 - - 1 3
Post by Erland Sommarskog
1. When was Moscow first established as a principality. Answer by giving
a half-century. For instance, if you think it happened this year, you
would answer "First half of 21st century."
Second half of 13th century.

The exact year may be 1263, but the sources are somewhat conflicting. What
is clear is that the first prince was Alexander Nevsky's youngest son
Danil, and Nevsky died in 1263 when Danil was two years old. It is likely
that Nevsky gave Moscow to Danil as an appanage in his will. But according
to a footnote in the book I read about Russian in the 13th century, one
source says "Danil ruled there for eleven years", and Danil died in 1303,
which suggests that the principality was established later. But maybe that
scribe made a counting error.
Post by Erland Sommarskog
2. The Italian film "Il Postino" ("The Postman") from 1994 tells a
fictive story, but one of the characters is a real-life Nobel
laureate in literature. Who?
Pablo Neruda. The film is set in the 1950s, so in the film he is not a Nobel
laureate. But he is very popular and get so much mail, that the title person
of the film gets the job of being his private postman,
Post by Erland Sommarskog
3. Explain the Japanese term "karoshi".
Die from overwork.
Post by Erland Sommarskog
4. What would you use Roundup for?
Kill weeds.
Post by Erland Sommarskog
5. The Khazars, a Turkic people, dominated the land north of Caucasus
during a couple of centuries up around 950 AD. There is one thing which
is noticeable with them in terms of religion. What?
The embraced Judaism. As Dan suggests, it seems to have mainly been the
ruling class. From what I've heard, this was due to that they had the
Muslim Central Asia to the east and the Christian Byzantium to the
south-west, so they kept both at bay this way. But in the end, it didn't
help. They were sacked by the upcoming Kievan Rus - still pagans at the
time.
Post by Erland Sommarskog
6. In linguistics, what sound change does "metathesis" refer to?
When two sounds in a word change placed with each other. Not necessarily
consonants, but I approved that anyway.

Dan Blum had a good example with "iron". Another example is "cross", which
is "croix" in French, "Kreuz" in German, but in the North-Germanic
languages it is "kors".
Post by Erland Sommarskog
7. This band had already released three albums when they recruited a new
singer and released an album with the name of an European capital. This
album and the title track is probably their most well-known work. Name
the band.
Ultravox.

The capital in question is Vienna.
Post by Erland Sommarskog
8. Explain the term "Drowning on dry land".
You fall into the water, but you are saved and taken up from the water still
alive. But you have so much water in your lungs that you die by drowning
anyway.

Or at least this is what I found when I googled the term. I was listening
to a song with this name, and I got curious if there was an allegorical
meaning, and I was a little surprised that the explanation was very
literate. Being curious if there was something more to it, I decided to
ask this smart group, being prepared to accept about anything. But that
did not really work out.

I did not accept "The result of drinking a potentially lethal excess of
water", since in that case you don't die because of water in the lungs or
anything else resemblant of drowning. This is more like poisoning.
Post by Erland Sommarskog
9. If you are at the Roland Garros stadium, which sport are you likely
to be watching?
Tennis.

This is where French Open is played. I did not accept "Lawn tennis", since
the surface on Roland Garrod is red clay, not grass.
Post by Erland Sommarskog
10, A logical consequence of the election results is that Donald T will
come back as a state leader. In which country?
Poland.

T is for Tusk. And, no, Donald Tusk does not sound Polish. He was PM of
Poland 2007-2014. He was also President of the European Council 2014-2019.
Post by Erland Sommarskog
11. Tata Group has business in a wide range of products and services.
Their origin and headquarters are in which country?
India.
Post by Erland Sommarskog
12. Refer to https://www.sommarskog.se/temp/P1000637.jpg. Name any of the
two lover boys.
Leonid Brezhnev and Erich Honecker.

This is from East-Side Gallery which is a collection of grafiti paintings on
piece of the Berlin Wall that still stands. While this is a painting, I
believe that there is a photo with the same seen. The text at the bottom
reads "My God! Help me to survive this deadly love".

Thanks everyone for playing!
Mark Brader
2023-11-03 00:36:51 UTC
Permalink
Post by Erland Sommarskog
Post by Erland Sommarskog
8. Explain the term "Drowning on dry land".
You fall into the water, but you are saved and taken up from the water still
alive. But you have so much water in your lungs that you die by drowning
anyway.
Or at least this is what I found when I googled the term...
I don't find a source that gives this explanation, only titles of songs
and a TV episode.
Post by Erland Sommarskog
I did not accept "The result of drinking a potentially lethal excess of
water", since in that case you don't die because of water in the lungs or
anything else resemblant of drowning. This is more like poisoning.
Fair enough. I had the impression I'd heard it described using the word
"drowning", but I'm probably misremembering.
Post by Erland Sommarskog
Post by Erland Sommarskog
9. If you are at the Roland Garros stadium, which sport are you likely
to be watching?
Tennis.
This is where French Open is played. I did not accept "Lawn tennis", since
the surface on Roland Garrod is red clay, not grass.
You should. "Lawn tennis" is a name of the sport, as distinct from
the older version called "real", "court", or "royal tennis".
--
Mark Brader, Toronto "Information! ... We want information!"
***@vex.net -- The Prisoner

My text in this article is in the public domain.
Erland Sommarskog
2023-11-03 14:55:21 UTC
Permalink
Post by Mark Brader
I don't find a source that gives this explanation, only titles of songs
and a TV episode.
There is also at least one film with that title.

I googled for '"drownning on dry land" meaning' and where was a
blurb on the top of the page.

The top hit was https://www.fedhealth.co.za/drowning-on-dry-land/.
Joshua Kreitzer
2023-11-03 03:44:54 UTC
Permalink
Post by Erland Sommarskog
This quiz is over, and the winner is STEPHEN W PERRY! Congratulations!
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Total
----------------------------------------------------
Swp 1 1 1 1 - - 1 1 - 1 1 1 9
Dan B - - 1 1 1 1 - - - - 1 1 6
Mark B - - - 1 - 1 - - 1 - 1 1 5
Dan T - - - 1 - - - - - 1 1 - 3
Pete G - - - 1 - - - - 1 - - 1 3
Erland:

Can you please post my score? I submitted my answers on October 29.

https://groups.google.com/g/rec.games.trivia/c/SAEBbPQpYa0/m/sWMLI9LSAAAJ

Joshua Kreitzer
***@hotmail.com
Erland Sommarskog
2023-11-03 14:44:26 UTC
Permalink
Post by Joshua Kreitzer
Can you please post my score? I submitted my answers on October 29.
https://groups.google.com/g/rec.games.trivia/c/SAEBbPQpYa0/m/sWMLI9LSAAAJ
Sorry, somehow that answer did not make it to my end (Eternal September).

Joshua's entry was very good, and when I had corrected Stephen's score
based on Mark's comment, I found that there was a tie.

Looking at the incorrect answers, I find that Joshua had declined
to answer one question and had reasonable guess for the question
on Moscow, whereas Stephen's both incorrect were "far out". I thereby
declare JOSHUA KREITZER as the winner of this quiz. Well done!

The revinsed score table:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Total
----------------------------------------------------
Joshua - 1 1 1 1 1 1 - 1 1 1 1 10
Swp 1 1 1 1 - - 1 1 1 1 1 1 10
Dan B - - 1 1 1 1 - - - - 1 1 6
Mark B - - - 1 - 1 - - 1 - 1 1 5
Dan T - - - 1 - - - - - 1 1 - 3
Pete G - - - 1 - - - - 1 - - 1 3
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