# Take the Chronos Literary Trivia Challange-- Win a prize! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 27, 2003, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-chronos-literary-trivia-challange-win-a-prize/184882 "2003-06-27T23:22:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-chronos-literary-trivia-challange-win-a-prize/184882/21 "2003-06-28T18:17:47Z")
I’m beginning to think that I should have set a shorter deadline… Only five questions remain unanswered (I’ve had a few e-mail submissions, too). Which is not to say, of course, that the other 45 are all _correct_, but folks have at least taken a stab at them. Keep those answers coming! ---
**Author:** ![Quantum\_Butterfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e79b87/32.png) [@Quantum\_Butterfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quantum_Butterfly)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-chronos-literary-trivia-challange-win-a-prize/184882/22 "2003-06-28T19:05:16Z")
04 Who started his naval career by fighting a fair duel with unloaded pistols? A: I think this is Horatio Hornblower. 14 What was the name of the swordsmith through whom Domingo Montoya did business? A: I’m confused here, Chronos. I thought Domingo (father of Inigo) WAS the swordsmith. Would look it up, but I lent somebody my copy of the book and haven’t seen it since. 18 Our next item up for bids, what is Lot 666? A: A chandelier in pieces. 41 What are Laughs Brightly and Golden Voice called by their closest companions? A: Laughs Brightly = Nimitz; Golden Voice = Samantha. 😃 Man, I love those books! I’ll have to check these when I have time, of course; this is just off the top of my head. Great fun, Chronos! ---
**Author:** ![finette6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@finette6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/finette6)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-chronos-literary-trivia-challange-win-a-prize/184882/23 "2003-06-28T20:58:44Z")
07)-- Charles Ingalls’ nickname for Laura is Half-Pint _of sweet cider half drunk up_ ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-chronos-literary-trivia-challange-win-a-prize/184882/24 "2003-06-28T21:08:21Z")
The Skylark was driven by copper. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-chronos-literary-trivia-challange-win-a-prize/184882/25 "2003-06-28T21:09:42Z")
23 Where does the moon-bird rest in the peppermint wind? [Where the sidewalk ends](http://groups.google.com/groups?q=peppermint+wind&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&selm=tfkrvcfc2h2h15%40corp.supernews.com&rnum=1) ---
**Author:** ![fruitbat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@fruitbat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fruitbat)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-chronos-literary-trivia-challange-win-a-prize/184882/26 "2003-06-28T21:15:07Z")
I know some of these, of course the ones that have already been answered. For those I don’t know I am dying to know which works of literature they come from. At least that way I can give myself a good forehead slap. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-chronos-literary-trivia-challange-win-a-prize/184882/27 "2003-06-28T21:18:39Z")
10 How might the corpse of Pap Finn be recognized? > [@](#): > > They judged it was him, anyway; said this drownded man was just his size, and was ragged, and had uncommon long hair, which was all like pap; but they couldn’t make nothing out of the face, because it had been in the water so long it warn’t much like a face at all. ---
**Author:** ![kiwiboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/35a633/32.png) [@kiwiboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiwiboy)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-chronos-literary-trivia-challange-win-a-prize/184882/28 "2003-06-29T07:33:47Z")
> [@](#): > > 14 What was the name of the swordsmith through whom Domingo Montoya did business? Yeste would take orders in Madrid and any he couldn’t fill he took to Domingo. ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-chronos-literary-trivia-challange-win-a-prize/184882/29 "2003-06-29T12:49:22Z")
**4.** Hornblower. **19.** Is this watership down? In which case it’d be something like “O embleer Frith” = “stinking [like a fox] God” **32.** Is this Tom sawyer? In which case it’s an apple, a kite in good repair, a dead rat and a string to sing it with, twelve marbles, part of a jew’s-harp, a piece of blue bottle-glass to look through, a spoon cannon, a key that wouldn’t unlock anything, a fragment of chalk, a glass stopper of a decanter, a tin soldier, a couple of tadpoles, a kitten with only one eye, a brass door-knob, a dog-collar-but no dog - the handle of a knife, four pieces of orange-peel, and a dilapidated window-sash. But I’m not sure if that can be right. **35**. Is there any clarification to be had here? His early robot stories were before he invented the laws IIRC, but the robots obviously weren’t stated to be without them. There were some later stories with no-law robots, but they weren’t written by him, were they? ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-chronos-literary-trivia-challange-win-a-prize/184882/30 "2003-06-29T12:50:40Z")
**35**. Doh! Of course, there was _Little Lost Robot_ with a modified (1st?) law. Not quite ‘without regard’ but I bet that’s what he means. Was the robot still around in the sequal? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-chronos-literary-trivia-challange-win-a-prize/184882/31 "2003-06-29T21:46:30Z")
> [@](#): > > Is there any clarification to be had here? I meant what I said, and I said what I meant: A Chronos is faithful, 100%. If, in my judgement, any question needs clarification or correcting, I will do so. In my judgement, that hasn’t happened yet. And no, you don’t get a bonus point for recognizing the reference there :). ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-chronos-literary-trivia-challange-win-a-prize/184882/32 "2003-06-29T21:52:45Z")
> [@](#): > > Is there any clarification to be had here? I meant what I said, and I said what I meant: A Chronos is faithful, 100%. If, in my judgement, any question needs clarification or correcting, I will do so. In my judgement, that hasn’t happened yet. And no, you don’t get a bonus point for recognizing the reference there :). ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-chronos-literary-trivia-challange-win-a-prize/184882/33 "2003-07-02T17:24:19Z")
It occurs to me that this thread might have sunk out of sight before the weekday crowd had a chance to see it, so I’ll bump it once. Sheesh, I’m already bribing you’uns, what more do you want? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Svt4Him](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@Svt4Him](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svt4Him)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2003, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-chronos-literary-trivia-challange-win-a-prize/184882/34 "2003-07-04T22:35:17Z")
Well, it’s 23:33 as far as I can tell. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-chronos-literary-trivia-challange-win-a-prize/184882/35 "2003-07-05T06:57:02Z")
Sorry I’m late in replying, here: I forgot that it was the Fourth of July, and I was at a cookout. The winner, with 26.2 points, is **Boyo Jim** , in an e-mail entry. The runner up, and only other e-mail entry, was **cabbit** , with 23 points. The official answers are: 01 Grograman (_The Neverending Story_) 02 Pevensy (_Voyage of the Dawn Treader_) 03 Visible light and gravity (“Neutron Star”) 04 Horatio Hornblower (_Mr. Midshipman Hornblower_) 05 Chinese (_The Arabian Nights_) 06 Rasoom, Cosoom, Jasoom (_Master Mind of Mars_) 07 Half-pint of sweet cider, half drunk up (_Little House on the Prairie_ 08 The Church of St. Hillaire (“My Madonna”, by Robert W. Service) 09 It flies through the air (_Gulliver’s Travels_) 10 By the cross nailed into his left boot-heel (_The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn_) 11 Sethe (_Beloved_) 12 Robert A. Heinlein (_Stranger in a Strange Land_) 13 Elbereth, Morgoth, Oromë 14 Yeste (_The Princess Bride_) 15 The Lorax (_The Lorax_) 16 Medium rare (“The Dragon of Grindly Grun”, in _A Light in the Attic_) 17 Friday, February 3, 2209 (_The Rolling Stones_) 18 A crystal chandelier (_Phantom of the Opera_) 19 Silflay hraka (I also accepted **Shade** ’s answer) (_Watership Down_) 20 Galadriel (_Unfinished Tales_) 21 Ice (“Fire and Ice”) 22 Richard _Coeur-de-Lion_ (_Ivanhoe_) 23 The place where the sidewalk ends (“Where the Sidewalk Ends”) 24 Blonde (_Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone_) 25 Dyrnwyn be regained (_The High King_) 26 With a knife between the shoulder blades (_The Book of Jhereg_) 27 _La Longue Carabine_ (_Last of the Mohicans_) 28 Yossarian’s (_Catch-22_) 29 With him watching himself have a heart attack (“The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar”) 30 One slice of chocolate cake, one ice cream cone, one pickle, one slice of Swiss cheese, one slice of salami, one lollipop, one piece of cherry pie, one sausage, one cupcake, and one slice of watermelon (_The Very Hungry Catepillar_) 31 Sodium (_20,000 Leagues Under the Sea_) 32 An apple, a kite, a dead rat and string, twelve marbles, part of a Jew’s harp, a piece of blue bottle glass, a spool cannon, a key without a lock, a piece of chalk, a glass stopper, a tin soldier, two tadpoles, six firecrackers, a one-eyed kitten, a doorknob, a dog collar, a knife handle, an orange peel, or an old window sash (_The Adventures of Tom Sawyer_) 33 The Murry family (_A Swiftly Tilting Planet_) 34 Bicycles (_The Rolling Stones_) 35 “Sally” and “Let’s get together” 36 Cartoonist (_Garfield_) 37 Xanthos or Scamandros (_The Illiad_) 38 Golf (_The Hobbit_) 39 Chingachgook (_Last of the Mohicans_) 40 By example: Let there be light (“The Last Question”) 41 Nimitz and Samantha (“Changer of Words”) 42 Nell (_The Comedy of Errors_) 43 The Second Foundation (_Foundation_) 44 Because they are not eight (_King Lear_) 45 A priest that lacks Latin, and a rich man that hath not the gout (_As You Like It_) 46 Tuba (_Bloom County_) 47 11 (_Contact_) 48 Lyle the guinea pig (_Frazz_) 49 Copper (_The Skylark of Space_) 50 42 (_The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy_) Thank you all for playing! ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-chronos-literary-trivia-challange-win-a-prize/184882/36 "2003-07-05T14:45:47Z")
I am so proud! ;j How do I collect my prize? I want to explain my answer to #20: “By what name is Artanis better known?” My (incorrect) answer was “Sinatra”. I recalled an episode of _The Dick Van Dyke_ show where Rob and Laura buy a painting of an artist named “Artanis”, but become convinced there is another more valuable painting underneath, so they destroy the Artanis to get to what they think is a Grant Wood. Anyway, it turns out that the top painting was done by Frank Sinatra. Sinatra is an anagram for Artanis. Here are the answers I submitted: 01 What is the name of the Many-Colored Death? Saruman 02 What was the surname of the Kings and Queens of Cair Paravel? Pevensey 03 What can penetrate a General Products hull? visible light 04 Who started his naval career by fighting a fair duel with unloaded pistols? Flashman 05 What nationality was Alladin? Indian 06 What are the names of the planets interior to Barsoom? Mercury, Venus and Earth 07 What was Charles Ingals’ pet name for his second daughter? Half-pint 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? Floats in air 10 How might the corpse of Pap Finn be recognized? cross in the left boot-heel 11 What former slave has a tree on her back? Sethe 12 Who is credited with inventing the waterbed? Robert Heinlein 13 Which Valar are mentioned by name in The Lord of the Rings? • Manwë Súlimo • Varda Elentári • Ulmo • Yavanna Kementári • Aulë the Smith • Nienna • Oromë • Estë the Gentle • Mandos (Námo) • Vairë the Weaver • Lórien (Irmo) • Vána the Ever-young • Tulkas Astaldo • Nessa 14 What was the name of the swordsmith through whom Domingo Montoya did business? Domingo Montoya is the swordsmith 15 Who speaks for the trees? The Lorax 16 How does the Dragon of Grindly Grun like his damsels? For I like my damsels medium rare, and they always come out well done. 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? Opera House chandelier 19 How might one cuss another out, in Lapin? ??? 20 By what name is Artanis better known? Sinatra 21 What is great for destruction, and would also suffice for the end of the world? ice 22 By what name was Le Noir Faineant better known? King Richard the Lionheart 23 Where does the moon-bird rest in the peppermint wind? There is a place where the sidewalk ends And before the street begins, And there the grass grows soft and white, And there the sun burns crimson bright, 24 What color is Petunia Dursley’s hair? blond 25 Night turn to noon, and rivers burn with frozen fire, ere what? Ere Dyrnwyn be regained 26 How does one seriously cramp a wizard’s style? knife in the back 27 By what name was Hawkeye called (incorrectly, he might add) by his enemies? Natty Bumpo 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? Happily ever after 30 What did the catepillar eat on Saturday? 1 piece of chocolate cake 1 ice cream cone 1 pickle 1 slice Swiss cheese 1 sausage 1 cupcake 1 slice of watermelon 31 By what element is the Nautilus powered? uranium 32 How much does it cost to whitewash a fence? ??? 33 Who had dogs named Fortinbras and Ananda? Meg Murry 34 Everyone knows that the Rolling Stone gathers no moss. What does it accumulate on its hull instead? Bicycles 35 Which two of Asimov’s stories feature positronic robots built without regard for the Three Laws? Robot AL-76 Goes Astray, ??? 36 What is Jon Arbuckle’s profession? cartoonist 37 Against whom was Hephestos matched in the Trojan War? Aphrodite 38 What sport was invented by Bandobras Took? Golf 39 What is the Lenni-Lenape word for “big serpent”? Maxa’xâk 40 How is The Last Question to be answered? INSUFICIENT DATA FOR MEANINGFUL ANSWER. 41 What are Laughs Brightly and Golden Voice called by their closest companions? Nimitz and Cloud Dancer 42 Upon whose globular figure, her name and three quarters from hip to hip, may one find countries? Nell the kitchen-wench, in The Comedy of Errors 43 What is located at Star’s End? 2nd foundation 44 Why are the Seven Stars no more than seven? They are named after seven brothers 45 With whom does Time amble? With a priest that lacks Latin and a rich man that hath not the gout 46 What instrument did Opus the Penguin play? bass 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? X 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? 42 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-chronos-literary-trivia-challange-win-a-prize/184882/37 "2003-07-05T19:27:01Z")
> [@](#): > > How do I collect my prize? On it’s way now. Sorry 'bout that, I was too zonked out last night to trust myself using a credit card. And I’m aware that Artanis is also Sinatra spelled backwards, and it’s also the name of a video-game character, but neither of those is exactly literary. ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-chronos-literary-trivia-challange-win-a-prize/184882/38 "2003-07-05T19:49:04Z")
BTW, Chronos, Thanks very much for reminding me of some old friends I’ll be revisiting this summer; Asimov and Heinlein first among them. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-chronos-literary-trivia-challange-win-a-prize/184882/39 "2003-07-05T21:08:05Z")
Chronos, my award has arrived. 😃 Thank you very kindly! If you come through my neck of the woods, I’d be delighted to buy you dinner some evening. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-chronos-literary-trivia-challange-win-a-prize/184882/40 "2003-07-05T22:55:04Z")
I’ve purchased a copy of _The Big Lebowski_ on DVD. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-chronos-literary-trivia-challange-win-a-prize/184882.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-chronos-literary-trivia-challange-win-a-prize/184882.md?page=3)