These questions were written to be asked in Toronto on 2017-02-06,
and should be interpreted accordingly.
On each question you may give up to two answers, but if you give
both a right answer and a wrong answer, there is a small penalty.
Please post all your answers to the newsgroup in a single followup,
based only on your own knowledge. (In your answer posting, quote
the questions and place your answer below each one.) I will reveal
the correct answers in about 3 days.
All questions were written by members of 5 Easy Pieces and are
used here by permission, but have been reformatted and may have
been retyped and/or edited by me. For further information see
my 2016-11-26 companion posting on "Questions from the Canadian
Inquisition (QFTCI*)".
** Game 4, Round 9 - Geography - Famous Bookstores
Originally called Cadabra (not to be confused with "Cadaver"!),
Amazon came into existence in 1994 to sell books. Now it sells just
about everything and books bring in a mere 7% of its total revenue.
In any case, every month there seem to be fewer and fewer actual
bookstores. But here are some quite excellent ones, some even
famous, and most of which have weathered the online storms.
1. Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the Beat poet, co-founded this bookstore
in 1953 in San Francisco. Name it.
2. This bookstore in Paris published the first complete edition
of James Joyce's "Ulysses" in 1922. There is a bookstore by
the same name in Paris now, but it's not the original one.
Name the bookstore.
3. Founded in 1971, Powell's headquarters store claims to be
the world's largest new and used bookstore, and that's certainly
creditable given that it takes up a whole city block and
occupies 1.6 acres of retail floor space on several floors.
In what city is Powell's located?
4. Still owned by the family that founded it in 1973, Elliott Bay
Book Company is located in this city and is named after a body
of water the municipality encircles. Name the city.
5. Founded in 1893 and once touted as the oldest continuously
operating bookstore in Canada, this Toronto book emporium
closed its doors for good in 1999. Its former building just
north of Bloor St. on Yonge is now a Starbucks. Name the
legendary bookstore.
6. Although rumors have been rife over the past couple of years
that Booked Up in Archer, Texas, was closing entirely, its
website fiercely claims that isn't so. What famous writer of
the novels "Lonesome Dove" and "The Last Picture Show" founded
and still owns this bookstore, which first opened its doors in
Washington, DC, in 1971?
7. If you love books, especially used or rare ones, a visit to
this Lower Manhattan shop is mandatory. It proudly claims
to have 18 miles of books, and was founded in 1927. It was
once located on Book Row on 4th Av., home of 48 bookstores,
all vanished except this one, currently located at 12th St.
and Broadway. Name this store.
8. Mr. B's Emporium of Reading Delights in Bath, England, offers,
besides a great selection of books and comfy chairs, what it
calls bibliotherapy and reading spas. Strangely enough, it
also features the name, Mr. B, of a seemingly nasty character
in fiction who tries to seduce a young woman in his employ.
Hardly the stuff of relaxation. The 18th-century novel is by
Samuel Richardson. What's the novel's title?
9. El Ateneo is a bookstore housed in a majestic early 20th-century
theatre with an impressive, very high painted ceiling, the
original theatre curtain, theatre boxes that now serve as tiny
reading rooms, and a stage that features readings and a cafe.
It's living proof that the residents of the Latin American city
where it's located perhaps care as much about books as they do
about beef. What city is it located in?
10. The Dutch bookstore Boekhandel Selexyx Dominicanen is, yes,
housed in a converted 13th-century Dominican church. It's a
veritable temple devoted to the worship of books. What city
is it located in? Hint: The treaty that created the European
Union was signed here.
** Game 4, Round 10 - Planetary Challenge Round
* A. Miscellaneous: Gonna Buy Me a Mercury
A1. The final Mercury automobile rolled off the line in January
2011. Which noble model, on the market since 1975 and the
bestselling Mercury of the 2000s, holds this distinction?
A2. This muscle car, a slightly restyled version of the Ford
Mustang, was in production from 1967 to 1997, the
second-longest production run in Mercury's history.
It returned to the market briefly between 1999 and 2002.
Name the model.
* B. Arts: Venus in Art
B1. This Italian Renaissance artist's painting The Birth of
Venus hangs in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. It was
painted circa 1480 and is thought to have been commissioned
by the Medici family. It depicts the goddess Venus emerging
from the sea as an adult woman. Name the artist.
B2. This prolific 16th-century Italian artist painted many
depictions of Venus in works such as Venus of Urbino,
The Sleeping Venus, Worship of Venus, and Allegory with
Venus and Cupid. Of the Venetian school, he is also known
for his portraiture, which has been compared to Rembrandt.
Name this artist.
* C. Geography: Earth's Otherworldliness
Name these geographical features.
C1. Northern Ireland's most famous landmark, this promontory
of tightly packed hexagonal basalt rocks juts into the sea.
Its name is derived from the legend of Finn MacCool.
Very otherworldly.
C2. This river in southeastern Spain has flowed red since mining
began in the area about 5,000 years ago. It is also the
name of one of the world's largest mining companies.
* D. Entertainment: Mars in Movies
D1. This 1990 Philip-K.-Dick-inspired classic stars Arnold
Schwarzenegger as a man who gets memory implants and begins
struggling with uncertain realities that include being a
Martian warrior. Name the film.
D2. This 2000 Brian De Palma film stars Tim Robbins, Gary Sinise,
and Connie Robins as astronauts who set out to rescue fellow
Mars explorer Don Cheadle. Name the film.
* E. Science: Jupiter's Moons
E1. What is the name of Jupiter's largest moon, whose diameter
is more than that of the planet Mercury?
E2. This moon of Jupiter has the smoothest surface of any known
solid object in the solar system, lacking mountains or
craters. Discovered by Galileo, it was named after the
mother of King Minos of Crete and lover of Zeus. Name it.
* F. History: Neptune in Myth
F1. Name either of Neptune's mythical brothers, both of whom
also have heavenly bodies named after them.
F2. Name Neptune's counterpart in Greek mythology.
--
Mark Brader Be there or be... hmmm. I can't pretend that a
Toronto six-hour seminar on trivia skills is exactly the
m...@vex.net opposite of "square." --Ken Jennings
My text in this article is in the public domain.