Welcome to the first Chronos Literary Trivia Challenge! (and probably the only; you’vn’t any idea how long it took me to come up with all these) Below are fifty trivia questions, from various literary works. Whoever answers the most right, within exactly one week, will win a $15 gift certificate to Amazon.com. Feel free to use any resources available to you, including but not limited to other people, Google, or your local library. If you don’t want folks copying your answers, feel free to e-mail them to me. You should also feel free to post wrong or misleading answers in the thread, to confuse others. Or bluff and post right answers that look wrong.
Partial credit will be given, where appropriate, and ties will be settled in favor of whomever answered first. You may begin… now. Next Friday at 5:30 PM MDT (23:30 GMT), the contest will conclude, and I’ll announce the winner and the correct answers.
01 What is the name of the Many-Colored Death?
02 What was the surname of the Kings and Queens of Cair Paravel?
03 What can penetrate a General Products hull?
04 Who started his naval career by fighting a fair duel with unloaded pistols?
05 What nationality was Alladin?
06 What are the names of the planets interior to Barsoom?
07 What was Charles Ingals’ pet name for his second daughter?
08 Where may one see a painting of a woman from off the street, so shameless but oh so fair?
09 What is the most remarkable property of the Island of Laputa?
10 How might the corpse of Pap Finn be recognized?
11 What former slave has a tree on her back?
12 Who is credited with inventing the waterbed?
13 Which Valar are mentioned by name in The Lord of the Rings?
14 What was the name of the swordsmith through whom Domingo Montoya did business?
15 Who speaks for the trees?
16 How does the Dragon of Grindly Grun like his damsels?
17 As precisely as possible, when did Pollux and Castor Stone first set foot on Mars?
18 Our next item up for bids, what is Lot 666?
19 How might one cuss another out, in Lapin?
20 By what name is Artanis better known?
21 What is great for destruction, and would also suffice for the end of the world?
22 By what name was Le Noir Faineant better known?
23 Where does the moon-bird rest in the peppermint wind?
24 What color is Petunia Dursley’s hair?
25 Night turn to noon, and rivers burn with frozen fire, ere what?
26 How does one seriously cramp a wizard’s style?
27 By what name was Hawkeye called (incorrectly, he might add) by his enemies?
28 His name is Mudd. In whose tent were his belongings left after his demise?
29 How would the Story of Henry Sugar have ended, were it fiction?
30 What did the catepillar eat on Saturday?
31 By what element is the Nautilus powered?
32 How much does it cost to whitewash a fence?
33 Who had dogs named Fortinbras and Ananda?
34 Everyone knows that the Rolling Stone gathers no moss. What does it accumulate on its hull instead?
35 Which two of Asimov’s stories feature positronic robots built without regard for the Three Laws?
36 What is Jon Arbuckle’s profession?
37 Against whom was Hephestos matched in the Trojan War?
38 What sport was invented by Bandobras Took?
39 What is the Lenni-Lenape word for “big serpent”?
40 How is The Last Question to be answered?
41 What are Laughs Brightly and Golden Voice called by their closest companions?
42 Upon whose globular figure, her name and three quarters from hip to hip, may one find countries?
43 What is located at Star’s End?
44 Why are the Seven Stars no more than seven?
45 With whom does Time amble?
46 What instrument did Opus the Penguin play?
47 In what base should pi be expressed, to find an image of a circle drawn in the digits?
48 Who or what is Edwin Frazier’s muse?
49 What element did the Skylark use for fuel?
50 If the only surviving output from the most powerful computer ever built is to be trusted, what do you get when you multiply six by nine?
02 What was the surname of the Kings and Queens of Cair Paravel? A: Pensie
03 What can penetrate a General Products hull? A: Gravity (and anti-matter destroys it)
05 What nationality was Alladin? Arabic
06 What are the names of the planets interior to Barsoom? Jasoom is Earth
12 Who is credited with inventing the waterbed? A: Robert A. Heinlein
15 Who speaks for the trees? A: The Parliament of The Trees?
21 What is great for destruction, and would also suffice for the end of the world? A: Ice
34 Everyone knows that the Rolling Stone gathers no moss. What does it accumulate on its hull instead? A: Bicycles.
35 Which two of Asimov’s stories feature positronic robots built without regard for the Three Laws? A: Robot AL-76 Goes Astray
37 Against whom was Hephestos matched in the Trojan War? A: Hera
38 What sport was invented by Bandobras Took? A: Golf
40 How is The Last Question to be answered? A: “Let there be light.”
46 What instrument did Opus the Penguin play? A: Electric bass
02 What was the surname of the Kings and Queens of Cair Paravel? Pevensie
20 By what name is Artanis better known? Galadriel
30 What did the catepillar eat on Saturday? chocolate cake, ice cream, a pickle, Swiss cheese, salami, a lollipop, cherry pie, sausage, a cupcake, and watermelon. (OK so I needed to Google, but I knew what bok it was.)
03 What can penetrate a General Products hull? A: Gravity (and anti-matter destroys it)
And it’s transparent to visible light.
29 Henry Sugar
He would have died for violating the code of the yogi, in an unusual and interesting manner, such as having a blood clot break free and reach his heart (as he watched, horror-stricken).
Hey, I feel really chuffed when I got some of those. There’s only a couple other people haven’t posted - I’ll come back and post them when I decide whether to enter or not bother.
“Little Lost Robot” whew! The Nestor series had the First Law modified to: “A robot may not harm a human,” leaving out the “or through inaction allow a human to come to harm” clause because of the harsh and dangerous working conditions…
Grograman the Fire Lion.